Volume One, Chapter 136: Phoenix Man (3)
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Xu Jingtang had remained silent all this time, until he saw the comments mentioning his mother.
Tears slid from the corners of his eyes. “My mother wasn’t always like this. She changed completely after she was diagnosed with cancer. I love Lanlan so much—how could I ever have allowed anyone to hurt her?”
“You’re still pretending at a time like this!”
Wang Guihua was furious. Pointing at Xu Jingtang on the screen, she began to berate him. “Xu Jingtang, if you’re still a man, then openly admit what you’ve done!”
Xu Jingtang pulled a tissue from the table and blew his nose. Then, as though he had made some momentous decision, he said, “Fine! Since you want to hear it, I’ll tell you the truth!”
“When I was three, my father ran off with another woman. My mother never remarried for the sake of raising me! Now that I’ve made something of myself, am I not allowed to bring her home and care for her?”
Xu Jingtang abruptly erupted, shedding his usual meek and deferential manner, as though he had been bottling everything up for a very long time.
“Yes! You were the ones who bought the new house! You bought the car too! But I promised that within five years, I would buy a house and a car and give Lanlan a real home! You simply didn’t want your precious daughter to suffer with me, so you insisted on buying them!”
“Yes! You gave me my current job! But at my previous company, I had been promised a chance for promotion within five years!”
“If I had waited a few more years, I could have proved myself! But for Lanlan’s sake, I became a kept man, and even now I’m mocked by my colleagues! Yet you don’t think there’s anything wrong with that—instead, you think I’m merely clinging to your wealth and status!”
Xu Jingtang covered his face and wept.
“What? I think he really loves his wife. As a fellow man, I know how hard it is to put aside your dignity.”
“Heh. If I bought you a house and a car and gave you a bright future, would you still care about your dignity?”
“Sisters, wake up! If you’ve enjoyed the benefits of being kept, don’t come here complaining! If you men truly have any backbone, then don’t live off a woman!”
“Didn’t you see that Xu Jingtang agreed to it so he could be with his wife?”
“We’ve all struggled through society. Do you really think that story is believable?”
“I believe it! I believe love like that exists! Besides, all those words had been buried in his heart. If Wang Guihua hadn’t pushed him so hard, he wouldn’t have exploded.”
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“Then that makes it even more terrifying! A dog that bites doesn’t bark. He bottled up all his negative emotions, and the moment he found an outlet, he lashed out!”
“Exactly! A lot of crimes happen because people suppress things for too long.”
“Could you stop imagining the worst in people? Maybe it really is nothing more than love?”
As the comments descended into a furious argument, Xu Jingtang spoke again. “Regardless of what any of you think, the woman I have loved most in this life is Shu Minglan. I’m truly sorry that my mother killed Lanlan.”
“I know my mother very well. I’m her only son. She loves me, and she would love everything I love as well.”
“It was the pain of her illness that twisted her into someone unrecognizable! She was suffering too…”
He faltered mid-sentence. “I’m not trying to whitewash what she did. I know that a life must be paid for with a life…”
Xu Jingtang suddenly realized that he could no longer make a sound.
He even reached into his throat and gagged, but not a whisper came out.
“What’s going on? Did my phone lose its sound?”
“I’ve turned the volume all the way up, and there’s still nothing.”
“Is everyone else unable to hear anything too? Then I’m relieved.”
Wang Guihua was still stunned and had yet to recover. She had never realized that Xu Jingtang had accumulated such deep resentment. Every time he accepted their help, he had seemed so docile and deferential.
She had thought it was humility. She never imagined he had hidden it so deeply.
Seeing the panic spreading through the comments, Qin Yu finally spoke in a calm voice. “Everyone, don’t be afraid. I couldn’t bear to listen any longer, so I used a Silencing Talisman on him.”
“My friends, you have no idea. I had the volume turned all the way up, and when the streamer suddenly spoke just now, I was so startled I nearly threw my phone.”
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“Is my wife really that frightening?”
“No, no—it was just the suddenness that scared me.”
“You’re Xu Jingtang, right?”
Qin Yu said, “You claimed that Shu Minglan was the one who pursued you.”
Unable to speak, Xu Jingtang folded his arms across his chest and raised his brows slightly at Qin Yu. His expression seemed to ask: What exactly are you trying to say?
“Before you ever met Shu Minglan, you investigated all her likes and preferences. You made her believe that you were her one true destined partner, the man fated for her! That was why she was willing to do anything to marry you.”
Although Shu Minglan had been born a beloved heiress, she was no empty-headed innocent. She had beauty, intelligence, an enviable figure, and a powerful family background. She was a genuine socialite and lady of refinement.
But Xu Jingtang had prepared a personalized report on her.
He appeared before her disguised as her ideal type, creating a series of coincidences that made her fall for him instantly.
On top of that, he was skilled at using a self-effacing, submissive posture to advance by retreating. In his presence, Shu Minglan was far too inexperienced.
Xu Jingtang was startled for a moment, but his surprise quickly turned to anger. Then he discovered that his voice had returned.
“I won’t allow you to slander the love between Lanlan and me!”
The shock on Wang Guihua’s face deepened. She was about to say something, but Qin Yu silenced her with a glance.
Qin Yu thought to herself: Listening to these two bicker is unbearable. I’d better tell the story myself.
“Love? If I’m not mistaken, Shu Minglan cheated on you, didn’t she?”
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