Chapter 76, built on lies and calculations...
The door was pushed open, and Xie Tang walked in.
She hadn't changed her clothes; she was still wearing that simple, loose-fitting nightgown, with a trench coat casually over it. Her wet hair was disheveled, and her eyes were red and swollen, but her eyes were surprisingly bright, burning with a cold, sharp hatred capable of destroying everything.
She walked straight to Chu Song and sat down opposite him, her gaze fixed on his face.
Chu Song's pupils contracted sharply when he saw her. He tried to speak, "A-Tang, you..."
"The agreement," Xie Tang interrupted him directly, her voice devoid of any warmth, "that so-called 'guarantee' agreement. Appendix Three, Equity Swap and Entrusted Management. Explain it."
"You just saw it?"
"Shouldn't I have seen it?" Xie Tang's voice suddenly rose. "Should I have been kept in the dark forever, like a fool, kept in captivity by your 'gifts,' and then gratefully watching you use my grandfather's hard work and what should have been mine to build your Chu Song business empire? Chu Song, you are so calculating! So cunning!"
"Ah Tang, it's not what you think!" Chu Song's voice was urgent as he tried to grab her hand. "That agreement..."
"Don't touch me!" Xie Tang jerked her hand back as if bitten by a venomous snake, her eyes filled with undisguised disgust. "Filthy!"
This single word pierced through Chu Song's feigned composure.
Xie Tang leaned forward and said, word by word, "You schemed and plotted, from the arranged marriage to that damned agreement... Everything you did, including marrying me and being good to me, was just for control of the Cisco Group! To turn what my grandfather left me into your possession, Chu Song! What security? What forever? It's all lies to fool the devil!"
"Chu Song, you've been using me from beginning to end! Deceiving me! Treating me like a pawn on your chessboard!"
"That's not how it is." Chu Song suddenly stood up, his tall figure exuding immense pressure. He placed his hands on the table, approaching Xie Tang, his eyes turning dangerous and obsessive. "Yes! I admit it! I used you!"
Xie Tang's heart skipped a beat. She didn't speak, forcing herself to calm down and listen to him finish.
"I used you to escape that damned hometown, and I used you to uncover the truth behind Sister Xiaoyun's car accident! I even... even plotted to gain control of Cisco!"
He was breathing heavily, his chest heaving. "But those! Those filthy thoughts! All happened before I fell in love with you!"
Then, the madness in his eyes was replaced by a burning, almost desperate intensity. His voice lowered, but carried an even more terrifying stubbornness, and his body tensed like a fully drawn bow.
“Right now… everything I’m doing is for you! Just to keep you by my side! Control of Cisco? What does that mean? It’s worthless to me! It’s just a means! A means to keep you from leaving me! You can’t manage Cisco right now, but I’ll take care of it for you…”
"Ha! For me?" Xie Tang stood up as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world, meeting his aggressive gaze without fear. "Using deception? Using scheming? Using the plundering of what is most important to me to 'for me'? Chu Song, I can't bear your twisted love! I dare not accept it!"
She took a deep breath, mustered all her strength, and declared resolutely, "We're finished, Chu Song. This marriage built on lies and scheming ends here! I will take back everything that is rightfully mine! Including the shares you swindled me out of!"
"Don't even think about it!" Chu Song's voice suddenly became low and violent, carrying an undeniable desire for control.
He grabbed Xie Tang's slender wrist with such force that she gasped in pain.
"Let go!" Xie Tang struggled fiercely, her eyes filled with resolute hatred.
"Impossible!" Chu Song gripped her wrist tightly, pulling her closer until their noses almost touched. His eyes burned with a near-mad possessiveness. "Xie Tang, you said you'd be with me until the end. Unless I die! You signed that agreement! You gave me the Cisco shares! You accepted this marriage! You can't go anywhere! You can only stay by my side!"
Looking at the handsome face that had once captivated her, Xie Tang now found it utterly repulsive, like a demon from hell.
She stopped struggling, and stared at him with her eyes, which had burned away all hope and were now filled with cold hatred. "I shouldn't have trusted you."
I shouldn't have treated you as light.
Chu Song gripped her wrist tightly, meeting her blazing gaze filled with hatred. He did not flinch, only his stubbornness deepened and a barely perceptible pain was forcibly suppressed.
Stalemate.
A chilling despair spread and intensified between the two.
Outside the restaurant window, the dazzling river view still flowed, but it could no longer reflect Xie Tang's eyes, which were completely frozen by hatred.
She knew that from the moment she signed that agreement and stepped into this meticulously woven lie, she had already stepped into a huge, golden cage called "possession," personally crafted by Chu Song.
Break free? Easier said than done.
But hatred had already taken root in her heart, transforming into the sharpest weapon.
