Chapter 72 The Truth

In that instant, Pan Yu's words were like a lightning bolt that cleaved through the fog in Xie Tang's heart!

The animation is clunky, the lighting is shaky, and the background is abnormal...

These suspicious points made her suddenly grasp the key that she had been vaguely aware of but couldn't quite put her finger on—the video was likely not a continuous original recording, but rather a carefully edited and spliced ​​piece!

Just then, Xie Tang's phone suddenly rang sharply, and the name "Yin Xi" appeared on the screen.

Xie Tang frowned and hung up the phone without hesitation.

She's not in the mood to deal with Yin Xi right now.

But Yin Xi seemed to have exceptional patience; less than five seconds after the call ended, the phone rang again relentlessly.

Once, twice… Finally, when the phone vibrated persistently for the third time, Xie Tang, exasperated, had no choice but to answer, her tone indifferent: “What is it?”

"Come down here, I'm downstairs at your law firm." Yin Xi's voice sounded somewhat urgent, even commanding.

"We can talk on the phone if there's anything," Xie Tang said, unmoved.

“It’s hard to explain over the phone.” Yin Xi paused for a moment, then played her trump card, “It’s about President Chu… something very important. You’d better hear it in person.”

The brief silence on the other end of the phone told Yin Xi that she had grasped Xie Tang's weakness.

Sure enough, the words "about Chu Song..." were like hooks, instantly seizing Xie Tang's entire mind!

Her expression changed slightly. She didn't even have time to think about Yin Xi's possible intentions, nor did she bother to explain to Pan Yu. She immediately grabbed her phone, not even bothering to grab her coat, and rushed out of the office, heading straight for the elevator.

In the coffee shop downstairs, Xie Tang saw Yin Xi sitting in their usual window seat, with a cup of coffee on her table.

"Here it is." Yin Xi looked up at Xie Tang sitting across from her. "I know you don't like coffee, so I didn't order any for you."

Xie Tang cut straight to the point, his voice weary as he asked, "What do you want from me?"

Yin Xi noticed the weariness between her brows, and the radiance that Yin Xi had once envied seemed to have dimmed a bit, probably because she was exhausted from Chu Song's matter.

Yin Xi didn't reply, but silently took a USB drive out of her bag and placed it on the table.

Xie Tang's heart leaped into her throat. She stared intently at the small metal block, a glimmer of hope rising uncontrollably in her heart—evidence that could save Chu Song.

“I…I was out of my mind before and did things that hurt you.” Yin Xi’s voice lowered. “But I…I just felt that kind of place wasn’t suitable for you. Chu Song’s surroundings were too complicated and dangerous. High society is just a place where dogs fight each other.”

Xie Tang had no interest in such clichés and tapped the table with his fingertip: "What is this?"

"Xiang Shaoyun took me to the cocktail party that night," Yin Xi explained, meeting Xie Tang's sudden sharp gaze. "Our team is one of their company's legal advisors. He invited me, and I couldn't refuse."

It's Xiang Shaoyun again!

Xie Tang's temples throbbed, and she forced herself to suppress her irritation: "He didn't do anything to you, did he?"

“I know what I’m doing. We can’t afford to offend Xiang Shaoyun, but I don’t want to climb the social ladder either. Isn’t Zuo Meng’s fate clear enough?” Yin Xi twitched the corner of her mouth.

Xie Tang's tense shoulders relaxed slightly.

"At the party, I saw a woman whose profile looked a lot like yours enter the lounge..." Yin Xi paused, observing Xie Tang's reaction, and sure enough, she saw her eyes light up. "I followed her to see. Those videos online are fake."

"Really?" Xie Tang's voice trembled slightly, a huge sense of relief bringing tears to her eyes. "Thank you..."

“Ah Tang,” Yin Xi took a deep breath, as if she had made up her mind, “I hesitated for a long time before deciding to give you this evidence. But I have a condition…”

She looked Xie Tang straight in the eye. "Leave Chu Song. Forgive me. Let's... be friends like before."

