60 in the past
◎The girl's body was breathtakingly beautiful◎
Song Qinggui went into the bedroom early, while Xue Lu stood on the balcony for a long time.
This guesthouse has a great view, directly overlooking Victoria Harbour. The evening breeze, with its comfortable strength and temperature, somehow couldn't dispel my melancholy.
As the bright moon hung high and the streetlights gradually went out, Xue Lu finally returned to his room. Song Qinggui was already fast asleep. He went to the living room and took out his laptop.
He continued searching for "Saxon" on domestic and international search websites, but still found very little, mostly news he had already found before. The only new thing was a social news article with the name "Saxon" on an American website.
In the early 1990s, two criminal organizations in Mexico clashed, and a young man named Saxon killed the gang leader and took over the position of the gang's head.
Xue Lu didn't take it seriously. Wikipedia has a profile of Saxon artists. He was of mixed Central European descent and had lived in Europe for many years. Mexico was too far from Europe.
The more clues he couldn't find, the more confused Xue Lu became.
His hands hesitated on the keyboard for a long time, but he couldn't resist his curiosity and typed "Saxon" and "Song Qinggui" side by side.
A message did indeed pop up:
In 2017, Cangcheng Yucai Middle School built a multimedia teaching building, which was donated by an artist named "Saxon". The building is now called "Saxon Building".
In the same year, Cangcheng Yucai Middle School established the Saxon Scholarship and Saxon Bursary to help impoverished students and encourage outstanding students...
Cangcheng Yucai Middle School is Song Qinggui's alma mater. Her status as the top scorer in the college entrance examination has made her name highly associated with this school.
Oh……
Xue Lu smiled wryly. Who would believe that the Saxon donation to this middle school had nothing to do with Song Qinggui…
Song Qinggui was unwilling to talk about it, so his questioning made him seem narrow-minded. Even if he really didn't care about her relationship with the Saxons, even if he just wanted to know about his wife's past, even if he was just angry with himself for never being able to embrace Song Qinggui, who was troubled and pained by the past.
Song Qinggui didn't believe he thought that way, and he couldn't defend himself.
Xue Lu turned off the computer, went into the bedroom, and hugged Song Qinggui from behind.
Song Qinggui liked to sleep on the left side of the bed, and whenever she had something on her mind, she would turn her back to him.
Xue Lu was at a loss.
...
When Xue Lu woke up the next day, it was already eight o'clock in the morning. He rubbed his eyes and found that Song Qinggui was no longer in bed.
Xue Lu walked out of the bedroom. In the living room, Song Qinggui sat upright by the coffee table. In front of her was his laptop, the screen of which was lit.
Xue Lu's heart sank: "The rules of conduct..."
Song Qinggui's eyes were cold, but his voice was calm: "I woke up early today and found that your computer was still in sleep mode. I think you probably forgot to turn it off."
Xue Lu realized that he had been careless last night and had accidentally clicked "Sleep" instead of "Shut Down".
Song Qinggui didn't give him a chance to explain, and continued, "I thought, since I can't sleep anyway, I'll search for news about the Saxons and see what his purpose is in coming to China this time."
Xue Lu felt an increasing tightness in his chest.
“Lawyer Xue,” Song Qinggui said with a cold expression, “People of your social standing should be careful in their actions. For example… promptly delete historical entries from search engines.”
“Qinggui, things aren’t as you think,” Lawyer Xue explained.
Song Qinggui: "Whether it's what I think or not, I have a question for you."
Lawyer Xue: "Go ahead."
"You first searched for Saxon two years ago." Song Qinggui looked into Xue Lu's eyes: "So Xue, after I fell in love with you... no, after I thought I was in love with you, you investigated me, didn't you?"
Song Qinggui's gaze was restrained, but a trace of undisguised pain still flashed across it.
“Qinggui, I can explain this.” Xue Lu caught a glimpse of the moment her hard shell cracked and hurriedly said, “I heard Luo Deng talk about your middle school days. He said you suffered an injury when you were in high school. I suspect that Meng Yuxing and Feng Zhe abused you, but they both denied it. Feng Zhe showed me all his old injuries and told me that someone in Cangcheng wanted to be your sugar daddy, and that’s how he got his injuries.”
