Chapter 61 What if I don't let go? ...

"Aren't you her friend?" Chu Song's voice was emotionless, but his gaze was scrutinizing. "Why are you asking me whether she's doing well or not?"

He had never had a good impression of Yin Xi, and he still vividly remembered the words she said when she was drunk during their first meeting.

"She said she likes you." Yin Xi's tone was slightly tentative.

"Is this something new?" Chu Song's face remained calm, but his heart was like a lake with a pebble thrown in.

Yin Xi changed the subject, her tone deliberately sarcastic: "But I don't think she likes you. She was just worn down by the five years her aunt was sick, and she was afraid of that kind of humiliation. She wanted to find herself a stable support—a wealthy one. And you just happen to fit the bill."

Chu Song's eyes suddenly turned cold: "Is this how you view A-Tang?"

Yin Xi seemed to have been waiting for this moment.

She took out her phone and decisively played a recording:

Xie Tang: "If it were you, and you could sacrifice just a little bit to help your family survive, I don't believe you would be unmoved."

Yin Xi: "No, I won't. I'm not like you. I will never sell my freedom and my marriage."

Xie Tang: "Really? You're right, but I didn't do anything wrong either, did I?"

Yin Xi: "A-Tang, I know you don't want to lose Auntie, but true happiness is not built on sacrifice. If happiness requires selling your freedom and marriage, then let me ask you, would you be happy marrying someone you don't love?"

Xie Tang: "He's rich, handsome, and young... Do you think I'd be unhappy?"

The recording abruptly stopped.

Yin Xi looked directly at Chu Song: "President Chu, A Tang is my best friend. She has her reasons for going down this path, but I can't bear to see her continue down this wrong path. I beg you, give her her freedom. I will pay whatever the penalty for breach of contract is."

“Heh,” Chu Song let out a cold sneer, his eyes playful, “How generous. Unfortunately, the matter between me and A-Tang cannot be bought with money.”

He leaned forward slightly, his eyes icy cold. "What if I don't let go?"

“Then I’ll have to think of another way.” Yin Xi said without backing down.

"Ah Tang's judgment of people is truly worrying." Chu Song's gaze was like an ice-cold knife, piercing straight at Yin Xi. "One of them covets her, and the other is filled with jealousy and hatred towards her... yet she opens her heart and considers you both her best friends."

"Jealousy?" Yin Xi seemed to have been stabbed, her voice suddenly rising, "I'm jealous of her? What right do I have to be jealous of her? In what way am I inferior to her? I'm telling you all this out of concern! I don't want her to go astray!"

"Concern?" Chu Song's sarcasm deepened. "Your concern is to rudely interfere with her choices? To stand on your moral high ground and judge and despise her? You can't sit still when you see her struggling out of the mire and her life getting better day by day?"

He ruthlessly tore away her facade. "Admit it, Attorney Yin! You just can't stand seeing her doing better than you. You're proud to have her as your 'only' friend, yet you resent that she doesn't only have eyes for you! You comfortably enjoy her sincerity, but deep down you long for her to fall from grace. A selfish and hypocritical person like you doesn't deserve to be Ah Tang's friend!"

Yin Xi's face flushed red instantly, and her chest heaved violently.

She suppressed her surging emotions, her voice trembling with determination: "Look at me however you want! A-Tang is my best friend, and I will never stand by and watch her jump into a fire pit! Your words can't hurt me, nor can they change my heart towards her!"

"Get out!" Chu Song completely lost his patience, his voice was icy cold, and he no longer looked at her.

Yin Xi took a deep breath, grabbed the documents, turned around, and strode away.

The moment the office door closed, Chu Song pressed the landline: "Fu Xiu, come over immediately."

When Fu Xiu pushed open the door, he saw Chu Song leaning back in his chair with a gloomy expression.

"Pass the word that you will be in full charge of all matters concerning the legal counsel team. They no longer need to report their progress to me. If there are any problems with their services, replace them directly."

"Change him?" Fu Xiu was stunned. "But that's Lawyer Gu..."

That's Gu Shun's team, Chu Song's own uncle!

"Yes." Chu Song said firmly, unwilling to say another word.

The image of Yin Xi's hypocritical face lingered in his mind, making the entire team seem repulsive.

Fu Xiu clicked his tongue in amazement. When this young master got ruthless, he was truly ruthless and didn't care about his own family.

However... considering the exorbitant fees charged by Gu Shun's team and their arrogant attitude based on nepotism, there were already dissatisfactions among people throughout the company, so replacing them didn't seem like a bad thing.

Outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, dusk was falling.

The office was deathly silent.

Chu Song leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes.

Xie Tang's smile and eyes surged forth like a tidal wave, clear and distinct.

The urge to see her grew wildly in his heart like weeds, and he could no longer suppress it.

Those doubts about "marriage of convenience" and the entanglement of the truth that night are no longer important at this moment.

He had only one thought in his mind: he wanted to see her.

-----------------

The private banquet hall is now brightly lit.

The melodious sound of the piano flowed among the elegant attire and graceful figures of guests, who chatted and laughed softly, their glasses clinking lightly, creating an atmosphere of elegance and liveliness in high society.

Chu Jing, dressed in elegant attire, was exchanging pleasantries with several noblewomen.

Her son, Gu Chang, walked through the crowd, accompanied by a young woman in an elegant dress with a refined demeanor.

"Mom," Gu Chang approached with a bright smile, "let me introduce you. This is my friend, lawyer Xie Tang."

