Marriage Seduction Addiction

Chapter 220 In my hands, you have supreme priority.
Even though Tang Xu had fully accepted this fact, he still found it difficult to connect this small town with Yan Shiyu.

There was nothing she could do; he was already like this when she met him.

She had never seen him in the past and could not imagine what he looked like living here as a child.

Looking at this distant and unfamiliar place, Tang Xu inevitably recalled what Jiang Muchen had once said—

He said he had investigated Yan Shiyu's past, and it was as clean as a blank sheet of paper, with no information or data whatsoever.

His past, perhaps like that house that has long been demolished, is not allowed to leave any trace in this world.

But the disappearance of those traces does not mean the past has disappeared.

As long as he is there, the past remains.

“I want to see your old house,” Tang Xu said. “Even though the house is gone, you still remember the place, right? Let’s go take a look.”

Yan Shiyu did not refuse.

The driver was dismissed from the car, and Yan Shiyu drove Tang Xu himself onto a country road.

Then, the car stopped beside a lush green wheat field.

"right here."

Yan Shiyu said.

Tang Xu was slightly taken aback.

This wheat field was so vast it seemed to have no end; amidst the green expanse, not a single house or dwelling had been left behind.

Tang Xu quietly leaned against the car window and looked out for a while, then suddenly said, "When you were little, the scenery outside the window must have been beautiful, right?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Shiyu paused for a moment before saying, "Back then, what mattered to me was never the scenery outside the window."

Tang Xu paused for a moment, then suddenly turned to look at him, "What about the school? Shall we go check on your school? It should still be there, right?"

“The school is gone,” Yan Shiyu replied as she started the car. “But the old site should still be there.”

Before long, the two arrived at an old building that looked like it had been vacant for many years, with only the distinctive door and window layout indicating that it had once been a school.

"Is this the place?" Tang Xu asked. "Which classroom did you used to sit in?"

Yan Shiyu raised her hand and pointed to a room at the end of the second floor.

"How were your grades back then?" Tang Xu asked. "Were you one of the top students in the class?"

"One of the most mischievous kids," Yan Shiyu said.

"I don't believe it," Tang Xu said. "Your grades couldn't possibly be bad!"

“The elementary school curriculum used to be so simple that it was easy to keep up.”

"This is an elementary school?" Tang Xu suddenly realized. "What about middle school? Where did you go for middle school? Is there a middle school in this town?"

This time, Yan Shiyu remained silent for a while before finally saying, "No."

“That’s true, this town is so small, it’s already good enough that there’s even a primary school,” Tang Xu said with a smile. “Is the middle school somewhere else? Is it far away? Can we go and take a look?”

Yan Shiyu met her smiling face and slowly said, "I mean, I didn't attend middle school."

Tang Xu was stunned for a moment again.

He clearly said he left the small town when he was 15 years old, so how could he not have attended middle school?

"Junior high school?" Tang Xu asked hesitantly.

"Hmm." After that silence, Yan Shiyu had regained her calm and composure.

Once a crack is torn open in those unknown pasts, no matter how much you try to hide it, it will only make things more obvious.

Tang Xu was silent for a few seconds before asking, "Then what are you doing? Why didn't you even go to junior high school?"

Yan Shiyu adjusted his chair back, leaned in to relax, and slowly said, "To make a living."

Tang Xu looked at him quietly, "Making a living?"

“When I was 12, my mother became seriously ill and was no longer able to raise my sister and me,” Yan Shiyu replied. “So, I had to take on the responsibility of supporting the family.”

Tang Xu's gaze froze slightly.

A 12-year-old child... shouldering the burden of a family?

Tang Xu could not imagine such a life.

He couldn't connect the Yan Shiyu in front of him with the child in his memories.

When she spoke again, Tang Xu found her voice was slightly hoarse, "So what have you done?"

“I’ve done all sorts of jobs, including picking up trash,” Yan Shiyu replied. “I just can’t go too far. My mother needs someone to take care of her, and my younger sister is still young. I can only earn a little bit of spare money in this area. Fortunately, the people in the town are kind and honest. Most of them sympathize with the three of us and often lend a helping hand, so… sometimes, life doesn’t seem so difficult.”

Occasionally...

How rare was that?
Tang Xu was completely speechless.

When Yan Shiyu turned to look at her, her eyes were already red. When he looked over, she finally couldn't help but pout and burst into tears.

When she cried, Yan Shiyu laughed instead.

He reached out and gently stroked her face, whispering, "Why are you crying? I knew I shouldn't have brought you."

Tang Xu lowered her head, buried her face in his palm, and just kept crying.

Yan Shiyu did not say anything more.

He watched her quietly, letting her tears fall into his palm and slip through his fingers.

She has so many tears...

She's always been so strong, and even when Song Yuting passed away, she only slightly reddened her eyes. It turns out she had so many tears hidden inside her.

How did she manage to hide her slender figure?
Yan Shiyu knew that she had been holding back for a long time.

She never cries, always appearing strong and calm, bearing everything on her own no matter what happens.

But she's only human, and she's so young; there will always be times when she can't hold on...

He didn't want to see her shouldering everything alone anymore.

He knows what it's like to wear a mask.

No one knew better than him how unbearable that feeling was.

Just like his past, which he was unwilling to mention.

And those pains and grievances she was unwilling to mention.

It's actually the same thing. If you wear a mask for too long, you'll often forget that it's not something you're born with.

Those can be picked.

