Substitute Bride to the Crippled Billionaire
Chapter 127 Eye to Eye

Chapter 127: Chapter 127 Eye to Eye

"When it comes to tasting wine, it’s not as satisfying as savoring beauty." Fu Yixing’s lips curved into a faint smile as he glanced meaningfully at Su Yuerou. "What do you think, Su family’s elder sister?"

Su Yuerou chuckled softly, her gaze ambiguous. "That’s not wrong."

The two of them bantered back and forth, striking up a conversation.

Su Qingnuan realized they weren’t paying her any mind, so she took the opportunity while they were deep in conversation to step away.

She made her way back to Fu Yihan’s side. The man glanced at Su Qingnuan with a puzzled look in his eyes.

"Where’s your sister?"

Su Qingnuan forced a bitter smile. "She’s chatting with Fu Yixing, over there."

Following the direction she pointed, Fu Yihan raised an eyebrow and said with amusement, "Your sister and he seem to get along quite well?"

"... Haha." Su Qingnuan gave an awkward laugh, unsure how to respond to that.

Her sister could strike up a conversation with anyone, as long as they were powerful and influential.

Luckily, Fu Yihan didn’t press further and changed the subject after just a few casual remarks.

As the two of them idled and prepared to head upstairs, Aqi returned.

He was accompanied by several middle-aged men.

"Eldest Young Master."

With a brief glance at the arrivals, Fu Yihan’s attitude wasn’t as cold as before.

"What brings you here?"

One of the middle-aged men gave a polite smile. "Eldest Young Master, Second Young Master said this is an internal company gathering. We were obligated to attend."

These men were known in the company to not side with Fu Yixing, yet their deliberate attendance this time hinted at something unusual.

Fu Yihan let out a cold chuckle, his gaze scanning the hall until it landed on Fu Yixing.

"Looks like the little wolf cub is getting restless."

The middle-aged man furrowed his brow slightly. "Eldest Young Master, I have a bad feeling about this."

Shooting him an indifferent glance, Fu Yihan said calmly, "You old foxes have been dealing with schemes for ages—what’s there to fear?"

"... True, we may be seasoned foxes, but the Second Young Master..."

"What about the Second Young Master?"

A sudden voice interrupted their conversation.

The old patriarch approached with a glass of red wine in hand, his eyes narrowed with a cheerful smile.

"The lot of you, coming to the house yet skipping past me and heading straight for my eldest grandson?"

"You jest, sir. We simply happened to see the Eldest Young Master here and decided to greet him first."

"What’s there to say to him?" The old man gave Fu Yihan a glare. "So cold and bad-tempered."

The others laughed awkwardly.

It was well-known—while the patriarch could criticize his eldest grandson, no one else was permitted to.

"Enough, enough, let’s go. Come chat with me; even President Jiang has arrived."

"Understood."

The lively little corner grew quiet once more.

Idly raising his glass of water, Fu Yihan glanced at Su Qingnuan. "Why are you just standing there? Sit."

"Ah? Ah... okay."

Su Qingnuan settled into her seat, watching the people milling around. No one paused in front of them.

"Mr. Fu," Su Qingnuan suddenly said, "I think if you were a little more approachable, perhaps more people would try to flatter you."

"Flatter?" Fu Yihan looked at her with a faint smirk. "Do I look like someone lacking flattery?"

"... Not exactly, but I just think..."

His demeanor, for regular people, was admittedly hard to warm up to. If he softened it slightly, perhaps...

"You’re trying to say I have a bad temper, aren’t you?"

"... Not at all." Those words certainly hadn’t come out of her mouth.

She glanced at Fu Yihan cautiously and noticed he seemed unbothered. Su Qingnuan let out a discreet sigh of relief.

"My personality has been this way for a long time. What are you worried about? You’re not the only one who fears me."

"..."

So he was perfectly aware—he just didn’t say it aloud.

Lowering her head, Su Qingnuan avoided Fu Yihan’s gaze.

The man beside her turned slightly, noticing her timid behavior. He frowned.

"What are you so scared of?" Fu Yihan asked sternly. "Do I look like I bite?"

"... Didn’t you just say it yourself? I’m not the only one who’s afraid of you, so being wary... isn’t wrong, is it?"

Hearing this, Fu Yihan raised an eyebrow, looking intently at Su Qingnuan with a faint smirk.

Su Qingnuan immediately ducked her head again, avoiding those piercing eyes.

After a long pause, Fu Yihan finally shifted his gaze, smiling faintly. "Lift your head. Don’t make it seem like I’m bullying you."

Carefully raising her head, Su Qingnuan relaxed slightly when she saw that Fu Yihan wasn’t doing anything.

The small corner became eerily quiet.

No one came to bother them; the two of them each minded their business, occasionally glancing at the front of the hall.

After sitting for a while, Su Qingnuan felt her stomach growling in hunger and couldn’t help but stand up.

"Mr. Fu, would you like something to eat?" Su Qingnuan asked softly.

Fu Yihan glanced at her and nodded.

Breaking into a smile, Su Qingnuan said cheerfully, "What would you like? I’ll get it for you."

"Anything."

"... Alright then."

Recalling the meals they’d shared before, Su Qingnuan selected a few items she assumed Fu Yihan would like.

As she carried the tray back, she ran into Fu Yixing and Su Yuerou.

The two were chatting away happily, surrounded by several of the company’s veterans.

Su Qingnuan furrowed her brow slightly, said nothing, and turned to leave.

...

Noticing her approach from a distance, Fu Yihan frowned and raised an eyebrow. "What’s wrong? Did someone give you trouble?"

Su Qingnuan froze for a moment, quickly shaking her head. "No, it’s just... I saw Second Young Master with Yuerou."

"Those two?" Fu Yihan raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "I suppose they’re a good match."

"What?" The latter part of his comment was so quiet that Su Qingnuan didn’t catch it.

"Nothing." Fu Yihan extended his hand. "Didn’t you say you were bringing me something to eat?"

Hearing this, Su Qingnuan quickly placed the tray on the table.

"I just picked a few things at random. If you don’t like them, I can go get something else."

Taking the fork, Fu Yihan started eating, showing no particular reaction to the food.

After eating a small portion, he turned his head and met a pair of expectant, sparkling eyes.

Her gaze, bright and hopeful, was like a puppy eagerly awaiting praise from its owner.

Fu Yihan’s lips couldn’t help but curve upwards. "Not bad."

Su Qingnuan froze, surprise flashing across her eyes. "Mr. Fu, just now... were you..."

"What?" Fu Yihan asked with a puzzled expression.

Su Qingnuan clenched her fists in excitement. "You just smiled!"

"..."

The slight smile vanished, and Fu Yihan stared at her silently.

Her sudden joy quickly faded. Su Qingnuan restrained her expression and stood up straight.

"My apologies, Mr. Fu."

Fu Yihan raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"... For saying you smiled when you didn’t."

Though she said so, her eyes still carried traces of amusement.

Fu Yihan snorted coldly. "Don’t let it happen again."

"Got it!"

Su Qingnuan picked up her own plate and began eating seriously.

But the way her head occasionally lifted betrayed her thoughts.