CHAPTER 73: CHAPTER 74: SEMIFINAL DEADLINE

Lu Shifeng said, "You don’t look very happy."

She shook her head, how could she feel happy even after taking revenge on Mr. Chen? "I never thought my father would treat me like this, pushing me into the fire pit with his own hands," she said softly. "I always believed I was his biological daughter, that no matter how heartless he was, there’d be a limit. But who knew he’d constantly break my bottom line... It’s like he doesn’t care about me at all."

"The kind of family you’re born into isn’t something you can choose," Lu Shifeng said.

Su Xingyu paused slightly; was he comforting her? She looked up at his handsome, chiseled features, the gentle morning light on his profile giving him a mysterious solemnity.

Suddenly, her heart moved slightly, "And you?"

Lu Shifeng stared at her without speaking.

Su Xingyu pressed on, "Your family? I’ve never heard you talk about them." Other than his cousin Lu Shiyin, she didn’t know anything about his parents or elders and hadn’t seen them despite being married for so long. If it weren’t for Blade Group the Lu Family’s fame, she’d almost think he sprung from a crack in a rock.

Lu Shifeng slowly rose from the bed, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, and stood there.

After a long silence, he finally said, "There’s not much to say about my family; my father died when I was very young, and I was raised by my grandfather. He has high hopes for me, wanting me to take over as chairman after he’s gone someday."

Su Xingyu waited for him to continue, but after a long pause, the air was filled only with silence.

She couldn’t help but ask, "Is that all?"

"Is that all?"

"Then... your grandfather must treat you well, and your mother surely sees you as her pride."

"Pride?" Lu Shifeng seemed to sneer softly, but when he turned back to face her, he regained his usual decisiveness, "I’ll have the lawyer prepare the papers for you to sever ties with Su Zhongxiao, and also with Liu Meizhi and Su Xingqi. Once this street photography competition ends, I’ll take you home to meet Grandfather and Mother. Once they accept you, we’ll host a media conference to officially announce our marriage to the public."

So, he had planned everything.

There was so much information for her to absorb, and after digesting it for a moment, she exclaimed in surprise, "You want me to sever ties with the Su Family?"

"Yes, does it pain you?" Lu Shifeng glanced at her, "Since they don’t see you as family, what’s the point of keeping the ties? Sever them early to prevent future troubles from the Su Family from involving you."

"What kind of trouble could the Su Family cause?" She was shocked and trembling.

Lu Shifeng replied indifferently, "This is the last time I’ll consider them as your blood relatives. If there’s a next time, if they dare to touch you, severing ties won’t be as lenient."

Su Xingyu fell silent. Should she be grateful or sad for his protection?

Once, on the night of her eighteenth birthday, she thought he was the most terrifying demon. But now, step by step, perhaps in this world, he’s the only one who’s been good to her.

"Alright, then sever the ties," she said softly.

Her mother’s agonizing and unsatisfied face surfaced in her mind before her death, knowing how desperately she had wanted to live, to embrace the world with her own hands... It was Su Zhongxiao who had killed her mother, and even her birth was probably unplanned. The harmonious family she thought she had during her childhood was all just one big lie.

Suddenly, she felt very, very tired.

Lu Shifeng didn’t notice her change and simply said, "Good. Next, I’ll tell you some of Grandfather and Mother’s likes and taboos. When you visit the ancestral home, try not to make big mistakes."

Her heart beat slightly nervously. Although she had expected to meet his family since marrying in, facing it now didn’t seem as calm as she’d thought. "Lu Shifeng..." She hesitated a bit, "Can I...?"

"No," Lu Shifeng interrupted before she finished, "You’ve been married to me long enough, and there’s always someone bothering you. Your identity must be made public soon; I don’t want another incident like the Chen Family’s."

When he married a commoner girl, Mr. Lu and his mother were very dissatisfied, eager to intimidate her and even threaten to drive her out. Lu Shifeng didn’t want Su Xingyu to suffer, so he prevented her from meeting them, but now it’s different; he wants a safe environment for her.

Su Xingyu lowered her head in silence.

So be it; sooner or later, she’ll have to cross that bridge. Deal with it when she meets them after the street photography competition.

Thinking this way calmed her a bit, and she asked Lu Shifeng, "What day is today... Ah!" Suddenly, she cried out with a changed expression, "Today... no, yesterday! Midnight yesterday was the deadline for the semi-finals! I haven’t uploaded the photos yet!"

She screamed while hastily getting out of bed to search for her shoes, "Where’s my camera, Lu Shifeng? You picked up the camera I used yesterday on the street, right?"

Lu Shifeng looked at her calmly, "I picked it up."

"Where is it?!"

"In the study."

Su Xingyu didn’t have time to think further, rushing to the study.

It was her first time entering his study, pushing the door open to see three walls of floor-to-ceiling wooden bookshelves and one large glass window facing the garden and lake. The scent of ink greeted her; her camera lay among the ink scent, quietly on his wide oak desk, with the corner opened and the small memory card removed.

She became more anxious, scrambling around to find the memory card. As she turned, she bumped into him.

Lu Shifeng steadily caught her with one hand.

"Where’s my card?" She was so desperate her voice trembled, "Did you see my card when you picked it up? All the photos from these days are on it; I haven’t had a chance to upload them to the computer yet!"

Lu Shifeng said, "Even if you upload them now, the deadline for the semi-finals has passed."

Su Xingyu pleaded with him, "Aren’t you the Crown Prince of Blade Group? Can’t you order the deadline to be extended? I had a special situation yesterday; you know it!"

Lu Shifeng’s expression remained unmoved, "I can’t."

"Ah?" Can’t? Wasn’t she his wife!

This man, just moments ago acting like a loving husband, now said he couldn’t!

It concerned her career as a photographer, and she was about to cry, "Why can’t you? Lu Shifeng, just make an exception for me, I’m begging you! You wouldn’t be so petty, using this as a reason to block me out of the semi-finals and then seize the chance to forbid me from being a photographer in the future, would you!"

"Do I seem like such a despicable person?"

"Yes!"