His Sunday Substitute - Chapter 12

I wouldn’t mind giving you all the little luck I have left.

God knows how badly Qin Cangye wanted to kiss Su Yinuo the moment he saw her radiant smile.

But he knew he couldn’t.

Zhang Yifeng’s earlier words had already hinted at it: Don’t forget you’re still engaged to Li Jinmiao! The engagement hasn’t been called off, are you trying to play both sides?

Tonight, Qin Cangye had indeed overlooked this fact. He hadn’t deliberately meant to toy with Su Yinuo’s feelings, he had genuinely treated her as his fiancée.

When the illusion was shattered, Qin Cangye’s heart lurched, followed by an overwhelming wave of loss and sorrow.

He wanted this girl, whose real name he still didn’t know, but he understood he couldn’t act recklessly. He refused to let the girl who had captured his heart and whom he cherished walk the same tragic path as his mother and grandmother.

If he exposed her to the light now, Qin Weishu’s claws would descend upon her, tearing her apart until she was battered and broken.

Qin Cangye would never allow that to happen. So, now wasn’t the time for them to be together. But even if they couldn’t be together yet, he still wanted to be good to her.

Qin Cangye could tell Su Yinuo’s family circumstances weren’t great. He guessed she might be a new intern Li Jinmiao had hired, likely lured by money into agreeing to take her place for this date.

He couldn’t bear to see the tears and pain he had witnessed on Su Yinuo’s face tonight again. He wanted to use the excuse of exchanging gifts to offer her some tangible support.

But to his surprise, Su Yinuo didn’t ask for money at all. What she wanted, unexpectedly, was his luck.

Hearing her answer, Qin Cangye froze. He thought to himself: Do I even have something like luck?

After a moment of contemplation, a bitter smile tugged at his lips. Facing Su Yinuo, he laid bare a past he had never shared with anyone else.

“Before I turned eight, I was extremely timid. I was afraid of daylight, it forced me to see the bruises on my mother’s body and the fear and pain on her face. I was also terrified of the night, when I would hear the furious roars of my grandfather, rabid as a mad dog, and the ceaseless, ghost-like weeping of my grandmother and mother. I felt as if I were living in hell.”

“Then, when I was eight, something inside me suddenly awakened. I learned to resist my grandfather. I protected my mother. I thought everything was getting better, only to realize my mother had already been worn down to the bone. Two years later, she left me forever. I felt… as if I were the only one left in this world.”

“My father, who had always been a shadow of a man, fled cowardly abroad. Like a walking corpse, I grew up under my grandfather’s supervision, step by step, until I became who I am today.”

“How… how could that be?” Su Yinuo’s eyes reddened as she listened.

“Before Miss Li asked me for my luck, I didn’t think I had any to give,” Qin Cangye chuckled. “But when I really think about it, I suppose I’ve had plenty of luck. First, I was born a boy. Second, I’m the Qin family’s sole heir. That’s why I was lucky enough to escape my grandfather’s abuse, lucky enough to grow up, lucky enough to possess wealth beyond most people’s wildest dreams.”

Qin Cangye raised his hand as if grasping something, reaching toward Su Yinuo, his face breaking into a smile that was incongruously bright for the moment: “Even if it’s just a little luck, I don’t mind giving it all to you. Take it.”

Su Yinuo stared blankly at Qin Cangye, lowering her head just as tears were about to spill, letting a few drops fall into the darkness of the car. She had never imagined that someone who appeared so polished and glamorous like Qin Cangye could have had such a tragic childhood and such a twisted upbringing.

She extended her palm, holding it open beneath Qin Cangye’s hand, sniffled, and then lifted her head to return an equally radiant smile: “Thank you.”

Qin Cangye opened his hand, and it seemed as though tiny stars flew from his palm, all landing gently in Su Yinuo’s grasp.

When they arrived outside the gates of the software park, Qin Cangye also got out of the car. Su Yinuo looked at him in confusion, and he smiled, saying, “I’ll walk you to your office.”

“Ah? That… there’s no need. I can go back by myself, it’s just a short walk.”

Her refusal made Qin Cangye visibly sad. He put on that pitiful, dejected expression again and said, “I just want to talk with you a little longer. Is that not okay?”

It had to be said, a tall, handsome man standing at 1.9 meters, acting vulnerable, was undeniably disarming. And ever since learning about Qin Cangye’s tragic childhood, Su Yinuo couldn’t help but feel a surge of maternal pity whenever she saw him. She didn’t refuse again and quickly relented, “Alright, alright.”

On the dim, quiet path, the cool breeze sobered Su Yinuo up a little. She tapped rapidly on her phone, messaging Li Jinmiao not to come out to meet her, Qin Cangye was going to walk her to the office entrance.

“Miss Li, next time could you bring me another gift?” Qin Cangye’s hopeful words drifted over from beside her. Su Yinuo quickly put away her phone and answered without thinking, “Sure.”

She had agreed too quickly. Feeling a little embarrassed, she chuckled and looked up to ask, “What kind of gift would you like this time?”

Qin Cangye slowed his steps, pausing in thought before tugging lightly at Su Yinuo’s sleeve to stop beneath a towering ginkgo tree. The bright white light from a nearby building shone through the golden ginkgo leaves, casting a warm glow on his face.

