Chapter 33 You treat him better than you treat me…
The cool evening breeze of early autumn brushed against my skin, dispelling the heat of the day.
She sat in the wicker chair, looking up at the clear starry sky, feeling a long-lost sense of comfort.
The days when you don't have to worry about money are just too wonderful.
She suddenly remembered the scene of her and her grandfather enjoying the cool air in the courtyard on summer nights when she was a child.
Now, summer is long gone, and Grandpa is no longer here.
Steady footsteps sounded from behind.
Chu Song changed into a dark gray loungewear outfit, looking slightly tired from just leaving work, and slowly walked to the wicker chair next to her and sat down.
He was silent for a moment, his gaze falling on her smooth profile, the soft light in the courtyard outlining her gentle features.
"Awake?" His voice sounded particularly deep and slightly hoarse in the quiet night.
"Mmm." Xie Tang responded softly, without turning her head, still gazing at the starry sky. "Finished with work?"
"That's all for now." Chu Song's gaze didn't leave her face, as if he were scrutinizing something incomprehensible.
In the afternoon at the company, the look in Gu Chang's eyes when he looked at Xie Tang—an undisguised longing, greed, and even a hint of resentful pain—again clearly surfaced before his eyes.
Especially when Xie Tang turned to walk towards him, Gu Chang's eyes dimmed instantly and he exuded a sense of desolation, which made the nameless fire in his heart surge suddenly.
Why did Gu Chang look at her like that?
The feeling of being openly coveted by others made Chu Song feel a strong sense of offense and an indescribable irritation.
He found himself extremely disgusted by Gu Chang's presence around Xie Tang, disgusted by every look he gave her, every conversation he had, and every time he got close to her.
"What are you thinking about?" Xie Tang finally turned her head and met his deep gaze.
His gaze was somewhat somber, carrying a complex emotion she couldn't decipher, as if he were probing or suppressing something.
Chu Song did not answer immediately.
He leaned slightly forward, his gaze lingering on her face, from her clear eyes to the tip of her small nose, and finally settling on her lips.
Its natural pinkish hue, under the light, resembled some kind of tempting fruit to be picked.
The night breeze seemed to become sticky and ambiguous at this moment.
The two were very close, close enough that Xie Tang could smell the refreshing scent of his shower gel, mixed with a faint, unique fragrance that belonged to him.
She felt her heart pounding inexplicably, and instinctively wanted to shrink back, but the wicker chair blocked her way out.
Chu Song's Adam's apple bobbed silently.
He suddenly reached out, not to touch her, but to gently press his hand on the armrest of her wicker chair.
This action was as if it were trapping her within the range of his own aura.
“This afternoon,” he began, his voice deeper than before, carrying a deliberately suppressed calm that couldn’t conceal the undercurrents beneath, “what did Gu Chang say to you later?”
His questions carried an interrogative tone, his gaze fixed on her eyes, unwilling to miss any subtle changes in her expression.
Xie Tang was slightly taken aback, not expecting him to suddenly bring up Gu Chang.
"It's nothing serious, we just chatted about Yin Xi's work for a bit," she answered truthfully, her tone frank.
But Chu Song's extremely oppressive gaze made her nervous, and her fingers unconsciously curled up.
Chu Song's lips curled into a faint, almost cold smile, but his eyes grew even deeper. "He likes you, and you still let him get so close to you? Are you raising a tiger to cause your own harm?"
The sarcasm and displeasure in his tone were almost undisguised.
He leaned forward a little more, and the distance between them shortened again.
Xie Tang could feel his warm breath brushing against her cheek.
Chu Song's gaze was fixed on her, as if trying to pierce through her pupils and see into her heart.
He raised his other hand, his fingertips moving extremely slowly and with a dangerously probing air, gently brushing across the back of her hand resting on her lap, sending a subtle, chilling electric current through her.
"Ah Tang," he called her name, his voice low and husky, each syllable striking a chord in her heart, "you treat him better than you treat me."
Where?
“Yes, there is.” Chu Song recalled what Chu Yun had told him: Xie Tang took good care of Gu Chang and even asked him if Xie Tang and Gu Chang were a good match, implying that he wanted to bring them together.
The warmth of his fingertips and the intense displeasure and probing in his words enveloped Xie Tang tightly.
An ambiguous atmosphere rapidly intensified between the two, as if the air itself had been ignited.
Chu Song himself was not fully aware that his surging jealousy and annoyance were now manifesting in a highly aggressive and possessive manner.
He wasn't questioning her loyalty, but rather using this method to confirm a certain sense of belonging, to resist the "threat" posed by Gu Chang, and, in this quiet night, to declare his concern for the woman before him in an almost dangerous way.
The delicate touch of his fingertips on her skin, and her slightly widened, moist eyes filled with surprise and panic, silently intensified this complicated and tangled emotion.
Unconsciously, he was being driven by a more primal and intense impulse, wanting to confirm something more forcefully, or... erase something.
The next second, he lowered his head and, with a force that was almost like punishment and declaration, fiercely captured her lips!
