His Sunday Substitute - Chapter 54

Faced with Qin Wangxuan’s aggressive demeanour, Li Jinmiao grew furious. She strode forward to Su Yinuo’s side, grabbed her hand, and said, “Nuonuo, come eat with us. I have something to say to you.”

Li Jinmiao assumed Su Yinuo was being forced to stay with Qin Wangxuan and naturally believed she needed rescuing from a dire situation. To her surprise, however, Su Yinuo refused.

“Jinmiao, I still have to go home with Wangxuan after dinner,” Su Yinuo said, pulling her hand away. Her tone carried a distance Li Jinmiao hadn’t expected.

Su Yinuo had never intended to drag Li Jinmiao into the mess she was entangled in. Li Jinmiao had her own life, career, and aspirations, and Su Yinuo didn’t want to involve her. Over time, she had deliberately distanced herself, even rarely replying to her WeChat messages.

Stunned, Li Jinmiao tried to grab Su Yinuo again, but Qin Wangxuan blocked her. His voice was icy as he warned, “Miss Li, Su Yinuo is pregnant. Don’t hurt her.”

Li Jinmiao withdrew her hand, heartbroken.

Behind her, Ji Wenjun, who had initially planned to pretend to be a stranger, suddenly looked up in disbelief. He stepped forward and stared at Su Yinuo. “You’re pregnant? Whose child is it?”

Before Su Yinuo could answer, Qin Wangxuan cut in, “Mine.”

Ji Wenjun glared at Qin Wangxuan furiously.

Qin Wangxuan scoffed, “Why are you staring at me? If it’s not mine, could it possibly be yours?”

Devastated, Ji Wenjun ignored Qin Wangxuan and turned back to Su Yinuo. “Su Yinuo, I really don’t understand you. I thought you liked Qin Cangye. If you didn’t, why didn’t you choose me?”

Su Yinuo opened her mouth but didn’t know how to respond.

Ji Wenjun waved his hand dismissively, speaking more to himself as he turned away. “Forget it. I don’t even have the right to ask that now. Su Yinuo, I hope you have a good life.”

Su Yinuo sighed and waved goodbye to Li Jinmiao, effectively drawing a clear line between herself and these once-close friends.

From now on, she would walk her path alone.

The arm around her waist tightened, pulling her toward a private dining room. The moment they stepped inside, Qin Wangxuan lifted Su Yinuo into his arms, turned, and shut the door behind them.

He carried her to the sofa, his grip on her waist unrelenting as he looked up at her, his eyes burning with jealousy. “That man just now, did you date him?”

“No,” Su Yinuo shook her head, struggling to pry his hand away.

“Then why did he say those things?” Qin Wangxuan demanded, gripping her wrist angrily.

“He pursued me, but I never agreed. Let me go!” Su Yinuo snapped.

But Qin Wangxuan ignored her protests, pinning her flailing hands behind her back as he pressed further. “How far did he go? Did he do what I’ve done? Or worse?”

“No! He never even touched my hand!” Su Yinuo shouted.

Only then did Qin Wangxuan release her hands, only to suddenly pull her into a tight embrace, burying his face in the crook of her neck. “So, only my brother and I have held you like this, right?”

His hold grew tighter, his breath hot against her skin.

“Yes, yes! Now let me go!”

Qin Wangxuan didn’t want to let go. The person in his arms was too fragrant, too soft holding her felt indescribably comfortable. And the fire in a certain place had already blazed up fiercely. The flames spread rapidly, scorching his rationality. He immediately laid Su Yinuo down on the sofa, covered her eyes with his hand, leaned down, and whispered hoarsely by her ear, “Pretend I’m my brother, okay?”

Just as the kiss was about to land, Su Yinuo grabbed a water jug from the nearby dining table and smashed it against him.

With a loud clatter, the lid fell to the floor, and warm tea spilled all over Qin Wangxuan and Su Yinuo. Only then did Qin Wangxuan release her and sit up. Trembling, Su Yinuo poured the remaining water from the jug onto Qin Wangxuan’s face and shouted, “Are you awake now? Are you finally awake?”

Qin Wangxuan stared blankly at Su Yinuo, his eyes filled with guilt, panic, and pain.

