An Exclusive love

Chapter 185 We're Getting Married!

Xin Qing glanced at Li Xiaoru in shock. Li Xiaoru blushed and began stammering. "Se... senior, I... am... I..."

"Wow! Congratulations!" Xin Qing gave her a hug. "I wish you happiness!"

"Okay!" Li Xiaoru nodded forcefully. Zhang Mi decided to tease Li Xiaoru a little. "Oh, so now you're acting shy? You didn't seem all that shy back in the forest when Chen Ming drag you aside to have a little tryst-"

"Zhang Mi!" Chen Ming glared at her. Li Xiaoru was pretty close to bursting into tears at that point. She buried herself inside Chen Ming's embrace, refusing to show herself.

"You better hope the day doesn't come when I finally have the dirt on you!" Chen Ming said furiously. How the heck did this brat manage to walk in on his makeout session with Li Xiaoru!?

Zhang Mi released two chuckles. "I'm sure I'm not as open as you two were. I mean, a private get-together in the wilderness! Tsk, tsk."

"Alright, enough!" Xin Qing smacked Zhang Mi. "You think Xiaoru is as thick-skinned as you? She'll really start crying if you go on."

In order to celebrate Chen Ming and the rest's success in bringing back Xin Qing's prescription, they all decided to go out for dinner that night. After dinner, Xin Qing had deliberately sat at the pavilion in the backyard to wait for Chen Ming.

Not a while later, Chen Ming walked over with a smile. "I knew you'd have something to say to me."

Xin Qing laughed. "You know me too well!"

"You want to ask about Xiaoru and me?"

"Yeah!" Xin Qing gestured for Chen Ming to take a seat. "Are you marrying her because you like her?"

Chen Ming sighed. "No. I'm not doing it because I like her. I'm doing it because I love her!"

Seeing the look of shock on Xin Qing's face, Chen Ming flicked her forehead. "Sometimes, fate really does work in strange ways! I never expected to fall in love with a woman while on vacation."

When Li Xiaoru told Chen Ming that she had no intention of holding him accountable for what had happened to her, it was not relief that Chen Ming felt in his heart, but guilt instead. He was lucky enough to have a business event in Egypt back then, so he left the country quickly and refused to return even after the event was finished. He was running away, that much he knew. Still, the fact remained that he was entirely clueless on how to approach the problem with Li Xiaoru. So, he decided to go on a vacation; he thought the trip could help him sort out his troubled mind. Little did he know that Li Xiaoru had regretted her decision and had been trying to find him to no avail. After going great lengths, Li Xiaoru managed to find out that he had gone to Egypt. She ended up traveling to Egypt alone, and once she was there, she followed his trail until she finally tracked him down to a temple.

When they saw each other at the temple, Chen Ming did not have the heart to send her away; she had come all the way to Egypt after all. During Li Xiaoru's journey to find Chen Ming, she had already thought about what she would say to him once she met him. She would tell Chen Ming that she did not care whether or not Chen Ming loved her. She told him that she would go along with it as long as Chen Ming was willing to marry her. She also told him that she would back out voluntarily if he met a woman he loved some time in the future.

"Such a nice lady!" Xin Qing shook her head. "She's out of your league, you know!"

Chen Ming glanced towards the window of Li Xiaoru's room with nothing but tenderness in his eyes. "Yeah. I didn't realize it back then, but meeting her was truly a blessing!"

Chen Ming continued his recollection. After they met at the temple, they somehow caught wind that the forest behind the town housed some kind of deity. Chen Ming decided to go check it out. Naturally, Li Xiaoru tagged along as well. The two of them went on a hike into the forest despite having no experience in wilderness survival. Lucky for them, Chen Ming knew enough to check the radar and draw a map as they trekked along. They were already deep inside the forest when they decided to turn back, which was also the time they encountered a rainstorm. After that, Chen Ming discovered a cave where the two of them hid in order to weather out the storm.

"And what happened once you two were alone? Did sparks fly?" Xin Qing winked at him.

Chen Ming flicked her forehead again. "Picked it up from Zhang Mi, didn't you? How else could you come up with so much nonsense?"

