Marriage Seduction Addiction

At the end of the day, Tang Xu and Ji Yan were not too tired. After they finished their work, Lu Xingyan, who had done half a day of physical labor, had already left and gone home.

Tang Xu wasn't surprised at all that Lu Xingyan would come, but it was rather strange that he went back without saying a word after finishing his work.

So after returning home, Tang Xu quickly went to Lu Xingyan's door. After ringing the doorbell but receiving no response, she entered the password and went inside.

However, Lu Xingyan was nowhere to be seen in the room; only Kimi rushed over and wagged his tail at her.

Tang Xu frowned slightly and turned to call Lu Xingyan.

Lu Xingyan on the other end of the phone seemed to be on the street, with some background noise coming through.

Hearing this background noise, Tang Xu actually breathed a sigh of relief.

At least he was living amidst the everyday life of ordinary people, rather than wallowing alone in some dark and silent place.

"I thought you went home," Tang Xu said. "Aren't you tired after a day of physical labor? Where did you go?"

"Just browsing around," Lu Xingyan said.

At the same time, Tang Xu suddenly heard a familiar piece of music coming from the background, accompanied by a mechanical female voice: "Welcome to Sweetheart Workshop, fresh handmade baking every day—"

Tang Xu suddenly knew where he was.

That Sweetheart Workshop is an old establishment; there's only one in the whole city.

"You went to the vicinity of the school?"

“Yes,” Lu Xingyan said.

Why did you suddenly decide to go there?

"Having seen Gao Yao today, and considering I'm about to leave, isn't it only right to come back and reminisce?"

Tang Xu was speechless for a moment after hearing this, and then asked, "Did you two not say anything when you met during the day?"

"What can I say?" Lu Xing asked in an extremely indifferent tone, then said, "Is there anything you want to eat? I'll bring it back for you."

Hearing his calm tone, which was completely different from yesterday, Tang Xu was unsure of what was wrong with him and couldn't help but ask, "Lu Xingyan, are you alright?"

"What could possibly be wrong with me? I'll be right back after I buy what I need."

This situation was rather strange for Tang Xu, but since she couldn't see his condition over the phone, she could only reply, "Then just buy something, anyway, things around here haven't changed much over the years..."

"Okay," Lu Xingyan replied, and then hung up the phone.

Tang Xu returned home clutching her phone, still feeling somewhat worried.

……

As evening fell, Lu Xingyan finally returned home, knocked on Tang Xu's door, and handed her a large pile of snacks he had bought.

Tang Xu then pulled him in.

Ji Yan was sitting on the sofa watching TV when she heard the noise. She turned her head and exchanged a glance with Lu Xingyan, then nodded slightly.

Lu Xingyan stepped forward and placed the bag in her hand on the round coffee table. "I happened to pass by my high school and bought some food nearby to see if it still tastes the same as before."

Upon hearing this, Ji Yan looked at the bag with some curiosity.

Tang Xu sat down beside her and took out all the different kinds of snacks, listing them off as if they were precious treasures. "I remember this place, we used to love eating here... This place is too spicy, I used to be unable to eat much of it... This place is still open? Is it still the same pretty proprietress... I don't recognize this place, is it newly opened...?"

She laid out all the different foods inside, then handed a cup of tofu pudding to Ji Yan, saying, "This is a place you used to like, try it."

Ji Yan reached out and took the spoon, picked it up, took a bite, savored it carefully, and then smiled slightly, "Delicious."

Tang Xu then pushed a box of oden in front of her, saying, "This oden is also a classic. Give it a try."

Ji Yan accepted all of her recommendations.

Tang Xu watched her eat before turning to Lu Xingyan and asking, "Speaking of which, it's been a long time since I've been there. Has it changed a lot?"

Lu Xingyan said, "It's still the same, nothing has changed."

After saying that, he picked up a snack and started eating it himself, but didn't even glance at Ji Yan.

Tang Xu glanced at him before looking at Ji Yan again and said, "Speaking of which, I should take you back to see it. After all, it's a place you used to live in. Maybe going back will remind you of something... Of course, it doesn't matter if you don't remember anything. Anyway, I think you're doing pretty well right now, don't you?"

