Chapter 26: A complete scumbag...
Xie Tang left the hospital at nearly five o'clock. Aunt Yu called to remind Chu Song that he was home alone.
She tapped the screen and sent a message: Brother Song, what do you want to eat tonight?
The reply came quickly: Whatever you want.
A smile curved her lips as she sent the address of the barbecue restaurant she had been longing for: See you at the restaurant.
It was not yet six o'clock, and the restaurant was not crowded.
Xie Tang chose a corner, ordered the dishes, and asked the kitchen to start grilling them.
When Chu Song pushed open the door and entered, her simple attire could not conceal her aloof and noble air, instantly attracting attention.
"Waiting long?"
"No," Xie Tang noticed the waiter's shy glance at Chu Song, and smiled as she handed him a skewer of grilled chicken cartilage. "This place is delicious even without chili, I come here often."
Chu Song accepted it: "You don't need to cater to my tastes."
"It's not about giving in! The owner's cooking is absolutely amazing..."
Before she could finish speaking, the proprietress, Shi Yu, brought over a fruit platter. Her sharp eyes spotted Xie Tang's ring, and she raised an eyebrow with a smile, saying, "A rare guest! Didn't Tang Zhi come with you?"
Xie Tang received her gossipy gaze and replied with a smile, "Busy, huh?"
Shi Yu glanced at Chu Song, whispered a compliment to Xie Tang in his ear, "Good taste," and then left.
"See the police station across the street? The proprietress's husband works there. They rarely see each other, so she opened the shop here. It's packed by 7 o'clock. Tang Zhi and I were the first customers after opening!"
"Tang Zhi?" This was the first time Chu Song had heard this name.
“My college friend is a prosecutor…” Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the noise from the next table.
A thin little boy fidgeted and kept asking, "When will Daddy arrive?"
The elegantly dressed woman hissed impatiently, "What's all the noise about! Be quiet!"
Chu Song's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Suddenly, with a sharp "smack," the woman threw the chopsticks at the boy! One of them flew and landed on Xie Tang's arm.
Xie Tang picked up his chopsticks and looked at the woman, his gaze slightly cold.
The woman glanced at him sideways, offered a half-hearted "sorry," and then turned back to vent her anger on the boy: "It's all your fault! Why did you have to eat barbecue!"
The boy kept his head down, his shoulders trembling slightly.
Chu Song's gaze fell on the boy, and there seemed to be some resonance hidden in that tense silence.
At that moment, a tall, middle-aged man rushed over.
The boy suddenly looked up, his voice trembling with both tears and joy: "Dad!"
"Mmm." The man responded and sat down. The woman's expression instantly changed, her voice becoming sweet and cloying: "You must be hungry after driving for so long, right? The food will be ready soon. Have some bread to tide you over..."
Before she could finish speaking, the man looked up and scanned the room. When his gaze fell on Chu Song across from him, he suddenly stopped!
The next second, the man sprang to his feet, his face beaming with respect and fawning, and rushed forward in three strides: "President Chu! It's a pleasure to meet you!"
Seeing this, the woman immediately put on the same exaggerated, ingratiating smile and followed closely behind, "President Chu!"
Chu Song recognized the middle-aged man as Han Shan, a senior executive at Fenghua Shares, a subsidiary of Huasong Group, who was quite capable at his job.
He stood up and shook the hand the other person offered, his gesture carrying his usual aloofness.
Xie Tang looked at them, completely bewildered.
Han Shan turned to Xie Tang, his smile polite, but his gaze was inquisitive. "President Chu, may I ask who this gentleman is...?"
"My wife, Xie Tang."
Chu Song's words caused the woman beside Han Shan's smile to freeze for a moment, before she forced a smile again, tinged with embarrassment: "I'm so sorry about earlier! My child was so noisy, I..."
Xie Tang didn't reply, her gaze sweeping over the little boy who was frantically picking at his nails.
If it weren't for the similarity in their eyes and eyebrows, this scene would look exactly like a scene of a wicked stepmother.
Xie Tang's silence visibly intensified the woman's tension, and she looked at Han Shan for help.