The kiss was anything but gentle; it was filled with a predatory intent.
His hot, forceful lips crushed her softness, his tongue forcefully prying open her teeth, conquering her territory.
Jealousy and a concern that he himself had never deeply explored, so intense it was almost uncontrollable, swept over all her senses like a storm.
Xie Tang froze instantly.
A slight pain came from between my lips and teeth, but more than that, there was an overwhelming shock and an incredible tremor that followed.
His cool yet aggressive aura completely enveloped her.
She stopped thinking about whether it was appropriate, and stopped thinking about tomorrow.
A long-buried emotion was ignited, like a thirsty traveler finding a spring of sweet water. Almost instinctively, she responded to him passionately!
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself closer to him.
No longer passively receiving, she began to awkwardly but boldly respond to his exploration, her tongue clumsily entwining with his, her lips forcefully sucking and kissing back.
Her response, brimming with desperate courage, was like a flame that instantly ignited an even deeper desire.
Chu Song's movements suddenly paused, then surged forward even more fiercely.
The initial violence was replaced by a more primal desire.
He gripped the back of her head tightly with one hand, deepening the kiss, while his other hand forcefully encircled her slender waist, pressing her firmly against him.
Her hesitant response, conveying a complete surrender and yearning, utterly dispelled the gloom and restlessness in his heart, leaving only the most primal desire to possess this woman and a longing for more and deeper things.
In the spacious courtyard, heavy breathing and the ambiguous sounds of lips and tongues intertwined, and the air was filled with an intense and irrepressible passion.
Chu Song lifted the limp woman into his arms, and his kisses gradually slid down her lips, carrying a hot breath, imprinting themselves on her sensitive earlobes and neck, causing her to tremble.
Xie Tang tilted her head back, her eyes glazed over, lost in the turmoil of passion that had been ignited by jealousy and pushed out of control by their fervent responses.
She clung to him tightly, as if he were the only piece of driftwood in a raging storm, and the strange and intense desire surging deep within her body both terrified and captivated her.
As night deepened outside the window, the intertwined shadows inside stretched longer and longer.
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With Xie Shuang's surgery date approaching, Xie Tang spent almost all her days at the hospital taking care of her.
Lying in her hospital bed, Xie Shuang brought up the old topic again: "When will you bring Chu Song to let me meet him?"
Xie Tang felt uneasy.
She hadn't spoken to Chu Song yet, partly because she was afraid of offending him, and partly because he had been so busy lately, leaving early and returning late.
She dared not cause him any more trouble.
She mumbled, "Let's wait until after the surgery, Mom. Resting and recuperating is the most important thing."
Xie Shuang smiled weakly: "That's fine. I don't want to scare people with my current appearance."
She held her mother's withered hand with heartache and encouraged her, "Mom, hang in there! If the surgery is successful, you'll be able to start a new life!"
Xie Shuang gripped her daughter's hand tightly, hope igniting in her eyes: "Okay, Mom will try again!"
That noon, Xie Tang carried the food prepared by Aunt Yu into the hospital and saw Qin Wu and Chu Yi coming out of her mother's ward from afar.
Qin Wu greeted her with a smile.
Xie Tang's heart tightened, and her tone unconsciously became accusatory: "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see Auntie," Qin Wu replied truthfully.
Xie Tang's expression changed slightly: "You didn't say anything inappropriate to my mother, did you?"
Chu Yi was quite dissatisfied with Xie Tang's attitude and said coldly, "We talked to Auntie quite a bit, which sentence are you referring to?"
Qin Wu tugged at Chu Yi's sleeve and explained to Xie Tang, "I'm not making this up, it's true."
"Don't come again," Xie Tang said curtly. "My mother will be unhappy to see you."
After saying that, he ignored the two of them and walked straight to the ward.
Watching her resolute back, Qin Wu muttered softly, feeling wronged, "But Auntie seemed quite happy just now..."
Chu Yi sighed softly, then took her in his arms and left.
The ward door was ajar.
Xie Tang pushed open the door and went in, only to see his mother sitting on the bed with a livid face and her chest rising and falling slightly.
The caregiver next to her quickly gave her a wink and whispered urgently, "He's angry right now, try to talk him out of it."
After saying that, he hurriedly closed the door and left.
Xie Tang glanced at the two extra bouquets of flowers and fruit basket on the table, then casually sat down on the sofa and laid out the food: "Mom, let's eat first."
Xie Shuang sat down opposite her, scrutinizing her face with a knife-like gaze for a long time before slowly speaking in a cold, piercing voice: "I'm asking you, did you secretly get a marriage certificate behind my back?"
Xie Tang's heart sank suddenly, and she looked up in astonishment at her mother, whose face was covered in frost: "Mom, what did you say?"
"You still want to hide it from me?" Xie Shuang's voice suddenly rose, filled with sobs and anger. "Qin Ruhai's apology to me before was just an act, wasn't it?"
Xie Tang gasped for breath, staring at her mother in disbelief.
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