Chapter 17 Dirty stuff, just throw it away...

During the banquet, amidst the clinking of glasses, Xie Tang found the food utterly unappetizing.

Chu Song, his grandfather, and Qin Ruhai discussed macroeconomics.

Mingwei gently inquired why Xie Tang's mother was absent.

Ji Yan immediately put on a polite smile and said first, "My sister needs to rest and recuperate, so she specifically asked me to send her regards to our in-laws. Once she's feeling better, I will definitely accompany her to visit them."

Mingwei nodded: "She's sick, I should be the one visiting her."

“Mother-in-law, you’re too kind,” Ji Yan immediately replied, her gaze sweeping over Xie Tang with a hint of provocation. “When would be a convenient time for us to go together…”

Xie Tang's eyes turned cold, a warning piercing Ji Yan—how dare she ignore the warning she received in the private room?!

When Ji Yan met her gaze, her smile widened, and she deliberately asked, "A-Tang, what do you think?"

Mingwei's gaze also turned to Xie Tang.

Xie Tang suppressed his anger and said calmly, "Thank you for your concern, but my mother needs to rest for a while and it's inconvenient for her to disturb us."

“Okay,” Mingwei replied gently, “You must tell me when your mother is feeling better.”

Xie Tang responded with an "okay," her gaze sweeping over Ji Yan's smiling face before settling precisely on Qin Ruhai.

"Speaking of which," she changed the subject, "where's Qin Ye?"

The air seemed to freeze instantly.

Chu Song paused almost imperceptibly while chewing, then resumed as if he had only heard a casual question.

Qin Wu's heart clenched, and she tightened her grip on her chopsticks.

She knew Xie Tang too well; this was definitely not a casual question.

The flush on Qin Ruhai's face instantly faded, and his fingers tightened around the wine glass.

Ji Yan's smile, however, was as stiff and broken as if it had been splashed with ice water.

"He...he's still studying abroad, he...he can't come back for the time being." Her voice was a little unsteady, and her eyes unconsciously drifted towards Chu Song, as if to confirm whether he cared.

Chu Song simply continued eating with a calm expression.

"Really?" Xie Tang raised an eyebrow slightly. "I haven't seen him in a long time either. But..."

She leaned forward slightly, her gaze fixed on Qin Ruhai and Ji Yan. "I remember Dad's birthday was during the National Day holiday. It was his fiftieth birthday, and as the only son of the Qin family, his precious only heir..."

She deliberately emphasized her words, "He has to come back at least once in a while, right? Is he really too busy with his studies to come back?"

"Ah..." Ji Yan's face turned deathly pale instantly, and she looked at Qin Ruhai for help.

Qin Ruhai didn't look at her; her voice was filled with undisguised panic, "I...I'll ask him later...to see if he's busy at school..."

The entire private room fell into dead silence.

Xie Tang took in everyone's reactions, noting the almost overflowing fear in Ji Yan's eyes and Qin Ruhai's forced composure.

She leaned back in her chair, her voice light and airy, "Alright. Then I'll have to trouble Aunt Ji to take care of things. For her 50th birthday celebration, not a single member of the Qin family can be missing."

These words completely shattered Ji Yan's feigned composure, and she almost collapsed into her chair—why did Xie Tang bring up Qin Ye, was it unintentional or intentional?

Did Chu Song say something to her?

Qin Wu lowered her head, feeling that even the delicacies on the table had become unpalatable.

Old Master Chu turned his gaze to the young woman beside Qin Wu: "Has this young lady been seen somewhere before?"

Ji Yan immediately became warm and friendly: "Uncle, this is my niece, Shen Yuan, the daughter of the Shen Group. She's helping out at the company now."

Qin Ruhai chimed in tacitly, "Yes, the Shen family was able to become Huasong's supplier this time thanks to A-Song for giving them the opportunity."

“Ah Yuan knew she would see you and Ah Song tonight, so she insisted on coming along to thank you in person.” Ji Yan said, turning to Shen Yuan, “Ah Yuan, why don’t you quickly toast Grandpa Chu and Ah Song?”

Qin Wu irritably looked away, unwilling to look at her mother's fawning face.

