Chapter 14 I want to know if you'll marry me...
As the song faded, the tide of memories receded as well.
Chu Song put down his wine glass amidst applause, the silver wine stick making a crisp sound against the rim of the glass.
He watched Xie Tang walk towards him through the dappled lights, the blush from the performance still lingering on her earlobes, her smile tinged with embarrassment.
"Are you feeling better?" she asked, looking up at him.
Chu Song's gaze swept over the crowd peering behind her—several boys were itching to approach her and strike up a conversation.
He reached out and put his arm around Xie Tang's thin shoulder, leading her towards the door without saying a word: "Who gave you this terrible idea?"
The night breeze blew in her face, and Xie Tang was half-encircled in his arms, her whole body taut like a fully drawn bow.
She stared at the cracks in the sidewalk bricks without speaking, when Chu Song sighed softly behind her: "It's Fu Xiu, isn't it?"
The pressure on my shoulder suddenly disappeared.
Chu Song looked up at the night sky dyed red by neon lights, his Adam's apple bobbing: "Come with me to see her tomorrow."
Moonlight fell on his relaxed brows, and Xie Tang secretly breathed a sigh of relief, a small smile curving her eyes: "Okay."
In the early hours of the morning, my phone screen suddenly lit up.
Fu Xiu: [Friendly reminder! Xiao Yun's singing is a nightmare. Chu Song used to have to endure it even though it made his temples throb.]
Fu Xiu: [How's the battle going? Is he in a better mood?]
Xie Tang curled up on the bay window, recalling Chu Song's slightly reddened eyes as she listened to the song. She tapped the screen lightly with her fingertip: [Tried it, but it doesn't seem to work.]
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The camphor trees in the cemetery rustled, and the September sunlight filtered through their branches and leaves onto the bluestone path.
Xie Tang gazed at the photo on the tombstone.
The young woman in the photo is holding a large bouquet of sunflowers. The bouquet almost covers half of her face, but it can't hide the smile in her eyes and brows.
That was Chu Yun's signature smile, bright enough to dispel the chill of late autumn.
Chu Song knelt on one knee, the petals of a red rose lightly touching the marble countertop.
His Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice was slightly hoarse: "Sister."
The way he pronounced that title always sounded awkward.
They were only seven months apart, but he was always the one taking care of her—hiding her failed test papers, accompanying her to the convenience store to buy oden late at night, and awkwardly handing her tissues when she was heartbroken.
But she would also stand in front of her furious father to protect him, smilingly shielding him from all the scolding;
She would jump out from behind him when he was silently curled up in the corner, and with a grin, ruffle his hair and ask, "Xiao Song, what are you daydreaming about?"
Her jokes weren't funny, and her guitar playing was a mess, but it was precisely these clumsy acts of tenderness that repeatedly pulled him back from the brink of despair.
Now, she is forever stuck at twenty-six years old.
He continued on his way, and time passed over him, but it could never change her appearance.
She wouldn't suddenly jump out from behind him to scare him, nor would she send him a string of "Go to sleep!" irritating emojis when he stayed up late.
He still unconsciously checks his phone, waiting for that message that will never appear.
Her last unread message was still on her phone—
It's a little rabbit hopping around saying "Goodnight".
“She’s actually…not my biological sister.” Chu Song’s voice was very soft, as if she were talking to herself.
Xie Tang was slightly taken aback, not expecting to hear such a story.
“She was abandoned at birth and was adopted by my uncle and aunt.” His gaze fell on the tombstone. “No one in the Chu family rejected her because of blood ties. She always lived a proud and passionate life.”
"But in those last two years..." His voice choked, "she was acting every day. Pretending to be cheerful, pretending to be carefree, pretending to have moved on..."
"Actually, she suffered from insomnia, hair loss, and mood swings, constantly thinking about those who can never come back..."
His fingernails dug deeply into his palms. "If only I had been more careful, more attentive..."
Xie Tang gently pressed his trembling hand: "It's not your fault, it's that she can't reconcile with herself and with the past."
She looked at the bright smiling face in the photo: "Some pain is like being trapped in an eternal maze; the more you struggle, the more desperate you become."
Chu Song stared silently at the tombstone.
She chose liberation, but left eternal pain to those who remained.
Xie Tang gazed at the falling withered leaves and thought to herself—some partings are like the changing seasons; you know they are inevitable, but you can never get used to the coldness.
Just like her grandfather's passing.
After returning from the cemetery, Xie Tang went back to her room, the damp and cold air still seeming to cling to her clothes.
Aunt Yu had prepared lunch and asked her if she wanted to eat now.
Xie Tang replied with an "okay," her gaze unconsciously sweeping over the empty staircase. "Where's Brother Song?"
"He's in the study and hasn't come out yet," Aunt Yu said in a low voice, a hint of worry in her voice. "Could you go and call him down for dinner?"
Xie Tang turned and walked towards the study.
The heavy solid wood door was ajar, leaving a crack.
She raised her hand to knock on the door when Chu Song's voice, laced with suppressed anger, pierced through the crack in the door and into her ears: "Qin Ye is one of the culprits behind my sister's death! Tell that Qin guy, if he keeps hiding and doesn't come back, don't blame me for turning my back on him and making sure he never sets foot in this country again!"
Xie Tang's hand froze in mid-air.
Qin Ye? Qin Ruhai's precious son.
Didn't Sister Hsiao Yun commit suicide?
This is the police's conclusion, and this is what the Chu family has consistently stated publicly...
How did it suddenly become related to Qin Ye?
And you say it with such certainty?
The phone call in the study came to an abrupt end.
Immediately afterwards, footsteps approached the doorway.
The door was pulled open, and Chu Song's tall figure appeared in the doorway, his face still frosty, and his eyes still filled with lingering hostility.