Ji Yan smiled slightly upon hearing this.

Tang Xu couldn't help but glance at Lu Xingyan out of the corner of her eye, only to see him sitting there quietly, as if he hadn't heard anything, chewing his food in a near-wooden manner.

Tang Xu didn't know what to say next. After eating a skewer of potatoes from the spicy hot pot, she suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, this is so delicious!"

After saying that, she handed a skewer to Ji Yan, who took it, tasted it, and nodded in approval: "Mmm, delicious."

Turning around, she saw that Lu Xingyan had also taken a skewer, but only ate one piece before putting it down, commenting, "It has no flavor."

"Of course it tastes bland if you don't dip it in any sauce!" Tang Xu placed the small box of dipping sauce in front of him. "This dipping sauce seems to taste different from before, it's even better! You should try it."

Lu Xingyan took it, dipped it in the sauce, and as usual, only took one bite before discarding it, saying, "It's alright."

"I don't like eating with people like you!" Tang Xu said. "This is so-so, that's not good either, how are other people supposed to eat?"

After she said that, Lu Xingyan didn't refute her at all. He just sat there and quietly watched them eat.

Just then, the sound of the door unlocking came from inside. Tang Xu turned around and saw Yan Shiyu returning. She immediately got up to greet him, "You're back? Lu Xingyan bought a lot of snacks today. How about we have snacks for dinner tonight?"

As the two were talking, out of the corner of Ji Yan's eye, she noticed that Lu Xingyan's physical condition suddenly became somewhat strange—

She couldn't help but turn to look at him, only to see that his face was inexplicably slightly red and his throat seemed very uncomfortable. She couldn't help but raise her hand to touch it, but the moment she raised her hand, Ji Yan clearly saw a patch of red hives on his forearm!
Ji Yan couldn't help but gasp.

Lu Xingyan looked up at her, and Ji Yan then noticed that he also had the same hives on his neck!
"You..." She was at a loss for words, and could only gesture with her hands to try to remind him.

Lu Xingyan belatedly looked at his forearm and saw the hives that had appeared on it. He seemed to realize something and suddenly stood up. However, as soon as he stood up, he uncontrollably slumped back into the sofa. In an instant, even breathing became difficult. His originally well-defined face began to swell and swell, and he could no longer recognize his original features!
Ji Yan froze, almost losing the ability to think. She rushed to Lu Xingyan, but because her mind was blank, she didn't know what to do. She could only subconsciously call out, "Brother!"

Hearing her trembling voice, Yan Shiyu and Tang Xu immediately rushed over. Upon seeing the scene, Tang Xu was instantly stunned. "What happened? What's going on?"

"He's having an allergic reaction!" Ji Yan said urgently, pressing down on Lu Xingyan with one hand. "Call an ambulance quickly! Do we have any allergy medication at home? He'll go into shock if this continues!"

Tang Xu panicked, her mind went blank, and she couldn't remember if there were any allergy medications at home. She could only quickly find the medicine cabinet and start rummaging through it. "Allergy? What did he eat? How could he be allergic? What is he allergic to?"

Ji Yan's gaze searched the table in front of her for a while, and finally landed on the last dipping sauce he had eaten from. She picked up the dipping sauce and looked down to examine it carefully.

Tang Xu searched around but couldn't find the allergy medication. Looking up, she saw Ji Yan holding the dipping sauce. "This? Isn't this just ordinary dipping sauce? How could there be anything in it that could cause an allergic reaction? Are you sure it's an allergy? What is he allergic to?"

“Almonds,” Ji Yan said. “He’s allergic to almonds. But how come there are almonds in this dipping sauce?”

Tang Xu paused for a moment, feeling that something was not quite right, but at that moment her mind was in a state of panic and she had no time to grasp it.

Just then, Yan Shiyu, who had just finished calling for an ambulance, noticed Lu Xingyan, whose face was so disfigured that he couldn't even open his eyes, make a seemingly unconscious movement. The next moment, he quickly stepped forward, bent down, and pulled a transparent bag from the inside pocket of Lu Xingyan's coat—

The bag contained allergy medication and an adrenaline syringe.

