Marriage Seduction Addiction

Chapter 458 Cannot Be Hidden

Tang Xu slept the entire way on the plane back.

Jiang Muchen did not disturb her.

He couldn't provide much information about Jiang Beiheng's kidnapping, and Tang Xu clearly didn't want to have much interaction with him, so maintaining the current situation was already quite remarkable.

Watching this scene unfold, Tan Siyi couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Regarding Tang Xu and Yan Shiyu, he only accidentally bumped into the two of them in the same car once, guessing that Jiang Muchen probably already knew about it, but never dared to mention it to him easily.

Having served Jiang Muchen for many years, he knew all too well how proud and strong-willed Jiang Muchen was. So strong-willed was he that even though he had fallen for Tang Xu, he refused to back down, even resorting to tormenting her to avoid revealing his feelings.

From the very beginning, Yan Shiyu was like a nemesis to him.

Unfortunately, it was this arch-enemy who stole Tang Xu away.

Even for an ordinary man, this would be an unacceptable and humiliating disgrace, let alone for Jiang Muchen.

This is a problem that even he himself cannot face, and from Tan Siyi's perspective, it is even more impossible to utter a single word about it.

However, even though he had already decided to let Tang Xu play a role in this, he was still unwilling to mention her relationship with Yan Shiyu. Tan Siyi simply couldn't imagine how this matter would eventually turn out.

Each of them got off the plane with their own thoughts on them. Tang Xu originally wanted to go back to Yujing Bay, but Jiang Muchen said, "Go stay at the Jiang family's place. We can discuss anything there."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xu turned and glanced at him.

“I’ll be living there too,” Jiang Muchen said. “But don’t worry, I won’t bother you for no reason.”

Tang Xu did not refuse again.

Back at the Jiang family home, the already quiet house became even more desolate after losing Jiang Beiheng, its sole owner.

Even the return of Jiang Muchen and Tang Xu at the same time could not dispel this desolation.

Even though Tang Xu didn't want to have much interaction with Jiang Muchen, she still asked him after returning here, "Wasn't he kidnapped in California? Will bringing me back to Huai City be of any use?"

“He doesn’t have any enemies in California,” Jiang Muchen said. “On the contrary, some people in Huai City would love for him to die.”

Tang Xu's expression shifted slightly. "You already know who it is?"

Jiang Muchen looked up at her, paused for a moment, and then slowly said, "It's not certain yet."

Tang Xu paused for a moment before asking, "Do you think he might... have already met with some misfortune?"

“If that were the case, news should have come back by now,” Jiang Muchen said. “But we haven’t received any news yet, even if it’s good news.”

"Then what can I do?" Tang Xu asked again.

“I’ve done everything I can,” Jiang Muchen said. “Right now, I need to find someone to help me.”

"How can I help?"

“The whole world knows that we don’t get along, and the whole world also knows that he cherishes you,” Jiang Muchen said. “Your appearance will let the other party know my sincerity.”

This is actually a somewhat far-fetched argument, but Jiang Muchen just said it so frankly.

Tang Xu didn't refute this at all. After a long silence, he simply said, "Then call me when you need me."

After saying that, Tang Xu took her luggage upstairs and returned to her old room.

Jiang Muchen sat in the living room, his gaze following her back until she could no longer be seen.

At seven o'clock in the evening, there was another knock on Tang Xu's door.

She opened the door, and Jiang Muchen was standing outside. He said to her, "Come on, come with me to see two people."

Tang Xu asked, "Is there a need for clothing?"

"Whatever makes you comfortable."

Tang Xu wasn't in the mood to dress up, so she went out with him without makeup, grabbed a coat, and left.

The car drove for nearly an hour before finally arriving at the "Chengxin" club in the south of the city.

Tang Xu remained as quiet as a ghost the entire way, following Jiang Muchen as they pushed open the door to a private room.

The moment the door opened, the two people who had been chatting inside looked over.

Tang Xu stood behind Jiang Muchen, only her eyes visible, but they immediately met a pair of dark, unwavering eyes within them—

She had seen those eyes on the mountain just this morning.

Yan Shiyu.

Yan Shiyu's gaze met hers for only a brief moment before he looked away and turned to Jiang Muchen, who was standing in front of him.

