His Sunday Substitute - Chapter 9

After spending Saturday scouting food truck markets all day, Su Yinuo spent Sunday morning tidying up her home. Following lunch, she took a short nap, then changed into a loose, casual outfit before heading out.

Today, her pants were a bit too long. Just as she stepped out of the yard, the hem got caught on a prickly pear cactus by the gate. Su Yinuo paused, turning to look at the row of wildly growing cacti along the wall. Suddenly, something flashed through her mind.

After a few seconds of blank staring, her eyes lit up as she recalled what Qin Cangye had said a week ago: “Next Sunday, please ask Miss Li to give me the first branch that touches your clothes when you leave the house, alright?”

Even though it had only been a week, it felt like years had passed.

“Does a cactus count as a branch?” Su Yinuo muttered under her breath as she crouched down. “Well… I guess it does.”

Half an hour later, Su Yinuo arrived at the entrance of Feiyue Game Company, holding a bag wrapped in scrap paper containing the cactus.

As usual, there was no receptionist at the door. Worried about running into Ji Wenjun, she pulled up her hood and crept along the wall, sneaking into the office area before quickly making her way to Li Jinmiao’s office. Just as she reached for the door, an earth-shattering shout came from behind her:

“Nuonuo!”

Startled, Su Yinuo flung the door open and darted inside.

Inside, Li Jinmiao, Zhang Yifeng, and three unfamiliar men were in the middle of a meeting. When all five looked up in surprise, Su Yinuo flushed red, bowed deeply, and blurted, “Sorry, I forgot to knock!” before immediately backing out and closing the door.

Her back bumped straight into Ji Wenjun’s chest. Su Yinuo spun around in alarm, taking in his messy, unkempt hair and wounded expression.

“Nuonuo, why did you block me? If I did something wrong, I’ll apologize!” Ji Wenjun said urgently.

Su Yinuo raised the cactus bag to keep him at a distance. Mortified, she whispered, “Lower your voice! Your colleagues are working!”

Ji Wenjun blinked, then glanced back at his coworkers, all craning their necks from their desks with amused grins. Turning back, he deadpanned, “No, they’re just here for the show.”

“Huh?” Su Yinuo was baffled by his logic. “And you’re just letting them watch?”

“They’ve been working overtime so much they’re practically wilting. Thought I’d liven things up,” Ji Wenjun said with a goofy grin.

“Uh…” Su Yinuo lowered the cactus, at a loss for words.

“Never mind them. Nuonuo, you still haven’t told me why you blocked me!” Ji Wenjun pressed.

“My tall, handsome, rich boyfriend did it,” Su Yinuo lied smoothly, without so much as a blush.

Ji Wenjun froze, then slumped against the wall with a dramatic wail. “I don’t believe it! Nuonuo, you’re lying to me!!”

The office door swung open, and Li Jinmiao shot Ji Wenjun a glare. “Stop yelling and get back to work!” she snapped before looping her arm through Su Yinuo’s and pulling her inside.

“Nuonuo, go pick out a dress in the break room first. I brought a few evening gowns today. My meeting’s almost done, and then I’ll do your makeup.” Li Jinmiao whispered in her ear as she led her to the break room.

Evening gown? Why would I need to wear an evening gown today?

Staring at the row of dresses hanging on the rack, each encased in an exquisitely crafted protective cover, Su Yinuo found herself lost in thought, recalling the professional suit she had worn last time. It was a blue striped Miu Miu suit, she had later searched online for the same style based on memory and was shocked to discover the entire set cost over ten thousand yuan. So, the price tags on these evening gowns before her now must be in the six-figure range…

Pursing her lips and swallowing hard, Su Yinuo carefully examined the dresses, which seemed to be stitched together with stacks of cash, afraid that a single careless touch might send thousands of yuan tumbling to the floor.

After finishing her meeting, Li Jinmiao pushed open the door and burst into laughter at the sight of Su Yinuo sitting stiffly on the sofa. “Nuonuo, what are you doing? Have you picked out a dress yet?” she asked.

Su Yinuo pointed at the clothes and admitted honestly, “They’re too expensive, I don’t dare touch them. Just give me the most conservative one.”

Li Jinmiao laughed heartily. “These aren’t haute couture; they’re not as expensive as you think. The priciest one is just over twenty thousand.”

Su Yinuo let out a sigh of relief, though she still found the price staggering.

“How about this one?” Li Jinmiao said with a smile, holding up a shimmering beige chiffon gown.

That evening, standing outside the three-Michelin-starred restaurant on the 58th floor of the Lakeside Tower in West Lake District, Su Yinuo finally understood why she needed to wear an evening gown today. The opulent and elegant French restaurant, the tall, impeccably dressed blond waitstaff in suits, and the bejeweled patrons seated by the floor-to-ceiling windows with panoramic views, it all made sense now.

Nervously standing at the entrance, she adjusted the long hair Li Jinmiao had styled into an updo, secured with a light brown crystal hair tie, then awkwardly tucked the brown paper bag she was holding behind her back, hiding the pitiful little cactus beneath the chiffon skirt.

Aside from the out-of-place cactus, Su Yinuo, from head to toe, blended seamlessly with the restaurant’s upscale ambiance, thanks to Li Jinmiao’s meticulous styling.

When she had stepped out of the office earlier, she had been met with a chorus of gasps from the work area and Ji Wenjun’s stunned exclamation.

“Nuonuo, where are you going?” Ji Wenjun’s eyes nearly popped out of his head, his usually thick-skinned face now flushed to the tips of his ears.

Before Su Yinuo could answer, Li Jinmiao replied for her, “On a date, of course. What else?”