Upon seeing these two items, Ji Yan's mind went blank. She could only watch as Yan Shiyu injected adrenaline into Lu Xingyan's body and forced him to swallow the anti-allergy medication. Then she instructed Tang Xu, "Go get an ice pack."

Tang Xu hurriedly went to the kitchen to get a few ice packs, wrapped them in a towel, and then handed them to Yan Shiyu.

Yan Shiyu pressed the cold towel against Lu Xingyan's swollen cheeks and lips, then slightly raised her eyes to glance at Ji Yan, who was still holding Lu Xingyan's hand tightly.

At the same time, Tang Xu also looked at Ji Yan.

Ji Yan just sat there stiffly until she felt her hand being gripped tightly from behind. She didn't look at Lu Xingyan, who had just escaped from the emergency, but instead looked at the bag he had prepared beforehand.

It's normal for people with allergies to carry medication with them, but their allergens are so rare that they can be completely avoided with a little care. Why would they carry medication with them, or even prepare life-saving adrenaline?

The only answer is that he knew he would need it.

He knew he would definitely have an allergic reaction, which is why he used it.

The answer is self-evident.

As the medication took effect, the swelling on Lu Xingyan's face began to subside little by little, and she was finally able to open her eyes.

He looked at the person in front of him, and his vision gradually cleared. At the same time, the hand that had been tightly holding hers slowly loosened.

Noticing his movement, Ji Yan finally slowly turned her head to look at him.

But Lu Xingyan had already slowly closed his eyes and tightly shut his lips, as if he no longer wanted to look at her or say another word.

……

After the ambulance arrived, Tang Xu accompanied Lu Xingyan to the hospital.

Lu Xingyan lay with his eyes closed the whole way, and Tang Xu didn't say anything to him.

Upon arriving at the hospital, after completing a series of examinations, Lu Xingyan was transferred to a ward for observation.

After listening to the doctor's orders outside the door, Tang Xu returned to the ward and saw him staring blankly at the ceiling with his hands behind his head. Tang Xu went over and removed his hands from behind his head, placing them flat on the bed. Then, she sat down on the edge of the bed, stared at him for a moment, and finally spoke: "When did you guess?"

“Today,” Lu Xingyan said.

"At the senior activity center?"

“The lunchbox I received at noon included mushroom and chicken, but the one she handed me didn’t. There was only a slight mushroom flavor left on the rice,” Lu Xingyan said. “But after she woke up, she never had a chance to know that I don’t eat mushrooms. So, she shouldn’t have known.”

In other words, if she knows, it must be because she remembers things from the past—

No, it wasn't just that she remembered; rather, she recalled past events and all the experiences she had gone through with him, which is why she remembered his extreme aversion to mushrooms.

"So you deliberately used your allergy medicine to test her? Are you crazy? Using something like this to test her? What if she forgot, or panicked and didn't know what to do? Do you want to die? You almost went into shock today! If Yan Shiyu hadn't noticed the movement in your hands, we might not have even discovered that you were hiding medicine on you!"

Thinking about what had just happened, Tang Xu felt a chill run down her spine, but then she saw him fall silent again and stop talking.

Tang Xu was silent for a moment before asking again, "So... what are your plans now?"

She clearly saw Lu Xingyan release Ji Yan's hand after gradually regaining his senses. His reaction indicated that he was already experiencing some kind of emotion.

The incident happened suddenly and urgently, and Tang Xu didn't have time to negotiate with Ji Yan. At this moment, she had no right to explain anything on her behalf to comfort him, so she could only try her best to think from his perspective.

"Didn't I already tell you?" Lu Xingyan said, "I'm going back to America."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xu lowered her eyes slightly, racking her brains for something to say, but in the end, she could only ask softly, "You're angry with her, aren't you?"

After a long while, Lu Xingyan finally curled the corners of her lips and laughed self-deprecatingly.

"What right do I have to be angry with her? She didn't pretend to have amnesia because of me, it was because of you guys—she remembered everything and found it hard to face, so she pretended to have amnesia. But this pretense doesn't prevent her from recognizing her brother, nor does it prevent her from continuing to be good friends with you. The people and things she wants to get back, no matter the circumstances, she can try to salvage them. And what she doesn't care about... she really doesn't care. No matter what happens, whether she remembers or not, she won't care."

