tie

Looking at the anger hidden in her brows and eyes, Wen Yunsheng felt a familiar feeling well up in his heart—this temper is more like it!

When she was little, she was mostly happy all day long, always smiling and talking sweetly.

Once you get into trouble, cross your arms in front of you, lower your head, and call out "Brother Yunsheng," and you'll have to take the blame.

And then there's when she's angry, tsk, she says things that make people grit their teeth in anger, but she's also quick-witted, one sentence after another, turning his reasoning into one of injustice.

Finally, she would gently kick his heels twice to ask him if he knew he was wrong.

This time, Wen Yunsheng was smarter. He avoided answering her questions and instead asked her, "Why is Tao Guohua meddling in everything? We only exchanged a few words, and he called you away with just one phone call?"

"Didn't you ask me why I got on the ship?" Tao Chuyang waved his phone. "It was Tao Guohua who brought me here."

Seeing her resistance, Wen Yunsheng suppressed his anxiety and asked her, "Things on the ship aren't that simple. What exactly happened... tell me first."

Tao Chu, however, raised her arms in his arms, stretched out her body, and looked around with a defiant gaze:

"I was brought on the ship with a bow tied around my neck, perfume sprayed on me, and a gift box in my pocket—that's how it was."

Wen Yunsheng didn't know where to look, yet she was so open and flamboyant.

He sighed, withdrew his left hand, and pinched the bridge of his nose: "Why did Tao Guohua make you dress like this?"

He said there were many prominent political and business figures from Jianglin on board...

“This is the Li family’s boat; Tao Guohua couldn’t possibly not know that.” Wen Yunsheng thought of her appearing with Li Yue. “Since he was in such a hurry to call you back from beside me, it’s clearly not about me. So it must be Li Yue?!”

His voice rose, and Tao Chu pouted, "I don't even know Li Yue, why are you being so fierce?"

Wen Yunsheng tried hard to suppress his anger, but still said, "You didn't know me, yet you went up to the top floor together? When you first saw me, you didn't say a word to me, just kept calling me 'President Li'..."

Seeing him frown and adopt a lecturing stance, Tao Chu naturally resorted to her old tricks, glaring at him:

"You've gotten used to a life of extravagance and debauchery in Jianglin, do you think everyone is like you, doing whatever they please?!"

This is the first time I've met Li Yue today, believe it or not!

"We haven't seen each other for so long, and she suddenly became mean to me for no reason..."

"I wasn't being mean to you—"

Tao Chu pushed him away: "How can it not be? You immediately started questioning Tao Guohua's motives and focusing on Li Yue. Have you ever cared about how I've been getting through these past few days?"

Wen Yunsheng was speechless. He asked her why she got on the ship, wasn't it because he was worried about her situation?

And she has been refusing to answer the phone these past few days, so why is she turning around and accusing us?

"I called……"

"Even Li Yue, a vice president, knows I'm on board. He calls me 'Miss Tao' the moment he sees me. Aren't you the general manager? You only have your eyes on the pretty girls and don't know how to check the list. You only use your mouth to drink and don't know how to ask questions?"

Tao Chu saw him standing there, stunned, his chest heaving with anger, and knew that the old tricks were still effective.

She initially played the weakling, which gave him the courage to lock the door. Did he really think she was easy to bully if she didn't show her fangs?

"Speechless now?" Tao Chu shoved him, turned around, and started turning the door lock.

Suddenly, she felt a tightness around her waist as he lifted her up and spun her around, forcing her away from the doorway.

Tao Chu only realized what had happened after his feet touched the ground, and felt humiliated!

She was too careless with him; otherwise, how could she have let him pick her up like that without resisting?

She had never experienced losing control in front of him before—and this time would be no exception.

But Wen Yunsheng wouldn't let go, hugging her from behind: "What, are you going to slam the door and leave again when you get angry?"

Tao Chu kept her head down and didn't speak. Wen Yun was afraid that she would get really angry, so he held her shoulders and turned her around, leaning down slightly to see her expression.

Tao Chu reached out and grabbed his tie, pulling him towards herself.

She tilted her head back, her eyes blazing with anger, tears welling in them—

"Why can't I lose my temper? My mother died on the way back to Jianglin. A truck hit her in the middle with a 'bang'... They won't let me see her body."

Wen Yunsheng's throat bobbed, wanting to offer some words of comfort, but Tao Chu didn't give him the chance.

She held the warm tie in her hand, tightening her grip.

"I brought the ashes home, and they broke in trying to kill me. I drove back to Jianglin overnight, wearing a yellow plush pajamas. Isn't that funny?"

She tilted her head slightly and asked him, but the smile didn't reach her eyes, and she tightened her grip on the tie in her hand.

Wen Yunsheng was clearly more than half a head taller than her, but at this moment he seemed to be at her mercy and let her do as she pleased, without resisting at all.

He willingly bent down and approached.

“I went home, to the same place, but now it’s Tao Guohua and Xu Jing’s home. My mom’s study was full of clutter, so I slept on a makeshift bed on the floor there for a week. It was so cold at night.”

Tao Chu's eyes were filled with tears, but her actions were ruthless.

Wen Yunsheng was a little out of breath, but he didn't dare interrupt her.

He took a couple of quick breaths, then stared at her with bloodshot eyes, waiting for her to continue.

