Some unsuspecting people in the Cheng family thought Yu Tang was Yu Chaoxian…
“You just said I harmed you, so go ahead and cling to me,” Yu Chaoxian said, getting up and glancing at the person on the bed. “As for what you said about wanting to leave, Yu Tang, I’ve told you more than once that you can only leave if I die.”
"No, even if I die, you'll still have to guard my grave." Yu Chaoxian tossed her a new phone and left.
Yu Tang's previous phone had long been smashed, either on the road or on a cliff. She glanced at her phone; there was only one number in her contacts.
Having learned from her previous experience, she sneered and tossed her phone back where it was, wondering who would put a tracking device in it again.
Yu Tang watched from the window as Yu Chaoxian boarded the helicopter, seemingly heading off the island. This small island was isolated from the world; getting out on his own was impossible.
Television became Yu Tang's only form of entertainment on the island. Even if Yu Tang didn't want to watch it, she would still turn it on to make some noise in the room.
Ivan brought over the soup. "Miss Yu, this soup should be drunk while it's hot."
"Thank you." Yu Tang took the soup bowl that Ivan handed her.
Ivan's phone rang at that moment. Seeing the caller ID, he straightened up and answered, "Boss... okay."
A cell phone appeared in front of Yu Tang.
Ivan told her, "Miss Yu, the boss is looking for you."
Yu Chaoxian just left, only two or three hours ago, why is he calling so soon?
"Yu Tang, why aren't you answering my calls?"
Yu Tang put down her soup spoon: "I left my phone in the bedroom, I didn't take it."
"Eating?"
"Hmm," Yu Tang replied casually, "Is there anything else?"
Yu Tang waited for two seconds, but there was no sound from the other end. She then hung up the phone and returned it to Ivan.
Ivan hesitated before asking, "Miss Yu..."
"Just call me Yu Tang." Yu Tang knew that all the privileges she had received here came from Yu Chaoxian and the Yu family.
Ivan couldn't bring himself to say it, so he simply asked, "Are you feeling any better now?"
Yu Tang gave a faint smile, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. She had indeed felt the urge to go on living before, but the past could only remain in yesterday, and tomorrow was a new day. She firmly believed that her time with Yu Chaoxian wouldn't last long. If she were to commit suicide, dying in despair yesterday, that would truly be a compromise with Yu Chaoxian.
For Yu Tang, life is far more important than fate.
At this moment, Ivan truly looked at Yu Tang with new respect. He used to think of Yu Tang as just a delicate and pretty girl, with the preconceived notion that she was soft and weak, needing to be carefully protected in every way. But now Ivan discovered that Yu Tang was quite different from what he had imagined. She was only soft on the outside, but deep down she possessed an indomitable resilience.
She dared to confront the boss, risk her life to fight against him for someone important, and dared to disobey his orders. In other words, Yu Tang had never truly submitted to the old minister. Not only that, the boss also had to use conditions to compromise with Yu Tang.
Yu Tang obediently stayed by the boss's side, but in reality, she never lost her edge. Once her bottom line was crossed, she would rather perish than truly bow down. Moreover, she had a strong self-healing ability and would not wallow in self-pity for long or remain in a state of sadness.
Who said this little aunt was weak? She was practically a match for the eldest brother, and in the end, it was the eldest brother who had to back down. Ivan was even starting to admire Yu Tang.
Moreover, Yu Tang spoke to them in a gentle and soft voice, and was very kind and considerate. He didn't even notice the abrasion on his arm before Yu Tang brought him a sterile dressing.
Even Ivan, who has low emotional intelligence, noticed that the atmosphere between Yu Tang and the boss was strange. He was naturally talkative and said to himself, "Miss Yu and the boss don't seem like aunt and niece at all."
Yu Tang heard this and didn't know how to respond. Rather than aunt and niece, she felt that her relationship with Yu Chaoxian was more like that of a terrorist and his hostage.
There is absolutely no kinship left. Perhaps, there was never any kinship to begin with.
Three days later.
Under the low-hanging clouds, at Yu Yanting's funeral, black cars drove into the cemetery one after another, forming a long line in the rain.
Rainwater slid down the roof of the car, leaving winding water trails on its body. The car doors opened one after another, and the men and women who stepped out were all dressed in solemn black clothes, holding black umbrellas with serious expressions, leaving hurried footprints on the wet stone road.
Whenever a new vehicle arrived, the door would open, and Chen Diao and A Jin would lead the people forward. The scene was both solemn and oppressive; all the prominent figures in Taicheng were gathered here, yet they maintained a tacit, suffocating silence.
