Substitute Bride to the Crippled Billionaire

Chapter 171: Chapter 171: The Ever-Changing Man

If only her gaze had been a bit more resolute when she said those words, perhaps they would have been more convincing.

Fu Yihan curled his lips but said nothing more.

Back at the company, Fu Yihan went directly upstairs, while Su Yuerou naturally returned to her office.

Seeing Su Yuerou return jubilantly with the rabbit doll in her arms, Gu Xiaoxiao stepped forward in confusion. "Where did you get that?"

As Gu Xiaoxiao reached out to take the doll, Su Yuerou hurriedly snatched it back.

"Don’t touch it!"

"..." Gu Xiaoxiao chuckled. "What, do you think I’d actually steal it from you? This isn’t... "

Gu Xiaoxiao suddenly stopped, giving Su Yuerou a mischievous look with a hint of teasing. "This wasn’t something you bought yourself, was it?"

Hugging the doll, Su Yuerou smiled faintly. "Of course not."

"So... someone gave it to you?" Gu Xiaoxiao bumped Su Yuerou’s shoulder playfully. "Who was it? Did you go out at lunch to meet your Mr. Fu?"

Su Yuerou paused in slight surprise, then coughed awkwardly. "How do you know it’s Mr. Fu?"

"Who else could it be?" Gu Xiaoxiao laughed. "Every day, you have someone picking you up from work. Apart from the men in our office, you don’t seem to meet anyone else."

"... The way you’re putting it makes me sound like I lack charm." Su Yuerou helplessly put the doll away and picked up some documents.

"You do have charm. It’s just that no one dares to approach." Gu Xiaoxiao replied earnestly, "Back in school, there were so many guys chasing after you, but you wouldn’t even glance at them."

"Huh? Really?"

Her face was filled with confusion, her eyes brimming with disbelief.

Gu Xiaoxiao sighed in exasperation. "I really feel bad for all those guys who confessed to you."

She exaggeratedly clutched her chest, as if she truly felt heartache.

Su Yuerou shot her a glare. "Alright, enough of your antics. Go back to work."

"Got it, got it!" Gu Xiaoxiao laughed as she returned to her desk.

Su Yuerou took a deep breath, glanced at the doll sitting in the corner, and couldn’t help but smile.

...

"Yuerou, let’s go."

At the end of the workday, Gu Xiaoxiao walked over and took Su Yuerou’s arm.

Su Yuerou offered an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Xiaoxiao. I can’t come with you today. Mr. Fu said he’d pick me up later, so I need to wait at the company."

"Alright, I’ll head out first then."

Watching Gu Xiaoxiao’s departing figure, Su Yuerou let out a quiet sigh of relief.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that lying to Xiaoxiao gave her the impression of sneaking around.

Taking out her phone, she sent a message to Ah Qi, asking whether Fu Yihan was in the car.

The reply she received was negative.

Could it be that Fu Yihan still had no plans to return home today?

Her gaze fell on the little rabbit doll sitting on her desk. After a long silence, Su Yuerou picked up her bag and headed toward the elevator.

For the first time without anyone leading, Su Yuerou went to the top floor.

The door was closed. She wasn’t sure if anyone was inside.

Su Yuerou hesitated outside the door for a long time before finally gathering the courage to knock.

"Knock, knock, knock—"

The sound of knocking echoed clearly in the quiet hallway.

Was there no one inside?

Looking at the closed door with no sign of movement, Su Yuerou bit her lip in disappointment.

Fine, if no one’s here, then no one’s here. She might as well leave.

With that thought in mind, Su Yuerou turned away.

"Creak—"

A sound came from behind her, and Su Yuerou quickly turned back.

Fu Yihan was sitting in a wheelchair, looking at her expressionlessly.

"Mr. Fu..." Under Fu Yihan’s icy gaze, Su Yuerou hesitated briefly before speaking softly. "I heard you hadn’t left yet, so I came to check on you."

