The Substitute Bride: Indulged by the Obsessive CEO

Chapter 25: He Couldn’t Accept it

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

As the food prices on the third floor of the school cafeteria were higher, there weren’t many students and it felt spacious.

Tang Beibei and Lu Fan sat down by the window. She looked at the food prices on the menu and quietly looked away.

With the food prices here, she could have two meals downstairs.

Although she had received some money from the Rongs, she had to save money for her husband’s treatment. She still had to support him in future when he couldn’t work. She would like to save as much as she could.

Lu Fan ordered two stir-fried dishes and Tang Beibei asked to split the bill. Lu Fan laughed in amusement.

“I asked you to lunch. How can I ask you to pay, Beibei?”

Tang Beibei smiled and said, “You are my senior and you’ve helped me a lot. I still owe you two cups of bubble tea. How can I ask you to treat me? Let’s split the bill.”

Although she was poor, she couldn’t take advantage of people and ask her senior to buy her lunch for no reason. That would be bad.

Lu Fan sat down opposite Tang Beibei. His usually gentle and handsome face looked a little depressed.

“Tang Beibei, we are friends. Must we keep our money separate all the time? ”

She was so adamant about keeping their money separate because she wanted to draw a clear line between them, but he didn’t want to be completely separated from her.

However, to Tang Beibei, it was always better to keep money separate. Otherwise, she would owe him a favor.

Money could be easily repaid, but not favors.

“Senior Lu Fan, even blood brothers keep their money separate. We are just having lunch. It’s better that we go Dutch.”

Lu Fan took a deep breath when he realized that this girl was quite stubborn.

But wasn’t it what he liked about her?

“Alright, we’ll go Dutch.” He said through gritted teeth.

This was the first time he, the young master of the Lu family, had asked a girl to lunch and she asked to split the bill. Sigh.

“Senior Lu Fan, what did want to tell me?”

“I heard from Ruan Qi that you didn’t get married willingly. It was the Rong family that forced you into marriage. Beibei, if you want a divorce, I can help you.”

Tang Beibei was puzzled. Why did everyone she knew persuade her to get a divorce?

Her husband was so good to her. She ate and drank well. She even had someone to hug when she slept. She was very content.

“Thank you, senior Lu Fan. I don’t need to get a divorce. I’m fine.”

Lu Fan saw the smile on her face and felt that it was forced.

No woman could accept being forced into marriage with a sickly man who was not only disabled but also disfigured.

People said that marriage was like a woman’s second reincarnation. Tang Beibei was born under such tragic circumstances and now she was forced to marry such a man. How could she be fine?

The more Lu Fan thought about it, the more his heart ached.

The woman so precious to him was being bullied like this. He restrained his anger and said, “Beibei, don’t try to act tough. If you feel wronged, you can just say it.”

Tang Beibei was confused. “Feel wronged? But I don’t.”

“How can you not feel wronged when you are forced to marry a man like that? I know you want to look fine. But Beibei, have you ever considered that you’ll have no future when you are married to a man like that?”

Tang Beibei was a little surprised to hear that he was worried about her.

Although Lu Fan was had a pleasant personality and was friendly to everyone, he had the aura of a rich man’s son. Standing beside him made a poor girl like Tang Beibei feel unworthy.

However, at this very moment, he was talking to her about her future like a strict elder.

If she couldn’t even live well now, what future could she talk about?

Back then, Rong Yong had threatened her with her grandmother. She had no choice. Fortunately, she was married to Jiang Jingchen, who took care of her and cared about her. She felt like she had been given a second chance at a good life.

She wanted the man in the wheelchair to be in her future.

“Senior Lu Fan, everyone has a different vision of their future. I think my future isn’t too bad.”

Lu Fan furrowed his beautiful brows. He pushed up his glasses as he continued to guide her while suppressing his anger.