Yet the words he spoke next were as lonely and cold as the depths of an autumn night: “Since I was little, I’ve had everything, and the best of everything at that. From the moment I could remember, my grandfather never allowed me to use anything of poor quality. He said my life, my thoughts, my words, my clothes, everything I used had to be flawless and perfect. He would throw away the cheap toys my mother bought me, discard the inexpensive gifts my classmates gave me. He made sure that the moment I stepped into our home, all I saw was refinement and perfection. Day by day, I began to feel like I, too, had become nothing more than a perfect tool.”

He paused, looking at Su Yinuo, then bent slightly as if to share a secret no one else knew: “No one knows this, but during those suffocating days, I tore apart a pair of riding gloves worth tens of thousands, and hid them away. Those imperfect, tattered gloves became my childhood lifeline, the thing that got me through countless sleepless nights.”

Su Yinuo had been listening intently to every word Qin Cangye said, earnestly feeling the oppression and suffocation, he had once experienced. She couldn’t help but feel her hair stand on end and held her breath without realizing it. Only after Qin Cangye finished speaking did she take a deep breath and say, “I know what you want now.”

Qin Cangye raised an eyebrow slightly, somewhat surprised.

Su Yinuo composed herself and managed a relatively relaxed smile. “I just know, hehe. Not telling you now, I’ll give it to you next time.”

“Alright!” The gloom in Qin Cangye’s eyes dissipated, replaced by pure joy and anticipation.

Su Yinuo chuckled, then turned and walked with light steps toward Building No. 5.

Qin Cangye watched the flowing movement of her skirt, as if seeing her part the darkness of time and space, flying to the side of his younger self over twenty years ago, embracing that pitiful little boy like an angel.

He followed her, driven by an inexplicable reverence, trailing behind her.

When they reached the elevator lobby of Building No. 5, Su Yinuo said, “Mr. Qin, I’m here. You can go back now.”

Qin Cangye nodded, his gaze falling on the descending numbers next to the elevator door, starting from 15. With a soft ding, the doors opened, and a group of exhausted office workers who had been working late trudged out.

Afraid of being recognized by Li Jinmiao’s employees, Su Yinuo quickly took a few steps back, lowering her head as if adjusting her hair and using her phone to shield her face. Meanwhile, Qin Cangye, concerned she might be bumped into, wrapped his arm around her shoulder again.

The two of them, dressed so elegantly, stood out conspicuously, drawing curious and admiring glances from everyone exiting the elevator.

Suddenly, a surprised exclamation came from beside them: “Nuonuo!!”

Su Yinuo was startled. She lifted her eyes slightly, moving her phone aside to see Ji Wenjun running toward her.

Oh no… I’m busted!

Her heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively stepped back, only to be pulled tightly into Qin Cangye’s embrace.

Qin Cangye fixed Ji Wenjun with a cold stare, and Ji Wenjun, noticing him, locked eyes. The tension between them sparked like fireworks.

Qin Cangye had never visited Li Jinmiao’s company before, so Ji Wenjun didn’t recognize him. Seeing him holding Su Yinuo so intimately, and recalling Li Jinmiao’s words earlier that afternoon. “Going on a date, huh?” Ji Wenjun felt a pang of heartache. Pointing at Qin Cangye, he demanded, “Nuonuo, is this the boyfriend you mentioned?!”

Hearing this question, Qin Cangye’s icy expression softened slightly as he lowered his head to look at Su Yinuo in his arms.

“Ah? Y-yes, yes,” Su Yinuo replied awkwardly with a forced smile, not realizing how those simple words would stir vastly different storms in the hearts of the two men.

Qin Cangye remained outwardly calm but inwardly ecstatic: So, her name is Nuonuo… And she’s been treating me as her boyfriend all along?!

Ji Wenjun, on the other hand, was devastated: I’ve lost her… Ahhh, I’ve really lost her!!

Ji Wenjun looked on the verge of tears and was about to say more when Zhang Yifeng suddenly emerged from a nearby hallway, slinging an arm around his shoulders and dragging him toward the restroom. As he pulled Ji Wenjun away, Zhang Yifeng turned back to Su Yinuo and Qin Cangye, saying, “You two go ahead, go ahead. This guy’s just burnt out from overtime, he’s not thinking straight.”

Su Yinuo nodded, pulled her hand free from Qin Cangye’s grasp, and called out, “Goodbye, Mr. Qin,” before darting into the elevator.

Once back in Li Jinmiao’s office, it took Su Yinuo a long while to calm down. She haltingly recounted her experience from the evening’s meeting, though, of course, she left out the kiss and Qin Cangye’s tragic childhood.

Not long after she finished speaking, Zhang Yifeng rushed back in.

Su Yinuo looked up and asked, “How is Ji Wenjun? Does he know everything now?”

“No,” Zhang Yifeng shrugged with a bitter smile. “A grown man crying his eyes out, he just thinks he got dumped. He didn’t ask about the real nature of your relationship with Vice Chairman Qin.”

“Oh…” Su Yinuo lowered her head, twisting her fingers, wondering if Ji Wenjun’s use of “Nuonuo” earlier had exposed her identity in front of Qin Cangye.

Meanwhile, Li Jinmiao had already become absorbed in Su Yinuo’s eventful evening. Frowning in deep thought, she suddenly shot to her feet, furious. “Qin Cangye is such a scumbag!!”

Su Yinuo looked up, stunned. “Huh???”

Zhang Yifeng, however, smirked and said, “Director Li, it seems we’re on the same page.”