Chapter 207 Everything is fake, including hatred.
"Shang Wu! Do you know how cruel this is to me? Did you even ask me? Did you even ask me once if I wanted to forget you?"
His voice was hoarse, clearly hurt: "Let me tell you, even if it means death, I never intended to let you go. I'm just in a bad mood right now. What do the grudges of the previous generation matter? That's their business. Why should it be used to punish us?"
Shang Wu was stunned.
So that's what he was thinking?
But……
The thought of Lu You, the glaring engagement ring, his coldness these past few days, and the other person standing beside him...
Shang Wu pushed Lu Rang away directly.
"You make it sound so nice! But you're still with Lu You, aren't you? What's the point of telling me all this now?"
Lu Rang opened his mouth as he saw her become resistant and distant again.
Just then, Lu You, who had almost been forgotten by the two, suddenly raised her head.
Her face was still wet with tears, but her eyes brightened, and she put on a smile that was tinged with helplessness and apology, but also with a hint of cunning and relief.
“Awu,” Lu You’s voice broke the silence between the two.
She looked at Shang Wu, her eyes gentle yet guiding, "Don't be so quick to get angry. Think about it carefully. From the time you started dating A Rang until now, has his publicly acknowledged sister ever appeared in front of you both at the same time? Like an invisible person?"
Shang Wu was taken aback by Lu You's seemingly unrelated question.
elder sister?
Indeed, Lu Rang did have an older sister who was nominally adopted.
This was all to cover up the fact that Lu Rang's brother was an idiot.
She has a special identity and keeps a very low profile. She almost never attends any public events and has never appeared in her relationship with Lu Rang.
Shang Wu's eyes widened as she looked at Lu You in disbelief, her voice trembling: "You, you mean...you're...that older sister?!"
Lu You nodded, his smile tinged with apology.
"I'm sorry, A-Wu, I've been keeping this from you. Let me formally introduce myself again. I am Lu You, Lu Rang's nominal older sister, but we are not related by blood."
She glanced at Shang Wu, then at Lu Rang, and continued to explain.
"The engagement was fake. It was something Aryan and I planned to test you, because neither of us was sure if you still had feelings for him."
Shang Wu was completely stunned. Her brain seemed to have crashed, unable to process the massive influx of information.
The hatred was fake, the engagement was fake.
Was all of this just a test?
Her expression shifted rapidly, and a restless, almost imperceptible, emotion welled up within her—an emotion she dared not even contemplate.
Seeing that her expression was off, Lu You was afraid that she was really angry, so she quickly stepped forward and took her hand.
She apologized sincerely, "I'm sorry, Ah Wu. It was wrong of us to lie to you, but please believe me, Ah Rang really had no other choice."
She sighed, her eyes filled with heartache as she looked at Lu Rang: "After he stopped taking the medication and regained his memory, the first thing he did was frantically search for you, wanting to know if you were doing well. But when he found you, he saw you with that Chen Chunzhi, chatting happily, and even going to a coffee shop together."
He assumed you had started a new relationship, were doing very well, and didn't need him anymore. He was so heartbroken he almost collapsed again, but he didn't dare to bother you.
Shang Wu's heart clenched as she recalled the time she had coffee with Chen Chunzhi.
"Later, after confirming with various sources that you were not in a relationship, and fearing that you no longer loved him and that being with him was too tiring for you, he reached a consensus with our father to make him forget everything from the past. That's why he came up with such a stupid idea to have me pretend to be his fiancée to test you."
As Lu You spoke, she was both amused and exasperated. "The more you tested him, the more he broke down. Because you acted too calmly and indifferently, every time he came into contact with you and tested you, he would go back and be depressed for a long time, staring blankly at that old photo frame. He was so pitiful."
Shang Wu seemed to see Lu Rang alone, heartbroken and tormenting himself.
Behind what she perceived as indifference lay Lu Rang's clumsy, uneasy, and even humble probing.
Shang Wu's spirits immediately deflated, replaced by a complex mix of anger and heartache.
This man... how can he still be so stupid!
She raised her eyes and looked at Lu Rang.
His eyes were still red, his face showing unease and anticipation, as well as a hint of nervousness at being rejected by her again.
Shang Wu's nose tingled, and she couldn't say anything. She just took a step forward and threw herself into Lu Rang's arms, hugging him tightly with all her might.
Lu Rang stumbled slightly from her sudden embrace.
Immediately, he almost trembled as he hugged her back with all his might, burying his face deep in the crook of her neck, greedily inhaling her familiar scent.
"Awu, I'm sorry..."
He apologized incoherently, as if he wanted to integrate Shang Wu into his very being and never be separated from her again.
"Don't lie to me anymore, don't test me anymore, I've only ever loved you!" Shang Wu buried her face in his chest, sobbing silently, but her hands held him even tighter.
"No, never again." Lu Rang kissed her forehead.
After a while, Shang Wu calmed down a bit, but she still buried herself in his arms and refused to look up.
She asked in a muffled voice, "Will your illness......"
She always remembered that phone call.
Lu Zheng said that Lu Rang was about to fall ill.
That sentence was her deepest fear.
Lu Rang's body stiffened slightly, then he hugged Shang Wu even tighter, gently kissed the top of her head, and spoke in a low and tender voice.