Chen Diao didn't really approve of the boss holding such a large-scale funeral at this time. If someone tried to sneak in during the chaos, the boss's whereabouts would be exposed.
But Yu Chaoxian rejected his proposal, and Chen Diao didn't even need to think about it; it was definitely because Yu Tang had compromised. Uncle Yu had taken care of Yu Tang for so many years, treating her like a daughter, so Yu Tang would certainly hold a funeral for Uncle Yu.
A long hearse was parked at the front, followed closely by several Mercedes-Benzes used by the family, with a black Bentley in the middle. After the engines were turned off, the only sounds in the space were the patter of rain against umbrellas and the occasional soft creaking of car doors.
Ivan opened the car door, and the dense crowd automatically parted to make way. Yu Chaoxian, dressed in a sharp black suit, followed by a girl in a similarly black dress, slowly walked towards the mourning hall.
Yu Tang's face was half-hidden by a thin veil, but it couldn't hide the probing gazes around her.
Mickey, who was behind him, noticed the gauze on Yu Chaoxian's palm and immediately asked, "Boss, is your hand injured?"
This bandage wasn't there yesterday. Mickey had a feeling that the boss was wearing this bandage for Yu Tang's benefit; the boss had been at the base these past few days and hadn't been seen wearing any bandages.
Yu Chaoxian glanced down at Yu Tang. Yu Tang stood beside the ever-changing Yu Chaoxian, offering him only unchanging indifference and coldness.
With just one glance, Yu Chaoxian knew whether he had lost a hand or a leg, and even if he was on the verge of death, it wouldn't elicit the slightest concern or care from Yu Tang.
The reason why Yu Tang didn't care about him was simple—she was not interested in anything about him and was indifferent to his affairs.
She would even start crying over a dead person, but didn't care about the living one. Yu Tang saw Guan Zhongpeng coming to pay his respects in the distance, and seeing that Guan Zhongpeng was unharmed, she felt relieved. She didn't go up to greet him, afraid that Yu Chaoxian would start going crazy again.
When Ivan brought water to Yu Tang, he noticed that his boss's tie was loose and reminded him, "Boss, you need to straighten your tie."
Yu Chaoxian lowered his eyes, not to look at the tie, but at Yu Tang. Yu Tang had no intention of helping him, and turned to leave, but he grabbed her wrist.
"I can't see how to organize it." Yu Chaoxian, in his shamelessness, didn't care about the occasion, and grabbed her hand. "Help me."
"Then let Ivan help you." Yu Tang tried to pull her hand away from his; with so many people around, she didn't want to be seen.
He leaned close to her ear and kindly reminded her, "Is it possible, Yu Tang? If you don't want anyone to see you, then you'd better help me quickly."
Yu Tang knew that this man was ruthless and reckless. She glanced around, then tiptoed and quickly tidied his neck. He leaned down, and she looked up. At that moment, their height difference was just right—she could meet his gaze with a slight lift of her eyes, and he could smell the faint fragrance of her hair with a slight lowering of his head.
But she was so heartless that she wouldn't even look up at him.
Ivan watched from the sidelines. Although the occasion was inappropriate, anyone would have to admit that, setting aside their aunt-niece relationship, the eldest daughter and Yu Tang were a rare and perfect match.
Her tie was quickly straightened, and Yu Tang's hand swiftly left his body, the faint fragrance fading away with it. This was the closest they had been in recent times, close enough for her to see his Adam's apple.
Yu Chaoxian was so close that he only needed to move forward an inch to reach out and hug the person, but the person just an inch in front of him coldly pushed the tie knot to the perfect position and then quickly withdrew his hand.
Without stopping at all.
The man's Adam's apple bobbed, but he ultimately said nothing. The sound of rain filled the subtle silence between them, and his slightly raised hand remained suspended in the damp air before he picked up the ice water beside him.
Some uninformed people mistook Yu Tang for Yu Chaoxian's wife and offered their condolences with, "Mr. and Mrs. Yu, please accept our deepest sympathies."
Yu Tang opened her mouth, unsure how to explain. There were still guests paying their respects, and since the other party had left after a moment of silence, Yu Tang didn't say anything more. She looked up at Yu Chaoxian, whose expression remained unchanged, except for a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth.
She thought about it and realized that standing next to Yu Chaoxian would indeed easily cause misunderstandings, so she went to the other side. But before Yu Tang could even take half a step, Yu Chaoxian's cold voice came from above: "If you dare to take a step, I'll leave immediately, leaving your brother without anyone to see him off in his final days."