Even if you want to take it off, it's really hard and painful.

Since she's unwilling to pick them, let him try first.

Perhaps, this is the meaning of two people being together.

……

Tang Xu cried for a long time.

She leaned against Yan Shiyu's chest and cried for a long time.

On the way back, she still buried her face in his shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.

As the car drove through a tunnel that seemed to have no end, she finally spoke softly: "You love your mother very much, and your mother must love you very much too."

After a while, Yan Shiyu reached out and touched the back of her head, responding softly.

"I've never known what it feels like to be loved by my mother," Tang Xu said.

As a child, her longing and yearning for "Mom" embellished the memories Tang Lan left her. After all, for a child of that age, what a mother is like is not important; having a mother is what matters.

So when she lost Tang Lan as her "mother", she was very sad and upset, and they argued about it for many years.

It wasn't until she gradually came to her senses and realized that her mother had completely abandoned her that she clearly remembered that Tang Lan hadn't liked her much when she was little.

Her mind was never on Song Yuting or her; she always seemed busy, always had many worries, and was never very happy.

In those years, the only thing she did as a wife and mother was probably to stay in this home and not leave.

But this one thing, in the end, didn't last long either.

Tang Xu seemed to be an accident in her life. She never cared about her or loved her. After leaving, she never thought of coming back to see her.

Later, Qin Yun replaced Tang Lan in this family.

Soon, she also had her own child.

All she could offer Tang Xu, besides tolerance, was the status of an "auntie".

Although Tang Xu later realized that this "tolerance" contained so many precious things, how could she have understood it when she was a child?

All she knew was that Qin Yun was aloof, indifferent, and difficult to get along with.

She was arrogant and rebellious, always provoking Qin Yun. She never respected Qin Yun, so Qin Yun could never love her.

Later, she and Qin Yun finally reconciled, and she was finally able to regard Qin Yun as family and relatives. However, most of the time, she would still remember that she was someone who owed a debt.

Qin Yun seemed to see through her thoughts. Since she felt she owed a debt, Qin Yun naturally made her repay it.

This way of getting along is something the two of them understand without saying a word.

Later, Qin Yun left, and Tang Lan reappeared.

She seemed so gentle, so caring, so attentive to her, but in the end, she was someone else's wife and mother.

“She has her beloved husband and her ‘precious daughter’ to whom she pours her heart out, while I am merely someone who stands on the opposite side of her, causing trouble for her current family…” Tang Xu slowly began. “She never loved me before, and she will never love me again.”

Her voice was still damp, but her tone had returned to calm.

Is it a pity? Maybe a little.

Although she was never treated like a "precious daughter" by her mother, she had a father, Song Yuting, who gave her so much tolerance and love that was enough to make up for the maternal love she lost.

Therefore, when facing Tang Lan, her main emotions were anger and... hatred.

Her betrayal, her deception, her irresponsibility, her fake care and love all fueled Tang Xu's anger and resentment.

Having said this, Tang Xu finally opened her heart to Yan Shiyu and confessed her feelings.

But this door was only opened halfway in the end.

There was still half left, but Tang Xu remained unwilling to say.

But Yan Shiyu seemed to already know something, and gently stroked her face, asking, "Anything else?"

"What else?" Tang Xu asked in return.

"There are things you didn't finish telling me about Tang Lan," Yan Shiyu said.

Tang Xu's eyes flickered slightly as he looked at her, his tone becoming slightly tense, "What do you know?"

"What do you want me to know?" Yan Shiyu asked.

Tang Xu shook her head. "I hope you don't know anything."

Yan Shiyu also shook his head slightly.

Seeing his reaction, Tang Xu felt a sudden urge to breathe. She couldn't help but turn her face away, as if seeking fresh air, or perhaps trying to escape something.

Yan Shiyu held her hand tightly, "Now that things have come to this, is there anything I can't know?"

"You can't know..." Tang Xu murmured, "I don't want you to know... I don't want to involve you in this..."

"Yaoyao." Yan Shiyu called her name softly again, "I won't stand idly by when it comes to your affairs."

“But you shouldn’t have gotten involved…” Tang Xu said, “I can’t be so selfish…”

Yan Shiyu cupped her face in his hands and said, word by word, "You can."

Upon hearing these three words, Tang Xu paused slightly.

Then, Yan Shiyu took her hand and brought it to his lips.

"In my eyes, you have supreme priority."

That almost reverent kiss landed on Tang Xu's fingertips. At that moment, it was as if she were a high and mighty guide, and he was at her beck and call.

Tang Xu almost burst into tears again.

She didn't quite understand, so when she spoke again, she only murmured, "Why?"

Yan Shiyu did not answer, but let the devout kiss linger on her fingertips for a long time.

Tell me, what do you want to do?

Tang Xu's thoughts were in utter chaos. His voice, as if coming from the depths of confusion, guided her, ultimately giving her an answer—

“I suspect that my father’s death is related to her.”

Tang Xu spoke in a low voice, “Her current husband, Shao Qingyun, is a notorious figure in Southeast Asia, ruthless and capable of anything… She happened to return to China last year, and shortly after seeing my father, he died… I suspect this is related to Shao Qingyun, so I had someone investigate his movements. But judging from Shao Qingyun's activities last year, he didn't come to Huai City; in fact, he went to North America during that time. Even so, I still feel that this matter is related to them… But Shao Qingyun is far too dangerous, and I don't want to involve anyone, especially you…”