An Exclusive love

The only thing going through Xin Qing's mind when she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep was this, "Will Wangwang become like Xiao Rui in the future?"

When she suddenly remembered that thought the next day, she pulled Chen Huan aside. "I want you to give Xiao Rui an IQ test at least once," she told Chen Huan.

"There's no need for the kid to take the test," Chen Huan said with a quick wave of her hand. "That kid definitely has a high IQ. I'm pretty sure he's no less talented than my son."

Xin Qing stared at Xiao Rui who was currently holding Liuliu. "How do you know?" She asked.

"You..." Chen Huan trailed off as she pondered Xin Qing's words. "I guess that works, too. Just let him take the test, then. Plus, I've been wondering if he's been given some kind of injection as well."

Wangwang was not yet awake, nor had his fever subsided. Due to their ties with Young Master Shen, the hospital had kindly offered to bring a few experts over to the hospital to examine Wangwang. In the end, they had to ask Young Master Shen to come up with some random excuse to refuse the offer.

"Why don't we just take him back home?" Monica asked.

Ah Nan shook his head. "Staying at the hospital is more convenient. Just in case there's an emergency."

Xin Qing, too, felt that she would be more at ease if they kept Wangwang at the hospital. That afternoon, Chen Huan returned to the hospital, but this time she had a metal box with her. When she arrived, she was still hesitating and unsure of how to bring up the issue to Xiao Rui. Kids were usually more emotionally sensitive. That said, it would be bad if Xiao Rui somehow got the wrong idea and ended up thinking that they wanted him to take the IQ test because they thought he was not good enough as he was.

But when Xiao Rui heard Chen Huan's request, he merely nodded obediently. "Oh, okay!" He said and immediately sat across from Chen Huan.

Xin Qing and Chen Huan shared a look with each other. Xin Qing still had something to say, but she was cut off by Xiao Rui before she could voice out her thought, "I want to know what's going on with me, too. I feel like it's got something to do with my past."

"Fine. Then let's begin!" Chen Huan took out a small object which looked like a tack and then pierced Xiao Rui's ear with it. Then, she placed a helmet on Xiao Rui's head. After a few hour of fussing and bustling, Chen Huan's expression looked more and more grim.

By the time Chen Huan had put her equipment away, Xin Qing was on pins and needles. "Um... what's wrong?" Xin Qing asked.

Chen Huan stared at Xiao Rui intently. "Have you had a fever before?" Chen Huan asked.

"Yes," Xiao Rui said. "After Grandpa Mo Lin brought me to the village, I had a fever that lasted for three days."

"How old were you?"

"He was barely two years old," Xin Qing said. "The old chieftain told me that Xiao Rui was likely to be just over a year old when he was found." Then, Xin Qing gave Xiao Rui a worried glance. Turning to Chen Huan, she asked, "Is something wrong with Xiao Rui's body?"

"He's fine," Chen Huan said, though she now had a conflicted look on her face. "Xiao Rui must have had some ties to the military. His body had been injected with some kind of strange substance. I've seen something like it from the military's top-secret files a long time ago. I was still just a student back then. My thesis adviser and I were in the middle of completing a mission for the country. The way Xiao Rui's body had responded to my tests fits the descriptions in those files. But from what I heard, that project was nearly scrapped because it was too dangerous. All its clinical trials had resulted in failure."

"So what you're saying is that Xiao Rui was part of an experiment when he was born, or, before he was even born?" Said agitatedly Monica who had been listening to the conversation between Xin Qing and Chen Huan. "That's just so cruel!"

Xin Qing glared at Monica and then flicked her eyes at Xiao Rui. Monica took the hint and clammed up.

"Mom, I'm fine!" Xiao Rui said, raising his head high. Xin Qing felt a burning sensation in her nose as a lump formed in her throat. "How could he be fine? He was just a small child when he was abandoned in the woods, bloodied and dirty," Xin Qing thought. Now he had even found out that he was a test subject of some kind of sick experiment. The thought had Xin Qing tightening her arms around Xiao Rui.

"Well, you're my son now. And you'll be my son in the future, too."

Chen Huan watched as the the mother and son hugged each other. She did not want to ruin the mood, but still, she felt obligated to give Xin Qing a warning, "It's best if you be careful, okay? Don't let Xiao Rui expose his special abilities in front of strangers."

