16 – No Crying!
“I don’t like it.”
Sang Ran’s answer was decisive. Fu Chenyan’s expression softened slightly, but only a little. His eyes remained just as cold, staring straight at her.
Sang Ran was terrified of his gaze, and of this man himself. She didn’t dare meet his eyes, lowering her own as her hands nervously twisted the hem of her dress.
“Afraid of me?”
Sang Ran said nothing. She felt that this wicked man was even more frightening today than usual.
Fu Chenyan shifted his gaze, watching the doll-like girl curl up into a ball beside him. She huddled in the corner, her watery eyes stealing glances at him like a… small animal that had been bullied but dared not fight back.
“Come here.”
Sang Ran didn’t move. The next second, she was scooped up by two large hands and seated on the man’s bent legs.
“That afraid of me?”
The man’s pitch-black pupils fixed unblinkingly on Sang Ran as his deep voice sounded again, “Am I going to hit you?”
Sang Ran shook her head. “I…”
Trembling all over under his gaze, a thin layer of mist formed over her eyes, making her look even more tempting to bully.
Fu Chenyan frowned. “Don’t cry.”
Sang Ran shuddered, tears falling like beads from a broken string. Her fair face flushed pink, even her nose turning rosy.
“Didn’t I tell you? Don’t cry, or I’ll throw you out of here.”
The icy words echoed through the entire carriage. Sang Ran rubbed her eyes in grievance, sobbing softly, “I… I won’t cry…”
Fu Chenyan looked at the person in his arms with disdain, roughly wiping the tears from Sang Ran’s face.
Sang Ran’s delicate pink cheeks were rubbed sore, but she didn’t dare say a word. She was afraid this wicked man beside her would throw her out.
“Delicate.”
Sang Ran only heard the man beside her let out a light snort, and then her face was pinched again.
Sang Ran pouted her little mouth, angry but not daring to speak, her jet-black eyes glaring at Fu Chenyan. Her puffed-up expression was utterly adorable.
Fu Chenyan pinched her again, thoroughly wicked.
He seemed to have found a new pastime—bullying this doll-like girl.
“Don’t go tomorrow. Stay home obediently.”
He’d heard this doll-like girl had graduated from the International Music Academy in just two and a half years—comparable to him, actually. But she was too timid, and she cried too easily.
Sang Ran raised her head, pushing Fu Chenyan’s large hand away from her face, glaring at him with a fierce but babyish look. “Why can’t I go? I promised Second Brother, and I’ve already signed the contract. I need to finish recording this entire session.”
“Hm? Short on money?”
Fu Chenyan pulled a card from his pocket and said coldly, “This is my supplementary card. It should be enough for you to spend.”
“I don’t need your money. I have my own. I only signed the contract because I think it’s fun.”
Sang Ran tossed Fu Chenyan’s card into the carriage, then climbed down from his lap. Halfway down, the man’s two large hands caught her waist and pulled her back.
Fu Chenyan asked, “You insist on going?”
Sang Ran nodded seriously.
Fu Chenyan: “Fine. But you can’t have contact with other men. Remember what your status is now.”
Sang Ran looked up with a dazed, adorable expression. “What?”
Fu Chenyan: “…”
He’d almost forgotten—this one was an idiot.
Why had they arranged such a woman for him?
Fu Chenyan closed his eyes, his slender fingers gently pinching the bridge of his nose. At this moment, Fifth Master was beginning to question his life.
“You’re my woman now. You can’t have close contact with other men. Got it?”
Sang Ran raised a hand and scratched her head. “But we’re only fake-married, just to fool Grandpa Fu.”
Fu Chenyan’s gaze darkened, his icy tone carrying a hint of threat. “You’re still my woman. If you dare talk to other men again, do you know what the consequences will be?”
Sang Ran trembled in fright, shaking her head vigorously. Her voice was soft, laced with fear. “I… I won’t talk to them.”
Fu Chenyan lifted Sang Ran’s chin, leaning in so close that the tip of his nose nearly touched her face. He curled his lips into a somewhat wicked smile.
“That’s a good girl, my little doll.”
Sang Ran was badly frightened, her body still trembling. She silently cursed this wicked man many times in her heart but dared not make a sound.
Fu Chenyan watched her puffed-up lips, not knowing what she was muttering, but he didn’t need to guess—the doll was definitely cursing him.
“What are you saying?”
“I… I wasn’t saying anything. I was thinking about what to eat for dinner tonight.”
“It better be that.”
Frightened, Sang Ran lowered her head and scrolled through her phone, only to see the online comments again. So many people were calling her stupid, telling her to get lost.
The mist in her eyes welled up again, and she gave a slight sniffle.
“Crying again?”
“Stop crying.”
Fu Chenyan irritably wiped her tears. “What happened?”
Sang Ran handed her phone to Fu Chenyan, looking at him with watery eyes, sniffling in grievance. “They… they’re all scolding me, saying I’m stupid, saying I’m faking it. I… I’m not faking it.”
Fu Chenyan held the girl’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, his gaze sweeping coldly over the little fool in his arms.
Pretending? Those people must be blind—who could fake being this foolish?
“I know you didn’t. Don’t cry. They’re just talking nonsense; you don’t have to pay them any mind.”
Sang Ran rubbed her eyes pitifully. “But… but they were scolding me.”
No matter how Fu Chenyan tried to soothe her, Sang Ran kept crying. She seemed to be made of water—the slightest thing could make her cry for a long, long time.
Fu Chenyan tugged at his tie in irritation. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and casually dialed a number.
After speaking briefly, he hung up and gently wiped away Sang Ran’s tears with his fingers.
“Those comments will be gone in a moment. Stop crying.”
“Really?” Sang Ran looked at him with a pitiful whimper, tears still glistening in her dark eyes.
“Really. You’re not allowed to cry anymore.”
His cold, indifferent voice rang out without a trace of emotion. He didn’t know how to comfort the girl in his arms, and he certainly didn’t know any words of consolation.
Sang Ran finally stopped crying and flopped limply against Fu Chenyan’s chest, soaking a large patch of his clothes with her tears.
Fu Chenyan: “…”
Twenty minutes later, the car slowly pulled into Jin Garden.
Sang Ran was carried out of the car by Fu Chenyan. He set her down on the sofa, then went to another room and brought back a white medical kit, placing it on the table.
“Where are you hurt? Let me see.”
His tall figure stood beside Sang Ran, looking down at her from above as if giving her an order.
“I… I’m not hurt.”
Sang Ran explained in her soft, gentle voice, continuing to scroll through her phone. The trending posts scolding her really did seem to be gone. She swiped down further, scrolling for a long time without finding a single comment insulting her.
Even the bullet comments on her episode of the variety show no longer contained any insults.
That bad guy Fu Chenyan was really impressive. Maybe he was useful after all—even if just a tiny bit.
(,, . ,,)
“Where exactly are you hurt? Let me see.”
The sofa beside her sank slightly, and then the man’s tall frame sat down next to Sang Ran.
Sang Ran pushed at Fu Chenyan and continued to back away. “I’m not hurt.”
“No?”
His icy fingers touched Sang Ran’s collar, as if the next second he would tear her clothes open.