On the other side, Ye Hanzhang, who was also in the private room, looked over and then, with the air of an elder, looked at Yan Shiyu and said, "Mu Chen learned that we were having dinner together tonight, so he said he wanted to come and meet you. Don't blame me for being nosy, but I am, after all, the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce. You two are both promising young talents that I have high hopes for. The future development of Huai City depends on you, so of course I hope you can have a chance to sit down and have a good talk... After all, in business, there's no such thing as perpetual confrontation. There's always room for cooperation, right?"

Before Yan Shiyu could express his opinion, Jiang Muchen had already led Tang Xu inside and taken a seat. "We are relatives, so I think Mr. Yan should give me this opportunity."

Yan Shiyu then curled her lips and said, "Since we're already here, why bother with all this?"

“Yes, since we’re already here, I won’t hide anything,” Jiang Muchen said. “The reason I brought Tang Xu to bother you two is actually to ask for your help.”

Ye Hanzhang was already somewhat surprised to see Tang Xu, and upon hearing this, he immediately said, "What do you need help with? Your wife... I mean Tang Xu, is there anything you can't handle?"

"I'm ashamed," Jiang Muchen said. "I've tried my best to help with this, but to no avail. After much thought, I have no choice but to ask Mr. Yan for help—my father has been missing for five days now."

Upon hearing this, Ye Hanzhang's expression changed drastically. "How could this happen? Who did this? What do they want?"

Jiang Muchen looked at Yan Shiyu and slowly shook his head, saying, "I don't know. Five days have passed, and I haven't received any messages or found any clues. I'm really not good at this kind of thing. Unfortunately, I've always been arrogant and have offended many people. Now I can't even ask for help. It's thanks to Uncle Ye for being willing to make the connection that I was able to shamelessly come to Mr. Yan. I hope you can help me out of consideration for our family relationship."

After saying that, Jiang Muchen turned to Tang Xu and said, "This Mr. Yan, in terms of seniority, can be called 'Third Uncle.' You should have met him before, but you just don't remember. Right now, he's probably the only one in the entire Huai City willing to lend us a hand. If you get to know him, it might be good to ask Mr. Yan for help. I'm not usually good with words, and I've offended Mr. Yan a lot in the past. Maybe Mr. Yan will help us this time because of you."

After listening, Tang Xu's gaze fell on the man opposite her once again.

When their eyes met, Yan Shiyu's gaze remained completely unmoved, as if he had never seen her before and she was a complete stranger.

Tang Xu's eyes remained unchanged as she stared at him blankly for a moment before suddenly standing up, picking up her wine glass, and saying, "Mr. Yan, I don't know if I've ever toasted you before. I have no memory of it, so let's just say this is the first time. Please."

Yan Shiyu didn't move for a moment, and his face remained expressionless.

Tang Xu held the glass and waited for a moment. Seeing that Yan Shiyu did not move, after a brief standoff, she gently raised her hand, then put the glass of wine to her lips and drank it all in one gulp.

The three men at the table all watched this scene simultaneously. Ye Hanzhang seemed to want to say something, but seeing that the other two parties involved were just watching, he guessed that there was probably some grudge or entanglement between them that he was unaware of, and he did not speak for a moment.

After Tang Xu finished her drink, she gave Yan Shiyu a faint smile. However, just as she put down her glass, Jiang Muchen suddenly poured her another glass of wine.

"Have three drinks," Jiang Muchen said calmly, as if he were ordering someone insignificant. "We're here to ask for a favor; we need to show Mr. Yan our sincerity."

Tang Xu paused for a moment, offered no objection, and then picked up the glass of wine again.

Seeing that she was about to bring the glass of wine to her lips again, Yan Shiyu finally spoke up: "Miss Tang doesn't seem to be very good at drinking. If this glass isn't so easy to swallow, then let's just forget about it."

Before Tang Xu could say anything, Jiang Muchen said, "I'm not afraid of being laughed at, but I'm a bastard. Tang Xu married me, and I've never been able to make her happy. But thankfully, my father is a good man. His love for Tang Xu surpasses that of many biological parents. Do you think Tang Xu came here today because of me? My father's sudden accident has made her incredibly worried about his safety. The most genuine feelings in this world are the hardest to hide or suppress. Mr. Yan wouldn't even deny her that chance, would he?"

Yan Shiyu's eyes remained calm, but the color of his eyes had darkened considerably.

