Chapter 431: Chapter 402: Holding the Wedding Ceremony in Advance
When Leng Ye’s phone rang, his palm trembled as he saw the number displayed. He glanced through the kitchen glass at Wen Nuan, who was preparing breakfast with the nanny, and pursed his lips tightly.
He quietly slid his wheelchair into the lounge before answering, "Yan?"
"Big brother, where is Nuannuan?"
Leng Yan’s voice was filled with an indescribable urgency that pierced through, causing Leng Ye’s ten fingers to grip the wheelchair tightly.
He hesitated for a second and smiled gently, "Why did you suddenly think of looking for her?"
Leng Yan took a deep breath, "I have something to discuss with her. I called her phone, but it’s off. Could you please ask her to take my call?"
Currently, the doctor threatening investigation and the person who tampered with Wen Nuan’s car were still under investigation. He couldn’t be sure whether this man had anything to do with Leng Ye, so he didn’t want Leng Ye to know the exact reason he was looking for Wen Nuan.
Subconsciously, he was convinced these two matters were directly related to Ji Wei or Leng Ye. But no matter the case, he needed facts to speak before he could be certain, even though he could doubt anyone until the truth was revealed.
"It’s still early; she hasn’t gotten up yet."
Leng Ye lightly bit his lip as he spoke softly, with his brows already furrowed. His brain cells raced, trying to figure out what Leng Yan’s sudden call was about.
With countless thoughts intertwined, leaving him temporarily without a clue, he gently asked, "Yan, what’s the matter? I can pass a message to her. Nuannuan doesn’t use her phone in the United States, so it’s off."
Leng Yan sighed long and hard in his heart, hesitated slightly, and said, "Then please let her call me back once she wakes up."
After hanging up, lying in bed, he still couldn’t sleep, with waves of worry attacking his heart.
He feared Leng Ye wouldn’t tell Wen Nuan that he had called, feared that even if he did, Wen Nuan wouldn’t call him back.
He was even more afraid that Wen Nuan would, no matter what, not forgive him.
**
"Did Leng Yan contact you?"
In the lounge, a harsh glint flickered in Leng Ye’s eyes as he questioned Ji Wei over the phone.
Ji Wei looked at the wine bottle in her hand, with a playful smile ever-present on her lips.
It seemed mocking, self-deprecating, more like sadness and helplessness, as she took a hard swig from the bottle, smiling drunkenly, "Young Master Ye should soon be embracing his beauty, right? Haha, and yet, at a time like this, he still has the leisure to inquire after me—truly touching. But how could he possibly call me? I assume he’s courted a new girl, right? Haha, when I called, the voice on the other end was a girl’s, so sweet. I think he’s in England now..."
As Ji Wei spoke, she let out a wine hiccup. She was about to continue when her muddled consciousness was doused with cold water and woke up.
Leng Ye, unable to hide his disgust, abruptly cut her off, "He’s in City T now; I’m asking if he’s directly sought you out!"
"What did you say?"
Ji Wei screamed, the wine bottle in her hand crashing to the ground, the crisp sound of breaking glass scattering around her ankle, seemingly without her noticing, her hazy eyes wide with shock, her throat choked up, finally squeezing out a trembling voice, "Does he know?"
"Which aspect are you asking about?"
Leng Ye gritted his teeth, "His illness, or Wen Nuan’s car tampering, or maybe who the father of your child is? Ji Wei, you’ve done so many shameless things, which one are you asking about?"
Ji Wei was momentarily at a loss for words, her brain thrown into a state as if tossed into a blender, utterly befuddled...
Leng Ye turned off his phone, his brow tightly knit. He sighed lightly, leaning back heavily into the wheelchair back.
Leng Yan hadn’t sought out Ji Wei, so maybe the situation wasn’t as bad as he had imagined...
Hopefully, that’s the case.
He gently closed his eyes and then reopened them, looking down at his own legs, a handsome face emerging with sadness.
Whether his legs could recover was still unknown...
If the woman he loved knew the truth behind Leng Yan leaving her, she would inevitably leave him...
The phone rang again; it was the doctor, notifying him that the major surgery was scheduled for next week.
After ending the call, Leng Ye placed the phone down and steadied himself in the wheelchair before coming out of the lounge.
Wen Nuan had tidied everything up, looking at the breakfast she had prepared for Leng Ye according to the nutritionist’s requirements, she breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"Young Master Ye."
The nanny’s voice startled her for a moment. Turning around, she forced a smile, "Joe, time to eat."
She was indeed trying hard to smile, but she couldn’t help the bitterness welling up inside. She didn’t want to be with him at all. Yet, she still agreed.
"Nuannuan." Leng Ye smiled and nodded, hinting with a glance that the nanny should give them privacy. Holding Wen Nuan’s hand, his eyes flickered with worry, "The doctor called."
"What did he say?"
Wen Nuan glanced at the hand clasped by his, restraining herself from pulling away, feeling a helpless sting in her heart.
She told herself that since she agreed to marry Leng Ye, she was his fiancée for now, and he had the right to make intimate gestures.
Her smile stiffened a bit at the corners of her mouth, "Has the time been set?"
"Next week." Leng Ye’s grip tightened, gazing at Wen Nuan with eyes filled with anguish, "Nuannuan, will you help me increase my confidence for the surgery? You know, this is the most crucial operation, but the success rate is only forty percent. Let’s get married first, okay? I mean, have a simple wedding before the surgery..."
"Wedding?"
The hand Wen Nuan was about to use to pass him chopsticks faltered, and the chopsticks fell to the table with a clear, piercing clatter.
"Nuannuan, do you regret agreeing to me?" Leng Ye felt a pang in his heart, staring at the chopsticks on the table and sighed with disappointment, "Forget it, I should have guessed earlier. You were just going along with me to get me to agree to the surgery..."
His face bore a look of self-mockery. He deeply gazed at Wen Nuan and lowered his head, sadness seeping through, "In my current state, I’m not a match for you. I’m sorry for putting you in a tough spot..."
He chuckled lightly, drenched in profound melancholy, "Nuannuan, go back to City T. I’ll book the flight."
With that, he exerted force as the wheelchair slowly turned.
Watching his painfully stricken back, guilt and heartbreak enveloped Wen Nuan entirely. She hurried to catch up, "No, Joe, when I said I’d marry you, I wasn’t lying."
She couldn’t imagine the once handsome and tall man depending on crutches or spending a lifetime in a wheelchair. The guilt would drown her, as if she’d suffocate and die...
She was the one who harmed him, and she had to remind herself many times daily, for Leng Ye’s legs, to repay her debt, she had no choice...