A Substitute Bride With Multiple Identities

In the dark room.

Heavy breathing mixed with low sobbing.

A sweet, restrained voice quietly rang out in the darkness, "I'm sorry... I'll take responsibility..."

......

The next day.

Luxurious carpets were messily strewn with clothes, the trail of which extended from the sofa to the soft, large bed.

Shen Yanhe's face showed pain as she trembled while supporting herself up from the waist and got out of bed. The moment her feet touched the ground, they almost gave way, causing her to nearly fall.

She bore the discomfort of her body, her face dark as she picked up the clothes from the floor and put them on one by one.

This was absolutely ridiculous.

She had actually... thrown herself at a man!

Recalling yesterday, she had received a call from her third uncle, urging her to come to Haisea promptly for a matter of great importance.

Fearing that her brother Shen Huai's illness had taken a turn, she packed her things overnight and arrived in Haisea at five in the morning, intending to visit her brother first.

But at that moment, she received a call from her partner-in-crime, Li Na, who lured her out of retirement with a generous reward to resolve an arrogant boxer in the MX underground boxing ring.

Desperately in need of money, Shen Yanhe, seeing it was still early, decided to go for the hefty reward.

After dealing with the boxer, Shen Yanhe wanted to leave immediately, but Li Na detained her for a celebratory drink.

During the celebratory drink, Li Na used the celebration as an excuse to make her stay and even had some young pups accompany her, ostensibly to help her get rid of singlehood!

Not wanting to compromise her integrity, she, whose alcohol tolerance was poor, maintained her last bit of rationality and fled.

Taking advantage of Li Na's inattention, she sneaked into the presidential suite area prepared for the VIPs at the boxing ring.

And then...

Recalling the distasteful yet sensual scenes from last night, Shen Yanhe couldn't help but cover her forehead and turned her head to look at the unconscious man lying on the plush bed.

The man had half of an Asura Ghost Mask on his face, covering the upper half and leaving the lower half, with its finely chiseled jawline and attractive thin lips tightly pressed, exposed.

He was the man she had thrown herself upon and offended last night, though she hadn't noticed he was wearing a mask then.

Shen Yanhe stared at the man's mask, curiosity flickering in her eyes.

Wondering what the face beneath the mask looked like...

Compelled, Shen Yanhe reached out towards the mask.

"Ding Dong!" In the quiet room, the ringtone of her phone suddenly blared.

Shen Yanhe jerked back to reality, quickly retracted her hand, and picked up the phone on the table—it was a message from her third uncle, asking why she hadn't arrived yet.

It seemed her prolonged absence had worried her third uncle.

Shen Yanhe pursed her lips, glancing at the man on the bed.

Forget it, she would likely never see him again anyway.

Ultimately, Shen Yanhe left nothing behind, tiptoed out with discomfort, swiftly left the room, exited the underground boxing ring, and quickly hailed a cab to her third uncle's house.

No sooner had she left than the man on the bed opened his sharp eyes.

One hand covering his painfully throbbing forehead and the other supporting his body, he sat up, the humiliating scenes from last night flashing through his mind.

Last night, while suffering from the effects of poison in the room, he had been invaded by a brazen woman who had taken...

Fu Yanhe's face was as somber as still waters as he scanned the room, only to find it devoid of anyone else.

The woman had actually run away!

Fu Yanhe's eyes, filled with a menacing storm, were chillingly cold, "Damn woman, once I find out who you are, I will make you pay!"

...

In Haisea's Jinyu Residential Area.

Just after entering the villa, Shen Yanhe sneezed loudly.

She rubbed her slightly itchy nose, her cat-like eyes teary and slightly squinting as she looked at the "delete" message popping up on her phone's screen, while murmuring internally as she slipped the phone into her pocket.

Sheesh, was that man from last night cursing her?

It shouldn't be, she had even left him a huge sum of five hundred bucks, right?

Sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed and painting her nails, Aunt Gandan Snow looked displeased, flicked her slender finger at her, and said, "Stand there, don't come any closer."

Shen Yanhe stopped in her tracks and, with a timely hint of timidity on her face, fidgeted with the hem of her shirt and asked in a soft voice, "Aunt Gan, what did you want to see me for?"

Gandan Xue examined the delicate girl standing before her with great care.

The girl was dressed in a white long-sleeve shirt, faded denim jeans, and had a slender figure with delicate curves. Her skin was extremely pale, and with a pair of innocent cat eyes, she looked timidly at her. Her features were incredibly delicate, her appearance beautiful, ethereal, and refined. Her smooth waist-length black hair cascaded down her back, making her look like a jasmine blossom in the clear morning.

Innocence and allure mixed together, creating a very special temperament in her.

Upon seeing Shen Yanhe's beautiful and outstanding appearance, a fierce look of jealousy flashed in Gandan Xue's eyes, eventually turning into pleasure as she opened her mouth insincerely.