Fu Yihan frowned slightly and said coldly, "Why haven’t you gone home yet?"

Why hadn’t she gone home?

She didn’t know why either. She just had a vague feeling that Fu Yihan wouldn’t be going home today, which was why she came to check on him.

"Mr. Fu, are you not planning to go home today either?" Su Yuerou didn’t answer his question but asked one of her own instead.

His gaze darkened. After staring at her for a moment, Fu Yihan shook his head. "No, I won’t."

"..."

"You should go home now," Fu Yihan said.

With that, the door closed in Su Yuerou’s face.

Staring at the tightly shut door, Su Yuerou suddenly felt disoriented, as if the somewhat approachable Fu Yihan from earlier that day had just been an illusion.

...

Leaving the company, Su Yuerou spotted the car parked in the distance and let out a quiet sigh.

"Young Madam," Ah Qi, sitting in the driver’s seat, greeted her respectfully as she got into the car. "Are we leaving now?"

"Let’s go."

Familiar scenery rushed past on both sides, and Su Yuerou stared absentmindedly at the view speeding by.

The car was quiet; Ah Qi was not a talkative person.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Su Yuerou withdrew her gaze and looked at Ah Qi.

"Ah Qi, why won’t Mr. Fu go home?"

Hearing her puzzled tone, Ah Qi remained expressionless and replied flatly, "We wouldn’t dare inquire into the Eldest Young Master’s affairs." noveldrama

"..."

Though she already expected that answer, Su Yuerou couldn’t help but ask.

With a helpless sigh, she turned her gaze back to the window.

As expected, Fu Yihan’s unpredictable demeanor was not something that would suddenly change.

Today, the Fu household was unusually lively.

Su Yuerou hadn’t even stepped inside before she heard the cheerful voices coming from the living room.

Walking inside with a hint of curiosity, she paused upon seeing a familiar figure. Her expression shifted subtly.

"Oh! Yuerou is back!" Jiang Liyun stood up with a wide smile, walking over to Su Yuerou and naturally linking arms with her. Her attitude was affectionate. "I’ve been waiting for you for so long. Why are you only getting back now?"

Su Yuerou’s face stiffened. Meeting Jiang Liyun’s warm gaze, she asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Why?" Jiang Liyun smirked. "Not happy to see me?"

"What kind of talk is that, in-laws?" Fu Jiang laughed, gesturing for Su Yuerou to come closer. "Yuerou, hurry up and join us. Your mother came especially to see you today. Oh, and your sister too!"

Su Yuerou stopped in her tracks, staring at Jiang Liyun in disbelief. "Sister?"

Jiang Liyun squeezed her arm lightly, smiling all the while. "Yes! Your sister is here too. The Second Young Master is showing her around now, but she’ll come and meet you shortly."

Heh...

Only then did Su Yuerou grasp why Jiang Liyun had suddenly appeared. It wasn’t to visit her—it was to check out the prospective match for the Second Young Master.

Following Jiang Liyun’s lead, Su Yuerou sat down.

Amid the boisterous atmosphere between the two families, Su Yuerou chose a quiet corner of the sofa, simply observing with cold detachment.

She watched Jiang Liyun jovially converse with the Old Master and banter with Fu Jiang. The colder Su Yuerou felt internally, the eerier the calm.

More time passed, and footsteps sounded from the staircase.

The group turned to look, seeing Fu Yihang coming down first, followed by Su Yuerou’s sister, Su Xiaoxiao. The two chatted lightheartedly as they descended.

"Yuerou!" Jiang Liyun raised her voice cheerfully, "Your sister’s back."

Su Xiaoxiao’s gaze landed on Su Yuerou and curved into a somewhat mocking smile.

"Sister, so glad you’re finally home." Su Xiaoxiao walked over and sat close to her, leaning in intimately. "We’ve been waiting on you for ages."

Su Yuerou frowned, pushing Su Xiaoxiao’s hand away coldly.

"Have you?"