Shadow and Light: The Bride Who Clicks Her Way to Love-Chapter 117 - 118: Other People’s Children

She meekly fiddled with her fingers, "Please... I’m begging you... at least don’t reveal my identity to the public until I become a master photographer, okay? I’ll do whatever you say, really! You know I don’t want to be your wife just because I’m afraid this identity will bring me too much glory, overshadowing my own efforts!"

Lu Shifeng mused, "You’ll do whatever I say?"

"Yes, yes!" She nodded eagerly.

"Very well," he surprisingly praised her, "First make up for the missed shoulder and leg massages, you’re not allowed to be friends with Xia Ling and Ouyang Yi, and I’ll arrange for someone to teach you the etiquette of high society in the next few days. The rules at the old house are strict; I don’t want you to be talked about when you go back."

Su Xingyu widened her eyes, "Wait! This...!"

She could accept everything else, but making friends was a matter of principle! A matter of principle!

How many times had they argued over this!

Gathering her courage, she looked at him, "About making friends... could we...?"

"No," he coldly replied, "Su Xingyu, are you really that stupid or just pretending? Use your brain and think about who you went out drinking with yesterday, and where were they when something happened? As carefree and dissolute as Ouyang Yi seems, do you really think he’s innocent? How could an innocent person become the world’s highest-paid male model? Do you really think he’s like Xia Ling, depending on beauty to get protected by men?"

"He...!" Su Xingyu was shocked, feeling like her brain couldn’t keep up, instinctively retorted, "Xiaoling doesn’t rely on men!"

Lu Shifeng: "Let’s focus on Ouyang Yi first!"

"Oh... Ouyang Yi." Su Xingyu dumbly nodded, thinking back, suddenly feeling a bit uneasy. Wasn’t it just yesterday that Ouyang Yi insisted on dragging her out for drinks? He chose the place, and she hadn’t seen him when trouble happened... But isn’t it a bit unfair to convict Ouyang Yi based on just this? "It’s normal for old friends to go drinking together, I didn’t see anyone else when it happened, maybe it was just a coincidence."

Lu Shifeng’s eyes narrowed dangerously, "You’re still defending him at this point?"

She braced herself, "Lu Shifeng, you have a prejudice against him."

"And what if I do?" Lu Shifeng smiled icily, in the morning light, it was like a thin blade, "He’s the fourth young master of the Feiying Group. Even if he emphasizes a thousand times he’s an illegitimate child, he can’t erase the Stanway blood in his veins. Xingyu, you are the young mistress of the Blade Group the Lu Family, you have your duties—to steer clear of anyone with ulterior motives towards the Lu Family, even if it’s only suspected."

She fell silent.

She understood the implication in his words, whether Ouyang Yi was ill-intentioned or not, due to her status, she had to avoid suspicion.

She thought of the man who always smiled lazily, like a playboy, and the eyes that seemed to shine with the world’s brilliance when he said he’d help her. Although they hadn’t interacted much, she couldn’t deny that she enjoyed spending time with him. It was relaxing and pleasant, as if every tiny molecule in the air was exuding a joyful aura.

Friends...

Was she about to lose them for such unfounded reasons?

She lowered her eyes, unknowingly clenching her hands. Truthfully, she’d never felt like she was the Lu Family’s young mistress; that identity was too unreal.

But just now, Lu Shifeng said, you have your duties.

Suddenly, she realized that all her food, clothing, and shelter, her courage to break away from selfish relatives, and the foundation to embrace her dreams with both hands all came from him and his family—the Blade Group the Lu Family. The Lu Family provided her protection, and she, in turn, needed to fulfill responsibilities for them.

She lifted her head, fixing her clear eyes on Lu Shifeng, "Will you investigate Ouyang Yi?"

"Of course." No one could harm his wife and get away with it; he’d unearth every hidden threat.

"Then...." Su Xingyu bit her lip, "I promise you, I’ll keep my distance from Ouyang Yi until you’ve uncovered the truth. Besides work, we won’t have any private interactions. But you must promise me that if it turns out Ouyang Yi’s innocent, you won’t stop us from being friends."

Lu Shifeng’s expression turned dark and deep, "I don’t like my woman making friends with other men."

"Are you jealous?"

"I am not."

Su Xingyu felt a headache coming on, thinking this man was totally unreasonable, and tried to reason with him, "I’m a photographer now. I’ll have a lot of friends, both male and female, like Ling Weilong..."

"Yes, and Ling Weilong too," Lu Shifeng interrupted her, "You’re not allowed to associate with these men."

"You!" Su Xingyu was so angry she almost wanted to throw a pillow at his head. Whoever wants to be a young mistress can be, she’s done with it!

Lu Shifeng, however, found it only natural, "Did you hear me?"

"I refuse!" She glared at him fiercely, seeing his expression darken, so she held back... and held back even more...

"Lu Shifeng," she changed her tone, adopting a more conciliatory approach, "What good does it do for us to argue now? You should go investigate Ouyang Yi first. If he’s really fine, we’ll talk then."

"What about Ling Weilong?"

"Can’t you let it go already!" Su Xingyu wished she could slap herself, why did she even bring up Ling Weilong? "Look at Xia Ling, besides having Pei Ziheng, she also has a manager, Chu Chen, and a producer, Feng Kun, all of whom are great friends of hers! Why can she have so many friends but I can’t?"

"That’s why I’m telling you to break off with Xia Ling too," Lu Shifeng said expressionlessly, "She’ll lead you astray."

Su Xingyu: "..."

She swore, if she mentioned one more word about friends to Lu Shifeng, she’d be a pig!

She didn’t want to talk to him anymore, stomping off angrily to the bathroom to shower, and slammed the door shut in front of him with a loud bang.

Not even a second later, she yanked the door open and shouted at him, "Don’t you know Xiaoling likes Pei Ziheng, and Pei Ziheng likes her too! Look how he treats his woman, and look at you! You’ve got me on such a tight leash, it’s only one step away from putting a chastity belt on me! Old feudal fossil! For CEOs from the same background, why the hell is there such a big difference!"

"Su Xingyu!" Lu Shifeng’s voice was on the verge of exploding.

After shouting, she got scared and quickly slammed the door shut again, locking it, and hid behind the door, recovering from the fright.

I’m doomed, doomed, doomed...

She must have lost her mind to yell at him!

By the bedside, Lu Shifeng glared at the bathroom door, wishing he could stare a hole right through it.

Did she even understand what he hated most in this world? It was being compared to Pei Ziheng!

Both from super wealthy families, it was only natural that the first sons of the main families, who were about the same age, would be compared from the moment they were born. His grandfather and Pei Ziheng’s father had been openly and secretly competing, today comparing whose son was taller, tomorrow comparing whose grandson had better test scores...