Chapter 19 The road here is muddy and difficult to travel, so it was widened.

Cheng Wang's hair was very soft. Song Qingran touched it and found it smooth to the touch. However, when his short hair came into contact with his tender skin, he was pricked, experiencing slight stinging and itching sensations.

He buried his face in his hands, and through the soaked fabric, a cool kiss landed on his center.

“Cheng, Cheng Wang, you…”

Realizing what he was about to do, Song Qingran felt a chill run down her spine and lost all strength in her limbs. She twisted her waist, trying to straighten up, but before she could even get up, she was suddenly startled and lost her composure, falling back onto the pillow.

It felt like a strong electric current had passed through her body. She was overwhelmed by the sudden temperature and could only let him grope her. She ignored the sharpness of her short hair, her mind already in complete chaos.

"Baby, you cry so much, you cry everywhere."

Cheng Wang raised his head slightly, his nose touching the sensitive lips. He couldn't help but lick and kiss them again until his nasal cavity and lips were filled with a rich fragrance, then he swallowed his saliva with satisfaction.

Song Qingran bit her lip hard, letting out soft sobs of shame.

He pulled her down to eye level with him, forcefully pulled away her hands covering her eyes, looked into her washed eyes, and spoke as gently as if he were handling a precious treasure.

"Don't be shy, just feel it."

Song Qingran's heart trembled violently. She couldn't describe her feelings. Her defenses, like the clothes under the bed, had been completely torn down by him. He even explored the secrets of her body.

What else can she do?

Let it go, it's all going to happen sooner or later anyway.

But I was still a little scared.

"Close your eyes if you're scared." The man's hoarse voice was deep in her ear. As soon as she turned her head, something covered her eyes—a tie—which he placed over her eyes.

The moment her vision dimmed, Cheng Wang cupped her face and kissed her deeply. Their bodies, now exposed, exchanged body heat, causing her to tremble slightly, and he slowly eased her tension.

Every kiss with Cheng Wang brought a different feeling. She found herself becoming more and more infatuated with his kisses, and as soon as he moved closer, she would prepare for his intimacy.

"You're too nervous." This road is too muddy, winding, and difficult to traverse.

"Next time, or maybe next time."

Cheng Wang bit her lip with considerable force. Song Qingran frowned in pain and bit him back as if in retaliation. The taste of blood grew stronger, but he did not back down.

Throughout the entire morning, Song Qingran cried countless times in Cheng Wang's arms. Every time she cried, he would kiss her to suppress the overflowing grievances and surging emotions.

She hadn't eaten breakfast and was exhausted, but the man was still in high spirits. It wasn't until the maid reminded them that it was time for lunch that he put his clothes back on and became a man again.

He took a shower, put on a white shirt, and his eyes still had a hint of unfinished blush. "I'll go get you some food."

Song Qingran slowly wrapped herself up like a tortoise. Her throat was almost too sore to speak, so she didn't reply to him. Instead, she secretly stretched her limbs under the covers to relieve the soreness and numbness.

The door closed, revealing a pale, lifeless face.

Every time she opened her eyes, she saw the room in complete disarray; every time she closed them, she saw him holding her piece of fabric, forcing her to watch him relieve her pain.

He said to let her take a look, because she might need it later.

Song Qingran didn't want to use it at all. After lying down for a while, she went to the bathroom and took a hot shower. Her fatigue was relieved a little, but the mottled fingerprints on her body were very noticeable and wouldn't fade away.

"Baby, dinner's ready." Cheng Wang knocked on the bathroom door, and Song Qingran shuddered, instinctively squeezing her legs together.

"Here I am."

The meal wasn't very enjoyable. Cheng Wang smiled strangely and insisted on feeding her himself, forcing her to eat half again as much food as usual. Her lower abdomen was bloated, and she was stuffed.

While they were eating, the servants had already changed the sheets. Song Qingran's cheeks were burning, and she didn't dare to look at the servants. Cheng Wang didn't care at all and remained aloof and noble.

But she had just seen his inhuman behavior, and the more she looked at him, the more disgusted she became.

