Chapter 43 [It's the person I like...]

Chu Yuan looked at Chu Zhi, who was about to get up, and said with a look of disappointment, "Dad said this is the last time. From now on, whether you live or die, you will have nothing to do with the Chu family."

Chu Zhi stared blankly at Chu Yuan, then sneered, "You think I'm shameful? Now you want to cut ties with me?"

"That's what I mean," Chu Yuan said coldly.

Chu Zhi shrugged indifferently and turned to Chu Song, "And you? You won't acknowledge me as your father anymore, will you?"

Chu Song stared directly at him, and instead of answering, asked, "Do you consider me your son?"

Chu Zhi cheated on him before he was even born.

His father had been absent since he could remember.

He wasn't as lucky as Chu Li, who at least enjoyed a few years of fatherly love.

Chu Song could only yearn for the warmth from her father in her dreams, but when she woke up, she was always faced with an empty room and the deep worry on her mother's face.

Later, he began to hide his longing for his father's love, to avoid it becoming a burden between himself and his mother.

Later, after witnessing his father's repeated indifference, he realized how much his father hated him.

Perhaps his birth was a mistake, and therefore he doesn't deserve his father's love.

Chu Zhi shrugged. "I don't know, probably not."

He had held Chu Li and Chu Yun when he was still an infant, but he had never held Chu Song since he was born, and had never even looked at him properly.

Even though Chu Song looks the most like him, and Chu Song is so outstanding, he has always been stingy with any affection.

All of this is because of Mingwei.

If she had been willing to divorce him back then instead of dragging things out with him, he wouldn't have been so cruel to her and their child.

"Blame your mother if you must," Chu Zhi said, turning and leaving.

On the living room sofa, You Ning took out cigarettes from her bag. Seeing that Xie Tang was still there, she asked, "Do you mind if I smoke?"

Xie Tang shook his head.

She had never seen a woman so readily use her child as a bargaining chip without any apparent reason.

She stared at You Ning for a long time, but couldn't find a trace of guilt or reluctance on her face. Her cold eyes were like a bottomless lake, so calm that it chilled people to the bone.

You Ning looked at her through the smoke, "Is something the matter?"

"You carried him for ten months, didn't you have any feelings for him at all?"

"You said you love me?" You Ning looked at Xie Tang for a while as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world, then burst into laughter, her shoulders shaking.

After laughing enough, she said, "How could there be love? He was originally just a bargaining chip I used to threaten the Chu family."

Her voice suddenly rose, tinged with excitement, "Many things in this world can wait for the next one, but time and opportunity wait for no one! A woman's prime is short, and I don't want to wait until I'm old and faded to gain fame and fortune!"

Xie Tang nodded.

To some extent, she agreed with You Ning's statement that time waits for no one—she made the deal with Qin Ruhai precisely because the opportunity was too good to pass up and she couldn't just watch Xie Shuang die.

Her behavior may not be much more noble than You Ning's, but she still cannot condone this act of selling one's child for fame.

"Do you know how hard it was for me when I was pregnant with him?" You Ning continued, her voice tinged with a sense of catharsis, "I started vomiting around six weeks and kept vomiting until twenty weeks! I couldn't eat anything, and I ended up being hospitalized to try and save the pregnancy..."

"I really hated him back then! He made it so I couldn't do anything, I wished he were dead! But I couldn't accept it, if he just died like that, wouldn't all the suffering I endured for five months have been for nothing?"

"So, I must give birth to him. I want to use him to exchange for what I want, whether it's fame or money, I can get something."

Xie Tang looked at her coldly. When Chu Yun was choosing her parents in heaven, why did she have to choose such a cold and selfish pair?

She named her child "Yun" with the intention of him being both scholarly and martial, and wealthy—such a wonderful expectation, but in the end, she was too greedy.

Seeing Xie Tang remain silent, You Ning tried to shake off the string of cigarette ash, but couldn't find an ashtray on the table.

She awkwardly stubbed out the remaining half of her cigarette and held it in her hand.

"You seem to be a very lucky person. You must have been pampered and cherished since you were a child, right?"

Her tone was sarcastic. "I'm not as lucky as you. I was abandoned by my parents when I was young. I came from an orphanage and have been left to fend for myself ever since. I've been looked down upon and bullied. At the age when you're asking for pocket money, I had to earn money to support myself. Every penny I have is hard-earned."

Xie Tang did not interrupt her.

You Ning continued, "Fortunately, I'm quite pretty. Once I realized I could easily get some things with this face, I stopped compromising myself and stopped being stingy with using it."

"Let me be frank, I've always wanted to marry a rich man or enter a wealthy family to change my fate. But Chu Zhi lied to me... I'm not reconciled! When I learned that I could use Chu Yun to threaten the Chu family and get what I wanted, I didn't hold back... Once I leave this door, I will have absolutely no connection with Chu Zhi, Chu Yun, or the Chu family..."

“Besides you,” You Ning said with a triumphant smile as she saw Chu Zhi approaching, “no one would know about my shameful past. And you wouldn’t want Chu Yun to know he has such a selfish and self-serving mother, would you?”

Her voice was deep and firm, as if she were bidding farewell to her past self.

Xie Tang stared coldly at the departing figures of the man and woman, remaining silent for a long time.

Yao Fan picked a lot of vegetables from the backyard, all of which she grew herself.

She warmly invited Xie Tang and the others to stay for dinner, and after the nanny prepared the ingredients, she cooked herself.

