Just then, someone rushed in and whispered something in Cang Weiwo's ear.
Ling Ruoke sat down next to Fu'an and reached out to stroke the child's head. Her mind was in turmoil, but she tried her best not to show her panic.
"Mommy!" The little one slowly opened his eyes, rolled around, and upon seeing Ruoke, cried out in surprise, jumping up and hugging her neck. "Mommy, bad guy, bad guy kidnapped Fu'an!"
Ling Ruoke was almost knocked over by his force. "It's okay, Mommy's here. Does anything hurt?"
The little one shook his head, his big, dark, grape-like eyes glistening with moisture. "Mommy, I want to go home."
"Uncle Xuanyuan will take us home in a little while, Fu'an, be good." Ling Ruoke kissed his rosy cheeks as he slept, feeling grateful that Cang Weiwo hadn't hurt the child.
“My Ruoke is indeed a good mother. I’m getting more and more curious about what you would do if we had a child. Why don’t we try making one?” Cang Wei picked up Fu’an from her arms like a chick and threw him to the ground, then hugged Ruoke tightly.
Ling Ruo struggled hard, constantly sticking her head out to see if Fu An was alright.
"Bad guy, don't bully my mommy!" The little guy rushed over and grabbed Cang Weiwu's leg, trying to pry it off.
"Grab him and take him outside." At Cang Weiwo's command, someone carried Fu'an away. The child was terrified and cried out for his mother.
"Where are you taking him? Give me back the child! Let me go, you bastard!"
Cang Wei tucked her hands behind her back with one hand, pressing them down tightly. He supported the back of her head and lowered his head to kiss her lips. After their marriage, he had never touched her. On one hand, she threatened to kill herself; on the other hand, he himself was afraid that once they had that kind of relationship, he would no longer be able to hate her.
"Mmm..." Ling Ruoke was forced to endure her kiss. She clenched her teeth tightly, but he forcefully pinched her chin and parted her lips.
After a long while, Cang Weiwo finally let go, looking into her tear-filled eyes, and smiled with an unusually wicked charm. "So sweet."
His lips moved to her ear. "Ruoke, you can only be mine. No matter what it takes, I will bring you back to me." He pressed her body against his with force, their bodies pressed together.
Ling Ruoke was terrified, her eyes widening in horror. She twisted and turned, trying to create distance between them, but this only aroused him further. The burning heat left her mind blank with fear.
"If it's possible, you can see how much I miss you." His voice was unusually low and husky, with a hint of wicked charm.
He slowly released his grip, watching her leap far away like a frightened prey, then turn and run outside. Cang Weiwo's low, joyful laughter echoed in the room.
Ling Ruoke had only run a few steps when she was stopped. At the same time, the person shoved Fu'an back into her arms. She held the crying child, panting heavily. "It's okay, Mommy's here, Mommy's here..."
Once Fu'an was in her mother's arms, she quickly stopped crying, but she was still sobbing intermittently, looking pitiful.
Ling Ruo dared not go back into the house, so she sat down on the stone bench under the tree outside. The mountain wind was fierce, and it was especially strong when sitting under the tree. Afraid that the little one would get cold, she unzipped her coat and wrapped him inside.
"Mommy, when are we going home?" the little one asked, nestled in her arms and looking up. Her curled eyelashes were still a little damp.
Ling Ruoke herself didn't know either, but she still smiled. "Soon. Once Uncle Xuanyuan arrives, we can go home."
She recalled the last time Qingfeng led the charge in storming in. This time, he wouldn't come. His phone was switched off, meaning they were imprisoning him. For her sake, he had actually been imprisoned by his own parents!
Xuan Yuanqi still hadn't appeared by lunchtime. They were invited to the table, which was laden with a sumptuous feast. Only Cang Weiwo and the other two remained.
Cang Wei picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly as he looked at the hesitant woman. He just smiled faintly and didn't say anything to persuade her.
Finally, the little guy got so hungry he couldn't stand it anymore and picked up his chopsticks to eat.
Ling Ruoke was so startled that she hurriedly tried to snatch his chopsticks, which startled the little guy again. His little mouth twitched, as if he was about to cry. "Mommy will put some food on your plate."
Cang Wei ate the meal with elegance and leisure. The little one was extremely hungry and ate with gusto. Only Ruo Ke was filled with fear and could not taste the food.
Only after they finished eating and the servants drove away to clear the table did her heart slowly settle back into its chest. But Cang Wei was sitting right next to her, and he held her tightly with his arm to prevent her from moving away. She hugged the little one tightly, and only then did she feel a little more at ease.
