Mrs. Fu, please be mindful of the appropriate boundaries.

Her face flushed instantly. The question was too direct; what did she mean by "man"?

Overwhelmed by emotions, she couldn't help but want to reply directly, "Yes, I feel sorry for you."

But she held her tongue, glancing up at him furtively, afraid that an inappropriate word might cause him trouble.

Unexpectedly, he was also looking up at her, his dark eyes revealing no emotion. Suddenly, he raised an eyebrow, as if with a hint of provocation.

His expression seemed to say, "What are you looking at me for? You're too scared to admit it?"

Xu Qingcheng glared at him. She looked away and realized that everyone was waiting for her to speak.

Her face suddenly turned even redder, her ears turned red, and her whole face felt very hot. This happened again and again. You would think that someone as insightful as Xu Qingcheng would be wasting her brain if she didn't understand.

If you want to marry him, then why? If you don't even know how to cherish your own man, then what makes you think you want to marry him?

But she suddenly became hesitant about such a simple question.

Why is it so hard to talk about? When she was with him, she was completely captivated by his charm, and when she begged him, she would use crude and suggestive language.

But the thought of feeling sorry for him lingered between her teeth, grinding them until they softened and her tongue ached, before she finally managed to utter it.

"I feel sorry for him."

Her face flushed red from those words, and she didn't dare to lift her head after saying them.

Fu Jingting felt as if he had been stung by a bee in the ear; it was sweet, swollen, and painful, and even the scars on his back started to itch.

His dark eyes stared at her. Her face, ears, and even neck were flushed. Just one sentence had made her so embarrassed. Fu Jingting suddenly felt his heart overflowing.

Her calculations dispelled most of his displeasure, leaving the other half for him to settle accounts with in the rest of his life.

Seeing the way her grandson was staring at the girl, practically wanting to devour her, Jiang Wenyu couldn't stand it anymore. She coughed twice to break the silence, "Alright. I'll let you off today since your wife knows how to care for you."

She added, "Wanxiu, choose a date as soon as possible. Don't wait until your belly is big and it becomes a laughing stock. Also, you two should meet with your in-laws in the next day or two and see what they want. They're sending their daughter to our family, so we can't be impolite."

Zhong Wanxiu responded, "Mom, don't worry. Jingting was in the wrong, so we naturally have to be extra considerate of our in-laws' feelings and will try our best to meet their requests."

Jiang Wenyu nodded and said, "Girl, don't bring up the rights and wrongs of the past anymore. From now on, you two need to listen carefully to what I say."

Marriage, like a business, requires careful management. Don't wait until you're on the verge of bankruptcy to start looking for solutions. It's time-consuming, laborious, and exhausting, and there's no guarantee of a good outcome; it would be such a pity to have to give it away.

"Take care of your own people, manage your own home, support each other, understand each other, be tolerant and cherish each other." This sounds simple, but it's not easy to do. But it's precisely because it's not easy that it requires dedication and effort.

Fu Jingting was so tired of hearing it that he didn't bother to react. His nonchalant attitude was infuriating.

Fu Shiqing got angry the moment she saw his expression. "What kind of attitude is that?"

Xu Qingcheng felt a chill run down her spine when she saw this. She reached out and tugged at him, quickly replying, "I... I've remembered it all."

Very well-behaved.

Like a well-behaved, sensible, and obedient student who is very popular with the teacher.

Fu Jingting raised an eyebrow at her, his gaze full of the mockery of a mischievous child.

Xu Qingcheng pretended not to see it, but her ears still turned red. When he looked at her like that again, she angrily poked the red and swollen marks on his body with her finger behind his back.

Fuck!

Fu Jingting's eyes widened, and he almost jumped up. He thought his old man had given him a light beating, but every single one of those blows had been delivered with full force.

The subtle, clandestine actions between the two were not missed by Fu Pinghui and his wife.

The two exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly.

Jiang Wenyu had said enough and was about to send them back, repeatedly reminding them that this was a precious time and they should take care of their health and get plenty of rest.

Xu Qingcheng knew it was referring to the child in her belly.

She couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt.

Before leaving, Jiang Wenyu had someone give Xu Qingcheng a box of ointment, saying, "Apply this to the wound on your hand. It will heal faster."

