Chapter 67. She would never go near him...
Xie Tang did not have an easy time this Spring Festival.
Just following Chu Song around to visit relatives and friends and pay respects to elders was enough to exhaust her energy.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Chu Song accompanied her back to Xie Shuang's place, where they stayed until the fourth day, enjoying a few rare days of leisure.
As the holiday drew to a close, Chu Song arranged her honeymoon trip.
They boarded a luxury yacht and headed north. The seawater was getting colder, but the two of them stayed close together, their hearts as warm as spring.
The yacht glided through the azure waters, with the occasional seagulls flying by bringing cheerful cries.
Finally arriving in Hokkaido in winter, I was greeted by a pure, snow-covered landscape, like a fairytale world.
They left parallel footprints on the snow-covered ground and relaxed in the steaming hot spring.
After their trip, they returned by yacht.
After the New Year, Xie Tang moved back to Chu Song's villa as promised.
On her first day at work, Xie Tang met Pan Yu, whose face bore obvious scars.
"What's going on?" Xie Tang's heart tightened.
“I got beaten up.” Pan Yu picked up a mirror on the table and looked at himself. “This is actually the best-case scenario; a few days ago, my head was swollen like a pig’s head.”
"Who did this?" Xie Tang's unease intensified, and he almost instinctively thought of Xiang Shaoyun.
"Hey, I went to a bar during the New Year holiday, and as soon as I came out, I ran into a bunch of thugs looking for trouble." Pan Yu chuckled, trying to sound relaxed.
He was afraid Xie Tang would worry, so he didn't dare mention Xiang Shaoyun's previous threat, and only vaguely said, "Don't worry, it shouldn't be... Xiang Shaoyun's doing."
Xie Tang didn't believe it at all.
Was taking on Zuo Meng's case the right decision?
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Winzheng's annual meeting was scheduled for the Garden Hotel, which happened to be held at the same hotel as Junmeng's annual meeting, which had been postponed.
Xie Tang had seen people visiting each other's homes before, but this was the first time he had ever seen a "visiting party".
The partners from the two law firms were already acquainted and ended up helping each other out.
Xie Tang spotted Yin Xi in the crowd.
The two lost contact after that argument.
Xie Tang turned to leave, but Yin Xi hurriedly chased after her, "Tang, are you still angry with me?"
Xie Tang paused, a bitter smile playing on her lips, her eyes filled with sorrow. "Shouldn't I be angry?"
"It's been so long, are you still angry?" Yin Xi stepped forward to block her path. "This...this isn't anything..."
"Not serious?" Xie Tang suddenly looked up, staring incredulously at her former friend. "Are you accusing me of being stingy?"
"No!" Yin Xi hurriedly explained, "I just wanted to apologize... I know I was wrong, can we still be like before?"
"I don't accept your apology." Xie Tang shook his head coldly. "We can't go back to the way things were."
Yin Xi's heart sank to the bottom. "Then what do I have to do for you to forgive me?"
Xie Tang's tone was resolute: "No matter what you do, I will not forgive you. So, you don't need to do anything."
"I made a mistake!" Yin Xi's voice was filled with resentment and sophistry. "But you...you didn't suffer any losses, did you? Aren't you back with President Chu now?"
Xie Tang listened in silence, a sense of indescribable sorrow welling up in her heart.
The familiar face before me now seems so foreign.
Her once inseparable best friend now stands against her, using such absurd reasons to exonerate herself.
It was as if she was seeing Yin Xi for the first time truly.
"The result is that I am indeed fine." Xie Tang's voice was as cold as ice. "But I'm not thanking you! I should be grateful that I was lucky that night! If Brother Song hadn't come, if he hadn't drunk that glass of water, I would be the one you took away and who is lying next to Gu Chang! Tell me, isn't that 'serious'?"
Yin Xi was speechless when questioned and lowered her head in shame.
Xie Tang took a step closer, her words like knives: "You think this is just a minor incident? But it's like a knife, stabbing deep into my heart! This is a pain I'll never forget in my entire life."
"Am I really... so unforgivable?" Yin Xi choked up, tears streaming down her face.
Xie Tang turned away resolutely, no longer looking at her.
Complex emotions surged in my chest.
Forgiveness? Perhaps that day will eventually come.
But she knew perfectly well that the rift between them was deep, and their past friendship was ultimately shattered.
That night, Xie Tang was forced to drink a lot of alcohol by his colleagues, and his steps became unsteady and unsteady.
"A-Tang..." came Gu Chang's gentle call from behind, "I'll take you home."
She turned her head and glanced at him; his face still held a gentle concern.
"No need, I've already called a designated driver." Xie Tang coldly refused, forcing herself to walk towards her car.
"Then I'll wait with you." Gu Chang ignored her refusal and followed closely behind.
His fists, clenched tightly in his pockets, trembled slightly.
He stared at her swaying figure, his eyes filled with a suppressed crimson.
The moment Xie Tang opened the car door, a strong wave of dizziness hit her, and her body slumped down like a puppet with its strings cut.
Gu Chang immediately stepped forward to catch her limp body.
Under the dim streetlights, her delicate features made his heart pound like a drum.
The night was as dark as ink, heavily enveloping the city.
The streetlights were bright, yet they exuded a chilling desolation.
Not far away, Yin Xi stood quietly, watching Gu Chang carry Xie Tang into his car and drive away.
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Xie Tang did not remain unconscious for long.
Half-asleep, the cool touch on her face jolted her awake.
The hangover gave her a splitting headache, but she had mostly regained consciousness.
She struggled to open her eyes, adjusting to the light in the room.
When she realized she was in Gu Chang's room, and Gu Chang was sitting on the edge of the bed, her fingers lingering on her cheek, a chill instantly seeped into her bones.