Leave Chu Song?

Xie Tang was stunned. The warm kiss before leaving and his words, "Don't even think about divorce," still seemed to carry warmth.

He's been emphasizing this every day for the past few days, and she's seriously agreed.

Looking into Yin Xi's eager yet threatening eyes, she suddenly felt absurd and exhausted—

Why does she always have to make choices for her?

Why can't we be like Tang Zhi?

"I'm sorry, I can't." Xie Tang's voice was calm but firm.

She glanced at the USB drive on the table, stood up, and said, "I promised him."

Yin Xi's expression changed, and her voice rose: "Weren't you worried about him? You can't even make this little 'sacrifice'? Is this how you show your affection for him?"

Xie Tang stopped and turned to look at her, his eyes clear and unwavering: "I won't go back on my promise. As for forgiveness..."

She shook her head slightly. "Yin Xi, I've forgiven you too many times. I don't know where you'll stab me next time."

The old scars on my heart hurt too much.

"I won't! This is the last time! Please believe me one more time!" Yin Xi said urgently, her eyes reddening.

“Our relationship didn’t start when I got married,” Xie Tang said with a weary understanding. “It started when you didn’t believe me and couldn’t accept that I might go down a different path from you. I’ll figure out a solution myself.”

She gave Yin Xi one last, deep look. "Take care of yourself. Goodbye."

Watching Xie Tang's resolute departure, Yin Xi's tears finally rolled down her cheeks, smashing against the side of her coffee cup: "Just once... just one mistake... eight years, and you won't even give me a word of forgiveness?"

The grievance was quickly replaced by a surge of resentment. "You want to find a way? Ha... Without this evidence, let's see what you can do!"

She grabbed the USB drive, her fingertips turning white from gripping it so tightly, and a crazy thought began to grow in her mind—destroy it!

She had just stood up when a tall, mountain-like figure blocked her way.

A man in a sharp suit, with a blank expression, looked at her and said, "Ms. Yin, my boss wants to discuss a deal with you."

Two days later, Xie Tang received an anonymous package containing a USB flash drive.

She was filled with doubt and uncertainty. Had Yin Xi changed her mind?

She immediately plugged the USB drive into the computer, and a clear video file appeared.

With trembling hands, she clicked on the video and saw the full picture.

In the video, Shen Yuan approaches Chu Song, who is clearly in an abnormal state, and warmly calls him "Brother Song" and asks him if he is alright.

Chu Song waved her away impatiently, his eyes unfocused.

Shen Yuan refused to leave, pleading with a tearful voice, "Brother Song, look at me! I look so much like her! Please look at me again..."

Chu Song felt even more uncomfortable because of her voice. He barely managed to lift his head, and in his blurry vision, the face looked seven or eight parts like Xie Tang.

Under the influence of the drug, longing and confusion intertwined, and he unconsciously murmured, "A-Tang?"

"Brother Song, you've finally looked at me!" Shen Yuan's face lit up with joy as she cautiously approached. "Brother Song, you look terrible. Are you feeling unwell? Where do you feel pain?"

"My head... hurts so much..." Chu Song's voice was muffled, and the overlapping figures in front of him made him even more dizzy.

He struggled to see clearly; that concerned gaze was so much like Xie Tang's, yet a vague feeling lingered in his heart that something was amiss...

Shen Yuan gently coaxed, "Don't be afraid, you won't feel uncomfortable for a while..."

A familiar sense of dependence welled up, and Chu Song's tense body relaxed for a moment.

But the next moment, a strong, pungent perfume scent, completely different from Xie Tang's, suddenly wafted into his nostrils!

This unfamiliar scent was like a needle, piercing the illusion created by the medicine.

"No...that's not right!" Chu Song suddenly jolted awake and used all her strength to push Shen Yuan away.

