The Downtrodden Villain In A Redemption Romance Novel Chapter 19

Chapter 19 Crisis Approaches

In the central business district of A City, on the top floor of the Nan Gong Group skyscraper.

Outside the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, the city lights glittered in the night, neon signs flashed, and traffic flowed like a river, as if the entire metropolis lay beneath his feet. Nan Gongchen stood by the window, holding a glass of red wine, his silhouette tall and imposing, yet radiating a sense of oppression.

The amber liquid swirled gently in the glass, mirroring the bottomless darkness in his eyes.

Even though Lu Qingrang was now like a stray dog, the mere thought that the man had once left his mark in a domain Nan Gongchen controlled, and still lingered in some corner of Su Xia’s memory, brought forth a destructive rage that nearly shattered his vaunted self-control.

“So, the integration of Chen Xia Technology is not going smoothly?”

His voice was not loud, yet it echoed clearly in the vast, luxurious office. It betrayed no emotion, but those familiar with him knew the kind of storm brewing beneath this calm surface.

Not far behind him, Su Xia sat on an expensive velvet sofa, dressed in high-end designer clothes, her makeup flawless. Yet, she resembled a meticulously crafted Barbie doll, her expression clouded by persistent fragility and apprehension.

She tightly clutched a warm teacup with both hands, as if it were her only source of warmth.

“The core members of the technical team… have almost all left.”

Her voice was soft, laced with a choke, afraid of disturbing something. “They refused to sign the new non-compete agreements, preferring to pay the penalty rather than stay. There are rumors outside that… they might be secretly contacting…”

The name reached her lips, but she swallowed it back with difficulty—Lu Qingrang. Just thinking of that name sent dull, throbbing pain through her heart.

She remembered many years ago, the taciturn young man standing in the laboratory, his eyes focused and bright on the complex code screen. Back then, his world seemed to contain only logic and creation, so pure that she yearned for it. How had things come to this?

Nan Gongchen slowly turned around, his sharp gaze substantial, landing on Su Xia’s pale face, missing none of her subtle shifts in expression. A cold, humorless curve touched his lips.

“Contacting a piece of trash?”

He took a sip of red wine, his tone carrying the mockery of someone in complete control. “Xiaxia, even now, are you still soft on him?” He deliberately emphasized the words “piece of trash,” as if reminding her.

The opponent who once required his full attention was now insignificant.

Su Xia abruptly looked up, her eyes instantly filling with tears. She frantically shook her head. “No! Chen, I’m not soft! I just… I just feel that he has lost everything, can’t we… can’t we just let him go?” Her words carried a plea that failed to convince even herself.

Did she truly just pity him? Or was it that the unhealed fissure in her heart, created by her final phone call to him, was constantly aching?

The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them. Because she saw Nan Gongchen’s eyes instantly turn icy, chilling her to the bone.

He strode toward her. His tall frame cast a heavy shadow, almost blocking out all her light.

He leaned down, his cold fingertips lifting Su Xia’s chin, forcing her to meet his gaze.

“Let him go?”

Nan Gongchen’s voice was low and dangerous, every word laced with frost. “When he clung to you like a persistent ghost for so many years, even trying to take you away from me right before our wedding, why didn’t you ask him to let you go? To let us go?”

He pressed closer, his breath nearly brushing her lips, yet his tone was cuttingly cold. “Or are you regretting it? Regretting choosing me, regretting the things you said to him that day?”

His words brutally tore open her deepest fears, guilt, and that untouchable scar. Yes, Lu Qingrang’s obsession had broken the balance, and Lu Qingrang had caused a rift between her and Chen. But in the very beginning, when she was ignored by her family and mocked by others, Lu Qingrang had offered her the only shelter.

That rainy night, he took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders, his voice clumsy but firm: “Don’t be afraid.” The memory was as vivid as yesterday. Did the boy in that memory truly deserve to be pushed to such a desperate state, to have even his last refuge stripped away?

Tears finally slipped down her cheeks uncontrollably. Su Xia’s voice was broken, trembling with despair. “I know… I know he did many wrong things… I was the one who wronged him first… but…”

“There are no buts.”

Nan Gongchen roughly interrupted her. His thumb, carrying a sense of punishment, roughly wiped away her tears. The gesture was intimate but only caused her pain, carrying the meaning of declaring ownership.

“What I want is for him to completely vanish from your world. His company, his name, every trace of his existence, must be covered up, erased. Only then,” he stared into her eyes, speaking slowly and deliberately, “can you fully, completely belong to me.”

This aggressive, almost pathological love was like a magnificent set of shackles, binding her tightly and making her drown in it.

She loved Nan Gongchen, loved him so much that she feared losing him, loved him enough to force herself to ignore the faint unease and guilt in her heart, even loved him enough to help him push the person who once gave her warmth into a deeper abyss.

Nan Gongchen straightened up, as if he had finally completed a patrol and marking of his possession. He walked to the desk and picked up a thin file, casually tossing it onto the coffee table in front of Su Xia, making a slight sound.

On it were blurry photos of Xu Wen wearing a delivery uniform, looking hurried, along with records of his recent frequent proofreading jobs on various platforms, and even information about a few of his regular employers.

“As for this little bug that crawled out of some corner and stuck his nose where it doesn’t belong…”

Nan Gongchen’s gaze swept over Xu Wen’s vibrant face in the photo, a flash of annoyance and undisguised malice in his eyes. “Give him some trouble, make him realize his place. Start by cutting off his income. Contact these platforms and employers, you know what to do.”

He spoke into the air, as if giving instructions to an invisible subordinate, his voice cold and flat. “If he doesn’t know better…”

He didn’t finish the sentence, but his icy gaze and slightly clenched jawline said it all.

He wouldn’t mind letting this little bug experience what true despair felt like. Anyone associated with Lu Qingrang filled him with genuine disgust.

Su Xia’s eyes involuntarily fell upon Xu Wen’s photo. At the edge of the picture, she could vaguely see the darkness of the rental building hallway behind Xu Wen, and the peeling, mottled paint on the walls.

Is that bright-eyed young man with Brother Qingrang now? How are they living in such a dilapidated place? Is Brother Qingrang alright? The moment this thought surfaced, it brought a sharp pang of heartache and a suffocating sourness.

She quickly lowered her gaze, her thick eyelashes trembling violently. She drained the now slightly cool tea in her cup, trying to suppress the constant choking sensation rising in her throat.

The tea was bitter and cold, chilling her all the way to her heart.

She knew that Chen’s decisions could not be changed. And she, in this war waged in the name of love, had long lost the right to choose, and the path to turn back.

She could only watch helplessly as she sank deeper and deeper into the mire of guilt.