The wall opposite them was a huge LCD TV, probably around fifteen inches in size.
Cang Wei smirked and pressed a button. The screen slowly opened, and the first scene made Ruo Ke scream.
That was a bloody human head; it was from a horror movie!
Ling Ruoke screamed, closed her eyes, and trembled as she held the little one.
She's terrified of horror movies, yet she's also curious about them. Every time she watches one, she needs someone to hold her tightly; only the warmth of their body and the strength of their arms make her feel safe and prevent her from being eaten by ghosts!
During the year or so she lived alone in the Cang family mansion, she was so frightened that she fainted several times at first, but she gradually overcame the shock. However, she was still terrified when she suddenly saw this scene.
Cang Wei chuckled softly, pulling her closer with a strong hug. "It's been over two years, and you're still so afraid of horror movies. I remember back then, you liked to hide in my arms, trembling and screaming while still stubbornly watching the screen. Your screams were even more exaggerated than the people killed by ghosts in the movies. You even had lingering effects afterward; whenever you saw something similar to what you saw in the movie, you would subconsciously project that image onto the character, scaring yourself half to death and making it impossible to sleep at night."
Hearing his words, Ling Ruoke laughed coldly. "That was before. Having lived alone in the Cang family mansion for so long, I'm no longer afraid of ghosts or monsters. I also know long ago that there are no ghosts in this world; what's scary are people, are demons!"
Cang Wei looked at her and laughed even more heartily. "Ruo Ke, whether you're afraid of ghosts or demons, I will be your nightmare and will haunt you for the rest of your life."
Ling Ruoke stared at him, unsure how to answer. He truly was her nightmare!
Just then, someone came in and whispered a few words in Cang Weiwo's ear. They then stood up and went upstairs.
Ling Ruoke breathed a huge sigh of relief, taking a deep breath. Looking down, she saw the little one in her arms staring intently at the screen. She looked at the screen; it was still that scary image. Wasn't the little one afraid? "Fu'an, aren't you afraid?"
The little guy glanced at her and shook his head. "Daddy said it's all fake!"
Ling Ruoke felt ashamed; this child was far more promising than her. If Cang Weiwo hadn't left her stranded in the empty mansion, she would never have been able to overcome her fear of ghosts.
With nothing else to do, the mother and son decided to watch a movie instead of scare themselves. So, the two huddled together, occasionally letting out a scream; sometimes they'd chant together, "It's coming! Run, run!" They were thoroughly enjoying the movie!
Another big deal has been ruined, and it must be related to Huo Qingfeng! Cang Weiwo's face turned pale with anger; this wasn't the first time!
After he finally calmed down, he came downstairs. While still on the stairs, he saw a large and a small boy intently watching the screen on the sofa. Both of their eyes were shining with the excitement of watching a captivating movie. Their facial expressions shifted dramatically, following the plot of the television show, from tense to relieved…
Cang Wei squinted slightly. "Ruo Ke, you have indeed changed. If your change stems from Huo Qingfeng, then no matter the cost, I will destroy him! I will not allow you to grow wings and fly away from my side, never!"
"Does it look good?" He put on a lazy smile and slowly walked down the stairs.
The two, one big and one small, looked over upon hearing this, their eyes widening before turning away. The older one tightened its grip on the younger one, while the younger one snuggled closer into the older one's embrace. Their expressions were exactly the same, quite adorable.
Seeing scenes like this often must be a kind of fun. Cang Wei suddenly really wants a child. With her own child, she'll naturally stay obediently by his side. Hmm, that's a good idea.
Ling Ruoke's body was tense, her eyes fixed on the screen, but her mind was completely elsewhere. She kept muttering to herself, "Why isn't Xuan Yuanqi here yet?"
Just then, I heard a commotion outside.
Ling Ruoke was overjoyed, knowing that their rescuers had arrived! She pulled Fu'an up and tried to run out the door.
Cang Wei grabbed her and kissed her hard on the lips. "One day, when you come back to me, I will never let you leave my side again."
Ling Ruoke didn't reply, glared at him, and ran out.
This time, Xuan Yuan Qi Zi personally came to pick up the mother and son. He was still dressed in that flamboyant white outfit, and every move he made was elegant, as if he hadn't come to fight or rescue anyone, but rather to drink and chat.
It wasn't until she got into Xuan Yuanqi's car that Ling Ruoke felt she was truly out of danger.
"Sister-in-law, are you alright? I didn't make things difficult for you, did I?" Xuan Yuanqi grinned, showing off his white teeth, and asked with a refined smile.
