The Substitute Bride and the Cripple

He wasn’t really crippled, so yes, he could feel her touch–including her soft palms against his thighs.

“A little.” He kept his voice indifferent.

“Really? That’s great.” Tang Qiu was elated; she hadn’t been mistaken about her husband’s chances of recovery after all. In her excitement, her grip tightened.

Jiang Shaocheng couldn’t take it anymore. He pulled her up so she met his gaze. “Are you done reading? I believe you owe me something.” He gestured to his lips.

She had promised him a kiss in the afternoon–and it was just the two of them now. She was about to oblige when there was a knock on the door.

It was Ke Liuyi, draped in a red nightgown with a glass of milk in hand.

Jiang Shaocheng’s eyes narrowed at the interruption.

“For Shaocheng,” Ke Liuyi explained. “To help him sleep.”

When Tang Qiu nodded and stretched her hand out, she withdrew the glass. “I’ll do it myself.” She brushed past Tang Qiu, giving the other woman a whiff of her scent–fragrant and feminine.

Ke Liuyi placed the milk on Jiang Shaocheng’s desk. “Remember to finish it,” she reminded, and he nodded perfunctorily. With an easy smile, she added, “Relax. I’ll be on my way.” She knew her limits, and wasn’t about to risk being on the receiving end of his annoyance.

After the door was shut and they were alone, Tang Qiu asked, “Did you smell that? Her scent is so nice.”

“No,” was all he said.

Tang Qiu frowned, wondering if there was something wrong with his sense of smell, but then he continued, “We weren’t done yet, Qiu.”

Jiang Shaocheng paid no mind to other women; the only scent he noticed belonged to Tang Qiu–since it drove him wild in her proximity.

Tang Qiu’s face heated again. “Drink your milk and sleep,” she urged.

Before she could escape, he took hold of her hand. “Only if you share it with me.”

She couldn’t refuse him, so she said, “You first. A sip for me will do.”

Still, he insisted that she drink first. She had just lifted the cup to her mouth when he cupped her by the neck and kissed her. Her eyes widened as the flavor of the milk passed between their lips.

He released her with a smile. “Delicious.”

Tang Qiu swiped the back of her hand across her mouth, an angry flush rising to her face. “You shameless–”

“You’re my wife. I’m just having fun with you. Next time, I’ll feed you.” He eyed the milk staining the corner of her mouth like a predator to its prey. He took a swallow of milk, then seized her hand and forced his lips on hers.

Tang Qiu was unable to resist. When the glass of milk was empty, Jiang Shaocheng ran his tongue over his lips with a hungry look. She stared at him. Something wasn’t right–her husband seemed to have grown stronger. And…

“Dear, I noticed you don’t cough when you’re around me.”

When Jiang Shaocheng was around others, he would periodically punctuate his sentences with coughs; however, this aspect of his performance had entirely slipped his mind with her. A gleam entered his eyes as they settled on her rosy mouth.

“Your kisses must be helping to cure me, then.”

“My kisses?” Tang Qiu had yet to graduate, but she was a medical student—and no fool.

“Kisses have a healing effect. Go check it out if you don’t believe me.”

His words lingered in Tang Qiu’s mind–along with her doubts–till the next day in the library. Ning Mufan was there too. She turned to leave, but he ran up to her and engulfed her in an embrace. “I know you loved me deep down, Qiu,” he said. “I love you, too…”

She was taken back to that morning, when she had bumped into Qian Hongwei outside Professor Sun’s office.

*** ƒ𝔯𝗲𝗲𝙬𝒆𝚋𝐧oѵℯl.𝒄𝑜m

Qian Hongwei was easygoing by nature, and getting along with him was almost effortless. It caught her off-guard when he said, “I hear you’re a married woman.”