144 Losing Face

"Put me down, once we're past that messy crowd." Xia Yuwei said in a low voice, already sliding her feet toward the ground. Goodness, her lower back was aching terribly...

Lu Yichen dragged her all the way outside the door before setting her down. Xia Yuwei immediately put some distance between them, her hand instinctively reaching back to massage her waist.

"Dammit! What on earth are you doing here?!" After a long silence, Lu Yichen's first words were a fierce scold. Look at this woman—wearing what kind of outfit? A short skirt, the hem resting well above her knees, and she was actually selling liquor in a bar! This was his, Lu Yichen's, wife...

"Why are you shouting like that? If you can be here, why can't I? This is a public place, not your home. Why shouldn't I come?" Xia Yuwei rubbed her lower back quietly, frowning.

"What are you doing? Selling alcohol? Ha!" Lu Yichen was driven to the verge of madness by anger, yet instead, he laughed.

"Do you even know what you're doing? This is no place for you, do you understand?"

"Do you have any idea what kind of intentions men who come here have?"

"Dressed like this, walking around in a place like this, have you no self-respect?!"

Xia Yuwei turned her head away to avoid looking at him, listening to his words as a crystalline sheen welled up in her eyes, though it ultimately never fell. Clenching her teeth and pressing her lips together, she waited until he finished before speaking, "I am engaged in lawful labor and earning an honest living. May I ask, esteemed President Lu, exactly how have I lost my self-respect?"

"I've lived like this for all these years. How is it that the moment I encounter you, I suddenly have no self-respect?"

Seeing her so utterly detached and nonchalant, as if nothing was the matter, Lu Yichen felt his worry and heartache for the past half-day had been wasted. What troubled him even more was her statement that she had lived like this for all these years. A heavy ache settled in his chest. Accepting her words required a heart of immense endurance.

"After all, you are my wife, Lu Yichen. For you to act like this..." He turned his head to look at her. He could not bear to imagine the treasure of his heart suffering such insults here. If he hadn't happened to run into her today, how would she have ended up? Yet she was completely oblivious to the danger and treated the whole matter with such an attitude.

"Are you embarrassed that I'm making you lose face? Ridiculous! Whose reputation am I damaging anyway? Wife or no wife, please get this straight: right now, I have nothing to do with you. Even if someone is losing face, it should be my mother and father saying so, not you! I have nothing to say to an unreasonable young master like you. I still have work to do, so please make yourself at home!" Turning pale with anger at his words, Xia Yuwei, who had been standing beside him, walked right past him toward the inner entrance.

As they brushed past each other, Lu Yichen grabbed her arm.

Xia Yuwei looked back, her eyes brimming with tears, yet she was smiling. "Why are you still holding on to me? —Ah, right, you broke my bottle of liquor. Did your conscience finally prompt you to offer compensation?" Yes, he had broken a very expensive bottle of alcohol. That was a fact, not something she had fabricated, not a false accusation against him.

"...I'm sorry." He said in a low voice. Looking at her smile, his heart ached profoundly. This heartless woman, even now she could still manage a smile... Exactly how much suffering had she endured to transform from that girl who used to burst into tears at the slightest provocation and hide in his arms into this woman who kept smiling no matter what? He didn't dare to imagine, nor did he want to think about it. Ultimately, he realized he was the one lacking the courage. But just because he didn't want to know didn't mean none of it had ever happened.

"What? Sorry? If you know you're in the wrong, then remember to pay for my alcohol!" Xia Yuwei said heartlessly.

This woman!

"Stop doing this!" He gripped her upper arms, forcing her to face him. Why couldn't she be serious and talk to him earnestly? She was definitely retaliating against him, trying to drive him to an early grave! "Don't let me ever see you here again!"

"You rich people, isn't your only trick to blacklist and ban people? It's nothing special. Without you, am I supposed to just commit suicide and stop living?" She tilted her head up stubbornly, still wearing that heartless smile. "Then where would you like to see me? A nightclub? Or as a restaurant waitress? Or perhaps kept as a mistress—"

"Shut up!" Unable to take it any longer, Lu Yichen raised his hand toward her, but ultimately let it fall, pulling her into an embrace instead.

She must have been doing it on purpose. She was doing it on purpose. She wanted to make him suffer so she could be satisfied. She wanted to drive him mad with anger just so she could be happy.

"You were going to hit me..." Xia Yuwei murmured. Was there no justice left in this world? This man actually believed he had the right to hit her. He was unquestionably the person in the entire world least entitled to do so. Furthermore, she was in the right. Completely in the right. Why did he have to meddle in her business? Was he and that 'innocent' fiancée of his determined to drive her to a dead end before they would let it go?

"I'm sorry." Lu Yichen held her in his arms, pulling her tight against him.

Xia Yuwei said nothing and offered no struggle. She let him hold her, completely unresponsive, her entire being numb. If he wanted to torture himself like this, let him go ahead. She was tired. Besides, her lower back hurt terribly.

Suddenly, warm lips captured hers.

He kissed her fiercely, bending down like a flustered child seeking some reaction and response. Her attitude filled him with heartbreak and despair.

Yet Xia Yuwei remained motionless, letting him do as he pleased without cooperating or reacting. What more could he possibly expect her to do? He had insulted her so deeply, even worse than that pair of perverted siblings. He had accused her of lacking self-respect and disliking that she embarrassed him. That was all. And now, he wanted to kiss her... In his eyes, was she merely a wooden puppet?

Letting her go in defeat, he felt entirely helpless against her. He could no longer grasp her. "I'm taking you back now."

"I'm not leaving," she said calmly.

"Come with me!" He reached out to pull her, but she refused to budge, and was subsequently carried into his car.

The car started moving. Staring straight ahead with tightly sealed lips, she said not a word, but reached out, unbuckled her seatbelt, and placed her hand on the door handle of the adjacent car door.

"Dammit! What are you doing?!" The screeching sound of emergency brakes pierced the air.