She had always known that her good looks were useful to have.
Or perhaps it was from the day Ge Wenjuan insulted her for looking more and more like her shameless vixen mother.
...
At around nine in the evening, Song Qingcheng returned to the Lu Family Villa. The moment she opened the door, her vision blurred. Before she could react, her left cheek had already been slapped.
"Why did you hit the child?!" Lu Xishan shouted.
"Child?" Ge Wenjuan sneered. "You treat this cheap niece as a treasure, but she doesn't treat you as her own father! How much trouble did I go through to link up with CEO Liu? His wife died last year, and his only son is studying abroad. So many people are looking forward to being an instant wealthy wife. She, on the other hand, has completely offended him. If CEO Liu had not called me to say that he didn't manage to pick her up at the school gate, we'd have been kept in the dark by her for God knows how long."
Song Qingcheng's skin was delicate and fair. Her face immediately showed signs of swelling.
She looked up and met Ge Wenjuan's resentful glare. She said smoothly, "Auntie, when you took me to the restaurant for dinner that time, you didn't tell me it was a blind date. Besides, blind dates depend on fate. It's very normal that two people have nothing in common to talk about. It's not as though they have to register their marriage just because they went on a blind date once."
"Lu Xishan, listen to her yourself. You've raised her for so many years. How is she repaying us now?"
Lu Xishan berated, "Shut up!"
"Didn't you agree to let her go on a blind date with CEO Liu? CEO Liu has such good qualities but is still so picky. If these dirty deeds of hers were to be leaked out, which family in South City would still want her? She even looked down on President Liu. She should be grateful that he didn't despise her!"
Song Qingcheng pursed her lips and smiled. "It's a pity that Cousin got married early. Otherwise, given how much you like CEO Liu, you'd definitely dote on him like your own son in the future, even when he's fifty."
"You!" Ge Wenjuan heaved in anger. She pointed at Song Qingcheng angrily. "Parents really pass off their genes to their kids! Your mother was married but ran off with a wild man to give birth to you. After she died, her husband threw the child away and went to marry someone else. As expected, a crooked stick will have a crooked shadow."
That was the last straw for Lu Xishan. He raised his hand and slapped her.
"You hit me?" Ge Wenjuan covered her face and looked at her husband in disbelief.
Lu Xishan bit his cheek hard, his expression extremely ugly. He said to Song Qingcheng, "Qingcheng, go upstairs."
Song Qingcheng had a faint smile on her exquisite little face. Despite Ge Wenjuan's harsh words and the burning pain on her left cheek, she did not even frown. Hearing Lu Xishan's reminder, she nodded. "Uncle, Auntie, I'll go back to my room then."
...
Song Qingcheng threw her bag on the bed, picked up a bottle of mineral water on the dressing table, and gulped down half a bottle to quell her hunger.
She did not have dinner at the Yu family home. When she saw the housekeeper starting to set the dishes on the dining table, she announced that something came up, and she had to go. She wandered around for more than two hours before returning to the Lu Family Villa.
From time to time, Ge Wenjuan and Lu Xishan's argument could be heard coming from downstairs.
Song Qingcheng walked to the closet and pulled open the door. She took out a metal box from the bottom drawer, lifted the cover of the box, and took out the entertainment magazine that was hidden under other things. She flipped to the page with a folded corner.
It was a cross-page gossip article.
The photo wasn't very clear, but it was clear enough to make out that there were a man and a woman. The two of them were standing beside a business car. The woman was wearing sunglasses and a mask, and her figure was tall and outstanding. As for the man, he was dressed in a white shirt and black suit. There was only a blurry figure, but it still gave off the aura of a high-ranking person.
The caption was red and in large font across the middle of the page—Best Actress Zhou Qiye's meeting with the boss of Hengyuan.
Knock, knock, knock—
Song Qingcheng stuffed the magazine and the metal box back into the drawer and shut the closet door at the same time as she got up. When Lu Xishan pushed the door open and entered, he only saw her drinking water with her head raised.
It was very obvious why Lu Xishan came round to look for her.
As expected, after he had taken a look at her slightly swollen face, Lu Xishan said earnestly, "I've already given your aunt a talking-to. Earlier in the evening, CEO Liu called your aunt. He likes you very much and hopes that our two families can facilitate this marriage. Of course, you don't like CEO Liu so I won't force you. But nowadays, it's not easy to find a partner from a well-off family. I really do not wish for you to marry into a family, only to suffer later on."
Song Qingcheng quietly lowered her eyes and played with the bottle cap without replying.
The Lu family was not wealthy. Lu Xishan's father started off by making a name for themselves in the clothing business in South City. After two generations of hard work, they finally managed to gain a place in the South City industry. However, in the past five years, the Lu family's clothing business had been declining day by day, and they didn't have enough cash flow. They had to shut down several factories consecutively. If this continued, it was only a matter of time before they'd have to turn in their property deed to the bank to repay their debts.
Hence, Ge Wenjuan wanted to use marriage to ease the company's financial crisis.
She could not bear to sacrifice those who were related by blood so she could only use Song Qingcheng, an outsider.
Lu Xishan sat by the bed with his hands on his knees. He paused for a moment before continuing, "The hospital called this evening. I've already transferred 50,000 yuan to them. It should be enough to pay for your grandmother's medical and hospitalization fees for July and August."
Song Qingcheng's fingers closed tightly over the bottle cap. The edge of the bottle cut painfully into her palm.
The silence in the room deepened.
After a long while, she said, "Uncle, can I have some time to consider CEO Liu's matter?"
Lu Xishan's heavy expression softened a little. He nodded and stood up. He wanted to say something, but when he saw his niece's expressionless face, he swallowed his words.
After watching Lu Xishan leave the room, Song Qingcheng looked at the full-length mirror by the door and looked at her reflection. Her forehead was full and smooth, and her eyes were pretty as a picture. She had an elegant upright nose and pale pink lips. In her early twenties, she was at the age where a girl's beauty would bloom like a flower.
The so-called blind date Ge Wenjuan had arranged for her was about 1.6 meters tall and had a bald head, a potbelly, and age spots on the back of his hand.
She still remembered the look in CEO Liu's eyes as he ate. It was lewd and disgusting as if he wasn't eating steak—but her naked self lying across the porcelain plate.
Song Qingcheng opened the browser on her phone. The page automatically changed to the content she had checked on her way back.
The words 'Yu Tingchuan' were still in the search box.
However, the search had turned up little useful information. The page about him in the Baidu Encyclopedia gave only a general introduction. There were no other details apart from him being the current president of Hengyuan. There was not even a single photograph. The photograph that was taken with Zhou Qiye half a year ago should be the only time he had any exposure.
Song Qingcheng was about to close the Baidu Encyclopedia when she saw a link from the corner of her eye. It was the promotional title of the new development in the southern suburbs—'Royal Palace, Sandalwood Garden of Dreams'.
There was also a luxurious 3D model of the villa.
Sandalwood Garden was worth 1 billion; it was one of the investments that Hengyuan had just launched this year.