Married The Crybaby Childhood Crush First, Then Fell in Love - Chapter 2

Lin Wanqing’s lips moved. If she were a rabbit, her ears would already be drooping.

She opened the medical record: Yan Qiu—crippled in both legs and unable to stand due to a car accident three years ago, leading to a paranoid and aggressive personality. She needed to take tranquilizing medication regularly and as prescribed.

The wound on the back of her hand throbbed, and Lin Wanqing instinctively curled her fingers.

Judging by the description, the person named Yan Qiu was a certified volatile, gloomy lunatic.

The scenery outside grew increasingly desolate. Her mother, Qiao Lihua, who had been impatient with Lin Wanqing’s attitude, patiently began to talk about Yan Qiu, saying:

“Even though Yan Qiu can’t stand, it doesn’t affect her control over the group at all. So many people want to get into the Yan family, and they don’t have the connections; don’t be ungrateful.”

Qiao Lihua continued, “None of the rich are easy to deal with. Just gently coax her and follow her wishes, and you’ll have a good life.”

Lin Wanqing fell silent. No one wanted their marriage to be forcibly arranged.

She couldn’t refuse her mother’s demand. She was an illegitimate daughter, conceived with another man. Her father, who often traveled for work, had trusted her mother and never suspected a thing.

Logically, she shouldn’t have been entitled to a good education and life, but now it was time to repay the debt.

Seeing the road outside getting closer to the mansion, Lin Wanqing’s “rabbit ears” drooped even further.

Qiao Lihua didn’t pay any attention to Lin Wanqing. “If you marry Yan Qiu through this alliance, our textile factory will immediately receive fifty million in investment, and orders from the Yan family will constantly flow in. Tsk, tsk, tsk, we won’t have to worry about closing down anymore.”

Qiao Lihua spoke incessantly, tapping the documents with her sharp nails, angered:

“Lin Wanqing, are you listening to me?! Your tuition wasn’t cheap, and the medical expenses for your treatment abroad when you were little cost a fortune, not to mention—” She stopped herself from continuing.

Lin Wanqing lowered her eyes: “I understand. I will marry Yan Qiu.”

Qiao Lihua was finally satisfied. She smoothed her exquisitely curled hair. She wore a diamond ring the size of a pigeon egg on her ring finger and Tahitian pearls in her earlobes.

She didn’t look like someone whose family factory was about to close down.

Seeing the mansion getting closer, Qiao Lihua said:

“Don’t worry, Yan Qiu won’t treat you badly. Once you marry in, you’ll be a wealthy wife. Others will be falling over themselves to curry favor with you.”

Lin Wanqing simply hummed, her face showing little emotion.

…

The black Maybach pulled into the mansion’s garage. Lin Wanqing stepped out of the car.

In the autumn and winter, the trees in the yard had already turned yellow. The wind blew, and the lifeless fallen leaves scattered across the ground.

Lin Wanqing’s small leather shoes crunched on the fallen leaves, instantly crushing them.

She meekly followed her mother, reaching out to pull the crystal doorknob.

Suddenly, the doorknob was pulled inward, and the door opened. A woman in a wheelchair was pushed out.

The woman in the black leather wheelchair wore gold-rimmed glasses. Her skin was a pale white from staying indoors for a long time; the bluish veins on the back of her hands were visible.

A pair of pure black eyes looked at Lin Wanqing through the lenses, giving the latter the false impression of being targeted by a predator. There was no sign of the decadence one might expect from being confined to a wheelchair for so long.

Yan Qiu wore a formal black silk satin gown. She had a white lace glove on one hand, and the other hand gripped an ebony cane inlaid with rubies.

She was vintage and elegant, like a noblewoman from the Middle Ages.

Qiao Lihua quickly bent over and said: “CEO Yan, I didn’t know you would grace us with your presence. I just brought little Wanqing here. It’s still early. I’ve prepared dinner, would you…”

“No need.”

Yan Qiu’s gaze swept lightly past Qiao Lihua and settled back on Lin Wanqing.

