Chapter 442: Envious of Cousin's Marriage!

Tang Ye did not expect the other person to be Du Xi's cousin, Chen Lan.

After walking closer, he discovered Chen Lan was wearing sunglasses and couldn't help but ask in surprise, "What happened?"

Chen Lan didn't say a word, but tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes, and she subconsciously lowered her head.

Only then did Tang Ye see the injuries on her face and hurriedly called Du Xi.

Not long after, Du Xi came downstairs in her pajamas. Seeing Chen Lan's state, she felt both heartache and anger: "That bastard Shen Mingcheng laid a hand on you!"

Chen Lan still didn't answer; she only trembled, her shoulders shaking, and sobbing sounds emerged from her throat.

Although Du Xi didn't have much affection for Chen Lan, they were cousins after all, so she took her hand and said softly, "Let's go upstairs quickly. It's getting late, and it doesn't look good to talk outside."

Chen Lan obediently followed Du Xi upstairs, and Tang Ye took the initiative to pour her a glass of hot water.

Chen Lan said "Thank you," and after taking a sip of water, her mood seemed to improve slightly.

Du Xi retrieved a medical kit from the room and said softly, "Let me treat your wounds. If they aren't treated in time, it will be very serious. You are so pretty; it would be bad if you were left with scars."

Under Du Xi's gentle persuasion, Chen Lan finally took off her sunglasses.

Her originally delicate features were now distorted and swollen, especially at the corners of her eyes and lips, where the tender skin had burst after being struck hard, seeping with bloodstains.

Chen Lan looked up at Tang Ye, noticed the look of shock in his eyes, and hurriedly buried her head again.

Tang Ye realized that his presence was making Chen Lan feel uncomfortable, so he walked slowly toward the room.

Through the door.

He heard faint sounds coming from the living room.

Du Xi's indignation and Chen Lan's tearful complaints could be heard from time to time!

"Shen Mingcheng is not a man at all, actually laying a hand on a woman."

"He hasn't just laid a hand on me once. Every time he does it, he kneels down and begs for my forgiveness. I've already become numb to it."

"Not just once? You are too indulgent. No, I have to call Aunt."

"It's useless. Every time, she just urges me not to make a scene and to keep the peace."

Tang Ye sighed inwardly, never expecting that the refined-looking Shen Mingcheng was actually a domestic abuser.

Everything has two sides.

It is just like a kitchen knife, which is neutral in itself; it can be used to cook, or it can be used to commit a crime. One cannot deny the value of a kitchen knife just because someone uses it to commit a crime.

Tang Ye lay on the bed for over an hour.

Du Xi walked into the room, saw him with his eyes closed, and knowing he was pretending to sleep, she smiled and walked over, placing her hands on the soles of Tang Ye's feet and tickling him mischievously.

Tang Ye quickly retracted his legs and pounced like a hungry tiger, pinning Du Xi beneath him.

With her arms and legs pinned and unable to move, Du Xi feigned anger and said, "What, are you going to learn from Shen Mingcheng and use violence on me too?"

Tang Ye blew two puffs of hot air against Du Xi's ear and said with a smile, "You call this violence? This is clearly just tickling you."

Du Xi looked at Tang Ye tenderly and said softly, "Shen Mingcheng really isn't a decent person, actually laying such a heavy hand on my cousin. The injuries on her face probably won't heal for a month or two."

Tang Ye asked curiously, "Shen Mingcheng wouldn't lay a hand on her for no reason, would he?"

Du Xi sighed, "Isn't it your fault?"

Tang Ye said in surprise, "They are having a falling out! What does that have to do with me?"

Du Xi said with a half-smile, "You snatched the Hanxing Group project earlier, so Shen Mingcheng has been brooding over it, believing that the Xiao Family didn't help him, that my father backstabbed him, and that you have been setting traps for him, so he took his anger out on Chen Lan."

Tang Ye curled his lip in disdain, "Does Shen Mingcheng have paranoid delusions? Everyone is so busy, who has the energy to spend on him?"

Du Xi nodded, "That's right. Shen Mingcheng isn't magnanimous at all; he's petty, unlike my husband who is broad-minded and upright."

Tang Ye said with a smile, "If I suddenly went crazy one day and laid a hand on you, you wouldn't think that way."

Du Xi shook her head firmly, "You would absolutely never lay a hand on me. Even if you did, I wouldn't complain. I love everything about you; even if you hit me, it wouldn't shake my love for you."

Tang Ye was stunned, and after a long while, he sighed, "You, you really are a hopeless romantic."

Du Xi couldn't help but laugh and suddenly asked, "Do you still have any ink left in your belly?"

Tang Ye said with difficulty, "Your cousin is suffering from emotional setbacks and silently wiping away tears, and we are practicing calligraphy in the next room—wouldn't that be too blatant and excessive?"

Du Xi stuck out her tongue and whispered like a mosquito, "I only see you once a week; if I don't seize the opportunity, how will we have a baby? Should I give up our plans just for her? I happen to be in my fertile window these few days. How about later, once she's asleep..."

"Mm, once she's sound asleep, she shouldn't be able to hear."

Tang Ye's eyes lit up, and he leaned down to kiss Du Xi.

Du Xi's lips were soft and moist, carrying a faint woman's scent.

A woman's scent is a very mysterious thing; every woman has a different scent: some have unpleasant body odor, most have normal body odor, and only a few women have a true woman's scent.

A woman's scent is different from the smell of perfume; the former is naturally generated, while the latter is produced through human intervention.

In the room next door, Chen Lan was silently licking her wounds in the dark.

Tonight, she had intended to give Shen Mingcheng a surprise, traveling all the way from Qiongjin to Tianling County, only to see an unbearable scene in the room.

Not only did Shen Mingcheng not reflect on his actions, but he also beat her severely, which crushed all of Chen Lan's existing pride.

She had always felt that she had married a good husband; Shen Mingcheng was young, promising, and had a solid family background, but reality made her realize that she seemed to have made the wrong choice.

She didn't know who to tell, and in her utter despair, she thought of her cousin, Du Xi.

But upon arriving downstairs at the apartment complex, Chen Lan hesitated, because she had shown disdain and contempt for Du Xi on many occasions, and Du Xi had also shown strong aversion toward her.

Just as she was preparing to leave, she happened to run into Tang Ye returning home.

Although Tang Ye did not have a family background as illustrious as Shen Mingcheng's, it was clear that he cherished Du Xi dearly, and Du Xi loved Tang Ye to the marrow of her bones.

It could only be said that that slap from Shen Mingcheng had shaken the value system she had built since childhood.

Perhaps in this life, one shouldn't just look at the other person's background, but should follow one's own heart.

Even if a man can reach the pinnacle of power, so what? In the end, she was nothing more than a tool for him to summon and dismiss at will.

Chen Lan drifted into a hazy sleep, and she didn't know how much time had passed before she was startled awake in her dream by a violent commotion.

It turned out to be thunder; it was raining, and the sound of the rain was very loud.

Patter, patter—it seemed as if the window glass was about to be smashed.

She wrapped the quilt tightly around herself, countless thoughts darting through her mind: her own marriage had always seemed to be all thunder and no rain; just as she pulled the curtains shut, Shen Mingcheng would say he wanted to smoke.

Why is it that some women are frequently subjected to domestic violence by men, yet are unwilling to leave?

If a man wants a woman to be devoted to him, the skill of pulling the curtains is indispensable.

In the end, she sighed softly: she had always shown a harsh, vicious side toward Du Xi.

Was it not because, deep down, she envied that theirs was a love where both parties were running toward each other?