My Wife Is Adorable - Chapter 1

“What are you thinking about?” Qin Zhan lifted his head from the crook of my neck, his arms braced on either side of me.

I came back to myself, met his gaze, and managed a small smile.

“Nothing.”

He kissed my eyelids. His voice was low and gentle. “Are you tired?”

I didn’t answer. He was still pressed against me, clearly not satisfied yet.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned up to kiss him, but he turned his head away.

For a moment, I froze.

He watched me steadily. “I asked you a question.”

I gathered myself and shook my head. “I’m not tired.”

He lightly brushed the bridge of my nose. “Liar.”

I dreaded hearing that word from him.

Hastily averting my eyes, I tried to explain. “I’ve been exercising properly. My stamina’s better now. I won’t… I won’t faint.”

Qin Zhan took the robe draped beside the bed and wrapped it around me.

I reached for his hand, curling my fingers around part of his palm. “But you… you’re not done yet.”

He pulled his hand free. “Don’t worry about that.”

Then he picked me up and carried me toward the bathroom.

I studied his profile for a few seconds before lowering my eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?”

“For… for spoiling things.”

He stopped and looked down at me. “Who am I?”

I didn’t dare look up. Pressing my lips together, I whispered, “Gege.”

I could never bring myself to call him my husband. He knew that, for me, Gege meant the same thing.

He looked away and gave a quiet hum of acknowledgment.

Holding me with one arm, he turned on the bathwater. “As long as you remember.”

I said nothing.

Once the tub was full, he lowered me into it and stepped in behind me. His arms gathered my shoulders, settling me back against him.

“Jiang Jingshu.”

“Yes?”

“I don’t want you lying to me.”

I lowered my eyes and said nothing more.

I had told too many lies already.

Even the name Jiang Jingshu was a lie.

Two years earlier, the Jiang family had received a notice from the Matchmaking Center.

My eldest sister, Jiang Jingshu, had a rare 100% genetic compatibility with Qin Zhan, Commander-in-Chief of Special Operations Command.

It should have been a match made in heaven.

Instead, she ran away.

The comments were right about one thing: Qin Zhan’s reputation had never been good. Even the official media had described him as cold-blooded and ruthless.

My sister had taken those rumors to heart.

There was something else, too. Through her contacts, she’d learned that he had injured his leg during a joint operation several months before.

His left knee had suffered a comminuted fracture. His disability was rated at Grade Eight.

After my sister disappeared, Father was frantic.

Someone reminded him of me, the daughter living in the servants’ quarters.

He told me I was his most sensible child.

Then he spent a great deal of money to give me my sister’s identity.

After our bath, Qin Zhan dried my hair and carried me back to the bedroom.

Looking at his stern profile, I remembered the first time we met.

A black sedan had driven deep into the heavily guarded military residential compound and stopped outside a three-story house in gray and white.

His elderly butler waited at the door and ushered me inside.

All I saw when I entered was an empty wheelchair.

The butler stood beside me and spoke plainly. “Mr. Qin asked me to tell you that if you’ve changed your mind, Miss Jiang, you’re free to leave. He’ll take care of the Matchmaking Center. If you’d like to stay, you’ll find him on the third floor.”

I didn’t hesitate long. I asked him to take me upstairs.

The training-room door was half open. From the doorway, I could see a tall man gripping the parallel bars.

Veins stood out along his powerful arms. Below the waist, he was struggling to walk.

A breeze stirred the curtains.

Qin Zhan turned.

I saw his face clearly: strong features, a straight nose, thin lips. Authority rested between his brows, and his eyes were like amber warmed through by sunlight.

“What are you looking at?” he asked now, looking down at me.

I returned to the present and lowered my eyes, shaking my head.

He set me on the sofa and went to change the sheets.

Hugging my knees, I watched his back as he worked.

“Qin Zhan.”

“Mm?”

“The first day we met… why didn’t you…”

I frowned, struggling to find the words.

He looked back. “Why didn’t I wait for you in the wheelchair?”

I slowly nodded.

He turned back to the bed. “When two people are a perfect match, the moment they meet, they instinctively want to be close. It doesn’t matter whether the other person is beautiful or ugly, healthy or disabled.

“I didn’t want that primal impulse to influence your decision.”

They instinctively want to be close.

I repeated those words silently, stunned.