"Hello, Mr. Chu." Xie Tang nodded slightly and greeted him politely.

Chu Jing's gaze fell on Xie Tang's face, and her smile instantly froze.

Isn't this Chu Song's rarely seen wife?

Chu Jing was shocked and looked at Gu Chang in disbelief.

The undisguised admiration and tenderness in her son's eyes made her feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

Chu Jing tried hard to maintain the smile on her lips, but her voice was slightly tense, "Ah Chang, is this the 'friend you said you were going to bring to me'? Your second brother Chu Song's wife?"

Gu Chang's earlier joy at revealing that he was going to bring his favorite girl has now turned into cold shock and anger.

She suppressed her surging emotions and said gently to Xie Tang, "Attorney Xie, the snacks over there are quite nice. Why don't you go and try some? Ah Chang and I will be there in a bit."

After Xie Tang walked a few steps away, Chu Jing pulled Gu Chang behind a deserted pillar, her voice low but stern: "Tell me honestly! Do you have feelings for her?"

Gu Chang met his mother's sharp gaze without flinching: "Yes. I like her, and I'm pursuing her."

"Are you crazy!" Chu Jing almost screamed, but held back for the sake of the occasion. "She's your second brother's woman! They're not divorced yet!"

"So what? They'll divorce sooner or later!" Gu Chang's voice was also filled with suppressed anger. "Don't you know best why Second Brother married her in the first place? It wasn't because of love at all!"

"Even if they're divorced, you absolutely cannot get involved with her!" Chu Jing's tone was resolute, her gaze like a knife. "A-Chang, you'd better give up on that idea as soon as possible! There are so many good girls in the world, why do you have to go after your brother's woman? If your dad finds out, he'll break your legs!"

"Then let him interrupt!" Gu Chang retorted, his eyes filled with unprecedented rebellion and stubbornness.

He left those words behind, ignoring his mother's instantly ashen face, and strode off toward Xie Tang.

Chu Jing stood frozen in place, watching her son's resolute back disappear into the throng of elegantly dressed women, and felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.

She subconsciously looked around, her heart pounding like a drum—Where was Chu Song? Had he arrived?

If he were to witness this... the consequences would be unimaginable!

-----------------

The clamor of the banquet was like a thick cocoon, suffocating Xie Tang.

Surrounded by unfamiliar faces, she made an excuse and hid in the relatively quiet back garden, just wanting a moment to catch her breath.

"Hi!" A girl carrying a juice, with a bright smile, skipped over and sat down next to her as if they were old friends. "Are you my brother's friend?"

"Your brother?" Xie Tang glanced sideways. The girl's features vaguely resembled a blend of Gu Chang's and Chu Jing's. "Gu Chang?"

"Yes, but I have several older brothers! My name is Gu Ming, what's yours?"

"Xie Tang".

Gu Ming's eyes suddenly lit up, filled with a hint of gossipy excitement: "You wouldn't happen to be... my second brother's newlywed wife, would you?"

“…I am.” Xie Tang admitted.

"Wow! It really is you!" Gu Ming exclaimed enthusiastically. "My second brother often mentions you! It's a pity I've been abroad all this time. I'm so glad I finally met you today! You're even more beautiful in person than in the photos, and you and my second brother are such a perfect match! Oh, why didn't you come with him?"

Xie Tang's fingertips unconsciously traced the cold glass, suppressing the bitterness in her heart, and casually said, "He's busy, later."

"Yes, yes, yes, a workaholic!" Gu Ming laughed heartlessly. "What a coincidence! You're not only Brother Chang's friend, but also my second sister-in-law. It's like family doubling down!"

Xie Tang lowered her eyes and forced a smile.

The girl's liveliness was like the unclouded sunshine in a greenhouse.

"By the way," Gu Ming suddenly leaned closer, lowered her voice, and complained with a hint of affection towards her brother, "Isn't it really boring being friends with my brother... Gu Chang? He's always so stern and quiet. My second brother is so much better, gentle and caring, right?"

Xie Tang remained silent.

That's true.

Both Gu Chang and Chu Song were seedlings nurtured by unfortunate childhoods, but they grew into completely opposite trees.

It is like a deep, still pool, with a bone-chilling cold beneath the ice.

A smile is rare, words are distant, and one always waits three feet away from others.

Like a silent spring rain, it gently and persistently nourishes.

It always delivers a comforting warmth unexpectedly.

“But don’t blame him for being cold,” Gu Ming’s tone softened, tinged with a hint of heartache. “His birth mother left when he was very young. Before my mother married into the family, he was all alone. After I was born, my mother’s attention was inevitably diverted, but she was always very good to him. The main reason he became like this is because of my father…”

Gu Ming pouted, puffed out her cheeks, and said indignantly, "He's such a pervert! He demands that my brother do everything perfectly, and if he doesn't, he beats and scolds him! He always compares me to my second brother... Humph, no wonder my brother doesn't like my second brother very much."

I see.

Gu Chang's hostility towards Chu Song stems from this.

"Don't let my brother's cold demeanor fool you. He's incredibly open and honest with those he cares about! Like me, like..." Gu Ming looked intently at Xie Tang, "...you. He has so few friends, yet he brought you to meet my mom. You must be very special to him!"

The girl's eyes were clear and open, yet they made Xie Tang's chest tighten.

Her throat tightened as she thought of the cold ruins between her and Gu Chang.

Those past moments of warmth are now shattered beyond repair.

How did they... get to this point?

Every time I ask myself this question, it feels like a dull knife scraping against my heart.