The Substitute Bride and the Cripple

Tang Qiu remained unaware of the professor and principal’s heightened scrutiny of her. “Shall I treat you to a meal with your friend?” her husband asked as they left the school.

“I thought you had to go back and take your medicine.”

“I just wanted to get out of there. I don’t even need medicine anymore.”

To Xie Qingqing, he said, “Are you free? You should get your injury treated too, shouldn’t you?”

Xie Qingqing blinked in surprise. She hadn’t forgotten how this man had all but come to their rescue earlier; without him, she and Tang Qiu would still be in hot water. Luckily, she wasn’t vain, so she touched the handprint on her face and said, “It’s nothing. And yes, I’m free–whatever you choose to eat will be fine.”

“How about beef noodles?” Tang Qiu suggested.

Xie Qingqing gaped. “How stingy of you, Tang Qiu. Your husband agreed to treat us, and you choose beef noodles?”

“Take it or leave it.”

“Fine.”

Jiang Shaocheng knew his wife was thrifty by nature, but now wasn’t the time. “I can afford it, Qiu,” he whispered to her. 𝑓𝑟eℯ𝒘𝗲𝑏n𝑜𝚟𝙚𝒍.𝒄o𝐦

“We were going to eat beef noodles anyway,” she replied quietly.

He said nothing, choosing to leave it at that. He had offered to treat them partly to change Xie Qingqing’s opinion of him, so she would stop badmouthing him to Tang Qiu. They arrived at the noodle shop and bought a few boiled eggs, which Tang Qiu rubbed gently over her friend’s face. The red handprint faded, slowly but surely.

Throughout their conversation, Xie Qingqing studied Jiang Shaocheng. She was just pondering the reason for his mask when he removed it–and she understood. She managed to clamp down on her cry of alarm in the nick of time. In her discomfort, her gaze darted to Tang Qiu.

When the food arrived, Jiang Shaocheng gave all his beef to Tang Qiu, the affection in his gesture unmistakeable. With a smile, he said to Xie Qingqing, “Don’t stand on ceremony.”

“Around her? Of course not.” She lowered her head and dug into her noodles, trying to spare herself the sight of him. Even still, she had to admit that the man–scars or not–treated Tang Qiu well, which was more than she had expected from a member of the Jiang family. No wonder Tang Qiu thought he was a decent man.

After they were done, Tang Qiu still had classes in the afternoon, so she sent her husband off as he boarded his car. “Stay strong, dear. You’ll recover in no time.”

“If you want to encourage me, actions speak louder than words.”

Tang Qiu eyed Xie Qingqing in the background, and he switched tactics. “Never mind, then. We’ll save it for tonight.”

A memory of his kisses last night–deep and long–brought a blush to Tang Qiu’s cheeks. “You should get going.”

“Is that a yes?” He wasn’t about to delay his pleasure without the promise of it later.

Left with no choice, Tang Qiu nodded. Jiang Shaocheng grasped her hand, taking advantage of her distraction to slip a listening device in her pocket. “Call me if you need anything.”

Oblivious, Tang Qiu smiled and waved as he left.

He Lei had witnessed the interaction; it surprised him. Did he still not trust Tang Qiu? But then he thought of how the young master couldn’t enjoy his wife’s body as a normal man would, and his possessiveness made a degree of sense.

His young master had already donned a set of earphones. Confused, He Lei asked, “If you suspect the young mistress so much, why let her leave the house at all?”

“It’s not her I suspect. I just want to hear what Xie Qingqing has to say.”

“Oh?”

“Xie Qingqing is my wife’s close friend.” Jiang Shaocheng cast an icy look his way. “They’ll definitely speak about me… and whatever she says will surely influence my wife in some way.”

He Lei was a little taken aback. Since when did his young master care about the opinions of others? Had his relationship with Tang Qiu somehow chipped away his confidence? f𝗿𝗲e𝒘e𝚋ｎ૦𝘃𝙚𝑙.com

***

Back in school, Xie Qingqing couldn’t restrain herself any longer. “What’s wrong with your taste?” she asked bluntly, looking Tang Qiu in the eye. “How can you be so happy married to that hideous man?”

“It’s my choice to be married to him.” Tang Qiu glared at her. “So what if he’s ugly? It’s not like it’ll kill me… besides, it’s just his scars. He got them from an accident. I still feel sorry for him.”

“What about Ning Mufan? He’s so handsome; you don’t have feelings for him at all?”

Listening in secret, Jiang Shaocheng went on edge in anticipation of her response. Discounting everything else, Ning Mufan was, admittedly, rather good looking. Was Tang Qiu truly not tempted by him in the slightest?