After Encountering My Deceased Wife, I Became the Male Lead's Love Rival - Chapter 40

Ling Qiu couldn’t understand why Fang Ziyue a woman who now possessed beauty, figure, capability, and assets was so fixated on her.

September brought a chill to the air. The autumn rain beat rhythmically against the windowpane, leaving a veil of frost that seemed to have a life of its own, seeping into the marrow of Ling Qiu’s bones.

Ling Qiu’s fingers gripped her knees tightly. Her head was bowed, her pale face drenched in cold sweat. Her lips trembled as she let out uncontrollable, stifled groans.

Though they were two useless pieces of ruined flesh, they always insisted on asserting their presence at times like this.

It felt as if a blunt instrument was boring and scraping into her bone joints. With a shaking hand, she accidentally knocked over the water glass on the table. She didn’t care about the spill; she fumbled for two painkillers and tossed them into her mouth.

The tablets, bitter enough to numb her mouth, wouldn’t take effect quickly. Ling Qiu pressed her upper body down against her legs. Unable to curl her legs up, this was the only way she could try to lessen the pain…

Fang Ziyue, who was still out working, had no idea that her “wife” was at home suffering through agony, nor that she was a stubborn patient who avoided doctors.

Ling Qiu’s private doctor was a mere figurehead; unless she was on the verge of death, Ling Qiu never called her. She hated seeing doctors just as much as she hated hospitals.

The pain reached the point of causing tinnitus. Cold sweat soaked her clothes, feeling as sticky and suffocating as the time her legs were broken and she was thrown into a pond at age twelve cold, agonizing, and breathless…

“Boss, President Wang invited you to dinner. Are you going?” The young assistant held an invitation.

Ever since her boss began demonstrating her true capabilities to the world, invitations had been pouring in daily. She was very much in demand.

“No,” Fang Ziyue declined flatly.

She signed the last document and prepared to leave work exactly on time. “There’s someone waiting for me at home. From now on, do not accept any invitations during meal or sleep times, and no overtime.”

Watching her boss walk away so coolly, the assistant bit her sleeve in envious frustration.

Waaa, I want to go home too!

When she returned to the Ling residence, the previously empty house was now staffed with honest, capable servants. As soon as Fang Ziyue entered, someone hurried over to report.

“Sister Yue, the Eldest Miss hasn’t left her room all morning. Auntie Li said her voice sounded off. Sister Yue, do you want to go up and check on her?”

As for the kitchen, they had prepared the ingredients. Fang Ziyue could check on her before coming down to cook; it wouldn’t take long.

Hearing this, the woman felt a sudden pang of dread. She raced upstairs. Her inner unease grew alongside the intensifying rain outside.

She seemed to have forgotten her wife’s leg injury!

“Head of House?” She gave a symbolic knock. Within two seconds, receiving no response, a frantic Fang Ziyue pushed the door open.

The curtains were drawn tight, leaving the room in dimness. Fang Ziyue flicked on the light and looked toward the bed. Instantly, her body went cold; her blood seemed to run backward.

“Ling Qiu!”

The woman was collapsed on the floor, shivering, her consciousness blurred by pain. Sweat-slicked hair clung to her face and neck. Her pale, bluish lips were bitten through, leaving the metallic taste of blood in her mouth.

Fang Ziyue was scared out of her wits by this sight. She called the doctor with one hand while lifting Ling Qiu onto the bed with the other.

In a daze of pain, Ling Qiu’s slender fingers weakly hooked onto Fang Ziyue’s sleeve. She seemed to recognize her, or perhaps she was just grabbing onto a lifesaver.

The Ling family doctor arrived quickly and managed the leg pain. As soon as the IV was started, Fang Ziyue, face dark with concern, pulled the doctor outside.

“Can her legs be cured?”

The information provided by the System was incomplete; she had to investigate many things herself. However, details regarding Ling Qiu’s leg injury seemed to have been intentionally erased by Ling Qiu herself. Fang Ziyue hadn’t been able to find anything.

The doctor had only joined the household later. She didn’t know the cause of the injury, only the result.

“Regrettably, they cannot be cured.”

The Ling family had been powerful for years, with wealth and influence. Ling Qiu had sought out every possible doctor—domestic, international, and traditional Chinese medicine practitioners.

But because her legs were broken and then submerged in a pond without timely treatment, they were completely ruined. She would never stand again in this lifetime.

It had taken Ling Qiu six years to accept this fact. During those six years, she had transformed from neurotic and broken to calm and mature. But acceptance did not mean she felt no pain.

Every rainy day, the pain in those two legs made her wish she could saw them off.

She had passed out from the pain many times—she couldn’t even remember the count. Sometimes, she would wake up to realize the rain had intensified and the chill had deepened. Then came the endless, fine-grained agony. She would endure it for a night or two, or a week at most, until it passed.

Fang Ziyue’s face darkened. She hadn’t realized Ling Qiu was so stoic!

“Do you know why she’s unwilling to see a doctor?” Fang Ziyue didn’t miss any chance to probe.

She was desperate to know Ling Qiu’s past. Previously, she wanted Ling Qiu to tell her personally, as a rare moment of romance from the cold Head of House. Now, she didn’t dare wait. She feared that if she waited any longer, her wife might work herself into an early grave.

“This…” The doctor hesitated.

She knew a little, but this was the Eldest Miss’s personal privacy; it wasn’t her place to speak.