Ling Ruoke shook her head and smiled at him. "We're fine."
"That broken knife knows I lost the little guy and sent you into a den of wolves all by yourself. When it comes back, it'll skin me alive! Oh dear, why am I so unlucky!" He was practically wailing to the heavens.
"It's okay, we won't tell him, he won't know."
"What a good person, sister-in-law, you're such a good person!" His expression was just like that of a big, silly guy on TV.
Ling Ruoke was amused, knowing that he was trying to help her relax, and felt very grateful.
"Xuanyuan, could you please send more people to protect the little one in the future?" She didn't want this to happen again. The little one was so young; constantly facing things like this would leave him with psychological trauma.
"I understand." He hadn't expected Cang Wei to target the general's grandson. It seemed they must have reached some kind of agreement.
And what about Qingfeng's grandfather, who is a minister in the central government? Why hasn't he intervened in this matter? Although he's abroad, it's impossible for him to be unaware of the situation. What's that unpredictable old man up to?
Xuanyuan Qi frowned, also somewhat puzzled.
Back home, Tan Peishi put her hands on her hips and launched into a tirade against Ruoke. "You think you're so tough? You dared to go see Cang Weiwo all by yourself? Have you lost your mind? Is Cang Weiwo even human? He's a devil! He'll devour you completely, leaving not a trace, do you even know that…?"
The mother and son huddled together, cowering as they were scolded, not daring to utter a sound. The boy's big eyes looked at the girl with pitiful, wide eyes.
Only after Tan Peishi finished cursing did they feel relieved and run into the bathroom to shower and wash away their lingering shock.
...
The next day, Ling Ruoke and Pei Shi were having breakfast when someone suddenly knocked on the door.
I opened the door, only to find it was a delivery person. "Hello, this is your package, please sign for it!"
"What is this?" Ling Ruoke looked at the slip of paper. It was indeed her name, but there was no information about the sender.
"I'm only responsible for delivering packages; I don't know what's inside. Please sign for it!"
Ling Ruoke frowned as she looked at it, but Tan Peishi took it from her. Not wanting to make things difficult for the deliveryman, she signed it.
"What is that?" Tan Peishi picked it up and put it down, fiddling with it for a while, but still couldn't figure out what was inside. "Could it be a bomb?"
"Don't scare me!" Hearing her say that, Ling Ruoke's heart jumped into her throat, and she really wanted to throw the thing away.
Tan Peishi glanced at her. "You're so timid. If it were a bomb, they certainly wouldn't use such a thin courier envelope. Do you really think technology is that advanced these days? But for safety's sake, I'll go out and open it by myself. You two stay inside."
"No!" Ling Ruoke quickly grabbed her. She wouldn't have been so suspicious before, but lately she'd been on edge. "Why don't we just throw it away? I'm pretty sure there's nothing good inside anyway."
"It's okay, it's okay, you guys stay here, I'll go take it apart by myself." Then she grabbed the things and ran out.
Ling Ruoke hurriedly followed. "Peishi!"
Tan Peishi ran downstairs in a few steps and tore open the packaging. After fiddling around for a while, she finally pulled out a thin memory card.
Ling Ruoke ran down.
Tan Peishi handed her the memory card. "No bomb, just this. Let's go back and plug it into the computer. I mean, is it some kind of porn movie in there?"
Ling Ruoke rolled her eyes at her. Even at a time like this, she was still in the mood for jokes. However, the absence of anything dangerous inside relieved her. If there had been dangerous items and something had happened to Peishi, she wouldn't know how to explain it to Fu Peigang!
Tan Peishi laughed and pulled her back into the house, bringing out the computer. "Quick, quick, let's see what's inside."
A short while later, the memory card was opened, and there was only one file inside, which was an audio file.
Tan Peishi glanced at Ruo Ke, then clicked on it.
"..."
"That's the career you built up through countless battles, is it really that unimportant?"
"It's very important!"
"If you want to save your future, you must break up with Ruoke and marry into the Gu family. Cang Weiwo's power is not to be underestimated. Only by using the power of both the Huo and Gu families to protect you can you be absolutely sure of success. I think Zhenzhen is more gentle and mature, and perhaps more suitable for you. What do you think?"
"Um."
The file contained a few simple lines of dialogue between Yang Ziyun and Huo Qingfeng.
"If you're okay with it, someone must have tampered with it. You absolutely can't believe it." Tan Peishi hurriedly turned the thing off. She regretted it a little; she should have just agreed to throw it away earlier.
Ling Ruoke smiled and shook her head. "I know. I won't believe it. Okay, let's continue eating breakfast, or it'll be too late."
