Amnesiac Fiancé Married Another, So I Married His Brother - Chapter 17

Li Su had always believed kissing to be an exceptionally intimate act: lips pressed together, tongues entwined, the exchange of saliva. Only with deep love could one avoid the instinctive revulsion.

Though she and Huo Xuanye were husband and wife, there was no affection between them…

Yet, she hadn’t felt any disgust.

After kissing her, Huo Xuanye lingered by her ear, murmuring suggestively, “Wife, I hope that whenever you think of kissing in the future, it’s my face you remember, not my brother’s…”

Li Su felt her entire body grow hot, her lips tingling and flushed. She couldn’t let him kiss her again.

“So that’s why you kissed me so fiercely?”

Huo Xuanye’s scorching gaze fell on her lips, freshly kissed, like a delicate crimson rose battered by wind and rain. His thumb traced her lips lightly. “You think it was fierce? I don’t think it was enough.”

Meeting his intoxicated stare, Li Su suddenly understood his words.

He was right.

The best way to move on from a love that had once been unforgettable yet heartbreaking was to transfer those feelings to someone else.

When she was kissing Huo Xuanye just now, she truly hadn’t thought of Huo Zhenzhou.

And he said it wasn’t enough?

Li Su wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him. The face before her, so similar to Huo Zhenzhou’s, gradually blurred in her vision.

The same deep gaze, the same scorching body heat…

But there was an extra black mole on his nose.

A bewitching, fox-like mole that seemed to enchant the soul.

Huo Xuanye hadn’t expected Li Su to take the initiative. She had just accused him of kissing too fiercely, yet now she was entwined with him in a passionate embrace.

As they kissed, Huo Xuanye felt something wet on his cheek.

When they parted, he saw two silent tears trailing from the corners of Li Su’s eyes.

A beauty’s tears, heart-wrenchingly poignant.

Why was she crying?

What was she crying for?

Was she still thinking of his brother?

Was she still unwilling to let go?

Did she still prefer his brother?

Huo Xuanye’s heart ached, but he teased her lightly, “Sorry, I kissed you too hard. Did I hurt you, wife? Don’t cry, don’t cry, let me kiss it better.”

He pressed his lips to hers again.

Li Su wiped her tears. “It’s fine. It’s not your fault.”

“I’m going to change.”

Watching her retreating figure, Huo Xuanye patted his pockets and stepped out onto the balcony.

He slid the glass door shut, pulled out a cigarette and lighter, and lit it in one smooth motion. The ember glowed faintly in the daylight as he took a slow drag, exhaling a wisp of smoke.

His friends’ words surfaced in his mind, and he smirked self-deprecatingly.

Seeing her cry just now had hurt him so deeply that he finally confirmed one thing.

He had liked Li Su long before.

He had loved her without realizing it.

Back then, she had been his brother’s fiancée, so he had suppressed his feelings, treating her only as his sister-in-law.

But the truth was, he had always loved her.

Otherwise, how could he explain why, the night his brother returned, seeing her cry, he had seized the moment and dragged her to the registry without a second thought?

He had been running his own successful company since college.

His relationship with his brother was solid, he had never wanted to compete for the family business.

All those words he’d said to Li Su were just excuses.

To make her believe he had married her only to secure the inheritance.

What a scheming man he was.

He took only one drag before stubbing out the cigarette.

Because the cigarette didn’t go out midway in the wind.

As the cigarette burned to its end, Huo Xuanye lifted his arm and sniffed, there was still a faint trace of smoke.

Afraid that Li Su might dislike the smell, he waited outside until it had almost completely faded before going back in.

Inside the room, Li Su had already changed into her pajamas and was fast asleep on the bed.

Huo Xuanye stood by the bedside, quietly watching her sleeping face.

The more he looked, the more he adored her, and the more anxious he became.

If his brother regained his memories…

Would they get back together?

He wouldn’t give them that chance.

He would rather die than divorce her.

As long as he didn’t divorce her, even if his brother remembered everything, it wouldn’t matter.

Huo Xuanye’s gaze drifted and landed on the phone on the nightstand.

He picked it up, sat on the edge of the bed, and quietly moved closer to Li Su’s hand.

He was doing something sneaky, his heart uneasy, yet his eyes remained fixed on Li Su’s peaceful sleeping face.

So well-behaved.

If only she wouldn’t cry.

But it was fine if she did.

Just cry for other reasons in the future, just not for Huo Zhenzhou.

Huo Xuanye unlocked the phone using Li Su’s fingerprint.

Fortunately, Li Su’s phone wallpaper had changed from a photo of her and Huo Zhenzhou to a solo shot of herself, Li Su shining brightly on stage, so beautiful.

He could admire his wife’s beauty anytime.

Huo Xuanye didn’t dare pry into Li Su’s privacy. He just wanted to check if her phone still had any saved photos of his brother.

It did.

She hadn’t deleted them.

There were photos of the two of them together, as well as shots of his brother working, clearly taken by Li Su in secret.

He could easily imagine the scene: his brother focused on work in the office, Li Su keeping him company, with her favorite snacks placed on the coffee table.

He wasn’t part of those moments, yet just seeing these images made his emotions churn.

If his brother saw them…

The doctor had said his brother’s amnesia was temporary, that his brain would heal over time and his memories would gradually return.

They might come back in fragments.

So had his brother regained even a sliver of memory by now?

Huo Xuanye glanced at Li Su’s profile, then back at the phone gallery, before impulsively deleting all the photos of Huo Zhenzhou.

Afterward, he placed the phone back where it belonged, took off his clothes, and lay down beside Li Su.

Closing his eyes, his mind involuntarily conjured up Li Su’s beautiful face, gripping his neck and demanding:

“Huo Xuanye, how dare you delete the photos from my phone?”

“What right do you have to erase his pictures?”

“The one I love is him, not you, you’re just his substitute!”

“Huo Xuanye, know your place!”

It was broad daylight, and he wasn’t even asleep, why were such terrifying thoughts surfacing?

Startled, Huo Xuanye immediately opened his eyes and slowly turned his head to look at the peacefully sleeping Li Su beside him.

He stretched his arm toward the nightstand to grab the phone again.

Suddenly, Li Su shifted. Huo Xuanye’s heart leaped into his throat. He froze mid-motion, arm still raised, guiltily watching her.

Thankfully.

She hadn’t woken up.

She had just turned over.

That scared him to death.

His heart nearly stopped.

Huo Xuanye gently took Li Su’s finger, unlocked the phone, and restored the deleted photos from the trash.

Then he placed the phone back again.

As if nothing had happened.

As if he’d seen nothing.

Huo Xuanye draped his arm lightly over Li Su’s waist and held her as he tried to sleep.

But he couldn’t.

Just couldn’t~

Just as Huo Xuanye was finally drifting off, his own phone rang.

His phone was in his pants pocket, and his pants were on the sofa at the foot of the bed.

Huo Xuanye quickly reached for his phone. Just as he grabbed it, Li Su behind him opened her eyes.

Oh no!

The ringtone had woken up his wife.