"So, from beginning to end, it was all just wishful thinking on my part," Lu Xingyan said. "She tried her best to avoid hurting me, but I was unwilling to give up and thought it was just a coincidence that made me miss the answer. But now, the facts are clearly in front of me. There is never an answer that is missed. From beginning to end, that answer will never be what I want."

"Isn't it time to give up?"

……

After Lu Xingyan was taken away by the ambulance, Ji Yan returned to her room and sat on the bed for a long time before she heard a knock on the door.

Ji Yan was about to get up to open the door and move around when she found that half of her body seemed to be numb and she couldn't move at all.

Having no other choice, she could only say, "Come in."

Yan Shiyu opened the door, holding a water glass and medicine, and handed them to her, saying, "Don't forget to take your medicine tonight."

Ji Yan reached out to take it, but the moment she raised her hand, she realized that her hand was shaking so badly that she couldn't control it at all.

Finally, her hand fell limply onto the blanket, her gaze remaining lowered throughout. After a long while, she finally uttered a soft voice, "I'm sorry, brother..."

Yan Shiyu placed the water glass and pills on the bedside table, reached out and took her hand, subconsciously frowning, "Why are your hands so cold?"

Ji Yan lowered her eyes and remained silent.

Yan Shiyu held her hand tightly for a long time, then sighed softly: "Those things you don't want to remember, just forget them and they won't affect me. What's there to apologize for?"

“It’s not because of that…” Ji Yan said, “It’s because of the things I said to you before, and the things I did to you…”

Yan Shiyu looked at her, reached out and gently touched her head, "I said, these things will not affect me in any way."

Ji Yan finally slowly raised her head to look at him, her eyes already brimming with tears. "Just because you don't care doesn't mean I didn't do those things, didn't say those things to you... Brother, I really hated you back then, didn't I? I made you so sad, so painful, and because of me, you almost made a decision you'd regret for the rest of your life... Brother, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

“It’s not your fault,” Yan Shiyu said. “From beginning to end, it’s not your fault. If I hadn’t kept you in the Yan family, you wouldn’t have gone through all that, and you wouldn’t be so clueless about who you are. If we have to go back and look at the rights and wrongs of the past, can we still figure out who the root cause is?”

Tears streamed uncontrollably down Ji Yan's face, and she finally nestled into Yan Shiyu's arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

Yan Shiyu gently stroked her head, listening to her sobs. After a long while, he sighed softly, "I wish you really didn't remember."

Life is often happier the simpler it is.

If you can truly forget those painful memories, then the reconstructed memories will be filled with beautiful ones, and that would be such a blissful thing.

But life is inevitably filled with regrets.

I remember it, but there was nothing I could do about it.

Ji Yan leaned against Yan Shiyu's chest and cried for a long time, so long that even after Tang Xu returned from the hospital, her tears were still flowing freely.

Tang Xu pushed open the door and saw this scene, and for a moment just stood at the door.

Ji Yan slowly raised her head from Yan Shiyu's embrace. When she met Yan Shiyu's gaze, her eyes flickered uncontrollably for a moment before she lowered them again.

Seeing her reaction, Tang Xu quickly walked in and came to the bedside.

"Raise your head, I have something to tell you." Seeing that Ji Yan's eyes remained lowered, Tang Xu spoke directly.

After a long while, Ji Yan finally slowly raised her head and met her gaze.

Tang Xu bent down slightly, looked her straight in the eye, and said very solemnly, "When you were unwilling to admit that I was your good friend, when you were still living in Qiushuitai, you once had a misunderstanding about me... about us. You thought that we bought this house so that we could have our own little home, so that we could get rid of you. I never had a chance to explain this to you, and later I thought you didn't remember what happened back then, so there was no need to explain. But now that you still remember, I have to make it clear to you—we never thought of getting rid of you. The reason I suggested buying a new house back then was because I noticed that he was in a bad state, and I was afraid that he would do something extreme, so I wanted to find something for him to do. I hoped that he would be occupied with trivial matters, have something to think about, so that he could be distracted and not think about those extreme things..."