"What he has isn't a special ability. He's just slightly better than the average person, that's all." Xin Qing did not want any labels to be put on Xiao Rui.

Chen Huan's expression was serious as she stared at Xin Qing intently. "This is a serious matter. There are only two outcomes if Xiao Rui's abilities were somehow discovered. One, he will be assassinated. Two, he will be locked up and experimented on."

Xin Qing was deeply rattled by Chen Huan's words. She held Xiao Rui close to her chest, hanging on to him as if her life depended on it. Then, Xiao Rui patted her back comfortingly and said, "Mother, it's okay. I won't expose myself before I have the power and ability to fend for myself."

"Hey, take it easy, okay?" Chen Huan said in a comforting tone. "Xiao Rui is already 10 now. Which means that it's already been 10 years since the experiment. Those people have probably given up the experiment after such a long time. Or, they might have long since assumed that Xiao Rui is... Well, you know." Chen Huan shrugged.

Xin Qing nodded vigorously. Suddenly, she looked towards Monica and Ah Nan. "You two must never tell anyone about Xiao Rui!"

Ah Nan nodded with a serious look on his face. Monica, on the other hand, gave Xin Qing a look of hurt. "You don't trust me?" Monica yelled.

"That's not what I mean," Xin Qing said, shaking her head in frustration. Wangwang was unconscious without any signs of waking up, and now there was this thing with Xiao Rui? All of a sudden, Xin Qing found herself feeling an enormous amount of stress.

"What she meant was she's afraid you might spill the beans one of these days," Chen Huan said as she poured a glass of water for Xin Qing.

" I swear I'll never do that," Monica said. "Or else I'll never be able to get married." Monica looked at Ah Nan. "Right?"

Ah Nan pretended he never heard her.

Everyone decided that Zhang Mi should never ever know about this. God only knew if she would end up betraying Xiao Rui's secretly one day after having one too many drinks. As for Young Master Shen, Xin Qing had asked Ah Nan to tell him later.

Three days went by, and on the third day, Chen Huan anxiously told Xin Qing that Wangwang would be in danger if he did not wake up that day.

Early that morning, everyone stood around Wangwang's bed. Xin Qing kept shivering and quivering while they all waited. Ah Sha and Xiao Rui both hugged her tightly to convey their support.

Noon arrived in a blink of an eye, yet Wangwang showed no signs of rousing; however, Chen Huan did discover that his body's temperature was lowering, which was a good sign.

"It should be fine now," said Chen Huan, touching Wangwang's forehead again.

Xin Qing heaved a sigh of relief, though deep down, she felt no sense of closure. Ah Nan and Ah Che bought lunch for everyone. Halfway through the meal, they heard a sudden voice.

"Mother! I'm hungry!" Xin Qing had been pushing her food around with her chopstick without eating when she heard it. The moment she heard it, she shoved the table aside and pounced on the bed. "Wangwang! Wangwang, you're awake!" She yelled.

Wangwang thought he had merely woken up from a nice, long nap. Then he realized that he was not at home. He rubbed his eyes. "Where's this? Why is everyone looking at me?"

"Oh, my darling boy!" Xin Qing threw her arms around the kid and planted two kisses on him.

Anxious to join in the party, Ah Sha stepped forward and tried to squeeze herself into the hug. "Let me hug my little brother! Let me hug!"

Just like that, everyone's heart was at ease. Chen Huan left on the same night, though she did took a vial of Xiao Rui's blood before leaving; she wanted to conduct research once she got back. Chen Huan even told Xin Qing that Wangwang should start exhibiting changes soon. She reminded Xin Qing to keep her eyes open for those changes.

At Chen Huan's reminder, Xunxun's sharp tongue and Xiao Rui's unsmiling face instantly came to Xin Qing's mind. She could accept anything as long as Wangwang did not end up like those two...

Wangwang was brought home after that. After another week had passed and Wangwang had not shown symptoms of sickness, Xin Qing sent him back to the kindergarten.

"Check this out!" Zhang Mi handed Xin Qing a folder the moment she walked into Xin Qing's office.

Xin Qing took the folder and made two quick glances at its contents. "Is this the plan involving the collaboration with Ying Enterprises?"

"Ah Nan has gone through it," Zhang Mi said, curling her lips. "According to him, it was obviously the work of his Young Master."

"Call him to set up a meeting. Let's collaborate with him!"

