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

Xu Qingcheng remained silent, pulling her hand away.

The man gripped her hand tightly and asked, "Where's the ointment Grandma gave you? Take it out and apply it."

"No need, we'll talk about it when we get back."

The driver returned shortly after, and the two did not continue the topic.

We returned to Jingshan No. 1.

Fu Jingting took off his coat and shirt. His old man really hadn't held back at all; his entire back was swollen all over.

It's very hot.

But he made sure she applied the ointment to her arm first.

Xu Qingcheng exposed her arm, which was also frighteningly swollen and bruised. She took out some ointment, but it wasn't the one the old lady gave her; it was the kind the driver bought.

Fu Jingting grabbed her hand and put the ointment down. "That old lady's ointment works well and is fast-acting."

"I don't need that," she said, pursing her lips in refusal.

The man glanced at her, clicked his tongue twice, and said, "What, you want to save this for me?"

He reached out and pinched her cheek, saying, "So you really know how to care about me now?"

Xu Qingcheng blushed at his teasing and denied it, "Who cares about you!"

Fu Jingting didn't waste any words with her. He prescribed some ointment and applied it to her arm. "If you have too many lice, you won't be afraid of being bitten. My arm is so big, this won't do any good."

Xu Qingcheng let him apply it. After he finished, he looked at her and said, "Bear with it, I'll rub it in for you."

"No!" Xu Qingcheng's scalp tingled, and she abruptly pulled her hand back, afraid of the pain. "Just like this, it will get better slowly."

Fu Jingting chuckled lightly, his finger brushing against her nose. "You're afraid of the pain, yet you still lean forward. Don't you deserve it?!"

Before she could glare at him, he tossed her the ointment for her wound, saying, "Help me apply this ointment."

Xu Qingcheng couldn't refuse this, so he lay on the bed with his entire back exposed to her.

As a result, Xu Qingcheng was almost driven to her death by anger while applying the medicine.

She was careful and meticulous, afraid of causing him even more pain.

But this man is incredibly promiscuous; he's utterly shameless.

"Baby, be gentle, be gentle."

"Fuck, you're going to kill me!"

"That fucking hurts!"

Xu Qingcheng's face flushed red with anger, and she snapped, "Shut up! I went very easy on you!"

Fu Jingting turned his head to look at her, "Then try blowing on it, it might feel better."

"Are you a child? Who's going to use their mouth on you!"

After she finished speaking, she bit her lip and looked up at him, only to be met with his teasing gaze. Xu Qingcheng was so annoyed that she pressed her hand against him.

The man hissed in pain, gritting his teeth and letting out a muffled groan.

Xu Qingcheng realized she had used too much force and quickly withdrew her hand, flustered, "Who told you to be so restless even when you're lying down? I..."

She was about to explain when the man, after calming down, suddenly blurted out a single word, "Awesome!"

Xu Qingcheng, "..." This bastard!

He can't go out today; he'll have to stay home.

Xu Qingcheng then received a call from the bank, urging her to make a decision quickly.

She couldn't sit still and wanted to go back to see how to handle the situation.

Fu Jingting stopped her, "The money from the bank won't solve much of your problem, so refuse them. Go through a trust company; the fees are higher, but the amount of money is much larger. I have a document for you; Duan Heng will bring it over in a bit."

Xu Qingcheng's eyes lit up. "It's not that I haven't considered going through a trust, but the amounts assessed before weren't very large."

"That depends on who does it." The man snorted, his disdainful expression utterly captivating.

Duan Heng brought her the contract from Tang Jinchao's side, and her eyes lit up, knowing he wasn't lying to her.

Xu Qingcheng is an absolute snob. If you're nice to me, I'll be nice to you too. She asked him very gently, "Are you hungry? Would you like some porridge or soup? Something light or something with a stronger flavor? I'll make it for you."

Fu Jingting, "..." That's damn realistic.

At his request, Xu Qingcheng cooked pork rib and corn soup, stir-fried vegetables, and steamed rice.

As Fu Jingting ate, he commented, "You can learn from Yu Shinan. This guy is good at nothing, but he's alright at cooking."

Xu Qingcheng coldly snatched the bowl from his hand, saying, "If you're not going to eat it, throw it away."

The man, clutching the bowl, dodged away.

After dinner, he watched her clear the dishes. She had a band-aid on her finger. He grabbed her wrist, removed the band-aid, and found a shallow cut on it.

I accidentally cut myself with a knife.

"Did you just get cut?"

Xu Qingcheng blushed slightly and tried to pull her hand back, but the man grabbed it and put his finger to his lips.

He licked her wound with the tip of his tongue.

Xu Qingcheng's eyes softened, and her fingers touched his mouth. She felt her whole body go limp, starting from the wound. She pulled her hand back, her voice soft and coquettish, "What are you doing? It doesn't hurt anymore."

Her voice was so offensive to men that it was almost unbearable.

Fu Jingting pulled her into his arms. His gaze fell on her face, and he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything. He just held her loosely and sighed. If it weren't for the pain in his back that was pulling at his nerves, he would have loved to be intimate with her.

He suppressed his excitement and elation, feeling a sense of certainty that he had finally arrived at this point.

That evening, Fu Jingting received a call from Zhong Wanxiu, who said that the date had been set.

"Next year is your birth year in the Chinese zodiac, and according to our local custom, it's not auspicious to get married during your birth year. We discussed it with your grandparents, and they said they'd get the marriage certificate before the Spring Festival, which would be the proper date. So, we don't need to worry about so many customs and taboos for the wedding; we can choose an auspicious day next year."

Your grandmother has set the date for getting the marriage certificate on the 26th of the twelfth lunar month. Although the timing is a bit rushed, the wedding will definitely be grand. It all depends on how heavy Qingcheng's weight is. The auspicious day will be after the fourth lunar month, so May or October are both fine.

But judging by the dates, she'll be over seven months pregnant in May, her belly will be quite large, and she probably won't look good in a wedding dress. She'll likely give birth in October, but who knows how well her body will have recovered. Girls always want to get married looking beautiful.

Zhong Wanxiu was having a bit of a headache. She had been worrying about him a lot lately, but the boy hadn't revealed any of his true thoughts. She never expected him to meet her parents, and she never expected him to drop a bombshell about a pregnancy.

The old lady was urging them on, so Zhong Wanxiu was getting anxious too.

"You should first tell Qingcheng about the old lady's opinion. We'll arrange a meeting with Qingcheng's parents tomorrow."

Things have progressed incredibly rapidly.

Xu Qingcheng had no objections; this was exactly the result she had been striving for.

But now that she'd reached this point, a sense of unease crept into her heart. Her life would be deeply intertwined with this man's; she didn't pray for a happy future, but her lies were too easily exposed. What would she do then?!

The Fu Pinghui couple went directly to the hospital the next day. Xu Shengchang's condition was still such that he couldn't leave the hospital, so they simply chose to meet at the hospital.

Zhao Lan got up early to tidy up the ward and asked Qingcheng to buy fruit. She complained to her, "Why did it have to be so sudden? You didn't even tell me beforehand."

Xu Qingcheng stammered and couldn't answer. Zhao Lan, filled with doubt and worry, couldn't put her mind at ease. "Qingcheng, tell me the truth, did you agree to the marriage? Not because you were forced, not for the sake of the prosperous era, but because you truly wanted to?"

Xu Qingcheng nodded solemnly, "Yes. It was my own choice."

Zhao Lan looked at it again and again before saying, "Go tell your dad."