This deadly standoff did not last long.
Chu Song's phone suddenly vibrated, breaking the suffocating silence.
He glanced at the screen, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly; it seemed to be an important business call.
He didn't loosen his grip on Xie Tang's wrist at all, but picked up his phone with his other hand and pressed the answer button. His voice returned to its usual calm and steady tone, but with a hint of tension: "Say... um, I understand... have them wait for me in the conference room, I'll be there in half an hour."
He hung up the phone, his gaze locking onto Xie Tang again, his eyes filled with undisguised control: "There's an urgent matter at the company, I have to go back to handle it."
He pulled Xie Tang into his arms with force, holding her stiff body tightly, and led her out of the private room without saying a word. "Go home. Now."
Xie Tang did not struggle, because she knew she could not break his iron grip.
Chu Song practically dragged and carried Xie Tang as they strode through the restaurant's magnificent lobby.
Outside the door, his dark black Cullinan with its sharp lines was already waiting quietly.
The driver respectfully opened the back door.
The Cullinan smoothly merged into the nighttime traffic.
The cold scent of leather enveloped Xie Tang. The dazzling night view outside the window rushed past, like a series of ironic slides, reflecting her current disheveled and desperate state.
Chu Song sat next to her, his body ramrod straight, his profile taut. He didn't look at her, but the aura of absolute control emanating from him made the air in the entire carriage freeze.
Xie Tang huddled on the other side of the large seat, her body trembling slightly with anger and fear.
The spot on my wrist where he had gripped me felt a clear, burning pain.
She stared blankly out the window, biting her lower lip hard until she tasted a hint of blood.
Hatred spread and fermented silently.
This luxury car, heading "home," is, at this moment, a mobile prison to her.
The man who imprisoned her here was the very man beside her whom she once thought she could entrust her life to, but now wished she could grind him to dust.
Chu Song glanced at her pale, stubborn profile and her lips, which were bitten until they bled. His hand, which was resting on his knee, twitched almost imperceptibly for a moment before quickly relaxing and resuming its usual cold and controlling demeanor.
He knew the storm was coming, but he would never allow her to escape.
Stepping into that magnificent prison that was once called "home," Chu Song's hands gripped Xie Tang's arm like iron clamps.
"Ah Tang, listen to me." He lowered his voice deliberately, with a feigned gentleness: "That exchange agreement really won't do you any harm."
He tried to pull her closer, his gaze fixed on her. "You're not ready to shoulder the burden of Cisco right now. Leave it to me, trust me..."
"I won't hurt you."
He spoke those last words with unwavering resolve, each word carrying weight.
Xie Tang used all her strength to shake off the hand that was holding her.
The cold touch and those hypocritical words made her stomach churn.
She didn't look at Chu Song again, nor did she say a word. She turned around and walked quickly toward the guest room.
She slammed the door shut, completely shutting out Chu Song and all his "good intentions."
The next day, Chu Song went on a business trip, and Xie Tang returned to the old neighborhood where almost no one lived.
These past two days, she's been like a soulless shell, completely exiled to this desolate island.
Time has lost its measure; day and night are reversed.
He neither eats nor drinks, nor speaks.
My mind was a complete blank, my thoughts were like being trapped in a thick, sticky swamp, and every attempt to struggle brought only deeper exhaustion and despair.
Occasionally, fragmented glimpses would flash through her mind: Chu Song's gentleness, his calculating gaze, his cold agreement... all of which felt like a red-hot iron, searing her nerves.
"Sister!" A familiar and energetic voice pierced through the mist.
Xie Tang got up from the sofa and looked up at Li Zan.
He saw Xie Tang's red and swollen eyes, grabbed her cold wrist, and said, "Come on! Come with me!"
"Where to?" Xie Tang's voice was hoarse and weak, filled with exhaustion.
"Don't ask, you'll know when you get there!" Li Zan said without waiting for a reply, practically dragging her into the car.
The scenery outside the car window rushed past, blurring into a flowing blur of light and shadow.
The wind rushed into the carriage, ruffling Xie Tang's hair and seemingly trying to dispel the gloom in her heart, but only bringing a deeper chill.
She leaned back in her chair, silently gazing out the window without uttering a word.
Li Zan didn't say anything, but just pressed the accelerator harder.
About half an hour later, the car drove into a quiet and strictly managed high-end tennis club.
Lee Chan-ri parked the car, turned off the engine, and went straight to the trunk to take out his tennis bag.
"Tennis?" Xie Tang asked, somewhat bewildered.
"Yes! Tennis! Throw all that fire, hatred, and messy stuff you've been holding in—all of it onto the ball! Play until you're completely exhausted!"
