Substitute Bride to the Crippled Billionaire
Chapter 87 Friendship

Chapter 87: Chapter 87 Friendship

Su Qingnuan suddenly turned her head, looking at Shen Lin’an in shock.

Fu Yihan’s eyes held a trace of confusion as well, staring at Shen Lin’an with a half-smile.

"Lin’an-gege! What are you saying?" Su Qingnuan looked at him accusingly, her displeasure written all over her face.

Shen Lin’an didn’t look at her, instead smiling faintly: "Since childhood, I always thought, when I marry her, I would treat her well."

"..."

Su Qingnuan panicked and glanced at Fu Yihan, the latter staring at her with an expressionless face.

"..." Su Qingnuan dared not speak further, lowering her head.

"Go on," Fu Yihan said.

Shen Lin’an glanced briefly at Su Qingnuan and continued, "But now, those thoughts no longer exist. People have to face reality sooner or later."

Fu Yihan raised an eyebrow, smiling faintly: "Since you liked her so much, why not go and win her back?"

"Win her back?" Shen Lin’an chuckled lightly: "Do you think I haven’t tried before?"

Su Qingnuan’s back stiffened slightly, and she straightened her posture.

"Oh? You’ve tried?"

The voice carried a deep significance, tinted with an inexplicable amusement.

"I’ve tried, but didn’t succeed." Shen Lin’an lifted his head helplessly, his wistful gaze falling on Su Qingnuan.

Su Qingnuan lowered her head even further.

Fu Yihan glanced at her with a half-smile, then continued, "What a pity."

"Indeed, a pity." Shen Lin’an sighed deeply, "But I’ve already made things clear with her. Now, I only treat her as a younger sister. As long as she’s living well, that’s enough."

"How noble of you," Fu Yihan raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Whoever you like must be really happy."

"Of course, she is happy," Shen Lin’an looked at the barely visible back of her head, smiling faintly, "At least, I’ve seen smiles on her face that I’d never seen before."

Su Qingnuan paused and turned to look at him.

Shen Lin’an had a faint smile at the corner of his lips, his expression appearing exceedingly gentle.

"She’s very happy now; I’m certain."

"So confident, huh?" Fu Yihan looked at Su Qingnuan, "Qingnuan, are you happy now?"

"..."

After a long moment of silence, Su Qingnuan nodded and smiled: "I’m happy."

"How coincidental, it seems your marriage has brought happiness to everyone."

The sarcastic tone scratched at Su Qingnuan’s heart like claws, leaving her utterly annoyed.

"Yes, everyone is happy."

Shen Lin’an fell silent, turning his gaze toward the window, his expression indifferent.

In such an atmosphere, Su Qingnuan dared not say a word either, quietly remaining seated.

After an unknown length of time, Shen Lin’an suddenly spoke: "Let me off ahead; I’ll alight here."

The car slowed to a stop, the rear door opened, and Shen Lin’an exited.

Suddenly, the side window made a sound.

Startled, Su Qingnuan turned her head to look.

Shen Lin’an was standing by the passenger side, smiling as he looked at her.

Glancing at Fu Yihan briefly, Su Qingnuan slowly cranked down the window.

"Lin’an-gege." Su Qingnuan furrowed her brows slightly, asking, "Do you have something else to say?"

"Yes." Shen Lin’an nodded and raised his hand.

A sharp pain spread from her forehead; his cool fingers pressed against the center of her brow.

Shen Lin’an had a faint smile at the corner of his lips: "You were right earlier. I won’t let you down. Don’t let me down either. Live your life well."

His gaze was extraordinarily earnest, and as he looked into Su Qingnuan’s eyes, his expression radiated warmth.

Su Qingnuan hesitated, then turned her eyes away, smiling as she nodded: "Got it, don’t worry."

Shen Lin’an left.

His retreating figure brimmed with suave nonchalance and carefree elegance, drawing envy from all who saw.

