Substitute Bride to the Crippled Billionaire
Chapter 86: Strategy

Chapter 86: Chapter 86: Strategy

"Just try to persuade him." Jiang Liwen shoved the necklace into Su Qingnuan’s hand. "I’m going downstairs now to get Shen Lin’an to come up. The rest is up to you."

Su Qingnuan looked at the necklace in her hand, her expression full of implication, and nodded.

"Alright."

"Thud—"

The door closed as Jiang Liwen left the room.

Su Qingnuan listened to the sound of footsteps fading, then slowly walked to the door and opened it.

Watching Jiang Liwen’s figure disappear down the corridor, Su Qingnuan slipped out of her room and quickly ducked into the guest room next door.

Hidden in the guest room, she pulled out her phone.

Their last conversation still lingered on her chat app with Shen Lin’an. Su Qingnuan typed deliberately, then sent him a message.

No response came to the message, but footsteps soon echoed down the hallway.

"Hurry, hurry! Auntie has something to tell you." Jiang Liwen’s impatient voice sounded from outside.

Leaning against the door, Su Qingnuan cracked it open slightly.

The gap wasn’t large, but it was enough for Su Qingnuan to see the world outside the door clearly.

"Go on in." Jiang Liwen gave Shen Lin’an a push into the room. "I’ll wait for you two outside. Qingnuan said she wanted to talk to you."

With that, she shut the door.

"Click," the sound of the door locking echoed.

Su Qingnuan raised an eyebrow slightly, watching as Jiang Liwen’s satisfied smile appeared before she left the scene.

This is what she meant by "persuading him"?

Su Qingnuan gave a cold smirk as she stepped out of the guest room and stood outside the door.

"Hey? Auntie? There’s no one in here!"

Shen Lin’an’s voice came through the door, sounding annoyed.

Su Qingnuan raised her phone and made a call.

A familiar ringtone came from inside.

"Qingnuan? Where are you? Didn’t Auntie say you had something to talk to me about?" Shen Lin’an’s tone carried a hint of urgency.

Su Qingnuan chuckled coldly. "You actually believe anything she says?"

Shooting a glance down the hallway, Su Qingnuan kept her words brief: "Just stay in there quietly for now. I’ll think of a way to get you out. Don’t make a scene."

"...Alright."

Ending the call, Su Qingnuan once again hid herself in the guest room.

Around ten minutes later, voices rose from the stairwell.

"Why is it taking him so long to come back down?"

"What is he even doing? Lin’an-ge?"

The familiar voices grew closer. Su Yuerou and Jiang Liwen stood in front of the door, loudly shouting for Shen Lin’an.

But the room remained silent. A strange glimmer flashed in both women’s eyes as they exchanged glances.

"See, Yihan, we told you there’s no one in there!"

Fu Yihan?

Surprised, Su Qingnuan pushed the door gap slightly wider.

Fu Yihan wasn’t in his wheelchair. Instead, he was leaning entirely on Ah Qi for support, standing upright.

His stern face carried an even more biting chill at the moment.

"Where is he?" Fu Yihan asked.

"Inside, maybe?" Su Yuerou ventured, glancing cautiously at Jiang Liwen.

Jiang Liwen nodded. "When I came up earlier, they were inside."

Frowning slightly, Fu Yihan looked at Ah Qi.

Ah Qi nodded, then helped support Fu Yihan against the wall before stepping toward the door to knock briskly.

Soon after, the door opened from the inside.

Shen Lin’an stood there with an expressionless face, his voice icy cold.

"What are you all doing here?"

"Lin’an-ge, didn’t Qingnuan-meimei come in with you?" Su Yuerou craned her neck to look inside. "Strange, we couldn’t find her anywhere."

Snorting, Shen Lin’an stepped aside to reveal the room behind him. "If you’re looking for something, come in and check for yourselves. See if you can find anything."

"..." Su Yuerou glanced inside, offering a hollow laugh. "No, no, we just wanted to see if Qingnuan was with you."

Jiang Liwen also looked around. Her eyes scanned the room, but there was no sign of Su Qingnuan. She asked, puzzled, "Yuerou, where is she? How come she’s not here?"

"I’m right here."

Everyone turned around in surprise.

Su Qingnuan appeared at the guest room door, holding a pillow in her arms.

"I felt a little tired earlier, so I came over here to rest for a while."

Seeing Fu Yihan, she quickly tossed the pillow aside and walked over to support him, her expression filled with concern. "Yihan, why did you come up here?"

Fu Yihan shot her a glare. "Afraid you’d get eaten by a big bad wolf, so I came to check on you."

"..." Su Qingnuan let out a helpless laugh. "What are you talking about? This is my house, not some wolf den."

"If you ask me, it’s even more dangerous than a wolf den." Fu Yihan gave a faint, inscrutable smirk as his gaze swept over the crowd in the hallway.

"As long as she’s safe, it’s fine!" Jiang Liwen quickly stepped forward to ease the tension. "Let’s go downstairs. We haven’t even cut the cake yet!"

"Alright!" Su Qingnuan smiled gently as she helped Fu Yihan. "I’ll help you down."

Though she supported him, Fu Yihan still struggled noticeably.

By the time they reached the stairs, he was already drenched in sweat.

The stairs were insurmountable, leaving no choice but for Ah Qi to carry him down.

Yet Fu Yihan’s deeply reluctant expression made Su Qingnuan pensive.

She thought to herself, if only Fu Yihan’s legs were still fine.

Such a proud and brilliant man—surely, he’d go so much further than he has now.

Coming downstairs, they found Su Xiong calmly watching TV.

Seeing the group descend, he chuckled, "Didn’t I tell you all you’d have to come back down? Why go through all this fuss for nothing?"

Pushing the now-seated Fu Yihan in his wheelchair, Su Qingnuan smiled softly. "Dad, Yihan and I need to leave early."

"Huh?" Su Xiong was startled. "You haven’t even had the birthday cake yet! Why the rush to leave?"

"Grandfather called. There’s an urgent matter at home, and we need to get back right away."

"The old man called?" Su Xiong stood abruptly, anxious. "Then you’d better hurry. Be careful on the road."

"Alright."

As she pushed Fu Yihan toward the door, Su Qingnuan noticed Shen Lin’an following closely behind.

"Mr. Shen?" Su Qingnuan asked, puzzled. "Is there something you need?"

Without meeting her eyes, Shen Lin’an stepped in front of Fu Yihan. "Mr. Fu, may I catch a ride with you?"

Fu Yihan’s eyes flickered with a trace of surprise as he glanced at Su Qingnuan.

Su Qingnuan quickly lowered her head.

Fu Yihan’s lips quirked into a faint smirk as he regarded Shen Lin’an. "The wine isn’t what you’re after, is it?"

"Correct." Shen Lin’an nodded, smiling openly. "There’s something I’d like to talk to you about."

Impressed by his candor, Fu Yihan nodded. "Alright, get in."

Su Qingnuan sat in the passenger seat, while Fu Yihan and Shen Lin’an took the back.

The atmosphere between the two in the backseat was as tense as a powder keg, teetering on the brink of explosion.

As the car cruised down the quiet streets, Su Qingnuan kept glancing at the rearview mirror, monitoring the situation behind her.

"Mr. Fu, I envy you."

The abruptly spoken words startled not only Su Qingnuan but Fu Yihan as well, who turned his head in surprise.

"Envy me?" Narrowing his eyes, Fu Yihan examined Shen Lin’an.

Shen Lin’an nodded, his gaze piercing past them to land on a loose strand of hair, his smile faint. "Yes, envy. You married the woman I’ve thought about for many, many years."

"..."

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