The Subtle Seduction of My Ex-Girlfriend’s Aunt - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: You Are Drunk.

Jiang City, ‘He’ Bar.

“Tang Ran!”

A sharp, displeased call snapped Tang Ran back from her chaotic consciousness. She instinctively turned her head toward the source of the voice.

The crystal chandelier overhead made her dizzy, and the boisterous music in her ears made her head throb.

Where was she? A bar? Why would she be at a bar? She hadn’t touched alcohol in years.

“Tang Ran, stop throwing your ‘young miss’ tantrums.”

The unpleasant voice rang out again. Immediately following, Tang Ran felt her wrist being gripped tightly. She squinted, trying to make out the face in front of her.

It was Song Wuqi. A Song Wuqi who looked several years younger.

Song Wuqi looked impatient. “I’ve already explained to you, there is really nothing between her and me. She is just my assistant.”

‘She is just my assistant.’

Tang Ran’s heart felt a heavy blow from that sentence; pain instantly radiated through her entire body. What a familiar phrase—a lie she had heard countless times.

Another scene flashed through her mind: a woman placing a phone in front of her. On the screen, two women leaned intimately against each other, holding a little girl in their arms.

‘We’ve been together for three years. This is our child.’

Slap!

Fury surged to her head. Tang Ran swung her hand and slapped Song Wuqi across the face.

“You—”

Song Wuqi’s glasses were knocked askew. She froze, looking at Tang Ran in disbelief. They had been together for a while; although Tang Ran had her moods, she had never resorted to violence.

As the stinging pain spread across her face, Song Wuqi gritted her teeth against her anger. “What do you think you’re doing?!”

As the eldest daughter of the Song family, she hadn’t been hit since she could remember, let alone being slapped in public. She wanted to storm off, but a moment later, she clenched her fists and took a deep breath to suppress her fire.

“You’ve had too much to drink. I won’t argue with you. Stop acting out.”

“Get out!” Tang Ran shook off her hand. Her head felt heavy and swollen; her words were driven purely by instinct. Based on the memories she just recalled, she didn’t want to see this scum of a woman for a single second.

They were standing in the corridor of the private booths. Passersby heard the commotion and glanced over. Having lost face in public, Song Wuqi completely lost her patience. She gave Tang Ran a deep, cold look and strode away.

Watching Song Wuqi’s back disappear around the corner, Tang Ran felt as if her last bit of strength had been drained. She stumbled and could only steady herself by leaning against the wall.

Song Wuqi walked out with a cold face, her anger mounting with every step. Once she reached a secluded corner, she raised her foot and viciously kicked a metal trash can. Only after kicking it several times, leaving a deep dent in the metal, did she stop.

She took a deep breath, composed her expression into a calm mask, and walked out.

Taking the elevator directly to the underground garage, Song Wuqi walked toward her car with a blank expression. A person waiting by the car saw her coming, hurriedly pushed away from the car door she was leaning on, and straightened her floral dress.

She lowered her head shyly. “Manager Song.”

Song Wuqi instinctively frowned, then immediately softened her expression. “Why are you still here?”

She had come to the bar to find Tang Ran after receiving a call from Tang Ran’s friend. At the time, she was briefing her assistant, Ye Xiaoyu, on the work items for the next day’s business trip. The friend was urgent, so Song Wuqi brought her assistant along, finishing the work talk in the car. When she got out, she remembered telling Ye Xiaoyu she didn’t need to wait and could just go home.

“I accidentally left a document in the car,” Ye Xiaoyu said in a small, blushing voice.

Ye Xiaoyu was a top graduate from Jiang University and had been Song Wuqi’s assistant for several months. She had always been cautious and diligent; she never made small mistakes like this.

The last person to handle the document was Song Wuqi; she had looked at it and set it aside without returning it. Song Wuqi remembered and her expression turned gentle. “It was my fault. I forgot. I’ll get it for you.”

“Okay,” Ye Xiaoyu nodded brightly.

Finding Ye Xiaoyu’s document from under her own files, Song Wuqi pulled it out and handed it over. Ye Xiaoyu tucked it away carefully, then looked up at Song Wuqi, biting her lip as if hesitant to speak.

“What is it?” Song Wuqi asked.