Chu Yi served her a piece of Three-Cup Duck, which slightly calmed the turmoil in her heart.

Shen Yuan, dressed in a red dress, resembled a burning flame.

She picked up her wine glass and walked to Chu Song's side. The moment her gaze fell upon his cold, handsome profile, her breathing quickened and her heart pounded like a drum.

Xie Tang noticed that her hand holding the wine glass was trembling, and deep in her eyes was an undisguised, almost greedy, obsession.

"Grandpa Chu, Brother Song," she said sweetly, her eyes seemingly glued to Chu Song's face, "On behalf of the Shen Group, I would like to express my gratitude to you both for giving us this valuable opportunity for cooperation."

Chu Song didn't even lift his eyelids, his gaze fixed on Xie Tang, his tone distant: "Shen's? I wasn't involved in this cooperation."

Xie Tang put down her chopsticks, rested her chin on her hand, and watched the play with a faint smile on her lips.

Shen Yuan's sweet smile froze for a moment, then she forced an even wider smile: "Brother Song is joking. In any case, the Shen family will do everything in its power..."

As soon as she finished speaking, her wrist trembled! The movement was so large and deliberate that the entire glass of red wine was spilled instantly!

The crimson wine was precisely splashed onto Chu Song's snow-white shirt, spreading a glaring red stain, and even his trousers were not spared.

Chu Song frowned, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

Xie Tang pulled out a silk handkerchief to wipe herself, but Shen Yuan nimbly beat her to it.

She almost knelt down, pressing the tissue in her hand forcefully against the stain, her posture humble yet deliberately affectionate: "I'm sorry, Brother Song! I really didn't mean to! I was just too nervous..."

She tilted her head back, the angle of which perfectly showcased her profile, which bore a resemblance to Xie Tang's.

"Get out of my way!" Chu Song's voice was as cold as a knife as he raised his hand without any mercy!

The force was so great that it knocked Shen Yuan, who was kneeling, to the ground, where she fell awkwardly onto the red carpet.

"Ah Yuan!" Ji Yan exclaimed, her voice filled with exaggerated concern, "Oh dear, how could you be so clumsy! Did you hurt yourself?"

"I...I'm fine!" Shen Yuan scrambled to her feet, disregarding her composure, and eagerly moved closer to Chu Song again, her eyes burning with fervor. "Brother Song, don't be angry! I really didn't mean it..."

Her words were frozen by Chu Song's icy gaze.

Chu Song didn't even look at her, his gaze fixed on Xie Tang, "A-Tang..."

Xie Tang sensed the oppressive atmosphere emanating from him—his patience was running out.

She stood up and walked straight to Shen Yuan, her tall, slender, and elegant figure completely blocking Shen Yuan's view of Chu Song.

“Miss Shen,” Xie Tang lowered his head slightly, looking at the lingering madness in Shen Yuan’s eyes, and gave a cold, even somewhat pitying, smile, “'Accident'? Once is an accident, twice… that seems clumsy. Brother Song has always been magnanimous…”

She paused deliberately, her gaze sweeping around, "Of course I won't hold such a 'trivial matter' against you. However—"

She leaned forward, lowering her voice to just enough for Shen Yuan to hear, "A dirty thing is still dirty no matter how clean it is washed. Just like you, if you don't have feelings, no matter how well you hide them, they will still show in your eyes."

Shen Yuan's face turned pale, but she was still unwilling to give up and even tried to bypass Xie Tang: "How much do you want? I'll pay! Brother Song, I have some in my car..."

"Compensate?" Xie Tang straightened up again and chuckled. "It's just a shirt, the Chu family wouldn't bother with it. But Miss Shen, you should watch your hands, and even more so your eyes and heart. If you 'accidentally' offend someone you shouldn't next time... it won't be something that can be solved with just a drink or a shirt."

Shen Yuan was rooted to the spot by the ruthlessness in her words, and her face drained of all color.

Xie Tang stopped looking at her and turned to the elders of the Chu family, nodding apologetically: "Grandpa, Mom, Song-ge's clothes are dirty, I'll take him to get them cleaned up."

After saying that, she naturally took Chu Song's arm and left the private room under everyone's gaze.

