Marriage Seduction Addiction

Chapter 401 You should be very proud of yourself

Tang Xu thought she had misheard.

She prefers to believe that she is currently trapped in a nightmare.

A nightmare she could wake up from with just a little struggle.

But the opposite happened.

The next moment, Jiang Muchen grabbed Tang Xu's wrist again and dragged her back in front of him, his eyes bloodshot as he questioned her, "Tell me, why can he do it, but I can't?"

"Jiang Muchen," Tang Xu said coldly, looking at him, "Are you insane?"

"Yes, I've gone mad." Jiang Muchen actually admitted it, staring straight at her. "You drove me mad—"

No sooner had he finished speaking than "smack!"
That slap used almost all of Tang Xu's strength, making his palm numb.

However, Jiang Muchen merely turned his head slightly before looking at her again. His usually cold, aloof, and ruthless eyes, now fixed on her, were completely devoid of their former aura, as if only sorrow remained.

Tang Xu only felt it was ironic.

"Jiang Muchen, between the two of us, who is driving whom crazy?" Tang Xu looked at him. "You came here today to say all this, aren't you just hoping I'll go crazy too?"

Hearing Tang Xu's words, Jiang Muchen was stunned for a moment, but only a few seconds later, he lowered his eyes and chuckled softly.

"You must be so smug, Tang Xu." He slowly released her, his tone full of self-mockery. "Seeing me standing in front of you like this, you must be incredibly proud, right?"

Tang Xu did not answer him.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Muchen nodded as if answering his own question, and then chuckled.

“Of course you should be proud,” he said. “You should be extremely proud.”

Who could have predicted that Jiang Muchen would end up like this?

He was once so high and mighty, so disdainful, never giving her a second glance, wantonly humiliating and tormenting her. Even though he never publicly expressed it, everyone in the outside world knew that he never considered her his wife.

In the two years she was Mrs. Jiang, she actually gained nothing. On the contrary, she was always gentle, obedient, and well-behaved. Once she entered the Jiang family, she was content to be a member of the Jiang family.

But all she got in return was more intense torment from him.

Everyone assumed that he hated her to the extreme.

But only he knew that it wasn't hatred, but rather the cowardice and fear in his heart.

He couldn't admit that among the various factors that led him to agree to marry her, one was that he genuinely wanted to.

At that time, he had just ended his relationship with Jiang Wanning and was exhausted both physically and mentally.

When Tang Xu appeared in front of him, for a moment, he could hear his own heartbeat.

Whether out of spite or to make the best of a bad situation, he accepted the marriage arrangement.

There could have been wonderful possibilities.

Even though he still felt awkward, and even though she was only after the Jiang family's assets and status.

If Jiang Wanning hadn't had that accident on his wedding day.

He never imagined such a thing would happen, and in his shock and self-reproach, he inevitably took his anger out on Tang Xu.

It's because she knew one of the murderers.

It was her choice to appear when he and Jiang Wanning broke up.

Who told her to be so vain and greedy for wealth and status, wanting to marry him?

Even though he knew from the beginning that this matter had nothing to do with her, he could only blame everything on her in the end.

Some pain is hard to bear alone, but it becomes much easier when shared with others.

She herself chose to step into this vortex, and was destined to suffer alongside him.

Therefore, if anything happened on Jiang Wanning's side, he could only blame Tang Xu for it.

He saw all the pain and suffering Tang Xu endured, but he could only convince himself to turn a blind eye.

He repeatedly struggled with his emotions, sinking deeper and deeper into this quagmire of pain, until the day Song Yuting died, when he suddenly realized—he had gone too far.

With Song Yuting dead, Tang Xu will surely hate him to the bone and never forgive him again.

He was fully aware of this, yet he still couldn't help but want to struggle a little more—

After all, she was still Mrs. Jiang in name only, and the Jiang family still had Jiang Beiheng, which was enough to maintain her connection with the Jiang family.

But he forgot that someone as stubborn and persistent as her wouldn't easily turn back.

The karma he created with his own hands will ultimately come back to haunt him.

