CHAPTER 79: CHAPTER 80: FINALS QUALIFICATION

Behind her, the door was silently pushed open by someone.

A pair of hands reached over, picking up a few parts from her feet and effortlessly assembling them together.

She looked up and saw Lu Shifeng. By then, the sunset had completely disappeared below the horizon, leaving only a distant, faint red glow outside the large floor-to-ceiling window. Lu Shifeng’s silhouette was subtly outlined by this faint red, appearing exceptionally mysterious in the quiet.

She lowered her head again.

Lu Shifeng handed the parts in his hands to her, saying, "Why are you so temperamental? I can’t even say a few words to you now."

She didn’t take it and replied in a muffled voice, "Anyway, in your eyes, whatever I do is wrong. Everything has to follow your command. Am I your puppet, ready to be criticized whenever you’re slightly dissatisfied?"

Lu Shifeng did not speak further, sitting beside her as he slowly pieced together the scattered parts on the floor.

His fingers were long and strong, yet very dexterous. The seemingly chaotic camera parts quickly assembled into a complete neat machine under his touch. At first, Su Xingyu wanted to ignore him, but gradually, she was drawn to his precise and graceful movements, like a master playing the piano or performing magic effortlessly, without a single mistake.

"This one is broken." Seeing him attach a part to the body, she couldn’t help but speak.

It was the part she had just damaged, and she didn’t know what it was called. Is it serious that it’s broken?

He kept working without pause, "A small circuit is broken, the sensor is contaminated, although the modulator and the signal processor are fine, fixing the whole thing won’t make it as good as a new one. If you want to compete, my advice is to get a replacement."

Get a replacement, but where would she find the money?

Su Xingyu felt like crying but had no tears, realizing that dismantling a camera had such serious consequences, even though she always knew since childhood how troublesome it was when the sensor got dirty. But at the time of dismantling, she didn’t even know which part was the sensor! She deeply felt conned by Lu Shifeng, wondering why she impulsively followed his example in taking things apart.

He could afford it, but could she?

Heartbroken, she took the camera from Lu Shifeng’s hands, opened it to try it, and found it was indeed broken, with the circuit she broke unable even to power it on. It seemed she’d have to send it for repair. She considered how much the repair might cost.

Then Lu Shifeng said, "I’ll ask Xie Jian to send one over tomorrow."

She looked at him, somewhat surprised, "You? Didn’t you say if I wanted a camera, I had to earn it myself?"

Why suddenly such kindness?

Lu Shifeng said, "I said I’d celebrate for you. Since you don’t like red roses, then a camera it is."

So that’s it, a gift to celebrate her departure from the Su Family? Her heart was mixed with various emotions, touched by his thoughtfulness on one hand, yet feeling that this man acted on his own will as if he never listened to what she said. These conflicting feelings made her feel extremely conflicted. She paused, attempting to communicate with him, "It’s not that I don’t like red roses, it’s just that I think there’s nothing worth celebrating about this. Lu Shifeng, I have no home now, I’m very... upset."

Her head gently lowered, her voice fading into the deepening twilight.

A hand softly caressed her cheek.

Her face was lifted as she heard Lu Shifeng say, "Didn’t I already say that this is your home? Why won’t you listen?"

This is her home, is it...

A subtle ache arose in her heart, yet she remained uncertain if this place could truly be considered home.

Lu Shifeng’s fingers gently brushed her eyebrow and the corner of her eyes, "Xingyu, I didn’t know you were unhappy. Actually, I was really happy today because you left the Su Family, now I’m the only family you have. But I’m not happy anymore; I don’t like you bearing everything yourself, treating me like an outsider. It’s only me who can repair your camera, and it’s only me who can be your family."

She said nothing, pressing her cheek into his palm, feeling the warmth of his touch.

Maybe she married him by obligation; maybe they had a lot of issues between them. But she suddenly realized, all this time he had been trying to get close to her. In this world, the only one truly willing to spend some effort on her was him.

So, let’s try to live well together.

The semi-finals voting continued.

Su Xingyu’s votes were initially in second place, but due to online rumors accusing her of "maliciously slandering Su Xingqi, the first place," many people who disliked her voted for other entries, pushing Su Xingyu out of the top ten.

Only the top ten from the semi-finals could enter the finals.

Su Xingyu was anxious, unable to eat or sleep, desperately searching for a solution.

Even the home’s maid, Mrs. Gui, noticed her anxiety. During breakfast, she comforted her, "Young Madam, if something is bothering you, just tell Young Master. He will certainly help you."

Su Xingyu shook her head.

How could she bother Lu Shifeng with everything? Even if she wanted to live well together, she had to be self-reliant, not becoming a burden or an inconvenience. She told Mrs. Gui, "I’ll solve it myself."

From the side of the dining room, Lu Shifeng passed by.

Upon hearing her words, he walked across the dining room expressionless, went out to the company, and dialed an internal phone to call Xie Jian, "Tell Leng Fei not to come for now, focus on his space project. There’s no need to waste talent on verifying photo authenticity such trivial matters."

Xie Jian was baffled; wasn’t the boss just recently insisting on a tough order to recruit someone from the old master’s side? Leng Fei was an optical imaging expert, involved in developing the core project of the Blade camera and several other major projects, currently employed in a national space project. Lu Shifeng had insisted on getting him to verify photo authenticity for a street photo contest, and now, suddenly declaring he didn’t need him?

"Boss..." Xie Jian hesitated but still tried to persuade, "If Leng Fei doesn’t help, how will Madam deal with being framed and missing the finals opportunity? You better reconsider."

"Reconsider?" Lu Shifeng sneered, "She doesn’t want my help, why should I force it?"

Xie Jian fell silent; this was, yet another mood swing.

He felt that ever since moving in with the Madam, the Boss’s moods had become more unpredictable, increasingly unknowable. Resignedly rising, he went to find Leng Fei to pass on the command.

Meanwhile, Su Xingyu remained unaware of all this.

The only solution she could think of was to go to the photography forums and contact photographer friends for help.

She posted a thread on the forum, urging photographers to jointly petition, asking the organizers to verify if Su Xingqi’s photo was staged. If it was staged, Su Xingqi’s qualification should be revoked, and semi-final voting should be redone. In the post, she candidly revealed she was Su Xingyu, explained how Su Xingqi’s photo might cause her to miss the finals.

The post provoked an uproar among photographers.