"Ah Tang, you're awake." Gu Chang revealed an almost sickly smile, his voice so gentle it sent chills down one's spine.
"How did I get here?" Xie Tang tried to sit up, but found that she didn't have any strength.
She rubbed her throbbing temples and said, "I want to go home."
Gu Chang ignored her questioning, gently brushing the stray hairs from her forehead, her voice filled with hurt and grievance: "A-Tang, you can't talk to me properly anymore... You're either cold-faced or full of anger like this... It hurts me so much..."
Xie Tang suppressed her fear and forced herself to speak in a slightly gentler tone: "What do you want from me that you brought me here?"
"I won't do anything to you! I just want to talk to you."
He was lost in his own world, muttering to himself, "Ah Tang, do you remember the first time we met? We were eighteen, at the airport. Sister Xiao Yun picked us up to go to school. I nodded to you with a cold face, but you smiled at me, like a blooming peach blossom, the bright sunshine gently shining into my heart..."
That memory is like a brand.
Xie Tang closed her eyes impatiently, struggling to move her body, her gaze sweeping over the digital clock on the bedside table—April 5th.
In a flash, a thought crossed my mind: This day is the anniversary of Gu Chang's mother's death!
"Gu Chang..." Xie Tang tentatively asked, "Today... is your mother's death anniversary, right?"
Gu Chang froze, her eyes becoming vacant. "You still remember?"
"Do you...miss her a lot?"
He was silent for a few seconds, then slowly shook his head, his facial muscles contorting unnaturally. "No... I don't want to."
Xie Tang noticed his loss of control and was about to change the subject when he suddenly spoke, his voice eerie: "Do you know how she died?"
Xie Tang held her breath and nodded gently.
She had heard that he jumped off a building.
Gu Chang's eyes grew even darker and more unfathomable. "That night, she took me to the balcony..."
Gu Chang's voice was torn apart by painful memories, "She has depression...it's been like this for a long time. That day she wanted to jump down with me, but at the last moment, she let go of my hand and pushed me hard to the ground..."
"I just watched her... and she jumped. The nanny who followed took me away."
Every word felt like a knife cutting into me.
Xie Tang's heart was gripped tightly by his emotions, almost suffocating her.
She had never heard Gu Chang mention this second half.
“If only she had taken me with her when she jumped,” he said, his voice filled with despair, “I wouldn’t have had to live such a painful life all these years.”
Seeing him sobbing uncontrollably, like a child abandoned by the whole world, Xie Tang's heart softened instantly. She subconsciously reached out and gently patted his head, trying to offer some comfort.
This touch was like igniting a bomb.
Gu Chang suddenly looked up, his eyes instantly turning terrifying. He grabbed Xie Tang's wrist and pressed her heavily onto the bed with a force that was almost crushing!
Xie Tang was terrified by the madness surging in his eyes.
Gu Chang seemed to be jolted awake by her fear, hastily releasing his grip, his voice hoarse: "...I'm sorry..."
Xie Tang withdrew her hand and remained silent; the air was so heavy it was suffocating.
Gu Chang's chest heaved violently, as if he was about to pour out the pain that had been building up for many years: "Before my mother married my father, she was an opera actress, performing in a theater troupe. They got together because their elders arranged it."
“At first, my dad was very good to her. After we got married, he wouldn’t let her go out to work. He thought that job was embarrassing because it involved showing your face in public and you couldn’t earn any money. He wanted her to stay home and take care of her husband and children.”
"Later... she got pregnant with me, but she still loved singing opera and would always practice her voice at home... When my dad found out, he made sarcastic remarks and forced her to give up the idea."
"After giving birth to me, she suffered from severe postpartum depression. She looked at me as if I were a stranger... She cried and begged my dad to let her go out to work, but my dad... just wouldn't allow it..."
"...After enduring that for four or five years, my mother finally couldn't take it anymore...On that night, in that house, she chose to end it all..."
Gu Chang looked at Xie Tang, her eyes filled with a deep sorrow. "She also wanted to get revenge on my father for ignoring and mocking her... The nanny told me all this later."
“But what she did… what kind of revenge was that against my dad? We moved out of that house, and he quickly forgot about her and continued to live a successful life…”
Xie Tang had no idea that Gu Chang carried such a heavy past.
He remained silent back then, and she never delved into the reasons for his mother's death.
Is this... the root of his cold and aloof personality?
“My mom was stupid, wasn’t she? But she… is finally free.” His voice was hollow.
Xie Tang's throat tightened; she didn't know how to respond.
"From childhood to adulthood... there aren't many people who have truly been good to me. The ones etched in my heart are Sister Xiaoyun... and you."
Gu Chang's gaze was fixed on Xie Tang. "The day Xiao Yun left... I felt like I was dead too. But when I thought of you... I felt... there was still some hope in living..."
Xie Tang closed her eyes.
Her kindness towards him stemmed solely from a friend's concern; she never imagined that this goodwill would take root in his heart, transforming into a heavy dependence, and ultimately twisting into an intense possessiveness.
The little moments of warmth they shared in the past have now become a huge boulder weighing on her heart.
His love was passionate and desperate, but she couldn't reciprocate in the slightest.
This sense of powerlessness brings with it excruciating pain and guilt.
She didn't want to hurt him, but her silence itself was a sin in his eyes.
If time could turn back... she would never have approached him.
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Author's Note: After a whole day of coding practice, my brain is about to explode. Seeing the lovely people who sent me nutrient solution makes me so happy! Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2024-06-06 22:17:32 and 2024-06-08 21:42:19!
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: Ke Shi Ye 12 bottles;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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