"You are my brother's child, how can you leave?" Thinking of her brother, Yu Tang immediately stopped and stayed by Yu Chaoxian's side.
At Yu Yanting's funeral, elders from his clan in his hometown of Hong Kong also flew in.
Yu Chaoxian accepted the well wishes from all the guests with a blank expression, while Yu Tang stayed by his side the whole time.
Yu Tang's memories of these clan members were vague, so she could only follow Yu Chaoxian and politely nod and greet them. In the end, she found that she didn't need to go over to them; they had to come and greet her.
After Yu Yanting passed away, Yu Tang was the eldest member of the Yu family in terms of seniority. The clan members respected Yu Tang very much. Yu Tang was Yu Chaoxian's aunt, and to them, she was equivalent to "great-aunt".
Yu Tang didn't want to deal with them; she just wanted to quietly stay with Yu Yanting in front of the mourning hall.
Yu Chaoxian looked at the black and white photo in front of the coffin; he refused to kneel before Yu Yanting.
But to Yu Tang, Yu Yanting was no different from her father. Yu Tang knelt before the altar to offer incense, and Yu Chaoxian looked down at her, his sharp features unusually gentle.
Yu Chaoxian lit incense and knelt beside her.
Chen Diao, busy arranging the funeral, could not hide the surprise in his eyes. Back when the eldest son's mother was being held, Yu Yanting was in Hong Kong and did not return, and did not even show his face at the funeral. At that time, the eldest son had already unilaterally severed his father-son relationship with Yu Yanting.
Now they're actually willing to kneel.
Three days later, Yu Yanting was buried, and his tombstone was covered with white flowers.
Yu Tang had seen far too many white flowers like this, their color devoid of life, appearing even more lifeless on a rainy day. She had only recently recovered, and as she stood up, her vision blurred, and she felt dizzy. She instinctively stumbled forward, knowing Yu Chaoxian was behind her.
As Yu Chaoxian had anticipated, he raised his arm and scooped her back into his arms. He told her to wait in the car, but she stubbornly insisted on coming over. Without saying a word, Yu Chaoxian carried Yu Tang back to the car and gave her some water.
After the funeral, the clan members left, staring at Yu Tang and Yu Chaoxian, the only two remaining members of the Yu family. Naturally, they also had to give them some advice. Yu Tang was still young, so they didn't need to mention it for now. Finding a son-in-law to marry into the family in the future wouldn't be difficult.
But Yu Chaoxian is already twenty-six years old, and it's time for him to settle down, start a family, and continue the Yu family line.
Faced with a barrage of earnest advice, Yu Chaoxian glanced at Yu Tang.
Yu Tang was still quite afraid that Yu Chaoxian might say something shocking in front of the old man, so she quickly said, "He will."
Yu Chaoxian's gaze remained fixed on her, not understanding what Yu Tang meant by "he will." What he meant was that Yu Tang was the beneficiary of his estate, and that Yu Tang was the continuation of the Yu family line.
But Yu Tang took the initiative and said he would.
Mickey came over to give Yu Chaoxian his phone. It was a call from Wuzhou. Yu Chaoxian ruffled Yu Tang's hair and went to his study to answer the call.
Ruffling her hair had almost become a signal for Yu Chaoxian every time he left or met her, and Yu Tang's response was still silence.
Mickey understood why the boss had sent the oblivious Ivan to accompany Yu Tang. If Yu Tang remained silent any longer, she probably wouldn't say anything at all. Luckily, Ivan was a chatterbox.
Ivan stayed close to Yu Tang, commenting on everything he saw. Pointing to the wall, Ivan asked, "Why is there a picture of a clown hanging here?"
Yu Tang looked in the direction he pointed and saw a Picasso painting hanging on the wall... She was immersed in sadness because of Yu Yanting, but was slowly dispelled by Ivan's various discoveries. Or rather, before Yu Tang could get too caught up in her sadness, Ivan pulled her to look at the ants moving house on the ground and said that the rain would stop soon.
Yu Chaoxian sat on the sofa answering the phone, his gaze falling on Yu Tang outside the window. Yu Tang was squatting on the floor watching ants, the sunlight falling on her fair neck, making it appear even whiter. Her small figure looked quite cute.
"Of course, I will arrange for someone to deliver it as promised." Yu Chaoxian hung up the phone with interest, a smile playing on his lips, both handsome and unsettling.
Mickey understood the meaning of the call: Ukraine was going to war with Russia and was ordering drones from the Yu family.
