Chapter 72 Inescapable Fate: Zhu Qingzhi had everything ready except for the final push. ...
"Brother Shi Yan, she... just let her go like that?" Xiao Tang realized, a chill ran down her spine, and her voice trembled uncontrollably, "What if she tells anyone? If she does, I'm finished."
Her gaze remained fixed on the corner where Zhu Qingzhi had disappeared. "Zhu Qingzhi hates me the most. If she finds out about our relationship, she definitely won't let me off the hook. Brother Shi Yan, please help me."
She was so anxious that she cried, tears streaming down her face, even smudging her carefully applied eye makeup. Helpless, she reached out to grab Zhao Shiyan's arm.
Zhao Shiyan glanced at her indifferently, and Xiao Tang immediately stopped sobbing, as if a pause button had been pressed. She mechanically withdrew her hand, even her breathing became soft.
"Relationship? What relationship do we have?" He slowly straightened the slightly wrinkled cuffs of his shirt, his expression so indifferent that it was impossible to discern his emotions.
“I…” Xiao Tang swallowed hard, hurriedly wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand, and forced out a smile that looked worse than crying. “Brother Shi Yan, I did it for you… no.”
She clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging deep into her palms. The sharp pain temporarily suppressed her panic, bringing instead a strange sense of clarity.
She tentatively took a small step forward, and seeing that Zhao Shiyan did not show any disgust or rejection, she carefully reached out again and gently took his arm.
“There’s really nothing between me and Chairman Zhao,” she said, tilting her head back and trying to make her eyes look sincere and innocent. “Every time…every time I try to get him drunk, nothing ever happens between us.”
She carefully observed Zhao Shiyan's expression, her voice gradually lowering, carrying a hint of grievance and ingratiation, "Zhao Zhixun too... I came here today mainly to see you. I... I haven't seen you for more than half a month."
Zhao Shiyan lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on her hands that were tightly gripping his arm, his voice calm and unwavering: "Xiao Tang, I don't like disobedient people."
"Of course I'll obey!" Xiao Tang hurriedly declared, as if grasping at a lifeline. "I'll do anything for you!"
She eagerly sought credit, afraid that Zhao Shiyan would think she was truly disobedient. "Zhao Zhiliang and Zhao Zhixun have gradually distanced themselves from the Zhao family. Didn't Chairman Zhao give you seven percent of the shares a few days ago?"
Xiao Tang and Zhao Shiyan's first meeting was a clichéd story of a hero rescuing a damsel in distress.
At that time, she had just graduated from university and was working as a waitress in a shopping mall. However, because of her pure and eye-catching appearance, she was repeatedly harassed.
One time, a drunken customer dragged her into a dimly lit stairwell on her way to the changing room. The strong smell of alcohol was pungent, and his foul language filled her ears. Her clothes were torn, and the sticky feeling on her skin made her nauseous.
She was powerless to resist, her face covered in snot and tears. Just when she thought she was going to die here, Zhao Shiyan saved her.
Zhao Shiyan was just as indifferent then as he is now. He didn't even glance at her, and before leaving, he casually tossed his suit jacket to her, who was barely clothed.
She asked many people before she learned that her savior was the son of the Zhao family. From that day on, she was determined to repay him.
She spent a lot of money to have her suit jacket washed, and waited patiently at the mall. Finally, ten days later, she ran into him again. She mustered up her courage and handed him the cleaned suit jacket: "Mr. Zhao, thank you."
Zhao Shiyan remained silent for a long while, making her uneasy: "Mr. Zhao, I had this garment thoroughly cleaned, I..."
Zhao Shiyan eventually accepted the suit jacket. Later, she learned that the suit jacket could not be washed and was already ruined from the moment Zhao Shiyan threw it at her.
From that moment on, she became Zhao Shiyan's pawn.
She seduced Zhao Zhixun into fighting for her, with Zhao Shiyan fueling the flames behind the scenes. The situation became uncontrollable, and in the end, Chairman Zhao approached her for a negotiation. Following Zhao Shiyan's instructions, she forced Chairman Zhao to send Zhao Zhixun abroad.
