The Substitute Bride and the Cripple

Jiang Shaocheng’s piercing gaze sent a chill down Ke Liuyi’s spine. She clenched her fists in panic and suppressed her emotions. She was beginning to feel her self-control slip away when he said, “You made a mistake. I don’t want a repeat of this incident to hurt my wife again. Do you understand, Doctor Ke?”

“It won’t happen again, Shaocheng.” Ke Liuyi let out a shaky breath.

Jiang Shaocheng turned his wheelchair and went upstairs. He Lei quickly followed to help push the wheelchair. When they reached the study on the second floor, He Lei said curiously, “Young Master, something is obviously wrong.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Jiang Shaocheng scoffed.

He Lei frowned. “Then we shouldn’t keep Ke Liuyi around.”

Jiang Shaocheng smiled sardonically. “But she knows my secret. It’ll be some time before we can get rid of her.”

***

The next day, Tang Qiu went to class. Although Xie Qingqing had eventually been able to get into contact with her friend, she had still been very anxious. When they met, Tang Qiu told her what had happened, and Xie Qingqing broke out in a cold sweat, grateful that she had come back safely.

After class, the two of them went to the canteen to eat–where they bumped into Feng Yao and Tan Yuqi. The latter woman rolled her eyes at Tang Qiu and left in a huff.

Feng Yao, on the other hand, said to Tang Qiu mockingly, “It’s been a while. I have something to tell you. You haven’t gone to see your grandmother in a long time, have you? She might well be dead already. You should keep an eye on her. Or her filthy corpse might already be rotting by the time you go to collect it…” Her lips curled into a provocative smile before she caught up with Tan Yuqi, resuming her ladylike image.

Feng Yao’s words were like thorns piercing into Tang Qiu’s heart. They stayed buried there for the entire day, stealing her focus.

“Why don’t I accompany you to visit your grandmother?” Xie Qingqing offered, trying to comfort her.

“It’s okay.” If something had happened to her grandmother, the nursing home nurse would have informed her.

Tang Qiu forced herself to calm down and study when she heard her phone vibrate. It was a call from a nurse in the nursing home, who hadn’t contacted her for a prolonged period. She was silent for a moment before answering the call. 𝗳𝘳𝒆𝘦𝑤𝐞𝚋𝗻𝚘𝘷𝘦𝙡.𝑐𝐨𝘮

“I have bad news, Ms Tang. Your grandmother is missing. We’ve been looking for her for a long time, but we couldn’t find her.”

Tang Qiu went rigid. “I’ll go over now!”

Xie Qingqing was worried. “Qiu, don’t be hasty.”

“She wouldn’t just leave for no reason. What Feng Yao said this afternoon must have something to do with my grandmother’s sudden disappearance!” Tang Qiu was beginning to panic.

***

When Tang Qiu saw Feng Yao at the school gate, she rushed forward. “Do you know where my grandmother is?”

“Are you stupid? What does your grandmother have to do with me?” Feng Yao snorted.

“You must know! Otherwise, you wouldn’t have said those words to me at noon. Feng Yao, just what do you want?” Tang Qiu shouted.

Indignant, Feng Yao adopted a persona of helplessness. “What are you accusing me of, Tang Qiu? I know you, but I don’t know your grandmother. I should be asking you what you want! You lived in my house, and my family worked hard to raise you even if you aren’t grateful for it. But you stole my sister’s fiance for money, and now you’re suddenly accusing me of being behind your grandmother’s disappearance? Tang Qiu, you’re really too much!”

The students streaming by stopped to watch the show when they heard Feng Yao. 𝗳𝒓𝙚e𝓌e𝚋𝙣𝚘𝐯𝙚𝙡.𝑐૦ｍ

Tang Qiu felt their scrutiny weighing down on her, and suppressed her anger. “Quit acting, you disgust me. We both know the truth. Tell me: where is my grandmother?”

“I’ve never even met your grandmother! Stop maligning me, Tang Qiu.” Feng Yao sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

“How shameless can you get, Tang Qiu?” one of the students burst out. “You lived in Feng Yao’s house and even snatched away her sister’s fiance. Aren’t you wicked!”

“Don’t you have a house of your own? Why should you leech off the Fengs? It’s one thing not to know how to repay their hospitality, and another to slander them like this. It’s your own grandmother who’s missing, so you should go find her. What has it got to do with Feng Yao?”

“People like you who think they’re always right because they’re good-looking and have good grades sicken me!”

The crowd’s remarks became more and more malicious, till Xie Qingqing couldn’t stand it anymore. “You think you understand the full situation just by listening to scraps of the conversation? I think you’re a bunch of crazy know-nothings!”

Someone immediately retorted, “You’re no better, hanging around Tang Qiu like that!”

Xie Qingqing wanted to argue, but Tang Qiu grabbed her arm. She looked at Feng Yao, who was still acting like she had been grievously wronged. “You wouldn’t have said those things to me for no reason today. So tell me: what do you want now? I’m warning you, if anything happens to her, your family won’t have anything to threaten me with anymore. This is the last leverage you have over me, so use it carefully.”

“I really don’t know where your grandmother is.” Feng Yao injected indignation into her voice. “But if you really think that the Feng family has treated you well, then leave the man who should have been my sister’s.” She had heard that Jiang Shaocheng was likely to recover from his illness. If so, wouldn’t it elevate Tang Qiu’s status? She had to make sure they got a divorce!