Chapter 172 - The Fault Is Mine (1)
"You should have seen Cai Lin's face when he realized that you toyed with him throughout the game. His face was so dark, I thought he was going to vomit blood at that instant!" Su Xiaofei burst into a round of laughter as she pushed herself on the swing in the garden while she and Lu Qingfeng were waiting for dinner.
"He merely overestimated himself. If my teammates were the ones who played with him, Cai Lin would also have a hard time defeating them." Lu Qingfeng sat patiently, flipping a page of the file Nine delivered to him earlier, which Su Xiaofei assumed to be part of his training in familiarizing himself with their family business.
"He should have seen it coming. He can only blame himself for being arrogant." Su Xiaofei scoffed and cocked her head on one side. "But I really hadn't expected that you would stand up for me earlier."
"You think I would allow anyone to bully you when I'm around?" Lu Qingfeng raised a slender brow at her, noticing the dusty rose-tinted cheeks as she smiled at him.
"No. You used to ignore them when we were younger, allowing me to do whatever I want to them instead." She grinned at him.
Those boys who would dare to bully her would end up with a bloody nose, running for their lives. However, Lu Qingfeng would always take the blame for not stopping Su Xiaofei from getting into trouble.
Now that Su Xiaofei thought about it, it wasn't Xiao Feng who should have matured back then, but her. She could only shake her head as she thought that nothing couldn't be done to change it.
"Well, they were children. Cai Lin is different, though. Add to the fact that he was a shrewd person. He wanted to humiliate you to please Ye Mingyu. How could I allow that to happen? Only I should be allowed to bully you." He said with a teasing tone. His lips parted in a dazzling display of straight, white teeth.
Su Xiaofei scoffed and glared at him. There were still things that remained the same between them, even after his confession. He sat there, devilishly handsome. His firm mouth curled, as if always on the edge of a mocking laughter.
For others, they would feel immediate intimidation at the sight of Lu Qingfeng, but there would always be a group who would find his coldness charming.
As for Su Xiaofei, now that she was paying more attention to Lu Qingfeng, it was clear that he had an air of authority and the appearance of one who demanded instant obedience, but she knew that she was always an exception to it.
"Next time, you don't need to rush forward to protect me. I can deal with men too." She complained. She wasn't even his girlfriend yet, but he was becoming overprotective of her.
What would happen if she became his? Ah, Su Xiaofei didn't dare to think of it anymore. She could already sense a headache coming.
His jaw tensed visibly at her words as he gave her a pointed look. Lu Qingfeng didn't want her to get involved in a fight with a man at all. There were many men that were shrewd and conniving like Cai Lin. Some would surely covet after her because of her burgeoning beauty.
Su Xiaofei was like a rose, beautiful but filled with thorns.
"Not gonna happen. Feifei, you have to understand that some men need to be dealt with by another. A man who bullies a woman, isn't a true man after all." He retorted.
There were things that he regretted not doing in the past, and that included not protecting her enough from the people who tarnished her reputation. Now that she was here with him, yet again, Lu Qingfeng promised to do better this time.
Su Xiaofei inclined her head in compliance. Since Lu Qingfeng put it that way, there was no need for her to argue about it anymore. A smile tipped the corners of her mouth.
She found it odd that she was relying on the man's help this time, when in her previous life, she had denied every attempt Lu Qingfeng made to protect her. How foolish she was back then.
If there was a chance that Su Xiaofei could meet her past self, she would definitely give herself a good beating for being stupid. She couldn't use her young age as an excuse for acting like a colossal fool.
The glow of her smile somewhat thawed the coldness in Lu Qingfeng's heart when he saw it. People always assumed that Su Xiaofei was up to no good whenever she smiled, however, that wasn't always the case.
Only a couple of people close to her could see her beautiful smile without malice, and this was what Lu Qingfeng wanted to preserve the most. He didn't want to see her in a desperate state ever again.
"As for Mo Yuchen, you have to be careful in the future. Don't allow him to get close to you." He reminded her.
"You are worrying too much, Xiao Feng. Just hearing his name is already repulsive to me, what more if he's nearby? I'm not in love with him anymore. The only thing I have for him is loath." Su Xiaofei answered, aware that Lu Qingfeng was eyeing her with a calculating expression. There was something smoldering in the depths of his eyes that she couldn't quite understand.
"I know better now. I won't make the same mistake again." She said vaguely, not knowing if Lu Qingfeng understood what she meant.
'I feel the same, Xiaofei, so please allow me to at least protect you.' He thought, but didn't dare to voice it out. He didn't want to complicate things by saying that he was reborn like her.
"Just promise me, that you won't do something reckless because of me, Xiao Feng.. Don't do anything that could hurt others for my sake."