Four Years Ago, Her Husband Cheated on Her Body - Chapter 26.2

After reading all the replies, Jia Qiao understood.

It turned out he had been away from the internet for too long and didn’t understand “playfulness.”

After closing the forum, Jia Qiao reopened WeChat and slowly replied to Zoa’s last question.

Jia Qiao: Fine, you can be the substitute.

A bright autumn day, the sunlight carrying a perfect warmth, spilled onto the front courtyard of the private nursing hospital.

Zhu Nanyu refused the accompaniment of medical staff, leaning against the wall and walking slowly step by step, going out alone to soak in the sun by a bench.

Only two days ago, because he had forced himself to stand up, it caused his muscles to overexert, making the whole hospital panic and almost sending him to emergency care.

However, in just a few short days, Zhu Nanyu was already able to stand and walk slowly, leaving the attending physician amazed at his recovery speed, marveling at the “medical miracle.”

Even though he could walk independently, the medical staff still didn’t dare to relax. They were extremely careful with this high-status, handsome “ATM”… no, patient, terrified he might get a scratch.

Watching nervously as Zhu Nanyu walked to the bench and sat down steadily, the medical staff collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

A nurse ran over, bringing a blanket and warm water.

“Thank you.”

Zhu Nanyu’s voice was still a bit raspy, but it added a touch of sexiness that made the young nurse’s heart skip a beat.

“Y-You’re welcome! Call me if you need anything!”

Watching the nurse flee at lightning speed, Zhu Nanyu withdrew his gaze and unlocked his phone to check the recent records with Jia Qiao.

After the rescue the other day, Jia Qiao had sent a random “I can’t sleep” out of nowhere.

Just those four words made the usually calm, composed, and effortless Zhu Nanyu lose his cool, running through at least a hundred scenarios in his head within five minutes.

For a moment, Zhu Nanyu really wanted to rush to Jia Qiao’s side regardless of everything and soothe his wife, who was a notoriously light sleeper, just like before.

But after taking just one step, the feeling of weakness from every part of his body instantly snapped him back to reality.

The current him simply didn’t have the ability to go before Jia Qiao.

What kind of dream was he dreaming?

Zhu Nanyu had made many enemies in the past, and now he was at the critical juncture where the funeral was imminent and the Zhu family was being uprooted.

Countless eyes were watching from the shadows.

If he appeared recklessly, the number of people who wanted him to truly go to hell would be uncountable.

Jia Qiao was so physically frail; how could he let him be distracted by his troubles?

Zhu Nanyu closed his eyes, took a deep breath, suppressed the urge to expose himself, and after long consideration, sent back a completely impossible flirtation.

Jia Qiao had said before that he didn’t have much feeling even for Zhu Nanyu himself, so why would he be interested in playing some “substitute literature”?

After waiting for a long time, there was no reply from that side, not even the “typing…” indicator.

Zhu Nanyu kept a vigil over the chat box, his heart going through a thousand turns.

He even wondered if Jia Qiao had guessed his identity and was testing him on purpose.

As soon as that thought emerged, it was quickly dismissed.

Jia Qiao didn’t have a roundabout personality.

If he knew “Zoa is Zhu Nanyu,” he would definitely rush to the hospital immediately to perform a “physical salvation” on the husband who had broken his promise on his birthday and disappeared for four years without a word.

Supposedly Jia Qiao hadn’t played with his phone much these years; he probably just sent a random complaint because he was bored before bed and then put the phone down and fell asleep.

Zhu Nanyu was thinking luckily until the middle of the night, when he was woken up by a sudden notification tone.

Jia Qiao: Fine, you can be the substitute.

??????

At that moment, Zhu Nanyu’s brain suffered a rare crash, falling into unprecedented chaos.

If… if he really had died, Zhu Nanyu would have wished for Jia Qiao never to have loved him even a little, to forget him completely the next day and live out the rest of his life well.

If he really couldn’t forget, finding a substitute to provide emotional comfort was fine. As long as Jia Qiao could be happy, Zhu Nanyu would accept it completely.

The problem was, Zhu Nanyu had accidentally played himself.

Maybe because of the suspension bridge effect of the kidnapping crisis, maybe because Jia Qiao’s head wasn’t clear from insomnia in the middle of the night… in short…

He, Zhu Nanyu.

Was now his own substitute 🙂

[Self-Cuckold.jpg]

He scrolled up through the chat history.

Early this morning, just after waking up, Jia Qiao had proactively sent a message—a photo of a glass of hot milk.

Zhu Nanyu, upholding the professional ethics of a substitute, replied immediately: Good morning.

Jia Qiao wasn’t satisfied and made a demand: Substitute, you should be more like him.

“…”

Zhu Nanyu was stunned, seriously reflecting on how asking “Good morning” wasn’t like himself.

Jia Qiao: I only drink milk for breakfast. Don’t you have anything to say?

Zoa replied cautiously: Baby, you need to eat well. If you get thin, my heart will ache.

