Chapter 34 Ah Tang wasn't being unreasonable...
"For money! For my illness! You agreed to marry into the Chu family with Qin Ruhai, didn't you? Even that villa, you asked him for it, didn't you?"
Xie Shuang became more and more emotional as she spoke, and tears streamed down her face.
Xie Tang's body stiffened, and her mind was in complete chaos.
How did Mother know? Was it Qin Wu?
How much did she actually say?
"Ah Tang! Listen to me clearly!" Xie Shuang slammed her hand on the table, her voice trembling with anger. "Even if I die, I will never watch you jump into a fire pit for my sake! I will not treat this illness! Your dirty deal with Qin Ruhai ends here!"
"Mom! What nonsense are you talking about!" Xie Tang panicked instantly, standing up with red eyes. "The surgery is coming up soon! You promised me you'd do your best! After the surgery and you recover, your good days are yet to come! How can you just say you're not going to get treatment?"
A huge panic gripped her.
"Because Mom is uneasy!" Xie Shuang screamed in anguish, "If my life is worth trading my daughter's happiness and freedom, I'd rather die right now! I'd rather die a clean death!"
Looking at her hysterical mother, who was determined to die, Xie Tang felt as if a huge gash had been torn open in her heart.
She had given her all for so many years, and just when the dawn was in sight, her mother was about to extinguish that last hope with her own hands.
That profound sense of powerlessness and despair almost overwhelmed her.
Xie Tang forced herself to swallow the sob in her throat, gripped her mother's cold, withered hand tightly, and said in a trembling voice, "Mom, the surgery is just around the corner, can we... talk about this after your surgery?"
Looking at the almost obsessive determination in her eyes, Xie Shuang felt as if her heart was being clenched by an icy hand, the pain making it hard to breathe. "A-Tang, you might not be able to leave the Chu family's gate even if you get in. I can't just watch you..."
She knew all too well that her frail body, the expensive surgery, the VIP ward she was currently in, and the unattainable villa were all the result of Xie Tang's sacrifice.
That was something they pulled out of Qin Ruhai's deep pool by using their daughter's marriage and freedom as bargaining chips.
The thought made her feel like she was sitting on pins and needles, and every breath she took was filled with burning pain and guilt.
"Who told you this?" Xie Tang tried to change the subject, her voice tense. "Qin Wu? Was it her?"
The anger in her heart was surging like lava.
"Never mind who it is!" Xie Shuang abruptly pulled her hand back, her voice hoarse from weakness and agitation. "Go now, cancel the ward! Return all that money! That house! to Qin Ruhai! Then divorce Chu Song, immediately! Right now!"
Every word took all her strength.
"Impossible, Mom..." Xie Tang said firmly, there was no turning back once the arrow was released.
"Having come this far, I have no room for regret."
That ten million and that house were the survival capital she had snatched from Qin Ruhai's jaws, her only bargaining chip to mortgage her future. How could she possibly give them back?
Xie Shuang's already pale face instantly drained of all color. Her trembling finger pointed at Xie Tang, her lips quivering, tears silently streaming down her face, splashing onto the snow-white sheets: "What...what are you doing? Trading your freedom for my life? A-Tang, I'm telling you..."
She gasped for breath, saying each word slowly and deliberately, "I'd rather die right now than see you like this! I can't bear to see you jump into that quagmire for my sake, to be manipulated and abused by Qin Ruhai and the Chu family! I... I'll call Qin Ruhai right now!"
She struggled to reach for her phone under the pillow.
"Mom!" Xie Tang rushed over and grabbed her mother's hand, her voice rising in a desperate scream, "Can you... understand me just this once? I didn't sacrifice myself! This was my own choice! Qin Ruhai was willing to lend a hand, and I was willing to pay the price. We each got what we wanted, that's fair!"
Her eyes were red and swollen, and she struggled to hold back her tears.
"Fairness? What fairness?!" Xie Shuang seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world, her tear-streaked face filled with astonishment and pain. "You sacrificed your entire life's happiness for me, and you call that fair? Ah Tang, wake up! Who is Qin Ruhai? What kind of family is the Chu family? They are places that devour people without spitting out the bones! I've been through this before, and I don't want you to follow in my footsteps. In the future, in the future, it will be too late to regret it!"
Her voice was broken, carrying a mother's deepest fear.
"Don't say anything, Mom! I can't let go!" Xie Tang seemed to be crushed by the last straw, and suddenly stood up, her voice tired but resolute, "The contract is signed, and I can't afford the consequences of breaching it... Calm down first, I'm going out for some fresh air."
She couldn't bear to look at her mother's sorrowful, tearful eyes any longer, and almost fled in panic, leaving the suffocating heaviness of the ward behind.
The benches in the hospital's back garden were cold.
Frustrated, Xie Tang rummaged through her bag for chewing gum, but her fingertips only touched cold keys and hard cards.
Not found.
That familiar minty scent was her tranquilizer, and its absence at this moment allowed an unnamed fire to ignite within her.
Li Zan received the call and rushed over in his car.
Seeing Xie Tang's red eyes and distraught appearance, her heart leaped into her throat: "Sister! What happened? Auntie, she..."
"My mom... is insisting on being discharged and not having the surgery." Xie Tang's voice was filled with deep helplessness. "She won't listen to anything I say. Azan, go and help my sister calm her down, try to persuade her..."
She rubbed her temples vigorously, as if that could crush away her fatigue and irritability.
Seeing her on the verge of tears, Li Zan's worry deepened: "Sister, then you..."
