Chapter 64 I don't blame you, just go...
"Ah Tang, you still care about me..." Gu Chang smiled nonchalantly, "You have me in your heart, don't you?"
Xie Tang had no idea what he was going to do next. She took two steps back, but Gu Chang grabbed her waist and pulled her forcefully into his arms. The difference in strength was too great, and she had no way to break free.
"You know my heart, yet you refuse to accept it..." He buried his face in her neck, greedily inhaling her scent, his lips brushing against her earlobe. "You want me to give up? Only if you agree. I will love you more, cherish you more than Chu Song..."
Xie Tang trembled, a surge of murderous intent rushing to his head!
She suddenly bent her knee and thrust it into his lower abdomen, while simultaneously raising her hand to slap him hard!
After the crisp sound of a slap, Gu Chang covered his face in astonishment.
Xie Tang broke free, glaring at him, her words clear and distinct: "Gu Chang, listen carefully: I don't like you, never have!"
Gu Chang felt as if she had been struck by a heavy hammer: "Never? Then why were you so good to me? Even after we broke up, you were still worried about my future?"
“I’m good to my friends because they deserve it! I was good to you in the past only because you deserved it! It has nothing to do with love!” She said firmly, striding to the door and yanking it open. “Get out! Or I’ll call the police!”
Gu Chang touched his burning cheek, gave her a wry smile and a deep look, before finally turning and leaving.
She didn't know how much time had passed, but Xie Tang felt that every second was agonizing.
The doorbell rang repeatedly. She glanced at her phone; the takeout had arrived.
The delivery guy called her.
Xie Tang asked in a hoarse voice if anyone was outside the door. Only when she heard that there was only one person did she get up and open the door.
The delivery driver kept apologizing because he was delayed on the way.
Xie Tang thanked him in a low voice, turned around and was about to close the door when a voice suddenly rang in his ear.
She thought she was hallucinating, until Chu Song strode forward and reached out to block the door—with a muffled thud, the door slammed shut and caught his fingers.
"It's me."
This is going on day after day... can't it ever stop?
Xie Tang felt a surge of grievance and anger, but when she saw Chu Song's face, her frustration inexplicably dissipated.
She watched him frown and shake his hand, and asked in a hoarse voice, "What are you doing here?"
Hearing her hoarse, almost mute voice, and seeing her pale, ashen face, her body wrapped in a cashmere nightgown and shawl as if it would break at the slightest touch, Chu Song asked anxiously, "I haven't seen you for a day, how did you get so sick?"
"I'm fine, you..." A gust of cold wind blew in, and Xie Tang shivered.
Without saying a word, Chu Song put his arm around her shoulder and pushed her into the house.
The room was dark and cold, with no lights on, and a sense of oppression permeated the air.
Chu Song didn't like this feeling and immediately turned on the switch.
The warm yellow light instantly dispelled the gloom, making the room feel cozier.
His gaze swept over her, and Xie Tang's face was still glaringly pale under the light.
Xie Tang put the takeout on the table and ignored him.
Chu Song watched her mechanically eat her takeout, his heart clenching. "I'll take you to the hospital, then come back with me."
Xie Tang shook his head, even swallowing seemed extremely difficult.
“Ah Tang, our contract isn’t over yet. Come back with me, I’ll take good care of you.” Chu Song squatted down beside her, his voice lowered, “I know my words that night hurt you, I’m sorry.”
Xie Tang looked at the man in front of her who had never been so humble before, and a strange feeling arose in her heart.
She picked up her phone and typed: "I don't blame you, you can go now."
"I'm not at ease," Chu Song insisted.
Xie Tang typed again: 【I'll go to sleep after I take my medicine. You can go back.】
Chu Song shook his head and walked straight to the sofa to sit down, but his gaze fell on the medicine boxes scattered on the coffee table—ordinary cold and fever reducers, and a box of effervescent vitamin tablets.
He suddenly remembered the pills she had thrown into the water glass that night.
She said she has a hereditary vitamin metabolism disorder, and the instructions do indeed state that it is "used to treat vitamin metabolism disorders".
She wasn't lying!
Regret instantly overwhelmed me.
Seeing that he was seated, Xie Tang said no more. She forced herself to eat a few bites of food, swallowed her pills, and urged in a hoarse voice, "Let's go back early, it's going to rain heavily."
After giving her instructions, she went back to her bedroom.
As night deepened, the heavy rain arrived as expected, pattering against the windows.