Upon hearing the words "sugar daddy," Song Qinggui's expression stiffened even more.
Xue Lu knew she had misunderstood him, but he just wanted to explain things as quickly as possible: "I found Luo Deng, and Luo Deng helped me find Saxon. Qing Gui, I don't care what happened between you and Saxon in the past. I just want to know why you were physically harmed back then, and what Feng Zhe's connection to this matter is. Feng Zhe is in Lancheng now, and he clearly has morbid feelings for you. I'm afraid he'll threaten your safety. So..."
As Xue Lu finished speaking, his voice gradually faded, because he noticed that Song Qinggui was laughing.
"Rules and regulations..."
Song Qinggui's smile faded: "You just said that Luo and others helped you investigate me?"
"I……"
Song Qinggui lowered his head and chuckled softly, his eyes reddening as he laughed: "You two, one is the man I love, and the other is my best friend..."
"Qinggui, don't get so hung up on things, okay?" Xue Lu knelt down, grabbing Song Qinggui's shoulders with both hands, his eyes also reddening. "I'm worried about you. Feng Zhe, that guy..."
“Feng Zhe can’t hurt me now.” Song Qinggui interrupted Xue Lu: “What you were worried about hasn’t happened. Xue Lu, it’s you who’s hurting me now.”
Xue Lu was stunned.
Song Qinggui took a deep breath and tried to keep his voice steady: "Lawyer Xue, I believe that part of your initial motivation for investigating my past, perhaps even the majority, was concern for me. But ask yourself honestly, is there really nothing else?"
Xue Lu felt a growing sense of grief and indignation, but Song Qinggui's next words quickly pierced his throat.
"Possessiveness, control—you've never separated love from these two things," Song Qinggui said, enunciating each word clearly. "So, for those ten years, you could love so deeply, yet you couldn't let go, because besides love, you also harbored extreme resentment. This resentment wasn't just because you couldn't have me, but also because your 'authority,' the adoration you'd received since childhood, was being challenged. After we got together, you kept digging into my past, things you didn't know, even though you knew I didn't want to recall them, even though those past events wouldn't affect our future life. But you still wanted to know. Because in your subconscious, I belonged to you, so all those past events I'd never told anyone else, all those little details about me, should belong to you. What you wanted wasn't just my love, but also my 'ownership' as a subordinate, even as an object, right?"
Xue Lu gradually loosened his grip on Song Qinggui's shoulders, having lost all strength in the face of her questioning.
After a long pause, he raised his tear-filled eyes and choked out, "Qinggui, is this how you think of me?"
Yes, he doesn't deny that he has a possessive nature. He has analyzed himself countless times and is a traditional but not noble man.
But he never placed his own status above Song Qinggui; he never treated her as prey, territory, or a tool for men to demonstrate their power.
How could she say that to him... How could she...
Song Qinggui raised his hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of his eyes: "I just cancelled the plane tickets. This afternoon, we'll go to the auction together. Knowing the Saxons as I do, there must have been a deeper meaning behind what he said to me yesterday. Don't you want to know what happened between me and the Saxons? I think you'll have the answer today."
Xue Lu's heart ached with each beat, but he still tried to recall what Saxon had said yesterday.
He said he was delighted to meet Song Qinggui again and would consider this reunion a gift from heaven.
...
The auction house was packed with distinguished guests.
Song Qinggui and Xue Lu sat in the second row, but their expressions were sorrowful.
Chen Fangqi watched from afar, puzzled. In just one night, these two people were acting as if their father had died.
The auction was nothing special; it featured ordinary paintings, and Song Qinggui and Xue Lü had long lost the interest to appreciate them or bid on them.
However, as they walked out of the auction hall and through the exhibition hall, things suddenly changed.
While the auction was being held, the exhibits in the exhibition hall had been changed. What was now presented to the public were paintings.
The moment Song Qinggui appeared, the entire room fell silent as everyone turned to look at him.
In front of Song Qinggui and Xue Lü, in the most prominent position in the exhibition hall, is the highlight of the exhibition and the source of the auction's theme "Purity"—a set of four oil portrait paintings.
The girl in the painting is naked, wearing a semi-transparent veil. She is expressionless, with her back turned, head turned to the side, half-lying down, and eyes lowered. It is a simple pose, yet it is extremely elegant.