“Men’s problems should be solved by men. There’s no need to drag a woman into it,” Yan Shiyu said. “I’m not naturally fond of dealing with women. If you send her away now, there might still be room for discussion.”

“The more Mr. Yan says this, the more I feel she can’t leave,” Jiang Muchen said. “I have a quick temper and a bad temper, but with her around, I can control myself a bit. Mr. Yan’s words suggest that you’re still angry with me about what happened in the past, so I’m even less willing to let her go… In any case, I would like to ask Mr. Yan to give me a chance to have a proper conversation for her sake. What do you say?”

The two seemed calm on the surface, but beneath the surface, countless undercurrents and sharp confrontations were brewing. Ye Hanzhang saw it all clearly, but he didn't know how to mediate. He just chuckled and said, "Since you're already here, having a meal together isn't a big deal. I'll go tell the manager to add a couple more dishes. You two can talk first."

Just as he was about to get up, Tang Xu suddenly spoke up: "Mr. Ye, no need."

Ye Hanzhang froze in his chair once again.

Tang Xu turned to Jiang Muchen and said, "Since Mr. Yan wants to talk to you, then you should have a good talk with him. I won't bother you any longer. I'll wait for you outside."

Jiang Muchen's gaze fell on her calm face, and for a moment he couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.

At this moment, Tang Xu looked at Yan Shiyu again, stood up and said, "Three cups of wine may be a bit of an exaggeration, but I still want to toast Mr. Yan with this second cup. Thank you."

She was talking about things on Qingyun Mountain.

Yan Shiyu knew perfectly well what was going on, but her face remained expressionless.

Tang Xu quickly finished the second glass of wine, then put down the glass and turned to walk towards the door.

"Don't leave here." Jiang Muchen suddenly turned around and instructed, "Tan Siyi is in the hall. Go find him and don't wander around. The world is really not peaceful lately. My father has already been kidnapped. If you are kidnapped too, I will really lose my composure."

Given their past relationship, Tang Xu should have felt very uncomfortable hearing this, but she remained calm, simply nodding in response before opening the door and leaving.

Ye Hanzhang then said to Jiang Muchen, "Look at what you're saying. This is Huai City. Who is so vicious as to dare to cause trouble here?"

"That's hard to say," Jiang Muchen sighed softly. "There are plenty of madmen in this world. How can you predict what a madman might do? What do you think, Mr. Yan?"

Yan Shiyu stared at him quietly, without saying a word.

Then Ye Hanzhang said, "You seem so nervous, could it be that you two are planning to get back together?"

Jiang Muchen glanced at Yan Shiyu, and after a moment, lowered his eyes. "Of course I want to. But right now, my father's matter is more important."

“Your father’s long-held wish has been for you to settle down after getting married, so he can take over the Jiang family business in full. If he knew the current situation between the two of you, he would probably be very happy.” Ye Hanzhang paused before continuing, “Really, not a single clue can be found? Who could do something so clean and efficient?”

“Yes, I didn’t expect that either.” Jiang Muchen looked at Yan Shiyu again and said, “I hope Uncle Ye and Mr. Yan can help me analyze this and find some direction.”

Yan Shiyu met his gaze, and after a long while, she only gave a faint smile.

……

Tang Xu had just stepped out of the private room when she ran into Tan Siyi, whom Jiang Muchen had mentioned was waiting in the lobby.

Upon seeing her come out, Tan Siyi immediately stepped forward and said, "Miss Tang, we have prepared other private rooms here. Would you like to go and rest for a while?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Xu couldn't help but say, "Did you know I would come out early? How come you even prepared other private rooms?"

“It was Mr. Jiang’s instruction, just in case,” Tan Siyi said.

"What do you mean by 'just in case'?" Tang Xu said. "Is he really worried that someone might kidnap me too?"

Tan Siyi said, "It's not impossible."

As they were talking, Gao Yan suddenly appeared in the corridor. He immediately froze when he saw Tang Xu and Tan Siyi standing and talking. It wasn't until Tang Xu looked in his direction that he snapped out of his daze, forced himself to look away, focused his attention, and slowly walked towards the two of them.

But then Tang Xu said, "He's overthinking it. If someone really wanted to do something to me, wouldn't it be more convenient for me to be in Rong City?"

Tan Siyi glanced at Gao Yan, who was passing by, and said, "That's different. It was one thing when you were in Rong City, but it's another thing now that you're back in Huai City. We still need to be careful."