Moreover, if it weren't for the KX incident in Russia, the boss and Miss Yu wouldn't have fallen so far apart. The boss is unhappy, so naturally he won't let others be happy either.
Wuzhou understood its disadvantages and knew it couldn't handle Russia's heavy tanks and armored vehicles, so it purchased a large number of drones from the Yu family.
Meanwhile, at the CIA headquarters in the Americas.
Carson received a photo.
The photo is taken at a funeral, with Yu Chaoxian, dressed in a black suit, standing next to a girl in a black dress. Both of them are shown facing the camera.
Carson compared the girl in this photo with the original photo of the girl from behind, and they matched.
The girl who stood beside him at the funeral.
Carson smiled slyly, looking at the pretty girl in the photo. He was confident that Yu Chaoxian wouldn't take the bait.
The next step is to wait for the right opportunity. Only when he has leverage over Yu Chaoxian can he live with a little peace of mind.
Time flies and it's already March.
As Yu Chaoxian said, Yingzhou and Fazhou got into a fight over the tunnel division.
British law claimed the tunnel was an "extension of British territory," but France argued that the original agreement clearly designated it as an "international passage" subject to joint management. Furthermore, attempts by illegal immigrants to enter British territory via the tunnel prompted Britain to strengthen fencing and surveillance on the French side, ultimately igniting the war. Adding to this was a long-standing feud between the two countries—France had nearly destroyed Britain in the past—and now both old and new grievances were being settled.
Yu Tang was somewhat aware that the British students in the class mocked the French students for eating snails and frog legs, while the French students looked down on British cuisine as inedible, with their most famous national dish being "Looking Up at the Stars." Even when the British left the alliance, the French senator ridiculed them, saying that now they could focus on improving their diet.
In short, it's a war between arrogance and prejudice, and it won't last long.
However, it was not suitable to go to school during the war, so schools switched to online classes.
In the event of war, Yu Chaoxian is the busiest person. Yu Tang hasn't been able to see him much lately, sometimes only returning once every ten days or half a month.
Whenever he came back, Yu Tang would always wake up in the middle of the night with his arm around her. Yu Chaoxian seemed to have not slept for days, his head resting on the crook of her neck, impossible to wake up no matter how much he pushed her, completely unguarded.
He wasn't afraid she would kill him.
In fact, Yu Tang had considered this idea before. She stared at the gun on the bedside table, and several times she had already gripped it, clenching it tightly and then letting go each time.
She didn't have the courage to kill.
Yu Tang eventually lay back down silently. Yu Chaoxian pulled her closer and kissed her shoulder. Yu Tang couldn't bear to hurt him; she still had feelings for him.
The next day when she woke up, Yu Chaoxian was no longer beside her. If she hadn't noticed red marks on her collarbone and below when she washed up in the morning, she wouldn't have been sure if Yu Chaoxian had actually been there.
There aren't many places to pass the time on the island at night, so Yu Tang has gotten used to listening to the news while having dinner, since TV dramas are played afterward.
"This morning, the iconic Freedom Tower in the Americas was struck by a series of terrorist attacks. Two hijacked passenger planes crashed into the tower, causing severe structural damage and causing it to collapse within hours. As of now, the incident has resulted in at least 3,000 deaths. The massive dust generated by the collapses has blanketed an area spanning several kilometers, damaged numerous nearby buildings, and forced the evacuation of thousands of people..."
The news was so shocking that Yu Tang forgot to eat and ran to the living room to watch it.
Freedom Tower is not only a landmark of the Americas, but also a symbol of the Americas' economic strength, globalization, and modern capitalism. No matter how you look at it, this terrorist attack was premeditated; otherwise, these two locations wouldn't have been targeted.
The news had barely ended when Yu Chaoxian returned.
“Mr. Yu.” The butler took the suit jacket from Yu Chaoxian’s hands.
Yu Tang heard the sound and looked outside. Yu Chaoxian came over with his tie loosened.
As Yu Chaoxian approached Yu Tang, his gaze gradually relaxed, and the tense lines on his face softened. He unbuttoned two buttons on his shirt and sat down on the single sofa. "Tangtang, come and see."
Yu Tang was just one step in front of him.
She continued watching TV, ignoring Yu Chaoxian. She didn't go over, but she didn't leave either.
Ivan was still standing there when Yu Chaoxian glared at him impatiently. Ivan paused for two seconds before realizing what was happening. His boss's eyes screamed "Get lost!" Ivan quickly slipped away.