Ji Yan listened quietly as she spoke, tears streaming down her face once again uncontrollably.

As Tang Xu reached out to wipe her hands, he tried to explain his feelings at the time, "I did overlook it. I overlooked the fact that you might misunderstand because of this, that you might feel like you've been abandoned again... But I really didn't think that way. From beginning to end, I knew how much he cared about you, and I never thought of asking him to give up on you..."

Ji Yan couldn't help but close her eyes, but she still couldn't stop her tears.

Seeing her like this, Tang Xu's eyes also welled up with tears, and then he reached out and hugged her again.

She should have realized it much earlier.

Even if she truly forgot everything that happened before and was willing to rebuild their intimacy from scratch, the reconstruction of this intimacy was far too smooth and too fast—

Is it really possible for someone who has forgotten everything to so easily accept a complete stranger into their life?
But she was so happy that she was willing to accept her and that there was hope of repairing their relationship. She was so overjoyed that she didn't even notice that something was wrong...

Even today, everything has been exposed by Lu Xingyan in a way that is almost self-destructive.

Tang Xu was shocked and had no idea how to react. Her mind went blank for a long time. The first thing she thought of was to explain the misunderstanding to her. Regardless of whether she still had that misunderstanding now, she had misunderstood before, and she had to explain it to her.

After a long while, Ji Yan gently helped Tang Xu up and reached out to gently wipe away the tears from the corners of Tang Xu's eyes.

"I should apologize to you, Yao Yao."

Upon hearing those two words, Tang Xu burst into tears, unable to hold back any longer.

In the end, Yan Shiyu quietly left the room, leaving the two women to hug each other and cry together.

Even as night deepened, Tang Xu didn't leave. The two lay on the same bed, reminiscing about the past.

About the things the two of them experienced together in their youth, about the years after Xu Xingyang's "death," about the beginning and development of her relationship with Yan Shiyu...

The two of them cried and laughed together, laughed and cried, until finally, they inevitably started talking about Lu Xingyan.

"Is he... alright?" Ji Yan asked.

Tang Xu remained silent for a moment before finally answering truthfully, "I don't know if he's good or not."

Upon hearing this, Ji Yan turned to look at her.

Tang Xu avoided her gaze, rolled over and lay flat on his back, staring at the ceiling for a long time before slowly speaking, "He always said that you owed him an answer. For so many years, he couldn't let go because of that answer. But now, he says he finally knows the answer. So, he's at peace."

Upon hearing this answer, Ji Yan paused for a long time, then suddenly lay down flat. After a long silence, she finally whispered two words: "That's fine too."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xu glanced at her sideways, remained silent for a long time, and then spoke softly again: "Actually, now that I think about it, his move today was really clumsy, wasn't it? The way he looked, it was obvious that he was having an allergic reaction. If you hadn't told us what his allergen was, wouldn't we have rushed him to the hospital and saved him... Why gamble with his own life..."

Silence fell over the room, and after a long while, Ji Yan's voice rang out again—

“He has a severe allergy to almonds. Even a tiny bit can trigger a reaction so severe that he goes into shock. I saw him touch a little almond milk once before, and he ended up looking like he does today.”

"He was fully prepared, hiding medication in his pocket, but if I hadn't mentioned his allergen, he probably wouldn't have hinted that he had medication in his pocket... right up until he went into shock."

"So, he was actually using his life to blackmail me into telling the truth."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xu remained silent for a long while before finally speaking, "Did you already think of that back then?"

“No,” Ji Yan said. “At that time, my mind was also in a mess, and I couldn’t think of anything at all, so… that’s why I lost my composure.”

“So…” Tang Xu turned to look at her again, “If you had thought of this back then, would you still have said it?”

Ji Yan's silence was her only response.

She may have been pondering this question for a long time, but the answer... is still unclear.

Tang Xu sighed inwardly, and when she spoke again, she simply said, "There was a flight to Los Angeles early this morning. After he finished his observation at the hospital, he went directly to the airport. He probably won't be coming back."

Much later, Ji Yan finally responded again.

"Oh." (End of Chapter)