Chapter 5 I'll be gentler. Is this how you treat your husband?

Song Qingran didn't have the habit of answering calls from unknown numbers, so she casually hung up. A few seconds later, the same string of numbers appeared again.

Cheng Wang's gaze also fell on her phone. After hesitating for a moment, she still pressed the answer button.

"Let that brat answer the phone!"

A voice with an extremely strong sense of oppression came out, and her body trembled slightly.

"Master Cheng..."

She raised her voice slightly, her hands unconsciously clenched into fists, and her posture stiffened.

A roar came through the receiver, sharp and stern, full of vigor.

"You brat, what are you yelling about! You have no manners!"

Song Qingran's ear was away from the microphone, and she hesitated before calling out again, "Grandpa...Grandpa?"

The next instant, the phone was snatched from above his head. Cheng Wang's face darkened, and his voice was a few decibels higher than before, no longer as weak.

"Who are you trying to scare? If you say you're not going, you don't mean it. Stop bothering her. I'm hanging up."

He placed the phone back in her hand, his expression softening and his voice becoming much gentler: "That guy is just an old-fashioned conservative. You don't need to pay any attention to what he says from now on."

Song Qingran: "..."

Is it really okay to speak ill of your own grandfather like that?

Cheng Wang had been standing for a long time and was unsteady on his feet. Song Qingran supported his arm and, seeing that he didn't push her away, helped him to sit down on the sofa.

"The wound is bleeding. Young Master Cheng, you should be careful and avoid moving around too much, otherwise the wound will be difficult to heal."

She sighed, feeling that the person in front of her was really restless, or perhaps too strong-willed. He was unwilling to hire a caregiver and insisted on doing everything himself, yet he didn't seem to know how to take care of his own body.

[She cares about me; the person I chose is indeed beautiful inside and out.]

Suddenly being praised, especially by Cheng Wang, Song Qingran was taken aback. A subtle smile appeared on her lips. She brought him a glass of water and some fever reducer, and told him to take it.

"Shouldn't your leg need a dressing change too?" Though it was a question, she brought over a first-aid kit, her posture clearly indicating that she wanted to help him.

Cheng Wang raised an eyebrow. "Yes, you're going to help me?"

Song Qingran avoided his direct gaze. "Okay, I'll be gentle."

Cheng Wang did not refuse. He sat up straight, the light in his deep eyes following the woman's busy movements. After she prepared the ointment, she began to remove the gauze from his body. Her fingertips gently brushed against the side of his leg, and the restlessness brought on by the pain suddenly subsided.

She carefully removed the gauze layer by layer, her expression focused and cautious, like a novice doctor who had just picked up a scalpel.

When he looked down, he could see the fine white down on her cheeks and her eyelashes, which fluttered at an abnormal frequency. Was she nervous or afraid?

The gauze gradually turned from white to pink. Song Qingran's fingertips trembled as she tried to suppress the rising breath in her chest.

She was on edge, and Cheng Wang said something, but before she could fully process what he meant, everything went black.

"Alright, stop looking." A pair of warm, large hands covered her trembling eyes. His hands were thick and firm, letting in no light.

After a moment of stunned silence, realizing that the posture and contact were too intimate, Song Qingran's ears burned. She raised her hand to remove the hand covering her face, but he helped her up, turning her body around so that her back was to him, and the hand covering her eyes was removed.

"I can do it myself, you go back and rest."

Cheng Wang's tone was firm and left no room for argument. Song Qingran opened her mouth, but ultimately followed her heart and obediently returned to her room.

The instant she closed the door, she touched her eyes, where the warmth still lingered. The scene from just moments ago flashed back, and her heartbeat belatedly stopped.

After a moment, my mind returned to calm.

Since he could change the dressing himself, Song Qingran simply stopped caring. She was actually a little afraid of seeing a bloody scene and regretted it at the time, blaming herself for being so talkative as to offer to help him apply the medicine.

She took out her tablet and continued drawing, preparing for the serialization of her new comic, but she was never satisfied with the lines she was drawing.

Can he manage on his own?

If I open the door now and go out to continue applying the medicine, will it seem like I'm rushing to help him, like I'm being a sycophant?