“Beibei, reality is very cruel. That cripple can’t give you a child. You know that a woman’s life is incomplete if she doesn’t have a child. You also have to take care of him for the rest of his life. A lifetime is a very, very long time. What you are doing now will become your regret in future.”

The smile on Tang Beibei’s face froze. Was a childless woman incomplete?

If that was the case, why did her mother abandon her after she had her?

“Senior Lu Fan, my husband is very good to me. I won’t get a divorce. Thank you for your concern.”

“So, you are giving in because he’s good to you? Beibei, you can trust me. If you have any difficulty you can’t mention, tell me. I might be able to help you.”

Lu Fan couldn’t understand. That man was ugly and disabled. No matter how good he was to her, he wasn’t someone she could count on for the rest of her life. She had to be suffering.

Tang Beibei’s scalp went numb as she listened to his endless questions.

Her senior, whom she wasn’t especially close to, was urging her to get a divorce. He was doing it out of the kindness of his heart so she couldn’t reject or embarrass him. But she felt really awkward.

“Senior Lu Fan, I don’t have any difficulty I can’t mention. My husband is indeed not good-looking, and he can only sit in a wheelchair because of his leg injury. However, we get along very well. Isn’t marriage about spending your life with someone you can get along with?”

“Getting along is indeed important, but there are other factors. He’s disabled and can’t work. Family finances is the foundation of everything. Beibei, you can’t ignore it. Also, if anything happens to you, he can’t help you except sitting in a wheelchair and worrying. And he still needs you to take care of him every day.”

Tang Beibei took a deep breath and tried to explain. “I’ve also thought about my financial situation. After I graduate from college, I’ll work and earn money to support him. I’ll also work hard at learning medicine so I can find a way to treat him. This motivates me to study medicine harder.”

Lu Fan, who was an experienced debater and an eloquent speaker, was rendered speechless by this woman’s words.

“Tang Beibei, you…”

“Oh, our food is ready. Senior Lu Fan, I’ll go get the food. I’m hungry.”

Tang Beibei smiled and got up to collect their dishes. When they were eating, she smiled and interrupted Lu Fan whenever she saw him trying to bring up the topic. It wasn’t easy but she survived the lunch. She was happy that someone cared about her, but Lu Fan’s kindness put her in a difficult position and she felt awkward.

She found an excuse and said goodbye to Lu Fan. Then, she went back to her computer to continue her work.

Lu Fan clenched his fists in frustration as he watched her escape.

If he had told her earlier that he liked her, perhaps things wouldn’t have turned out this way.

Now that she was married to such a man, he couldn’t accept it!

• •

After school, Tang Beibei walked to the school gate and saw Song Zhou waving at her.

She ran over and opened the car door. When she didn’t see Jiang Jingchen in the car, she couldn’t hide the disappointment in her eyes.

“Where’s my husband? Is he not feeling well?”

Song Zhou stared at Tang Beibei’s expression and thought about how he had informed the young master when he was leaving to pick Tang Beibei up from school, but the young master waved his hand and said that he would not come along.

Song Zhou was confused and asked him why. The young master explained that he was creating a sense of anticipation.

He had read a book recently and it said that creating occasional surprises could strengthen the bond between couples.

True, Song Zhou thought. But not picking up Tang Beibei once or twice wasn’t really creating surprises, right?

He glanced at the book in the young master was holding. It was a book on the psychology of love. There were also all kinds of romance novels piled up next to the young master.

II II

• •

Song Zhou could only say that it was slightly embarrassing for his young master to neglect his work so could spend time researching this kind of thing. A woman’s beauty could indeed be dangerous!

“Young master is at home preparing a gift for you. That’s why he didn’t come to pick you up.”

Tang Beibei heaved a sigh of relief when she heard that he wasn’t feeling unwell. However, she couldn’t help but look forward to his gift.

“What gift is young master preparing?”

“Let’s get you home. You’ll find out when young master shows it to you.”

She would probably love the gift, Song Zhou thought to himself..