Chapter 231 Who Sent the Note? (1/2)

Xin Qing's name was once again cast into the limelight. TV stations, the press, or any other forms of media now had their sights set upon this woman.

That night after the dinner party had ended, the public had assumed that it was this woman who was behind her husband's disappearing and who had then claimed Ying Enterprises as her own. Xin Qing was now seen as a woman who had climbed her way to her current status via despicable and vile means. In a blink of an eye, Xin Qing had become a public enemy. Everyone blamed her.

They could very well just ignore the opinion of the general public, but the problem was that Xin Enterprises' shares were starting to decline. Because of that, Monica and Ah Nan were starting to feel worried. If they did not come up with a plan soon, Xin Enterprises would be finished the next time Ying Qingcang made his move.

”Have you found her yet?” Zhang Mi asked anxiously. Young Master Shen shook his head. ”Nobody saw her,” Young Master Shen said. ”I've already sent my people to all the places that she might go to.”

Monica released a sudden scream. ”Could it be that Xin Qing saw no way out of everything and then she... well, you know...”

”Shut your trap!” Ah Nan glared at her. ”The young miss would never do that.”

This morning, everyone had discovered that Xin Qing was missing. When they arrived, the house was empty except for Wangwang who had been sleeping soundly like a log. The sky was almost dark now, yet they were still unable to locate her.

Zhang Mi's phone suddenly rang. She picked it up and listen to the few lines on the phone. ”Alright! I understand!” she said suddenly.

”I know where she is!” Zhang Mi announced.

During nightfalls, it was like the sea had removed the warm and bright jacket that it had worn during the day. Right now, its pitch-black darkness almost seemed as if it could swallow up anything.

Zhang Mi and Shi Qianqian shouted Xin Qing's name as they ran. Zhang Mi pointed at somewhere in front. ”There! Right there! That's the place they had their wedding.”

Shi Qianqian pulled out her phone and, through the light emitted from it, saw a human-shaped shadow huddled up behind a small sandbag.

”Xin Qing?” Shi Qianqian called out tentatively. The shadow shifted slightly. That was when Zhang Mi burst forward and threw her arms around the dark figure. ”Xin Qing! Are you trying to scare us to death?”

May's weather had an icy bite to it. Like it had always been during this time of the year, the wind at the beach was frigid, entirely capable of chilling anyone to the marrow. Still, they noticed that Xin Qing was barely reacting to the cold.

”Xin Qing? Xin Qing?” Shi Qianqian realized that Xin Qing was hugging something to her chest. When Shi Qianqian tried to pry the object away from Xin Qing's arms, Xin Qing suddenly pushed her hands away. ”Don't touch it. This is something Ah Cang and I had buried here together. He said that we should dig it up once we're both old. It's meant as a reminder that he was the one who had bought me that year.”

Xin Qing suddenly lost her footing and ended up keeling over into the sand. The object in her arms fell away from her arms. It was the agreement that Xin Qing had signed with Ying Qingcang when they first met each other. Xin Qing panicked and scrambled over to make a grab for the fallen object. Shi Qianqian was quicker and the agreement was now held in her hand.

”You stayed here all day just because of this thing?” Shi Qianqian pointed a finger at Xin Qing. ”Take a good look at yourself! Is this really your idea of defending Ying Qingcang's legacy until he returns? You refused to believe us when we told you that he's dead. But now, he's alive and back, yet here you are, acting as if your life has just ended, as if you've lost the will to live. Is this what you've waited three long years for?”

Xin Qing remained kneeling on the sand as trembles coursed through her body. Slowly, the trembles became more and more intense. Finally, a loud and heart-wrenching yell tore from her throat and pierced through the sky: ”But he doesn't remember me! He doesn't know me! He won't even look at me...” Sobs shook Xin Qing's body. ”I've waited for three years. Three years.... wuwuwu...”

”Oh, Xin Qing, Xin Qing, come on. Don't do this, please!” Zhang Mi said, also in tears at that point. Shi Qianqian held back her own tears and raised the agreement, holding it in before Xin Qing's face. ”Look at this. Look carefully,” Shi Qianqian said. ”That man isn't Ying Qingcang, okay? The real Ying Qingcang is still waiting for you. He's waiting for you to save him. Are you just going to give up?” Shi Qianqian cupped Xin Qing face and raised it slightly. ”Is this your way of loving him? Do you really wish for him to live in a world without you and be filled with regret until the day he dies?”

Xin Qing shook her head wildly as she sobbed. ”I know. I know that man isn't really him. But I can't take it, damn it! I can't bear it when he looks at me like that! I can't stand the sight of him having another woman in his arms! Every day for the past three years, I've told myself that he must be alive somewhere, that he will return to me one day. Now he has returned, but only to shatter my hopes into dust.” Xin Qing raised her head and glanced skyward with tears streaking down her face. ”Why are you doing this to me?! Why, damn it?! Why?!”

”Xin Qing!” Zhang Mi screamed and caught Xin Qing's body.

”Quick, ask Young Master Shen to bring the car over here. She's having a fever.”

Ying's residence. Chen Huan descended the stairs. ”She's alright now. Gave her some medication, and the fever's now gone.”

Zhang Mi released the breath she had been holding. ”I'll return Qianqian's call and let her know.”

Young Master Shen nodded. Waving the note at Chen Huan, Young Master Shen asked, ”Someone sent this over today?”

”Yeah, otherwise I wouldn't have known where Xin Qing was.”

Monica stretched out her hand. ”Let me see it.”

”This handwriting...” Monica said. ”This is a child's handwriting!”

”A child around ten years old,” Chen Huan said. ”He knocked on the door and then ran off after handing me the note.”

The note contained only a few words: She's at the beach where the wedding ceremony was held.

”It has to be that someone had asked the kid to write it,” Zhang Mi said decisively after a brief glance at the note.

”I've already sent the surveillance footage to Boss Wan. He should be able to ID the kid.” Chen Huan paused, blinking a few times. ”Do you guys have any suspects in mind?”

For a long while, everyone just shared looks with each other without saying anything.