Marriage Seduction Addiction

While Yan Shiyu was fully involved in the daily renovation, Tang Xu did not relax either. The two of them would meet at least once a day in the new house, even if it was only for ten or twenty minutes at a time, to keep each other informed.

Therefore, Tang Xu planned to place a sofa in the unfinished house in advance, protect it while the workers were working, and let them sit on it when they went over in the evening.

For Tang Xu, this was originally a very casual matter.

For her, many things in this world were originally very casual, including clothing, food, housing, and transportation.

But ever since she got this house, Tang Xu has been careful about everything she does.

Even if it's just a temporary sofa, she wanted to choose it carefully, so she asked Lu Xingyan about several furniture stores he was familiar with beforehand.

She had only intended to ask him to recommend or make an appointment, but unexpectedly, Lu Xingyan came in person and took her to visit a unique vintage furniture store hidden in a residential building.

Tang Xu felt flattered and overwhelmed. Only after entering the house did he realize that Tang Xu was just there by chance—he was preparing to buy a screen for his new home, which was why he had come.

He had spent a lot of energy on that temporary rented residence in Qiushuitai, and in the end, it was all for one person.

The owner of this secondhand shop had known Lu Xingyan for a long time, and upon seeing him, he pulled him down to sit and chat over coffee.

Tang Xu came to choose a sofa, so she didn't participate in the selection process. Instead, she carefully tried out the few sofas available in the store, accompanied by a salesperson.

The two people were chatting enthusiastically, and Tang Xu had also looked around enough. Just as she was about to make a decision, the bell at the shop door rang again.

These kinds of shops don't usually have many customers in a day, and the few that do come are usually pre-booked. So when there are already two people in the shop and another customer arrives, it inevitably attracts the attention of the people in the shop.

The sales clerk who greeted Tang Xu stepped forward, opened the door, and quietly asked the person outside a few questions before welcoming them in.

But the moment the person walked in, the air in the store suddenly froze for a second.

Lu Xingyan, who had paused her conversation with the boss, Tang Xu, who happened to be looking up from a short distance away, and the person who had just entered—three pairs of gazes met in this small but equally large space.

The person who came was Ji Yan.

Tang Xu held her breath and focused her mind instantly, wishing she could disappear into thin air at that moment.

Lu Xingyan immediately stood up and walked quickly to Ji Yan. "Why are you here?"

His gesture as he stood in front of Ji Yan seemed to be an attempt to conceal something, but it was ultimately in vain.

Ji Yan turned his head slightly and saw Tang Xu, whom he had just blocked.

In an instant, a multitude of things connected in her mind, and Ji Yan suddenly laughed before looking up at Lu Xingyan in front of her.

"What a coincidence! I heard you mention wanting to buy a screen the other day, and I happened to see this store's information, so I was planning to come and browse, thinking I could give you a gift if I found something suitable. I didn't expect my timing to be so inopportune, did I?"

As she said this, Ji Yan looked at Tang Xu again.

This question was clearly directed at the two people in front of him.

Tang Xu sat on the sofa, not deliberately avoiding Ji Yan's gaze, but still involuntarily closed her eyes.

Lu Xingyan reached out and grabbed Ji Yan's hand. "I know what you're thinking. I can explain it to you in detail."

Ji Yan shook off his hand, sneered, and said, "Are you going to tell me that you don't know this Miss Tang and just happened to meet her in this store?"

After saying that, she looked at Tang Xu again, "Miss Tang, what about you? Are you also planning to say that?"

Tang Xu shrugged helplessly, gave a wry smile, and finally spoke: "Anyway, you won't believe anything I say, will you?"

"So you meticulously set up this trap for me?" Ji Yan walked straight past Lu Xingyan and stood in front of Tang Xu. "Because I didn't believe your previous script, you changed it, pushing this person in front of me as an ordinary friend, gradually invading my life, right? If I hadn't happened to run into you today, how long were you planning to keep up this charade?"