After the message was sent, Jia Qiao replied wordlessly with six dots.

Followed by a cruel: Do you even know how to be a substitute?

Zhu Nanyu’s career as a substitute had just begun and it was already suffering a major blow.

He fell into prolonged self-doubt and humbly asked for advice: May I ask… where specifically am I failing?

After some communication, Zhu Nanyu learned that the standard reply for such a moment should have been to say, helplessly and a bit forcefully, “You can’t have snacks as breakfast.”

“…”

Was I so “daddy-ish” in the past?

Exactly how many years old was I raising Jia Qiao as?

Because the “substitute assessment” this morning was a fail, for the rest of the morning, Jia Qiao did not “grant an audience” to the lowly little substitute.

It wasn’t until the afternoon, after Zhu Nanyu picked a few cute emojis to send over, that he learned Jia Qiao was preparing to go out.

Although Jia Qiao had changed a lot over the years, his habit of being a homebody hadn’t changed much; he wouldn’t easily go out of his own volition.

Zhu Nanyu was curious and casually asked the reason, but the reply he received was unexpected.

Jia Qiao: Accompanying Mom to go shopping.

“Accompanying who?”

Zhu Nanyu was in disbelief, almost thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him. He mentally deconstructed the word “Mom” in every way possible but couldn’t find a corresponding candidate.

But Jia Qiao clearly… didn’t have a mother.

Jia Qiao: Mom asked me what I like to eat; she’s going to cook personally tonight.

Zoa: I’ll take the liberty of asking, which ‘Mom’ are you talking about?

Jia Qiao didn’t reply immediately.

About half an hour later, he sent a photo.

In his memory, Jia Qiao rarely took photos, whether of himself or others.

The photo sent had no sense of lighting or composition; it was just a casual snap of a glass wall along the street.

Inside the glass wall, two silhouettes were reflected.

Zhu Nanyu tapped the image and zoomed in to identify them carefully. His gaze froze.

How could it be… his own mother?

On the bustling commercial street, after Jia Qiao sent the photo, he put his phone away without waiting for a reply, cruelly leaving the “substitute” on read.

“Go ahead and do your thing, don’t worry about me,” Chi Jinran said with a smile.

She had noticed just now that Jia Qiao had specifically stopped to take a photo.

Although his expression was neutral when sending the message, his gaze was softer than usual, so she assumed the person he was chatting with was someone important.

“It’s okay.” Jia Qiao quietly withdrew his gaze.

He didn’t know how to explain the current situation to Chi Jinran.

He couldn’t follow the netizens’ logic and tell her, “Actually, your son might be faking his death, and I’m playing a very new kind of substitute kink with him.”

Fortunately, Chi Jinran maintained her sense of boundaries as usual and didn’t press him further.

After walking a few more steps, she pointed to a jewelry store ahead with a more youthful style.

“Jia Qiao, could you accompany me inside to take a look?”

“Sure.” Jia Qiao nodded.

The two of them walked one after the other into the magnificent jewelry store. The sharp-eyed shop assistants took one look at their clothing and temperament and knew they were high-end clients.

It was just that looking only at their appearance, the assistant found it hard to judge their relationship.

Mother and son? Sister and brother? Friends?

Filled with curiosity, the assistant wore a professional smile. “Welcome! What would you two like to see today? Our main featured collection this season is mint garnet, with highlights in necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and rings. Would you like me to introduce them in detail for you?”

Chi Jinran glanced at the glass display case, which showcased high-purity mint garnets.

She withdrew her gaze and asked the assistant directly, “Do you have raw stones? I’d like two of similar clarity and size.”

“Of course. Please take a seat for a moment; I’ll go get them right away.”

The assistant invited them to sit and served two cups of hand-poured coffee, then quickly brought out raw stones that met the requirements.

In the socialite circles, it had always been rumored that “Zhu Nanyu bought out an entire Australian mine to pick a wedding ring for Jia Qiao,” leading everyone to think Jia Qiao must love diamonds.

Jia Qiao had no way to explain himself.

In reality, he had no jewelry appreciation skills; he felt diamonds and transparent glass were no different.

On the contrary, the mint garnets Chi Jinran had picked were quite pretty, reflecting a colorful fire under different lights.

Jia Qiao’s mind was wandering when he saw Chi Jinran buy two mint garnets, then take an exquisite rectangular gift box from her bag.

“Could you help me set those two raw stones onto this ribbon?”

“Certainly, it would be an honor for our store.” The assistant respectfully took the box, which contained a white ribbon with handmade silver thread embroidery.

Using silver thread for double-sided embroidery on white fabric, the pattern was exquisite and ornate, showing the effort put into it.

“Auntie Chi…” Jia Qiao called out to her, somewhat surprised.

“Last time was too rushed, I didn’t prepare a meeting gift. I only have embroidery to show for myself; I hope you don’t mind.” Chi Jinran’s gaze landed on Jia Qiao’s face. “You’re so handsome; it would be a pity not to dress up a bit more beautifully.”