After that, she became a pure goddess in the entertainment industry and also became Zhao Dong's mistress, but all of this was because she wanted to repay Zhao Shiyan.
Thinking of this, Xiao Tang's eyes became even more determined, "Brother Shi Yan, I know I'm not good enough for you. But everything I've done is so that I can stand by your side and help you..."
Her voice gradually lowered, carrying a resolute determination to gamble everything.
The dim light outlined Zhao Shiyan's sharply defined profile. He remained silent, simply gazing at her with his unfathomable eyes, as if assessing the value of a tool.
Time ticked by, and Xiao Tang's grip on his arm gradually weakened. She suppressed her fear, hoping only for a response from him.
Zhao Shiyan remained completely still, not even glancing at her. This blatant disregard was more humiliating than outright rejection.
Suddenly, he chuckled, shattering all her illusions.
He lowered his eyes, his gaze as precise as a scalpel dissecting her carefully crafted facade. "Xiao Tang, are you doing this for me?" Before she could retort, his tone shifted, carrying a detached cruelty. "But don't worry, she already knows your identity."
He didn't even bother to look at her face, which turned deathly pale in an instant, and simply pulled his arm away. "The one you should beg for now is her, not me."
After saying that, he didn't linger, his back turned resolutely, without the slightest hesitation.
*
Xiao Tang returned to the banquet hall in a daze, having missed not only the opening ceremony but also the disappearance of Zhao Zhixun. The people in the banquet hall were whispering amongst themselves, mostly discussing Zhu Qingzhi.
Her heart tightened, and her eyes subconsciously searched for Zhu Qingzhi's figure. She saw Zhu Qingzhi sitting among the men, leaning to the side without any restraint, whispering something to a young lady next to her, looking at her phone screen.
Xiao Tang didn't dare to confront Zhu Qingzhi now. Just as she was about to step back and avoid her, Zhu Qingzhi seemed to sense something and met her gaze the moment she took a sip of wine.
There was no scrutiny or provocation as expected. Her gaze was as calm as if she were glancing at an unfamiliar object. Zhu Qingzhi lowered her head naturally and continued talking to the girl, as if that glance had been just an unintentional sweep.
However, in the next few minutes, the young lady who was talking to Zhu Qingzhi raised her eyes and glanced in her direction several times, seemingly unintentionally.
Every glance from her felt like a needle pricking Xiao Tang's taut nerves.
What are they talking about? Are they talking about her? Are their laughter and playful banter just fodder for gossip over drinks, revealing her shameful secret?
Anxiety surged within Xiao Tang's heart like an undercurrent in deep water, growing stronger with each passing moment.
She stood there, the magnificent chandelier illuminating her completely, the dazzling light refracted by the crystals like countless scrutinizing gazes, making her feel like a specimen nailed to a display stand, for people to judge.
Just as she was about to be crushed by this silent pressure, a gentle voice sounded beside her: "Miss Xiao?"
Xiao Tang snapped back to her senses, like a drowning person suddenly pulled back to the surface. She took a deep breath, put on a polite and elegant smile, and turned around.
It was Liu Xiaoning. But the two of them had no prior relationship, and this was their first meeting. What could she possibly want from her? She also remembered that Zhao Shiyan had mentioned this young lady of the Liu family before, describing her with only two words: dignified.
"Miss Liu." She nodded slightly in greeting, without taking the initiative to inquire further.
"Excuse me for disturbing you." Liu Xiaoning took half a step forward, maintaining a social distance that was neither too close nor too far, and her voice was gentle and just right. "Zhixun is drunk and is resting in his room. You are the person he brought here, so I thought I should tell you."
Xiao Tang frowned slightly, struggling with her dislike for Zhao Zhixun, and finally replied softly, "Thank you for informing me, Miss Liu. I will go and take care of him right away."
“Okay, I’ll take you there.” Liu Xiaoning was very understanding, giving a knowing smile, “so that others won’t gossip.”
During the journey, Xiao Tang seemingly casually mentioned Zhu Qingzhi.