After that, Chen Ming went on to tell Xin Qing about the collapse of the cave during the middle of the night. If Li Xiaoru had not pushed him away, Chen Ming's injuries would not be as simple as a broken leg; he would probably lose his life. Li Xiaoru's face was lacerated by a sharp rock.

"She hurt her face? Was it serious?" Xin Qing did not notice anything on Li Xiaoru's face when she saw her during the day.

A pained look flitted across Chen Ming's eyes. "The cut was so deep that even her bones were visible. It was located at the underside of her jaw. The village's chieftain healed her. But you can still see a dull scar if you look closely enough. I'll get in touch with a plastic surgeon later, see if it's possible to remove the scar entirely."

"It's fine even if the scar persists!" Xin Qing turned her face sideways, revealing the tattoo behind her ear. "Just ask your Xiaoru to tattoo your name onto it."

Chen Ming balked at the suggestion. "I don't have the heart to put her through the tattooing process. I hear it hurts like hell."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, my, my. Are you still the same Chen Ming I know?" Xin Qing curled her lips. "Weren't you the one claiming that you'll find any random woman to marry just to fulfill your procreative duties?"

"That was before, when I was still in love with you. You're already married to someone else, so of course it wouldn't matter whom I marry," Chen Ming said, glaring at her. "How can things still be the same now?"

Well, it turned out that Chen Ming had injured his head and leg after the cave collapsed. He had been drifting in and out of consciousness back then, and on the occasions when he was conscious, he remembered seeing Li Xiaoru digging through piles of rock and mud with her bare hands.

"She had dug for one day and one night before she made an opening," said Chen Ming. Chen Ming's heart tugged painfully when he reached this point of his recollection. As he lay there back then, he had been wondering just where this little lady had drawn all her strength and willpower from. When he saw Xiaoru's bloodied fingers, Chen Ming felt as if his heart had been pried open to form a chasm. Then a woman named Li Xiaoru was shoved right into that chasm.

Li Xiaoru managed to drag him out of the cave after that. She even piggybacked him and tried to find their way out of the forest. During their attempted return journey, she fell down a lot of times. Not once did she stop to tend to her own wounds. The first thing she did when she fell was always to check on Chen Ming.

"By nightfall, I asked her to abandon me and find her way back on her own. Otherwise, we would both die in the forest," Chen Ming said with a wan smile. Xin Qing had never seen such a tender look on his face before.

Li Xiaoru responded by telling Chen Ming that she would rather die together with him! If he did not love her when they were alive, then perhaps they could cross the Naraka and drink Meng Po soup together. That way, he might end up loving her in the next life after they were both reborn!

"We both fell off a cliff after that. We found ourselves in the village when we woke up. According to the chieftain, I was secured within the lady's embrace when they found us. There wasn't a single wound on my body due to the fall while her entire back was filled with scratches and cuts."

Xin Qing rubbed her eyes. "Your ancestors must have burned eight generations worth of incense for you to have a chance to marry such a good woman! Anyone who hurt a woman like this is truly lowlier than an animal!"

"Exactly!" Chen Ming nodded. "I think I've already fallen in love with her while we were inside the cave."

Xin Qing sighed in relief. "Then I guess there's nothing for me to worry about anymore!"

What Xin Qing had been fearing was that Chen Ming had only agreed to be with Li Xiaoru out of his sense of responsibility. If that were the case, it would be a tragedy to both parties indeed. True marital happiness only arises when there exist genuine affections between both parties!

The following day, Ying Qingcang got a call from Chen Huan who told him that there were no problems with Xin Qing's prescription. After analyzing the blood sample she had obtained from Xin Qing last time and comparing the results with the drug's effects, Chen Huan was confident that the Xin Qing's condition would be cured. Xin Qing could take the drug ten days from now when the clinical trials ended.

"Just keep her headaches under control for now. We'll observe the drug's effects for a while longer." Then, Ying Qingcang suddenly turned to look at Young Master Shen. "I owe you this time, man," Ying Qingcang said with an awkward look on his face. "If something really happened to you, where else am I going to find a replacement son for Uncle Shen."

Young Master Shen blinked his eyes a few times. "Well, if you truly feel bad, you could always just give me that new cruise ship you bought in the Pacific Ocean!"