"After you've eaten, take a few laps, then take a nap. In the afternoon, we'll go for a walk with Grandpa." Cheng Wang had planned out the day. She didn't say anything, keeping her head down like a quail.

At noon, Cheng Wang forcibly held her and made her take a nap for an hour, then pinched her nose to wake her up.

"Little sleepyhead, get up and go for a walk."

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Song Qingran bit his finger to vent her lingering dissatisfaction. Accepting it was one thing, but she still felt uncomfortable being bullied by him in such a shameful way.

When the two finished getting ready and came out, their grandfather was already waiting for them.

The little parrot was there too. Song Qingran spotted it immediately. It was in a cage, its feathers all clipped and messed up, so ugly that it was hard to tell it was a bird. It looked more like a defective product pieced together from something.

When she saw her coming, the little guy's eyes rolled for a moment, then closed again, looking lifeless and as if he had been dead for a long time, as if he were depressed.

After walking for a while, Grandpa asked them how many days they planned to stay.

Cheng Wang glanced at Song Qingran, then looked at the cage in the old man's hand, and said casually, "Stay a few more days, and take care of this stinky bird while you're at it."

The old man paused, his wrinkles deepening at the corners of his eyes, and he seemed somewhat pleased. The little parrot sensed Cheng Wang's gaze, opened its eyes, glanced at him, trembled, and then pretended to be dead again.

"It would be great if you stayed a few more days. Come on, let's go to the supermarket to buy some food, drinks, and other necessities..." The old man's joy was palpable. Facing his grandson, he showed none of the iron-fisted and authoritative demeanor he displayed in public.

The three of them drove to a supermarket at the foot of the mountain and bought two shopping carts full of items.

Song Qingran also picked out a lot of disposable items. After buying them, she went to pay, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw a box of small umbrellas in her shopping cart. Remembering the scene from that morning, she secretly put the items back on the shelf.

Although she had done everything except for that last step, she still hoped that day would come later; it was the last line of defense in Peony's heart.

After returning from the supermarket, the old man and Cheng Wang went to the study to discuss official business.

Song Qingran went back to her room to charge her phone, and was immediately bombarded with messages as soon as she turned it on.

WeChat 99+

Phone 99+

Text messages kept coming in one after another.

In the classmates' group chat, everyone was tagging her, congratulating her, and wanting to invite her out.

She found Xu Qingru's chat window and, sure enough, saw a long string of voice messages. After listening to the messages, she roughly understood the whole situation.

At 10:00 a.m. today, the Cheng Group announced the identity of its heir, Cheng Wang, and his marriage alliance with the Song family. The news caused turmoil in the stock market.

The stocks of the Cheng and Song families soared, and the news of their marriage alliance dominated the headlines.

Everything is finally on track, albeit six months late.

Song Qingran made a phone call to Xu Qingru.

"We should rely on the Cheng family as much as we can, and bring them any good resources we can." Cheng Wang didn't care, so she wouldn't hesitate to use his name. Anyway, that was her purpose in agreeing to the marriage alliance.

Xu Qingru: "I know, I know, I'm swamped with work. Even when I don't tell you, so many people are proactively reaching out to me. I'll start by selecting a few high-quality partners..."

Song Qingran: "Have you found any fault with the He family?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a reply.

"I sent you two news articles. Take a look. I suspect someone is targeting the He family. Two social incidents have already broken out. The He family is currently embroiled in lawsuits and has a headache. We don't even need to lift a finger."

Furthermore, some people have linked this incident to the Cheng family cancelling their cooperation with the He family, speculating that the Cheng family knew the inside story and therefore broke off the partnership, believing that the He family had offended the Cheng family, leading many business partners to withdraw their investments.

Without even thinking, Song Qingran knew who was probably behind it. She wasn't surprised at all; she just felt that this big tree was quite reliable.

"The He family is in chaos, but what about the Song family? What has my father been up to lately? Is he traveling normally? Last time he spoke up for the He family, which proves that the two still have a good personal relationship."

They were clearly at odds three years ago, and now they're all tangled up again. It doesn't seem normal at all.