This is nothing but a clumsy trick and not to be believed. The content is so simple; it must have been edited to deliberately leave out misleading information. The fact that it wasn't sent to her without sender information further proves its unreliability. Besides, didn't Cang Wei Wo make it very clear that the marriage between the Huo and Gu families is a done deal?
What they wanted was simply to push her to the brink of collapse, little by little.
Ling Ruoke smiled, but her heart was filled with trepidation. She wasn't worried that Qingfeng would agree; she trusted him. She was simply afraid that they would pressure him into agreeing, leaving him no choice but to comply. Ultimately, she had become Qingfeng's fatal weakness.
Qingfeng, what can I do to ensure you have no worries? It seems I can't help at all; all I can do is wait. Am I being too useless?
...
Ling Ruoke felt somewhat down all day, but she didn't dare show it. She had promised Qingfeng that she would live a good life and wait for him to come home.
When they got home that evening, it was dinnertime, and the news was playing on TV. One news item caught their attention: an engagement party, a very grand affair. But that wasn't the reason they were watching; it was because the main characters on screen were clearly Huo Qingfeng and Gu Zhenzhen!
With a "clatter," Ling Ruoke's chopsticks fell to the ground. Her eyes widened as she stared intently at the television screen.
The camera zooms in, revealing the protagonist's face clearly—it is indeed Qingfeng. Tall and imposing, in a crisp military uniform, his face sharply defined and somewhat hardened… On his arm is the radiantly smiling Gu Zhenzhen, her purple dress accentuating her noble and captivating beauty…
Ling Ruoke stared intently at their intertwined arms, her eyes clearly visible through every flash of the camera. She heard nothing of what the reporters were saying.
As the news moved on to the next item, Ling Ruoke was still unable to come to her senses.
"Ruo Ke, Ruo Ke..." Tan Peishi hurriedly reached out and pushed her. "This is definitely a trap they set, you mustn't believe it!"
But Tan Peishi was also anxious; that person was indeed the captain! This recording could be faked, but this news couldn't be faked, could it? Could it be that the captain really is engaged to that bitch Gu Zhenzhen?
Ling Ruoke was somewhat stunned. "Peishi, that person seems... seems to really be Qingfeng, right?"
Tan Peishi didn't know how to answer. She had indeed seen the captain. "Ruoke, there's definitely something fishy going on here! We all know the captain isn't that kind of person!"
"I know Qingfeng won't betray our feelings." Ling Ruoke tried to smile at her. "Let's eat quickly, the food is getting cold."
Qingfeng won't betray her, but his parents are forcing him to do things he doesn't want to do. Qingfeng, you must be feeling terrible, right? I noticed you didn't smile once from beginning to end.
I received the recording this morning, and by evening I saw the news about the marriage alliance between the Huo and Gu families. They're moving really fast! They could force Qingfeng to get engaged, so can they force him to get married too? And military marriages, it seems, can't be easily divorced…
"Mommy, why is Daddy on TV with Aunt Zhenzhen?" Xiao Fu'an asked, blinking his big eyes.
Tan Peishi quickly put a piece of meat into his bowl. "Don't ask questions, little kid. Eat your food."
Meeting Tan Peishi's worried gaze, Ling Ruoke smiled. "Don't look at me, I'm fine. I know things aren't as they seem on the surface, I'm just sad that I can't help you with anything."
"Don't be sad. There are always some things that men have to do, otherwise what's the point of having them? Like childbirth, only women can do it, and they can only worry about it, right?" He quickly hugged her, their heads touching. In love, you can't expect to reciprocate as much as the other person gives; that easily leads to problems.
Ling Ruo was genuinely amused. Pei Shi always had this ability to make you laugh even when you were feeling really down.
"I'm not wrong. You've never been outside a hospital delivery room, have you? Let me tell you, I've seen it. The wife is screaming her heart out inside, and the husband is pacing back and forth outside, his fists clenched white, his face covered in sweat just as much as the woman giving birth inside. Don't think the scenes on TV are exaggerated; they're not exaggerated at all! I reckon the man was thinking, 'Damn it, why can't I give birth in her place!'"
Her expressions and movements were hilarious, and she imitated the voice so vividly that both mother and son couldn't help but laugh.
Tan Peishi wiped the sweat from her forehead, thinking to herself, "The task assigned by the captain is really arduous!"
Ling Ruoke tried her best to smile, not letting her emotions show, not letting the bitterness in her heart show on her face.
Qingfeng, I know you were forced into this. But are we really going to be separated?
...
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