Substitute Bride to the Crippled Billionaire

Chapter 164: Chapter 164 I Want That Thing

Faced with Fu Yihan’s sudden smile, Su Qingnuan was overwhelmed with panic and quickly averted her gaze.

What’s wrong with Fu Yihan? Could it be something unclean possessing him?

"Why are you staring at me instead of eating?" he raised an eyebrow and asked.

Hearing this, Su Qingnuan hurriedly looked away, lowering her head in embarrassment. "N-nothing."

"Hurry up and eat. After you’re done, come back to the room with me. You still haven’t finished what I assigned you to do."

"...Alright." Su Qingnuan nodded quickly, forcing a smile. "I’ll finish in just a moment."

With that, she quickly ate the dish Fu Yihan had placed on her plate, then stood up and began to push his wheelchair toward the stairs.

"Hey!" Fu Yixing stood up, staring at their retreating figures in disbelief. He turned to the old man with an accusatory look. "Grandpa!"

The old man lowered his head, concentrating on his meal.

"Eat your food. Don’t talk about other matters."

"...You’re so biased toward him!"

With that, Fu Yixing spun around and left.

Listening to the sound of footsteps fading away, the old man finally raised his head and stared in the direction Fu Yixing had gone, his face etched with helplessness.

Kids these days just can’t keep their cool...

With a silent sigh, the old man leaned on his cane and stood, slowly walking toward the door.

He’s getting old—there are many things he can’t concern himself with anymore.

Outside, the beautiful scenery awaited him, calling for this elderly man to come and enjoy it!

With this thought, the old man’s smile grew increasingly genuine.

...

Back in the room, Su Qingnuan suddenly asked, "Did you take your medicine?"

"Huh?" Fu Yihan responded, puzzled. "What medicine?"

"..."

Turning to look, Su Qingnuan saw his utterly clueless expression.

Fu Yihan frowned and pointed at the basket on the table. "The medicine’s in there. Take it."

"..."

Saying nothing, Su Qingnuan obediently walked to the basket. However, as soon as she saw what was inside, her brows furrowed.

"Mr. Fu, my cold is almost better."

"’Almost’ is as good as not better yet. Take it."

A commanding tone accompanied by an overbearing attitude.

Su Qingnuan couldn’t help but think about his behavior at the dinner table earlier. noveldrama

Sure enough, a man raised in a wealthy household loses his temper over the smallest disagreements.

Taking medicine wasn’t a big deal, and Su Qingnuan didn’t want to go against Fu Yihan, so she obediently swallowed the pills.

The bitter aftertaste, though, was beyond words.

After finishing, Su Qingnuan cautiously looked at Fu Yihan. "Mr. Fu, is there anything else I need to do?"

Fu Yihan didn’t reply and instead pushed his wheelchair further into the room.

Seeing this, Su Qingnuan quickly followed along.

Once they were inside the bedroom, Fu Yihan tilted his chin slightly. "Lie down."

"...Me?" Su Qingnuan pointed to herself in disbelief, her eyes widening with confusion.

Fu Yihan raised an eyebrow and asked in return, "Who else?"

"...But I just finished eating."

Fu Yihan frowned, silently staring at her.

"...Alright, I understand."

After washing up in the adjacent bathroom, Su Qingnuan hesitantly climbed onto the bed and lay down.

Fu Yihan remained in the room, seated at his desk, typing away on his keyboard. It was unclear what he was working on.

Noticing he wasn’t paying her any attention, Su Qingnuan cautiously pulled out her phone.

The soft glow of the screen illuminated her face, prompting her to quickly turn away from Fu Yihan, using her body to block the light.

Her phone had just finished charging, and upon powering it on, a flood of messages appeared.

Fortunately, she had anticipated this and muted the sound earlier, so no notifications made any noise.

Gu Xiaoxiao: Qingnuan, where are you? Disappeared again?

Gu Xiaoxiao: If you don’t show up soon, I’m going to call the police!

...

The most recent message had been sent today.

Gu Xiaoxiao: Why didn’t you tell me you were sick? Rest well and don’t worry about work.

Su Qingnuan couldn’t help but smile. True friends never let you down.

Delicately, she responded to Gu Xiaoxiao’s message.

As soon as her message was sent, a reply came almost immediately.

Gu Xiaoxiao: How are you feeling right now? Where are you? At the hospital or at home? Want me to visit you?

A string of questions reflected Gu Xiaoxiao’s obvious concern.

Su Qingnuan’s smile deepened, and she replied lightheartedly.

Su Qingnuan: It’s just a regular cold. A couple of days of rest, and I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.

Gu Xiaoxiao: Seriously, disappearing without a word? Do you have any idea how worried I was?

Su Qingnuan: I know, I know! I’m sorry for making you worry!

She added a cute sticker for good measure.

Gu Xiaoxiao: So, how are you doing now? I’ve already notified the company about your leave.

Su Qingnuan: Much better. Don’t worry—maybe I’ll even be back at work tomorrow.

Gu Xiaoxiao: Alright, but make sure to rest well.

Su Qingnuan: I’ve been sleeping too much. Now I can’t fall asleep.

Gu Xiaoxiao: Insomnia? Perfect timing—I’ll send you something fun to look at.

Moments later, the chat filled with images.

The vivid reds and purples were instantly eye-catching.

Su Qingnuan carefully examined the first image and couldn’t help marveling as she scrolled through the rest.

Su Qingnuan: Did you draw this?

Gu Xiaoxiao: Who else? Looks like them, doesn’t it?

Su Qingnuan: It really does.

Gu Xiaoxiao had sent five cartoon-style portraits in total.

The first two were solo drawings, but the rest featured couples.

One particular picture depicted two figures in red clothes, intimately leaning against each other, their smiles wide and warm.

These two figures bore an uncanny resemblance to Su Qingnuan and Fu Yihan.

Gu Xiaoxiao: I specifically made this for you two. Since I couldn’t attend the wedding, consider this my gift. Hope you don’t mind?

"....."

A wedding gift?

They were already heading for a divorce; a wedding gift now seemed ironic...

Sighing, Su Qingnuan typed her response.

Su Qingnuan: It’s great. It’s the thought that counts.

Gu Xiaoxiao: Great! Show it to your Mr. Fu when you can and let me know his reaction.

Su Qingnuan: ...Okay.

She could already imagine how angry Fu Yihan would be if he saw these pictures.

Quietly saving the images, Su Qingnuan was just about to set her phone down when—

"Cough—"

Her hand froze mid-air, her posture stiff and unmoving.

"What are you doing?"

A deep voice broke the silence, leaving Su Qingnuan holding her breath, eyes wide open.

Suddenly, fresh air filled the room, and the light brightened.

Su Qingnuan blinked and met a pair of amused eyes.

"What are you doing?" he repeated, his tone playful.

Su Qingnuan quickly shook her head. "N-nothing!"

"Nothing?" Fu Yihan’s eyes narrowed, his sharp gaze falling on her hands. "I told you to sleep, and here you are playing with your phone?"

"....." Su Qingnuan chuckled awkwardly and quickly hid her phone under the blanket. "I couldn’t sleep, so I just played for a bit."

"Who were you chatting with?" he pressed further.

Chatting? He even knew that? Su Qingnuan’s eyes widened in astonishment.

Her clear gaze betrayed her thoughts, and it seemed that in her eyes, all Fu Yihan could see was "confusion" written in bold letters.