"It's too stuffy in the private room," Tang Xu said. "I'll go sit in the lobby for a while."

Tan Siyi nodded in agreement, "That's fine, but just don't leave the hall unnecessarily."

"understood."

The two walked towards the hall while talking. Gao Yan took a few steps forward, but couldn't help turning back again to glance at Tang Xu's back.

She has come back.

She appeared before Yan Shiyu once again.

Should he be happy for Yan Shiyu, or should he feel even more anxious?

Ever since Tang Xu faded from Yan Shiyu's world, he seemed to have once again drifted outside of Yan Shiyu's world—

Gao Yan didn't know what Yan Shiyu was planning, what he had done, or what he was facing.

All he knew was that Yan Shiyu was definitely going to take some action soon, because Yan Shiyu's recent behavior was just too strange...

Gao Yan didn't know why Tang Xu had appeared at this moment. Could her appearance change Yan Shiyu's current situation?
But now, she has forgotten everything. In a state of complete amnesia, can she save Yan Shiyu, or will she unconsciously push him into an even deeper abyss?
……

Inside the private room, facing the stalemate, Ye Hanzhang once again realized his own superfluity.

In the end, he made an excuse to leave the private room first, leaving Jiang Muchen and Yan Shiyu a chance to talk alone.

However, as soon as he left, the private room, which had been filled with undercurrents, instantly became as frozen as a vast expanse of ice.

The two looked at each other, and Jiang Muchen's calm expression, which he had maintained all night, finally turned completely cold.

He looked at Yan Shiyu and slowly said, "You didn't expect her to come back with me, did you?"

Yan Shiyu paused for a moment, then readily admitted, "Yes. So what?"

“We all know what you’ve been doing all along,” Jiang Muchen said. “If you want to go crazy, no one can stop you. But you’re not really reckless, and you haven’t really planned everything perfectly. At least with Tang Xu, you’ve really messed things up badly. If you don’t want her to remember everything about you, then you know what you should do.”

Yan Shiyu suddenly smiled.

"Stop pretending," Jiang Muchen said. "I know you went to Rong City yesterday, and you even went into the mountains to find her. If you really can be indifferent, then go ahead and see how things ultimately develop."

"Do you really think this can control me?" Yan Shiyu asked slowly.

"Oh?" Seeing his calm demeanor, Jiang Muchen was no longer in a hurry, but simply asked, "Do you have any other way to break this deadlock?"

Yan Shiyu reached out and slowly touched her phone.

"There's no way to break the deadlock, it's more like throwing caution to the wind," he said. "I could just make a phone call and end Jiang Beiheng's life right now, wouldn't that be another option? What you do next is your business—even if you tell her, what difference will it make? Will that solve the whole thing and bring Jiang Beiheng back to life? Knowing it's a futile effort, would you really do something so unnecessary?"

As Yan Shiyu spoke, she gently tapped the phone screen to turn it on.

Jiang Muchen's expression immediately changed, and he stood up, saying, "You dare!"

Just as tensions were about to rise, the door to the private room was suddenly pushed open from the outside once again.

Ye Hanzhang, who had just gone out, strode in and said to Jiang Muchen, "Tang Xu is being harassed in the lobby. I'm afraid you'll have to go and deal with it."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Muchen's expression changed again. He glanced at Yan Shiyu, then turned and walked towards the door.

Yan Shiyu had been sitting quietly there, watching his figure disappear outside the door. As she looked away, she still asked Ye Hanzhang, "What happened?"

Ye Hanzhang sighed softly and said helplessly, "It's all because of his womanizing ways."

Yan Shiyu's eyes flickered slightly, but he didn't say anything more.

Ye Hanzhang sat down and then looked at him again, saying, "What exactly is going on between you two? I'm completely confused. Is he really asking you for help? Are you planning to help him?" Yan Shiyu listened and slowly said, "Even you can see that he's not genuinely asking for help, so why would I help him?"

Although Ye Hanzhang was unaware of the inside story and could not confirm his various guesses, he still spoke up: "A tall tree catches the wind. Given the Jiang family's status, it's not surprising that something like this happened. Fortunately, Jiang Beiheng has extensive connections. Even though Mu Chen has offended many people with his arrogance over the years, if you really need help, there will definitely be many people willing to lend a hand. It's not necessary to make things difficult for you."

