rose ashes

Luo Yang looked at the pair of clean and flawless white shoes under his feet and remained silent for a long time.

From beginning to end, Ye Gu was half-kneeling with his head down and never looked at her.

For a second, Luo Yang wanted to say that she was the one behind this marriage, but in the end, it was completely swallowed up by the selfishness in her heart.
She was afraid that Ye Gu would never want to see her again.

Just like that, after a long stalemate, Luo Yang smiled, half bent down and put the pair of sneakers into the box. A faint fragrance brushed across Ye Gu's nostrils, light and refreshing.
"Put it on when you're done. That way your feet won't hurt."

Ye Gu's eyes were slightly stunned, as if he was trying to figure out how much truth and how much falsehood there was in Luo Yang's words.
He was giving her the last chance to regret, but she didn't know whether she understood it or not.

But the arrow was on the string, Luo Yang had already walked to the door before him, and at that time he slightly side-glanced, "Are you not leaving? Or do you want to back out at the last minute?"
In fact, when Luo Yang said this, she was a little trembling and felt guilty. She even felt that Ye Gu regretted what he did just now. Now she felt guilty that she was forcing him to do something he didn't want to do.

Ye Gu was most susceptible to provocation, and snorted softly: "I'm going to back down at the last minute? No way."

/ / /
Going down from the elevator, the entire appearance of the engagement banquet was presented to Luo Yang. Only then did she fully see the design of the engagement banquet.
The theme was actually roses, and all the roses complemented the withered rose on her wedding dress. Although withered, it had an incomparable beauty.
Black and red have become the most beautiful colors today.

Along the way, she would receive many compliments from people, who would simply say that she was pretty, or that her wedding dress was beautiful, and other such high-sounding formalities. Luo Yang had heard them so many times that she could respond smoothly.

I don’t know how many people she welcomed like this. Luo Yang’s ankles hurt a little. Although she usually wears high heels, walking in them for a long time would make her bones uncomfortable.

She endured the pain in her ankle and continued to toast with the guests.

"This rose looks a lot like you."
There was a clear and cold voice behind him. Luo Yang paused for a moment, then turned around and saw Liang Yi.

The acquaintance who had previously invited her to the celebrity party was also the one who told her the authenticity of the marriage news.

Liang Yi approached. She was wearing all white, which seemed dull with her originally charming appearance. Fortunately, her overall makeup today was not too high-brow and was quite elegant.

She touched Luo Yang's glass lightly and held her hand. "You don't have to drink it. I'm toasting you with this glass. I'm toasting you for your courage. You're just as hot-tempered as I thought."

Liang Yi is also a straightforward person. Although she is not close to Luo Yang, she looks down on Luo Ke. If one's virtue is not worthy of his position, there will be disaster.
The Luo family used to have a unique woman like Yang Yue, who was praised by everyone in the circle as a good woman. Later, Yang Yue passed away, and her daughter looked like her, but the Luo family was taken over by outsiders.

Luo Yang went to a foreign country. Liang Yi once mocked Luo Yang for being a coward and a person without courage and ambition.
She truly regarded her as a respectable opponent. She had always been superior to her in school. Now that she had entered society, she had wanted to compete with her, but she had not expected that Luo Yang would run away first.

Seeing her standing here so radiantly, Liang Yi actually had a feeling of admiration for each other, but she was not a sentimental person, so she just toasted her with a glass of wine. Today's roses deserve to bloom for Luo Yang.

This was the first unique word Luo Yang heard today: Rose was like her.
In fact, it is not that the rose is like her, but that she is like this decaying rose. Both sprouted from the swamp, and neither would admit defeat. They had to fight for a position, and even if they decayed, they would live proudly.

"Luo Yang, your mother is really young and well-maintained. She looks like a sister to Luo Yang."
Zhang Peilan followed behind Luo Yang, holding a glass of champagne. Someone came up to talk to her with compliments, but this person didn't know the truth and actually thought Zhang Peilan was Luo Yang's mother.

People all love to hear sweet words. Zhang Peilan smiled charmingly, and the Hong Kong-style emerald earrings on her ears were dazzling enough in the sun.
"No way, Luo Luo is definitely much prettier than me. Our Luo Luo is the heroine today."

