“Why are you here?” Really it’s her! That woman who would never take a single step out of her door in her entire life! ”I…” She took several deep breaths, quickly averting her eyes and trying to focus on her task: “I’m here to find a Mr. Shi.” Seeing her gripping the leather bag tightly, Tang Hua reached out to take it, looked at the address marked on it, and then pulled out the documents to examine. Within ten seconds, he tossed them to Shi Zhongcheng, who almost failed to catch them, still in a daze. ”Secretary Ke, bring the checkbook; Zhongcheng, after your assessment, you don’t need to submit it to the board, contact Dean Gao as soon as possible.” He quickly issued instructions, and Secretary Ke had already swiftly brought the checkbook, unable to hide her curiosity. ”Come with me,” he instructed Xiao Susu, originally intending to walk ahead, but remembering her lack of capacity, he reached out and held her hand towards the VIP reception room. But as he grabbed her hand, he suddenly noticed something stuck on the inside of her left hand and couldn’t help but flip it over to look. ”What’s going on?” ”A… a knife wound…” Gently struggling, she absolutely disliked being touched by men, though in this lifetime, no man had touched her except Tang Hua. It felt strange, completely uncomfortable, but she didn’t dare struggle too much. ”How did you get injured?” ”I—I—was cutting a cucumber and accidentally cut my hand…” ”Damn! Where’s Chen’s wife!” He growled low, angry that she was hurt, angry at her resistance to his touch, and with a massive, nameless rage surging up… Damn it! Without speaking, afraid of a string of curse words, he pulled Xiao Susu into the reception room and firmly closed the door, blocking outside prying eyes. ”Who is she?” Jiang Zhilan asked hoarsely, trying to maintain her composure. Shi Zhongcheng sighed at the sudden workload on his hands, having hoped for a ten-day break, now even eight hours of sleep seemed like a luxury. ”Her? She’s precisely the signed but not yet divorced CEO’s wife. You’re incredibly lucky to see her – even people who’ve served the company for over twenty years never get a chance to see her,” he said casually, thoroughly understanding women’s petty nature. ”She… is so beautiful,” Jiang Zhilan had to admit her own looks were less than half as beautiful. ”Yes, still so beautiful,” he murmured, involuntarily pondering: Hmm… the boss must be very angry, extremely angry! ”Drink some juice.” The VIP reception room’s bar was almost comparable, with various wines and equipment fully stocked. Tang Hua poured a glass of fresh orange juice and handed it to her. ”…Okay,” she carefully took it, not daring to make eye contact. In fact, she was looking at the floor and his leather shoes.
Susu—” he sighed softly, unable to resist lowering his face, gently kissing her lips, sweeter and more tender than in his memory, like the first delicate bud awakened by the spring breeze, which must be carefully protected so she would not wither in fear.
He was kissing her… She helplessly closed her confused eyes… How strange this was now… He hadn’t kissed her for several years… What would happen next… Was he going to undress her? No, don’t… But there was no bed nearby… A small voice in her heart told her, so her panic did not deepen, she just felt… slightly dizzy…
She had truly changed so much!
Tang Hua released her lips but did not move away, just looking at her until she opened her glistening eyes again. His tone carried a barely perceptible hint of sadness and bitterness:
“Why wasn’t it me?”
Xiao Susu opened her wide eyes, her beautiful eyes filled only with timidity and confusion. Then her vision blurred, and she was already embraced in his warm, strong chest.
Why did he look so sad? What had she done wrong?
Her heavy heart was filled only with this unresolvable doubt.
11 Fragrant wind sweeps away flowers unknowing Passionate flames burn love unrecognized Most heartbreaking is not meeting at the right time Devotion has become an old story22
Section 4
No justice! Truly no justice!
Biting the sushi she made herself, Du Feifan glared fiercely at the “family of three” five steps away. Not only had she failed to steal the handsome guy’s first kiss, but she was also left stranded and unable to move! It was all that truant boss Tang Hua’s fault, butting in for no reason and preventing her from enjoying herself (mainly from playing with the handsome Tang Xuexian).
Compared to Du Feifan’s black and white desolation, Tang Hua’s side was colorful and pleasant. Yes, Tang Hua had set aside his heavy work and insisted on coming to Qingtian Ridge for a picnic and to see the cattle. Not only was he unwilling to leave his son alone, but how could he leave his ex-wife? Moreover, who knew what kind of person this Du Feifan was? Kind or cunning? So he insisted on coming along.
I’d rather just be alone.” If he could let go of her hands and let her get up, that would be better. He had always known she didn’t like being touched, and he hadn’t touched her for several years, but now he was holding her again, making her feel uncomfortable.
Still, a pitiful rejection.
Tang Hua felt a long-forgotten weariness and sense of powerlessness resurface because of the same woman.
Tang Hua, known as the lucky son, could never achieve one wish: to have his wife accept him, to not be afraid of him. Gazing at her delicate, cautious, downcast face, he let the heaviness slowly occupy the space. No matter how much she had changed, would he always be the person she rejected?
Why did his heart, already deemed emotionless, ache so intensely? He had once been so, so madly in love with her, and though the memories of his past efforts might now seem unbearable, they still existed.
How easy was it to stop thinking?
Suppressing various thoughts and chaos, he finally said:
“Okay, go back to Taichung. Be careful on the road. I’ll call you.”
He helped her up, handed her over to Du Feifan, and said nothing more.
Love had become an old wound, past events now dim.
Letting her go, allowing emptiness to fill the space. For a moment, Tang Hua was even jealous of Du Feifan. She was a woman, and completely trusted by Su Su.
That was a luck he could never seek.
“Dad,” Tang Xuexian called softly.
“Let’s go to Grandma’s,” he held his son’s hand, walking together to the parking area. After watching Du Feifan’s car drive away, he also drove off.
He looked unhappy in the photograph.
After a day of back-and-forth travel yesterday, Xiao Su Su, who should have slept until late morning, entered the study early in the morning. She browsed the family photo album shelf and finally pulled out an album marked “Xuexian’s First Year”.
Then she stared blankly at a photograph. In the photo, Tang Hua was holding his one-year-old son about to cut a cake, with people around him laughing heartily, while Tang Hua’s smile looked tired and distracted.
He was very young then. His older brother’s health was declining, but still pushed him to become a capable CEO, so the work placed on Tang Hua was extremely heavy. But this wasn’t the reason for his exhaustion. His fatigue came from her.
She remembered she didn’t attend the one-year celebration. More than a year of marriage had already made him heartbroken, fully understanding that having his wife attend would only lead to an even more unpleasant outcome. How could the dignified Mrs. Tang cower in a corner? No amount of psychological preparation would help; she could never become a competent lady of the house. So he stopped forcing her into crowds or family gatherings.