"Might as well do it with a bang," Zhang Mi said in a tone of annoyance. "Announce it in a press conference."

At night, when she was about to head home, Xin Qing once again received Jiang Qianren's call.

"I heard your son was ill?" That was the first thing he asked.

A tiny creased formed between Xin Qing's brows. During Wangwang's hospitalization, Young Master Shen had made sure that no word of Wangwang's condition ever got out. And yet Jiang Qianren still managed to find out about it. Nevertheless, she let go of her unease almost instantly. For someone as influential as Jiang Qianren, finding information about anyone within the country would be a piece of cake.

Xin Qing's silence made Jiang Qianren suddenly aware of the thoughts going through her mind. He tried to explain, albeit his voice betrayed his discomfort, "I don't mean anything by it. I was just worried about you. You..."

"I understand!" Xin Qing cut him off. "Since you're that good in the cloak-and-dagger business, I bet you already know that Wangwang has been discharged."

The fact that she just cracked a joke made Jiang Qianren feel somewhat better. "I've got some experts here in my unit. Want me to send one of them over to take a look?"

"Nah, there's no need for that," Xin Qing said. "This is something that Wangwang has been dealing with ever since he was younger. He'll have a fever every time he catches a cold. The fever will always subside on its own after a few days." Xin Qing promptly changed the subject. "So. What have you been up to for the past two months? I haven't heard from you so I thought you've gone missing or something!"

That remark had obviously amused the man on the other end of the line considering the low chuckles he had let out. "Still one more month to go. I'm right in the middle of a military exercise, so I can't leave the base."

They exchange a few more lines before she heard another voice on his end.

"Hey, go do your stuff first, I'll be hanging up now."

"You must treat me to dinner once I get back," Jiang Qianren blurted out quickly. "I mean, you did owe me a favor after that whole blizzard thing."

"Sure!" Xin Qing agreed without hesitation. "Although, will your mother swallow me alive if she finds out?"

"Haha. Nope. No, she won't. She's been letting up on me these days," Jiang Qianren said. More background voices sounded on his end. Someone was obviously urging Jiang Qianren to get off the phone. "I guess it's all set, then. We'll talk more once I get back!"

Xin Qing muttered a quick goodbye and hung up.

When she got home and saw Wangwang, it suddenly occurred to Xin Qing that Jiang Qianren might be able to help locate Xiao Rui's birth parents since Jiang Qianren was in the army and Xiao Rui was likely a military brat.

Then again, Xin Qing quickly dropped the idea. Right now, they knew virtually nothing of the situation. Exposing Xiao Rui like that was just too dangerous.

Ying Qingcang's reply came very quickly; thus, there would be a joint press release next Monday.

The reporters had long since caught wind of the press release through the grapevines, which was why the entire conference hall was teeming with reporters on the day of the press conference. There had already been numerous rumors and speculations on the papers about what it might mean for a sudden collaboration between Ying Enterprises and Xin Enterprises to occur. Was it the fact that Ying Qingcang was unable to let go of an old flame? Or was it that Xin Qing had willingly given up Xin Enterprises for the sake of her old lover? That had been the subject of the heated debate among the public. Everyone was waiting to catch a glimpse of some kind of new development through the live press conference today.

The reporters began throwing out questions as soon as the two key players signed their respective contracts and shook each others' hands.

"President Ying, why are you collaborating with Xin Enterprises? Does your current girlfriend, Miss Rong Siman, agree to this?"

"President Xin, President Xin! Are you hoping for a reconciliation by agreeing to this collaboration? Are you able to look past the man's betrayal?"

Ah Nan was busy fending off a horde of reporters. Frowning, Zhang Mi said, "I'm afraid we won't be able to leave here today if neither of you make a statement or two."

"Everyone, I'm a business man, and a businessman puts the profit of his business above all else." The crowd was silenced the moment Ying Qingcang opened his mouth. Ying Qingcang glanced at Xin Qing briefly and then smirked. "As for President Xin... Well, other than being a business person, I'm also a man. So, if a beautiful woman comes to me, why would I resist?"

Xin Qing shot him a murderous glare and then quickly schooled her features. "President Ying is right. If our collaboration goes smoothly, I don't mind a reconciliation at all. He is the father of my children after all..." Xin Qing laughed. "As for Miss Rong, well, I never really saw her as a threat!"

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