Ye Xiaoyu hesitated, then spoke with concern: “Manager Song, your face…”

Song Wuqi realized what she meant. She had been so furious that she forgot she likely had a handprint on her face. Now reminded, she felt a genuine sting.

“It’s nothing,” Song Wuqi didn’t want to explain further. “Go home. Send me the revised PPT as soon as it’s finished.”

They had been working on a project for months and were traveling tomorrow for the first negotiation.

“Okay, don’t worry Manager Song, I will do it well,” Ye Xiaoyu nodded obediently. She added: “Wait a moment for me, I’ll go buy an ice pack for you.”

As Ye Xiaoyu started to walk away, Song Wuqi stopped her. “No need, I’ll handle it when I get home.”

“If you wait too long, it will be harder to fade. We have to go to Yangcheng tomorrow.” Ye Xiaoyu’s expression held a cautious tension.

Thinking of the trip tomorrow, Song Wuqi’s resentment toward Tang Ran’s slap deepened.

“I don’t live far, and I have medicine at home. Why don’t you come to my place, Manager Song? I’ll help you apply some medicine,” Ye Xiaoyu suggested with a hint of nervousness.

Song Wuqi looked down at her. Ye Xiaoyu lowered her head, the blush on her face making her shyness undeniable.

“Alright.”

Song Wuqi was not a dense person; she had long since realized Ye Xiaoyu was interested in her. In truth, compared to Tang Ran’s spoiled and lively personality, Song Wuqi preferred Ye Xiaoyu’s shy and soft, “girl-next-door” vibe. Because Tang Ran was jealous, Song Wuqi had intentionally avoided getting too close to Ye Xiaoyu.

In the past, she would have definitely refused. But having just been slapped by Tang Ran, Song Wuqi was suffocating with anger, and as if possessed, she agreed.

Inside the bar.

The alcohol hit her hard, and Tang Ran’s consciousness became increasingly blurred as fragmented memories flashed through her mind. One moment it was her and Song Wuqi exchanging rings at their wedding; the next, it was a scene of them arguing during a trip.

Her head was a mess. Tang Ran couldn’t remember what they were fighting about, only that after her anger passed, she realized she had misunderstood Song Wuqi. Song Wuqi turned to leave, and she reached out to pull her back.

Ding.

The elevator reached the private booths on the second floor. Song Zhixu stepped out, her phone vibrating in her hand. She looked down at the screen; it was a call from her friend, Murong Yi. Just as her thumb touched the green icon, someone coming from outside the elevator bumped right into her.

A rich, sweet scent mixed with heavy alcohol fumes hit her. Song Zhixu frowned and tried to move away. But before she could react, the person in her arms tightly hugged her arm.

“Please don’t be angry anymore, okay?”

Fair cheeks were flushed, and amber eyes were filled with a misty, hazy moisture. She looked up at her like a kitten, acting spoiled to please her.

The familiar appearance overlapped with a person in her memory. Song Zhixu was slightly dazed and lowered the hand she had originally intended to use to push the person away.

Tang Ran had no strength in her legs and was swaying. Song Zhixu gently held her shoulders to keep her from falling, asking tentatively: “Tang Ran?”

Her brain was still stuck in a loop of confused memories. Tang Ran instinctively mistook Song Zhixu for Song Wuqi. She raised her arms to loop around Song Zhixu’s neck, her voice soft and coaxing. “Don’t be angry. I’ll listen to you from now on, okay?”

The elevator doors closed automatically. The enclosed space reduced airflow and amplified physical sensations. The hot, alcoholic breath made the skin on Song Zhixu’s neck prickle. She leaned back slightly to create distance between them.

“You are drunk.”

Song Zhixu lowered her eyelids, gripping Tang Ran’s wrists to remove her hands.

“No,” Tang Ran clung to her neck stubbornly, her spoiled voice carrying a sob. “Don’t go.”

Tears rolled down her crimson cheeks, reflecting tiny silver sparks under the lights. Seeing that Tang Ran was too drunk to be conscious, Song Zhixu helplessly stopped her movements. Following the girl’s whim, she coaxed in a small voice: “I’m not going. I’ll take you home first, alright?”

Tang Ran couldn’t hear her; the images in her head had switched. She was sitting alone before the graves of her two mothers, leaning against a tombstone and crying.