Chu Song agreed with a "okay," and Xie Tang went to the kitchen to help Yao Fan.

After dinner, Yao Fan made tea and chatted until 8 p.m. before letting them leave. Before leaving, he reminded Chu Song to bring Xie Tang along.

On the way back, Xie Tang and Chu Song walked side by side.

As night deepened, the streetlights cast long shadows of them.

Xie Tang sighed, "My aunt and uncle are the most low-key wealthy people I've ever met. They live like an ordinary couple."

“For them, ‘rich’ is just a label. Especially after experiencing the pain of losing their daughter, they cherish the present moment even more,” Chu Song replied. “My uncle’s health is not good. He just had heart bypass surgery before the New Year, so his workload has been greatly reduced, and he is basically in a semi-retired state.”

Xie Tang looked up at him: "Then aren't you having a very hard time?"

"Yes." Chu Song nodded. "Hua Song Group is the foundation established by my grandfather, but it was my uncle and aunt who spent most of their lives protecting and expanding it."

They are truly remarkable. They have weathered many storms together, supported each other through thick and thin for half their lives, and their love remains as strong as ever.

"It's actually even harder for our generation..."

Xie Tang stopped and looked at Chu Song.

Even though he possesses immense wealth, the responsibilities and pressures of being the heir to the Huasong Group are not to be underestimated.

Seeing that she hadn't followed, Chu Song turned to her and asked, "What's wrong?"

Xie Tang gently hugged him.

Chu Song's body stiffened instantly, his heart tightened, and he was somewhat at a loss for words at this sudden embrace.

"What's wrong with you?" He looked down at Xie Tang in his arms.

A strange emotion welled up in Xie Tang's chest. She slowly released him, her gaze firm, and said, "You can do it."

Chu Song stared at her for a long time, his eyes filled with complex and unreadable emotions. "Go back."

Back at the old house, Mingwei asked them, "Have you eaten?"

"Yes, I ate at my uncle's house," Chu Song said.

"I went shopping today and bought you a few new outfits. Try them on and see if they fit."

Chu Song glanced at the clothes on the sofa, his interest waning: "Just leave them there, I'll try them on later."

Mingwei's eyes were filled with disappointment.

She didn't know when it started, but she felt as if there was a transparent glass between her and her son, seemingly close at hand, but actually far away.

She tried hard to recall the starting point of their estrangement: was it when she raised Chu Yi as her son?

She still repeatedly rejected Chu Song's good intentions to persuade her to leave the Chu family.

Chu Li saw this and was about to speak when Xie Tang smiled and picked up the pile of clothes: "Mom, I think these clothes are quite suitable for Song Ge. I'll let him go back to his room and try them on."

Mingwei smiled and said, "Okay."

Chu Song took the clothes and went upstairs.

He tried on two outfits in the room, but found it too troublesome and didn't want to try any more.

Xie Tang didn't insist. He took a few photos and sent them to Mingwei, adding a note saying that Song-ge liked them very much.

Mingwei replied with a happy emoji, knowing it was Xie Tang's thoughtfulness.

Seeing Chu Song sitting on the sofa playing on his phone, Xie Tang hesitated for a moment before saying softly, "Your mother... has had a tough time too."

Chu Song put down his phone, looked up at her, and gave a bitter smile. "I know. She has sacrificed so much for this family, for me and my brother..."

"Then you..." Xie Tang hesitated, not wanting to appear like she was meddling.

People should always have a sense of boundaries.

“There are few children in this world who can accept her sacrifice with a clear conscience—completely losing herself. She deserved a life of her own…”

His voice was filled with regret and heartache.

Xie Tang understood that he must have advised Mingwei to leave the Chu family.

——————

As the smoky atmosphere of breakfast dissipated, Aunt Yu brought over freshly brewed lemon black tea, with a few slices of fresh lemon floating in the bright red tea.

Seeing Xie Tang's crisp and bright sportswear, she asked with a smile, "You look so energetic, are you going out later?"

Xie Tang held the warm teacup and took a small sip. "Hmm, I'm meeting up with a friend to play tennis. It's been a long time."

"That's great! The sun is shining so brightly today, we should go out for some fresh air."

Aunt Yu glanced at the balcony and saw Chu Song sitting quietly in a wicker chair reading a book.

She leaned closer to Xie Tang, lowered her voice, and said with a hint of matchmaking in her smile, "How about... we bring A-Song along too? Let him go out and stretch his muscles and meet your friends?"

Xie Tang followed her gaze and asked softly, "When Brother Song is resting, doesn't he ever meet up with his friends?"

"Him," Aunt Yu shook her head, "many friends come to see him, but he rarely makes appointments with people himself. He prefers quiet, and he's usually so busy with work that he just wants to be alone when he has a break."

Xie Tang sighed softly upon hearing this.

Looking at Chu Song's serene profile in the sunlight, I still couldn't bear to leave him alone in the empty house.

She took out her phone and sent Tang Zhi a message: 【Want to bring a friend along?】

Tang Zhi replied almost instantly: 【No way! This is supposed to be our bestie time! Nobody else is allowed!】

Xie Tang paused on the screen for a moment, then quickly typed: "[It's someone I like.]"

A few seconds later, the phone vibrated, and Tang Zhi sent a string of excited, almost hysterical voice messages: "Bring it! You must bring it! Immediately! Right now! Bring it over so I can check it out for you!!"