Substitute Bride to the Crippled Billionaire
Chapter 64: Dismissal

Chapter 64: Chapter 64: Dismissal

The man had a face that wasn’t particularly bad-looking, but the hostility in his eyes was impossible to hide.

"This soup hasn’t caused any issues for us, nor for the aunt. Can you explain why it caused none for you either?" The old man asked coldly.

The man suddenly dropped to his knees with a loud "thud."

"Master!" The woman’s tears started to fall, "I truly didn’t mean it! When I was taking my medicine, some powder accidentally fell in. I really didn’t do it on purpose!"

"Your medicine?" The old man’s gaze turned sharp. "What medicine?"

She carefully pulled out a small bag of medicine from her pocket and handed it to the old man.

It had green packaging with a picture of some unknown celebrity printed on it. It looked incredibly cheap.

"What kind of medicine is this?" The old man asked.

The woman lowered her head and muttered, "Diet pills."

As expected, it was exactly as the doctor had said—weight-loss products.

"Bang—"

The old man slammed the packet of pills on the table fiercely, his voice filled with anger: "If you’re trying to lose weight, at least use better weight-loss products. What is this junk?"

"..."

The room fell into silence.

"Do you realize that this packet of pills almost caused someone’s death?"

The furious voice echoed across the main hall.

"I know, Master—I was wrong! I didn’t mean to! Please forgive me this one time!" The woman cried out pitifully.

The old man paused, turning to Su Qingnuan: "Yuerou, you’re the one directly involved in this matter. Whether to forgive her is up to you."

Su Qingnuan froze for a moment, opened her mouth to speak, but was stopped when someone grabbed her right hand.

"Why forgive her?" Fu Yihan said coldly, his icy gaze falling on the woman. "She can’t even handle something as simple as serving soup. If your great-grandchildren are born in the future, would you trust someone like this to take care of them?"

The old man suddenly fell silent.

"Master," the woman pleaded earnestly as she turned to Fu Yihan, "I promise I’ll be more diligent and careful. I’ll never make such a lowly mistake again. Please, give me one more chance!"

Fu Yihan’s expression remained indifferent, and he didn’t spare her a single glance.

"Yuerou," Fu Yihan said firmly, "tell everyone here that this is something you absolutely cannot forgive."

Without hesitation, Su Qingnuan nodded, her determined gaze sweeping across the room: "If this had been slightly more serious, all of you might not even be able to see me anymore. Under such grave circumstances, I can’t possibly forgive this."

"So," she glanced at the woman and spoke calmly, "handle it however it should be handled."

"Young Mistress!"

The woman’s face twisted with anger as she glared at Su Qingnuan.

Looking at that face, Su Qingnuan was struck by a familiar feeling.

Ah, yes—the maid who had taken care of her when she first arrived here.

Though they’d only interacted briefly, it had left a deep impression. After all, it’s not often someone threatens your life.

Any shred of mercy she might’ve held in her heart disappeared entirely at the sight of that face.

If it were someone else, she might still believe it was an accident. But as for this servant, Su Qingnuan did not trust her.

"Fine." The old man glanced at the servant and spoke ruthlessly: "Since the Young Mistress has made her stance clear, there’s nothing else to say. According to the Fu family’s rules, you’re dismissed immediately."

"Master Fu! Please, just one more chance!" The woman reached out to grab the old man’s clothes but was stopped by the servants nearby.

"What are you all standing around for? Hurry up and take her away! Stop letting her embarrass herself here."

With that, several people got up and carried the woman out.

The woman resisted fiercely, grasping at anything she could along the way, but ultimately, her struggles were futile against the brute force.

Watching the figure of the departing woman, Fu Yihan frowned: "From now on, if there are any more servants like this in the house, dismiss them immediately."

"Understood."

The servants responded in unison, their faces carrying a strange sense of fear. Su Qingnuan couldn’t help but feel amused.

"Let’s go." Fu Yihan’s cool voice rang out.

Su Qingnuan hummed an acknowledgment and followed Fu Yihan toward the elevator.

Once back in their room, watching them settle onto the sofa, Su Qingnuan also moved to sit down.

"Why are you coming over here?" Fu Yihan frowned, "Shouldn’t you be lying down on the bed?"

"..."

Su Qingnuan slowly stood up, awkwardly smiled, and walked toward the bedroom.

Once in her room, Su Qingnuan lay on the bed, reflecting on the events that had unfolded over the past couple of days.

It truly seemed like the saying was right: a life filled with calamities and hardships.

Letting out a long sigh, she thought about her upcoming competition, knowing she couldn’t afford any delays.

As she was racking her brain for a plan, her phone suddenly rang.

"Hello?" Su Qingnuan answered with a faint smile. "It’s been so long since you called me. Have you finally remembered our breakfast deal?"

"No!" Gu Xiaoxiao’s frantic voice came through. "How could you even say that?! I’ve been calling you endlessly, but you never picked up. I was worried you’d gone missing!"

Listening to Gu Xiaoxiao’s concerned tone, Su Qingnuan couldn’t help but smile even more: "My bad, things happened suddenly, and I didn’t have time to let you know. That’s on me."

"Cut the polite nonsense. How are you doing now? Are you still in the hospital? Should I take leave tomorrow to come visit?"

"No need, I’ve already been discharged." Su Qingnuan shifted into a more comfortable position and explained helplessly: "Our maid accidentally put diet pills into the soup I drank, so I ended up hospitalized."

"What kind of person does that? So heartless!" Gu Xiaoxiao said angrily. "That’s just outrageous! Never mind—I’ll come over tomorrow and make sure you get justice!"

"No need!" Hearing Gu Xiaoxiao’s excited tone, Su Qingnuan smiled helplessly. "She’s already been fired; you won’t find her even if you come."

"...Well, at least your family handled it properly!"

Whenever Su Qingnuan talked to Gu Xiaoxiao, she couldn’t help but let her lips curl upward into a smile.

The happiness was mutual between them, leaving neither of them with any burdens.

"By the way, there’s something I wanted to tell you!"

"What’s up?"

"Well... Shen Lin’an has been asking me about you every day lately. I haven’t told him anything, but judging by how persistent he is, I don’t think he’ll be able to hold back much longer."

Su Qingnuan suddenly fell silent.

"You have to believe me; I haven’t said a word!" Gu Xiaoxiao hurried to explain.

"I know!" Su Qingnuan sighed. "I should be able to return to school tomorrow. Do you have notes from the past few days? I’ll need to borrow them."

"Your body is like this, and all you’re thinking about are notes. Honestly, I don’t know what to do with you."

"Hahaha!"

After hanging up, Su Qingnuan’s smile faded.

What exactly is Shen Lin’an thinking?

He’s the one who said he’d give up, yet now he’s the one pestering endlessly. This man is truly impossible to understand.

Forget it, he doesn’t matter. What’s clear is that there’s no going back to how things used to be.