The closed elevator doors opened again; someone had pressed the button. Seeing the intimate embrace inside, the person smiled apologetically and quickly pressed the close button.

Song Zhixu let out a slow breath. Holding Tang Ran’s waist, she shifted her body, pressed ‘B1’, and dialed her driver, Old Zhang.

The phone rang only once before being picked up. “President Song.”

“Bring the car to the elevator entrance and wait for me.”

“Yes.”

When Old Zhang drove the car to the gate near the elevator, Song Zhixu happened to emerge with Tang Ran in her arms. He quickly parked and ran to open the back door for them.

Tang Ran still refused to let go once they were in the car. Helpless, Song Zhixu had to keep her half-embraced in her arms, telling Old Zhang: “Go to Shengming Residence.”

As Old Zhang started the engine, he silently glanced through the rearview mirror. Their President Song usually looked approachable, but privately, she kept her distance from everyone. He had been her driver for years and it was his first time seeing her so close to someone. On the way here, he heard her pick up a call and knew she was coming to the bar to meet Murong Yi. How did she go upstairs for a few minutes and come down carrying a girl?

And this girl looked somewhat familiar. Old Zhang wanted to take another look, but the partition in the car switched to fogged mode.

Silent weeping turned into muffled sobs, and then into soft whimpers. The silk shirt was completely soaked with tears, sticking damply and warmly to Song Zhixu’s chest.

Song Zhixu let out a light breath, one hand gently patting Tang Ran’s back to soothe her, while the other hand slid the control panel to set the car’s air conditioning to strong ventilation. The cool air thinned the humid atmosphere in the car, and the sounds in her arms gradually faded.

Song Zhixu looked down. Tang Ran had her eyes closed, a few stray tears still hanging from her curled lashes. The redness on her face was even more seductive due to the crying. The bright, beautiful face had long since shed the innocence of her memories; she was mature and possessed a charming allure. The only thing that hadn’t changed was that no matter how old she got, she was still a little crybaby.

After watching her quietly for a while and noticing Tang Ran’s steady breathing, Song Zhixu carefully tried to remove the hand clutching her neck. Just as she moved one hand, Song Zhixu’s phone vibrated again.

The person in a light sleep was startled. Tang Ran frowned and grabbed the fabric of Song Zhixu’s shirt near her collarbone. The silk shirt couldn’t withstand the force; a pearl button was snapped off by Tang Ran’s pull.

Song Zhixu pressed the red icon to ignore the call, pulled up WeChat, and sent a message to Murong Yi: Something came up, I’ll get back to you in a bit.

Shengming Residence was an upscale community in the city center. Old Zhang only had to make two turns to stop the car steadily at the basement elevator entrance. Song Zhixu half-carried the girl out. Old Zhang wanted to help, but she blocked him.

“You go back, I can manage.”

Old Zhang withdrew his hand, nimbly got back in the car, and drove away.

Shengming Residence was developed early on. The community had only two buildings: Building 1 consisted of large flats with private elevator entry, and Building 2 consisted of luxury apartments with two units per floor. Song Zhixu took the girl directly to Building 2. The apartment concierge recognized Song Zhixu and helped her call the elevator.

Outside the elevator, Song Zhixu paused, then supported the person toward unit 1902. She tried two of Tang Ran’s fingers, but the smart lock wouldn’t open. Song Zhixu waved her hand to light up the screen and entered a string of initial passwords.

After two beeps, the lock clicked open. The lights in the foyer turned on automatically.

A macaron-colored shoe cabinet, shelves neatly lined with various cute figurines, and a colored manga manuscript hanging directly opposite the door—the vibrant “dopamine” style décor perfectly reflected the owner’s personality.

Song Zhixu only glanced around once before withdrawing her gaze. When she entered the initial password, she had half-expected the door to open to a bare concrete room.

“Mm…”

Tang Ran murmured on her shoulder. Song Zhixu retracted her thoughts and bent down to take off Tang Ran’s shoes. The person in her arms was exceptionally cooperative; after the left shoe was removed, she actively lifted her right foot, not looking like she was asleep at all.

Song Zhixu looked up, and as expected, met a pair of round, wide-open eyes.

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