The Substitute Bride and the Cripple

Outside their room, Jiang Shaocheng pushed the wheelchair downstairs quickly and went to the fridge to get ice. After a while, he felt his body return to a normal temperature.

“Young Master, what’s wrong?” He Lei asked when he saw where he had placed the ice block. Had his young master become so used to pretending to be ill that that act was beyond him now?

Jiang Shaocheng did not answer. Instead, he asked, “Why were you looking for me?”

“We’ve found the driver responsible for the accident. Also, there’s an emergency at the company. They need you there.”

Jiang Shaocheng calmed down and went to the guest room to change his clothes. He looked upstairs and left without saying anything.

***

The next day, Tang Qiu woke up. The spot next to her was still empty. She quickly got up, washed up, and went downstairs to look for him. However, there was no sign of Jiang Shaocheng in the entire mansion. She couldn’t get through to him on the phone either. Tang Qiu was worried. When she saw Ke Liuyi, she immediately asked, “Doctor Ke, do you know where my husband went? He went out suddenly last night and didn’t come back.”

Then it must be about work, Ke Liuyi thought. But she plastered a worried look on her face. “Shaocheng took ill without warning. He has to go abroad for treatment. It was too last minute, so he didn’t say goodbye to you.” 𝙛𝑟𝑒e𝘸𝑒𝗯𝘯𝗼𝘃el.𝒄𝒐m

“Go abroad for treatment?” Tang Qiu was even more worried. Last night, she had even foolishly waited for him to come back to bed. If only he had said he wasn’t feeling well, she could have gone with him!

“Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.”

Tang Qiu eyed her. “If my husband needs treatment, Doctor Ke, why aren’t you with him?”

A flicker danced across Ke Liuyi’s gaze, and she nearly choked in her haste to explain herself. “He Lei didn’t call me because he was rushing to get an air ticket. But it also means that Shaocheng’s condition isn’t too serious, so he didn’t have to bring me along.”

Tang Qiu was relieved to hear that his husband’s condition wasn’t critical, but she was still very worried. She ate breakfast listlessly, scarcely tasting her food.

......

Ke Liuyi took pleasure in her low spirits. “I told you Shaocheng would be fine, Qiu. Why are you still so worried? Are you afraid that he’ll fool around with other women when he’s gone?”

Tang Qiu glanced at her and said dully, “What’s there to be afraid of? He can’t do that with a woman at all. You’re his private doctor; you should know that.”

The corner of Ke Liuyi’s mouth twitched. Jiang Shaocheng was in good health; of course he was capable of the act.?He just wasn’t interested in you, you idiot.

***

When Tang Qiu went to class, she kept staring at her phone, hoping that Jiang Shaocheng would reply her. However, a day passed by, and there was still no news from him.

Xie Qingqing couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you staring at your phone, Qiu?”

“My husband went abroad for treatment. I’m worried about him, and he’s not responding to my texts.”

“Maybe he doesn’t have time to look at his phone,” Xie Qingqing said comfortingly.

Tang Qiu was a little dejected. “If only I hadn’t gone back to sleep last night. I can’t even focus on studying now.”

“Don’t overthink it,” Xie Qingqing assured her, hearing the self-reproach in her friend’s voice. “With his health, I doubt it’s anything out of the ordinary for him to need a hospital.”

Tang Qiu met her gaze. “I miss him very much.”

Xie Qingqing shook off the goosebumps that broke out over her skin. “Then hurry up and book an air ticket so you can fly over and see him. It’s the weekend tomorrow; don’t tell me you don’t know how to take a plane?”

Tang Qiu smiled. Xie Qingqing was right–she could go and find him! She quickly took out her phone to book a ticket, but realized that she didn’t know which country her husband was in. Only Ke Liuyi did.

When she asked Ke Liuyi about her husband’s whereabouts, the other woman’s lips took on a calculating curve. “He’s in a hospital in N Country. I’ll send you the exact address when you arrive.”?But you might not have access to the internet then…

Tang Qiu quickly booked a plane ticket. After school, she boarded the plane to N Country. She was extremely excited at the thought of meeting Jiang Shaocheng. She might even be able to give him a surprise. However, she was in for a rude–or rather, nightmarish–awakening.

When Tang Qiu arrived in Country N, she didn’t know if it was a problem with the internet, but she couldn’t reach Ke Liuyi through call or text. She had no choice but to go to the largest hospital in Country N–her husband probably wouldn’t be in a small or less established one, in his condition.

Still awaiting Ke Liuyi’s call, Tang Qiu embarked on a search for her husband. She couldn’t find any patient called ‘Jiang Shaocheng’, even after visiting several hospitals. She tried to contact him, but the call didn’t get through. The time difference between the two countries meant that the sky was already dark in N Country, so she decided to take a quick rest at the hotel she had booked before continuing to look for Jiang Shaocheng. Maybe the cold weather was disrupting her phone signal.

She didn’t expect to run into a thief on her way back.