Moreover, there was Yan Shiyu between the two of them.

Even though her relationship with Yan Shiyu had ended when the two divorced, her resolute attitude had already given him the answer—he would not have any chance.

After that, even seeing her became a luxury.

Because every time he sees her, it reminds him of what he has done in the past.

Those painful boomerangs pierced his body, and that was all he deserved to endure.

He could only offer her some inconspicuous help in secret, such as indirectly recommending people to her company so that she wouldn't have to work so hard to run it.

Even this kind offer was precisely recognized by her, and she politely declined to give it to him without any change.

Jiang Muchen thus clearly understood that he truly had no chance left.

He didn't actually lose that badly.

After tormenting each other and becoming enemies, they parted ways and disappeared into the background. It was a very ordinary ending, and one that he could accept.

But on that day, he ultimately lost.

A crushing defeat.

All his pride and self-esteem were crushed at this moment, trampled under her feet.

But even so, he still couldn't get an answer—

Why is it that Yan Shiyu can be forgiven for what he did, but he can't?
At this moment, Jiang Muchen finally believed that Tang Xu truly hated him to the extreme, to the point that she would use such a method to thoroughly humiliate him.

Jiang Muchen couldn't help but chuckle when Tang Xu didn't answer him at all.

That was a laugh brimming with self-deprecation and resignation.

As he laughed, the sound gradually grew louder, then gradually faded, until it finally fell silent. Jiang Muchen looked at Tang Xu again, "I hope that for a very long time to come, you won't regret this."

After saying this, Jiang Muchen didn't linger. He turned around, opened the door, and walked out without looking back.

Tang Xu stood frozen in place for a long while before finally coming to her senses. She went forward and slammed the door shut, then turned around and leaned against it, taking uncontrollable deep breaths.

She didn't care much about Jiang Muchen's outburst just now; what she cared more about was—why did Jiang Muchen find out about that car accident?

For all this time, the only person who knew the truth about that car accident was actually Grandpa Yan.

Of course, as Jiang Muchen said, Old Master Yan must have needed to go through some people to cover up the car accident back then. But how could someone as cautious as Old Master Yan have left any evidence that Jiang Muchen could have dug up after so many years?
Or was it that he deliberately let Jiang Muchen find out?

But then what? What impact will it have? What purpose will it achieve?
But what can she do?

Before Tang Xu could figure it out, her phone rang.

After several calls, she finally realized what was happening, walked to the sofa, and picked up her phone.

The call was from Lu Xingyan, who immediately asked her, "Are you with Mr. Yan?"

"No." Tang Xu's mind was still a mess, but hearing Lu Xingyan's tone, she immediately tensed up again. "What happened?"

Lu Xingyan said, "It's nothing. I just thought you two were together since you just came back from the deep mountains and forests today."

Tang Xu breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that nothing was wrong, and then asked, "Why did we come back today?"

Lu Xingyan choked for a moment, then quickly said, "You've already figured it out. After being away for several days, shouldn't he come back? Unless there are so many people and things going on in Huai City, he really doesn't care about anything else."

"Well, you're pretty accurate." Tang Xu didn't think much of it. Hearing the sharpness in his tone, she asked again, "Are you looking for me or him? Is there something you need? Why didn't you see Xingyang today?"

Lu Xingyan seemed to have been hit on a pressure point, and her tone immediately became weak. She then said, "She hasn't left the house for two days."

"why?"

“Because of your Mr. Yan,” Lu Xingyan said.

Tang Xu immediately realized what was going on.

Just as she had feared, Yan Shiyu's estrangement from Ji Yan after her discharge from the hospital was all too obvious.

She used to be extremely nervous about Ji Yan, but suddenly she let go. Even she, as an observer, could notice it, let alone Ji Yan, the person involved.

"Does she... care?" Tang Xu asked softly.

“If you ask her, of course she’ll say she doesn’t care,” Lu Xingyan said. “But do you believe her?”

