Chapter 141: Divorce

Chapter 141: Divorce

Song Yuqing didn't answer immediately, merely watching him quietly.

His gaze was like the still waters of a deep autumn lake, calm and unruffled.

Tan Shu’s heartbeat echoed endlessly in this silence, pounding and urging, yet under that gaze, he felt a trace of unavoidable awkwardness.

Tan Shu was abruptly pulled back to a sliver of rationality. Sometimes, he truly felt like a complete mess.

Clearly, he was talking about feelings with Song Yuqing, yet he inexplicably veered off track, wanting to kiss Song Yuqing, to possess Song Yuqing.

“Sometimes, I even suspect you’ve drugged me,” Tan Shu couldn’t resist lowering his head to lightly touch Song Yuqing’s forehead.

Song Yuqing: “...”

Song Yuqing pressed his finger firmly against the alpha’s eye socket. “I suspect you’re in heat.”

The firm eyeball, separated by the alpha’s warm eyelid, pressed against Song Yuqing’s palm. Something born from his hand seemed to have returned to his palm at that moment.

“Your eye is fine; you’re not blind.”

Song Yuqing suddenly spoke, uttering words entirely unrelated to their previous topic. But Tan Shu understood—Song Yuqing was responding to Tan Hongzhen’s earlier insult calling him a “blind fool.”

He was saying he wasn’t a blind fool.

Tan Shu: “Mmm.”

Song Yuqing: “Can you see clearly now? No need to pretend anymore?”

Tan Shu: “It’s better now. Do you want to see? I can take it out for you.”

Tan Shu once again fell into the persistent thought that Song Yuqing was, in a way, his creator, like a mother to him, because a part of him had been created by Song Yuqing.

“I’ve seen it.” Song Yuqing withdrew his hand. Just as Tan Shu thought he would be pushed away completely, Song Yuqing’s hand moved again.

The eyeball had already fused with Tan Shu’s flesh, enveloped by bodily tissues, becoming a part of Tan Shu’s body.

This was the true state of machine and flesh fusion—no foreign sensation, capable of fully restoring bodily functions.

Just as Tan Shu thought Song Yuqing had finished examining it and was about to withdraw his hand, Song Yuqing’s hand moved again. Not to push him away, but to lift once more. This time, her palm gently pressed against Tan Shu’s heaving chest, through the thin fabric and the ribcage.

As Tan Shu felt Song Yuqing’s touch, he heard her voice.

“I truly don’t love you.”

“But I don’t completely disregard you either.”

Tan Shu grasped Song Yuqing’s hand, which rested over his heart, holding it firmly in place.

“Tan Shu, Tan Hongzhen and the Tan family have been eliminated. You’ve gotten your revenge; there’s no need to dwell on it any longer.”

“Loving yourself is easier and freer than craving love from others.”

Hearing these words, Tan Shu was momentarily stunned.

“Be good.”

“Love yourself.”

Song Yuqing’s voice was soft, with a hint of coaxing. Tan Shu’s heart pounded with every beat.

Song Yuqing didn’t love him, but she was teaching him to love himself.

So, even without love, tenderness could still exist.

Tan Shu lowered his gaze and cupped Song Yuqing’s face. “You’re very different from how you were before.”

Over the years, even by piecing things together, he had missed too much of Song Yuqing’s life.

But even if Song Yuqing had changed, he would still fall hopelessly in love with her.

“I remember you used to be quite an actor, performing for many people, yet despising everyone.” Tan Shu recounted the Song Yuqing of the past, bit by bit.

His act of calmness toward Tan Shu, suppressing the scathing words deep inside, was because Song Yuqing couldn’t be bothered to engage with him, not even wanting to exchange an extra word.

“Back then, I thought you and I were the same kind—people who wanted to destroy the world and, in the process, end ourselves.”

Calmly climbing upward, calmly destroying everyone, and when it all seemed meaningless, simply choosing death.

Song Yuqing tilted her head slightly, a faint smile touching her lips. “In the past, I guess I had many obsessions.”

“You don’t anymore?” Tan Shu pressed eagerly.