“You still don’t believe what I say,” Tang Xu said. “Have you tried to verify it? You’ve lived in this city for so many years as Xu Xingyang. The traces you’ve left behind aren’t just known to me. Aren’t you really not curious about your past at all?”

Hearing this, Ji Yan sneered again, "Do you really think I'm that stupid as to let you manipulate me? If you can fabricate such a lie, you can naturally create the corresponding traces and evidence. Why should I believe someone who's been scheming from beginning to end?"

Lu Xingyan stepped forward again, wanting to say something to Ji Yan, but Ji Yan retreated a few steps as if avoiding a snake. She only glanced at him, her eyes full of wariness, before looking at Tang Xu again.

At that moment, Lu Xingyan was almost certain that she had defined herself.

At this moment, she would never believe anything he said or did.

They might even rebel.

Lu Xingyan immediately stopped in his tracks, his gaze still fixed on her, but he did not move forward.

Tang Xu observed their reactions and couldn't help but sigh softly. Then he said, "If I really arranged all of this, what would be my purpose in doing so?"

"You should be asking yourself that," Ji Yan said, looking at her. "What you want, what outcome you ultimately want to achieve—isn't that the reason you're doing this?"

Tang Xu listened quietly, then finally stood up and stood in front of Ji Yan, saying, "I haven't lied to you about anything, and I've never intended to hurt you. Although you don't have your past memories, you still have your own feelings. You should be able to judge for yourself who in this world is truly good to you and who is just using you. No matter what I say or do, it won't change anything, right?"

Ji Yan laughed again, shook her head and said, "Don't try to change the subject anymore... This matter is not that important now. Your fabricated script has been exposed, so why bother to keep going?"

After she finished speaking, she turned her head to look at the store in front of her again, deliberately looking past Lu Xingyan before finally focusing her gaze on Tang Xu.

"It seems Miss Tang is buying furniture? No wonder, I was wondering why Mr. Yan had been receiving some strange phone calls lately. So he's decorating his new home? That's quite a joyous occasion. What's next? Are you preparing for the wedding banquet? Didn't Miss Tang tearfully and earnestly promise me that you would break up with him? What is this? Buying a new house and decorating it together, is this the prelude to your breakup? Or do you also hate him, hate him to the extreme, and are preparing to deliver a fatal blow to him when he is at his happiest?"

Tang Xu fell silent for a moment before speaking again: "I once told you that I only hoped he could live happily in this world. If you, his sister, can make him happy, I will definitely keep my word. But right now, I'm afraid no matter what I say, you won't believe me."

“Yes,” Ji Yan said, “No matter what you say or do, it won’t change the fact that you are liars. Don’t waste your time.” After saying this, Ji Yan turned and left without looking at Lu Xingyan again.

Watching her departing figure, Tang Xu glanced at Lu Xingyan again, then slumped back onto the sofa in despair, asking, "Are you really not going to go after her?"

Lu Xingyan's voice became hoarse as she said, "Under these circumstances, how could she possibly listen to anything?"

"But she was only yelling at me, not at you. Does that mean she only hates me, not you as much?"

Lu Xingyan glanced at her and said, "You know her well. She's always been like this. She only stops talking to people when she's really angry."

"Huh?" Tang Xu's eyes lit up instantly. "In other words, she actually hated you more in this matter, and even gave me a sliver of hope?"

Lu Xingyan had no mind to joke with her at this moment, and didn't even glance at her when he heard this.

"Don't be like that, I just wanted to comfort you..."

After a long while, Lu Xingyan's somewhat muffled voice was finally heard: "I'm fine. I expected there would be many difficulties, this is nothing."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xu remained silent for a long time before finally covering her face and sighing, saying, "She came to choose a screen to give to you. You were almost successful, weren't you..."

Upon hearing this, Lu Xingyan glanced at the doorway again, but ultimately just silently looked away.