She observed the “rabbit-soft” Lin Wanqing with interest. The latter stood nervously in place, fingers tightly grasping her cufflink. Her slightly reddened eyes trembled as she met Yan Qiu’s gaze.

She seemed to have no emotional fluctuation, yet she was like a little white rabbit whose ears had been grabbed, too scared to move.

Lin Wanqing didn’t dare to look away. She was on the verge of tears from Yan Qiu’s intense scrutiny—she had an overactive tear duct and couldn’t handle the slightest shock.

How adorable Lin Wanqing is, Yan Qiu thought. How much more adorable would she be if she cried?

“Miss Lin, you dropped your handkerchief.” Yan Qiu bent down to pick up the snow-white handkerchief beside her wheelchair. “My name is Yan Qiu.”

Lin Wanqing grabbed the handkerchief, her body twitching nervously again.

Her mother, annoyed by her daughter’s dullness, signaled with her eyes for her to be more proactive.

“Thank you,” Lin Wanqing said with a stiff smile, taking the handkerchief. Her fingertips briefly touched Yan Qiu’s, and she recoiled as if she’d been electrocuted.

When she got nervous, she’d get teary-eyed, her eye sockets and the tip of her nose turning pink. She quickly stuffed the handkerchief into her pocket.

Yan Qiu’s gaze fell on the back of her hand. “Miss Lin seems to be injured. I have hemostatic spray in my car. Would you like some?”

Lin Wanqing stammered, “No, thank you.”

Lin Wanqing was momentarily touched that an injury her own mother hadn’t noticed was spotted by the CEO she was meeting for the first time.

Yan Qiu nodded and didn’t insist. She gave her a slight smile. “I have other matters to attend to. I’ll take my leave now.”

We will meet again soon, my adorable little rabbit.

As Lin Wanqing watched Yan Qiu being wheeled away, she realized there was a black Bentley commercial vehicle parked outside the mansion’s gate.

After Yan Qiu left, the courtyard instantly became quiet. She could hear the whooshing wind in her ears.

The air, however, held a trace of her familiar lingering scent.

Lin Wanqing, quite knowledgeable about perfumes, recognized the fragrance as Neroli (Bitter Orange Blossom). This scent is known to reduce heart palpitations, relieve insomnia, and ease stress. Just smelling the scent made her whole body relax, and her anxiety was soothed.

This scent… Lin Wanqing suspected she had smelled it before, but she couldn’t quite remember.

Perhaps Yan Qiu wasn’t as ill-tempered as the files suggested.

She’s so… beautiful, like a noble, large cat.

…

Before she could fully collect herself, Qiao Lihua scolded her:

“What was wrong with you just now? Who were you giving the cold shoulder to? CEO Yan actively gave you her handkerchief, and you stood there like a block of wood.”

Lin Wanqing looked back in the direction Yan Qiu had left.

“I’ll pay attention next time.”

Qiao Lihua huffed her dissatisfaction. Entering the main hall, she saw her husband sitting in the reception room with two contracts in front of him.

Lin Wanqing’s father looked relatively kind, with some gray in his hair. He wore amber-framed glasses on his nose, carefully studying the trade contract he had just signed with Yan Qiu.

Her father had been relatively good to Lin Wanqing growing up. Since he and her mother had a younger sister, however, he had given much more affection to the sister.

Lin Wanqing, studying abroad, had become the family’s outsider.

Her father tiredly took off his glasses. “Did you see CEO Yan outside just now?”

Lin Wanqing nodded, tentatively looking at her father. She felt she had wronged him; he had always treated her as his biological daughter, despite the lack of a blood relationship.

Her father said, “Prepare yourself over the next few days to get in touch with CEO Yan and cultivate a relationship. It’s normal for a big boss like her to be a bit cold and volatile. Just be a little more demure and obedient, and you won’t suffer.”

Lin Wanqing was silent. “I understand.”

Lin Wanqing kept her hand in her pocket, constantly rubbing the handkerchief Yan Qiu had just given her. It had a trace of her Neroli scent, and even the pain in the wound on the back of her hand was less noticeable.