“I… I really like you.” he murmured, lowering his gaze, his voice shaking.

He had prepared himself for a scolding or even a beating, but after a long silence, the person before him still hadn’t reacted. When he finally looked up, he realized she was already crying, tears streaming down her face.

“I’m sorry, I…”

“Don’t do this to me, okay?” Su Yinuo interrupted Qin Wangxuan, her voice breaking. “No one else can help me, only you. You’re the only one I can rely on. But if you treat me like this, I’ll hate you. I won’t tell you anything anymore. I’ll face Qin Weishu alone. Whether I live or die, I won’t let you know. I…”

“I’m sorry! I was wrong!” Qin Wangxuan dropped to his knees with a thud. He fully realized his mistake, and Su Yinuo’s words, “You’re the only one I can rely on”, somehow invigorated him, filling him with inexplicable determination. Just as he was about to say something more to pledge his loyalty, the private room door was pushed open, and a waiter stood frozen in the doorway, stunned.

Su Yinuo quickly wiped her tears and frantically pulled Qin Wangxuan up. “O-order… order the food. Let’s eat.”

The waiter awkwardly stepped inside, awkwardly cleaned up the wet floor and the tea leaves scattered everywhere, and awkwardly handed the menu to Su Yinuo.

“My wife’s temper is a bit worse during pregnancy. It’s nothing serious, don’t worry,” Qin Wangxuan said with a smile, trying to reassure the waiter.

After eating a little, Su Yinuo lost her appetite.

Qin Wangxuan eagerly served her more dishes. “Eat more. Even if you’re not hungry, the baby is.”

“You’re overdoing the act,” Su Yinuo put down her chopsticks. Seeing Qin Wangxuan about to do the same, she quickly added, “Keep eating. I really don’t have an appetite. Listen to me while you eat.”

“Later, if Qin Weishu isn’t home when we return, we’ll distribute the things you brought back yesterday to the servants. I still plan to win them over, they might be our breakthrough. Qin Weishu’s years of violence couldn’t have left no evidence. If nothing’s been found yet, it just means we haven’t dug deep enough.”

“My original second plan was to provoke Qin Weishu and have you secretly film him ordering his men to abuse me. But now that I’m pregnant, they won’t touch me anymore, so that path is closed.”

There was actually another path, to build good relations with the families who had long lived on Chaoyang Mountain. Even Miao Miao had once witnessed Qin Weishu’s domestic violence toward Li Ruyin by chance, so surely someone on Chaoyang Mountain must know more. But I’m not good at cozying up to the powerful. I hope you can take me around to visit them when you have time…”

Su Yinuo said a lot, and Qin Wangxuan took it all to heart. He also shared some information he had gathered about the servants and the families on Chaoyang Mountain who were closely connected to the Qin family.

“You said the late patriarch of the Ji family used to be Qin Weishu’s personal doctor?” Su Yinuo noticed Qin Wangxuan’s mention of the Ji family, a medical dynasty on Chaoyang Mountain, and recalled that Ji Wenjun seemed to be a distant relative of theirs.

Qin Wangxuan immediately understood what Su Yinuo was getting at and nodded. “A doctor would definitely know many secrets. Let me work on building some connections first. When the time is right, I’ll take you to visit. Otherwise, if we go unprepared, we won’t get any answers.”

Su Yinuo nodded.

…

Over the next few days, the two acted according to plan. When Qin Weishu wasn’t home, Su Yinuo stayed behind to bond with the servants. When Qin Weishu was around, she followed Qin Wangxuan to the company.

Su Yinuo grew increasingly familiar with the servants. Even Li Guogang, who had initially been cold toward her, softened his attitude after her repeated gifts and the news of her pregnancy.

Her pregnancy was no longer a secret, neither on Chaoyang Mountain nor within Ronghua Capital. Though Qin Wangxuan insisted the child was his, Qin Weishu had never publicly acknowledged his great-grandchild. As a result, many speculated in private that the baby might actually be Qin Cangye’s.