For the past three months, Yu Tang has barely paid any attention to Yu Chaoxian, practically ignoring him. Although whenever Yu Chaoxian comes back, he always insists on sleeping with her, it's just sleeping.
It wasn't too bad for Yu Tang, since Yu Chaoxian would disappear as soon as she woke up. Now that Yu Chaoxian was coming back frequently, Yu Tang started to frown.
After the news finishes, the TV series will start. Yu Tang thought to herself, what bad luck. Why is Yu Chaoxian coming back at this time? Usually, she can lie comfortably on the sofa, watch three episodes of TV, and then go to sleep contentedly. This is one of the few happy times of her night.
Moreover, tonight's plot has reached a crucial point for the female and male leads, and now they have to endure Yu Chaoxian's presence during their happiest moment.
Even though she wouldn't come over, Yu Chaoxian was patient. He glanced at the unfinished soup on the table and pulled her over to sit on his lap.
The air around Yu Tang was filled with her sweet, warm scent, and Yu Chaoxian relaxed completely, feeling that he couldn't hold her any longer.
Yu Tang, unsurprisingly, did not give him any response.
No matter what Yu Chaoxian did, Yu Tang never resisted. She was like a doll that Yu Chaoxian could manipulate, which annoyed Yu Chaoxian.
He kissed the back of her neck, and pinched her arms and legs a few times. Yu Tang had gained a little weight, and the man was very satisfied.
With strong arms encircling the girl's waist, Yu Chaoxian glanced at Yu Tang, who was staring intently at the television and wouldn't look at him, and asked, "Drink the soup?"
Yu Tang didn't want to drink it. Every time after a meal, the nutritionist would bring her a bowl of herbal soup. It didn't taste bad, and they tried to vary the flavors, but she had to drink it every day. No matter how good it was, she couldn't drink it anymore.
"I won't drink it." Yu Tang has been taking too much tonic lately, and her body feels hot, so she often needs to drink water in the middle of the night.
Yu Chaoxian ruffled Yu Tang's hair. How much did she not want to drink it, yet she still frowned in anger? Seeing her trying to get off his lap, Yu Chaoxian pressed down on her waist and pushed the soup away, saying, "I won't drink it, I won't drink it."
He didn't want to argue with her over such a trivial matter, but he also thought that the nutritionist's diet plan needed to be changed, as the soup had made Yu Tang's temper worse.
Yu Tang sat stiffly in his lap until the TV series she was watching started playing, at which point her complexion improved slightly. Yu Chao observed her reaction and thought he should go along with her wishes; if she didn't drink the soup, her complexion would be better.
But Yu Chaoxian soon realized that Yu Tang's improved complexion was due to the pretty boy on TV.
Well, it's rare to be able to hold her like this for so long, so let her watch. One of us is watching the show, while the other is sniffing the back of her neck, her mind wandering.
Just as he was about to lean in and kiss her, he noticed that Yu Tang's neck was stiffening. Yu Chao first moved his mouth away and looked up at her. She was crying sadly, her eyes were red like a rabbit's, and her eyelashes were covered with glistening tears.
Yu Chaoxian frowned, turned her shoulder, and pinched her cheek. "What do you mean now?"
Yu Tang was immersed in the story, her face full of sadness at the impending separation of the male and female leads.
The man roughly ruffled her hair a couple of times; was this ridiculous plot really worth her crying like this?
The three episodes of the TV series finished quickly. After the ending theme song played, Yu Tang savored the plot and realized she was still on Yu Chaoxian's lap. She got up and went straight upstairs to sleep.
Yu Chaoxian went back to the bedroom, and Yu Tang curled up into a small ball, occupying only one corner of the bed.
She's the one who says she likes big beds, but she's also the one who refuses to sleep in one.
Yu Chaoxian sat on the edge of the bed, gazing at her quietly, his eyes tracing the familiar little face inch by inch. After a moment, she seemed to be having a nightmare, her brows furrowed as she shook her head, her eyelashes trembling slightly, but she quickly calmed down, as if she had resigned herself to her fate and stopped struggling, as if the panic she had just felt was merely a ripple in a dream.
His fingertips touched the faint mark between her brows, where Yu Tang's brows were still furrowed in her sleep. Yu Chaoxian's warm lips pressed against her slightly cool brow, kissing away the furrows, moving down her nose, and lingering for a moment on her trembling eyelids.
When their noses touched, he finally kissed her soft lips.
As he lowered his head and kissed her lips, Yu Tang unconsciously let out a soft moan. Yu Chaoxian subconsciously tightened his arms around her waist, but was surprised to find that she didn't struggle this time.
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