"I..." Xie Tang's gaze fell on the phone screen, as if it were poisoned. "I'm going to find someone to settle accounts with."
She opened her contacts' blacklist and found that name—Qin Wu.
A cold, impersonal message was sent: 【Where are you?】
When Qin Wu received the message, she practically jumped up from the sofa, her fingers trembling as she replied: 【At home!】
Half an hour later, the apartment's tranquility was shattered by the urgent ringing of the doorbell.
Qin Wu opened the door, only to be greeted by Xie Tang's icy face, the surging anger in her eyes freezing her smile instantly.
"Was it you?" Xie Tang's voice seemed to be squeezed out from a crack in the ice, carrying a chilling coldness. "Qin Wu, did you go and tell my mother?"
Despite her burning rage, she retained a sliver of reason and restrained herself from taking direct action.
Qin Wu's eyes darted around in a panic, her voice barely audible: "I...I don't know what you're talking about..."
"Very few people know about my deal with Qin Ruhai!" Xie Tang took a step closer, the powerful pressure causing Qin Wu to flinch. "You still dare to deny it? What exactly did you tell her?!"
"I..." Qin Wu bit her lower lip guiltily, almost drawing blood. "I just... I just mentioned Brother Chu Song. Auntie thought it sounded like..."
"Smack—"
A sharp, loud slap rang out suddenly, interrupting her feeble explanation.
Qin Wu's head snapped to the side after being hit, and her cheek instantly swelled up with a clear five-finger mark.
She covered her face, looked up in disbelief, and met Xie Tang's red eyes, which were burning with anger and utter disappointment.
"What right do you have to visit my mother! Who gave you the right to meddle in other people's business!" Xie Tang's angry shout was like a thunderclap, making Qin Wu's head buzz.
"My parents are sorry... I just wanted to... wanted to care for Auntie..." Qin Wu's tears finally rolled down her cheeks as she explained incoherently, overwhelmed by immense panic and grievance.
"Concern?" Xie Tang let out a sharp, cold laugh. "Your 'concern' has made my mother refuse surgery. She's now desperate to leave the hospital! Qin Wu, is this the result you wanted?"
Seeing the almost world-destroying hatred in Xie Tang's eyes, Qin Wu panicked completely.
She regretted her rashness, but the deep-seated desire to make amends made her struggle: "I... I really just wanted to help you... I didn't expect..."
"Help me?" Xie Tang seemed to hear the most vicious sarcasm. "You'll only bring me endless trouble! If you really want to help me—"
She stared at Qin Wu, her eyes sharp as knives, "Then disappear from my sight forever, forever!"
Qin Wu's heart was pierced, and she was overwhelmed with pain as tears streamed down her face.
She knew she was wrong, terribly wrong, but she didn't regret her original intention.
"I'm sorry, I was wrong, but I really didn't mean any harm. I just wanted you all to be well..." She tried to take a deep breath and calm herself down, but tears streamed down her face like a broken string of pearls.
"Cry?" The tears ignited the anger in Xie Tang's eyes, burning away all her reason. "You still have the nerve to cry? Stop with your hypocritical act! You just can't stand to see me and Mom having a good time, can you?!"
"I didn't! That's not how it is!" Qin Wu shook her head in despair.
"Listen!" Xie Tang's voice was as cold as an Arctic wind, each word a warning laced with bloodlust, "Don't ever appear in front of me and my mother again. Otherwise—"
Her icy gaze swept over Qin Wu's swollen cheek. "Every time I see you, I'll beat you up!"
The resolute figure, exuding a murderous aura, disappeared outside the door.
In the hallway, Chu Yi, who had just returned from shopping, brushed past her. Their icy gazes briefly met in the air, silently exchanging disgust and warning.
Chu Yi pushed open the door to his home and immediately saw Qin Wu crying on the sofa with her face covered. The clear handprint made his eyes darken: "What happened?"
Qin Wu grabbed his arm as if it were a lifeline, and sobbed as she recounted Xie Tang's visit.
"...Auntie clearly wanted to know about Brother Chu Song, and she was fine when she listened, so why did she suddenly..."
She was completely lost, overwhelmed by guilt, "Auntie refuses to have the surgery, and Xie Tang won't let me see her... What am I going to do..."
She felt that the slap she received was insignificant compared to Xie Shuang's refusal to see a doctor.
Chu Yi silently stroked her burning cheek, his fingertips able to feel the strength beneath the swelling.
He stood up and said, "I'll go get some ice for you to apply."
Watching Chu Yi walk towards the refrigerator, Qin Wu curled up helplessly on the sofa.
The cold air from the refrigerator hit me.
Chu Yi did not immediately reach for the ice cubes, but stared at the frost that had formed in the freezer, his eyes deep and thoughtful.
A few seconds later, he took out his phone and dialed Chu Song's number.
"What is it?" The voice on the other end of the phone was distant, cold, and devoid of warmth.
“Your ‘good wife’,” Chu Yi’s voice was filled with suppressed anger, “rushed over here and beat up my people.”
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by Chu Song's calm response: "A-Tang isn't an unreasonable person. You should think carefully about what you did to offend her."
His tone was resolute, without the slightest hesitation.
Chu Yi's temple throbbed, and he stubbornly insisted, "Qin Wu did nothing wrong! She shouldn't have taken that slap for nothing!"
“I said,” Chu Song’s voice turned colder, carrying an undeniable certainty, “I believe in A-Tang’s character.”
The call was abruptly cut off as soon as the words were spoken.
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Author's note: Today's update is complete~
I'm really looking forward to May, I can't wait for May to come.
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