Su Banxia was enjoying the feeling of relaxation when she suddenly met a pair of cold, black eyes.
Novels often use elaborate descriptions to portray a character’s beauty, but sometimes words fail to express just how handsome someone is.
Shang Lu’s eyes were like obsidian, cold yet mesmerizing. One look could draw you in, and despite the chill they emitted, they still made you want to sink deeper into them.
Su Banxia was still holding Shang Lu’s hand, distinctively boney. His sudden awakening caught her off guard.
This was her first time seeing Shang Lu. His strikingly handsome features made her forget to let go of his hand, and she stared at him, dumbfounded.
The girl held an ice cream in one hand and his hand in the other, gazing at him intensely as if looking at a precious treasure.
Shang Lu frowned slightly, his voice cold: “What are you doing?”
His question snapped Su Banxia back to reality. She reluctantly replied, “Nothing.”
Su Banxia was incredibly nervous, aware that her behavior might be causing him trouble. Trying to ease her tension, she looked at him innocently.
Shang Lu, struggling to sit up due to his disability, was slow in his movements, and sweat beaded on his forehead.
“Do you want to get up?” Su Banxia immediately bit her ice cream to help him, releasing his hand, her voice muffled, “Let me help you.”
Shang Lu paused his movements and looked up at her.
Su Banxia froze mid-action. His gaze was like a wounded wolf, wary of any threatening approach, filled with loathing.
Su Banxia had never experienced being looked at with such a gaze, feeling the unmasked hostility from him.
Shang Lu, the heir of a wealthy family, was top-notch in everything except for his disability. Su Banxia didn’t discriminate against people with disabilities; in fact, she felt pity for him.
She knew that a disabled person often faces pity or mocking looks from others, leading them to despise any closeness or kindness from others.
“I didn’t mean anything by it, I just thought you looked tired and wanted to help,” she said sincerely.
As soon as she finished speaking, his gaze turned colder, as if ice shards were flung at her.
Su Banxia: “…”
Shang Lu withdrew his gaze, his movements slow yet smooth as he sat up properly.
“Aren’t you supposed to be abroad?” he asked indifferently.
Su Banxia choked up.
She almost forgot; her current identity was that of a runaway heiress, who had abandoned Shang Lu on their wedding day, causing him to lose face in Haicheng.
She needed to think of a high-EQ response to make Shang Lu forgive her for her actions.
Shang Lu sat up, his gaze calmly on her, waiting for her reply, exerting immense pressure on her.
The aura of a big shot described in the novels really did exist.
After thinking, Su Banxia sat beside him on the bed, saying, “I apologize for running away from the wedding. I really regret it and am truly sorry. Can you forgive me, please?”
The girl had finished her ice cream, her eyes clear as she looked at him, seemingly unaware of his repulsion and disgust, sitting very close to him.
If it weren’t for the cream around her mouth, her apology might have seemed more sincere.
“There’s no need to apologize.”
Su Banxia’s eyes lit up in surprise, thinking he had forgiven her.
“You can leave now.” His next words plunged her back into despair.
Su Banxia’s face fell, knowing that Shang Lu wouldn’t easily forgive her, but she had to stay by his side to survive.
She suddenly grabbed Shang Lu’s hand, her expression pitiful: “Shang Lu, I really know I was wrong, please forgive me, I truly want to be with you.”
In the original plot, the protagonist wanted to drug the male lead, Shang Jingyao, to sleep with him but was exposed by Mu Ruxue. She ended up in bed with Shang Lu and had to marry him after being caught.
The supporting female character had intended to marry Shang Lu just to spite the main characters. As for why Shang Lu agreed, it was because he couldn’t refuse his grandmother’s request.
Regardless, Shang Lu had accepted the marriage, and in the original plot, the supporting female character was forced to be with him after being captured.
So, the marriage still counted!!!
Shang Lu hadn’t expected her to pull this move and struggled to withdraw his hand, saying, “Let go first.”
“I won’t let go.”
“Let go.”
“I won’t.” Su Banxia persisted, “Not unless you forgive me.”
Shang Lu’s ears reddened subtly, not realizing she had seen it. He must have a weakness for coquetry!
“Let go!” he said sternly, his face cold.
“How fierce,” she thought.
Su Banxia, fearless, was convinced he was just a paper tiger, “I won’t let go, I won’t let go.”
“What are you doing?” A surprised female voice came.
Su Banxia turned her head, and Shang Lu took the opportunity to swiftly withdraw his hand, his gaze icy and indifferent.
Outside the hospital room stood a group of people, including Su Banxia’s parents, the heroine Mu Ruxue, a tall man, and a middle-aged couple.
Su Banxia thought to herself, everyone had arrived.
The young man in formal attire must be the male lead, Shang Jingyao, and the unfamiliar couple were Shang Lu’s father and stepmother, Lu Yurou.
Everyone who had just arrived saw Su Banxia and Shang Lu entangled by the bed, their faces showing surprise.
Everyone knew that Shang Lu had agreed to marry Su Banxia only because he had promised Mrs. Shang, the old lady of the Shang family. He always appeared cold to everyone, radiating an aura of ‘stay away from me’.
Mu Ruxue was even more shocked. Shang Lu, who disliked even his own father, how could he tolerate Su Banxia being close to him?
Seeing everyone had arrived in the room, Su Banxia stood up from the bed.
