Chapter 16: The Grape-Eating Young Lady vs. the Farmhand
Cheng Wang said he would take Song Qingran to see a good show.
She became interested, her eyes glistening with tears, her mind already conjuring up a whole host of secrets of wealthy families, exciting battles between the elite, or passionate erotic dramas.
However, the two of them stood crouching on either side of the warehouse window for ten minutes, but didn't even see a fly.
Song Qingran's lips twitched slightly. She must have been out of her mind to wander around with him in the middle of the night.
She turned to leave, but someone blocked her shoulder, and the man's fingertips touched her lips. Her struggles ceased when she heard footsteps, and two people sneaked into the warehouse.
The window was quite high, and Song Qingran had to stand on tiptoe to reach it. Cheng Wang casually swept his long arm around her, lifting her up from the ground. Her gaze suddenly rose higher, and she swallowed her gasp, even though a strong arm was supporting her bottom.
"Let go."
She turned her head away, mouthing the words with shame and indignation.
The man raised his eyebrows, forcefully pushed her head forward, and hugged her tighter, pressing his chest intimately against her back.
There was already movement inside. Song Qingran's breath hitched, but she quickly forgot about it and stared intently into the warehouse.
The lights were turned on, and the figures of Old Master Cheng and the butler came into view.
The old man, with a stern face, found the gift boxes placed in the middle of the storeroom. Song Qingran recognized these; the ones on the left were the ones Cheng Wang originally intended to send to the Song family, and the ones on the right were the gifts she and Cheng Wang had chosen together.
A few black lines appeared on Song Qingran's face. What kind of drama was this?
"Why did you give the Song family half again as much as I did?" the old man said in an unfriendly tone.
The butler smiled and said, "It's the young master's first time meeting the girl's family, so according to custom, we should prepare more."
"I'm old, so if you're going to see someone, see me first." The old man squatted down to open the gift boxes, first the left one, then the one for himself. After he finished, he found that the things for him were much cheaper in comparison.
He gritted his teeth, his voice trembling with anger, "Why?! I raised him with my own hands and feet, and he's not even as good as his mother-in-law's family? He's raised a complete ingrate!"
“My husband doesn’t have many years left to live. If I don’t put on an act, he won’t even come back to see his empty-nest parents. He’s always clinging to his wife, and even that’s not all—after all this time, they still can’t have a child…”
The old man's words became increasingly bittersweet, and he even shed a few tears when he was deeply moved.
The butler didn't know whether to laugh or cry along with him. He brought a pile of gifts to him and said helplessly, "Uncle Cheng, aren't these all your favorite things? Which one didn't the young master choose carefully? Look at the ones next door, none of them are good except for the price."
The butler comforted him for a while before the old man finally smiled and carefully examined the gift he had received.
At first, Song Qingran found it boring, but as she listened, she became more and more curious about this man. He had such a magnificent life, possessing wealth and power, but in the end, he was still all alone.
Perhaps the mountaintop is desolate.
Cheng Wang only put her down after the old man left.
As her feet touched the ground, she belatedly blushed and said embarrassedly, "Was I very heavy? Are your hands alright?"
His arm strength was truly amazing; he held her steadily for so long.
Cheng Wang patted her head, "I can hold you and swing on the swing for another hour."
She avoided his gaze, feeling uneasy and uncomfortable, as if something was amiss. Their relationship seemed too ambiguous.
"Grandpa looks fierce and has a loud voice, which can be a bit intimidating. But as you can see, he's just like a child. He's easily swayed by gentle words but not by force. You can coax him and he'll be fine. You don't need to be afraid of him when you see him in the future."
So, Cheng Wang brought her here to dispel her fear of the old man?
Song Qingran secretly glanced at the man beside her, her mind filled with memories of their past interactions. He seemed to have always treated her with great care, yet never asked for anything in return.
Her calm heart was struck by a pebble, causing ripples to spread.
After watching the play, it was already quite late, and Song Qingran was exhausted, yawning several times in a row.
The two returned to their room. Song Qingran fell asleep almost immediately, while Cheng Wang slept on the sofa, but secretly climbed into bed in the middle of the night.
The next morning, as dawn broke, he got up, kissed the woman on the cheek, washed up, and went for a morning run.
Song Qingran slept soundly all night without dreaming, and woke up with a smile on her lips. However, she woke up late; the clock on the wall showed it was already 10 o'clock.
This was rather impolite, so she quickly washed up and prepared to go downstairs.
It seemed the maid hadn't prepared any clothes for her, so she had to go to Cheng Wang's wardrobe to see if there were any suitable ones. She had worn his clothes last night, and he hadn't said anything, so she boldly picked one out.
She found a black T-shirt, about the same length as the skirt. To prevent any accidental exposure, she also found a pair of shorts, but the shorts were too big and stretched into an odd shape. Thinking of a certain possibility, she threw them away in disgust.
Finally, I found a new pair of shorts in the corner, tied up the excess fabric with a rope, and managed to put them on.
When she came downstairs, the aunt saw her and told her that the old man and the young master were exercising in the yard, and asked her what she wanted for breakfast.
She ordered a coffee and a piece of toast, patted her empty stomach, and went to the restaurant with her aunt.
The kitchen was semi-open. The aunt first brought her toast with strawberry jam, then went back to grind coffee by hand.
