Marriage Seduction Addiction

Chapter 300 He's been insane for a long time.

The cold, white light pierced through the body like sharp arrows in that instant, or perhaps... the heart?

Yan Shiyu's stiff body remained frozen for several seconds before gradually coming back to life.

He slowly released her.

It was a face-to-face hug, but the moment they let go, neither of them looked at the other.

Yan Shiyu turned around, still keeping his face out of her sight.

In fact, even if he didn't turn around, Tang Xu didn't look at him.

She simply stood there quietly for a few seconds.

Once the excruciating pain from his embrace subsided, she turned and walked out of the ward without lingering.

From beginning to end, except for that brief moment when they first met, Tang Xu never saw his face or expression again.

Even when they left, they faced each other back to back.

Everything around her was already distant enough, but even more distant was the sound of her footsteps as she hurried away without stopping...

Yan Shiyu gently closed his eyes, carefully discerning her footsteps until he could no longer hear them.

At the cuff, the hand that had been hanging down finally clenched into a fist once again, uncontrollably.

Yet they were still powerless to resist.

All the love, hate, pain, and desire that arose because of her.

He was trapped in it all, and had long since gone mad...

……

Tang Xu entered the elevator, pressed the button for the ground floor, and felt a slight vibration in the elevator, which gradually pulled her back to reality.

Upon arriving on the first floor, the elevator doors slowly opened, and Tang Xu stepped out.

The people who were waiting for the elevator saw her and slightly stepped aside to make way for her, seemingly saying something. However, Tang Xu acted as if she hadn't heard anything and walked straight out of the inpatient department.

Gao Yan was left standing at the elevator door, watching Tang Xu's departing figure, shocked and confused.

To his shock, he actually saw Tang Xu return.

What puzzled him was that when he greeted Tang Xu, Tang Xu didn't react at all.

It wasn't a deliberate lack of response; rather, it seemed she genuinely didn't see him, nor did she hear him call out "Miss Tang"...

Suddenly, Gao Yan thought of something, quickly stepped into the elevator, and went up to the floor where Ji Shiqing's ward was located.

When the ward door was opened, it was quiet inside. Only Ji Shiqing was lying quietly on the hospital bed. Apart from that, there was no one else.

Gao Yan's heart sank.

Yan Shiyu should have been here.

In other words, if Tang Xu had come up just now, the two of them must have met.

That's why Tang Xu reacted that way.

That's why Yan Shiyu disappeared.

But where will he go?

Gao Yan couldn't help but feel a little flustered.

If something like this had happened before, he might have been able to figure it out, but now, Yan Shiyu was truly a stranger to Gao Yan.

He couldn't even imagine how Yan Shiyu would react or what he would do.

It seems he has been excluded from Yan Shiyu's world for a very, very long time...

Gao Yan took out his phone, intending to call Duan Siwei, but paused when he found the number.

Yes, nowadays, he's not the only one excluded from Yan Shiyu's world.

Duan Siwei was the same.

They were still the people closest to him, yet they could no longer glimpse even a fraction of his inner thoughts—

Now, who is left in Yan Shiyu's world?

What good would it do to make this call?

Gao Yan was filled with anxiety, but in the end, he could only sit on the sofa, clutching his phone, powerless to pray.

……

The next morning, Ji Shiqing, who had been asleep all night, finally slowly opened his eyes.

He stared at the white ceiling above him in a daze for almost a minute before suddenly sitting up.

The sudden movement triggered a headache, and Ji Shiqing clutched his head and yelled.

Gao Yan placed a cup of warm honey water on his bedside table at the right moment, looking at him with a furrowed brow.

Once the headache subsided, Ji Shiqing slowly looked up at Gao Yan and, without thinking of anything else, asked, "What's going on? Did they meet?"

Gao Yan was taken aback, then lowered his voice and said, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Ji Shiqing rolled her eyes in a less-than-perfect way. "You know perfectly well what I'm talking about."

Upon hearing this, Gao Yan couldn't help but turn and glance towards the door before looking at Ji Shiqing and saying, "You're incredibly bold. How dare you make a scene over something like this?"