Looking at the empty court in front of him, the texture of the red clay, and the taut lines of the net, Xie Tang felt a primal urge to destroy and unleash his power surge up.
"Okay." She took off her restrictive coat, grabbed her racket, and strode towards an empty court.
There was no warm-up, no small talk.
Xie Tang stood directly behind the baseline, staring at Li Zan on the other side of the net, and shouted in a low voice: "Serve!"
Li Zan knows her too well.
Without the slightest hesitation, a powerful flat shot, angled sharply, went straight for Xie Tang's backhand baseline!
Xie Tang's reaction was surprisingly fast.
Like a cannonball that has been ignited, she pushed off the ground with her feet, slid to the side in an instant, and swung her racket!
The movements were swift and violent, with an aura that seemed intent on breaking the racket!
For the rest of the time, the court became Xie Tang's battlefield all by himself.
She ran tirelessly, putting all her effort into every shot, and sweat instantly soaked through her vest, streaming down her forehead and neck.
Her fair cheeks were flushed red from the strenuous exercise, and she was panting heavily.
“Sister…” Li Zan squatted down, his voice full of heartache.
Xie Tang didn't look up, but kept her head down. The sobs she had suppressed for so long finally broke out of her throat, turning into intermittent, broken sobs.
"Cry it out, it'll make you feel better..." Li Zan gently patted her back. "Cry as hard as you can! I'm here for you."
On the empty stadium, only Xie Tang's suppressed sobs, like those of a wounded animal, echoed in the air.
In those cries was the heart-wrenching pain of losing a loved one, the bone-chilling coldness of being betrayed by a loved one, a powerless protest against the capriciousness of fate, and a torrent of sorrow for that immense regret that could never be made up for.
Li Zan silently stayed with her without saying a word.
She is not alone; her pain has been seen and borne by others.
The intense sweat evaporated some of the toxins, while the scalding tears finally began to wash away the heavy burden that had almost drowned her.
After the exhausting outburst, the real flood of emotions begins.
Xie Tang didn't know how Li Zan took her home.
The intense exercise drained me of my last bit of strength, and after the tears came a huge emptiness and indescribable exhaustion, as if my soul had been ripped away.
She collapsed onto the cold floor of the entryway, leaning against the door, too weak to even turn on the light.
The sweat had long since cooled, but the residue, mixed with the red soil and tears, clung stickily to her skin, a reminder of her near-self-destructive, frenzied outburst.
The room was deathly silent. The city lights outside shone through the gap in the slightly open curtains, casting a faint band of light at her feet.
Xie Tang moved out of Chu Song's house again.
The moment she stepped out the door, she knew clearly that she would never set foot here again.
Late at night, Chu Song, exhausted, pushed open the door to his home, only to be met with utter silence.
His heart sank suddenly, and an ominous premonition gripped him instantly.
He rushed into the master bedroom, "Ah Tang? Ah Tang!"
He was met only with a cold echo.
Panic gripped his heart like a poisonous vine!
He gave her time to "calm down," but gave her the freedom to escape!
This is absolutely unacceptable!
Xie Tang cannot just disappear like this, after he... after he finally saw his own heart clearly and fell hopelessly in love with her!
He dialed the number he knew by heart.
Unexpectedly, the call was answered immediately.
"Ah Tang!" Chu Song's voice was filled with the joy and eagerness of surviving a disaster.
But the voice coming through the receiver was as cold as ice, without the slightest hesitation or ripple of emotion: "Let's find a time to get a divorce."
These words pierced through Chu Song's last shred of hope!
"Take back that sentence!"
"You don't love me!" Xie Tang's calm voice carried a sharp edge that seemed to pierce through everything.
"I love you! Ah Tang! I love you so much!" Chu Song's voice suddenly rose, "So, I can't accept you leaving me!"
"Love me? If you love me, you shouldn't lie to me! You want control of Cisco? You could have just asked me directly! Instead of scheming to trick me into signing those documents!"
"I just...I just want to keep you by my side! I just want to help you..."
"I never intended to leave! You're the one who pushed me away! Chu Song, I can't pretend this deception didn't exist!"
"Ah Tang! Where are you? Let's talk face to face, okay?"
"No need." Xie Tang said decisively, "Meet me at the Civil Affairs Bureau at nine o'clock in the morning three days from now, bring your marriage certificate."
"Impossible! We won't get a divorce! Don't even think about it!"
"Then see you in court! I'm reminding you, think this through carefully. Whether it's the divorce case or that lawsuit over the invalidation of the management agreement, you're destined to lose!"
The moment the words fell—
All that came through the receiver was a short, cold busy tone.
Chu Song remained frozen in place, still in the position of answering the phone.
Cisco's control and Xie Tang...
He chose the former, believing that Xie Tang would understand and forgive him.
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