CHAPTER 194: CHAPTER 196: SHE LIKES YOU

Lu Shifeng glanced at her, nodded, and left by himself.

He knew that Zhuang Heng had always been favored by his mother, so since she wanted to stay, she could stay.

He took the driver’s car back home, where the living room on the first floor was very quiet; the usual little wife who would sit on the sofa waiting for him was not there tonight, leaving it cold and empty. He went upstairs in the dark, pushed open the bedroom door, and moonlight spilled inside.

In the hazy light and shadows, he saw a small figure curled up in bed, looking very helpless.

As he approached to take a closer look, it was indeed her, eyes tightly shut, sleeping restlessly. He wondered if she was having a nightmare; her forehead was damp with cold sweat. He reached out to gently touch her pale cheek, the delicate sensation like a fragile porcelain doll. On the bedside table were torn warming stickers and half a cup of cold brown sugar water.

So desolate.

He felt a faint ache in his heart, unsure why, and took off his coat, draping it over her covers.

With this movement, she drowsily opened her eyes. "Lu... Lu Shifeng...?" she called out faintly, sounding like a small beast just out of the nest, soft yet uncertain. She doubted she was dreaming; how did he come back?

Lu Shifeng looked down at her. "Awake? I’ll get you some water."

He turned to the kitchen and fiddled around for a long time, finally managing to bring up a steaming cup of brown sugar water.

Su Xingyu, groggy from sleep, reached out to take it, but her fingers barely touched the cup before pulling back from the heat, waking her up from her sleepiness. "Lu Shifeng, is it really you? You truly came back?"

"Been back for quite a while," Lu Shifeng replied blandly, "Didn’t you ask me to come back?"

Su Xingyu hesitated; she did call him, but she never asked him to come back! It was just to inform him about Du Shuxian being ill, without expecting him to really rush back. Doing her duty and leaving it to fate.

But now, he had actually come home, which was quite surprising.

Seeing her silent, Lu Shifeng held the cup of brown sugar water, "Did it burn you? I’ll make some cooler."

Su Xingyu came to her senses, "Do you know where the cold water is?" She could hardly believe this stubborn young master would personally make brown sugar water for her; last time at the hotel, the staff had made and served it.

Indeed, Lu Shifeng said, "I don’t know." The old saying about gentlemen staying away from the kitchen was thoroughly executed in the Lu Family; none of the Lu men would have any idea which faucet in the kitchen would yield cold drinking water.

Truth be told, it was already quite an achievement that he managed to make a hot cup of brown sugar water.

Su Xingyu: "...It’s fine; you can leave it here. I’ll drink it when it cools down a bit." She didn’t have the energy to get out of bed and deal with it, with a dull ache in her lower abdomen, enduring pain regardless of how long it lasts, she decided to let go.

Lu Shifeng glanced at her pallid face and said, "Wait for a moment."

He carried the cup of brown sugar water downstairs again.

Su Xingyu didn’t know what he was doing downstairs, only faintly hearing some voices and seeing the kitchen lights brightening the yard with a weak orange glow. After a few minutes, the voices and orange light disappeared, and Lu Shifeng returned with a cup of brown sugar water. "It’s warm this time, try drinking it."

Su Xingyu took a sip, and this time the temperature was just right. The warmth flowed from her mouth into her stomach, dispelling the hidden ache brought by the cold, making her feel much more comfortable. She almost sighed in relief, "Thank you, Lu Shifeng."

Curiously, "Did you find the cold water tap downstairs?"

Lu Shifeng replied, "Asked the driver to help find it." The poor driver, who had driven him back in the dead of night, had just lain down to sleep and hadn’t even finished his first dream before being dragged up, shivering in a vest and shorts in the chilly autumn night to find the kitchen’s drinking water tap, while pointing out to the young master how to make another cup of brown sugar water—what a tough job.

Su Xingyu felt a bit guilty for the driver, sympathizing internally, "It’s not necessary to make such a fuss."

"How could making a cup of brown sugar water for the young mistress be troublesome?" Lu Shifeng was totally unfazed. He was generally generous with salary and benefits for his subordinates but required them to always be on call. Nighttime requests like this were actually quite rare.

Su Xingyu didn’t speak any further and quietly took another sip of her brown sugar water.

"Feeling better?" Lu Shifeng asked her.

"Much better," perhaps due to the warmth, her voice was soft, "Thank you, Lu Shifeng."

He furrowed his brow slightly, "You’re my wife; there’s no need for thanks."

She blinked; his words flowed like a warm stream into her heart. Since marrying him, she rarely felt like she truly was his wife, but at this moment, in this autumn night, in a moonlit bedroom, with his simple gesture of bringing her a cup of brown sugar water and saying those simple words, it seemed to open up a path in her heart that had long been sealed.

Before she realized it, her lips curled into a faint smile, "Mm."

She quickly remembered something and asked, "When did you arrive? Have you visited mother in the hospital?"

"I returned with Zhuang Heng," he said, "Just arrived shortly, went to the hospital first to see my mother, she hasn’t woken up, so I came back to find you. Zhuang Heng is there with her."

"Zhuang Heng?" The warmth filling her heart vanished, and Su Xingyu asked, "Why is she the one attending to mother? And why was she..." She wanted to ask why Zhuang Heng went on the trip with him, and came back together, but saying it might make her seem jealous, so she pressed her lips tightly, holding back.

Lu Shifeng was unconcerned, "She offered to do so; anyway, my mother likes her."

Su Xingyu looked at his expression, seeing he really didn’t seem bothered by it, couldn’t help but say, "She’s an outsider, isn’t it inappropriate for her to do this? It’s something children should do."

Lu Shifeng glanced at her, his tone slightly chilly, "Are you saying I’m not fulfilling my duties as a son?"

Heaven knows that wasn’t her intent!

"I was just..." Under his oppressive gaze, she couldn’t articulate her words, "You, and Zhuang Heng..." After struggling for a while, her mind scrambled under his gaze, ultimately closing her eyes, steeling herself, "Can’t you see she likes you?! She’s not doing it for your mother, she just wants to showcase herself and marry you!"

As soon as she said it, her face flushed with embarrassment.

In the dim moonlight, Lu Shifeng gazed at her for a long time.

Her face grew increasingly red, unable to withstand his gaze, she turned away with a fierce demeanor masking her inner timidity.

"Why do you think so?" he asked.

"Anyone can see she likes you!" she called out angrily in a low voice.