"Don't be afraid, I won't have another attack."
Shang Wu looked up at him, her eyes blurry with tears, and asked with some confusion, "Why? How can you be so sure?"
His emotional illness is deeply rooted and closely related to family feuds and inner obsessions.
Lu Rang's eyes flickered, as if he hesitated.
Seeing the worry in Shang Wu's eyes, he gently brushed his thumb across her cheek, his voice carrying a complex mix of relief and heartache.
"I know about your mother's passing."
Shang Wu was startled, her pupils dilating slightly.
Lu Rang looked at her, his eyes filled with no resentment, only endless heartache and guilt: "I know what happened to her later, and I know that she is no longer alive. Ah Wu, those grudges have dissipated for me with her departure."
He cupped her face in his hands, forehead to forehead, their breaths mingling, their voices as soft as sighs.
"I don't resent it anymore, really, so don't be afraid, and please don't leave me because of this again, okay?"
He let it go.
The end of hatred is the end of life.
Shang Wu's tears fell silently again, but this time, they were no longer from grievance or pain.
She leaned in and kissed the corner of his lips, then nodded vigorously.
Seeing this, Lu You finally breathed a long sigh of relief, a genuine smile of satisfaction appearing on her face.
She rubbed her eyes, which were a little red from crying during the performance, and her tone became light and teasing, deliberately breaking the overly sticky atmosphere.
"Alright, alright! Hugging so tightly, are you afraid the other person will run away? I'm being blinded by your love!"
She walked forward with a smile and patted Shang Wu on the back affectionately. "Now the storm has finally passed, right? I, the tool, have accomplished my mission!"
Shang Wu felt a little embarrassed by what she said and tried to get out of Lu Rang's arms, but Lu Rang held her even tighter, clearly not having had enough of hugging her yet.
Lu You smiled, his eyes sincere yet playful: "So, let's get to know each other now, Sister-in-law Wu. It was wrong of me to lie to you before, and I accept the scolding. However, this meal has to be on me, as an apology to you, and also to celebrate that my silly brother no longer has to hold your photo frame and call your name in the middle of the night!"
"Sister," Lu Rang warned in a low voice, his ears turning slightly red.
Shang Wu smiled, but felt more heartache than anything else.
While she thought she was suffering terribly, Lu Rang was also enduring the pain of waking up and discovering that she had disappeared.
During that time, did Lu Rang hold her photo to resist his longing?
Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside.
"Awu! Are you feeling better? I brought you some light refreshments..."
Before Cheng Zhou arrived, his voice preceded him. He was carrying an insulated bag and entered with a worried expression.
However, before he could finish speaking, he saw a glaring scene in the living room.
Lu Rang, whom he hated with a passion, was holding Shang Wu tightly in his arms!
Cheng Zhou's brain went blank for a moment, and anger surged to the top of his head!
"Lu Rang! Get your filthy hands off me!"
Cheng Zhou was furious, his face turning ashen. He rushed forward, slammed the insulated bag he was holding onto the coffee table, and pointed at Lu Rang's nose, yelling, "Have you no shame?! You dare to lay a hand on A-Wu in broad daylight! Where do you think your fiancée is?! Do you really think A-Wu is easy to bully?!"
He was so angry that he spoke recklessly, completely unaware of Lu You's increasingly strange expression.
Lu Rang frowned as he was scolded. Just as he was about to speak, Shang Wu gently tugged at his arm, signaling him not to move.
Shang Wu wanted to explain: "Cheng Zhou, it's not what you think..."
"What do you mean it's not what I think!" Cheng Zhou wouldn't listen at all, his anger blazing. "I saw it with my own eyes..."
Before he could finish speaking, Lu You, who was standing next to him, suddenly became a drama queen.
She sniffed sharply, her eyes reddening instantly. She stepped forward and grabbed Cheng Zhou's arm, her voice trembling with tears as she tearfully accused him.
"Mr. Cheng! He doesn't want me anymore! He's forgotten about me now that he has someone new! What am I going to do? Waaaaah..."
Lu You pretended to wipe away non-existent tears with the back of her hand, then leaned against Cheng Zhou as if her body was soft and boneless.
"???"
Cheng Zhou froze instantly, completely taken aback by this sudden development, his brain shutting down.
He looked at Lu You, who was "crying her heart out" in his arms, then at Lu Rang, who was holding Shang Wu across from him with a look of amusement, and finally at Shang Wu, who looked helpless yet wanted to laugh. He was completely dumbfounded.
What... what's going on?!
Lu Rang's fiancée is holding his arm.
Cheng Zhou was so startled he almost pushed Lu You away, stammering, "Miss Lu...you...you...don't cry, what's going on..."
Lu You looked up at him with teary eyes and said something surprising: "Mr. Cheng, you're a good person. He doesn't want me, but you do, right? I think you're quite nice!"
"Pfft—" Shang Wu finally couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Lu Rang was helpless as he watched his sister playfully outwit Cheng Zhou.
Cheng Zhou was completely dumbfounded. His mouth was agape, and his face turned red and white in turns. Looking at Lu You hanging on his arm, he frantically tried to push her away, but he didn't dare to lay a hand on the woman. He was so embarrassed that he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. He had completely lost the momentum he had when he rushed in and started cursing earlier.
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