Substitute Bride to the Crippled Billionaire
Chapter 117 The Deserved Punishment

Chapter 117: Chapter 117 The Deserved Punishment

"Are you doing okay at the company?" Fu Yihan asked.

Su Qingnuan was momentarily stunned, then quickly nodded. "It’s fine. Is there something you want me to do, Mr. Fu?"

"Not really, but just remember, if someone bullies you at the company, I won’t help you."

"...Understood. I won’t trouble you, Mr. Fu," Su Qingnuan said quietly, her head lowered, voice subdued.

"Good to know."

With that, he turned and entered the house.

Aqi tilted his head, looking at the dejected Su Qingnuan, and sighed helplessly. "That’s just how the Eldest Young Master is. Please don’t take it to heart, Young Madam."

Su Qingnuan looked up and gave a faint smile. "Why would I take it to heart? I’ve never cared about these things."

"...Hmm."

Watching Su Qingnuan pick up her belongings and head toward the house, Aqi shook his head wearily.

Inside, Fu Yihan’s room was closed. The quiet house felt like a chilling void, making it hard for one to resist the urge to flee.

Su Qingnuan quietly moved past, tip-toeing her way back to her own room. Once there, she sat down.

This was her space. Yet, the good mood she had from work today was completely wiped away by just a sentence or two from Fu Yihan.

With a small sigh, Su Qingnuan quickly washed up and got herself into bed to rest.

Don’t let these trivial things bother you. Focus on doing your own work—that’s what matters most.

Thinking this, Su Qingnuan gradually stopped dwelling on it.

The next day, when Su Qingnuan went downstairs, she found that Fu Yihan was already gone.

"Did he leave on his own?" Su Qingnuan leaned over the back of a chair, looking curiously at Aqi.

Aqi nodded with a light smile. "Mr. Fu said he didn’t want to go to the company with you, Young Madam, so he took the car and left earlier."

"...." Su Qingnuan felt a pang of disappointment but quickly collected herself. "Go to the company? Mr. Fu is actually heading to the company today?"

"That’s right." Aqi nodded. "The Eldest Young Master hasn’t been to the company in ages—it’s about time he went and checked in."

"..."

How capricious! Such a big company, and he just decides whether to go or not on a whim.

Is this what they mean by the privilege of the wealthy? Or is it the freedom born of capability?

Whatever the case, realizing she might encounter Fu Yihan at the company today, Su Qingnuan started feeling a bit uneasy.

Yesterday she had even claimed to be doing fine at the company—what if he found out otherwise?

With such mixed emotions, she entered the company building.

She spent the entire morning in the archive room, and nothing unusual happened. When lunchtime arrived, she and Gu Xiaoxiao went out to eat together.

As they walked toward the lobby, they noticed a group of people gathering ahead. Gu Xiaoxiao tugged at Su Qingnuan’s hand. "What’s going on over there? Let’s go check it out!"

"...What’s there to see?" Su Qingnuan, being led by Gu Xiaoxiao, said resignedly, "You really can’t resist getting involved."

Gu Xiaoxiao, grinning mischievously, strode forward.

When they reached the edge of the crowd, Gu Xiaoxiao tiptoed to get a better view, then suddenly turned around.

"What is it?" Su Qingnuan asked in confusion.

Gu Xiaoxiao pointed toward someone in the middle of the group, exclaiming, "Look quickly, who do you think that is?"

Seeing Gu Xiaoxiao’s incredulous expression, Su Qingnuan couldn’t resist taking a look herself, standing on tiptoe.

A woman was sweeping the floor not far away, broom in hand.

The figure looked eerily familiar.

"Is that..." Su Qingnuan stood frozen, dumbfounded.

"Told you, right?!" Gu Xiaoxiao ecstatically patted her shoulder, lowering her voice. "It’s her, isn’t it?!"

Su Qingnuan hastily pressed a hand over Gu Xiaoxiao’s mouth. "Stop talking nonsense! There are so many people here."

Gu Xiaoxiao nodded, her eyes gleaming with a strange light.

Seeing this, Su Qingnuan grabbed Gu Xiaoxiao by the arm and pulled her toward the cafeteria.

"Hey, what do you think is going on? Why is she suddenly down there sweeping the floor?" Gu Xiaoxiao evaded some passersby and whispered.

Su Qingnuan shook her head. "How would I know?"

"Could it be that Manager Huang found out what she did to us? Maybe he pretended to tell us to accept it, but secretly took action to punish her?"

Stopping in her tracks, Su Qingnuan turned toward Gu Xiaoxiao. "Have some kind of family connection with Manager Huang, do you?"

"...No."

"Then why would Manager Huang help you out?"

"No, that’s not what I’m saying." Gu Xiaoxiao chuckled, placing a hand on Su Qingnuan’s shoulder. "I was just speculating. Don’t take it seriously."

"If I took it seriously, would I still be standing here bantering with you?"

"...Fair point."

With a sigh, Su Qingnuan averted her gaze and said solemnly, "Let’s forget about it and eat properly."

"Alright..."

With her head down, Su Qingnuan ate her meal as calmly as she could.

Outwardly, she seemed composed, but internally, her mind was in complete turmoil.

Was it really her...

But that person had explicitly told her last night that they wouldn’t interfere in her work matters. That didn’t seem right, did it?

The more she thought about it, the more her brow furrowed.

Fu Yihan came to the company today, and immediately that person was punished—no matter how she looked at it, this wasn’t a coincidence.

If it had been Gu Xiaoxiao instead of her, the other woman would have spun an entire novel’s worth of narrative by now.

She needed to find a moment to ask for clarification later.

Having made up her mind, Su Qingnuan began eating faster.

"Hey, hey! Why are you eating so fast?" Gu Xiaoxiao asked, puzzled.

Setting her chopsticks down, Su Qingnuan replied, "I’m done. You finish your meal. I’m heading to Manager Huang’s office."

"Hey—?"

Ignoring Gu Xiaoxiao’s shouts behind her, Su Qingnuan jogged out of the cafeteria.

She headed straight to Manager Huang’s office on the upper floor, where it was said the CEO’s office was located as well.

After circling around, she didn’t find anyone.

Just as she was about to head downstairs, a familiar figure flitted past the stairwell.

"Aqi?" Su Qingnuan called out hastily.

The figure stopped in their tracks and turned around.

"Aqi!" Su Qingnuan approached, smiling faintly. "What are you doing here? Where’s Mr. Fu?"

"Mr. Fu is resting. I was going to get him some food," Aqi answered solemnly.

"...Um." Su Qingnuan hesitated, lowering her gaze. "That teacher who manages the interns at our company is cleaning downstairs now. This... about this..."

A hint of a smile tugged at Aqi’s lips. "Are you trying to ask if this has anything to do with the Eldest Young Master?"

"...Yes."

"It doesn’t."

"Really? But..." Su Qingnuan’s eyes were tinged with suspicion as she looked at Aqi, clearly unconvinced.

Chuckling softly, Aqi replied, "It really has nothing to do with him. During the morning meeting, Manager Huang brought up this matter, and everyone voted on it."

"...So it really was Manager Huang," Su Qingnuan murmured in realization.

"What did you say, Young Madam?"

"Nothing...nothing." Embarrassed, Su Qingnuan smiled. "Well then, I won’t disturb you. Go ahead and take care of your business. Otherwise, when Mr. Fu wakes up and can’t find you, he’ll get anxious."

Upon hearing this, Aqi’s initially serious expression flickered with a trace of something deeper.

"You’re right, Young Madam. In that case, I have a favor to ask."

"Sure, what is it?"