Shen Yuan gasped and fell onto the sofa.

"You're not A-Tang!" Chu Song braced himself against the sofa armrest, trying to stand up, his sharp eyes swaying due to the effects of the drug. "Who sent you? What exactly do you want?"

He tried to focus, wanting to see the truth behind the face that looked so much like Xie Tang, but a violent headache and dizziness came in waves, blurring his vision again, and his questioning voice weakened.

Just then, a blurry figure flashed across the corner of the video.

Immediately afterwards, Chu Song's body seemed to have lost its last bit of strength, and without warning, he slumped forward and fell heavily onto Shen Yuan.

From this angle, their posture is very easy to misunderstand.

Shen Yuan laboriously pushed the unconscious Chu Song away a little, causing him to slump onto the sofa.

She gazed greedily at his unconscious face and whispered, "Brother Song, don't blame me, I love you so much..."

At this moment, Xiang Shaoyun walked in with his men.

He glanced coldly at the unconscious Chu Song, gave a signal, and his subordinate quickly and discreetly stuffed a small package into the inside pocket of Chu Song's suit.

Xiang Shaoyun immediately slapped Shen Yuan hard across the face, his voice icy: "Useless! You can't even handle someone who's been drugged! If you dare mess this up, you know the consequences!"

Shen Yuan covered her face, looked at Chu Song with a mixture of fear and infatuation, and nodded obediently.

Xiang Shaoyun waved his hand, and a man who had been waiting nearby and whose figure and clothes were extremely similar to Chu Song quickly stepped forward and pressed down on Shen Yuan.

A meticulously choreographed "violation" scene unfolded on camera, and the real slap marks on Shen Yuan's face served as excellent "evidence."

Screen switch.

Chu Song woke up on the sofa with a painful groan, his head throbbing. He found himself disheveled, while Shen Yuan was curled up beside him, her hair disheveled, her cheeks red and swollen, sobbing silently.

He stared in shock at what he had just witnessed, trying to recall, but only a jumble of fragments remained in his mind:

A face strikingly similar to Xie Tang's, pungent perfume, questioning... and a chilling blankness.

He clutched his head in anguish, wondering if he had truly lost his senses...

At this moment, Xiang Shaoyun strolled in slowly, a cigarette dangling from his lips, a nauseating fake smile on his face: "Oh, Brother Song is awake? How are you feeling, are you feeling the effects of the alcohol yet?"

He casually handed Chu Song a cigarette, "We're all men, it's understandable to indulge ourselves occasionally. Don't worry, this is my place, I'll make sure it's spotless for you."

Chu Song subconsciously took the cigarette, lit it, and took a drag.

A strange, intensely exhilarating coolness rushed to my head, dispelling some of the confusion, but bringing with it a stronger sense of alertness and nausea.

"Cough! Cough cough..." He gagged violently, immediately realizing there was something wrong with the cigarette!

Xiang Shaoyun scoffed and mocked, "What's wrong with Brother Song? He's so drunk he can't even smoke anymore? Tsk, how does this top-notch 'energizer' taste?"

Upon seeing this, Xie Tang trembled with anger, her intense rage and heartache almost causing her to smash the computer.

She forced herself to calm down and quickly submitted this irrefutable evidence to the police.

During subsequent interrogation, Shen Yuan's psychological defenses collapsed, and she admitted that the "violation" was a staged act.

Xiang Shaoyun was detained on suspicion of drug-related crimes.

The police eventually issued a statement clearing Chu Song of the stigma of "violation".

However, the wave of public opinion has not completely subsided, and doubts persist.

Following this, numerous accusations and lengthy posts by individuals named Xiang Shaoyun, alleging sexual assault and molestation of women, surfaced online, sparking an even bigger uproar.

Old Master Xiang was so angry that he was hospitalized, and the Xiang family was caught in a huge scandal that lasted for more than a month.