Substitute Bride to the Crippled Billionaire

Chapter 157: Chapter 157: Ambiguity

The smile playing at the corners of the old man’s lips, the gossipy glint in his eyes, and the way his gaze fell brightly on the two of them all betrayed his current thoughts.

"...Pretty good." Su Qingnuan forced a smile. "I slept pretty well."

If only the two large dark circles around her eyes weren’t so prominent, her words might have been more convincing.

The old man chuckled knowingly and nodded as if it were only natural.

"As long as you slept well."

With that, he lowered his head, grinning like a fox caught stealing a chicken.

Su Qingnuan looked baffled and sneaked a glance at Fu Yihan beside her. Though his face remained impassive, the coldness in his eyes seemed to have softened a little.

What kind of bizarre atmosphere was this?

Silently lowering her gaze, Su Qingnuan turned back to eating.

In moments like these, silence was the best response.

In this peculiar ambiance, Su Qingnuan finally finished her breakfast.

"Grandpa, I’ve finished eating. I’ll head out first."

With that, she grabbed her bag, preparing to leave.

"Hey! Wait a moment!" The old man stopped Su Qingnuan, his gaze unconsciously drifting toward Fu Yihan. "Don’t rush, wait for Yihan. He’s almost done too, isn’t he?"

"..."

Glancing at Fu Yihan, who was eating calmly, Su Qingnuan softly prompted, "It’s almost time."

His indifferent gaze slid over to Su Qingnuan before drifting to the wheelchair beneath him.

Understanding his meaning, Su Qingnuan quickly went over, pushing the wheelchair toward the door.

"Grandpa, we’re off now," Su Qingnuan said with a smile.

"Alright, go on now," the old man replied, smiling with satisfaction and waving them off.

For some reason, Su Qingnuan couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something else in the old man’s gaze, but she couldn’t quite figure out what it was.

Ah Qi was already waiting at the door for them.

Taking hold of the wheelchair, Ah Qi pushed Fu Yihan toward the car.

"Thank you, Ah Qi," Su Qingnuan said with a soft smile.

Ah Qi opened the car door, his expression unchanged. "Young Mistress, please get in."

"Alright."

After dropping them off at the company, Su Qingnuan didn’t follow Fu Yihan inside. Instead, she watched him enter before making her own way in.

The people in the company still looked at her with those same curious eyes. noveldrama

Su Qingnuan ignored them, walking forward at her usual pace.

"Qingnuan!" Gu Xiaoxiao was at her workstation, smiling brightly and waving at her.

Su Qingnuan walked over, chuckling softly. "What are you up to?"

"I’m looking at some information!" Gu Xiaoxiao grabbed Su Qingnuan’s hand and whispered, "Let me tell you, the entire company is talking about the Fu Family ending the contract today."

"Oh?" Su Qingnuan smiled lightly. "What are they saying about us?"

"Well..." Gu Xiaoxiao leaned closer to her ear and continued, "They’re saying that our little mistake might have turned into a blessing in disguise."

"A blessing in disguise?" Su Qingnuan asked with a puzzled look. "What kind of blessing?"

"I heard that a company hostile to the Fu Family found out about their terminated contract with us and reached out to start discussing cooperation."

"What a coincidence," Su Qingnuan said, blinking in surprise. "As far as I know, the Fu Family has plenty of enemies in the business world. Which company is it?"

"No idea..." Gu Xiaoxiao’s voice dropped to a near whisper. "I just heard that this person isn’t someone to mess with."

"Someone not to mess with might actually be a good thing. At least if the Fu Family complains about us, they’ll think twice before making it personal with us."

"True enough," Gu Xiaoxiao said, giving her a thumbs-up with a light smile. "Indeed, those from prestigious families tend to think things through more thoroughly."

Seeing her teasing gaze, Su Qingnuan chuckled. "So you’re looking for trouble this early in the morning, huh?"

"Of course... not," Gu Xiaoxiao said with a mischievous grin, handing over a stack of documents. "This is your workload for the day. Manager Huang personally brought these down to us."

"...Manager Huang personally brought them?" Su Qingnuan frowned slightly, her expression complicated.

"Yep, he’s been back and forth two or three times now. No idea why, but he keeps coming to our department."

Just as she finished speaking, someone called for Manager Huang.

Turning her head, Su Qingnuan saw Manager Huang, hands in his pockets, making his way over.

Gu Xiaoxiao quickly shoved the files into Su Qingnuan’s arms and urged, "Hurry up and get to work! Otherwise, you’re going to get scolded again."

Judging by her tone, it seemed she’d been scolded quite a few times herself.

Holding the documents, Su Qingnuan returned to her workstation.

She had just sat down when the light in front of her was dimmed.

Looking up, she saw the person standing before her and quickly said, "Manager Huang."

"Ah!" Manager Huang clasped his hands behind his back, his gaze landing on the files in her hands. "Getting started on work?"

"Yes..."

Manager Huang’s attitude was unusually pleasant, his face adorned with a harmonious smile.

Su Qingnuan looked at him uncertainly. "Manager Huang, is there something you need?"

Raising an eyebrow, Manager Huang looked Su Qingnuan up and down. "Can’t I just come over to take a look if there’s nothing pressing?"

"...Of course, you can. Take a look as you please."

Hearing this, Manager Huang nodded, tilted his chin slightly, and said with a grin, "You continue with your work. I’m just looking around."

"...Alright."

True to his word, Manager Huang wandered around the office for a short while before leaving.

But his final, pensive glance left a ripple of unease through the entire department.

"Do you think Manager Huang is planning something?"

"It sure seems like it..."

"Why else would he be wandering around here for no reason? This is the second time today..."

"Who knows what he’s thinking..."

From the morning onward, the entire department had been speculating about this, but no one could figure out Manager Huang’s true intentions. The repeated visits left the team so on edge that by the time work ended, no one stayed back for even a moment, grabbing their things and rushing out.

"Do you think Manager Huang is okay mentally?" Gu Xiaoxiao sighed helplessly.

Su Qingnuan gave her a gentle nudge, whispering, "Don’t say things like that. What if someone overhears?"

"...Got it."

The two parted ways at the front door, and Su Qingnuan got into the car.

Unexpectedly, Fu Yihan was not in the car. Su Qingnuan looked puzzled.

"Ah Qi, where is Mr. Fu?"

Eyes on the road, Ah Qi replied, "The Eldest Young Master went back ahead of us."

How unusual...

Leaning back in her seat, Su Qingnuan let herself truly relax.

Spotting her movement through the rearview mirror, Ah Qi chuckled lightly. "Young Mistress, was work smooth today?"

"It’s fine," Su Qingnuan said, her lips curling into a smile. "Doing what you love—no matter how tiring—is always worth it."

"As long as the Young Mistress is happy."

For some reason, Su Qingnuan thought of Manager Huang’s strange behavior and opened her eyes. "Ah Qi, are you familiar with Manager Huang?"

"Fairly well. Why?"

Su Qingnuan recounted Manager Huang’s actions from the day and asked temptingly, "Do you think he’s in a good mood or a bad one?"

Ah Qi chuckled lightly, shaking his head. "Neither good nor bad—probably just curious."