This statement, seemingly comforting and reassuring, also sounds like a reminder.

As for what exactly his intentions were, Ye Hanzhang himself probably couldn't quite figure it out.

Upon hearing this, Yan Shiyu simply said, "Since that's the case, then there's no need for me to listen to him any further."

……

When a glass of wine was suddenly spilled on her, Tang Xu was completely dazed. When she looked up, she saw a somewhat familiar face.

It was her college classmate, Shi Yan.

Tang Xu never expected to run into her here, and her thoughts were in a jumbled mess for a moment. Before she could sort things out, she heard Shi Yan say innocently, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

Her apologetic gesture, and the wine that was splashed squarely on her face, didn't seem unintentional at all.

Tan Siyi's expression immediately changed. She took out her handkerchief and handed it to Tang Xu, while she was about to call someone to come forward and drag Shi Yan away.

"What are you doing?" Shi Yan seemed to have already sensed his intentions and asked warily, "I told you it was an accident, I've already apologized, and besides, I'm a guest here. Don't think you can do whatever you want—do you know who I came here with today?"

Tan Siyi was momentarily at a loss for words, but looked at her and said, "Miss Shi, since you're here for this dinner, it's best not to cause trouble. It won't look good for anyone if things get out of hand."

Upon hearing this, Shi Yan suddenly laughed, turned her head to look around, and said, "So what if it's not pretty? I've already experienced the ugliest scenes, what do I have to be afraid of?"

After saying that, she turned her head to look at Tang Xu again, "I saw that you came with Jiang Muchen. Didn't you two get divorced? Before the divorce, he hardly paid any attention to you, but after the divorce, the two of you have been inseparable. Tang Xu, you're really something! Can you teach me how you did it?"

Tang Xu wiped the wine stains off her face with a handkerchief, seemingly not wanting to get entangled in these pointless matters, and said to Tan Siyi, "Take me to a private room to tidy up."

Tan Siyi responded and, protecting Tang Xu, headed towards the private room. Suddenly, Shi Yan rushed forward, grabbed Tang Xu's hand, and said, "Why are you in such a hurry to leave? We're old classmates and we even shared the same man, yet our outcomes have been so different... For the sake of being classmates, can't you share some experience with me so that my future life will be a little easier?"

Upon hearing this, Tan Siyi grabbed Shi Yan's wrist and said, "I'm warning you, don't act crazy here."

"So what?" Shi Yan was clearly not afraid at all, raising her face to look at him. "I was catching up with my old classmate, what are you doing barking like a lapdog? I'm not letting go, do you think you can hit me?"

The words had barely left her mouth when Shi Yan was suddenly pulled hard. Before she could even see the figure in front of her, she heard a "smack"—

A heavy slap landed on her face, making her dizzy and causing her to fall to the ground.

Even so, she could still clearly hear Jiang Muchen's cold voice: "You think I wouldn't dare hit you, is that it?"

Shi Yan slowly raised her head. Whether it was from the slap or from the overwhelming emotions, her eyes filled with tears the moment she looked at Jiang Muchen.

“Of course you dare to hit me,” Shi Yan said. “You wouldn’t just dare to hit me, you wouldn’t even show me the slightest pity if you drove me to my death, would you?”

Jiang Muchen's face was extremely ugly, and he didn't want to say another word to her. He turned around, took Tang Xu's arm, and prepared to pull her away.

This action was clearly imprinted in Shi Yan's eyes, as if it had touched a nerve once again. She instantly went berserk, lunging forward and tightly hugging Jiang Muchen's leg. "Why? Tell me why? Why can she? Why are you so good to her? Why are you treating me like this? I have a heart full of sincerity towards you, can't you see it at all? Why are you treating me like this?"

She used all her strength, shouting herself hoarse, and in an instant, the scene became utterly unbearable.

Jiang Muchen was extremely disgusted. Unable to break free from the leg that she was tightly holding, he simply kicked Shi Yan hard with his other foot.

"what--"

Shi Yan let out a shrill scream, but she hugged his leg even tighter.

Jiang Muchen's eyes were filled with darkness. Just as he was about to kick again, Tang Xu suddenly broke free from his arm and took a step forward towards Shi Yan's location.

Jiang Muchen paused for a moment.

