Chapter 9

After Su Hui left, Su Pu stayed seated for a long while before he could finally calm the churning in his stomach.

Lowering his eyes, the damned bank card came into view again.

He really was terrified of being poor. When he was barely a teenager, he couldn’t pay a 300-yuan materials fee, and his homeroom teacher mocked him for an entire year.

Back then, everyone called him “that cowardly, broke mute kid.”

His pride had been soaked and dissolved in those constant jeers—dissolved all the way into today.

He no longer resisted hardship or bullying, because he knew he would lose.

Every time trouble came, he never ran. He just stood there, frozen, waiting to be caught.

Maybe he believed, deep down, that his life was meant to be hard mode.

Smooth sailing was a fantasy—misfortune was the norm.

But this time…

He refused to swallow it.

He would not fulfill Su Fengxian and Su Hui’s wishes by tricking Li Jichuan into attending the party as their trophy.

Even if he ended up with nothing—cast out of Li Jichuan’s home—he wanted to stand with a clear conscience.

Clear before himself.

And clear before Li Jichuan.

Su Pu slipped the card into his pocket, planning to find a courier later and send it straight back to the Su residence.

But as soon as he turned around, his eyes widened.

When had Li Jichuan gotten here?

The wheelchair was parked right at the pickup counter—impossible to miss at a glance.

Was he… here to pick him up from work?

Su Pu suddenly remembered what the house servants had said:

“Mr. Li said a little mute is joining the household. We must take good care of him…”

So… was Li Jichuan personally looking after him too?

Heat rose across Su Pu’s cheeks. His mind kept warning him Don’t overthink this, yet something inside him still fluttered—like hundreds of butterflies bursting to life, wings beating against his ribs.

Those tiny butterflies swept away his earlier gloom, pulling a smile to his lips before he could stop it.

It’s my husband!!!

But… why did Li Jichuan look like he was in a terrible mood?

As Su Pu walked over, the coffee Li Jichuan ordered had just finished brewing.

Because he had trouble moving, he could only brace himself with both arms, struggling to lean close enough to reach the counter.

Quick-handed, Su Pu grabbed the coffee for him and offered it with a bright, eager smile.

But Li Jichuan merely took it with a chilly expression, displeasure still written all over his face.

Startled, Su Pu hurriedly pulled out his phone and typed:

【Did you come to pick me up?】

At that moment, Ouyang caught sight of the two of them. He thought his Brother Su had finally developed feelings for someone—he was being way too proactive, practically showering the guy with attention.

“Brother Su, this is…?”

He couldn’t help teasing, wanting to see Su Pu blush and maybe help close the distance between the two.

Even strangers exchange names after a simple question, right?

Sure enough, Su Pu flushed even redder.

But the man in the wheelchair clearly wasn’t playing along. Before Su Pu could finish typing, he cut straight in:

“Are all your baristas this nosy?”

With that, the wheelchair rolled smoothly backward, turned around, and exited the shop without looking back.

Ouyang froze for two seconds, then finally registered the insult and got mad.

“What, you can’t handle a single question? Who do you think you are, some divine being? Don’t even know how to take a joke? Ever heard of fun?”

He turned to look at Su Pu—the little mute was staring blankly, and somehow… looked disappointed.

But disappointed about what?

In their line of work, they saw all sorts of people. Some customers were friendly; some had very firm boundaries. Totally normal.

“Brother Su, you okay?”

Across the counter, Ouyang stretched his arm out and pressed his palm lightly against Su Pu’s forehead.

“Why are you so red? Are you getting a fever?”

Su Pu lowered his eyes and shook his head, crestfallen.

So Li Jichuan was really just here to buy coffee…

…

Outside the shop, Li Jichuan handed the freshly bought coffee to the driver waiting at the door.

“Sir, you’re not drinking it?”

Controlling the wheelchair with the remote, Li Jichuan moved forward, irritation simmering under his calm exterior.

“I’ve already had enough today.”

Half an hour earlier—

After finishing a meeting, Li Jichuan returned to his office with a throbbing headache.

It was one of the lingering aftereffects of the accident—he hadn’t just lost the ability to walk independently; the crash had left trails of scars across his calves, and his head injury was no less severe.

Chronic insomnia. And whenever he overworked his brain or got emotional, the stabbing pain returned—

Like someone pressing a needle into the most sensitive point of his temple, again and again.

Luckily, today there was a cup of coffee waiting on his desk.

Judging from the packaging, it had to be from his newlywed spouse.

Though the coffee had cooled, the flavor still held. One sip, and a faint sweetness spread across his lips.

Li Jichuan examined the cup, unable to keep the corner of his mouth from lifting.

He even switched the beans for me?

The new coffee felt cleaner on the palate. Less fruity, more floral. Moderate acidity—just enough to quiet his overstimulated thoughts.

He downed the whole cup, and even the headache slowly eased.

His secretary entered with a tablet to report progress and casually mentioned, “Frank is threatening to quit. He cried for half the afternoon. What exactly did you do to him?”

“Let him quit. Serves him right,” Li Jichuan replied, unsatisfied even after venting that much, setting aside the empty cup.