The box is very small, just like the small container of mentholatum we used when we were kids, a little bigger than a fingernail.

Xu Qingcheng thanked the person, then asked, "He..."

The old woman raised an eyebrow and said, "No."

"Do you think I care!" the man snorted irritably.

"It's fine if you don't care." The old lady snorted, then looked at him again, "You should know your place. Tighten your scheming ways. Her future troubles will also be yours. You should weigh the consequences yourself."

After everyone left.

The old lady sighed, "That kid's got a tough tongue. His dad beat him like that and he didn't even cry out in pain. Back then, Hongxin cried and screamed like a baby, not acting like a man at all."

"Alright, don't mention that unfilial son!" The old man's head ached whenever his eldest grandson was mentioned.

Jiang Wenyu wasn't intimidated by his rebellious attitude and said, "The New Year is coming soon, why don't we let Xiao Ji go and check on him, so he doesn't develop any chronic illness?"

"What are you looking at? He has a wife now, so let his wife worry about him."

The old lady sat in the chair and sighed, "Both of them are very opinionated. If they can't keep up with each other, their lives will turn into a drama. The chaos is yet to come."

"Let's make a scene, isn't the point of living to make a scene even better?" The old man chuckled. "This girl is quite good, she's a good match for him."

After a while, she asked again, "Is she really pregnant?"

"I didn't ask carefully." The old lady frowned. "All the things this kid has been up to lately, he's just trying to lure people into this mess. He probably doesn't care whether I'm pregnant or not, so why should I join in? Although I'm hoping for a baby, otherwise I won't feel at ease when I pass away."

When Xu Qingcheng came out of the old house, she was still in a daze. Neither the negotiations nor the doubts and suspicions she expected to face came.

Things went more smoothly than she expected.

But perhaps because things went too smoothly, a sense of unease lingered in her heart, and Xu Qingcheng couldn't help but look at Fu Jingting.

He had a cold face and a furrowed brow. The injury on his back must have been very painful. When he was getting dressed, the veins on his forehead were bulging. At this moment, it was impossible to tell what his emotions were.

Zhong Wanxiu asked for Xu Qingcheng's birth date and time, then looked at Fu Jingting and said, "Take Qingcheng home for a meal these next couple of days."

He agreed.

Zhong Wanxiu looked at Xu Qingcheng, her expression affectionate and gentle, "Take good care of yourself. He has many flaws, but he's a trustworthy person. Since you've both agreed, then get along well with him."

Fu Jingting simply said he understood, then grabbed her hand and left.

Xu Qingcheng didn't even get a proper goodbye before he dragged her away.

On the way, she asked the driver to stop so she could buy some medicine for her injuries. As she was about to get out of the car, he grabbed her hand and said, "Grandma said you're precious now, so don't move around too much. Let him go."

Upon hearing this, the driver immediately got out of the car.

Xu Qingcheng gave a dry laugh, not daring to look at his face, and only instructed the driver, "Buy both oral and topical medicine for external injuries, and also buy anti-inflammatory drugs."

Her half-closed eyes made her look obedient and gentle, but her mind was full of cunning schemes, which were just as good as his.

Fu Jingting couldn't help but laugh, but when he leaned back in his chair, he straightened up in pain.

That look was absolutely hilarious.

Xu Qingcheng almost burst out laughing, then quickly looked away.

傅靖霆啧了声，伸手去戳她脸，「笑什幺？我他妈这是为你受的！你就算是骗人的，你提前说句心疼我的话，我就少挨几次。你是不是看我挨揍看上瘾了，啊？」

He said something that stung her. Xu Qingcheng felt guilty and didn't want to argue with him, but her temper flared up and she slapped his hand away.

"Didn't I ask you what I should say? You're usually so sarcastic, why can't you say anything right now? Am I a mind reader? Do you expect me to understand you with just a look?"

As she spoke, she even sounded aggrieved, stretching her arm out in front of his face, "If it weren't for you, why would I have taken this hit? Besides, if you had told me earlier how to deal with it, I wouldn't have had to take this hit!"

Fu Jingting grabbed her hand and held it firmly in his palm, staring at her intently. "You never said you wanted to marry me, so how am I supposed to reconcile our stories?"