There was a security camera in the living room, on top of the refrigerator, showing the entire layout of the living room. Song Qingran thought for a moment, then decided not to go out, but simply turned on the camera to observe.

In the video, Cheng Wang had completely removed the gauze, revealing a bloody wound that looked horrifying even through the screen. Luckily, she didn't see it in person, or she might have been unable to hold back her vomiting.

But upon closer inspection, his wound didn't look like an ordinary injury; it resembled a gunshot wound. Was he injured abroad? I've heard there are many shootings overseas.

Looking at the bottles and jars on the table, the man frowned, took some disinfectant and roughly applied it a few times, then smeared the wound with ointment like plaster on a wall, and finally impatiently wrapped it with new gauze.

He really is a master of ninjutsu! Even with such a bad wound, he could remain expressionless, and the bandage he applied was rough and unsightly.

Song Qingran couldn't help but rub her forehead; her aversion to ugliness was acting up, and she even wanted to go out and re-bandage him.

After applying the medicine, he lay back on the sofa. Feeling weak, he took another dose and drifted off to sleep.

After he fell asleep, she went out to pour a glass of water and covered Cheng Wang with a light blanket on the way. He recovered early, so she no longer needed to take care of him every day.

Having not slept well last night, Song Qingran went back to catch up on her sleep after drinking some water. When she woke up, another day had passed, and night had quietly fallen.

*

"What would you like to eat tonight, Young Master Cheng?" She was slightly surprised to see Cheng Wang awake when she stepped out of the room.

He was sitting in front of his laptop. When he heard this, he looked up, then quickly looked down, closed the laptop, and took off the earphone he was wearing in his left ear.

"I've ordered, it'll be here in a bit," he replied softly, his voice a little hoarse.

About ten minutes later, the doorbell rang.

Song Qingran went to open the door, and five burly men respectfully carried insulated boxes into the room. After greeting her, they began to place the food they had brought on the table.

She went over to take a look and saw several stir-fried dishes, both meat and vegetables, as well as a pot of congee. What surprised her most was that there was even a hot pot with spicy oil, and the side dishes were all her favorites. After setting out the meal, the group left.

"The doctor said you can't eat spicy food."

Cheng Wanglai sat down at the table, and she looked into his eyes and said something unconsciously.

"I ordered this for you." He looked back, the steam from the hot pot obscuring his sharp features when he wasn't smiling.

He put the hot pot ingredients into the pot, and then ladled out two bowls of meat porridge, giving one to her, "to fill your stomach first."

"Thanks."

Song Qingran took a sip of the meat porridge, smelled the aroma of the hot pot, and felt her mouth water.

She couldn't help but glance at Cheng Wang out of the corner of her eye. He was so handsome; eating with him made the food taste even better.

However, he was a man of few words, and even his innermost thoughts were few. He would only utter a word occasionally, unintentionally.

Cheng Wang put down his chopsticks. "You've been staring at me the whole time. Do you have something to say to me?"

"Oh, no."

She quickly looked away and lowered her head to drink her porridge in silence. She was not used to eating with people she didn't know well and felt very uncomfortable.

The food in the hot pot was cooked, and she picked up her chopsticks, eager to try it.

Ding-dong!

The doorbell stopped her.

She sighed, reluctantly put down her chopsticks, and went to open the door. Cheng Wang caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye, and the corner of his lips slightly lifted.

[Being both greedy and gluttonous, it's no wonder she attracts attention.]

Song Qingran didn't hear this, otherwise she would have glared at him.

The moment she opened the door, her heart was gripped tightly by a sudden, large hand, then flung into the air, hovering there.

"How long are you going to make this old man stand outside?!"

Outside the door, Old Master Cheng, leaning on his cane, slammed it heavily on the ground. He tried to go in but was blocked off. His beard trembled with anger, and a chilling aura and oppressive presence emanated from his body.

Song Qingran felt as if she had just experienced a bout of extremely cold, dry winter wind, leaving her limbs stiff and frozen as she stood motionless at the doorway for a long time.

"I told you not to scare her!" Cheng Wang's irritating voice rang out from behind her, and she snapped back to reality, quickly stepping aside.

