CHAPTER 215: CHAPTER 217: SAPPHIRE EARRINGS

Her heart skipped a beat, and she turned around.

She saw two people at the fire escape on one side of the garage, Yun Xi and Xia Ranran.

At this moment, they were both looking at her in shock, and Yun Xi blurted out, pointing at her, "You’re not... Mr. Lu’s woman, are you?!"

Su Xingyu didn’t know how to react, to admit it or not? If she admitted it just like that, she would be unwilling; she had worked so hard to get to where she was today. Sudden exposure of her identity would ruin everything she had diligently built with her own hands. But if she didn’t admit it? Being caught standing next to Lu Shifeng’s Bentley, no one would believe her even if she denied it.

As she was caught in a dilemma, suddenly she heard another voice nearby—"Xingyu, hurry up, did you find it?"

The three girls, Su Xingyu, Yun Xi, and Xia Ranran, all turned their heads in unison and saw a man walking over from the other end of the garage, wearing a shirt and jeans, with a large equipment bag on his shoulder. It was Fang Luohua. He seemed unaware of the awkward atmosphere and walked up to Su Xingyu, saying casually, "It’s just a hundred yuan, if it’s lost, it’s lost. Let’s go, my car is over there, I’ve already put the tripod and everything in the trunk for you. If we’re late, we’ll miss the sunset. I went to great lengths to find you the spot."

Su Xingyu looked at him in confusion. What was going on?

Fang Luohua smiled and winked at her, then belatedly turned to Yun Xi and Xia Ranran, "What are you two doing here?"

"You, you, she, she..." The sudden turn of events left Yun Xi at a loss for words. After composing herself, she glared at Fang Luohua. "Is Su Xingyu going to watch the sunset with you today?"

"Yes, what’s up?" Fang Luohua looked at her innocently, "What else did you think?"

Yun Xi was speechless. What did she think? She thought Su Xingyu was getting into Lu Shifeng’s car! But it turned out she just lost a hundred yuan and was looking for it!

Beside her, Xia Ranran, whose face had been tense, subtly relaxed. It scared her. When she saw Su Xingyu walking to the Bentley, she actually thought she was getting in! But on second thought, how could that be? How could she be Lu Shifeng’s woman? Even if Lu Shifeng’s taste was bad, he wouldn’t go for Su Xingyu, right? No figure, no background, how is she any better than Zhuang... no, how is she any better than Xia Ranran?!

Even Xia Ranran couldn’t compare, yet she dreamed of stealing Zhuang Heng’s man?

"So she just lost a hundred yuan, what bad luck," Xia Ranran laughed, looking at Su Xingyu with ill intent, "But, isn’t it suspicious how you chose to look for money right next to Mr. Lu’s car in such a big garage? Could it be you had thoughts you shouldn’t have?" She and Yun Xi had decided to sneak over after work to see which shameless woman dared to flirt with Mr. Lu after hearing the gossip about Mr. Lu driving a woman to and from work. Once they saw that woman and reported back to Zhuang Heng, wouldn’t that be a great merit?

Who would have thought they would run into Su Xingyu instead, what a disappointment.

Su Xingyu’s delicate face tightened, "Xia Ranran, watch your mouth, don’t project your dirty thoughts onto others!"

"You!" Xia Ranran’s face turned red with frustration, filled with embarrassment and anger, as if her deepest secret had been exposed. Even she didn’t dare to think too deeply about whether she was waiting here with some fantasy of accidentally meeting Mr. Lu. If other women could become Mr. Lu’s lovers, then why not her, Xia Ranran? If she could tie herself to Mr. Lu, there’d be endless riches...

"Enough, enough, let’s not say more." This time it was Fang Luohua who spoke, "We’re in the garage, arguing will just make us the laughingstock of the photography center."

With that, he glanced at Su Xingyu, "Xingyu, let’s go. If you can’t find the hundred yuan, you can’t find it. I’ll treat you to dinner later to console you."

Su Xingyu gave him a grateful smile and really followed him away from the Bentley, heading towards where he parked his car.

After turning a few corners, Fang Luohua pulled her into the emergency exit, leaning against the wall with a deep breath, "Phew... that scared me. It’s been a while since I’ve lied."

Su Xingyu wiped away some fake sweat and looked at him, "Thank you for coming over to help. How did you know to come?"

"I saw you take off those sapphire earrings outside the tea room," Fang Luohua said with a sly smile. Rumors about Mr. Lu’s woman were everywhere these days, and the latest one said she was wearing a white dress with sapphire earrings. In reality, many women at the company wore sapphire, or maybe they were blue crystal, earrings, but no one was as tense as Su Xingyu, who immediately took hers off at the slightest disturbance. Fang Luohua knew something was off right then. Though he seemed casual, what photographer didn’t have a keen eye?

Su Xingyu was stunned for a moment when she heard this, then bitterly smiled, "I guess I was careless."

"Are you really Mr. Lu’s woman?" Having fooled Yun Xi and Xia Ranran, Fang Luohua’s own curiosity was piqued, "Xingyu, I’m really shocked. You don’t seem like that kind of..." He paused, embarrassed, "Sorry." Fang Luohua’s expression was complicated, filled with embarrassment, regret, and confusion.

Su Xingyu knew what he meant. Like everyone else, he was assuming she was Lu Shifeng’s mistress.

Her heart ached a little. It didn’t matter how others viewed her, but Fang Luohua was one of the few at the photography center who had been kind to her from the start, and she really didn’t want to leave a bad impression on him. "Luohua, trust me," she said, "It’s not what you think. My being with Lu Shifeng comes with complications."

"No matter how complicated, you shouldn’t compromise yourself," Fang Luohua said seriously, "Xingyu, is there anything I can do to help?"

Su Xingyu shook her head and managed a smile, "It’s not as bad as you think, actually. Lu Shifeng... he’s pretty nice to me." She hesitated for a moment before continuing, "And I’m not with him for his money, I..." She initially wanted to say that she’d never used a penny of Lu Shifeng’s money since knowing him, but thinking again, though she hadn’t used the additional card he gave her, the clothes she wore, the house she slept in, the meals she ate... weren’t they all provided by Lu Shifeng? She wanted to say something but found herself at a loss.