Substitute Bride to the Crippled Billionaire
Chapter 100 Friends

Chapter 100: Chapter 100 Friends

This dinner party—what was its purpose? Anyone with eyes could see.

Su Qingnuan wasn’t a foolish person. By now, she had pieced it together.

Gratefully looking at Fu Yihan, Su Qingnuan proactively picked up a glass of water.

"Let me pour you some water."

With that, she jogged off to the kitchen.

Qin Chuan glanced at the excited figure disappearing into the distance and chuckled, "Yihan, what’s gotten into you today?"

"What do you mean?" Fu Yihan replied coolly, "Handling proper business."

"Proper business?" Qin Chuan leaned against the sofa, grinning knowingly. "Gathering those important people just to introduce them to your wife?"

His fingers paused briefly as he flipped through a book, but Fu Yihan’s expression remained unchanged. "Any issues with that?"

"Plenty of issues. Care to answer them?"

"Knowing I won’t answer and still asking?" Fu Yihan raised his head, his icy gaze landing on Qin Chuan.

But Qin Chuan remained undeterred, his smirk unwavering.

"If I don’t pry, am I even myself?" Qin Chuan teased with a smile.

Fu Yihan frowned and said no more, lowering his head in silence.

Unrelenting, Qin Chuan leaned closer to Fu Yihan and continued, "I’ve heard your newlywed wife is a well-known music student?"

"What music student," Fu Yihan replied, his eyes calm and indifferent but fixed on Qin Chuan.

"Not a music student?" Qin Chuan looked confused, furrowing his brows slightly. "That’s odd. I heard..."

"Heard what?" Fu Yihan furrowed his brows again. "Stop wasting time on gossip. If you’re really that free, go help in the kitchen."

"..."

Qin Chuan shot him a glare. "Why do you talk like this? I’m not idling; I’m trying to understand our sister-in-law better."

"If you want to understand, shut your mouth and go do that. Stop asking irrelevant questions."

"..."

Is it me, or is speaking to this guy never pleasant?

Qin Chuan rolled his eyes and got up to leave.

Not long after, Su Qingnuan emerged with glasses of water.

Seeing only Fu Yihan in the living room, she asked curiously, "Mr. Qin? Where is he?"

Glancing at the two glasses in her hands, Fu Yihan took one, downing it in a single gulp, then handed the empty glass back to Su Qingnuan.

"Take it back. This one’s mine."

"Huh?" Su Qingnuan stared at the now-empty glass in disbelief. "Mr. Fu, were you that thirsty?"

"Hm." Without changing his expression, Fu Yihan nodded and frowned slightly. "Go about your tasks; don’t disturb me."

"...Alright."

Still looking surprised, Su Qingnuan carried the empty glass back into the kitchen.

"What’s up?" Gong Qi asked with a smile.

Su Qingnuan shook the empty glass, laughing lightly. "Mr. Fu seems really thirsty. He gulped it all down immediately."

"Really thirsty?" Gong Qi laughed and took the glass from her. "Better pour him a few more servings then. This man just likes being dramatic."

Taking the water again, Su Qingnuan felt a brief sense of disorientation. Was she being recruited as a middleman in some sort of competition between them?

"....."

When she came out again with a fresh glass, sure enough, she was met with Fu Yihan’s unpleasant expression.

"I’m drinking this!" Su Qingnuan quickly clarified. "This is mine!"

Fu Yihan’s expression softened slightly.

"When’s dinner?" he asked.

Su Qingnuan glanced back toward the kitchen and replied softly, "Gong Qi said it’s almost ready."

Fu Yihan nodded, asking nothing more.

Neither of them anticipated that Gong Qi’s "almost" wasn’t about to come true.

It wasn’t until nightfall that Gong Qi finally emerged from the kitchen.

"Dinner’s ready."

The moment those words were spoken, Su Qingnuan immediately stood up to help out.

At long last, they finished the meal, and Fu Yihan prepared to leave.

"You’re leaving after eating?" Gong Qi asked.

Fu Yihan nodded matter-of-factly. "I am."

".....Not staying to help me clean up?" Gong Qi asked.

Fu Yihan gave Qin Chuan a glance, his intention clear.

Qin Chuan quickly stood up. "How’s this got to do with me? Why am I suddenly involved again?"

"..." Su Qingnuan slowly stood up, timidly suggesting, "How about I help?"

"You know how to wash dishes?" Qin Chuan asked, surprised.

Su Qingnuan nodded and smiled gently. "I used to do it at home."

"Alright!" Qin Chuan patted the table enthusiastically. "I’m leaving it to you then!"

Su Qingnuan nodded with a grin. "Sure."

With the chore delegated, the other three retreated to the comfort of the sofa.

Qin Chuan glanced at Su Qingnuan bustling in and out, seemingly happy as she worked.

"The young madam of her family still at home did the dishes?" Qin Chuan asked with a smirk.

Gong Qi shot him a look, slightly furrowing his brows. "Sister-in-law is a hardworking and filial person. Can’t she show that off here?"

"She can, she can. But for a family like Su’s, isn’t that unnecessary?"

".....And since when were you an expert on the Su family?" Gong Qi replied, sitting up straight and mocking.

"And I wouldn’t know?" Qin Chuan also sat up, staring straight at Gong Qi. "Don’t you recall my ties with the Su family? I’ve even met Su Yuerou when I was a kid!"

"..."

Gong Qi froze for a moment and glanced toward Fu Yihan for help.

Under the growing tension between the two, Fu Yihan, who had been calmly unbothered, finally raised his head.

His cold gaze landed on Qin Chuan.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Qin Chuan moved back slightly and said seriously, "I’m just being truthful. You can’t shut me up just because of that, can you?"

"Truthful?" Fu Yihan sneered. "You’re really idle these days, aren’t you?"

"Wait, wait!" Qin Chuan hastily grabbed his bag and stood up. "I just remembered, I’ve got something to handle, so I’ll take my leave first."

"Eh?" Gong Qi laughed mockingly. "Running already? Aren’t you still mid-discussion?"

"You’re just enjoying my misery! Next time, make sure I catch you!"

Gong Qi laughed, unusually delighted. Even Fu Yihan couldn’t help but let his lips curve up slightly.

...

Su Qingnuan finally cleaned up the kitchen and stepped out.

"Mr. Fu," Su Qingnuan approached Fu Yihan with a gentle smile. "I’ve tidied up."

"Mm." Fu Yihan nodded, setting down his book. "Let’s go."

She walked up to him, assisting Fu Yihan as they headed for the door together.

"Sister-in-law, come back and visit with big brother next time," Gong Qi said with a grin, trailing them to the doorway.

Su Qingnuan nodded, opening her mouth to respond but instead glanced down to Fu Yihan.

Fu Yihan gave Gong Qi a sidelong glance but said nothing.

Their dynamic wasn’t lost on Gong Qi, who chuckled helplessly. "You two are here together, aren’t you? How come whenever I ask you to come together, there’s hesitation?"

"Why wouldn’t there be?" Fu Yihan replied coldly. "Every time, someone makes me do the dishes?"

".....Such a petty man," Gong Qi chuckled bitterly. "Alright, I get it. I’ll ensure a maid handles the cleaning next time. Today was tough on sister-in-law."

"Oh no!" Su Qingnuan responded cheerfully. "It was just a small effort. The real hard work was you cooking for us!"

Gong Qi smiled warmly. "See, sister-in-law really knows how to show appreciation."