"Grandpa, please come in." She awkwardly and nervously led them in, and asked softly, "Grandpa, have you eaten yet?"

Grandpa Cheng glared at her, snorted angrily, strode up to Cheng Wang, and slapped him on the head, but missed completely, not even touching a single hair on his head.

"You unfilial son, you dare to hide!"

He got even angrier, clutching his chest, looking utterly disappointed.

"Wrong, it's a traitorous grandson."

"you!"

Song Qingran noticed the sparks in the air and became even more cautious. She added an extra set of chopsticks and a cup of tea, placing them to Cheng Wang's left.

"Grandpa, please have a seat."

These words were completely ignored. Old Master Cheng paid no attention to them and, before the slap could land, used his cane to hit Cheng Wang.

Song Qingran smoothed her long hair, stood there, and gave an awkward smile.

Cheng Wang's well-defined hands gripped the cane, then moved it to the old man's wrist, pulling him to sit beside him.

"Your granddaughter-in-law is calling you to sit down and eat. Are you getting old? Your eyesight is failing and you can't hear me."

Song Qingran was taken aback. The words "granddaughter-in-law" sounded awkward no matter how she heard them, especially coming from Cheng Wang's mouth.

The old man then glanced at her, snorted again, this time less forcefully, and looked down at the dishes on the table, his brows furrowed deeply.

"Your husband is injured, and you're feeding him this?" Her eyes looked at her as if she were a mean-spirited granddaughter-in-law who wanted to devour her.

Song Qingran blushed deeply: "I..."

"Eat yours!" Cheng Wang grabbed a piece of watermelon and shoved it into the old man's mouth unexpectedly, silencing the scolding he was about to utter.

She sat opposite Cheng Wang and gently kicked him. Was it really appropriate to talk to an elder like that?

Despite being kicked, Cheng Wang wasn't angry. A half-smile played in his eyes, and he became more relaxed, refraining from uttering any harsh words.

Looking at the old man again, despite being treated roughly, he remained calm, picked up a watermelon and started eating it. After finishing, he skillfully picked up beef and meatballs from the hot pot.

Then, with satisfaction, he commented, "It tastes good."

Like a gluttonous beast with a voracious appetite.

The tense atmosphere that had just been palpable vanished eerily.

The old man's expression was indifferent, but the frequency of his chopstick movements showed that he was enjoying his meal. Cheng Wang, on the other hand, could only drink porridge and seemed listless and indifferent.

While eating, Song Qingran kept glancing at the two out of the corner of her eye, becoming more curious about Cheng Wang.

Since the old man came, Cheng Wang's every move, including his expression, has become more vivid and real. The three of them sitting together look like an ordinary family.

A mean-spirited grandfather who looks down on his granddaughter-in-law, a husband who is not familiar with his wife after a whirlwind marriage, and a timid granddaughter-in-law.

The bizarre combination made her chuckle to herself.

After dinner, the old man felt a little dizzy and dozed off on the sofa with his eyes half-closed.

Cheng Wang urged him to go back, but he opened his eyes and his temper flared up again. He scolded him harshly, his voice rising higher and higher, and the grandfather and grandson started arguing again.

After the argument, the old man refused to leave and went straight to the second bedroom to lie down. Like a rogue, he covered himself with a blanket and pretended to be asleep. Cheng Wang sneered in anger and went to the bathroom to wash up. He didn't come out for a long time.

Song Qingran tidied up the table by herself, went out to throw out the trash, and when she came back, Cheng Wang had already washed up, taken a pillow, spread out a blanket, and seemed to be going to sleep on the sofa.

"You're going to sleep here?"

The man nodded, a barely perceptible sly glint in his eyes. "Is that not allowed? There's nowhere else to sleep."

"Of course not."

Song Qingran clenched her fists and blurted out.

The old man was still next door. He was already dissatisfied with her, even hated her, as his granddaughter-in-law. If she was caught sleeping in a separate room from Cheng Wang, would she still have a place in the Cheng family?

The man drawled, "Oh, then what do we do?"

A note from the author:

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Cheng Wang: [Dog head with rose in mouth] Honey, I have nowhere to sleep~

Ranbao, hands on hips: You jerk! Have you no shame?