Chapter 400: It Wasn’t Me (Part 1)
"Why are you just standing there not saying anything? Get in here. We’ve been waiting for you."
Mrs. Tang beckoned to Tang Yuanxiao. "Come take a look at this list—it’s the guest list. You should add..."
"Let’s talk outside."
Tang Yuanxiao cut her off.
Mrs. Tang glanced at Qin Shanshan and nodded. "Fine, let’s talk outside then."
Tang Yuanxiao walked ahead in silence, ignoring his mother.
Qin Shanshan pushed Mrs. Tang, following right behind Tang Yuanxiao.
Once they found an open area with no one around, where they didn’t have to worry about being overheard, Tang Yuanxiao finally stopped.
Mrs. Tang impatiently grabbed his hand and spoke.
"Tangyuan, you need to marry Shanshan as soon as possible."
Tang Yuanxiao looked down at Mrs. Tang, his gaze icy. "Was last night all your plan?"
Mrs. Tang faltered under his gaze but didn’t look away.
"What are you talking about? Since it’s already come to this, and what’s done is done, nothing else matters. The important thing is that you need to take responsibility."
Tang Yuanxiao looked at Mrs. Tang, his gaze so cold it was as if he wasn’t looking at his own mother.
"Was it the soda?" Tang Yuanxiao’s words were a question, but his tone was certain.
"Tangyuan, what is this attitude?" Mrs. Tang grew more flustered under his stare, her unease turning to anger.
"I’m doing this for you, for the Tang Family! And look at you, being so completely stubborn. If you keep this up, I’ll die without ever seeing a grandchild. I won’t be able to rest in peace! If you keep on like this, how will I ever face your father? How will I face the ancestors of the Tang Family?"
The more Mrs. Tang spoke, the angrier she became, her voice filled with frustrated disappointment.
Qin Shanshan saw the look on Tang Yuanxiao’s face and quickly spoke to soothe Mrs. Tang.
"Auntie, don’t get so worked up. You can’t get agitated, it’s bad for your health."
She patted Mrs. Tang’s chest and whispered in her ear, "Auntie, let me talk to Brother Tang Yuan."
’Mrs. Tang’s attitude won’t do. She’s going to turn a good thing into a disaster.’
Qin Shanshan decided to handle the conversation herself and take control.
Mrs. Tang wouldn’t listen to Tang Yuanxiao now, but she listened to Qin Shanshan and agreed.
In the end, only Qin Shanshan and Tang Yuanxiao remained.
Tang Yuanxiao’s scrutinizing, oppressive gaze made Qin Shanshan’s face flush crimson in an instant.
The chaotic, frenzied memories of last night replayed uncontrollably in her mind. Qin Shanshan’s legs went weak, and it took all her strength just to remain standing.
She lowered her head, casting a glance at Tang Yuanxiao that was both coy and seductive.
"Brother Tang Yuan... I’m sorry. I didn’t realize what Auntie was planning... I never thought she would do something like that. I like you, but I never wanted to force you..."
She trailed off, looking utterly abashed.
"I... I... I never thought it would be like that. I wanted to push you away, but... you were too strong..."
She bit her lip. "Now... Now I’m yours, Brother Tang Yuan..."
She spoke as if on the verge of tears. "Brother Tang Yuan, you can’t abandon me. If you do, my life is over."
As Qin Shanshan spoke, large tears began to stream down her face.
"I know you still have Su Li in your heart, that you can’t forget her. But it’s okay... I... I can wait for you. You can even go see her, just as long as you don’t abandon me."
As she spoke, her hand moved to gently hook his pocket.
"Brother Tang Yuan, if you don’t want me, death is my only way out..."
Tang Yuanxiao watched Qin Shanshan’s performance with cold eyes, the frost and disgust in them about to overflow.
Qin Shanshan kept her head down, completely oblivious.
"Brother Tang Yuan..."