"Sure!" Ying Qingcang nodded.

"Huh?" Young Master Shen never expected him to agree. "But didn't you buy that for Xiao Qingqing?"

Just then, Boss Wan's call came in.

"Ah Cang, what do you want me to do with your ship? Do you still want me to dismantle it?"

"The new one he just bought? Why are you dismantling it?" Young Master Shen asked, puzzled.

"I ordered a new one for him. The one before is second-rate," Boss Wan said, ignoring the darkening look on Young Master Shen's face. "Might as well have my guys tinker with them."

Ying Qingcang gave Young Master Shen a look. "Still want it?"

"Haha. Of course, I want it! I need its parts to smack you both on the head!" Young Master Shen yelled angrily.

The ship was not dismantled in the end. Instead, Ying Qingcang had ordered someone to paint Tang Shuang's name onto it; he decided to give it to Tang Shuang as a gift. When Tang Shuang got the paperwork certifying her ownership of the cruise ship, she was so overjoyed that she had moved in and tried to hug Ying Qingcang. Ying Qingcang subtly avoided the hug.

"Be careful," Ying Qingcang said. "You shouldn't be performing big movements." Ying Qingcang glanced at her tummy and stepped away to one side.

Tang Shuang caressed her belly with a look of pure bliss on her face. "It's been four months now. It'll get bigger slowly. Will you come with me to my checkup tomorrow? We can do an ultrasound to find out the baby's gender!"

"Didn't you say you're able to tell just from a pulse reading?" Ying Qingcang took a seat across her. He had deliberately placed Le Le beside his leg; Tang Shuang would not come near him for the sake of the baby.

"I already know the gender. But the point is to look at the ultrasound image. That way you'll be able to see the baby!" Tang Shuang said smilingly. "Do you prefer a boy or a girl?"

Since he already had Ah Sha, Ying Qingcang figured their family would be complete if Xin Qing could give birth to a boy in the future.

"A boy," Ying Qingcang said, his eyes darting towards Tang Shuang. Tang Shuang answered happily, "It is precisely a boy! Ah Cang! You're having a son."

Behind Tang Shuang, Ah Hai's gaze wavered slightly. Keeping his head low, Ying Qingcang smirked and said nothing.

Ying Qingcang really went with Tang Shuang to the hospital for her checkup the following day. When they came out, Tang Shuang was still holding the ultrasound report in her hand, happily chattering away as she pointed out the baby's little hands and feet to Ying Qingcang. They were immediately surrounded by a group of reporters once they walked through the hospital's entrance.

"Mr. Ying! Mr. Ying! I hear you're about to have a son. If that's the case, will your ex-wife and her daughter be able to inherit Ying Enterprises in the future?"

"Mrs. Ying, please hold out your ultrasound so that we can take a photo!"

Tang Shuang gracefully allowed the reporters to snap a few pictures, though Ying Qingcang stepped forward and shielded her behind him. "Please don't bring up my ex-wife in front of us again. That's already in the past. Now, please step aside." Ah Nan quickly began to shove the reporters aside and escort them into the car.

Ying Qingcang dropped by the company that afternoon. Young Master Shen produced a copy of the newspaper out of nowhere and showed it to him. "Here, look at this! This just came out. It hasn't even been typeset yet!"

The photo on the newspaper showed Ying Qingcang protecting Tang Shuang carefully. Tang Shuang was holding her belly with a look of pure happiness on her face.

"Where did you find those reporters, anyway? How dare they write about Ah Qing being my ex-wife. When the hell did we even get a divorce? Technically, I've never even had an ex-wife." Ying Qingcang tossed the newspaper onto the floor. "What an eyesore."

Young Master Shen snorted. "It's not like the world knows that the marriage between you and Tang Shuang is fake. What else would they see Xin Qing as? Your primary wife?" Young Master Shen was still in the middle of mocking Ying Qingcang when his phone rang.

Young Master Shen glanced at the caller ID and realized that the call came from New York. Frowning, he picked up the call. A huge change went across his face after hearing two lines from the caller.

"Now you say that one more time. What happened to him?"