Xie Tang lay in bed, listening to the rain, and felt a strange sense of peace—she knew that Chu Song was outside.
In the living room, Chu Song's gaze was fixed on the boxes of medicine.
That clear answer felt like a branding iron burning into my heart.
He suddenly stood up, strode towards the bedroom, gently pushed open the door, and saw Xie Tang curled up in a ball wrapped in a blanket.
Chu Song had just breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed that the "silkworm cocoon" was trembling slightly but continuously.
"Ah Tang, are you cold?" he asked softly.
The person under the covers didn't react at all, and trembled even more violently.
Chu Song's heart clenched instantly. She carefully lifted the corner of the blanket—Xie Tang was crying silently, her tears soaking the pillow.
In that instant, he almost forgot to breathe, and hurriedly grasped her icy hand: "A-Tang, where does it hurt? Tell me."
Xie Tang just shook her head, her tears falling even more fiercely.
He tentatively pulled her into his arms and gently stroked her hair.
Chu Song breathed a sigh of relief when he sensed that she was not resisting.
At this moment, she was as fragile as a morning dewdrop.
Aside from that time at the airport four years ago, he had never seen her cry like this before.
Last time it was for my mother, this time... for whom?
Was it because of an indelible misunderstanding, or his belated realization?
Chu Song tightened his arms around her, "I'm sorry..."
Xie Tang cried for an unknown amount of time, but as the medicine took effect, she finally fell into a deep sleep in his arms.
He carefully settled her in, covered her with a blanket, sat on the edge of the bed, and stared blankly at her tear-streaked face, his heart churning with unsettling emotions.
She spoke intermittently before falling asleep, her voice hoarse and incoherent, and he couldn't understand a single word.
It wasn't until he took out his phone to check the time that he was shocked to find a message Xie Tang had sent him a few hours earlier: "I didn't drug you."
Those seven words, like the sharpest thorns, pierced Chu Song's eyes, and the pain instantly spread to his limbs and bones. Regret and self-blame almost overwhelmed him.
It turns out she had been proving her innocence all along; what she wanted was never forgiveness, but the most basic trust.
That phrase, "I don't care if she did it or not," so utterly negated all her efforts and pierced her heart.
He never considered things from her perspective, and how foolish and selfish his words and actions were!
If he had believed her from the beginning, why would she have needed to go through all that trouble to prove herself? Why would he have forced her to move out of his house?
That marriage started as a transaction, but that villa...
Chu Song closed his eyes, recalling the secret thought he had when he first bought it—to use it as a safe haven to escape the old house.
She left, and the house was left empty and cold, devoid of its soul.
That night, a torrential downpour occurred, and Chu Song stayed by Xie Tang's bedside, never leaving his side.
When she shivered and curled up, he held her close, becoming her human heater all night long.
When Xie Tang woke up the next day, he was much more lucid, only vaguely remembering that Chu Song was there.
Looking at the clothes he was still wearing, she said in a hoarse voice, "Go back."
My throat still hurts, but it's much better than yesterday.
This time, Chu Song didn't insist. He silently took two steps forward, his expression somewhat restrained and cautious, and his voice was low: "A-Tang, can I... hug you?"
Xie Tang was slightly taken aback and didn't have time to react.
Chu Song gently stepped forward and gave her a brief but restrained hug, then quickly stepped back before she could push him away.
"I'm leaving now. Don't order takeout. I've asked Aunt Yu to make your favorite breakfast, and the driver will bring it over right away. Don't order lunch or dinner either; I'll arrange for someone to deliver them."
"There's no need for all that trouble..."
"Listen to me." He glanced at her reluctantly, walked to the door, then stopped and turned back, his eyes filled with complex emotions. In the end, he only said, "I will come back."
A sense of surprise flashed through Xie Tang's mind, but she quickly regained her composure.
Perhaps they felt sorry for her because she was sick and had no one to take care of her.
After finishing the breakfast that was delivered, Xie Tang didn't want to dwell on her thoughts, so she found a movie to watch.
At lunchtime, just as she was about to order takeout, the doorbell rang—it was Aunt Yu.
"Thank goodness, the fever's gone!" Aunt Yu touched her forehead and scolded, "If Asong hadn't told me you were sick, I would have been completely in the dark! You child, you didn't even tell me you were sick? Do you think you've forgotten your old woman now that you've moved away?"