Song Qingran swallowed a bite of toast and casually asked, "Auntie, what do Grandpa, my husband, and I usually like to eat?"
The aunt had a kind face and always spoke with a smile.
"For many years, the old man has only ever liked salted eggs with a bowl of plain porridge. He won't eat anything else. He'll eat whatever the young master gives him without being picky."
However, the young master also likes to eat egg yolks, but dislikes and won't eat egg whites. In the mornings, when the two eat together, the young master even tries to fight with the old man for the egg yolk.
Song Qingran imagined the scene, and it was so vivid that she couldn't help but laugh out loud.
The aunt saw this, paused for a moment, and smiled even more. She brought the coffee over and said in a low voice, "Young Madam, the old man is too lonely. I haven't seen him so happy in a long time. If you and the young master aren't too busy, please come and see him more often."
"Yes, we will come back often."
The aunt was tidying up the kitchen, while Song Qingran sat not far away eating breakfast. The two chatted for a while, and she learned a lot about the old man and Cheng Wang's preferences.
"Let's pick grapes! Let's pick grapes!"
"Xiao Ran, my darling, come out and pick grapes."
Outside the restaurant, a hoarse, rough voice rang out, calling out Song Qingran's name.
Song Qingran subconsciously got up and went out to check, but after searching for a long time, she still couldn't find anyone in the hall.
"Gaga gaga, here you are, you idiot!"
Song Qingran lowered her head in response to the sound.
A small, fist-sized, brightly colored parrot with a tuft of feathers on its head was flapping its wings and hopping around on the floor. When it saw her, it spun around triumphantly.
"My beauty, would you like some grapes?" The little parrot, its eyes glazed over, shook its head, cackled, and then flew away.
Song Qingran laughed along with him, a laugh born of anger.
This gaudy little parrot is so annoying! Its little eyes, its smugness, and its teasing behavior are exactly like Cheng Wang's. My hands suddenly feel itchy.
She followed the little parrot out the door and into the back garden, where she indeed saw the grandfather and grandson.
On the grass, the old man sat under the sky, leisurely brewing tea, with blueberries and cherries that she and Cheng Wang had bought together the night before placed beside him.
Cheng Wang was holding scissors, cutting the purple grapes that covered the wall. There were already two baskets of grapes at his feet.
"Grandpa," Song Qingran called softly as she approached.
The old man glanced at her indifferently, gave a casual "hmm," and focused on brewing tea. However, he didn't seem to be a refined person. Although he had a complete tea set and knew the process, it was like a burly man embroidering—very vulgar.
"Grandpa, let me do it." She sat down opposite the old man and said politely with a smile.
The old man remained silent, putting down the tweezers in his hand with a nonchalant attitude. His cold expression was still quite intimidating, but fortunately, Cheng Wang had given her a heads-up beforehand, and she managed to control her nervousness.
Song Qingran had studied tea ceremony and loved tea. She knew a lot about tea, and her movements and demeanor while brewing tea were very elegant, like a beautiful woman showcasing tea ceremony in an ancient costume drama.
The old man, who had initially been uninterested, became completely absorbed in the woman's every move. Watching her arrange the tea set, the simple actions she performed were incredibly beautiful, and the aroma of the tea filled the air, soothing his soul. He relaxed considerably.
"It's just so-so, not as good as my Yun'er."
During breakfast, the aunt revealed that the old man loved his wife Lu Lingyun to the core. She was the only woman in his life, and after she passed away, he was left alone to raise the children and the family, missing her day and night.
"My granddaughter-in-law's skills are naturally no match for Grandma's. It's just a little trick for Grandpa to see." Song Qingran smiled. She could see clearly that the old man softened when he mentioned his deceased wife.
The old man was amused by her words. He stroked his sparse beard and raised his eyebrows proudly. "Of course. Your grandmother was exceptionally beautiful. Not to mention tea ceremony, she was proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Even the princesses in the palace couldn't compare to her."
Song Qingran presented the brewed tea with both hands, her eyes filled with admiration: "Grandma is so amazing! Grandpa, can you tell me more about Grandma's deeds? I really want to hear it."
The old man was overjoyed, took a sip of tea, and spoke with great enthusiasm.
"Your grandmother was extraordinary. She came from royalty, a scholarly family. Going back two generations, an empress even came from her family. Her family fortune couldn't fit in the entire old mansion. Back then, she was famous throughout the capital, with countless suitors, but they were all good-for-nothings, fleeting like clouds. Only I, a young general of the new century, was worthy of her. We were a perfect match, a harmonious couple, living happily ever after..."
Cheng Wang watched the two from a distance; one dared to speak, and the other dared to listen, and found it inexplicably funny.
He walked over with a basket of grapes and sat down next to the two men. No one paid any attention to him, which annoyed him. Was the old man's boasting really that good?
"Have a grape."
Cheng Wang peeled a grape and fed it to Song Qingran, but she casually slapped it away. The grape rolled off the table and was picked up and eaten by the little parrot, which ate it until its mouth was full of juice and kept chirping that it wanted more.
His face turned green.
But Song Qingran wouldn't even glance at him, her eyes sparkling as she stared at the lying old man.
Cheng Wang was displeased and interrupted the old man, even rolling his eyes at him.
"Can you stop lying? When my grandmother was enjoying her life as a pampered young lady, you were just a farmhand in the manor. Have you no shame?"
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