Chapter 277 - Xiao Rui Is Leaving (2/2)

Ah Sha picked up Chengcheng and left the dining hall. Wangwang gave Xiao Rui an eye signal. “Mother,” Wangwang said, “brother is very strong and skilled. You should let him go!”

“Mother… Please.” Xiao Rui held Xin Qing’s gaze.

Ying Qingcang’s frown deepened. “Ah Qing, calm down, okay? Don’t cry.”

Ah Sha returned with Chengcheng in tow. Chengcheng was holding the towel. “Mommy, please don’t cry!” Chengcheng climbed his way into Xin Qing’s lap. Xin Qing picked up the boy. “Chengcheng, you’re such a good boy,” Xin Qing said. “So obedient, unlike your brother Xiao Rui.”

Then, Xin Qing buried her head against Ying Qingcang’s chest. “Ah Cang, I’m tired,” Xin Qing said. Clearly, the discussion had reached an end.

Xiao Rui was just about to say something else when he received a warning glare from Ying Qingcang. Then, Ying Qingcang carried Xin Qing upstairs.

“It’s okay,” Ah Sha said, patting Xiao Rui’s shoulder. “Daddy will convince Mommy, I’m sure of it!”

Xunxun noticed the strange vibe when he came to pick up Ah Sha.

“What happened?” he asked.

Ah Sha told Xunxun everything about Xiao Rui’s wish to attend the Reece Academy and Xin Qing’s fear of it. After hearing everything, Xunxun did not seem worried at all, which was surprising. “Aunt Qing will agree, you’ll see,” Xunxun said, helping Ah Sha into his car.

Indeed, not two days later, Ah Sha received a call from Xiao Rui.

“Sis, I’m leaving now.”

Ah Sha sniffed. “Promise me you’ll return, okay? Otherwise, otherwise I’ll throw out every single one of your naval ship models in your room!”

On the day of Xiao Rui’s departure, everyone went to send him off at the airport. Xin Qing had cried until both of her eyes were swollen. If the daggers shooting out from Ying Qingcang’s eyes weren’t metaphorical, Jiang Qianren’s body would’ve been covered in knife wounds by now.

“If he fails to return, Ah Qing will hate you for the rest of her life,” Ying Qingcang told Jiang Qianren.

A grave look formed on Jiang Qianren’s face. “I give you my word that I’ll ensure his return. Otherwise, we, the Jiang family, will pay with our lives.”

Ah Sha did not have time to feel sad over Xiao Rui’s departure; by the end of November, she began filming the commercials for Xin Enterprises. Since the commercials were meant to promote the underground hot springs, most of the filming was conducted at the hot springs.

The reporters had taken a keen interest in the scandal involving this showbiz debutante and the boss of Stars Entertainment; every day, there were at least a few people with cameras hanging around the filming location. Then again, the reporters had already managed to capture a juicy photo on the very first day of filming.

“Didn’t I ask you not to come?” Ah Sha glared at Xunxun the moment she got into the car. “It’s only four in the afternoon now. Why are you getting off work this early? Don’t you have a job to do?”

Xunxun buckled Ah Sha’s seatbelt. “Fetching you is my job.”

“Hehe! But I’m not planning on paying you a salary.” Ah Sha had just finished speaking when she felt Xunxun’s hands on her face and his lips pressing against hers.

Pulling Ah Sha’s lips between his teeth, Xunxun deepened his voice and said, “That’s alright. Just let me kiss you more often and we’re good.”

Xunxun vaguely noticed a bright flash coming from the car’s windshield. He frowned.

“What’s wrong?” Ah Sha said, pushing him away. “Hey, no biting. Otherwise I’ll have to apply ointment again tonight.”

Xunxun touched her cheeks. “Nothing’s wrong,” he said. “Hey, what do you feel like eating?”

“Hotpot!” Ah Sha said. “Tsk, tsk. I mean, none of the hotpots I tried overseas were even authentic.”

Xunxun brought Ah Sha to a restaurant which served authentic hotpots. Although the restaurant was old school, its interior decor was surprisingly modern. A lot of rich second generations and celebrities were frequenters of the place.

Before the meal, Ah Sha visited the bathroom.

On the way out, she was stopped in her tracks by a man. “Are you Mei Jing?”

Ah Sha took two steps backwards, her eyes filled with panic as she stared back at the drunken man. “You… Who are you?”

“Not bad at all. You look pretty in person too.” The man reeked of alcohol and was now leering at Ah Sha. “It’s doesn’t matter if you don’t know me. You just have to know that I’m no less wealthy than Wan Qingsi.”

The man’s hand shot out to grab Ah Sha’s arm. Ah Sha sidestepped him with ease, and yelled, “Don’t come any closer! Or else I’ll start screaming!”

When the man noticed Ah Sha’s rejection of his advances, he launched into a vulgar diatribe. “Drop the act! I can turn you into a superstar as well!” he said. “You girls are all out there to sell your bodies, anyway. It doesn’t f*cking matter whom you sell your body to. You should be honored that you’ve caught my eye.”

A threatening look formed on Ah Sha’s face. “Is that so? Honored?” Gone were the terror and the look of panic in her face. Then again, the man was too out of it to notice it. He pounced again. Ah Sha sidestepped and flicked her wrist once; a needle punctured the skin of the man’s waist. With another flick, a second needle stabbed into the man’s shoulder.

The man stumbled to the floor. A cold glint flashed in Ah Sha’s eyes. Just when she was about to launch a third needle, a cold voice sounded.

“What’s going on here?” Xunxun came over to her in a few steps. The man on the floor was climbing back to his feet by then. Xunxun’s leg shot out in a kick. The unfortunate b*stard stumbled again, this time knocking his head on the wall. The prick passed out instantly.

“Did he touch you?”

Ah Sha shook his head. “No. He was drunk, and he tried to grab me. But then he fell down on his own.” When she saw Xunxun wanting to charge at the man again, Ah Sha quickly pulled him away. “Enough, enough. I’m fine. Nothing happened to me. Let’s go eat something! I’m so hungry I could die.”

After they left, a man dressed in a black shirt stepped out around the corner. The smile on his face was that of deep contemplation. He gave the unconscious man on the floor several kicks. Then, he crouched down and touched the man’s waist.

A thin needle—about as long as his index finger—appeared between his fingers.

“Haha. This needle belongs to one of the bounty hunters, the poison queen. I can’t believe it showed up in the hands of a young starlet. How interesting.” The man in black glanced at the unconscious man on the floor. Out of nowhere, he produced a knife with a long and thin blade.

“Hah. You unlucky b*stard. Consider this my gift to the poison queen!”