When Xie Tang saw Aunt Yu, the gloom in her heart vanished, and she smiled sincerely, "How could that be, Auntie? I've just been too busy lately to see you."
Aunt Yu quickly laid out the insulated lunchbox. "Eat up! It's all your favorite food. Ah Song specifically told you to eat light meals when you have a cold, but I was worried you wouldn't have any taste in your mouth, so I secretly added a tiny bit of spice."
With Aunt Yu's presence, the house suddenly felt warm and lively.
During the meal, Aunt Yu chatted about everyday matters, saying that little Chu Xin had grown up again, could roll over, sit up, and call out "Dad," and loved to be lifted up high by Chu Song.
Xie Tang listened quietly, a faint smile on her lips.
"Have you two... made up?" Aunt Yu suddenly asked. "I can tell that Ah Song still cares about you. While you were away, he often came back for meals, and he always liked to sit in your usual sofa seat, making tea and spacing out. When he came back from his business trip, he even bought you a lot of things, which are all piled up in your old room."
Xie Tang paused for a moment while holding the chopsticks.
Should we be happy about what Chu Song has done?
But that thorn of 'distrust' is still deeply embedded in my heart, and the shadow lingers.
That evening, it was Chu Song himself who delivered the meal.
He changed into clean clothes, his hair was neatly combed, and he looked energetic, all the fatigue of the day gone.
He smiled as he set out the food. Xie Tang was about to pick up her chopsticks when she heard him say in a low voice, "I haven't eaten yet either."
She looked up at him, then at the food on the table, which was clearly meant for two people. After a moment of silence, her voice, though soft, did not refuse: "...Let's eat together."
Chu Song sat down beside her.
The two ate their meal quietly.
Chu Song looked up at Xie Tang several times, his eyes filled with concern and a sense of unspoken words.
The words "Ah Tang, I believe you" rolled in my throat again and again—the damage had already been done, was it too late to say it now? Did it seem so pale?
He ultimately couldn't bring himself to say it.
——————
The end of the year is fast approaching, and the weather in Shenzhen is fluctuating between cold and warm.
After recovering from her cold, Xie Tang stayed at the villa for a while.
Xie Tang was quite surprised to learn from Xie Shuang that Ming Wei had visited several times.
On the day Xie Tang returned to the law firm, Ming Wei came to visit again, carrying a large pile of health supplements. Xie Tang had no choice but to ask for another half-day off.
Watching Mingwei and Xie Shuang chat like sisters, Xie Tang felt a long-lost sense of warmth, as if she had returned to a weekend morning in her childhood—when Mingwei often brought Chu Song to the villa.
Eighteen years have passed in the blink of an eye. We've all been busy with our own lives and our contact has gradually faded, but the deep affection buried in our hearts has never changed.
On the way back to the Chu family's old house, Mingwei said with relief, "I've seen your mother, and she's become much more open-minded. I didn't expect that she could live so freely despite being tormented by illness. She said she's very happy to have you."
Xie Tang glanced sideways and saw that her complexion had improved and she was smiling more, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
“Her situation was similar to mine back then, but her choices were completely different… I often regret that if I had been brave enough to let go back then, Ah Song might not be so distant from me.” Mingwei’s expression revealed deep reflection.
Xie Tang smiled and shook her head: "Regret is the most useless thing. Even if you could start over, standing at the crossroads of that year, you would still be making the same considerations as back then. Isn't that what your mother would advise you?"
"Yes, they're advising me to look forward." Mingwei chuckled. "These days I've been thinking a lot about how I've wasted eighteen years. From now on... shouldn't I start living for myself?"
Xie Tang gazed at her intently, her eyes filled with admiration and sympathy.
Mingwei's forbearance and compromise are beyond the reach of ordinary people, paving the way for Chu Li and Chu Song's current success.
“Yes.” She said firmly, “Song-ge would definitely want that too. Even though we’re estranged, he wants you to live a happy and carefree life more than anyone else.”
"Really?" Mingwei's eyes suddenly lit up, then looked blank again. "Is it too late? I'm almost sixty..."
The voice was hesitant.
The car stopped some distance from the old house.
Xie Tang looked at her: "It's never too late to start. Your mother was fifty-three, she went through a near-death experience, and then she picked up her beloved career again. You can too."
"Thank you for listening to me." Mingwei's eyes were full of gratitude and relief. "A-Shuang has taught you very well. I am both happy and relieved to have you in A-Song's life."
Xie Tang smiled faintly and took her leave, citing matters at the institute.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