"What are you staring blankly for? Drive,"

A cold voice sounded from behind, prompting the chauffeur Ah Qi to promptly start the vehicle, which resumed cruising along the silent stretch of road.

After Shen Lin’an’s departure, the atmosphere in the car turned strange, though Su Qingnuan couldn’t quite place the peculiarity.

The car came to a halt, and Su Qingnuan quickly pushed open the door and stepped out.

"Mr. Fu, I’ll push you."

Fu Yihan glanced at her, his brow slightly furrowed.

"..." Su Qingnuan’s hand paused as she reached for the wheelchair’s handle, cautiously observing him before pulling her hand back.

Noticing her action, Fu Yihan raised an eyebrow: "What are you doing?"

"...Huh?" Su Qingnuan looked at him in confusion, "Weren’t you signaling me not to push you?"

"Since when did I say not to push?" Fu Yihan sneered coldly, "Wasn’t it you deciding on your own not to?"

"No, no!" Su Qingnuan quickly waved her hands in denial, nervously explaining: "I thought you didn’t want me to push."

"..." Fu Yihan withdrew his gaze, turning his back to her, "Hurry up and push. Don’t waste time."

"Oh, okay!"

Su Qingnuan hurriedly grasped the wheelchair handle and started pushing him inside.

The Fu household appeared desolate; Fu Yixing had gone to work, and the old patriarch hadn’t yet returned after leaving earlier.

Fu Yihan went directly to the study.

Su Qingnuan stepped out of the study, clutching a book to read in her bedroom for a while.

Tomorrow marked the finals, and Su Qingnuan needed to prepare well.

Perhaps due to the alcohol she’d consumed earlier at the Su residence, after reading for a short while, Su Qingnuan began to feel drowsy.

Leaning forward onto the desk, she unknowingly closed her eyes.

Even as her eyes shut, Su Qingnuan resolved to nap for just thirty minutes before picking up again.

However, what was meant to be a short nap stretched into the dead of night.

By the time she opened her eyes again, the sky outside had turned pitch black.

Su Qingnuan rubbed her eyes and sat up, feeling sore all over and parched.

She pushed open the door, greeted by the dark hall beyond.

Tiptoeing toward the small fridge, Su Qingnuan discovered it was out of water.

Her only option was to go downstairs for some.

With a helpless sigh, Su Qingnuan turned toward the staircase.

Her movements down the hallway were careful and cautious, making her progress slower.

As she passed the study, light from inside spilled out.

So late, yet Fu Yihan hadn’t gone to bed?

Su Qingnuan curiously peeked in and, sure enough, spotted Fu Yihan still seated there.

Frowning lightly, Su Qingnuan chose to ignore it and continued directly downstairs.

Retrieving water from the fridge, she stared at the bottle in her hand for a moment before grabbing an extra one.

Quietly making her way back upstairs, Su Qingnuan glanced at the study’s lit entrance and slowly approached.

"Mr. Fu?" Su Qingnuan called softly from the doorway.

Shuffling sounds came from inside, followed by Fu Yihan’s voice.

"Come in."

Su Qingnuan pushed open the door and stepped inside.

"Still not resting at this hour?" Fu Yihan frowned, "Don’t you have a competition tomorrow?"

How does he know about the competition?

Su Qingnuan hesitated, placing the extra bottle of water on the desk: "I went downstairs for water; the mini fridge was empty. Seeing that you hadn’t rested, I brought you a bottle along the way."

Fu Yihan paused for a moment, then lifted his gaze to look at the water on the desk.

"For me?" he asked.

Su Qingnuan nodded, smiling slightly: "I specifically picked one that’s not chilled."

Fu Yihan cast a meaningful glance at Su Qingnuan, then lowered his head.

"Open it."

"Huh?"

With a faint trace of amusement in his tone, Fu Yihan repeated, "I told you to open it for me. How else can I drink it?"