42 Chapter 40

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"I don't mind staying like this forever you know?" Xianyao said after few minutes of not getting a reply from Xiuying.

Xiuying can only grit her teeth not looking at the rogue. They have been in this position for almost half an hour and it looks like the man doesn't have any plans of stepping away from her in fact he is enjoying her current predicament.

Light knocks were heard from the other side of her office's door. "Young Miss are you there? Madam is already waiting in the private room with Young Master for your lunch." She heard Xiao Hua's voice, she almost forgot about the lunch date she promised her mother to taste the new dishes in Ying Yue's menu.

"Hmm they are already waiting Ying'er." Xianyao whispered in her ear sends shivers and she can't help but blush more.

"Yes they are, so release me now... please!" She almost shouted but lowered her voice for Xiao Hua's still outside waiting.

"You just have to say it then I'll let you go..."

"Young miss?" Xiao Hua thought that Xiuying might have fallen asleep thus tried to open the door. Both Xiuying and Xianyao can hear the door opened and Xiao Hua's voice calling out again but this time the maidservant's footsteps coming near her office's lounge where she reads books the only thing that separate her office and lounge is the bookshelves filled with books.

"Yao gege..." Xianyao heard Xiuying's voice saying the nickname he asked her to call him, though the lady said it in a whisper he can hear the irriration lingered when she said it. But that didn't reduced the happiness he felt hearing it from her.

"Good girl..." he intentionally brushed his lips to her left cheek before disappearing in front of her.

Once the rogue disappeared Xiuying immediately sigh in relief but she can't help but placed her hand on her left cheek still feeling the sensation of his almost kiss.

"Oh you are awake young miss, madam have called you." The clueless Xiao Hua looks at Xiuying who is listlessly touching her left cheek. She can see her face is slightly red even her ears and neck.

Xiao Hua opens her mouth to ask if her young miss is feeling unwell or have a fever but Xiuying beat her to it by nodding and started walking towards the door.

Xiuying was able to calm down herself before she arrives in the private room where Xi Hui and Qi Ming is but during their dinner Xi Hui can feel that there's something going on her daughter's mind.

When they arrived home, Xi Hui can no longer wait for her daughter to consult her whatever Xiuying was thinking so she drag the lady to the garden.

"Ying'er what's bothering you?" Xi Hui asked calmly while looking at her daughter.

"Eh?" Xiuying immediately face her mother when she heard Xi Hui's question.

"I asked what's bothering you that you can't even eat properly during our lunch."

"Hmm mother it's nothing..." But Xiuying remembers what happened earlier and can't help but blush.

"Did Jun Wang visit you in Ying Yue today?"

Xiuying blushes more causing for Xi Hui to laugh at her daughter. "Oh Ying'er, don't think about it too much alright? Just let everything happen otherwise you will just have problem sleeping."

"Mother... now now stop overthinking things you always do that. Xiao Hua, Xue'er stop hiding if you two can't stop giggling there. Ying'er go rest this afternoon, I'll have my servants let you know when dinner is ready."

Xiuying just nodded before going to her courtyard, she ignored her two maidservants who keeps on shipping her with Xianyao.

Meanwhile in Qi Fu, vases and cups were smashed to pieces by Fang Fei upon hearing that Qi Chang have brought home a lady making as an equal wife. The new second madam is currently four months pregnant and is only five years older than Qi Fan. After she was locked up in her courtyard her husband haven't visited her for months, she tried to talk to Qi Bao (Patriach Qi) unfortunately she was only ignored and sent back to her courtyard.

It is also noticeable that Qi Bao now favors the second branch as Qi Bai's own and family businesses managed by him are improving thus slowly transferring some of the stores managed by Qi Chang to the second son. Through Qi Chen and Xiuying's manipulation all stores managed by Qi Chang started to have problems like few of his trusted employees were caught selling drugs or stealing from the customers. Some of their high prized products were reported to be fake or causing illness to their customers.

Qi Chang and Patriach Qi knows that these are caused by Qi Chen, they have tried to investigate and find evidences so they can report Qi Chen to the authorities but all their efforts resulted to nothing. The same thing happened to the stores managed by Long Guanting but the effects aren't that severe like with Qi's businesses as the man have connections as the eldest grandson of Left Prime Minister Long. Though these problems causes for Guanting to have no time to approach Xiuying nor visit Qi Fan in her courtyard who is currently pregnant.