CHAPTER 190: CHAPTER 192: FIRST BLOOM

Rumors spread like wildfire in an instant.

In this day and age, a playboy hooking up with women isn’t news, but Lu Shifeng’s story is.

After having lunch with Lu Shifeng, Su Xingyu had just returned to her seat in the department when Anna ran over to her with a gossip-laden expression: "Xingyu, Xingyu, have you heard? Our Mr. Lu seems to have a woman outside!"

Su Xingyu paused while organizing equipment: "A woman outside?"

She knew he had women, but what’s with the outside part?

Anna, full of interest, looked around, then lowered her voice mysteriously: "How come you haven’t heard? It’s all over the company! They say our boss was seen this morning with a seductive woman coming out of a five-star hotel. That woman was heavily made-up and wore something incredibly revealing! Clearly up to no good! Oh my, poor Miss Zhuang, her future husband was seduced away by those seductive sluts! Who would’ve thought Mr. Lu liked that type."

Wait... what the heck?!

Su Xingyu felt a bit unsettled. Could they be talking about her this morning?! But when did she become heavily made-up like a seductive slut? Was her plain long dress considered revealing?! And what’s with the five-star hotel? They clearly came out of a rundown express inn!

Rumors are terrifying. Just this morning, how did her and Lu Shifeng resting at the express inn turn into a seductive slut hooking up with Lu Shifeng?

But it might be for the best; maybe this will keep people from knowing it was truly her with the boss.

Still revelling in sarcasm within her mind, more female colleagues gathered around with amused faces, joining in the gossip with Anna: "I know, I know about this! It was seen firsthand by Lina and Jerry from the marketing department! They said that woman had an F-cup chest! Her face was so enchanting; clearly not someone proper!"

"Really?" Women’s enthusiasm for gossip never wanes.

"Of course," swore another colleague, "if she weren’t a foxy beauty, how could she possibly seduce our boss? Who knows how much money boss spends to keep her hidden in a gilded cage!"

"Ahh... my dream man..." One colleague held her face and cried, "Wasn’t he supposed to be the reserved dream guy? How did he lose his image over a foxy beauty?"

Lost, lost his image?

Su Xingyu twitched at the corner of her mouth, feeling mortified.

The colleagues kept chattering and someone laughed at the crying colleague: "Come on now, don’t be here lamenting, even if Mr. Lu wasn’t seduced, it wouldn’t be you. He still has Miss Zhuang, after all!"

At the mention of that name, there was a brief silence among the colleagues.

Swiftly, voices arose defending Zhuang Heng: "I would say Mr. Lu is terrible! He has someone as beautiful and gracious as Miss Zhuang as a fiancée from a noble family, why mess around outside?"

"Zhuang Heng isn’t his fiancée." At last, Su Xingyu couldn’t hold back and interjected. For reasons unknown, she increasingly couldn’t stand people pairing Lu Shifeng and Zhuang Heng, it felt like a stab in her heart.

The colleague glanced at her, laughed: "Xingyu, you’re new here, huh? Everyone at the company sees Miss Zhuang as the future wife; they haven’t formally engaged, but it’s just like they have. It’s obvious."

It’s far from obvious.

Su Xingyu silently refuted.

In the depths of her heart, a tiny flicker of doubt emerged—concealing her identity like this, to what end, merely to pave the way for Zhuang Heng? Yet, as the thought arose, she quickly quashed it; what would happen if she didn’t hide her identity? She still wasn’t ready to spend her life with him.

"Miss Zhuang is indeed pitiful."

"Absolutely."

"But it’s not entirely Mr. Lu’s fault, a man his age, with such looks and status, even if married to Miss Zhuang, keeping mistresses isn’t unusual."

"I suppose so..."

"It’s tough for the prestigious too..."

"Even the life of a wealthy heiress isn’t easy, looks glamorous on the surface, but behind... well..."

A cluster of colleagues gossiped amidst mixed sentiments, suddenly, someone exclaimed: "Miss Zhuang is coming."

Everyone fell silent, turning toward the corridor, where Zhuang Heng appeared as always, adorned in an elegant suit, carrying a limited edition Hermès bag. Her demeanor was as gracefully composed as ever, except her lightly shimmering lips were pressed tight, seemingly in a foul mood, devoid of any smile.

Her gaze swept across, past the thronged crowd, setting upon Su Xingyu.

"Miss Zhuang."

"Miss Zhuang."

Colleagues around Su Xingyu, feeling guilty like thieves, unsure if their earlier comments were overheard by Zhuang Heng, awkwardly greeted her, then quickly slipped away.

Leaving Su Xingyu alone, facing the unpredictable Zhuang Heng.

With the equipment still unfinished, Su Xingyu simply pushed aside the partially polished lens cap and looked back at Zhuang Heng. She was petite, her small face refined and exquisite, in plain long attire, serene and lovely, basking in the afternoon sunlight with enduring charm. The more you looked, the more appealing, the more mesmerizing.

Even Zhuang Heng felt slightly jealous, how old was Su Xingyu? 20 years old? She was a full 4 years younger! Four years in age difference could easily become an embarrassing gap for women. As unwilling as she was, Zhuang Heng couldn’t deny despite all her upkeep, she couldn’t match Xingyu’s natural beauty.

Jealousy gnawed at Zhuang Heng’s heart.

Zhuang Heng stood loftily by Su Xingyu’s desk, gazed down at her: "Some people are born to stay in the shadows, so don’t covet what isn’t yours."

Su Xingyu understood the innuendo in her words, she smiled mockingly: "I’ll return the words to you, Miss Zhuang."

"Just wait and see." Zhuang Heng coldly spat a sentence and elegantly strode away.

Su Xingyu didn’t take Zhuang Heng’s threat to heart; she thought she could handle whatever came her way. Yet she hadn’t expected the impending storm would be so grand...

That was two days later, on a Sunday, autumn sunlight gentle, breeze softly blowing.

Lu Shifeng was away on a business trip, Su Xingyu lay lazily in the sunroom upstairs sipping warm tea, dealing with unsubsided period pains. Through the sunroom’s glass, she saw a luxury car parked outside, a lavishly dressed middle-aged woman stepped out, the butler and Mrs. Gui hurriedly went to greet her.

That was...

Du Shuxian.

Su Xingyu dug into her memory for the name of the lady; she was Lu Shifeng’s mother.

Why did she come?!