Substitute Bride to the Crippled Billionaire

Chapter 173: Chapter 173: Not Yours

"Heh!" A faint smile surfaced on Su Qingnuan’s cold, frost-like face. "This is my home. I can’t be carefree here? Then tell me, where can I be carefree? At the Su family residence?" noveldrama

"Don’t even think about it!" Su Yuerou snapped. "The Su family is not a place for you to act out."

"Oh, right, your Su family cares so much about face. And yet, here you are, groveling and bringing this upon yourselves. I wonder what kind of joke this must look like to others."

"You!" Su Yuerou pointed at her, enraged. "Su Qingnuan, do you really think I don’t dare touch you?"

"Don’t dare?" Su Qingnuan chuckled lightly, looking at her leisurely. "Is there anything in this world that our Second Miss Su doesn’t dare to do?"

She raised her wrist, lifting the back of her hand with a scar toward Su Yuerou. "Look at these wounds. What haven’t you dared to do?"

It was a thin, elongated scar, already pale. If one didn’t look closely, it could easily be overlooked.

Su Yuerou guiltily averted her gaze. "You did that to yourself. What does it have to do with me?"

"I did it to myself?" Su Qingnuan laughed scornfully. "Su Yuerou, you’re getting good at this. Lying without even blinking."

"I didn’t do it in the first place, so of course I won’t admit to it!" Su Yuerou raised her voice, coldly continuing, "You’re just bringing this up now to distract me."

Su Qingnuan gazed at her icily for a long while, then reached out and pulled the door closed.

"Wait!" Su Yuerou hurriedly blocked the door. "What are you doing?"

Su Qingnuan raised an eyebrow. "There’s nothing more to say to you. Move aside!"

"...You’re just feeling guilty, aren’t you?! I make you feel guilty! You’re afraid I’ll tell Grandpa the truth, aren’t you?"

Su Qingnuan smiled indifferently. "Then go ahead. It doesn’t bother me. Or do you think that after telling Grandpa the truth, he’ll let you in? With Fu Yixing? Su Yuerou, you’re not a child anymore. Surely you’re not this naïve?"

"..."

Perhaps she hadn’t expected Su Qingnuan to respond this way, leaving Su Yuerou momentarily stunned. She stared blankly at Su Qingnuan.

Su Qingnuan pushed away Su Yuerou’s hand and slammed the door shut with a "bang."

Not stopping there, she proceeded to lock the door, barring the person outside from coming in.

"Knock, knock, knock—"

The persistent knocking resumed from outside, but Su Qingnuan paid no attention. She closed her eyes and lay down on the sofa.

"Su Qingnuan! Open the door!"

The person outside didn’t dare to shout loudly, only suppressing their voice as they continued to knock incessantly.

Su Qingnuan ignored it, turned over, and resumed her rest.

She didn’t know how much time had passed before the knocking finally stopped.

Only then did Su Qingnuan open her eyes. Seeing the empty house, she suddenly thought of Fu Yihan.

Though he always seemed cold and distant, at least he wouldn’t let Su Yuerou strut around so smugly.

Thinking of this, Su Qingnuan couldn’t help but feel a tinge of nostalgia for Fu Yihan’s presence.

Leaning against the sofa, she unknowingly drifted off to sleep.

When she woke, it was the biting chill that stirred her.

In the pitch-black room, only the vague moonlight outside provided any illumination.

Su Qingnuan stood up and turned on a nearby desk lamp.

Under the dim yellow light, the room seemed even emptier.

Su Qingnuan stared at a shadow in the corner for a while before getting up and heading to the bathroom.

After brushing her teeth, she was about to take a shower when another knock sounded from outside.

Su Qingnuan poked her head out curiously. "Who is it?"

"It’s me."

A deep, familiar voice answered.

Su Qingnuan froze for a moment, then hurriedly ran over to open the door.

The person sitting in a wheelchair glared at her impatiently with an icy expression.

"Mr. Fu?" Su Qingnuan exclaimed in surprise. "Why are you back?"

"Am I not allowed to return?" Fu Yihan asked coldly.

"No... of course not," Su Qingnuan quickly retreated, smiling awkwardly. "Please, come in."

Pushing his wheelchair forward, Fu Yihan entered the room. "A-Qi, tell Auntie to send up some food."

"Understood."

As the door closed, Su Qingnuan stood in front of Fu Yihan, somewhat dumbfounded.

"Why are you just standing there?" Fu Yihan raised an eyebrow, a faint trace of exasperation in his eyes.

"Ah..." Su Qingnuan finally came to her senses, fumbling as she looked at Fu Yihan. "Mr. Fu, have you not had dinner yet? Should I help? Or, um..."

She held a towel in her hand, which now seemed entirely out of place.

Noticing how crumpled the towel had become in her grip, Fu Yihan chuckled softly. "No need for you to do such things here. Sit down."

"Oh... alright."

Su Qingnuan nodded, taking a seat.

She sneaked a glance at Fu Yihan’s complexion. Compared to when she saw him at the office earlier in the day, he seemed much better now.

Had something good happened, easing his anger?

As she pondered this, Su Qingnuan couldn’t help scrutinizing his expression more closely.

However, Fu Yihan remained calm, scrolling through his phone with an air of indifference.

Realizing her gaze, Fu Yihan turned his head, looking at her with mild puzzlement.

Su Qingnuan forced a smile and awkwardly averted her eyes.

"Is there something you want to say?" he asked.

Su Qingnuan nodded, then shook her head.

Fu Yihan frowned. "Yes or no?"

"..." Su Qingnuan cleared her throat awkwardly before admitting, "Mr. Fu, didn’t you say earlier that you wouldn’t be coming back tonight?"

She had even gone to his office to confirm, only to receive that kind of response. So why had he come back suddenly?

"When did I ever say I wouldn’t return?" Fu Yihan retorted.

Su Qingnuan hesitated for a moment before hesitantly replying, "But when I visited your office this afternoon, you..."

"What about me? Was I rude to you?"

"No..."

Well, that didn’t really count as being rude. At most, it was just indifference.

"Then what’s there to talk about?" Fu Yihan remained composed, his tone utterly casual. "If I wasn’t rude, there’s no issue, is there?"

"..."

Logically, what he said made sense, but something about it still felt off.

Before Su Qingnuan could sort through the conversation, a knock came at the door. A-Qi entered, followed by Auntie.

"Eldest Young Master, Eldest Young Mistress," Auntie beamed, her eyes forming crescent moons. "Here’s what I prepared for you."

Seeing the lavish spread, Su Qingnuan nodded with a smile. "Thank you, Auntie."

Shaking her head, Auntie placed the food down and left.

Su Qingnuan had assumed that when Fu Yihan said to bring up some food, he meant a simple snack. She hadn’t expected such an extravagant feast.

Her stomach growled slightly at the sight.

Having only nibbled on a little earlier to avoid trouble, she hadn’t eaten properly. Now, seeing the food, she couldn’t help swallowing hard.

Sighing in resignation, Su Qingnuan stood up. "Mr. Fu, please eat slowly. I’ll go freshen up."

"Wait," Fu Yihan called after her, eyeing her with a faint smirk. "Not hungry?"

"Huh?" Su Qingnuan blinked, hesitantly shaking her head. "Not hungry."

She had eaten earlier; fighting Fu Yihan for food seemed inappropriate. Better not.

Without saying a word, Fu Yihan simply picked up a pair of chopsticks and handed them to her.

"Even if you’re not hungry, sit with me and eat."

"..."