The sudden warm embrace caught Meng Jingwei off guard. After a moment of stunned silence, she burst into tears, pushing Qing Muye away. "Waaaa... Qing Muye, you bastard, why did you scare me like that? Waaaa... Do you know how miserable I've been lately? What kind of sin did I commit in my past life to know you? If I hadn't met you back then, how could all these things have happened? Waaaa... You scoundrel, knowing how wretched and down-and-out I am now, you still come and scare me. Are you a dog? Ah... Waaaa..."
Ever since she met Qing Muye, her peaceful life had been gradually shattered.
After going through so many trials and tribulations, narrowly escaping death, Meng Jingwei's spirit was on the verge of collapse.
Especially Qing Muye's emotional changes just now had caused her to overanalyze, making her tremble with fear.
So, the moment Qing Muye suddenly hugged her, Meng Jingwei thought he had been playing a trick on her with his earlier actions. Angered, all her grievances surged to the surface, and she couldn't help but cry like a child.
Her crying came on suddenly.
Qing Muye watched her, flustered. After a long while, he stepped forward, cupped her shoulders with one hand, and placed his right hand on her face, using his thumb to wipe away the tears from her cheeks. "You're very ugly when you cry."
This foolish woman was so foolish it made one's heart ache.
With teary eyes, Meng Jingwei looked at Qing Muye, her eyes red. She sobbed and choked, unsure how to comfort herself for a long time.
"You're ugly, and your whole family is ugly!"
She was both angry and furious.
"Yes, okay, I'm ugly, I'm ugly."
Qing Muye wiped the tears from her cheeks, then pulled her into his embrace with his right arm, placing his left hand on the back of her head and gently stroking her hair. "Don't cry anymore."
The unprecedented gentleness, his indulgence of her, seemed to seep into his bones.
Seeing her cry so heartbrokenly, Qing Muye felt immense heartache. He patted her back and comforted her, "I just wanted to pick some wild fruits for you earlier."
The woman in his arms was still sobbing uncontrollably.
Lying in his embrace, feeling the warmth of the man's chest, a sense of security washed over her. Meng Jingwei slowly closed her eyes.
"Qing Muye, can you let me hug you for a while?"
When she was swept away by the flood, Meng Jingwei was almost in despair, as if she had already seen her death.
After finally getting out of the water, her wounds became infected, causing her to have a high fever that made her unable to walk.
After being abandoned by the masked man, she walked alone in the deep mountains and old forests, carrying her weak and tired body, too hungry to walk.
She even saw a python over three meters long.
Under normal circumstances, Meng Jingwei could have dealt with that snake on her own.
However, her body was too weak, so she had to take a detour, run far away, and finally hide in a tree until late at night.
As fate would have it, she encountered a pack of wolves.
In just three days, Meng Jingwei, who had gone through so much hardship, felt as if three days were as long as a century, each moment a challenge.
Tormented to the brink of mental collapse, she just wanted to lean into Qing Muye's embrace and greedily crave this sliver of security.
"Mhm, hug me."
He replied softly, "As long as you want."
Meng Jingwei leaned into his embrace, her bad mood finally eased. She opened her reddened eyes and said, "Thank you... Ge."
She had intended to call him Qing Muye, but recently, Qing Muye's changed attitude towards her had touched Meng Jingwei.
She said, "Although I know you don't want me to die, you just want Grandma to be happy, but I'm truly grateful."
Meng Jingwei pushed Qing Muye away, blinked her long, dense eyelashes, and brushed away the tears clinging to them. Then she continued, "Don't worry, as long as I, Meng Jingwei, am alive, I will treat Grandma with two hundred percent kindness."
She sighed again, remarking, "Grandma is truly so fortunate to have a grandson like you. It's so good."
A grandson like you?
What should have been a compliment, coming from Meng Jingwei's mouth, twisted into something else.
Qing Muye's handsome face, which couldn't hide his heartache, instantly turned cold and distant, so somber it looked like ink could drip from it, after hearing Meng Jingwei's words.
The man's limited gentleness was gradually worn away by Meng Jingwei.
He parted his thin lips and said word by word, "Then you'd better do what a 'god-granddaughter' should do, otherwise..."
"Otherwise what?"
Meng Jingwei pouted. "Otherwise, you'll make my life worse than death, right? I know, I know, I will treat Grandma well. Hurry up and go pick the fruits, I'm so hungry. I'm starving to death, and Grandma will definitely be sad."
She waved her hand, covering her rumbling stomach, and looked at him expectantly.
That dog of a man, I know your little schemes.
Meng Jingwei had stayed in Lancheng for several months and had a certain understanding of the city, especially the Qing family.
She knew that Qing Muye had a seventh uncle who was abroad and exceptionally capable.
Before she set off for Liangchuan County, she had heard that Qing Muye's seventh uncle would be returning to the country.
His presence would be the biggest obstacle to Qing Muye inheriting the Qing family's assets.
That was why Qing Muye had come to save her at all costs, treating her as nothing more than a pawn to win over Grandma's favor, thereby increasing his chances in the struggle for "assets."
He might even use her as his "spy" in the future to gather "intelligence" from Grandma.
Meng Jingwei was no three-year-old child; she knew that people like Qing Muye were driven by self-interest.
Only by the pursuit of profit would he make any effort.
Not some newfound "brother-sister affection"!
Qing Muye had no idea that in just a few seconds, Meng Jingwei had already concocted an elaborate "power struggle drama."
"If you know, then it's fine!"
The man's sinister gaze swept over Meng Jingwei. As he turned to leave, he punched a nearby tree fiercely.
With a bang, his fist sank several inches into the tree trunk.
The thick tree swayed a few times from his punch, and the rainwater on the leaves poured down with a rustle, drenching Meng Jingwei.
Meng Jingwei raised her hand to wipe the tears from her cheeks, snorted coldly, and muttered softly, "It's just guessing your little schemes, you have to get that angry? Tsk, dog man!"
After eating a few bites of meat and crying freely again, Meng Jingwei's emotions had stabilized, and she had returned to full strength.
As she turned around, she suddenly noticed the masked man leaning against the tree trunk, his gaze fixed on her without blinking.
She strode over to the fire and glared at the masked man nearby, "What are you looking at? I didn't kill you; it's because you were blessed in your past life. Remember this, if we meet again, it will be either you die or I die!"
The man's eyes behind the mask flickered slightly. He lowered his head and continued eating the meat, saying nothing more.
He remained silent, trying to minimize his presence.
Not long after, Qing Muye returned, holding several pears in his hand.
Seeing him holding several pears, Meng Jingwei's eyes lit up, and she asked incredulously, "Where did you get those? I didn't see any pears."