The young man’s gaze deepened, as if recalling something, lost in memory. His smile faded slightly.

“I do,” she drawled softly. “It’s just that now, I feel there’s nothing wrong with living.”

Tan Shu fell silent for a moment before speaking. “It seems they treated you well.”

During his absence, Song Yuqing had lived well.

A mix of loss and relief washed over him—loss that he wasn’t the one who left a profound mark on Song Yuqing’s life, yet relief that Song Yuqing had fared well.

Tan Shu: “I want to hear how you’ve been all these years.”

Song Yuqing, too lazy to speak, simply leaned against the alpha. “Tell me what happened to you in Westland. I’ll listen.”

Tan Shu stiffened for a moment before wrapping his arms around Song Yuqing.

The quiet reception room was filled only with the sound of Tan Shu’s voice.

Tan Shu was adept at disguise, having practiced it for years. His speech carried an ingrained gentleness.

Word by word, his narration felt as if it transcended time, as if he were still the “mad dog” Song Yuqing had cursed in his heart years ago.

As if he were still the lunatic who schemed to drag Song Yuqing into hell, only to pull him back at the last moment.

Everything seemed unchanged, yet everything was already unrecognizable.

Song Yuqing hadn’t been resting well lately. Tan Shu had only spoken a few sentences before Song Yuqing fell asleep.

Tan Shu looked down at the sleeping Song Yuqing, momentarily frozen, almost unable to move.

As if he couldn’t quite believe that Song Yuqing would trust him so easily.

As if he couldn’t quite believe that Song Yuqing would fall into his arms.

After a long while, a gentle smile curled at the corners of Tan Shu's lips. "I will be good to you too."

Where was the decisive little mom everyone relied on? Clearly, he was just a little cat who also needed to be wrapped up in love.

It was at this moment that Tan Shu came to understand emotions better.

It wasn’t about hypocrisy or unequal demands, but leaning on each other.

Just like how, before he fell into the abyss, Song Yuqing could pull him back; when he was abandoned by his family, Song Yuqing would hold him.

When Song Yuqing needed a safe place to rest, he should always be able to provide it for him.

Tan Shu carried him upstairs carefully, grabbed the first aid kit, and tended to the wounds on Song Yuqing’s hands.

The seemingly intricate and indestructible Tan family empire fell apart shockingly fast under the impact of solid evidence.

The now-idle production lines, along with all the resources and everything they had left after the Tan family’s downfall, were all scooped up by Song Yuqing and reorganized.

In an extremely short time, Silver Leaf Pharmaceutical completely disappeared from Xinzhou.

Song Yuqing’s Prometheus-1 quickly dominated the market, cornering the market.

During the arrest, the incident blew up. Because Song Yuqing had visited the Tan family beforehand, many people took photos, setting off another firestorm on the internet.

—Who would have thought the Tan family would collapse just like that?

—Most importantly, even though the Tan family fell, only Tan Shu came out okay.

—It’s almost laughable. They used to say Song Yuqing’s production lines were insufficient and inefficient. Now, he’s just taking over everything. One can’t help but suspect Song Yuqing deliberately schemed against that old man Tan Hongzhen.

—Come, come, come, let’s admire Mr. Song pouring champagne on that old man. Every time I see this gif, I can’t help but freak out.

—My wife, absolutely gorgeous! Who understands the power of that leg lift as she steps out of the car? Wife, lift your leg—let me worship you.

—While no one’s around, Mommy!

—Mommy! Mama! I’m your baby! I want to return to where I was born, QAQ.

—Wait, hold on. Teacher, why is our kitty’s hair singed?

—Because your kitty went to fight someone. He went in alone into the abandoned building in North City, and his hair was probably singed in the explosion.

—Qingqing, can’t you just stay in the office? Are the military and security all dead? Who is worth Qingqing risking his life to save?

—This picture is the iconic shot.

In the image, Song Yuqing’s face was pale and expressionless, his arm wrapped in clean white bandages, contrasting sharply with his porcelain complexion, creating a heart-stopping, fragile beauty.

