Shadow and Light: The Bride Who Clicks Her Way to Love-Chapter 134 - 135: A Lifetime of Love and Sorrow

His voice was somewhat faintly carried away by the wind, as she listened intently.

Lu Shifeng continued, "It was a springtime, and the camellias were blooming, the expansive tea fields made it easy to lose direction when you walked in. They saw a very beautiful red camellia flower on a tree not far away, so your grandfather decided to pick it for my grandmother and asked her to wait right where she was. She watched his figure disappear into the depths of the tea groves, and suddenly, for reasons unknown, a fire broke out.

"The fire spread from the direction where your grandfather went in and quickly grew big, covering the skies. Grandmother desperately called your grandfather’s name, but in the raging fire, there was no response to be heard.

"She wanted to rush in to save him but was pulled back by someone after just a few steps.

"When she turned around, it was my grandfather.

"Grandfather held her tightly and wouldn’t let her run into the fire, and by then the fire had grown even larger, surrounding both of them. Thick smoke billowed, making it hard to breathe and causing tears, grandmother couldn’t withstand it and fainted..."

His voice remained faint, carrying a cold magnetism she was familiar with, yet she listened as if on the edge of her seat, the scenes of the fire seemed to unfold before her eyes, making her heart unknowingly clench.

"And then?" she asked.

Lu Shifeng said, "Grandmother woke up in the hospital, having only inhaled some smoke, she was otherwise unharmed, but she heard that Grandfather had suffered large-area burns while trying to save her, and when discovered by the rescue team, he was still desperately protecting her underneath him. She went to see Grandfather, the sight in the intensive care unit brought her tears as she mumbled why he was so foolish, risking his life to protect her, but Grandfather was deeply comatose on the hospital bed and couldn’t answer.

"The police came.

"They brought some horribly burnt fragments for her to identify, and she recognized them as your grandfather’s belt buckle and lighter.

"She asked the police what had happened to your grandfather? The police told her that after investigation, it had been determined that your grandfather accidentally started the fire while smoking deep within the tea garden, and your grandfather had been burned into a piece of charcoal."

"Impossible!" Su Xingyu cried out loudly, her grandfather was clearly fine, alive into his fifties!

Lu Shifeng looked down at her, "Of course, you know now that your grandfather didn’t die in that fire, but for Aluo back then, everything in front of her was telling her that her Liancheng had really died."

Su Xingyu nodded slowly and heavily, unable to imagine how then Aluo, the fragrant young girl, could face all this. The most heartbreaking news in the world was learning of the death of the loved ones, just like when she was a child, as her mother and grandfather passed away one after another before her eyes...

Unknowingly, a mist of water appeared in her eyes.

Lu Shifeng gazed at her, extending his long fingers to gently wipe away the tears from her eyes, "What are you crying for? You women are just so sentimental."

She turned her head away, sniffing.

Lu Shifeng said, "I’ll ask someone to bring a towel for your eyes, so they won’t look swollen when we eat later."

She shook her head and asked him, "What happened next?"

Lu Shifeng slightly frowned, the black suit was cloaked by the sunset’s warm colors, "These things make you sad, don’t listen anymore."

Su Xingyu urgently said, "I’m not sad! I’m not sad, Lu Shifeng, can you tell me the rest of the story?" Everyone understands the feeling of hearing a story halfway and having no continuation, what Lu Shifeng was doing was quite ungenerous. Su Xingyu forcefully wiped her eyes with her palm, to prove she was indeed not sad, even desperately pulled out a smile harder to look at than crying for him.

Lu Shifeng’s brows furrowed more tightly, "Don’t smile."

She quickly stopped smiling, somewhat at a loss looking at him.

For some reason, a vague irritation arose within him, she was being too cautious in front of him, and he didn’t like her being this way. "You..." He wanted to say something, but didn’t know where to start, though her gaze became even more cautious, as if fearing she’d make a mistake leading him to refuse continuing to recount that past.

He restrained the irritation in his heart and continued speaking of the past to her, "Aluo was heartbroken, initially unwilling to believe that your grandfather had died. She went to his place to find him, couldn’t find him; called him, but no answer; even the Mu Family elders flew all the way from China to the United States, your grandfather’s mother—your great-grandmother—brought back her son’s belongings from the police station, fainting from crying several times. My grandmother cried alongside the Mu Family elders, finally believing that your grandfather was truly dead."

"But he was clearly alive," Su Xingyu softly said, feeling vaguely that something was amiss.

Lu Shifeng said, "But, at that time, the whole world thought he was dead, the news media published extensive reports on the Mu Family’s only son dying abroad. The Mu Family was distinguished, and the news back then caused a big stir.

"Grandmother was heartbroken, but reality didn’t let her mourn too long, as Grandfather was still in the hospital’s intensive care unit, she had to be there to accompany and take care of him. Half a month later, Grandfather woke up, a month later, Grandfather was transferred to a regular ward, half a year later, Grandfather recovered from his burns, and together with Grandmother went to visit your grandfather’s grave. That night, Grandmother got drunk and mistakenly thought Grandfather was your grandfather, ending up in bed with him...after that night, she became pregnant, then later married, had children...she became the Lu Family’s daughter-in-law."

Su Xingyu listened, dumbfounded, that last phrase although lightly spoken by Lu Shifeng, still closed her eyes imagining the depth of twists and turns contained within. "But, but," she couldn’t help but ask again, "My grandfather truly didn’t die! It’s been over a year, where exactly did my grandfather go? Why didn’t he come back to find his Aluo?"

Lu Shifeng’s voice grew even fainter, "Three months after Grandmother gave birth, your grandfather reappeared. Only then did everyone discover he wasn’t dead. He said he had fortunately escaped from the fire, but ended up with amnesia, only recently remembering who he was, and hastily returned. The news was shocking, and the Mu Family elders were all overjoyed, but for my grandmother and grandfather things were settled, his Aluo never waited for him. Maybe, this is fate."

Those last few words, light as a sigh.

Su Xingyu remained speechless for a long time, unable to imagine how Aluo, already married, would feel facing her former lover, and how her grandfather confronting her would mourn. Unintentionally, she recalled something... yes, Grandfather also loved camellias the most, in the past he grew a red camellia outside his window, cherishing it like treasure, never allowing anyone to touch it.

Grandfather...

Throughout his life, perhaps he never truly forgot Aluo?

Yet they each built families, destiny was such a trickster.

The only one who benefited from all this was Lu Shifeng’s grandfather, luckily winning the beauty’s heart.