A tear rolled down her cheek, and Tao Chu slowly wrapped the tie in her hand around again:

"While I was going through all of this—what were you doing, Mr. Wen, who was high and mighty?"

As she moved, the veins on Wen Yunsheng's neck gradually became visible.

His head was throbbing and his ears were ringing, but he couldn't bear to struggle and escape.

To ease the pain, he could only slowly approach her, avoiding her eyebrows, eyes, nose, and lips, rubbing against her warm cheeks, and finally leaning against the crook of her neck.

He didn't suddenly press all his weight down on her. Tao Chu was surprised that he could remain rational at such a moment and didn't want to cause any death.

She loosened her grip, and Wen Yunsheng was finally able to breathe smoothly.

Hearing him panting heavily in his ear, Tao Chu could even feel his chest expanding and smell the scent of whiskey and mint mixed together.

She couldn't help but raise her hand to push him away, but he opened his arms and hugged her tightly.

He gently stroked her long hair that fell behind her back, his voice hoarse: "I'm sorry, Chuchu... I'm so sorry..."

Tao Chu, afraid that he would discover her wig, broke free from his embrace.

Wen Yunsheng looked at her with a sense of loss. They were only a step away from each other, yet it felt like there was an insurmountable deep sea and high mountains between them.

Finally, he asked the question that had been nagging at him for eight years: "Is my dad... related to what happened eight years ago?"

Sure enough, Tao Chu quickly looked up at him, staring into his eyes without saying a word.

"Otherwise, why would you leave so decisively and never talk to me again?" Tears welled up in Wen Yunsheng's eyes.

Tao Chu sensed the sadness and resentment in his words, but she didn't take it seriously and instead sneered, asking in return:

"So—you guessed that your father betrayed his friends and framed my mother and Uncle Zou, but you still chose to rely on him and stay comfortably as President Wen of Yuanmao Group?"

Wen Yunsheng stared at her blankly: "I thought he just didn't stand up for them..."

In Wen Yunsheng's eyes, his father, Wen Tao, had always been busy working on the front lines.

When Wen Tao was young, he was helping the village with poverty alleviation work. When the weather was bad and they had to rush to plant spring rice, a local bully caused trouble. He kept watch day and night, and he couldn't even get to the hospital when his wife gave birth.

He received a call from the fields saying that the mother and child were safe and sound. Seeing the scene of hard work all around him, he felt gratified, so he named his child "Wen Yunsheng".

As Wen Yunsheng grew up, Wen Tao was transferred back to the city for work, and the family ended their separation.

As Wen Tao's position rose, he no longer had to worry so much, and they moved into a large compound.

His frail wife could rest at home, and his son, Wen Yunsheng, was admitted to the best middle school in Jianglin.

Having come from a rural area to study, Wen Tao worked hard all the way to achieve his current status. For Wen Yunsheng, who was young, having such a father was truly a source of pride.

Later, when he went abroad to study and do internships, he came to understand to some extent that his father, in his current position, could not be completely honest and clean in everything he did. He inevitably had to weigh the pros and cons and sometimes had no choice in the matter.

But in his eyes, his father was still worthy of respect—though he dared not call him a gentleman, he was certainly not a villain.

He never imagined that his father would betray and frame his friend.

Tao Chu chuckled as she looked at Wen Yunsheng's incredulous expression:

“Who could have imagined that Wen Tao, a classmate and friend of over twenty years, could have simply admitted that he was present at the time, and my mother wouldn’t have been wantonly smeared and had her professional license revoked. But he didn’t—he said he wasn’t there, and in return, he was promoted one after another.”

Wen Yunsheng opened his mouth, wanting to ask if there might be any misunderstanding, but Tao Chu did not give him a chance to explain.

"Wen Tao even made my dad deny being there too. You know, Tao Guohua is desperate for a promotion. Oh, and he's also a coward—he knew my mom was framed because she offended a big boss, so he quickly got a divorce to distance himself, which also allowed him to be with Xu Jing."

“No wonder, no wonder they all avoid talking about this,” Wen Yunsheng muttered to himself, head down.

“So—” Tao Chu raised his hand and pinched his chin, forcing him to look at him, “How do you expect me to believe you’re clean? How different are you from Wen Tao and Tao Guohua?”

Meeting Tao Chu's scrutinizing and wary gaze, Wen Yunsheng felt ashamed and his face burned with shame.

He knew nothing about her situation and thought that remembering her holidays, birthdays, graduations, and college entrances, and sending her messages without fail, meant he was deeply in love with her.

He thought that those unanswered calls were proof of his concern.

All his self-pity and self-deprecation seemed so ridiculous in the face of her excruciating pain as her flesh was torn apart.

Wishful thinking and stubbornness only moved him.

If everything is as Tao Chu said, then he is peacefully enjoying the power and status that his father gained after betraying and framing Aunt Xu, and even "pretending" to care about her safety.

"What about Aunt Xu's car accident..." Wen Yunsheng asked, trembling, the question he was afraid to answer.

Tao Chu lowered her eyes slightly, her silver pearlescent eyeshadow resembling two lakes reflecting the moonlight, rippling as she moved her eyes.

She asked softly, "What do you think?"

Wen Yunsheng fell silent—he only knew that the Li family had a lot of murder cases on their hands, so when he saw Tao Chu and Li Yue appear together on the "Jiangshang Xunmeng" ship, he subconsciously became wary.

But what if your own father was one of the instigators?

Suddenly, the doorbell rang—