Han Shan sensed the subtle tension in the atmosphere but didn't understand why, so he quickly tried to smooth things over: "President Chu, the child is just being silly. If he's disturbed us, we'll find another place right away. Please enjoy your meal and let us know if you need anything."
He spoke respectfully, only wanting to leave with his people as soon as possible.
Chu Song simply nodded slightly.
Han Shan felt as if he had been granted a pardon and pulled his wife back to their seats.
The boy immediately lowered his head, like a frightened bird.
Xie Tang withdrew her gaze and ate slowly with Chu Song.
She talked about trivial things, and he listened quietly, occasionally responding, until his cup of black tea was empty.
Xie Tang poured him more hot tea.
Just then, a commotion broke out at the entrance of the barbecue restaurant.
Mao Lan walked in with a tall, slender girl.
She spotted Xie Tang at a glance, and just as she was about to greet her, Han Shan's gaze suddenly locked onto the girl at the next table—
"Tongtong!"
Mao Lan rolled his eyes dramatically and muttered, "What a fucking twist of fate!"
The girl called Tongtong pursed her lips tightly, her expression indifferent, as if she hadn't heard anything, and quickly hid behind Mao Lan.
Han Shan's face immediately darkened, and he shot a venomous look at Mao Lan, blaming her for his daughter's estrangement.
"Tongtong..." Han Shan called out again, his voice filled with suppressed anxiety, "Is it your mother..."
"Don't call me!" Mao Tongtong poked her head out, making no attempt to hide her disgust. "I don't want to talk to you! Not because of my mom, but because you're a hypocrite! You're the one who helped outsiders bully my mom!"
Her voice was clear and bright, filled with youthful anger: "I love my mom, and no one can bully her!"
Mao Lan's eyes welled up with tears, and she put her arm around her daughter's shoulder tightly.
At this moment, all the past efforts have been worthwhile.
Han Shan was rendered speechless by his daughter's retort, his face turning pale and then flushed.
Yu Liu, standing next to him, looked like a frightened quail, her neck hunched, but her eyes held a hint of resentment.
Mao Lan scoffed, her gaze fixed on Yu Liu's meticulously made-up but undeniably mean face. Her tone was mocking, "Mrs. Han, are you worried sick about the case? With that thick layer of powder on your face, aren't you afraid of getting heat rash?"
Yu Liu clenched her fists, forcing herself to remain silent.
“Oh, right, I forgot to tell you,” Mao Lan stepped forward, her voice not loud, but every word struck Han Shan and his wife like a hammer blow: “I have found irrefutable evidence that you forged the shareholding agreement and even had someone commit perjury.”
Han Shan's face turned deathly pale, and his gaze was filled with fear as he glanced at Chu Song.
Chu Song simply sipped his tea with an indifferent expression.
Yu Liu, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, shouted, "Mao Lan! Don't talk nonsense! This is slander!"
"Slander?" Mao Lan relished Yu Liu's loss of composure and Han Shan's panic. "Whether it's slander or not, we'll see in court. Just wait, if heaven doesn't punish you, I will!"
After speaking, Mao Lan looked at Xie Tang, her face instantly breaking into a bright smile: "Attorney Xie, since you're here, let me introduce you to these two people, they are the 'key figures' in my case—Han Shan and his current wife Yu Liu, who helped him commit perjury."
When Han Shan and Yu Liu looked at Xie Tang, fear and embarrassment were mixed on their faces.
She was actually the lawyer in charge of the retrial of the Maolan case?
Xie Tang understood perfectly; Mao Lan's "borrowing the opportunity" was a brilliant move.
The Han couple's reaction was a silent admission of guilt.
Mao Lan lost her appetite and put her arm around her daughter's shoulder, preparing to leave.
Suddenly remembering Yu Liu's mockery of her for being old and faded, she turned to look at Yu Liu and said, "People get old, and no amount of expensive cosmetic surgery can make you look twenty again. You will grow old eventually, but you—I'm afraid you won't have my good fortune to have such a thoughtful daughter."
Yu Liu couldn't help but get angry, "You..."
Han Shan glared at her, his eyes full of warning.
Yu Liu fell silent, her chest heaving violently.
The little boy trembled with fear and almost buried his head in the bowl.
"Let's go." Chu Song stood up after eating and drinking his fill, his eyes sweeping over Han Shan.