The secretary understood and moved on. “When you get home tonight, there’ll be another online meeting. Negotiations have reached the final stage. The project team still wants the key decisions to come from you.”

Li Jichuan loosened his tie, revealing fatigue only in front of someone he trusted. “Got it…”

“Echo, how’s my grandfather?”

“No significant changes. But the hospital called this morning—Chairman Li insists on meeting your spouse.” Echo spoke carefully, watching his expression.

Thankfully, there was no trace of displeasure on Li Jichuan’s face. As if the man who fiercely rejected blind dates last month wasn’t even him.

“Got it. I was planning to visit him tonight anyway…”

After a pause, he added, “Screen the new assistant yourself.”

“And one more thing—” Li Jichuan said, “the coffee from the shop downstairs is good. Buy from them from now on.”

Echo jotted it down and left.

…

Knowing he’d be bringing Su Pu to meet the family tonight, Li Jichuan found himself unusually distracted, unable to settle into work.

The kid was thin, thoughtful, sometimes a little clumsy, and when he smiled, he looked impossibly gentle…

Grandpa would probably like him, wouldn’t he?

At some point, his dark-blue desktop wallpaper blurred into the image of Su Pu—eyes closed, long lashes trembling slightly, the faint scent of warmth rising with each breath.

The only flaw was that once he fell asleep, he turned into a complete menace—

Who knew when he’d end up plastered on top of him, impossible to pry off.

Wasn’t that just taking advantage of a cripple?

But thanks to that warm, heavy “little blanket” draped over him, Li Jichuan had drifted into sleep for once.

In the dream, he was back on a school trip years ago. The bus drove off, leaving him behind in a tiny mountain village.

The family he stayed with was simple and kind. They served him steaming homemade food.

Starving, he gobbled it down in a rare lapse of decorum, finishing a whole bowl in a messy rush—and afterward sat in the sunlight, dizzy from being full.

When Uncle Wang drove over, he found Li Jichuan fast asleep on a woven rattan rocking chair, a chubby cat sprawled across his stomach.

On the very first night he’d spent with Su Pu—their wedding night—he’d somehow slipped back into that summer afternoon.

Leisurely, fresh, as if he had nothing in the world to worry about, the whole universe shrinking into the slow sway of a rocking chair.

And in that moment, he held freedom in his arms.

The illusion shattered abruptly. Adjusting the angle of his wheelchair, Li Jichuan felt something snag.

He looked down at his legs. Since he had no sensation below the knees, sometimes his feet tilted at odd angles without him noticing.

This time, the hem of his dress pants had gotten caught between the seat cushion and the remote-control mechanism. When he pulled it free, there was a smear of black on the fabric.

Someone as particular about neatness as he was simply couldn’t tolerate that. He shut off his computer and left work early.

And, while he was at it, planned to pick up the little mute downstairs.

After all, they were visiting his grandfather—he had to make the act convincing.

Otherwise, how would that old fox ever believe it?

But the moment he entered the shop, he saw Su Pu pocketing someone else’s business card…

Planning to let someone take him to a party, even?

His temples throbbed; Li Jichuan let out a bitter laugh.

In the end, it was his own fault.

He’d actually thought marrying a mute would mean fewer complications.

He’d heard the little mute wasn’t valued much by his family, so he assumed the marriage would spare him troublesome social obligations.

But on just the second day of moving in, Su Pu was already making his own calculations.

He had to admit—some faint disappointment rose in his chest.

But reason regained control quickly. Wasn’t he also using Su Pu?

He wanted someone considerate and low-maintenance as a partner—someone who could give his grandfather peace of mind as he prepared to leave this world.

Someone who could help silence all that outside gossip.

So if Su Pu wanted to borrow his reputation to boost his family business… wasn’t that only fair?

A strange emptiness spread inside him, and he didn’t know what to make of it.

The autumn wind had picked up; he felt a chill and rolled faster toward the car before getting in.

The driver folded the wheelchair and stored it in the trunk.

“President Li, where to?” he asked, turning back.

But Li Jichuan’s gaze drifted again toward the café, staring fixedly.

Probably rushing, Su Pu had changed clothes and hurried out, standing at the entrance and scanning the street anxiously.

A little tuft of hair even stuck up at the top of his head.

Then their eyes met—Su Pu finally located the car. His big eyes blinked, but he still looked hesitant to approach.

Li Jichuan let out a soft, humorless breath. He dared to drag him to some random party, but now he didn’t even dare approach his car?

The window lowered halfway, revealing half of Li Jichuan’s face, gaze cool.

Then he tilted his head slightly, signaling Su Pu to get in.

Understanding instantly, Su Pu broke into a warm smile, his whole expression softening.

Then he broke into a little hop-run—like a startled fawn—filled with excitement and delight as he dashed toward him.

His brightness was almost blinding. Li Jichuan looked away, suppressing the smile tugging at his lips.

“Cheap.”

Cheap tactics.

He’d seen this routine countless times; over the years the pretty faces circling around him were hardly few.

And Su Pu wasn’t even the most attractive of them.

Steeling himself, Li Jichuan thought:

Su Pu miscalculated—there’s no way I’d fall for that.