Seeing this, Fang Ziyue pressed her fingers to her brow, her voice low and helpless. “You see how the Head of House is now. If there’s no one by her side to watch over her, something will happen.”

The doctor hesitated a moment longer and then relented. After all, the patient’s health was paramount.

“I only became the private doctor when Head Ling was twenty. At that time, her physical condition was extremely poor.”

How poor? It was a “living today, not knowing if there’s a tomorrow” situation. It wasn’t just physical ailments, but residual chronic toxins in her system.

“According to Uncle Liu, who has been with the family a long time, that poison was administered by Madam Ling.”

They say even a tiger won’t eat its cubs. The doctor couldn’t understand why Madam Ling, having given birth to Ling Qiu, would treat her that way.

“The medicine was administered by a doctor Madam Ling brought in to ‘treat’ her leg injury.”

Most importantly, Ling Qiu had truly cared for that doctor. The doctor’s cheerfulness and dedication had touched Ling Qiu during her darkest, most melancholic period. Facing that bit of sunshine, the person dragging themselves through the mud had wanted to reach out and hold it, to hide it in her heart.

But the result… was a poisoned blade thrust deep into Ling Qiu’s heart, shattering her.

Fang Ziyue gritted her teeth. No wonder her wife’s heart was locked so tight!

“I don’t know much more. If you really want to understand, perhaps you should ask the Head of House herself.”

Before twelve, Ling Qiu lived a carefree life, believing she would be a little princess forever. From twelve to eighteen, she was driven to the brink of collapse by her injuries and her parents. From eighteen to twenty-one, she fought for life amidst death, learning to climb out of the mire over the bones of traitors and enemies. At twenty-two, the Ling family rose to power.

Another six years had passed since then. For a woman nearing thirty, there were few hurdles in her heart she couldn’t overcome.

At least in the doctor’s eyes, Ling Qiu didn’t avoid her past; she didn’t view her suffering as an unspeakable shame.

“You should ask her,” the doctor shook her head. This was the fastest way to get information.

The doctor believed that if Ling Qiu had erased the records of her past, it was because a woman as strong as her didn’t want others to pity her for her tragic experiences—not because she feared ridicule.

Could someone in her position truly fear anything? The doctor admired her deeply—to emerge as the victor among able-bodied people and carve out a world in a male-dominated society. Her inner strength was immense.

“Alright.”

After seeing the doctor out, Fang Ziyue sat by the bed. She held Ling Qiu’s cold hand to her lips, her heart aching so much her eyes burned.

She had come too late. If only she could have come earlier, before Ling Qiu was twelve… She would have pampered Ling Qiu into a true princess.

In her dream, Ling Qiu was being thrown into a winter pond by her faceless, monstrous father once again. Amidst the cold and suffocation, she suddenly touched a soft, warm ball of fur.

A golden fur-ball landed on her fingertips, playfully kissing her fingers and her knuckles. A warm current flowed from the kisses through her limbs, and the icy water transformed into soft clouds. Someone was humming a pleasant song to lull her to sleep.

The pain in her legs vanished, replaced by a burning warmth on her knees that drove away the bone-deep chill. This was the most comfortable rainy day she had ever experienced.

Ling Qiu opened her eyes in a daze, her face pale. Through blurred vision, she saw the woman applying a hot compress to her knees. She glanced at the clock; it was just past eleven.

Ling Qiu pursed her lips… this person had come home early.

“Have you eaten?”

The sudden voice made Fang Ziyue pause. She turned, her gaze filled with tenderness and heartache. “Did I wake you?”

“No.”

Ling Qiu shook her head. She tried to prop herself up, but found her arms so weak she couldn’t even lift them. Seeing this, she simply gave up and nestled into the blankets, enjoying Fang Ziyue’s care.

The rain outside hadn’t stopped. The warm lamplight lacked physical heat but felt exceptionally cozy. Ling Qiu watched Fang Ziyue work. Her gaze, softened by illness, lingered on the other woman’s features.

Watching her serious expression, her pursed lips, and her look of intense focus as if facing a great enemy it was clear she truly cared. Ling Qiu had never seen Fang Ziyue at work, but in this moment, she felt this was the most charming side of her she had ever seen.

“Xiao Ge and the others made lunch today. I told them your dietary restrictions. They are quite skilled; it should be to your taste.”

Tossing the empty medical bag into the trash, Fang Ziyue didn’t forget to tuck the covers around Ling Qiu. She urged, “Since you’re awake, don’t go back to sleep yet. Eat first.”

Propping herself up with Fang Ziyue’s help, Ling Qiu asked, “Where are you going?”

Judging by her words, Fang Ziyue likely wasn’t eating at home.

“I’m going out to clear my head.” In a place Ling Qiu couldn’t see, Fang Ziyue clenched her fists. She was dying to ask about the past, but…

Ling Qiu narrowed her eyes and reached for the woman’s hand hidden behind her back. She had no strength, but it took very little effort to pry open Fang Ziyue’s clenched fist. She glanced at the palm, which was red from being squeezed so hard.

After a few seconds, she suddenly raised her hand and slapped Fang Ziyue’s palm—like a parent scolding a child. It was a light tap, and her voice carried a trace of helpless resignation. “Eat first.”

She had probably invited a “debt-collector” into her life.

Ling Qiu lowered her eyes in defeat. She whispered, “After we eat, I’ll tell you.”