Liu Xiaoning was also very straightforward and answered her question without any hesitation: "Her? I don't know who brought her here. She's very cute. She made a wish to the golden tree as soon as she came in."
She didn't speak ill of Zhu Qingzhi, but instead used "cute" instead of "country bumpkin coming to the city." Her words and phrasing were very refined, and the eldest daughter of the Liu family truly lived up to her reputation.
Xiao Tang feigned surprise and exclaimed "Ah!" with an innocent look, seemingly trying to make amends for Zhu Qingzhi: "Such a large golden tree is indeed rare. She was just curious and forgot the occasion for a moment."
Liu Xiaoning gave a helpless smile: "The invitation is with the guest. As the host, there's nothing we can do." Then she looked her up and down, and whispered in her ear, "I heard in the news that Miss Xiao and she don't get along?"
A cold glint flashed in Xiao Tang's eyes, and a helpless smile appeared on his face: "No, no, I have no hostility towards her, but after all, the beauty has replaced her and chosen me, so I don't know what she's thinking..."
Liu Xiaoning stopped talking and lowered her eyes at the right moment, and the smile on her lips also disappeared. Xiao Tang couldn't figure out what she was thinking, so she didn't dare to say anything more.
After weaving through the crowd and entering the backstage area through the curtain beside the stage, Liu Xiaoning sighed softly: "I originally had things to take care of and shouldn't have come with you, but a man and a woman alone in a room will inevitably lead to gossip. Miss Xiao is a celebrity after all, and once the gossip gets out, things will be difficult for you in the future."
"Besides, this banquet hall has a complicated layout. Miss Xiao is new here, and I'm afraid you might not be able to find your way and end up in someone else's place by mistake..."
She hesitated, her gaze seemingly drifting to the red curtain separating the banquet hall from where Zhu Qingzhi was sitting.
Liu Xiaoning's tone was gentle, yet every word struck Xiao Tang's heart. Liu Xiaoning was clearly trying to use her to lure Zhu Qingzhi to Zhao Zhixun's room; once the matter was exposed, everything Zhu Qingzhi had would be ruined.
Why would Liu Xiaoning help her? Did she have some kind of grudge against Zhu Qingzhi? And what makes her think that the situation won't be exposed, and what makes her think that she can guarantee her safety?
But the temptation of "Zhu Qingzhi's disgrace" was too great, and she actually started to waver. Xiao Tang was torn between her own feelings and her own mind, but she couldn't make up her mind for a long time.
Liu Xiaoning's eyes were cold as she decided to give her another push: "Miss Xiao, don't worry, Brother Shi Yan asked me to take good care of you."
So it was Zhao Shiyan's doing? Zhao Shiyan decided to help her? But his attitude just now clearly told her to fend for herself.
No, he couldn't have suddenly changed his attitude. This was clearly Liu Xiaoning's scheme to make her willingly become the scapegoat.
"It's getting late. The banquet will be over in half an hour." Liu Xiaoning patted her shoulder. "Miss Xiao, please hurry up." Then she brushed past her shoulder, passed through the red curtain again, and entered the banquet hall.
A fine sheen of sweat beaded on her back. Feeling dizzy, Xiao Tang leaned against the cold wall, took a deep breath, and briefly regained her shaky composure.
No, she couldn't gamble. If she lost, she would be doomed. There were many ways to deal with Zhu Qingzhi; she didn't need to choose the riskiest option.
But when her gaze fell on Zhu Qingzhi again, watching her glamorous pose for photos with others and chatting and laughing with them, resentment and jealousy once again took hold.
Why?! Why is it that Zhu Qingzhi, who also has a sugar daddy, can stand in the sunlight?! But when she arrived, she was looked up and down with strange, disdainful eyes!
Today, everything is ready except for the final push. She can take the gamble.
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Author's Note: Zhao Shiyan [question mark]: ? ? ?
Liu Xiaoning [Sunglasses]: It's as easy as turning one's hand.
Xiao Tang [angrily]: Why?!
Ah Mei: I went on a crazy walk in Madrid yesterday, and fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow. Now I'm typing this in a coffee shop. [Laughing and crying with facepalm]
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