"Yanhe, you are now of age, and it is time for you to marry. As your aunt, it is also my duty to find you a good marriage match."

"The person is from the Fu Family of Haicheng, the eldest son. Originally, he was to marry your cousin, but she had a minor car accident a few days ago and is still lying in the hospital. You are now a part of the Shen Family, so why don't you just marry him in place of your cousin?"

Without waiting for Shen Yanhe to speak, Gandan Xue looked at her sideways, with a hint of threat, "If you don't want to marry, it's fine, but we will not advance the medical expenses for your brother anymore. You'll have to figure it out yourself."

"Ah, right, and Dr. Lin, the chief physician treating your brother, I went to great lengths to bring him back from the Capital City. Recently, the renowned international Shenhua Research Institute has offered him an opportunity, and he might… not have the time to continue taking care of your brother."

Shen Yanhe's hands clenched suddenly.

Gandan Xue slightly lifted her chin, her eyes containing a hint of triumph, and insincerely added, "If you help us this time, we can continue to advance your brother's medical expenses, and I could persuade Dr. Lin to stay. Besides, marrying the eldest son of the Fu Family won't be a loss for you."

"Although Fu Yanhe has his flaws, the Fu Family is wealthy and one of the prestigious families in Haicheng. For a country girl like you, marrying him would be climbing the social ladder."

"Weighing the pros and cons, Yanhe, you're an adult now, you know how to choose."

Listening to her aunt's words, Shen Yanhe, who was standing in the living room with her head lowered as if frightened, dared not look up, a hint of cynical coldness flickered in her eyes.

She finally understood why her uncle and aunt had hastily called her from the countryside. It turned out they wanted her to marry Fu Yanhe in place of her cousin.

But she had not forgotten that when her mother died in a car accident, her father disappeared, and her younger brother Shen Huai was diagnosed with severe complex immune deficiency.

If a matching bone marrow donor could not be found, he would have to live his whole life in a sterile glass room, surviving on money alone.

Back then, she had tearfully begged them to pay for Shen Huai's treatment. What did they say?

No money!

They said that taking care of her and Shen Huai all these years was already more than enough obligation from their part.

But she remembered that before her father disappeared, he had given her uncle a card with a whole million in it, meant to cover their living expenses!

They had swallowed that money!

In the end, it was her grandmother who had to beg on her knees in front of her uncle and aunt, asking them to save Shen Huai.

Her uncle and aunt, for the sake of their reputation, had then chosen the hospital and advanced the medical expenses for Shen Huai.

But the medical expenses they had advanced had long been paid back by the money she had earned since she became an adult, and now she was the one paying for Shen Huai's medical expenses.

She no longer owed them a penny.

But then she thought back to the surveillance video footage she saw a few days ago when handling customer orders…

Shen Yanhe concealed the chilling look in her eyes and, facing Gandan Xue with an arrogant expression, she finally spoke, "I can marry Fu Yanhe in place of my cousin, but you have to give me five million yuan."

The mention of money infuriated Gandan Xue, who pointed her red nail-polished finger at Shen Yanhe, screaming, "Five million? The medical expenses we've advanced for Shen Huai are already quite a lot! Do you think our house is a bank?"

Shen Yanhe, with a calm expression, remained unmoved and firmly said, "The medical expenses you've covered for Ah Huai have already been fully paid to you by me last week."

"This five million is the compensation for severing my entire life with you."

"Moreover, I want it transferred immediately. You give me five million, and I will marry him; otherwise, you'll have to let my cousin marry him."

Shen Huai's illness was a bottomless pit; the five hundred thousand yuan in medical expenses she paid last month was almost used up, and she had to get more money quickly to cover it.

She was currently out of money, and Li Na's payment had not yet been transferred to her.

If her aunt made a request, she wouldn't hold back from making a big score off them.

Gandan Xue was taken aback for a moment, about to ask a question, when her uncle Shen Guowei, who had been silent, spoke up gravely, "Fine, five million, consider it your wedding gift from me."

"Fu Family's people are already waiting outside. Just go out and leave with them."

Shen Yanhe stood still and pulled out her phone, pointing at it.

Shen Guowei's face turned slightly green, but he did not fuss over it any further and took out his phone to transfer five million yuan directly to Shen Yanhe.

The moment the money was transferred, Shen Yanhe turned briskly and walked out of the luxurious villa without looking back.

She got into the Fu Family's car waiting outside and headed towards the outskirts of the city.

Sitting in the car, Shen Yanhe's exhausted body finally relaxed slightly. She closed her eyes and rapidly reviewed information about Fu Yanhe in her mind.

It was said that since Fu Yanhe went through a car accident, his face was disfigured, and he became disabled, his personality became highly unpredictable. He had allegedly killed three of his former fiancées through brutal methods; he was an extremely dangerous man.

Getting close to such a person required extra cautiousness.

At the very least, she could not let him kill her.

For Shen Huai, she had to survive.