Shen Yuan stood frozen in place, like a beautiful balloon that had been punctured.

————————

Inside the hotel's VIP lounge, the door shuts out the noise from the outside world.

Chu Song irritably tugged at the sticky collar of his shirt, the wine stain particularly glaring under the light: "There's no spare in the car."

"Hmm." Xie Tang looked down and quickly operated on his phone, searching for the nearest luxury menswear store. "There's a store nearby. I'll have someone send a new one over immediately."

Chu Song looked up and saw how calmly she handled the trouble. The anger that Shen Yuan had stirred up in him subsided a little.

He spoke in a low voice: "Why not make her pay for it on the spot?"

Xie Tang looked up, meeting his gaze, and smiled faintly, "Compensate? Of course I'd like to. But in front of so many people, am I going to haggle over the price of a shirt with her?"

She tilted her head slightly, a hint of playfulness mixed with shrewd calculation, "If word gets out, people will say that Madam Chu is petty and narrow-minded. More importantly, Young Master Chu got splashed with wine by a woman and is now demanding compensation... How awful! The Chu family's reputation is far more valuable than a shirt."

She pointed her finger at the stain on his chest. "Dirty stuff, just throw it away. It's not worth getting yourself covered in filth because of it."

Chu Song listened quietly, the frost in his eyes completely melting away, and a helpless yet indulgent smile crept onto his lips.

He raised his hand and took hers: "You've got a lot on your mind."

Xie Tang couldn't help but laugh out loud, with a hint of helplessness: "President Chu, your 'Tang Monk's flesh' attribute is too tempting for demons. Wherever you go, someone wants to pounce on you and take a bite."

Chu Song raised an eyebrow and glanced at her sideways, a meaningful look in his eyes: "A vixen?"

He leaned closer, his breath brushing against her ear, his deep voice carrying a dangerous teasing tone, "You, who dared to cling to me and shout 'I want to give you the best things in the world' when you were six years old, don't seem to be much better than them."

The little girl who couldn't do addition and subtraction but could make him blush with her innocent words was his destined "little devil".

Xie Tang, without blushing or skipping a beat, turned her face away playfully, saying, "I don't remember anything from the distant past."

"How old was I back then? I don't remember anything from that distant past."

A low chuckle rippled through the air between them. He didn't refute her, but simply moved closer, his tall figure completely enveloping her in his unique aura.

Xie Tang could feel the subtle tingling sensation brought on by his warm breath brushing against her forehead, like a feather scratching her heart.

"Don't you remember?" His deliberately slowed tone was dangerously hoarse, his gaze intense, locking onto her slightly trembling eyelashes and her ears, which were trying to appear calm but were quietly blushing.

He reached out his fingers, not to touch her face directly, but very slowly and with immense pressure, gently stroking the contours of her face that had just turned away, before finally his warm palm gently covered the back of her hand.

Xie Tang's heartbeat suddenly became disordered, like a pounding drum.

She tried to pull her hand away, but his calloused thumb gently yet forcefully pressed down on her fingertips.

The air seemed to freeze, thick as honey, exuding a silent invitation and a silent contest.

“It’s alright,” he lowered his voice even further, like a lover’s whisper, with a bewitching magic, “It’s enough that I remember. Remember that little vixen, how…”

Before he finished speaking, he slowly bent down.

Warm lips, with an irresistible force, branded her softness.

Xie Tang's mind went completely blank. All his excuses and pretenses crumbled in his hot and deep kiss.

His presence forcefully assaulted her senses, overwhelming all her senses with a familiar, heart-pounding excitement that awakened sweet memories dormant deep within her heart.

She initially straightened her back, her fingertips curling up helplessly, but he held them even tighter in his palm.

That kiss carried a strange magic, domineering yet tender, demanding yet gentle, just like him.

The will to resist melted away quickly, like thin ice under the sun.

Gradually, her clenched fists loosened, her tense body softened, and she couldn't help but let out a soft, kitten-like sound. Her long eyelashes trembled, and finally, she slowly closed them, letting herself sink into this suffocating dizziness dominated by him.

The world seemed to consist only of intertwined breaths, the warmth of lips touching, and the frantic heartbeat in their chests, a heartbeat called destiny.