CHAPTER 188: CHAPTER 190: HER FIRST REQUEST

After another tumultuous night, Su Xingyu felt extremely indignant.

Exhausted to the extreme, she fell into a fitful sleep, plagued by nightmares throughout the night. By morning, her entire body ached. She opened her eyes to see Lu Shifeng walking out of the bathroom, freshly showered. The soft morning light streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, outlining his perfectly proportioned muscles and the water droplets on his skin.

With a white towel casually wrapped around his waist, he moved towards the wardrobe to find clothes. He gave a sideways glance at Su Xingyu who was still curled up in bed. "Awake? If you’re up, go shower and then come downstairs to have breakfast with me."

They rarely had breakfast together, as she was usually still asleep when he left.

She didn’t have his stamina, often exhausted to the point of near-collapse. How could she get up?

But this morning was an exception. She hadn’t slept well at all...

Groaning, she rubbed her aching waist as she got out of bed, dragging herself to shower, her mind scheming. At the rate she was showering, by the time she was done, he should be finished with breakfast and on his way out, right? She definitely didn’t want to have breakfast with him. Hmph!

To her surprise, when she went downstairs, Mr. Lu was calmly sitting at the dining table in a shirt and trousers, with a cup of coffee, toast, and a large stack of financial newspapers in front of him.

Su Xingyu: "..."

Lu Shifeng put down the newspaper and checked his watch: "One hour. You don’t usually take this long to shower."

... This pervert probably even calculates her shower time?!

Feeling even more indignant, Su Xingyu secretly clenched her fist but didn’t dare to lash out. She lowered her head and replied in a small voice, "I-I’m not feeling well." She couldn’t be blamed for acting like a meek wife; ever since he disciplined her so many times and she discovered his issues, she tried her best to avoid direct conflicts with him. She had tried suffocating him with a pillow and biting her tongue to death but was utterly helpless against him.

Lu Shifeng glanced at her: "Did I hurt you last night?"

Her face suddenly flushed red as if it was about to bleed. "Lu Shifeng!"

She caught a glimpse of Mrs. Gui bringing over the breakfast tray, but he spoke so nonchalantly!

Mrs. Gui remained composed, placing a serving of toast and milk in front of her, "Young mistress, please have your meal. The young master doesn’t like fruit, so there’s only coffee and milk. The fruit juice we usually prepare for you at 8:30 is sourced and transported overnight, and this morning’s hasn’t arrived yet."

Su Xingyu couldn’t care less about fruit juice right now!

She was only concerned about whether Mrs. Gui heard what Lu Shifeng said just now... That man, truly shameless! She cursed him as a beast in her heart, taking a big gulp of milk to cover up, trying hard to suppress the redness in her cheeks.

They finished breakfast amid an awkward atmosphere.

Lu Shifeng elegantly wiped his mouth with a napkin and said to her, "Come on, I’ll take you to the company."

"Ah?" She looked up, bewildered.

Lu Shifeng patiently said, "Aren’t you not feeling well? We’re both heading to Fengren, it’s on the way."

She usually walked to catch the bus, unlike him, who traveled with the grandeur of luxury cars and chauffeurs. Her body was subtly aching again. Watching him calmly, she suddenly felt a surge of anger—everything about her disheveled state was his fault, yet he was unfazed! All the physical pain was hers to bear!

"No need, you accompany me to walk and take the bus." The words slipped out of her mouth.

She was shocked by her own outburst. Just how deep did this resentment run?

Lu Shifeng narrowed his eyes, watching her: "Is this your request?"

She was tongue-tied, nodding almost involuntarily under his intense gaze. Well... regarding last night’s agreement involving requests and orders, she thought it might as well be a test to see if he’d keep his promises, Su Xingyu reasoned.

"Can your body handle it?" Lu Shifeng asked with doubt.

"Why wouldn’t I be able to handle it?" Recalling last night filled her with such rage. Why should she suffer under his cruelty? She would never admit she could not endure it! "I’m perfectly fine! I commute like this every day, no problem!"

Lu Shifeng studied her again and finally uttered two words: "Very well."

She breathed a sigh of relief, but before she could celebrate her small victory, he calmly added, "Don’t forget, you now owe me two orders."

Su Xingyu: "...!!"

Suddenly, she felt this deal was a great loss. Could she back out now?

Over here, she mentally wrung her hands in despair. Over there, Lu Shifeng had already taken his suit jacket from Mrs. Gui. "Let’s go."

She gloomily followed him out the door, with her large equipment bag slung over her shoulder.

The early autumn sunlight was clear, casting a delicate glow on the little forest paths of this upscale villa district.

Lu Shifeng turned, furrowing his brow to glance at her, extending his long arm and effortlessly taking the equipment bag from her shoulder to hang it over his own. Su Xingyu looked up at him in surprise: "It’s heavy."

He gave her a cold, sweeping look: "Just walk."

So, she dared not say more, lowering her head and walking quietly. Without the equipment bag, she felt much lighter, although this ease was somewhat unfamiliar to her. On the path surrounded by greenery, she walked silently beside him. Gradually, her thoughts drifted to the past days with Qin Mu. That man... had helped her carry things too, smiling as he said it was a man’s duty to help a woman and that he wanted to carry her bags for a lifetime.

But how long is a lifetime?

In just a few short years, the person who helped her carry her bags had become someone else.

This time, how long would Lu Shifeng carry them?

She looked up at him. He was tall, and from her angle, she could only see part of his profile. He still appeared as stern and unyielding as ever; his features were sharp. One hand carrying the equipment bag, he held her hand with the other, walking steadily and powerfully down this tree-lined path. It felt, in a haze, like he could walk with her forever.

She thought to herself, she must not have slept well last night, hence her mind was playing tricks on her.

The path really was long. At first, she managed to walk fine, but gradually, the ache in her body grew more intense, discomfort washing over her. She suppressed it, puzzling over why she felt worse today.

Finally, they reached the bus stop and boarded the bus.

It was rush hour, and the bus was already packed. When they got on, there were no vacant seats.

Lu Shifeng, tall and striking, with a commanding presence, drew attention wherever he went. As soon as he boarded the bus, countless eyes were on him, with jealous glances thrown at Su Xingyu nestled in his arms.

Su Xingyu was feeling terribly uncomfortable, and vaguely, her stomach started to ache.

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