But then Tang Xu walked up to Shi Yan and slowly squatted down. Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar face in front of her, she couldn't connect her with the top beauty in the dance department.

"Shi Yan, do you still recognize yourself now?" Tang Xu asked.

Shi Yan paused for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter again. "Tang Xu, you're so smug, aren't you? Back in school, I couldn't beat you in anything. All the teachers liked you and gave you every opportunity... Now, I can't even compete with you for a man, hahahahaha... How are you secretly laughing at me?"

"Do you really think you lost to me?" Tang Xu said. "Even if what you say is true, that the teachers in school always favored me, didn't you still forge your own path? You were studying classical dance, but you switched to singing and dancing in just a few months and successfully debuted. On the contrary, I completely lost the opportunity to dance because of a car accident... Whether from the process or the result, you were actually the winner, so why do you feel like you lost?"

Shi Yan looked dazed for a moment.

Tang Xu spoke as if it were something from a very, very long time ago, so long that she herself could hardly remember it.

But when she vaguely remembered, she unconsciously pulled her hand away and let go of Jiang Muchen.

However, those past events, when recalled now, only serve to make the pain more intense.

Shi Yan lowered her head, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly burst into laughter again, "But I still lost to you in the end, didn't I?"

"If you really care about winning or losing against me, then I can tell you that you have indeed lost, and lost completely," Tang Xu said. "After all these years since graduation, the only thing we've had in common is this man. And now, he has nothing to do with me anymore, yet you're still trapped in the quagmire he created for you. You had so many things you could have done, even if he were the only person left in your world, you still had so many things you could have done. The only thing you shouldn't have done was kneel at his feet like this, letting him trample you into the ground once again."

Tang Xu's words were too calm and too rational, yet they once again stung Shi Yan's nerves in that instant.

"What do you know! Do you know how much I love him? Do you know how much I've sacrificed for him?" Shi Yan lost control and lunged at Tang Xu again. "What right do you have to say these things to me! What right do you have!"

Tang Xu knew that given Shi Yan's current mental state, it would be futile to say anything to her.

But seeing Shi Yan's deeply hurt expression, Tang Xu took two steps back and then squatted down again. "Yes, I originally had no right to criticize you, because I've also handled my own affairs terribly. But I know that no matter what happens, I will never become like you—he hurt you, killed your child, you hate him, so try your best to surpass him, to take revenge on him… And if even at that point, you still love him, still can't let him go, then grant him his wish, grant him his wish without any limits—"

Behind Tang Xu, Jiang Muchen, who heard Tang Xu's words, suddenly stared down at Tang Xu, who was squatting there with his back to him.

"If you can't even do these two things..." Tang Xu chuckled lightly, "then what's the point of talking about love and hate?"

After saying this, she didn't look at Shi Yan again, stood up, and turned to leave.

However, as she turned around, she suddenly met a pair of eyes.

A pair of eyes she knew all too well—dark, deep, yet filled with shock and pain.

That was Yan Shiyu, who had just come out of the private room.

He originally intended to leave directly.

Staying here any longer, even just one more glance at her, would only complicate things for him.

Having come this far, he has already acted irrationally once, and there's no reason to let things continue to develop out of control like this.

But just as he was leaving, he overheard what she said.

He stopped and looked at her in the crowd.

At that moment, she stood up, turned around, and unexpectedly met his gaze.

At that moment, Tang Xu belatedly realized—

Revealed.

She finally couldn't hide it anymore.

……

Thanks to Duan Siwei's help, the moment Duan Siwei helped her find out Hua Fanxing's true identity, she knew what Yan Shiyu was planning to do next.

Tang Xu still remembers how she felt at that time.

She wanted to cry.

After going through so much, the two still couldn't open up to each other. She had her own plans, and he had his own schemes. They both seemed to want what was best for each other, but they couldn't find a way to achieve the best of both worlds.

She also wanted to laugh.

Laugh at your own naiveté, and laugh at your own failures.

For so long, she hasn't accomplished a single thing she wanted to do—

She wanted to protect the Song family, but the Song family was gone; she wanted to protect Song Yuting, but Song Yuting and Qin Yun were both dead; she wanted to use her gentleness and tenderness to heal Yan Shiyu, to help him forget the pain of the past, and to help him gradually return to the world of normal people, but she could only watch helplessly as he walked towards the deepest abyss of pain.

And she became a burden to him.

