She took a fierce bite of the bread, as if biting off a chunk of Lu Shifeng's flesh.
That man probably thinks, deep down, that women should stay at home managing household chores—like some sort of domestic goddess—shouldn't be allowed to work outside, and must follow his orders... Wake up, the Qing Dynasty is long gone!
Su Xingyu was on the verge of an internal rant. Wait, could it be...
Lu Shifeng is actually a feudalistic male chauvinist?!
She was shocked by her own thoughts.
"Your, your young master..." She hesitated, not knowing how to phrase it, "Does he like those, those demure and gentle types of women?" If that were true, she'd probably go insane. She'd always been a girl with her own ideas; being submissive and docile was simply suffocating for her.
Mrs. Gui said, "I don't know what kind of woman the young master likes, but I often heard him lecturing Miss Shi Yin, saying that girls should have rules, should be well-read and polite."
There you have it.
A total chauvinist... A complete chauvinist indeed! Su Xingyu felt like crying. She didn't understand how she got so 'lucky' to accidentally marry such a feudal, conservative, and eccentric relic.
She gloomily finished her breakfast, listlessly took out her phone, and posted online:
[What should I do if my husband is a chauvinist? Urgent, online waiting!]
She posted it on a photography forum she used to frequent, in the gossip section. She rarely went online, so this was the only forum she was familiar with. Not long after posting, she received many replies, and her appearance stirred up the entire forum—
[Oh my God, what did I see? Has the Star account been resurrected?]
[Star Goddess?! Is it really the legendary Star Goddess?! She hasn't logged in for two years, right!]
[Is it really her, or is this account hacked?]
[Goddess sister, give me an autograph.]
[Goddess sister, I'm in the same frame as you. Screenshot, screenshot.]
[Star Goddess, give us a kiss of love!]
... On and on it went, diverging from the first post and spiraling out of control.
Only then did Su Xingyu realize how thoughtless it was not to register a new account for convenience's sake. Her "Star" account was too famous. She had been using this account for many years to communicate with a group of photography enthusiasts, regularly posting her work for everyone to enjoy and answering questions about photography techniques.
Her mother was Mu Yun, whether it's because "famous teachers produce top students" or "a general's door produces no mutts," just relying on the photography notebook her mother left behind and her own exploration, her skills far surpassed most in this forum.
Users called her a goddess, worshipping her in the field of photography.
She smiled bitterly at the post that had become an ocean, scrolling down, and down... until she finally spotted a few less derailed comments amidst the requests for photos and engagements:
[Goddess sister, you got married? I'm heartbroken.]
[Star, you married a male chauvinist? Shoot, a good cabbage was eaten by a pig, get a divorce! Quick!]
[Star sister, haven't seen you for two years and you went to get married? What happened to waiting for me to grow up?]
[Dealing with a male chauvinist is simple, just confront him!]
[Ignore him, do whatever you want to do; these kinds of people, as long as you're not a pushover, can't do anything to you.]
The problem is, can she really not be a pushover?
Su Xingyu was about to cry again. The netizens had offered quite a few suggestions, but they all boiled down to a few points: confront him, confront him, and confront him. If she could confront Lu Shifeng, would she still need to go online and make a post!
Truly disillusioned.
Su Xingyu sighed, her fingers flying as she replied to messages, first thanking the netizens for their kindness, and then telling everyone that she'd been doing well these past two years, appreciating their concern. A small red exclamation mark popped up in the upper right corner, followed by a mailbox icon indicating someone had sent her a private message. She opened it and saw it was from Cang Er, a netizen she knew two years ago:
[Star, is it really you? Disappeared without a word two years ago, are you back now?]
This Cang Er was quite the friend she got along with on the forum, with excellent photography skills, and had revealed to her that he worked for a major magazine. She thought for a moment and replied:
[Something happened two years ago. I won't be touching photography for a while. I just came up today to take a look.]
Cang Er: [Are you getting married and becoming a housewife?]
Su Xingyu: [Sort of.]
Cang Er: [That's a shame, our magazine was planning a diamond photo shoot with great pay, but we couldn't find a photographer of your level. I was going to ask if you were interested.]
Su Xingyu felt regret too: [No, thank you. I'm logging off, goodbye.]
Cang Er: [Take care, goodbye.]
Su Xingyu: [Goodbye.]
She sent out the message, staring blankly at the interface for a long while. It was not only saying goodbye to a friend but also to a dream she once had. Her heart stung with bitterness, when suddenly, a new message alert appeared again, still from Cang Er:
[Did you really marry a chauvinist?]
[Yes, I did.]
[You...] Cang Er seemed at a loss for words, and only after a few minutes did a new message come in, [I've been doing quite well these past few years. If you need help with anything, feel free to let me know.]
Su Xingyu was very grateful to him. As a friend she met on the forum, it was rare for him to offer such help. But she still declined; not for anything else, even if Cang Er was doing well, so what? He had no idea he'd have to face Lu Shifeng. In this world, very few people could afford to mess with Lu Shifeng.
With a sense of helplessness, she logged off.
With no help in sight, Su Xingyu could only rely on herself.
She decided to go along with Lu Shifeng for now, trying to foster a good relationship with him, and then slowly plan for other things.
That night, she really waited for Lu Shifeng to come home in the living room. Late spring nights were as cool as water. She was wrapped in a thin cardigan, curled up on the sofa, drowsy. It was almost midnight when the villa door opened, the lanterns in the hallway lit up, and a man walked in, wrapped in the cold of the night wind.
Tonight, he was still wearing a black suit, meticulously groomed.
Seeing her, he seemed a little surprised: "You're still up?"
"I was waiting for you," she stood up from the sofa, letting the thin jacket slip off her shoulders to the floor, unconsciously, looking at him with a bit of cautiousness, "Didn't you say that I should wait for you to come home?"
He did say that, but he didn't expect her to comply on the first day.
Originally, he thought that after the harsh treatment last night, she would need some time to recuperate—after all, he wasn't gentle in bed, and he had hurt her.