Under these circumstances, Lu Xingyan lost interest in buying the screen, but Tang Xu still paid for the sofa she had her eye on and arranged for it to be delivered the next day.

On the way back to Yujing Bay, Lu Xingyan and Tang Xu were almost silent the whole way. When the car stopped at the entrance of Yujing Bay, Tang Xu was about to get out of the car when she suddenly heard Lu Xingyan ask, "Why did she say that you would break up with Yan Shiyu?"

Tang Xu paused abruptly, then slowly said, "Isn't that what she wanted? I was just going along with her."

Lu Xingyan turned to look at her and said, "You won't lie to her, but you will lie to me, right? Tang Xu, is there anything you can't tell me?"

Tang Xu fell silent once again.

There were some things and some words that she had kept in her heart for a very long time, and she only spoke them out after seeing Ji Yan and suddenly losing control of her emotions.

But once the emotions have calmed down, those words can only be kept hidden deeper, and it's impossible to easily mention them to anyone.

But at this moment she was facing Lu Xingyan, one of the people she trusted most in the world.

Tang Xu also knew that once some topics were started, they were not so easy to hide.

After a long time, Tang Xu finally spoke again—

"Lu Xingyan, I killed someone."

Upon hearing this, Lu Xingyan couldn't help but glance at him slightly. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

After finally speaking, Tang Xu seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, gently curving the corners of her lips. When she spoke again, her tone was much more relaxed, "It's true."

Lu Xingyan choked for a moment, then asked, "Does Yan Shiyu know?"

“If he didn’t know, I might actually feel a little relieved,” Tang Xu said softly. “No matter how deserving or heinous that person may seem to me, it was still a human life. One day, I will have to take responsibility for that life—I can’t say when that day will come, but I know it will come… I just hope it comes later, much later…”

"What happened while I was away? Why didn't you tell me about something so important?"

“I never wanted to involve anyone else; I just wanted to handle it myself… I had already severed ties with him…”

Lu Xingyan vaguely guessed what was going on. "But he forcibly intervened in this matter, right?"

Tang Xu pressed her eyes tightly, and after a long while, she spoke again: "He's sick... He's very sick... I hope he can get better, I hope he can get completely better, to live a normal life, to try living like a normal person... As long as he can get better, I will have no regrets..."

"So your plan is to make Xingyang change her perception and truly become his sister, his family. Once he has family, he can change himself and live a normal life, and you will take responsibility for that, right?"

"It's naive, it's hopeless, isn't it?" Tang Xu's voice was completely hoarse. "But I have no other choice. This is the only path I can take..."

"Then why did you buy a house and move in with him?"

After a long while, Tang Xu's voice rang out again—

“After Xingyang came back, he should have been happy, but in fact, he wasn’t happy at all. Because of Xingyang’s change and stance, he was filled with self-blame, trapped in that self-blame, unable to get out. He had so much pain and so much hatred in his heart, and he probably didn’t even know how badly he would eventually break down… I can’t see that breakdown happen, I want him to be okay, I just want him to be okay…”

Lu Xingyan listened and remained silent for a long time before speaking again: "But are you sure this method is possible? Are you sure that having Xingyang as his sister is enough for him? Are you sure he won't relapse after you leave?"

"I'm not sure." Tang Xu kept her head down. "I'm not sure about anything... Right now, I'm just taking it one step at a time... But I don't know what else I can do, I really don't know..."

Tang Xu propped her forehead up, keeping her eyes fixed on the direction outside the window. She didn't cry out, nor did she let Lu Xingyan see her face.

Even so, Lu Xingyan knew that she was already crying uncontrollably.

Lu Xingyan swallowed back the words she was about to say.

He actually wanted to ask—

Are you sure that as long as he gets better, you won't have any regrets even if you're not by his side?
But in the end, Lu Xingyan didn't say anything.

She was already in enough pain...

Why bother? (End of Chapter)