Tang Xu's life has been filled with many moments of confusion—

She was lost after her parents divorced and she lost her mother; she was lost when she learned she wasn't Song Yuting's biological daughter; she was lost when Xu Xingyang left; she was lost after losing her chance to dance for the rest of her life; she was lost after Song Yuting and Qin Yun passed away...

But never before had she felt so lost, completely disoriented.

She had already lost so much. Before this, she had thought that their world might only consist of each other.

But it turns out that wasn't the case.

He occupied almost the entirety of her world, but it turned out that there were still more important things in his world.

It was something he felt he had to accomplish in his entire life.

What else could she do?
She could only grant his wish and let him do what he wanted.

If this is the only way to free him from his suffering, then she is willing to help him.

But she lacked the courage to face the emptiness and incompleteness of her life. She didn't want to forget, nor was she willing to forget everything related to him.

Even though those memories were painful, so painful that they numbed her, she still refused to forget them.

So she didn't forget.

This secret was known only to Duan Siwei and Hua Fanxing.

So the whole world thought she had forgotten, and she did her best to pretend that she really had forgotten—

Yet, she still couldn't help but test Gao Yan's attitude towards her the next time they met.

Before that, Gao Yan and she could talk about almost anything. She knew Gao Yan's simple nature too well. With just a word or a glance from Gao Yan, she could draw a lot of conclusions.

On that day, when she took the initiative to appear in front of Gao Yan, Gao Yan avoided her gaze and tried very hard to pretend that he did not know her.

Gao Yan's attitude represents Yan Shiyu's attitude.

At that time, Tang Xu knew that Yan Shiyu really wanted her to leave his world. Even though he would also feel pain and sadness, Gao Yan's attitude at least showed that he did not regret it and there was no room for maneuver in this matter.

So when Lu Xingyan suggested that she go to Rong City to recuperate for a while, she knew that it was partly Yan Shiyu's idea as well.

He wants her to leave, so she leaves.

She knew what he wanted to do.

She knew that after she left, he would likely begin to implement his final plan, something he was determined to do eventually.

But she couldn't stop him.

She tried everything she could, but couldn't heal him even a little bit. So when he finally achieves his life goal, perhaps she should be even happier for him.

Because that was an inevitable path in his life.

Even so, that is a dead end.

She could only watch.

It's not that they didn't struggle.

The only unexpected thing was getting lost in the mountains.

She vaguely sensed that something must have happened in the world outside the mountains, but she didn't know what it was until Duan Siwei told her that Jiang Beiheng had disappeared.

It was only at this moment that Tang Xu realized for certain that he had begun to take action, that he had begun to do what he wanted to do.

Once he has done what he wanted to do, he will have achieved his life goal.

But this also involves Jiang Beiheng.

Tang Xu once again clearly felt the powerlessness in her own life—

As expected, she ultimately failed to protect any of the people she wanted to protect.

Not knowing how to face such a situation, she chose to go up the mountain in the early morning.

The idea of ​​getting lost is both real and unreal.

She doesn't care what lies ahead, so she's not afraid of getting lost.

She truly didn't know what lay ahead, so she genuinely got lost.

But he still showed up.

It was like a miracle, but for her, it felt more like a farewell.

But she couldn't show it, because she knew she couldn't help him or save him, so there was no point in creating unnecessary complications.

Even as he left, she could clearly hear all his movements, but she could only lie there motionless, pretending that she knew nothing.

Jiang Muchen asked her to come back and help, and she couldn't refuse, nor did she have any reason to refuse.

But she knew perfectly well in her heart that she couldn't help.

Even if Jiang Beiheng is the one facing danger right now, even if Yan Shiyu takes another step forward and falls into an abyss of no return—

But Tang Xu knew perfectly well that she would not say a word more about this matter.

Since I've already decided to go along with it, I'll go along with it to the very end, without any limits.

As long as he can be freed, what kind of pangs of conscience he will face next is his own business.

She hid it so well; she pretended to have forgotten everything about him.

But she didn't have time to organize the others.

When Shi Yan appeared, she was somewhat confused about which stage of life Shi Yan belonged to, and whether she should remember Shi Yan or not.
But before she could sort things out, everything had already spiraled out of control.

When those things that shouldn't have been remembered came up in her words, Tang Xu knew that she had been exposed and could no longer hide it.

He got it.