Shadow and Light: The Bride Who Clicks Her Way to Love-Chapter 162 - 163: Flowers Scattered Beneath the Starry Sky

The banquet hall was filled with dazzling lights, and the sound of violins was melodious and pleasant.

Su Xingyu stood in a light blue sheer long dress near the glass curtain wall by the corridor, the cool night breeze blowing her long hair and the hem of her dress, making her look like a flower blooming in the dark night.

She raised her head, looking at the well-dressed man in front of her.

The man’s tall figure cast a shadow over her, his voice cold yet magnetic: "You did a good job."

Good job? She let out a slight scoff: "Lu Shifeng, what exactly did you call me here for, to be a spectacle for this crowd?"

He frowned: "Why would you think that?"

He actually asked her why she would think that! Su Xingyu was furious, her suppressed anger suddenly erupting: "I worked hard on those cakes, not to share with these irrelevant people! And you promised me to keep my identity a secret, yet now, in front of so many people, you announce that I’m your woman—don’t you think that’s too much?!"

"I did promise you, so I didn’t tell them you’re my wife."

There is a difference between a "woman" and a "wife."

Of course, Su Xingyu understood, but it was precisely because she understood that she was even more furious: "This is worse than telling them I’m your wife! What do you mean by ’your woman’? They all think I’m a woman of ill repute, you know that? Have you ever considered my feelings?!"

Lu Shifeng was stunned; he really hadn’t thought about that.

He only wanted to assert his claim over her in front of everyone, to protect her when the guests referred to her as an "insignificant nobody," to bring her under his wing, nothing more. With this thought, he immediately planned to correct his mistake: "I can tell them right now that you are my wife."

"No!" she was so anxious that her eyes turned red.

Lu Shifeng frowned deeply, looking at her with displeasure: "Neither this nor that is okay, just what do you want? I’ve already spoken. If I don’t correct it, they’ll continue to see you as a mistress, is that what you want?"

"I don’t want to be seen as that kind of woman." Her eyes were even redder, yet she stubbornly looked at him, "But you’re also not allowed to say you’re my husband." More terrifying than being seen as an improper woman was having everyone see her as Mrs. Lu, after which she would never be able to discern whether her achievements were due to her own capability or merely the status of being Mrs. Lu, and all her brilliance would be overshadowed by the enormous halo of being Mrs. Lu. Besides being Mrs. Lu, she was nothing.

Living should not be about this.

Lu Shifeng, not the most good-tempered person, was also angry seeing her like this: "You’re just being unreasonable."

"You...!" She was so angry she wanted to cry, "Lu Shifeng, all this mess is because of you; you’re the one who married me against my will, you’re the one who called me to this party, you’re the one who misled them into thinking I was that kind of woman! Now you say I’m being unreasonable?"

Under her light blue sheer gown, her small chest heaved like a fragile little rabbit.

Lu Shifeng felt annoyed, wishing he could crush her under him and ravage her; in fact, that’s exactly what he did, yanking her over and biting down on her soft, pink lips.

"Mmm...you!" She was shocked and anxious, reaching out to push and hit him hard; this was the banquet hall! Though only a secluded corner of it, it was still a public place with people coming and going! How could he just do this!

She wanted to tell him to let go, but her resistance only gave him more opportunity, allowing him free rein to do as he pleased!

Crystal tears seeped from Su Xingyu’s eyes, she gradually lost her strength, going limp.

He supported her waist with one hand, strongly sustaining her body, while the other hand roughly pulled at the deep red velvet curtains nearby, concealing their figures behind the drapes. Darkness enveloped them, yet the voices and violin sounds outside the curtains became even clearer, jolting Su Xingyu back to consciousness. She struggled to push him away: "No..."

His gaze was dark, effortlessly pinning her against the glass window: "Su Xingyu, you’d better behave." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"No!" she cried out, "Lu Shifeng, this is a party!"

"So what?" his voice was hoarse, "You’re the one who provoked me first. Without a lesson, you’ll forget whose woman you are!" In confrontations, he never liked reasoning—talking was the most useless thing, he’d always use action to resolve matters, making everyone who dared to defy him recognize who was the master.

He gripped her jaw and bit her again, more fiercely than before, more frantically.

One hand ventured into her sheer dress, finding her smooth skin. She widened her eyes in fear, trembling all over, as voices grew closer through the thin curtain, and he seemed utterly unrestrained, becoming even more reckless.

Her mind buzzed as if about to explode, not even knowing where the strength came from, she freed her hand from his grip and gave him a hard slap. His head was whipped to one side, the sound crisp and loud.

With tears streaking her face, she shot him a fierce look, hastily covering her dress and fleeing.

The deep red velvet curtains fluttered; she disappeared like a light blue spirit, leaving only the night wind behind.

Lu Shifeng straightened up, heavily watching the direction she disappeared, his eyes deep and inscrutable.

Su Xingyu ran through the back corridor of the banquet hall, crying all the way out, her appearance disheveled, her hair in disarray. She crossed the garden, through the black iron gate meticulously crafted by artisans... She didn’t know how far she ran, the bustling party gradually faded into a silent mountain road and a sky full of stars, yet she did not stop.

She didn’t want to see anyone, flashes of Lu Shifeng forcefully bullying her behind the curtains kept appearing in her mind. She lifted the hem of her dress, tears streaming, stumbling without direction, suddenly stepping on something, losing her balance and falling to the ground.

She cried out in pain, unable to get up from the ground.

Her ankle seemed to be injured, sharply painful with every move.

In a daze, she sat alone under the vast starry sky, tears incessantly falling again. Why was she so unlucky that not even this mountain road spared her?! She so wanted to go home...

So wanted to go back to the past...

Back to the home with her mother...

"Mom..." She curled up like a wounded little beast, emitting a low whimper.

The night wind blew on her, getting colder and colder, making her shiver, the gauzy dress fluttering like scattered petals in the night. Vaguely, there seemed to be some sound, she didn’t realize at first, but after a while, it never ceased...