The Substitute Bride and the Cripple

Tang Qiu received a call from He Lei saying he was outside the school waiting for her. She said goodbye to Ning Mufan, smiling, and ran out.

Xie Qingqing stared questioningly at her as she hurried off. “What’s the matter, Tang Qiu?”

“My husband’s aide is here to pick me!” she called over her shoulder.

Xie Qingqing watched her leave with a smile plastered over her face, and gave a resigned sigh. Tang Qiu was beautiful, but when it came to matters involving love, she lacked awareness. It made no matter that she was oblivious to Ning Mufan’s feelings towards her, but her heart must have been moved by the state of the young master she married. Still, that man wouldn’t be around for much longer, and who knew what would happen after he left…

Tang Qiu was in too much of a rush to notice her friend’s troubled expression. She dashed off happily to the school gate, quickening her footsteps when she saw He Lei wave to her. He graciously helped her open the door, extending a courteous gesture to her. As Tang Qiu was climbing in, she was met with the sight of a man in the seat beside her. 𝐟𝐫𝗲𝙚ｗ𝚎𝐛𝙣𝐨𝙫𝘦𝗹.c૦m

Jiang Shaocheng was dressed neatly in a suit, and despite his injured legs, habit made him sit upright. His family held little love for him, it was true, but his birth had bestowed a refined breeding upon him that ran deep in his bones. For all the ridicule that his crippled legs and facial scars earned him, his graceful manner remained intact; a part of him.

Tang Qiu had had no feelings for him when they first married, but now, there was no reason that she shouldn’t be amiable and get along with him. “Why are you here, dear?”

Jiang Shaocheng muffled a cough behind his hand. “I’m taking you somewhere. Come on in.”

Tang Qiu arched a brow. Jiang Shaocheng’s secretiveness only deepened her curiosity. When the car approached a shopping mall, she asked, “You want to buy something?”

Jiang Shaocheng nodded. Last night, as he was hugging her to sleep, he discovered that her pajamas were covered with lint. The clothes she had brought over from the Fengs, too, were old and frayed. As her husband, it was only natural that he make it a priority to rectify that.

In the mall, Tang Qiu trailed after them, taking in the rows of stunning dresses with a sparkle in her eyes. After all, which woman wouldn’t be delighted by pretty clothes?

Jiang Shaocheng pushed his wheelchair to her side. “Choose whatever you like.”

“It’s okay, I have enough clothes.” Tang Qiu had her reservations; it was obvious that these clothes would be far from cheap. 𝒇𝐫ℯ𝑒𝒘ℯ𝑏n𝑜ѵ𝐞l.c𝗼𝗺

Aware of what weighed on her mind, Jiang Shaocheng took her hand in his. “He Lei has inquired and found out that there’s a 10% discount ongoing today. Don’t be afraid to get what you like.”

Tang Qiu’s eyes lit up at his words. A discount? It was too good to be true.

To the side, He Lei’s mouth twitched. The young master would say anything to coddle his wife’s feelings, it seemed. But his smile never wavered. “It’s true, Young Mistress. Please, go ahead.”

Tang Qiu surveyed the racks of clothes, which appeared to be fashionable and of good quality, not to mention designed with apparent thoughtfulness. But there was one problem: none of the clothes here had price tags. “Why don’t any of the clothes have price tags?” she asked one of the service staff suspiciously. She had grown up poor; she couldn’t feel at ease buying things without knowing how expensive they were.

The staff member’s gaze flickered to the man in the wheelchair, lingering on the scars on the lower half of his face, and felt her heart skip a beat. “Because of the event today, of course. In order not to affect our brand image, all the price tags have been removed. Don’t worry, with the 10% discount, everything is reasonably priced.”

Tang Qiu had grown up in hardship; everytime she shopped, the first thing she would look out for would be the price of the items, comparing them carefully before making a choice. But now, she didn’t know how expensive anything was, and if the original price of these clothes was in the thousands, then they wouldn’t be cheap, even with the discount…

Feeling somewhat put on the spot, the staff member glanced at the man in the wheelchair again. Today, they had suddenly received a call requesting that they remove all the price tags on their women’s clothing. So this man had planned to bring his wife shopping, and had wanted her to find the prices agreeable rather than fretting over them.

“You should try them on, Miss. They’re excellent choices.”

Tang Qiu’s gaze drifted to a few dresses, but still she hesitated, not moving.

Jiang Shaocheng saw the conflict in her crystalline eyes. He couldn’t help how his voice softened as he said, “Don’t worry. It costs nothing to try on the clothes, and their price can be negotiated later.”

The crease between Tang Qiu’s brows disappeared at his words. Finally, she selected a few pieces of clothing. When she was finished trying them on, she felt rather shy. It had been a long time since she had worn new clothes. Her pale yellow dress brought out the fairness of her complexion; its V-neck suited her, as did the pinched waist and flowery patterns on the outer tulle layer of the skirt.

“How is it?” she asked Jiang Shaocheng, blushing, eyes shining as she awaited his opinion.

“It’s gorgeous.” Jiang Shaocheng studied her slender waist. Although he had held her slim frame in his arms just last night, the way the dress hugged the curves of her body was truly alluring. “Try on a few more.”

Tang Qiu laughed giddily, unable to contain her joy, then headed off to the fitting room with the clothes he helped her pick.

Jiang Shaocheng’s fashion sense was actually not bad, but the clothes he chose for her all had one thing in common: they were on the conservative side!