At this moment,

Qi Zhengqing held Song Yuqing’s singed hair, sounding helpless. "Song Qingqing."

Song Yuqing cut him off, "If you’re going to say something I don’t want to hear, you might as well keep quiet."

Qi Zhengqing: "..."

Qi Zhengqing picked up the scissors and began trimming Song Yuqing’s hair.

After one bad experience at a hair salon, Song Yuqing never went again.

His hair was always cut at home by Qi Zhengqing.

But Qi Zhengqing was often too busy, so he only trimmed it after long intervals.

Of course, Song Yuqing also believed that Qi Zhengqing, that jerk, had a preference for long hair, as he never cut it shorter than shoulder-length.

This time, with Song Yuqing’s hair singed, Qi Zhengqing came again to trim it.

"Next time—"

The alpha had just opened his mouth, but before he could finish, Song Yuqing nodded like crazy. "Yeah, yeah, next time I won’t go to dangerous places. Next time, I’ll tell you first if something happens. Ideally, I won’t even leave the house, just stay home and play with the cat. Home is the safest place."

"If I don’t go out, I won’t get hurt."

"Maybe I should just stay home forever and be your kept bird."

Qi Zhengqing: "..."

Sometimes, Song Yuqing really knew how to piss him off. It wasn’t that Song Yuqing didn’t understand—he knew everything—but he still insisted on doing such things.

And yet, Qi Zhengqing couldn’t scold him too harshly. If he said Song Yuqing was wrong, Song Yuqing would simply turn away and shut him out completely.

Qi Zhengqing cut off the last of Song Yuqing’s singed hair, his gaze falling once again on Song Yuqing’s hand.

His slender arm, seemingly fragile enough to break with a snap, so much more delicate than an alpha’s, had nonetheless managed to pull back an alpha so much taller and stronger than him.

His wrist was also cut, bleeding—who knows how much blood he lost?

Whenever Qi Zhengqing thought of that scene, he couldn’t pretend it never happened. He couldn’t just let Song Yuqing do as he pleased.

"Song Yuqing," Qi Zhengqing’s voice lowered, his voice shaking with held-back emotion. He put down the scissors and firmly held Song Yuqing’s still blank face. "Look at me."

Song Yuqing didn’t move, only lowering his eyelashes, his fingers absently petting the soft fur of the cat in his lap.

Qi Zhengqing took a deep breath.

"If you do something like this again, I’ll do the same. However much you’re hurt, I’ll cut myself just as many times."

Qi Zhengqing picked up the scissors again and, without hesitation, cut his own wrist. Blood instantly welled up.

Song Yuqing’s hand, petting the cat, stilled. He stared at Qi Zhengqing. "Are you crazy?"

But his hands moved instinctively to cover the alpha’s wound, dousing it with disinfectant and wrapping it with bandages.

Yet the cut was deep, and blood continued to seep through the bandages, staining Song Yuqing’s fingertips.

Song Yuqing explained coldly, "It’s not like anything happened to me, right? I had it all figured out. I don’t do things I’m not sure about. You should trust me."

Qi Zhengqing: "I’ve trusted you. How many times have I trusted you?"

Song Yuqing: "..."

"Last time, when Tan Shu came to the lab to find you, I let it slide because you weren’t hurt." The alpha’s tone was stern, listing out every single one of Song Yuqing’s actions.

He was like a stern parent, unable to tolerate the child’s repeated mistakes any longer.

"This time, you went to save Tan Shu. Are all your people worthless? Did you have to go yourself?"

"You calculated everything so well? Then what is this?"

Qi Zhengqing took Song Yuqing by the hand, fully exposing the bandaged hand.

The evidence was right before his eyes, leaving Song Yuqing speechless.

88: "Song Qingqing (female), he doesn’t want to be with you anymore. Hurry up and tell him you want a divorce. Now that we’ve taken over the Tan family, we have money. We can even ditch Qi Zhengqing."

Song Yuqing: "."

Author's Note:

88: "Qingqing, dump him."

Song Qingqing: "…"