Han Shan stood up to see him off, "President Chu..."
"No need." Chu Song raised his hand to stop him, naturally put his arm around Xie Tang's shoulder, and turned to leave.
Han Shan immediately looked at Yu Liu.
Yu Liu understood and hurriedly got up to chase after him to the door.
"Attorney Xie!" Yu Liu called out to Xie Tang.
Xie Tang stopped and turned around, his expression indifferent: "What is it?"
Yu Liu glanced quickly at Chu Song, then forced a smile: "That case, about what Mao Lan said..."
"No comment." Xie Tang interrupted her abruptly, his gaze cold. "Don't waste your time on me."
Yu Liu's smile froze, her eyes darting around in panic: "I...we have some misunderstandings with Mao Lan! It really doesn't need to escalate to a retrial! We can talk...reconcile! Yes, reconcile! When is a convenient time for you..."
“I will convey Ms. Mao’s willingness to reconcile.” Xie Tang turned to leave, “but as far as I know, she has no such intention.”
"Attorney Xie!" Yu Liu's voice trembled with tears. "I was wrong just now! I apologize! The child was too noisy, and I couldn't help but throw his chopsticks. Being a mother isn't easy, please understand..."
Xie Tang paused, looking directly at her: "It's not a big deal that the child is noisy, although I..."
She swallowed the rest of her words—there was no need to say more.
Yu Liu wanted to chase after them again, but Xie Tang had already pulled Chu Song away and left quickly without looking back.
——————
As night fell, amidst the neon-lit torrent of Shenzhen, "Piankeyu" bar stood like an isolated island.
The hazy lights swirled in the smoke, and the deep jazz music was fragmented by the clamor of voices.
Xie Tang stood outside the door, a wave of heat mixed with alcohol, perfume, and crowds hitting her face.
She immediately spotted the figure standing out from the crowd at the bar – Yin Xi, like a doll abandoned in the noise, lying there all alone.
Half an hour ago, she and Chu Song were preparing to go home.
The bar owner's phone rang abruptly, saying that Yin Xi was drunk and unconscious. He called Yao Xinyu, but Yao Xinyu hung up after saying "We broke up," and the bar owner still owed him money for drinks.
Xie Tang squeezed through the bustling crowd and headed straight for the bar.
Yin Xi seemed to be in a vacuum, her hair disheveled and stuck to her unusually flushed cheeks, her eyes staring blankly at the remaining colored liquid in the cup.
“Yin Xi…”
Yin Xi slowly turned her head, a faint light flashing in her hazy eyes before dimming again.
"You've come?" She swayed as she tried to stand up, but her legs gave way.
Xie Tang reached out to support her, and the strong smell of cheap alcohol instantly filled her nostrils.
"Stop drinking, let's go home."
“I’m not going back…” Yin Xi broke free, slumped back onto the high stool, grabbed a cup haphazardly, and took a swig. “I can’t… let my mom see… me like this.”
The voice was muffled and unclear.
Xie Tang's heart tightened.
She knew Yin Xi's behavior when drunk: outwardly calm, but actually a chatterbox and a master of hide-and-seek.
"Seven years..." Yin Xi's voice suddenly rose, like a taut string trembling in the dim light, "I was the one who brought it up, but he... didn't apologize, didn't try to stop me..."
Tears welled up unexpectedly.
"Why?" Xie Tang recalled the excited text message from noon—he had been transferred back to Shenzhen!
In less than half a day, everything changed drastically.
How long will this last? Is there any way to turn back?
“The hotel…at noon…I saw it…” Yin Xi turned to Xie Tang, tears streaming down her face, but a strange smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Guess…who’s pinned to the top of his phone? ’Xiao Ya’! He calls her…his wife!”
She giggled, like a broken bellows, "And photos...so intimate..."
Despite her breakdown and sobbing, Xie Tang remained unusually calm.
A mixture of pity and disgust – how many times has Yao Xinyu been caught flirting and cheating in the past seven years?
Every time Yin Xi threatened to break up, the other party would soften his heart as soon as he coaxed her.
A complete scumbag meets a beautiful, naive, and easily fooled girl who is head over heels in love.
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