"Otherwise what?" Ji Shiqing put his hands behind his head, glanced at Gao Yan, and said, "I've had enough of this kind of life... Don't you think my uncle's current state is just too terrible?"

Gao Yan choked for a moment before saying, "If you don't act recklessly, your uncle won't become so scary."

"No, no, no." Ji Shiqing shook his head repeatedly. "No matter how much I messed around before, I wasn't afraid of him. But now, I live in fear and trepidation every day, but I'm still afraid of him. These are two completely different states. You're the one who's been by his side the longest, don't tell me you didn't notice."

"So you went and did something like this? Did you even consider the consequences?"

"What other options are there?" Ji Shiqing said. "The only way I can think of to break this deadlock is through Sister Tang Xu... Do you know how much I've spent trying to persuade her mentally challenged brother? If even she can't break this deadlock, then I'll just have to accept my fate—"

Upon hearing this, Gao Yan paused for a few seconds before slowly saying, "Then accept your fate."

"What?" Ji Shiqing asked in surprise.

"They met last night."

"And then?" Ji Shiqing quickly pressed for an answer.

Gao Yan looked at him and said softly, "Nothing happened. Your uncle is already on the company's board of directors." "Impossible!"

Having sacrificed so much, Ji Shiqing naturally couldn't believe such an ending. He quickly pulled out his phone and sent a message to Song Luobai.

The message was sent, but all it received in return was a bright red exclamation mark.

"……Grass!"

Ji Shiqing cursed and looked up at Gao Yan again, "How could my uncle not react at all?"

Gao Yan lowered his eyes and said calmly, "Perhaps he does... but unfortunately, neither you nor I are qualified to know."

……

That afternoon, after Tang Xu dropped Song Luobai off at school, she received a phone call from an unknown number on her way home.

The voice that came from the other end of the phone was Shao Qingyun's.

“I’m making this call on behalf of your mother,” Shao Qingyun said. “We’re leaving tomorrow, and she wants to meet you.”

This time, Tang Xu did not refuse, but simply said, "Okay."

At six o'clock in the evening, Tang Xu arrived at the restaurant where Tang Lan had invited her to dinner ahead of time. When she entered the private room, she was surprised to find that Tang Lan was already sitting inside.

There was still a full hour until their agreed time, and this early meeting seemed to be something neither of them had expected.

Tang Lan was both delighted and surprised, yet a hint of inexplicable unease flickered in her eyes—

At this moment, Tang Xu had no way of knowing why she felt uneasy; she could only hope that it would be the result she wanted.

"Yaoyao..." Tang Lan called out to her, seemingly wanting to laugh, but the smile was rather awkward and bitter.

Given the current state of affairs between the two of them, it's indeed not an easy thing to laugh without any burden.

Tang Xu sighed softly, and after sitting down, she quickly took the initiative to start the conversation, "I heard from Mr. Shao that you are going back tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Tang Lan's expression seemed to darken slightly. She nodded gently and then added, "Yao Yao, it's not that I'm never coming back. I just can't stay here for too long... I'll come back to see you."

"It's better not to come back," Tang Xu said slowly. "You made such a big decision to leave back then, and you've finally started a new life. Why come back?"

At those words, Tang Lan's eyes instantly welled up with tears as she looked at her, "Yao Yao..."

“I mean it,” Tang Xu said, looking at her. “Unless you want to fall back into that quagmire.”

Upon hearing this, Tang Lan immediately shook her head resolutely in denial. After a long while, she choked out, "I know you didn't tell him anything, and I know you persuaded him to come see me... Yao Yao, I'm so ashamed, and so grateful to you... Thank you for everything you've done for me..."

Tang Xu watched her quietly as she lowered her head and wept, until she calmed down a bit, then she spoke with a self-deprecating tone: "I'm not that great. After all, I also have my own desires. You should know that, right?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Lan's eyes narrowed slightly, but she ultimately nodded gently and looked at Tang Xu, "I know what you want to do..."

"So, can you help me?"

“Yaoyao…” Tang Lan’s eyes showed pain again, and she hesitated to speak.