The man also laughed, and the scene looked harmonious.

"She is not my mother, my mother is Yang Yue, thank you."

Luo Yang's serious tone brought the seemingly peaceful atmosphere to an abrupt end. Zhang Peilan was instantly put in an awkward position, unable to save herself from the situation and not knowing what to say when she opened her mouth.

The person who complimented him also felt embarrassed and apologized to Luo Yang: "Oh, look at my stupid head, it's my fault, I will drink a glass as punishment."

It is human nature to love watching the show, so there were naturally voices of pointing and gossip around her. Luo Yang didn't care at all. She didn't want to have anything to do with Zhang Peilan and her daughter. Even in situations where her mother's presence was required, she would not let Zhang Peilan easily remove all traces of Yang Yue's existence.

Luo Ke came over at some point and held Luo Yang's arm, pretending to be intimate.
"Sister, today is your happiest day, don't spoil the fun. Mom is also really happy for you. Let me toast you a glass?"

Looking at Luo Ke's sweet smile, Luo Yang actually felt nauseous, just like when Luo Ke first came to their house, he smiled at her with the same expression, called her sister, and said that he would get along well with her in the future and that they would become the best family.

Smiling but concealing a knife is her usual style.
Every failure makes you wiser. Luo Yang believed her back then, which resulted in her becoming the vicious sister in Luo Jiancheng's eyes, just like the sisters who couldn't tolerate Cinderella.

But Cinderella's sisters still had their mother to protect them, but she had no one, and in the end she became the only outsider in the Luo family.

People say that relatives should not be too distant, but with her it is completely the opposite.

Everyone is looking at this place. Luo Yang is the protagonist today, and wherever she is, she will definitely be under the spotlight.
She was holding the wine glass. After Luo Ke said this, if she didn't drink it, she would be showing disrespect and not being generous enough.

Luo Yang chuckled and calmly dodged Luo Ke's arm from her elbow.

He raised his glass and said, "Thank you for your good wishes. I hope you are really happy." Then he was about to drink it all in one gulp.

She just wanted to escape from Luo Ke's place as soon as possible, but when she raised the wine glass to her lips, a striking red rope came into view, and the veins on the back of that excellent hand were slightly protruding. Luo Yang has always been a little bit of a hand control freak, and such hands are the epitome of sexiness in her eyes.

"Ah He drank too much today, I'll drink this cup for her."
Ye Gu's voice was clear and his manners were decent, which invisibly showed the close relationship between the two of them. The people around them were envious.

Before Luo Yang could say anything, Ye Gu grabbed her wrist and blocked her behind him. "Everyone, enjoy your meal. Ms. Zhang has worked hard. Go and have a rest first. We still have some things to do."

Luo Ke looked at Luo Yang who was protected by Ye Gu behind him. Her hands at her side tightly grasped the hem of her skirt, and the white gauze was deformed. But because everyone was present, she still put on an understanding expression, and her heart was filled with hatred.

Obviously, she should have been the one to marry Ye Gu in the first place! Why did Luo Yang have to snatch everything from her?

Luo Ke looked at the figure being pulled farther and farther away by Ye Gu, his eyes deep and profound.

When entering the elevator, Luo Yang withdrew his hand in time, stood aside, and focused on the gradually rising floor index on the screen. Just when it was about to reach the sixth floor, the elevator suddenly lost power, and after a violent collision, it fell into infinite darkness.

Luo Yang was shocked, but guessed that it was an elevator malfunction, so he didn't react excessively.

But just as he was about to turn around, he heard a trembling voice behind him: "Where are you! I... can't find you..."

Luo Yang's heart was pounding, as if it was hit by a hammer and was in great pain.
She slowed down her voice and tried to be as gentle as possible: "It's okay, I'm right next to you, are you afraid of the dark?"
But she clearly remembered that Ye Gu was not afraid of the dark when he was a child. He was always very brave and there was nothing in the world that could scare him. Ye Gu closed his eyes tightly and breathed deeply. There were already beads of sweat on his forehead. He pressed his whole body against the cold wall of the elevator. He held the handrail on the side of the elevator tightly with one hand and refused to let go. He just stretched out his other hand, as if he wanted to grab something, searching in the air with small movements, like a headless fly.