Upon hearing this, Tang Xu couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Even if she couldn't understand Ji Yan's personality, she knew Xu Xingyang all too well. On the surface, she was as cold as ice, but in reality, her heart was more delicate and tender than anyone else's. It seemed that even though she had lost her memory and her personality had changed drastically, certain aspects of her nature were still rooted in her heart.

How could I not care?
Tang Xu sighed softly before saying, "I've already tried to persuade him."

"How did he say?"

He said he hoped to give each other some time.

"You can't tell he's just brushing you off, can you?" Lu Xingyan's anger seemed to flare up instantly upon hearing this. "Please tell him that no matter what the future holds, Ji Yan's happiness right now is also important. He might not listen to what others say, but he can at least take your words to heart, right?"

Tang Xu was somewhat dazed and couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean by 'no matter what the future holds'?"

Lu Xingyan paused again before saying, "Anyway, just relay what I said to him and see what he has to say!"

After saying that, Lu Xingyan hung up the phone immediately.

Tang Xu wanted to say something more, but the opportunity had already passed. She sat on the sofa in a daze for a while, holding her phone, before finally dialing Yan Shiyu's number.

The call was answered quickly. Tang Xu heard the sound of papers turning over, so he must still be in his office.

Are you still at the company? What time do you get off work?

Yan Shiyu said, "You called just to ask me when I get off work?"

Tang Xu remained silent for a moment before finally speaking, "Just now... Jiang Muchen came by."

Yan Shiyu responded with a soft murmur.

This was a reaction that Tang Xu had anticipated.

Jiang Muchen swaggered in, making it impossible for him to keep it a secret.

"Has anything happened?" Yan Shiyu asked.

"What could happen?" Tang Xu replied casually. "He's always been like this. When he's in a bad mood, he finds a place to vent. I'm used to this kind of thing. It won't affect me."

“That was before,” Yan Shiyu said. “Now you have nothing to do with him anymore.”

Tang Xu responded with a sound of agreement, then laughed and said, "So I just think he's acting crazy, and there's nothing to be afraid of him for..."

After a pause, Tang Xu continued, "I angered him today, and I don't know what he might do. You must be careful and on guard, because when he goes crazy, he really has no bottom line—"

Yan Shiyu listened, her tone remaining calm, "That's fine, I don't have any bottom line either."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xu felt every nerve in her body tense up instantly. She said, "You're not allowed to be like him! Don't forget the promise you made. You're not alone anymore!"

There was a moment of silence on the other end before Yan Shiyu let out a faint chuckle, "Fine. Let him hate me then. It's good that you're alright."

He changed his mind again in a very short time and stood on her side, but Tang Xu was still uneasy.

Tang Xu didn't know what else to say if they continued discussing this topic. After a pause, she said, "You still haven't told me when you're coming back. Is there anything you'd like to eat? I'll prepare it in advance for your return."

Yan Shiyu simply said, "You eat your dinner properly. I have to go to the Yan family later."

Before Tang Xu could even bring it up, he took the initiative to say, "Are you going to see Xingyang? Then don't rush back. Stay a little longer and spend some time with her. I heard from Lu Xingyan that she hasn't left the house for two days, which means she must be in a bad mood. This is not good for her recovery. As her older brother, you need to pay more attention to her."

Yan Shiyu listened quietly until she finished speaking, then suddenly chuckled.

"What are you laughing at?" Tang Xu said. "I'm being serious."

"Hmm," Yan Shiyu said, "She has the air of a wife."

The moment he uttered the word "wife," Tang Xu's ears instantly burned. She then said, "You'd better hurry up and get busy so you can come over... I'm not talking to you anymore!"

After hanging up the phone, the heat in Tang Xu's ears gradually subsided, but she sat there, lost in thought once again.

He's going to the Yan family, so he'll most likely run into Old Master Yan.

Tang Xu still couldn't figure out what role Old Master Yan played in Jiang Muchen's recent madness, but at this moment she couldn't help but wonder what Old Master Yan would say to her, and whether he knew that she had already learned the truth about the car accident from back then...

A multitude of thoughts swirled in my mind, unable to be dispelled, leaving me only with a heart full of worry and unease.