The Qin family seemed to be on the verge of a happy event, yet there was no sign of any celebration. Outsiders quickly realized that the Qins only wanted the child, Su Yinuo would, at most, receive a hefty compensation. Many whispered criticisms behind her back, but no one dared to say anything openly. Su Yinuo paid no mind to the odd looks at the company, continuing to appear side by side with Qin Wangxuan as usual.

During these days, Qin Wangxuan also behaved more restrained. Though he still held her hand and hugged her, he didn’t go any further. Su Yinuo resigned herself to his antics, often imagining him as an overenthusiastic husky that refused to be shooed away whenever he pounced on her.

…

One evening, Su Yinuo, playing the part of the doting lover, stood waiting at the villa entrance for Qin Wangxuan to return. He always came home earlier than Qin Weishu. The moment he stepped inside, he shrugged off his coat, handed it to a servant, and immediately swept Su Yinuo into his arms.

“I missed you so much, I missed you so much,” he murmured, ignoring the servants’ gazes as he lifted her up and carried her to the living room sofa. Sitting down, he gently stroked her belly and asked with concern, “How are you today? Did the baby make you nauseous?”

“No,” Su Yinuo shook her head.

Qin Wangxuan held her tightly, resting his head on her shoulder and inhaling the fragrance emanating from her body. He whispered, “Tomorrow’s the weekend. Grandpa has an important dinner engagement and won’t be home all day. Many of the servants’ families will be visiting tomorrow, I remember they came around the same time last month. Oh, and…” He brushed aside Su Yinuo’s cascading long hair, nuzzling against her smooth, slender neck as he continued, “I’ve never seen the butler’s family visit before. That’s a bit suspicious, though I never paid much attention to it in the past. If you want to investigate, I’ll help you tomorrow. Also…”

Her neck was unbearably ticklish, and his scorching lips kept brushing against it. Su Yinuo pressed her hand against his mouth to stop him from nuzzling further. But he parted his lips and took her finger into his mouth.

Su Yinuo quickly pulled her hand away, her finger now damp.

“I haven’t finished what I was saying!” Qin Wangxuan lifted his gaze to meet hers, complaining, “I was just talking, I wasn’t trying to kiss you. If you keep teasing me like this, I really will kiss you.”

“I wasn’t teasing you.”

He leaned back against her shoulder and murmured, “Tomorrow afternoon, I’ve arranged to visit the Ji family. We’ll go together, I’ve already bought the gifts, so don’t worry.” By the end, he couldn’t hold back any longer. “You… you smell so good…”

He pressed a soft kiss to her neck.

Su Yinuo shuddered and raised her hand to swat him, but just then, Qin Weishu walked in through the front door. She quickly softened her movement, resting her hand on the back of Qin Wangxuan’s head instead.

Qin Wangxuan’s heart swelled with delight, desire surging uncontrollably. He tightened his grip around her waist and let his tongue flick out.

“Ahem!!” Qin Weishu coughed loudly, his disgusted gaze landing squarely on Su Yinuo.

Qin Wangxuan immediately released her, but not before a thin strand of saliva stretched between them. On her neck, he saw the mark he had left behind.

He was so exhilarated he could barely contain himself.

“If you want to fool around, take it to your room! What kind of behavior is this in the living room?!” Qin Weishu snapped.

“Yes!” Qin Wangxuan promptly scooped Su Yinuo into his arms and headed upstairs, his eager strides leaving Qin Weishu stunned.

Once inside the room, Su Yinuo slapped Qin Wangxuan hard across the face, but it did nothing to snap him out of his frenzy. Seeing the unnatural flush in the corners of his eyes, she grew frantic, on the verge of tears.

“Don’t worry, sister-in-law, I won’t touch you,” Qin Wangxuan panted, carrying her into the walk-in closet and shoving her into the wardrobe. “I’m sorry, I just… I’ve been holding back for so long, I can’t take it anymore.”

Looking at Su Yinuo curled up on the wardrobe shelf, he yanked off his tie and blindfolded her with it. “Don’t look. I won’t touch you.”

The sight of that fair, delicate face bound by his tie was unbearably alluring, and the soft pink lips exhaling warm breaths were utterly lethal.

Qin Wangxuan braced himself against the wardrobe door, hastily undoing his belt. His gaze fixed on the beauty before him, the veins in his arms bulging as his hands trembled uncontrollably.