Helpless and anxious.

In the empty air, he grasped nothing, just handfuls of nothingness. Gradually, Ye Gu's lips began to turn pale, his breathing became more rapid and difficult, and his whole body was about to collapse.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here. I'm right here."

A soft palm undoubtedly grasped his hand and held it tightly. He could even feel the engagement ring on her index finger, which was slightly cool to the touch.

Luo Yang walked slowly to his side in the darkness, holding Ye Gu's outstretched hands with both hands. She could feel the trembling in his palms and the cold sweat oozing out of them.

She had no idea that during all these years of absence, he had developed claustrophobia.

After dialing the phone in the elevator, the two people could only wait for the workers to come and repair it.

Luo Yang helped Ye Gu sit down in the elevator. He still looked very bad, with sweat all over his head. He was struggling to get out and take a deep breath. He held her hand tightly and refused to let go, treating her as his life-saving straw.

Luo Yang freed up one hand to help him breathe more easily like coaxing a child, but Ye Gu nervously grabbed her hand that was about to leave.
He asked alertly, "What are you doing? Are you leaving?"

Luo Yang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "No, I won't leave. I can't leave even if the door isn't open. I'm right here. It's okay. Don't be afraid."

Ye Gu took a few breaths and said, "I... I'm not afraid."
He always cares about his reputation. Even in such an embarrassing situation, he still doesn't like to ruin his image in front of others.

Luo Yang also followed his lead and did not expose him, "Well, you are not afraid."

She patted Ye Gu's back gently, soothing his breathing along his spine, "Take a deep breath, don't be afraid, I'm here, the door will open soon, and they are coming over."

"We will be able to get out soon, don't be afraid." Luo Yang patiently helped him to relieve the fear in his heart over and over again, while using other things to divert his attention.

"Let me tell you a secret." Luo Yang pretended to be mysterious, which aroused Ye Gu's curiosity.

"Actually, this kind of thing happened to me when I was in the UK. Guess what happened to me?"
Luo Yang naturally threw the conversation to Ye Gu, letting him speak actively instead of immersing himself in the darkness and fear of the elevator.

"You cried?"

Luo Yang shook his head, "No, I was very happy at that time."

Ye Gu scolded her: "Everything has happened, and you are still happy. Do you still have a heart?"

Luo Yang raised his head and smiled, "No, because the professor gave me a very complicated paper at that time, so I didn't have to write it!"

Ye Gu was stunned, then turned to laugh at her: "Ha, just to avoid doing homework, you are really promising."

"What happened next? Did you write it? The paper?"

Luo Yang pondered for a moment, and suddenly moved closer to Ye Gu's ear. His nostrils were suddenly filled with a mellow fragrance, like the scent of roses, or natural body odor. He was so dizzy that he couldn't tell the difference.

"Later, I didn't write it because I pretended to be sick and went to the hospital."

The sudden approach made Ye Gu forget his fear, and the next second, the elevator door suddenly opened.

People outside came in to help, but Luo Yang held Ye Gu's hand tightly and refused to let go. Ye Gu's mother Li Yan was so scared that she stepped forward to take care of him, and only then did Luo Yang let go of his hand.

Before leaving, she whispered, "They are all here, so don't be afraid anymore."

Ye Gu looked at her, who was squeezed on the periphery by the crowd, the bright red scratches on her feet, and the hem of her white gauze skirt that was wrinkled by him.

Ye Gu suddenly wanted to ask: "Ah He, are you here too?"
He didn't know how long he was surrounded like this. When Ye Gu turned around again, Luo Yang had disappeared. He was actually panicked for a moment.

In such a miserable state, he finally reached the dressing room from the stairs, panting slightly, and saw her sitting barefoot on the sofa with her knees hugged, staring blankly at him who had intruded.

Ye Gu hesitated to move forward at the door. He calmed his breath and then slowly sat down next to her.

The two looked at each other in silence for a long time. Then Ye Gu spoke, his voice slightly hoarse.
"Tell me about your time in England."

(End of this chapter)