Shadow and Light: The Bride Who Clicks Her Way to Love-Chapter 118 - 119: Undercurrents

The two families are in the same city, always bumping into each other, making it increasingly difficult to tell them apart.

Ever since he was a child, the most frequent phrase Lu Shifeng heard was "Look at Pei Ziheng!"

To him, Pei Ziheng was the legendary child of other families. No matter how hard he tried, those three words followed him like a curse.

He didn’t know what Pei Ziheng thought, but perhaps that man hated him for the same reasons. Thus, no matter the occasion, they never got close to each other. Even though they lived in the same wealthy district, they never interacted, except recently when the girls in both families seemed to be getting a little too close.

Lu Shifeng rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on whenever he thought of Xia Ling.

What was Pei Ziheng’s aesthetic, anyway? Even a girl as annoying and loud as that could catch his eye? She’s probably a bad influence on his Xingyu!

Lu Shifeng thought with some satisfaction; at least when it came to women, he was a cut above Pei Ziheng. Xingyu was so beautiful, quiet, and gentle—well, putting aside her occasional bad temper. When his grandfather saw Xingyu in person, he was bound to like her too, right? He had always warned him not to emulate Pei Ziheng by keeping those female celebrities—it was improper. So, he seriously married his wife, though without parental consent or matchmaker involvement, it was less formal than other wealthy heirs. But it was enough to shake the nerves of the Pei Family elders.

Thinking of this, his lips curled slightly, hmm, after half a lifetime of fighting with Pei Ziheng, it was Xingyu who ultimately made him proud.

He decided to cut her some slack and not fuss over the minor offenses, feeling quite uplifted as he got up to change and went to the company.

Blade Group Headquarters.

In the CEO’s office.

Xie Jian, dressed in a black suit and white shirt, reported dutifully to Lu Shifeng: "I’ve already sent people to retrieve footage from the bar’s surveillance. Last night, when Madam passed through the dance floor, someone pushed her towards Zheng Changdao’s table. We’ve found the person who pushed her but couldn’t get anything out of her. The woman was terrified and kept repeating it was an accident and didn’t mean to cause such trouble. Additionally, I also sent people to investigate; our best detectives spent the night examining all of her social relations, only to find she doesn’t know Zheng Changdao at all, nor has any connection to Ouyang Yi. It’s likely just a misunderstanding."

Lu Shifeng tapped his fingers lightly on the table twice: "Do you believe it’s a misunderstanding?"

Xie Jian lowered his head slightly: "Difficult to conclude. I’ve asked them to continue investigating, both Zheng Changdao’s side and Ouyang Yi’s side, checking everything inside and out thoroughly."

Lu Shifeng asked: "What about the waiter?"

Yesterday afternoon, he had reserved a restaurant near that bar for entertaining partners. While dining in the evening, he overheard the waiters privately discussing: "Seems like something happened in the bar next door, a group of men are forcing a girl to drink. That girl looks pretty wealthy; she wanted to use her bracelet to settle the matter but they refused. Such a beautiful bracelet, all those platinum and jade slivers stringed together, so extravagant."

He felt a pang at this, as the bracelet made of jade slivers was rare, coincidentally the same one Su Xingyu was wearing.

He stopped the waiter and asked: "What did the girl look like?"

The waiter shook his head: "I’m just passing on what I heard from others, not too clear, seems like she had long hair and was quite pretty."

The unease in Lu Shifeng’s heart grew stronger, and he quickly rushed to the bar, only to find that it was indeed Xingyu being bullied.

But later on, as he reflected, something seemed off. Bars often experienced disturbances, yet few in the bar knew Su Xingyu was bullied—how did a restaurant waiter from next door get such timely news and divulge it right in front of him? Another thing is, "Investigate whether my itinerary last night was leaked."

If it was indeed Ouyang Yi behind this, it might have been based on his itinerary to choose the bar!

Xie Jian nodded: "Yes."

"Thoroughly investigate the waiter’s side too."

Xie Jian showed a hint of difficulty: "After repeated inquiries, that waiter said another waiter told her, and that another waiter said another... Our people followed the trail and ultimately traced it to the customers in the bar, but such places have too many and too varied patrons, can’t pinpoint who originally spread the news. Besides, though many didn’t see Su Xingyu being bullied at that time, can’t rule out the possibility that guests witnessed it, discussed it and it was overheard by waiters who then spread it."

Lu Shifeng’s voice turned icy: "Don’t you find it too coincidental?"

Xie Jian lowered his head further: "Yes." These seamless coincidences only seemed more deliberate.

Lu Shifeng’s tall figure leaned back into the spacious executive chair, instructing: "Investigate that waiter who spoke to me properly. Even if all the rumor chains beforehand were crafted as coincidences, this last waiter must have issues. Ouyang Yi must ensure control, must make sure this waiter says to me what needs to be said, so I find out it was Xingyu being bullied. He won’t leave things unarranged."

Xie Jian lowered his head again: "Yes, I will bring in micro-expression experts and lie detectors to get you results quickly."

Lu Shifeng nodded, signaling him to retreat.

Alone in the spacious office, Lu Shifeng rose and went to the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the city.

Amidst the brewing storm, half the city lay beneath his feet. He frowned slightly as he pondered, if Ouyang Yi deliberately orchestrated this act, what was his intention?

Was it aimed at Xingyu, or at him?

Meanwhile.

Su Xingyu stayed at home, feeling uneasy.

Whenever she thought about going to the old residence to meet Lu Shifeng’s family on the weekend, she got nervous, not knowing what the family’s view would be of her being a wife in name but not reality?

No formal matchmaking, no parents’ blessing... Their marriage happened too quickly; the truth was finally about to be uncovered.

"Ah, so annoying..." Su Xingyu rolled on the bed with her face covered, blaming Lu Shifeng for casually suggesting a family meeting!

The phone rang.

She grabbed it: "Hello?"

On the other end, Ouyang Yi’s lazy, smiling voice came through: "My little Xingyu beauty, have you missed me?"

Upon hearing his voice again, Su Xingyu’s mood was complicated; the conversation with Lu Shifeng from that morning still echoed in her mind. Was Ouyang Yi approaching for some ulterior motive?

She thought about it, sat up on the bed, and asked in the most neutral tone: "Ouyang, what’s up?"

"You ask me what’s up right away, little Xingyu beauty, you’ve hurt me too much. Can’t we talk even if there’s nothing on?" Came Ouyang Yi’s exaggeratedly wounded voice over the phone.

Su Xingyu held her forehead, sighed: "My husband is a jealous pot, doesn’t allow me to get too close with male friends. To prevent him from exploding, you’d better talk about business directly."