The Substitute Bride and the Cripple

iously, “Sir is at work.
Madam went shopping.
The young mistress is in school.
No one is at home now.”

Jiang Ming kicked the wall angrily.
“Are your masters out of their minds? Do they know what day it is today? Call Feng Guo’an and let him know that the two young masters of the Jiang family are here.
Tell him to get over here now!”

The Feng estate paled in comparison to the Jiangs’; had it not been for Jiang Ming’s scheme to make use of Feng Lu to humiliate his pathetic older brother, he would never have deigned to even speak to them.
Upon hearing that it was Young Master Jiang in front of him, the servant nodded fearfully and scurried to make the call.

Tang Qiu pushed Jiang Shaocheng’s wheelchair into the mansion.
She had never had good relations with the Feng family; she might as well have been invisible to them.
She couldn’t find it in her to be surprised at their behavior today.
“I want to bring back all my belongings from this place,” she told him.

He nodded.
“I’ll help you.”

Tang Qiu hesitated.
Jiang Shaocheng covered his mouth and coughed.
“I apologize.
That was thoughtless of me.
I’m already such a hassle.
I’d only cause more trouble for you, I know.”

He had misunderstood her.
Tang Qiu quickly explained, “No, it’s just that my room is in the basement.
I barely get any sunlight there all year round.
It’s not the most pleasant of environments.
I’m afraid you won’t be used to it.”

“I’m not some porcelain doll.”

Hearing that they were going to Tang Qiu’s bedroom, Jiang Ming trailed behind them on their heels, before he felt that something was wrong.
“Wait, sis-in-law.
Didn’t you say you were bringing us to your bedroom? Why are we going to the basement?”

“My room is in the basement.”

As she spoke, they had already reached the basement.
Tang Qiu pushed the door open.
The room was wide and spacious, cluttered with a variety of junk.
Tucked all the way at the back behind a curtain was a small corner with a single bed, a worn desk, and a flimsy clothes rack.

Jiang Ming’s eyes widened in disbelief.
This was where the Fangs kept such a beautiful girl? Not only was there not a trace of sunlight here, but it was uncomfortably humid, and it was so stuffy that the air seemed to stick to one’s skin.
How could anyone be forced to sleep here? Tang Qiu must have been worth less than dirt to the Fang family!

Tang Qiu had few belongings, so she was done packing in no time.
Noticing that Jiang Ming was studying their surroundings in shock, she shrugged and said, “Okay, I’m done.
Staring won’t make this place any prettier.
Let’s get out of here.”

Jiang Shaocheng’s expression was more contained than his brother’s.
The thin, flat line of his mouth was the only sign of the storm lurking beneath his reserved demeanor.