Just as Qin Shanshan was about to say more, Tang Yuanxiao finally moved.
He took two steps back, avoiding her hand, and spoke.
"It wasn’t me."
He said only three words, his tone glacial.
Qin Shanshan’s welling tears stopped abruptly. "Huh?"
For a moment, she didn’t understand what he meant. Or rather, she was trying to deny the implication of those three words.
"Brother Tang Yuan, what are you saying..."
Qin Shanshan finally looked up at Tang Yuanxiao. The cold loathing in his eyes, the look of revulsion so intense he seemed on the verge of vomiting, made the rest of her words catch in her throat.
"Whether you live or die has nothing to do with me. If you want someone to take responsibility, don’t look for me. It wasn’t me."
Tang Yuanxiao looked at Qin Shanshan as if she were something filthy. "Didn’t you notice the iron bars on your window have been pulled out?"
Qin Shanshan’s pupils contracted sharply.
She hadn’t noticed the state of her window at all.
But she understood the meaning behind his words.
The blush on her face drained away, leaving it deathly pale. "Tang Yuanxiao, what do you mean? Are you trying to deny it?"
Qin Shanshan’s voice trembled, but this time, it wasn’t an act. She was genuinely shaking.
She had considered a thousand possibilities, but she never imagined Tang Yuanxiao would refuse to admit it.
’This is impossible! Completely impossible!’
"Why should I admit it? I told you, it wasn’t me. Don’t ever appear in front of me again."
After his cold declaration, Tang Yuanxiao turned and walked away.
Qin Shanshan lunged forward and grabbed his arm. "Impossible! If it wasn’t you, who else could it have been? Tang Yuanxiao, don’t you dare try to weasel your way out of this!"
Qin Shanshan’s mind went blank. She was on the verge of hysterics.
She never in a million years would have thought Tang Yuanxiao would deny it!
"I said it wasn’t me." Tang Yuanxiao shook off Qin Shanshan’s hand, his stance resolute.
Qin Shanshan’s earlier assumption hadn’t been wrong. If Tang Yuanxiao had actually done it, given his personality, he would have taken responsibility no matter what. But what if he hadn’t?
Tang Yuanxiao denied it, absolutely and firmly.
He strode away.
Leaving Qin Shanshan collapsed on the ground in disbelief.
Watching Tang Yuanxiao walk further and further away, Qin Shanshan finally broke down crying.
"Tang Yuanxiao, come back! Come back! You can’t deny it!"
’Trying to deny it? Dream on!’
Qin Shanshan turned to Mrs. Tang, who was not far off, and shouted through her tears, "Auntie! Auntie, you have to stand up for me!"
Mrs. Tang had been watching them the whole time and could already tell something was wrong.
"Don’t be afraid, Shanshan, I’m still here."
Mrs. Tang roared, "Tang Yuanxiao, you get over here!"
Seeing Tang Yuanxiao ignore her, Mrs. Tang was so furious she tried to stand, but instead tumbled right out of her wheelchair.
"AIIEE!" Mrs. Tang’s cry of pain forced Tang Yuanxiao to a halt.
Just as Tang Yuanxiao lifted her back into the wheelchair, Mrs. Tang grabbed him and tried to hit him.
"Tangyuan, what is wrong with you? Are you trying to abandon her after what happened? Let me tell you, don’t even think about it..."
She was cursing, about to scratch Tang Yuanxiao like she usually did, but the next second, he caught her hand.
"Keep your hands to yourself." Tang Yuanxiao put his mother’s hand back down. He wasn’t going to take her abuse lying down anymore, nor was he going to tolerate it.
Just like with everything else his mother had done, Tang Yuanxiao never would have imagined she would go so far as to drug her own son.
’Was she trying to hasten my death?’
Just when Tang Yuanxiao had been feeling a new sense of purpose, his mother had eagerly doused him with a basin of cold water.
It chilled him to the core.