The words struck Bo Ye like a physical blow, his chest tightening painfully. "You have the nerve to say that again?" he choked out. Tang Shi didn't speak. She just looked at him, her eyes mirroring a new reality: the boundless love she once felt for him had curdled into an equally boundless hatred. “Five years, Bo Ye,” she said. “You sent me to prison for five years. And I’ve had a lot of time to think. It doesn’t matter whether I was innocent or not. What matters is that you never gave me an ounce of your trust.” Her words were clipped and icy, delivered as if Bo Ye were a complete stranger. But on a deeper level, every syllable was a calculated jab, designed to wound him. A mocking smile twisted Tang Shi’s lips. “Don’t tell me you’re just now realizing there’s unfinished business between us?” For an instant, a crack appeared in his furious gaze. He shot to his feet, his hand clamping around Tang Shi’s throat. Under his glacial stare, a frost seemed to settle over his handsome features. He smiled at her, a smile of pure cruelty. “Who taught you to speak like this, hmm?” “Out of prison and you think you’ve grown wings?” An icy chill enveloped Tang Shi. As he squeezed her throat, the air was stolen from her lungs, her breathing growing ragged. “Bo Ye,” she rasped, “you were the one who taught me this!” A shudder ran through Bo Ye, and his blood ran cold. Even in his grip, Tang Shi managed a fragile, brittle laugh. “You can rest assured, a thousand times over. The moment you give me my son back, I, Tang Shi, will disappear from your life forever. Even if I die, not a single word of it will ever reach you!” Bo Ye stared at her, his disbelief laced with pain. “What did you say?” Suddenly, Tang Shi began to struggle violently, wrenching herself free from his grasp. She stumbled and fell, her knees hitting the hardwood floor with a dull thud, but she didn’t make a sound. She just wobbled back to her feet, facing him. “Bo Ye, you murdered all the love I had for you. What more could you possibly want from me? I have nothing left to give. You’ve already devoured the Tang family, leaving nothing but scraps. Bo Ye, I’m begging you… can’t you just have a little pity on me?” *Can’t you just have a little pity on me?* Those few words became a blade, twisting in his heart. The same sharp, piercing pain he’d felt five years ago, watching her being forced into a police car, surged through him once more. Bo Ye’s pupils contracted violently, and his voice was hoarse when he spoke. “What the hell do you want?” “Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?” When Tang Shi lifted her head, the emotions in her eyes were shattered fragments. She had never imagined that after five years on the run, she still couldn’t escape the shadow of Bo Ye. *I loved you, and the price was five years in a cage. Bo Ye, just let me go, please?* A sourness rose in Bo Ye’s throat. The sight of her expression ignited a storm of irritation in his chest. He yanked at his collar, forcing himself to look away from her face, and muttered, “You want your son? Fine. Go to Mago tonight. Entertain a client for me.” Tang Shi’s head snapped up, her eyes widening in disbelief as she glared at him. “Bo Ye, you want me to be an escort?” Bo Ye sneered. “What’s the matter? Don’t you want your child back? Is a little thing like this too much to ask?” She staggered back a few steps, shaking her head and murmuring, “I’ll never be as ruthless as you…” Then, just as suddenly, she smiled again, though tears still clung to her lashes. “Alright,” she said, her voice bright with chilling resolve. “Since you’ve made the request, Boss Bo, how could I refuse? It’s just one night of drinks. If it gets me my son back, I’d walk through hell for it.” “But…” Tang Shi leaned in close to Bo Ye, her voice a sharp, mocking whisper in his ear, punctuated by soft laughter. “You had better not regret this.” Something flickered through Bo Ye’s mind, an emotion he couldn’t grasp before it vanished. Staring at the woman before him, he felt a sense of dazed unreality. Why… after all this time, were they facing each other like this, like enemies with daggers drawn? Five years… had erased all the love, leaving only a desperate, cornered hatred. If that hatred were to ignite, how terrifying would the inferno be? He was supposed to hate her. She had killed An Mi, killed An Mi's child. But why was she looking at him with that very same hatred? *You murderer, Tang Shi. What right do you have?!* A dull ache throbbed in Bo Ye's chest. He lunged forward, grabbing the collar of her shirt. “A woman like you… I wouldn’t blink an eye if I had to personally hand you over to another man’s bed.” “Isn’t that the truth?” Tang Shi giggled. “I experienced your cruelty five years ago. This? This is nothing. It doesn’t even hurt anymore.” Her eyes fluttered open, and she stared at him with a look of utter exhaustion and numbness. *How much more love and hate can this broken body endure? Bo Ye, my life is already shattered. I don’t mind being broken even more completely.* Bo Ye’s deep, dark eyes held a storm of emotions she couldn’t decipher, nor did she want to. His gaze locked onto her like the alpha of a wolf pack. Tang Shi felt like she had died a thousand deaths under his stare. She straightened her spine, though her shoulders were still trembling, and walked out, slamming the door behind her. Outside, heads snapped up as a beautiful woman, clothes in disarray and eyes red-rimmed, stormed out of the CEO’s office. She walked quickly, leaving a faint, fleeting trace of perfume in her wake as her slender shadow disappeared down the hall. A buzz of speculation immediately started. “Her silhouette looks so familiar…” “Yeah, I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before.” “The way she came out… you think she’s the boss’s new flame?” “Tsk, tsk. But from her expression, it looked like they just had a huge fight.” “Then she’s probably some clingy, D-list influencer who thinks she can claw her way into high society.” “Forget about her. Everyone knows Boss Bo only has eyes for Ms. An.” Tang Shi hurried into the elevator, the doors closing to shut out the cacophony of gossip. When it reached the first floor and the doors slid open, she saw Jiang Xie with his arm around Bo Ye's executive secretary, a flirtatious smirk on his face. “…” Out of politeness, Tang Shi still managed a greeting. “Mr. Jiang.” “Leaving so soon?” Jiang Xie released the secretary and smiled at Tang Shi. “How did the talk go?” “Do you think I was in there for a pleasant chat, Mr. Jiang?” Tang Shi’s voice was faint, as if a gust of wind could carry it away. As she stepped out, Jiang Xie caught her by the wrist. “What are you doing?” She turned her head. As the secretary watched in astonishment, Jiang Xie leaped out of the elevator, leaving the woman to ride up alone. As the doors closed, he winked at her, a grin blooming on his face. “Hey beautiful, I’ll come find you next time. Bye-bye~” The moment he’d said his farewell, he turned back to Tang Shi. “I’ve changed my mind. I was originally going to look for Bo Ye, but I think I’ll just talk to you instead.”