Despite the calmness on his face, Lu Qingfeng's hands were trembling. Thankfully, he managed to hide it even before Mo Yuchen took notice of his reaction to his accusation. He'd decided to leave before he could make a mistake and give Mo Yuchen an advantage against him.
Indeed, what would Su Xiaofei do if she knew the terrible things he had done in their previous lives after her death? Would she blame herself for it, or would she find him deplorable and cruel?
Lu Qingfeng had been trying to ignore these thoughts for some time now, and it annoyed him that Mo Yuchen was able to rile him up like this. He didn't need to hear such words from Mo Yuchen, especially when the latter was the one responsible for Su Xiaofei's fate.
When he returned to the table where he left his wife and Xi Qian, he saw that Li Xiran had already joined them. Li Xiran stood from his seat the moment he saw him and offered his hand for a handshake.
"Mr. Lu, it's been awhile." Li Xiran said and Lu Qingfeng accepted his hand shake.
"Indeed, I heard that you are back in town. Glad that I'm able to meet you this time."
"You know each other?" Su Xiaofei's eyes looked at Lu Qingfeng and Li Xiran in surprise. Her husband never mentioned that he'd met Li Xiran before.
"En. We met during my senior year at the university. Unfortunately, he was in Shenjing only for a short trip."
Lu Qingfeng took a seat next to her and took a sniff from the glass she was drinking, glad that it wasn't wine or any alcoholic drink.
"I see…" Su Xiaofei stared at her husband, sensing that something was off. He'd only been gone for a few minutes, but why did he look like he was mad about something?
Her ever patient and calm husband… who would have dared to make Lu Qingfeng this upset?
She wanted to ask him, but the way he looked away from her, as if he was avoiding her, startled Su Xiaofei. Was he upset with her? She wondered. But she couldn't think of anything she had done recently that would make Lu Qingfeng act like this.
Instead of questioning him, Su Xiaofei reached out to his hand that rested on his left thigh and twined their hands together. Lu Qingfeng immediately snapped his head and looked at her with surprise, and she gave him an assuring look, wordlessly telling him that everything would be fine so long as they were together.
Lu Qingfeng looked down at their twined hands, feeling the warmth of her hand in his. Could it really be considered lying if he refuses to tell her that he was reborn like her too?
But he didn't want Su Xiaofei to misunderstand him again, or accuse him of making a fool out of her. He just didn't want her to hate him again, like she used to in his previous life.
If Su Xiaofei knew that he'd become a ruthless tyrant, would she regret marrying him? Would she accuse him of lying and deceiving her into marriage?
Lu Qingfeng tried to push these thoughts away from his mind, but it was hard not to think of it, especially now that Mo Yuchen had raised the issue. He laughed at himself, thinking that he could only blame himself for being too obsessed with Su Xiaofei. It wasn't like he didn't try to move on without her, but he could only see the world as empty and gray without her in it.
"So you were looking for me? Is there something I can help you with?"
Li Xiran's questions brought Lu Qingfeng back to reality. He nodded in response and pulled out a calling card from his coat and handed it over to Li Xiran. Their brotherhood was considering Li Xiran to join them and he was the one in charge to invite him over for a talk.
"I heard that you are looking for investors. Feel free to join us on the time and date indicated on that card. We will be waiting for you."
Li Xiran looked at the card that he was holding, reading that it was a business card for a high class bar in Guangshang. He had visited that place a couple of times when he was younger, but he was surprised that Lu Qingfeng wanted to meet him at such a place.
"Thanks for the invitation. I will consider it."
No. He would surely be there, Li Xiran was sure of it. But he didn't want to sound presumptuous, as he was sure that Lu Qingfeng wouldn't extend an olive branch to help him without expecting anything in exchange.
Lu Qingfeng only hummed and chose to remain silent next to his wife, allowing Su Xiaofei and Xi Qian to take the lead in their conversation. He answered monotonously whenever they asked him something, but it was obvious that his mind was elsewhere.
"Did something happen? I'm worried about you. You know you can tell me anything, right?" Su Xiaofei whispered to him when Xi Qian's attention was on Li Xiran.
Lu Qingfeng considered his options. He was aware that it would be foolish of him if he claimed that nothing was bothering him at the moment. Su Xiaofei would surely not believe him. She had known him for too long to know whether he was lying to her or not.
No — she didn't. Lu Qingfeng thought. Otherwise, she would have noticed by now that he was reborn like her a long time ago.
"Give me some time to think about it, Feifei." He gently ran his fingers on her cheek. "I'll tell you what's on my mind once I'm ready."
Su Xiaofei was eager to know what was bothering him, but since Lu Qingfeng had put it that way, she could only wait for him until he was ready. Whatever it was, it must be serious for her husband to act like this.
Updat𝓮d from freew𝒆bnovel(.)com