Xu Qingru: "It's the same schedule: go to work, have dinner with your mother, take the kids on a trip, visit old friends for tea and a chat, that's all."

Song Qingran: "Keep an eye on my father and the He family."

"OK."

*

Dinner time was almost over, and neither the old man nor Cheng Wang came downstairs.

Song Qingran wanted to go up and call the grandfather and grandson to come down for dinner first, because no matter how important the work was, they should finish eating before doing it, but she heard a noise outside the door.

Several servants came out and welcomed a wealthy woman in.

Song Qingran stepped onto the stairs, glanced back, and saw the still young and beautiful rich woman taking off her sunglasses, throwing her Hermes handbag into the maid's arms, and asking without even looking up.

Where's Dad?

"In the study."

"What about the little brat?"

"Also in the study."

The wealthy woman hummed in agreement and took a few steps toward the study. She seemed to only then notice Song Qingran on the steps, and her brows furrowed in displeasure: "Who is she?"

Before the maid could answer, she rolled her eyes and scoffed, "That daughter of the Song family, who's fallen on hard times, isn't that good-looking. She's not as good-looking as Yan Yan. He must have been blind to have chosen such a woman."

"Get out of the way!" Seeing that Song Qingran remained silent and was still blocking her way, the rich woman narrowed her eyes and scolded her.

Song Qingran guessed that this must be Cheng Wang's mother, and politely nodded to her. This lady was very dissatisfied with her, so it was better not to call her 'Mom' and add to the friction.

She went down a few steps and stepped aside.

"Wait." As the two brushed past each other, Song Qingran's hand was suddenly pulled. If she hadn't reacted quickly and turned around in time, she might have broken her bone from the force. "Where did you get this bracelet? Did you steal it?"

Song Qingran tried to pull her hand away, but couldn't. The woman's grip was very strong, making her bones ache. "Madam Cheng, you've misunderstood. This was a gift from my grandfather."

"Impossible!" Shu Yaran screamed.

This is the old lady's bracelet, which she treasures like the back of her hand. When she first got married, she heard that it was meant to be passed down to her daughter-in-law, but no matter how many times she hinted at it, the old lady refused to give it to her.

She was furious that the old man would give the bracelet to this greenhorn. She was even more convinced that she had stolen it. Was Song Qingran worthy of wearing something worth hundreds of millions?

Shu Yaran could no longer distinguish between anger and jealousy. Her eyes were fixed on the bracelet, and she used all her strength to try to pull it out. Song Qingran's forearm was scratched and bled.

Has this Mrs. Cheng gone mad?

Remembering what Cheng Wang had said—that he wasn't close to his parents and didn't need to consider them in his actions—Song Qingran decided she couldn't hold back any longer. She forcefully grabbed Shu Yaran's hand and pulled it outwards.

Shu Yaran was controlled by her emotions and didn't pay much attention. She was used to enjoying herself and was delicate and weak. She fell to the ground when Song Qingran pushed her. When she came to her senses, the anger in her eyes was even deeper.

Just as she was about to curse, she caught a glimpse of a figure on the second floor out of the corner of her eye. Shu Yaran's expression changed, she pinched her thigh, and cried out in a hoarse voice.

"What a tragedy! I wouldn't dare take this daughter-in-law; she's about to hit her mother-in-law the moment we meet..."

"Dad, how could you have chosen such a crazy woman for Wang'er? I don't agree to this marriage. Cancel it! Cancel it immediately!"

"Son, look, your wife hit me..."

Song Qingran clenched her fists, composed herself, and turned around. She bent down to help Shu Yaran up, but the other woman spat and said, "I wouldn't dare let you help me. You're trying to hurt me again."

“............”

This was the first time Song Qingran had ever met someone like this—a wealthy socialite who loved to throw tantrums.

Cheng Wang walked to Song Qingran's side, lowered his head and asked, "What's wrong?"

Song Qingran pursed her lips, unable to fathom his thoughts. His expression was extremely cold, and his eyes were even deeper than a frozen pool, revealing a ferocity she had never seen before.

Is he angry?

He actually fell for his mother's trick, thinking she had really hit his mother?