Beneath the sheer veil, the girl's budding body was faintly visible; her curves and breasts, due to her youthful age, were delicate yet restrained. The veil's glimpses of her form made her body both alluring and divine, breathtakingly beautiful.
The exhibition hall was silent for a moment, and then in the next instant, almost everyone raised their phones and pressed the shutter button to photograph Song Qinggui.
The girl in the painting appeared before them after more than a decade, and of course they wanted to record this magical, even fantastical, moment.
Chen Fangqi burst out laughing: "I didn't expect Mrs. Xue to have been a nude model! But... just a nude model? Or..."
Xue Lu panicked; this was a situation he had never imagined.
He was stunned for only a moment before pulling Song Qinggui into his arms and covering her eyes: "Qinggui, I was wrong. Let's go home. Come on, let's go home."
Song Qinggui placed her hand over Xue Lu's hand, and Xue Lu felt her body temperature, which was already bone-chillingly cold.
She removed his hand and left his embrace.
She looked sharply at the paintings, about to speak.
Several security guards entered the exhibition hall and told everyone that it was getting late and the exhibition hall was closing.
The crowd whispered among themselves and reluctantly dispersed.
Song Qinggui and Xue Lu did not move, and the security guards did not drive them away.
As the crowd dispersed and the exhibition hall's roller shutters closed, Saxon finally appeared.
He walked slowly toward Song Qinggui, his gaze deep and tinged with a dangerous ambiguity.
A familiar feeling returned to Song Qinggui's body, just like when she first met Saxon in Cangcheng many years ago.
He was like a tiger that had seen countless battles, eyeing her like a small beast. He pressed closer and closer, leaving her no way to retreat. The jackals and hyenas around him watched coldly, anticipating taking a piece of her flesh after he bit through her throat.
Saxon smiled, still so gentle: "Qing, I have painted all my life, but no painting has ever surpassed this series of 'Purity'. Come back to me, my muse."
Xue Lu's eyes were bloodshot. His anger towards the Saxons and his worry for Song Qinggui had solidified into a heavy stone in his heart, making it hard for him to breathe.
He regretted it. He shouldn't have been so fixated on Song Qinggui's past. It was all because of him that she was in such an embarrassing situation. Pain and regret made his palms sweat profusely.
"Qinggui, don't be afraid, let's go home." Xue Lu almost pleaded, "I can handle today's matter, trust me."
"Heh..." Saxon chuckled softly, "Mr. Xue, you really don't understand at all. Heaven can't keep her; she shines brightest in hell..."
Before he could even utter the word "radiance," Xue Lu punched Saxon hard across the face: "You're the one who should be in hell!"
Saxon staggered from the blow, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He steadied himself, wiped the blood away with his fingertips, and looked at Xue Lu with disdain: "It's clear that Mr. Xue is not familiar with violence. I'm a bit older than you, so I don't mind having my men teach you a lesson."
The two men were on the verge of exchanging blows when Song Qinggui spoke, addressing Saxon. Her voice was cold, devoid of panic: "You promised me that these paintings would never be made public. I thought you would at least be a person who keeps your promises."
Saxon's expression softened as he looked at his works and gave a bitter smile: "Perhaps I'm getting old. Looking back on my life, the thing I regret most is letting you go."
At this point, he looked at Song Qinggui again, his usual arrogance and ruthlessness vanishing: "Come with me. You should know that you can't go back. Qing, you have no choice but me."
"Heh..." Song Qinggui laughed, a laugh that revealed his sharp edge: "Yes, tomorrow... no, perhaps in just one or two hours, netizens all over China will know that the CPRO of the Xue Group, the wife of the president of the Jingtian Group, has fallen into prostitution while still a minor. Chinese people value dignity, the Xue family cares about their reputation, men care about women's chastity, and women judge the morality of their own kind. A wave of public opinion will sweep across the internet, enough to drown me. I, Song Qinggui, may be alive, but it will be as if I have no place to be buried."
Saxon's eyes lit up with approval: "You are the smartest woman I have ever met, and always have been."
Song Qinggui then turned to Xue Lu: "Didn't you want to know what happened sixteen years ago? I'll tell you."
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