Qiao Lihua sat on the sofa, impatiently flipping through the contract they had just signed with Yan Qiu. Her father sighed:

“It’s an injustice to have you marry CEO Yan. I know you’re upset, but you must restrain yourself, be sensible, and be considerate of the bigger picture. Your sister is still young, and as the older sister, you need to bear the family’s responsibility.”

Lin Wanqing nodded. If she could repay twenty years of care with a marriage, it would be a clear slate.

People with physical disabilities are often irritable and short-tempered, sensitive to the stares of others, and perhaps even prone to spousal abuse.

The medical record her mother provided also indicated Yan Qiu’s unstable personality and the need for regular medication.

That CEO Yan doesn’t seem as terrifying as I imagined…

Lin Wanqing rubbed her tense, reddened eye corners, sniffing like a rabbit.

During dinner that night, Qiao Lihua prattled on about Yan Qiu’s preferences, cautioning Lin Wanqing to remember everything.

There wasn’t a single dish on the table that Lin Wanqing liked, so she only ate the carrot cubes closest to her.

Qiao Lihua glanced at Lin Wanqing while flipping through the documents: “CEO Yan didn’t want to get married; it was the Yan family elder who was pressing hard. Otherwise, why would such a good opportunity fall to our family?”

Lin Wanqing: “…”

So Yan Qiu wasn’t willing either.

Rich people are excellent actors. Even though she was unwilling to get close to her, Yan Qiu acted courteously at their first meeting, showing no visible impatience or disgust.

Lin Wanqing spent the night in the mansion. Without the dormitory’s noise, the whole room was so quiet that she could only hear the thump-thump of her own heart.

She didn’t sleep a wink, wrapping herself in the quilt, with only her head exposed.

…

The next morning, she took a taxi back to school early.

With few classes, Lin Wanqing and Lan Xiaoxiao left the library and walked toward the apartment they rented near the school’s startup park.

Lan Xiaoxiao held her pinky finger. “Your perfume smells so good. Where did you buy it?”

Lin Wanqing: “I just mix it myself for fun when I’m bored.”

Lan Xiaoxiao gasped, “Seriously? The scent is more sophisticated than many big brands. How are you so amazing?”

The person who is prettier than me also has better grades and is better at making money.

Lin Wanqing was always quiet, wearing an ivory-white coat and tying her long hair loosely with a snow-white lace ribbon. With her usually composed demeanor, she was the quintessential fashionable, cold, and fragile beauty. But Lan Xiaoxiao always felt she was quiet like a rabbit constantly eating timothy hay.

Lin Wanqing: “It’s alright, it’s not that difficult, is it?”

She hadn’t told her family about her startup to avoid any trouble.

Lan Xiaoxiao thought you’re humble-bragging and said mournfully, “Since you’re so smart, do you think I’m too dumb?”

Lin Wanqing shook her head: “No.”

A warmth sparked in Lan Xiaoxiao’s heart. “Qingqing is so nice.”

Lin Wanqing smiled affectionately: “You’re not my business partner; you won’t lose me money, so why would I think you’re dumb?”

Lan Xiaoxiao: “…” I was just mocked.

Lin Wanqing patted her shoulder.

Lin Wanqing said goodbye to Lan Xiaoxiao and entered her perfume studio, casually twisting her long hair up with a chopstick. She put on a lab coat and a layer of latex gloves.

Only here could she temporarily suppress the anxiety of marrying a stranger. She soothingly patted her chest.

After finishing her work, it was already evening. Lin Wanqing tiredly opened her phone. She had one unread text message.

Yan Qiu: Apologies for disturbing you, Miss Lin. This is my number. Where is your address? I’d like to meet with you.

High-status, possibly unstable, gloomy, volatile, terrifying fiancée now wants to meet her…

The rabbit-like Miss Lin clutched her phone, her hands shaking. She nervously typed a long message, deleting and editing it, afraid to send it.

The phone suddenly buzzed. Yan Qiu was calling.