Lu Yurou spoke up, “Miss Su, how was your time abroad?”
Su Banxia looked at Shang Lu’s stepmother, Shang Father’s second wife. She had an oval face and was well-maintained, looking very young, not at all like a woman in her forties.
Her words implied as if Su Banxia had really gone abroad for fun after fleeing the wedding.
If the original protagonist had heard such a question, she would have definitely looked displeased and angrily retorted, clarifying that she didn’t go abroad to have fun, but to reconsider the marriage.
Su Banxia’s father wore a stern face, and her mother looked at her worriedly, fearing she might say something disgraceful about the Su family.
Su Banxia smiled lightly and said nonchalantly, “It was alright, I even brought back a few gifts for Shang Lu and Grandma.”
The crowd didn’t expect her to respond like that.
“Miss Su left Shang Lu at the altar to go abroad,” Lu Yurou said sarcastically. “I thought you wouldn’t come back. So, are you planning to continue living with Shang Lu now?”
Everyone knew about Shang Lu’s disability, not considering him a good husband.
Su Banxia’s mother was initially very reluctant for her daughter to marry Shang Lu. If not for her father’s coercion and Su Banxia’s own agreement, the marriage wouldn’t have happened.
The Su and Shang families, both prominent in Haicheng, were significantly impacted by the elopement. Many people witnessed Shang Lu’s embarrassment on the wedding day.
Lu Yurou, looking at the man on the hospital bed, who was clearly holding back his anger, felt very pleased. She hoped that Miss Su would create a scene, leading Shang Lu to outright refuse the marriage.
The marriage between the Su and Shang families involved many interests, which was why the Su family was so eager to bring Su Banxia back, apologize, and mitigate the impact of the elopement.
Without the elopement, Su Banxia’s mother would have hoped that Shang Lu and his family would treat her daughter well. However, given the current situation, she was sure the Shang family would have many grievances.
Even though Shang Lu was good in many ways, he was disabled. Who knew if he would vent his anger on Su Banxia because of the elopement? For Su Banxia, the Shang family was like a pit of fire that her mother didn’t want her to jump into.
With everyone harboring their own thoughts, the atmosphere in the hospital room was awkward.
Su Banxia chuckled, breaking the silence, “Since I am married to Shang Lu, of course, we should live well together.”
Everyone was stunned.
Su Banxia’s mother quickly grabbed her hand, whispering anxiously, “What are you saying? Didn’t you not want to marry Shang Lu?”
Mu Ruxue glanced at Shang Lu instinctively. He was her nightmare in a past life, and now Su Banxia was eagerly jumping into the pit; of course, she was happy to see such an outcome.
But would Shang Lu still accept Su Banxia after she had fled the wedding?
Shang Lu looked at the girl with determination in her eyes. Lu Yurou’s words were clearly meant to provoke Su Banxia, expecting her to retort with mocking and hurtful words towards him. Unexpectedly, she expressed her desire to live with him.
She had asked for his forgiveness not out of mockery, but sincerely.
Shang Jingyao watched Su Banxia intently. If there was any woman he detested the most, it was her. She often bullied Mu Ruxue, using her family’s wealth and power, and tried every means to entangle with him to the point of obsession.
Knowing she was to marry his brother, he was further annoyed. Now that she was brought back after fleeing the wedding, claiming she wanted to marry into the Shang family, it was utterly repulsive.
“Big sister,” Mu Ruxue said, “Are you sure about this? This isn’t a joke?”
Su Banxia replied with a smile, “Do you think I’m joking?”
Mu Ruxue’s face changed, she bit her lip, shook her head, “But before, you still…”
She glanced at Shang Jingyao and said, “Marriage is a serious matter. Don’t make irrational decisions just because of Jingyao.”
The expressions of everyone in the room changed, with Su Banxia’s parents feeling embarrassed, Lu Yurou showing disgust, Shang Father looking displeased, and Shang Jingyao’s gaze filled with contempt and disgust.
Only Shang Lu, sitting on the hospital bed with a blank expression, seemed unaffected by the awkward situation. The sunlight streaming in from the window cast a gentle halo around him, making him appear like a serene painting, seemingly undisturbed.
Su Banxia felt the need to clarify, saying earnestly, “Mu Ruxue, do you know that spreading rumors is illegal?”
“I am marrying Shang Lu because I want to be with him. What does this have to do with Shang Jingyao? Don’t slander me.”
Mu Ruxue’s face turned red, she quickly said, “I…”
“You keep making baseless statements, believe it or not, I will sue you!” Su Banxia interrupted her.
Mu Ruxue was left speechless, looking distressed and helpless, facing the questioning looks of Su Banxia’s parents. She felt utterly humiliated, filled with anger and hatred.
Shang Father spoke in a deep voice, “Shang Lu, what do you think about this marriage?”
Mu Ruxue secretly clenched her hand, both hoping Shang Lu would refuse and wanting him to agree, to see Su Banxia fall into the trap, with no escape.
As soon as everyone entered the hospital room, they overlooked Shang Lu’s presence, each expressing their opinions, forgetting that he was the main character in this matter and his opinion mattered most.
So, how would Shang Lu, who had been left at the altar, respond? Su Banxia held her breath, feeling a bit anxious, not blinking as she intently looked at Shang Lu.
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