Chapter 79

Chapter 79: What Right Do You Have to Question Me? Jiang Shixu placed Chu Tang on the bed. "You're tired, get some sleep first. I'll go out and take a look." The door opened, and Jiang Shixu's brows furrowed. The person outside was Gu Zechuan. He had almost forgotten that Gu Zechuan was currently in the ancient town. How interesting. Jiang Shixu had just finished showering, with only a towel wrapped around his waist. The hickeys on his neck and collarbone were clearly visible. Suddenly seeing such a scene, the veins on Gu Zechuan's forehead bulged. His breath caught, his face turned deathly pale, and a dangerous storm brewed in his eyes. "What did you do to Tangtang!" Gu Zechuan clenched his fists so tightly that the veins on the backs of his hands stood out. Jiang Shixu let out a light laugh. "We're boyfriend and girlfriend. What else could we do?" These words were like the last straw that broke the camel's back. Gu Zechuan's chest felt constricted with rage. He felt as if all the blood in his body had frozen solid, and his head throbbed with a splitting pain. He had once tortured himself with the thought—had Chu Tang and Jiang Shixu already slept together? But that had only been imagination. Now, at this very moment, seeing the ambiguous marks on Jiang Shixu's body with his own eyes, Gu Zechuan felt as if darkness had swallowed his vision for a second. A sharp ringing in his ears accompanied by a stabbing pain in his heart came on fiercely, and his whole body swayed unsteadily. The next second, Gu Zechuan charged forward like a crazed beast, his eyes splitting with fury, bloodshot and wild, as he roared and lunged. Jiang Shixu took a step back, sidestepping to dodge. Then, his fist slammed viciously into Gu Zechuan's face, while he simultaneously kicked Gu Zechuan hard. A searing pain exploded across Gu Zechuan's face, and his head buzzed. He staggered backward, his body crashing into the corridor wall with a dull thud. "Heh." A flicker of mockery flashed in Jiang Shixu's eyes. "Gu Zechuan, I gave you a chance. Three years ago, when Tangtang got together with you, I convinced myself that as long as she was happy, I would step aside and let you two be. But what about you? How did you treat her?" Gu Zechuan's heart felt as if an invisible giant hand was squeezing it, crushing it relentlessly, the pain so intense he could barely breathe. Jiang Shixu gave him no time to catch his breath and pressed on with another accusation: "Gu Zechuan, what right do you have, what standing do you have to question me?" Those words were fatal. Gu Zechuan was briefly stunned. That's right. What right did he have now? He was the one who had destroyed his relationship with Chu Tang with his own hands. He was the one who had pushed her into someone else's arms! Jiang Shixu looked at Gu Zechuan with contempt and derision, like he was looking at a stray dog. He despised men like this the most. Those who don't cherish what they have, then pretend to be devoted after losing it. Belated affection is worth less than grass. Who was he putting on this act for? After a moment of silence, the bewilderment on Gu Zechuan's face vanished completely. He seemed to have found himself a legitimate reason. He curled his lips into a smile, and the bloodstains at the corners of his mouth made him look both mad and obsessive. "Of course I have the right, because I love her! No one will ever love her more than I do!" Jiang Shixu laughed in anger. He raised an eyebrow and sneered, "Love her? Hah. Even a dog would shake its head at your so-called love." Gu Zechuan wanted to say something more. Chu Tang's voice, startled and furious, came from behind Jiang Shixu. "Gu Zechuan, what are you doing here?" She glared at him fiercely, her gaze like she was looking at an irreconcilable enemy. Hearing Chu Tang's voice, Gu Zechuan looked up. The first thing that caught his eye was the unusual flush on Chu Tang's face and the lingering traces of passion in her eyes that hadn't fully faded. Then, lower down, was the glaring hickey on her snow-white neck. At that moment, Gu Zechuan finally understood what it meant to feel his heart being carved out. If just now, hearing Jiang Shixu's one-sided account, he had still harbored a sliver of hope—able to deceive himself into thinking it was just a lie Jiang Shixu had fabricated to provoke him— Now, seeing the marks on Chu Tang's body and the seductive look in her eyes with his own eyes, Gu Zechuan was going mad. He vaguely caught a whiff of the lingering, decadent scent of post-intimacy in the air. They really had done it. This realization pushed Gu Zechuan to the brink of collapse. It felt as if a piece of flesh had been forcibly ripped from his heart, blood dripping and raw, the pain so excruciating it was almost suffocating. "Chu Tang." Gu Zechuan's voice was hoarse, carrying an unmistakable sob. "Please, I beg you, don't be so cruel to me. How could you..." How could you sleep with another man. Those words were too cruel for him. Just thinking about them made his heart ache unbearably. He couldn't bring himself to say them. It was only at this moment that Gu Zechuan finally realized just how deep his obsession with Chu Tang ran, how powerful his possessiveness was. In all his twenty-something years, Gu Zechuan had never felt as devastated and hopeless as he did at this moment. A tear slipped from his eye, and Gu Zechuan felt like he was shattering into pieces from the grief. The winter wind blew through the corridor, biting and bone-chilling. Gu Zechuan stood in the cold wind, gazing at Chu Tang with eyes full of anguish, as if he might be carried away by the wind at any moment. Chu Tang's jaw was tight, her face cold, fury blazing clearly in her eyes. "Gu Zechuan, we parted on good terms. I've spared your dignity. If you keep harassing me like this again and again, don't blame me for showing no mercy!" Gu Zechuan's eyes glistened with tears. The spot where Jiang Shixu had just hit him was bruised and red. "No." Gu Zechuan's voice was hoarse. "Chu Tang, I was really wrong. Please, I'm begging you, come back, okay... please, Chu Tang..." The man had humbled himself to the dust. He no longer cared about face, begging Chu Tang with lowered voice, crying like a child. Seeing him like this, Chu Tang let out a helpless sigh. She rubbed her temples and said wearily, "Gu Zechuan, what's the point of this? I'm really tired. Let me go." Gu Zechuan's eyes were bloodshot, his voice choked with sobs. "I'm sorry, Chu Tang. I can't." Chu Tang frowned slightly, said nothing more, and cast a cold glance at him before preparing to close the door. Gu Zechuan panicked and suddenly reached out to block it. His hand got caught in the door gap. Chu Tang didn't react in time and closed the door with a bit of force. Gu Zechuan's hand was pinched, and he sucked in a sharp breath of pain. A flicker of surprise passed through Chu Tang's eyes, then she returned to indifference. "Gu Zechuan, just go." With that, Chu Tang moved to close the door again. Jiang Shixu reached out and pushed Gu Zechuan back, preventing him from sticking his hand in the door again. The door closed. The hallway fell silent once more. Outside the door. Gu Zechuan closed his eyes in pain. Tears slid down silently. For him, this night was a terrible nightmare. From then on, this night became the demon haunting his mind, never letting him find peace. Gu Zechuan stood there alone for a very, very long time. So long that the lights inside the apartment went out. So long that the noisy night grew quiet until no sound could be heard at all. Gu Zechuan dragged his numb body, walking step by step into the elevator like a walking corpse. He pressed the button. Went downstairs. It was a cold night. Outside, wind and snow raged. Because the apartment had heating, Gu Zechuan had only worn a thin shirt. Like a wandering ghost, he trudged forward silently through the blinding snow with his head down, no direction, no destination. It felt as though a huge hole had been torn in his chest, cold wind howling through it. Even the biting cold outside couldn't compare to a fraction of the chill in his heart. Gu Zechuan felt that on this night, all the snow in the world had fallen onto his heart.