His gaze was fixed on Xie Tang, who stood frozen there.
"What are you doing standing here?" His voice was deep and stern. "Did you hear everything?"
Xie Tang froze under that gaze, hesitantly nodded, her throat tightening, "...Sister Xiao Yun, wasn't she supposed to have committed suicide because of depression? How could Qin Ye do that?"
Chu Song stepped aside to let her in, then closed the door behind him.
He walked back to his desk step by step, and instead of answering her question immediately, he threw out an even more pointed fact: "On the day of the accident, your 'brother' Qin Ye was in the back seat of the vehicle that caused the accident."
"Brother?" Xie Tang's voice rose sharply as if burned, filled with sharp resistance and cold mockery, "I don't have a brother!"
Her whole body was tense, like a fully drawn bowstring.
Chu Song's words clearly tied her to Qin Ye and the Qin family she despised.
Chu Song ignored her denials and fixed his sharp gaze on her like that of a hawk.
"Since you're so clear it was an 'accident,' then why has he been able to live a carefree life abroad for so long?"
“Someone took the blame for him.” Chu Song’s voice was icy and resolute.
"Then..." Xie Tang was filled with doubts. What about the surveillance footage? What about the evidence? Who took the blame? Countless questions swirled on his tongue.
Chu Song seemed to read her thoughts, wearily rubbing his temples, a vein throbbing on his forehead: "The water is deeper than I imagined. The surveillance footage was 'accidentally' lost, the key witness changed his story... all the clues have been deliberately cut off."
He raised his head and stared intently at Xie Tang. His eyes held hatred, obsession, and a hint of pleading, or perhaps, manipulation.
“Ah Tang,” his voice carried a heavy, oppressive tone, “can you do me a favor?”
Xie Tang's heart skipped a beat, an ominous premonition gripping her: "...What kind of help?"
"Bring him back." Chu Song's voice was firm and resolute. "I need Qin Ye back in the country."
Xie Tang seemed not to understand, pointing to himself, his voice dry: "...Me? You want me to go and call Qin Ye back?"
She found it utterly absurd.
Aside from that ridiculous blood relation that she refused to acknowledge, she and her so-called "brother" had no connection whatsoever, and even loathed each other.
"What right do I have to call him? Why should he listen to me?"
"Qin Ruhai's 50th birthday banquet".
Inside the study, the glow of the setting sun cast long shadows of the two people onto the wall, creating an atmosphere as still as frozen amber.
Fu Xiu's icy warning and Chu Li's curse-like words, "If you take it seriously, you lose," still buzzed in Xie Tang's ears, gnawing away at the sliver of trust she had just built up in the man before her.
She was silent for a moment, her fingertips unconsciously curling into her palm.
Finally, she raised her head, her gaze clear yet sharp, looking directly into Chu Song's deep eyes, her voice calm and undisturbed: "Brother Song, besides this, what else do you need me to do to marry me?"
Chu Song's body, which had been relaxed and leaning back in the chair, tensed up almost imperceptibly for a moment.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, his sharp gaze sweeping across Xie Tang's face, trying to catch a clue beneath her calm and expressionless face.
His voice lowered, tinged with wariness: "Who told you anything?"
This was not a question, but an interrogation filled with oppressive force.
Xie Tang met his scrutinizing gaze without flinching, even tilting her head slightly as she threw the question back at him, her tone stubborn: "What I want to know is, why did you marry me? Is it simply because you're furious about Qin Wu's betrayal and want to take revenge on the Qin family in this way? Or..."
She leaned forward slightly. "Is there something you want in me?"
Chu Song looked into her clear, yet seemingly insightful eyes and remained silent for a few seconds.
Unexpectedly, his face did not show any embarrassment or anger at being exposed. Instead, he gave a bitter smile that was almost frank and self-deprecating.
He leaned forward, meeting Xie Tang's gaze frankly without the slightest hesitation: "Marriage is the only way to separate the family property; that's the Chu family's rule. As for the old house..."
A deep disgust and weariness flashed across his eyes. "That place was never home to me, but a magnificent yet cold prison. Only by marrying you can I leave there legitimately."
He paused, then emphasized, his voice filled with undeniable sincerity, "A-Tang, my kindness towards you is genuine. Just like when we were little, in that cold house, you were the only one who protected and warmed me like a little sun... That sincerity has never changed."
His gaze was so open, his words so earnest, that it almost made one believe that this was the whole truth.
"Is it that simple?" Xie Tang's gaze remained fixed on him, as if trying to see through his open and honest facade to something deeper.
"It's that simple!" Chu Song answered decisively, his eyes unwavering, even carrying a hint of helplessness and grievance at being questioned. "A-Tang, believe me."
Xie Tang stared at him quietly for a few seconds, as if examining a priceless antique whose authenticity was hard to discern.
Finally, she slowly nodded, a faint, almost relieved smile curving her lips.
“Okay.” She said calmly, “Brother Song, I believe what you say.”
Chu Song's tense nerves seemed to finally relax at this moment, and a burning light surged in his eyes, filled with the joy of regaining what he had lost.
He reached out as if to touch her, but withdrew his hand just before it touched her. Instead, he said in a serious, almost commanding tone, "A-Tang, don't believe anyone else—no matter who they are or what they say to you."
"In this world, there is only one person I will not harm."
"Okay." Xie Tang nodded again, responding readily, with even a gentle smile on her face.
However, beneath her lowered eyelashes, the doubt that had been forcibly suppressed did not truly dissipate.
The answer to "What do you need me to do?" seemed perfect, but it always made her feel like... something was missing.
Chu Song's final, resolute warning was less a form of protection and more a display of forceful control.
She believed his "sincerity" at that moment, but she did not fully believe "everything" in his words.
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