Tang Xu didn't get the answer she wanted right away, but she didn't have any negative emotions. She just looked at Tang Lan and asked, "I want to know, is your hesitation because of your feelings for Meng Liancheng?"

Tang Lan closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then spoke in a trembling voice, "Yao Yao, things between him and me aren't that simple..."

"Or are you afraid that what he holds will ruin your family and your life?" Tang Xu quickly offered the second possibility.

Of course, the entanglement between Tang Lan and Meng Liancheng cannot be answered by a single choice.

Tang Xu knew perfectly well how conflicted Tang Lan was at that moment—

But the more she struggled with her thoughts, the more Tang Xu helped her see clearly and understand what was most important to her.

Sure enough, Tang Lan's expression softened when her family was mentioned.

Tang Xu should probably be happy, but she just couldn't bring herself to smile.

In this whole affair, she will not be the winner in any way.

In every aspect.

She lowered her eyes slightly, and when she looked up again, she looked at Tang Lan, "What if I can assure you that Meng Liancheng will never have any ability to affect your family or your future life? From now on, you can live the life you want and have the life you deserve, just like he did during the eighteen years he was in a coma."

Upon hearing this, Tang Lan looked at her with slight shock, and murmured in disbelief, "How is that possible..."

“As long as you’re willing to help me, I can do it,” Tang Xu said.

Tang Lan hesitated after hearing this, "Yao Yao, what exactly do you want to do?"

“You know better than I what he’s done,” Tang Xu said. “People should pay the price for what they’ve done, shouldn’t they?”

“It’s not that easy…” Tang Lan shook her head gently, “It’s almost impossible for you to do it on your own…”

Upon hearing this, Tang Xu chuckled softly, "How do you know I'm all alone?"

"Who else can help you?" Tang Lan hesitated for a moment before saying the name, "Jiang Muchen? But didn't you two get divorced?"

Tang Xu neither admitted nor denied it, but simply said, "Why do you need to worry about these things anymore?"

“Because I’m worried about you—” Tang Lan almost blurted out, but after meeting Tang Xu’s gaze, she paused slightly, fighting back tears, and said softly, “I’m sorry… I know it’s ironic for me to say this, but Yao Yao, you are my daughter. I admit I’m an irresponsible mother, but I’m still worried about you…”

Tang Xu slowly lowered his eyes, avoiding Tang Lan's anxious gaze.

After a long silence with his head bowed, Tang Xu finally spoke: "If I wasn't confident, I wouldn't have pushed things to this point. Now I need one last push, and you're the only person I can rely on... I know how cruel this is for you, I know your concerns, I know how difficult this choice is. If you can't agree, I can't blame you for anything..."

After speaking, Tang Xu raised his eyes, turned the decanter and wine glasses on the table to his own face, poured two glasses of wine, and placed one of them in front of Tang Lan.

"But whatever choice you make, I hope you'll never return to Huai City, that hellish place." Tang Xu gently clinked glasses with her and whispered, "I hope you can forget everything that happened here, and from now on, live a life that's only your own—"

After saying this, Tang Xu paused for a moment, her lips gently closing as if she were about to call out some form of address.

Tang Lan was already in tears as she listened to what she said. During the pause in Tang Xu's eyes, she seemed to sense something, looked up at Tang Xu, and her broken gaze was full of Tang Xu's hesitation and doubt.

In the end, Tang Xu still couldn't bring herself to utter those two words. She simply tilted her head slightly and smiled, as if making a summary, and gently touched her wine glass to Tang Lan's.

In an instant, Tang Lan couldn't hold back her tears any longer and they streamed down her face.

Even though she didn't hear Tang Xu call her "Mom" in person, all her psychological defenses were eventually broken down.

She could no longer hesitate or agonize over anything.

She reached out and grasped Tang Xu's hand tightly, sobbing uncontrollably—

"Yaoyao, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... I'll help you, I'll definitely help you... I'm so sorry..."

Tang Xu finished her drink, put down the glass, raised her hand to wipe her slightly hot eyes, and whispered, "Thank you."