Ji Wenjun wilted like frostbitten eggplant, deflated behind the radiant Su Yinuo.

Once again, Zhang Yifeng had escorted Su Yinuo to the restaurant. Since the entire floor was occupied by the exclusive French restaurant Onirique, requiring reservations in advance, Zhang Yifeng had nowhere to hide. After dropping her off, he took Su Yinuo’s thick coat and left the floor.

Su Yinuo waited anxiously at the entrance, feeling increasingly uncomfortable under the curious glances of passersby. But within five minutes, she spotted a striking, confident figure striding out of the restaurant. Relief washed over her as she lifted the hem of her dress and stepped forward with a shy smile. “Mr. Qin, I didn’t expect you to arrive early.”

Qin Cangye had already been there for an hour.

The urgency in his heart surpassed his imagination. From early Sunday morning, he had been restless.

In truth, the entire week had been torture for him. Whenever he had a moment of idleness, his mind was filled with Su Yinuo’s face and figure.

He had come to a deep realization, he was hopelessly entangled with a woman he had met only once. He couldn’t explain where, in his dull and uneventful life of over twenty years, this sudden surge of passion had come from, this overwhelming impulse of love at first sight.

It was inexplicable.

Part of him wanted to simply surrender to this impulse, while another part despised the powerless state he was in, tormented by it for an entire week without any means of escape.

He loathed being controlled by any emotion.

Just like the fear he felt as a child when he saw his grandfather abusing his grandmother and his mother for coming home late. To conquer this fear that had oppressed him for years, at the age of eight, he grabbed a chair and hurled it at his grandfather.

Like a rabid dog, he stood in front of his mother. The explosive strength of an eight-year-old boy was more terrifying than that of his nearly forty-year-old cowardly father.

Bodyguards intervened, and his grandfather, Qin Weishu, stared in shock before throwing his head back and laughing heartily, praising, “Truly my blood!”

Yet, Qin Cangye still failed to protect his mother, whose body and soul were already scarred. The woman who loved him deeply left him when he was ten, departing as calmly as his grandmother had when he was five.

Little Qin Cangye firmly believed: They had escaped their suffering. They had gone to heaven.

Qin Cangye grew up lonely and sharp-edged, never again forming attachments to anyone, never again swayed by any emotion. So, he couldn’t understand, why had he abandoned his heavy workload and arrived at this carefully chosen restaurant an hour early?

Why had he bought a bouquet of pure white roses?

Why, upon seeing that gentle, petite woman standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, did she seem more dazzling than the neon lights and stars outside? Why did he feel this impulsive urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her?

Watching her approach, seeing the clear and sincere smile on her face, everything around him seemed to fade into nothingness. In his world, there was only this radiant girl before him, glowing like a stream of light.

The turbulent waves in his heart gradually calmed as he stopped half a meter away from Su Yinuo. On his face appeared the bashfulness of a young boy experiencing his first crush.

“Miss Li, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said, handing the white roses to Su Yinuo and raising his arm in a gentlemanly manner, waiting for her to take it.

“Wow, flowers! They’re so beautiful. Thank you, Mr. Qin,” Su Yinuo didn’t hide her delight and admiration. She cradled the white roses in her left hand, which also held her clutch, and then completely ignored Qin Cangye’s raised arm, walking straight into the restaurant.

Qin Cangye was slightly embarrassed. He lowered his arm and walked beside Su Yinuo, noticing something in her right hand. With a smile, he asked, “What are you hiding there?”

Su Yinuo’s eyes were filled with the restaurant’s luxurious decor and the dazzling nightscape outside the window. Hearing Qin Cangye’s question, she shyly hid her face behind the roses and whispered to him, “Your requested gift. I’ll give it to you quietly later.”

“Oh? I’m looking forward to it.”

Su Yinuo was so close that Qin Cangye could even catch the delicate scent of white roses wafting from her cheeks. His gaze lowered, lingering on her fair, slender neck, but what he truly yearned for was far more than just this small gift, it was everything about her that had always remained just out of his reach.

Unaware of the hunger in his eyes, Su Yinuo followed the attendant’s guidance and settled into a quiet seat by the windows, bathed in soft light.

“Wow, Mingzhu Lake is breathtaking,” she murmured, placing her handbag and paper bag beside her while cradling the white roses, her eyes lost in the view outside.

The panorama before her was vast, the fifty-something floors offered a sweeping nightscape of the entire West Lake District, a sight so expansive she had never witnessed before. It felt as though her heart could soar with her gaze to those unreachable horizons. Yet, inexplicably, the vastness of the world before her stirred a pang of sorrow in her chest.

She had come here with her emotions carefully tucked away, yesterday’s misfortunes already dissolved in yesterday’s tears. That was why she could smile so brightly when she saw Qin Cangye.

But now, the longing to soar like a bird across the boundless sky clashed violently with the shackles of her powerless reality, leaving her eyes reddened and brimming.

So, this is how beautiful the world I don’t belong to truly is…

Qin Cangye had been silently watching Su Yinuo, admiring how stunning she looked in that dress tonight. The warm golden glow from the side lamps spilled over her, and against the backdrop of the night, she resembled an ethereal spirit draped in starlight.

Her gentle hairstyle was enchanting, and the way she gazed, enraptured, at the view outside, her delicate profile and the elegant curve of her neck, struck him so deeply that he instinctively reached for his phone, wanting to capture this moment forever.

But just as the shutter clicked, he noticed something glistening in the camera frame, a single, crystalline teardrop.

The realization that it was about to fall sent a sharp jolt through his heart. He immediately lowered his phone, leaned forward, and cupped her face with his right hand.

A scalding tear dropped into his warm palm.

“Why are you crying?”