Shadow and Light: The Bride Who Clicks Her Way to Love-Chapter 269 - 282: Fan Conflict

I don’t know when it started, but somehow, the estrangement between them as father and daughter reached such a level.

Su Xingyu felt a bit heartbroken; she turned her head slightly, avoiding looking at Su Zhongxiao, and left the Su Family’s house with her bodyguards.

Outside, the early winter sunlight was cold and serene, the air biting. She took a deep breath and left all the unpleasantness of the house behind her. All she wanted now was to go home quickly, to her and Lu Shifeng’s home, where there was no estrangement, gaps, or dark despair, only the roses she planted by hand, the carefully selected little decorations, and that man who seemed cold but was actually incredibly considerate...

That was her real home.

In the evening, when Lu Shifeng returned, he asked if her visit to Su Xingqi went smoothly?

Su Xingyu nodded, saying everything was fine and didn’t tell him that the girl had almost lost her mind.

Qin Mu had harmed many girls, and who knows who he’d target next, but as long as he had the backing of the Qin Family’s second young master identity, there would always be people tempted by him, but unfortunately, he was never a good match.

Su Xingyu sighed a little and, uncharacteristically, snuggled into Lu Shifeng’s embrace. She found that when she felt vulnerable, she always liked to be by his side, as if just being near him gave her the strength to face the world again.

But the next day, something happened.

The news media bombarded everywhere, with reports showing her grandly heading to the Su Family with a group of bodyguards, alongside candid photos of a haggard and withered Su Xingqi. Many reports had alarming, sensational headlines: "Sisterly Strife: Su Xingyu Forces Her Sister to the Brink," "Cruellest Heart of All: Beats Her Former Love Rival," "Unforgiving: Mr. Lu’s Girlfriend’s Morality in Question"...

The entire affair quickly became a hot topic on the streets and in the alleys.

Su Xingyu saw the reports while at the company.

A group of colleagues was gathered around a newspaper, discussing spiritedly, but they all fell silent when she entered.

She caught a glimpse of a corner of the headlines they inadvertently revealed, and when she pulled it open to look, the articles depicted her in such an unseemly manner.

"Xingyu..." Fang Luohua and a few others looked at her sheepishly, "Don’t be angry, we know you’re not like that; we’re just looking out of curiosity."

Of course, she wasn’t angry with them. Gossiping was human nature, and weren’t these people just using this as a way to build camaraderie during their downtime at the office?

She was infuriated by the unscrupulous reporters who wrote those articles. What was their problem? She’d clearly gone to check on Su Xingqi yesterday and had been genuinely kind to the girl. Otherwise, the girl might have already sought death to meet the King of Hell! How did the reporters write her up like this?

"Public opinion always sympathizes with the weak," Anna quietly comforted her, "Xingyu, don’t worry. Mr. Lu is so powerful, he’ll definitely help you deal with these negative reports."

Several other colleagues around them also nodded in agreement.

Su Xingyu found it both amusing and exasperating. See, the moment her identity as Lu Shifeng’s woman was exposed, the first thing these people thought of whenever something happened was that Lu Shifeng would help her fix it. This was precisely why she’d gone to great lengths to keep her identity secret. She sighed, "Whether he helps me or not, these reports are inaccurate. Things are not at all like what they think."

Her colleagues nodded like pecking chickens, "Yes, yes."

The not-so-bright Fang Luohua added, "But Xingyu, giving a downed dog a good beating is still very satisfying. Even if you really did it, we would understand."

Su Xingyu was at a loss, feeling like crying, but no tears came.

At noon, she went to the CEO’s office for lunch.

She asked Lu Shifeng, "Did you read those reports?"

With elegant composure, Lu Shifeng informed her while chewing slowly, "I’ve already sent Xie Jian to deal with it. By this afternoon, everything will be cleaned off the internet, and as for other media, they won’t voice further. Xie Jian will send a special team of lawyers to negotiate with these media outlets, holding the rumormongers accountable. I want the entire industry to understand that no one can slander you."

Su Xingyu was touched: "Lu Shifeng, you’re so good."

"You’re my wife, and these are things I should do." He didn’t think there was anything extraordinary and continued eating as usual.

She gazed at his cold, stern profile, with a perfectly sculpted outline as if carved from ice and snow.

She used to be so afraid of him, but now, the longer she spent with him, the more at ease she felt.

She happily finished her lunch and returned to the office in the afternoon, and searched the news again, finding it was indeed gone.

She thought it would all blow over.

However, the next day, when she went out with a camera to shoot some exterior shots, an unexpected incident occurred.

A group of young men and women, who appeared out of nowhere, surrounded her, pushed, and shoved her into a dim alley. The ringleader grabbed her long hair and viciously said, "Su Xingyu, you shameless wench! How dare you bully our Qiqi? I’m telling you, the Qiqi we protect with our lives is not for you to mess with! You touch her, and we’ll touch you!"

Su Xingyu saw that they outnumbered her and realized that it was hard to escape today. She had no choice but to endure the pain and try to reason with them, "Who are you people? Is there some misunderstanding? I’ve never bullied Su Xingqi."

"We’re Qiqi’s die-hard fans!" The group of young men and women proudly declared, snatching her camera and smashing it to the ground, "Stop pretending, it’s all over the news! It was you who ruined Qiqi’s engagement party, caused her to become mentally unstable and seriously ill, and you even went to provoke her personally! Today, we’re going to get revenge for her!"

With that, they all rushed at her, kicking and punching.

Su Xingyu knew it was impossible to reason with a mob, especially with a group of adolescents, who wouldn’t listen to reason at all.

She could only think of minimizing the loss, trying her best to protect herself, curling up her body to shield her head as their blows came...

Then, she felt the force of what seemed like hailstones fall on her.

She didn’t know when she lost consciousness, but when she woke up, all the young men and women had already scattered, leaving her alone in the dark and damp alley.

She moved her body slightly, feeling pain all over, and there was a faint metallic taste in her throat. She didn’t know if her internal organs were injured, causing internal bleeding.

Luckily, she still had her wallet. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Clutching her wallet, she moved slowly and with difficulty to the roadside, hailed a taxi, and went to the hospital.

The doctor conducted a full-body examination on her: "You said you suddenly experienced a headache, dizziness, and then fainted while being beaten. We’ve checked your X-rays and your records; your head shows no injuries. It’s most likely not caused by trauma. Miss Su, do you have any chronic illnesses or are you taking any medications?"