The Subtle Seduction of My Ex-Girlfriend’s Aunt - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: If You Need My Help, You Can…

Song Zhixu felt that before Tang Ran recognized her, the girl had the typical awkwardness one shows a stranger, yet her overall demeanor was relaxed.

But ever since she took off her mask at the bar, Tang Ran’s reaction every time they met was stiff, even to the point of instinctive avoidance. It gave her the illusion that Tang Ran was somewhat afraid of her.

Song Zhixu was puzzled. They hadn’t interacted much in the past, and as far as she knew, they hadn’t had any negative experiences. Why would Tang Ran fear her?

Unable to guess the reason and not wanting any misunderstandings to fester, she decided to ask directly.

“Is it because I did something…”

The interrogation Tang Ran had imagined turned into a gentle and polite inquiry. Tang Ran’s alcohol-fogged brain finally had a moment of clarity. Song Zhixu had indeed misunderstood, but not in the way Tang Ran feared.

“No, no!” Tang Ran explained frantically. “I just… I just…”

Her instinctive avoidance of Song Zhixu wasn’t out of fear. Aside from the nervousness caused by not being well-acquainted, Tang Ran reacted this way primarily because she was habituated to keeping her distance from Song Zhixu.

In her previous life, Song Wuqi disliked her associating with Song Zhixu. When they were first engaged, Song Wuqi would often get moody over this. Over time, Tang Ran developed a subconscious habit of proactively avoiding her. Having just been reborn, Tang Ran hadn’t had time to break this deep-seated habit yet.

Tang Ran stuttered “I just” twice and couldn’t continue. This reason was impossible to explain! She scratched her head, but her brain, slowed by the wine, couldn’t come up with a plausible excuse.

“My apologies.” Seeing her struggle to find words for so long, Song Zhixu didn’t persist for an answer. She proactively offered a way out: “Then perhaps I misunderstood.”

“Mhm, mhm!” Tang Ran nodded vigorously. Afraid Song Zhixu wouldn’t believe her, she raised her fingers as if to emphasize, “I’m really not afraid of you.”

She still wanted to recruit Song Zhixu as an ally; she couldn’t leave her with an initial impression of being someone who didn’t dare to be around her.

Song Zhixu was amused by her desperate need to prove herself. She smiled warmly and nodded solemnly in return. “I understand. It was my misunderstanding.”

Seeing that she believed her, Tang Ran let out a huge sigh of relief and added, “Yeah, I actually quite like you.”

The words themselves were harmless, but in this context, they sounded a bit strange. Not only Tang Ran, but even Song Zhixu looked momentarily stunned.

“No, no! I didn’t mean it like that! I meant… I really respect you!” Tang Ran waved her hands hurriedly to clarify.

“Respect?” Song Zhixu repeated, her tone carrying a hint of mock distress. “That makes me sound quite old.”

“I don’t mean that!” Tang Ran shook her head in denial. Song Zhixu was thirty-one this year, in the prime of her life; she was nowhere near “old.”

“It’s just that I always hear my mommy praising you, saying how amazing you are.” Her brain, finally catching up with the wine, provided a cover.

Song Zhixu was the typical “golden child” of other families. Whenever Tang Wanru spoke of her, it was nothing but praise. Though she looked gentle and spoke softly, her actions were swift and decisive.

When Song Zhiming, the original heir, died in a car accident, Old Master Song fell gravely ill from grief. The board of directors was rife with infighting, and the Song Group almost collapsed. Song Zhixu, who had no experience or preparation, was suddenly recalled to the country. During that time, Tang Ran heard her mother talk about her almost every day—how she outwitted the “old foxes” on the board and stabilized the situation in less than a month.

Tang Ran wasn’t flattering her; she truly believed Song Zhixu was incredible. If she had possessed half of Song Zhixu’s intelligence and grit, she wouldn’t have been led to ruin by Song Wuqi in her previous life.

“Everything I said is true…”

Tang Ran wanted to chat a bit more to build rapport and lay the groundwork for future cooperation, but she was interrupted by the ringing of Song Zhixu’s phone.

It was Assistant Jiang.

Realizing it was a work call, Tang Ran sensibly waved goodbye. Song Zhixu raised her hand, signaling for her to wait. Tang Ran stopped and looked at her.

Song Zhixu said “Okay” and hung up. She looked at Tang Ran and gave a slight smile. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Tang Ran shook her head, waiting for what she had to say next.

Song Zhixu looked at her, her lips moving as if hesitating for a moment before she spoke: “If there is ever a place where you need my help, you can contact me at any time.”

Tang Ran tilted her head in confusion. She didn’t understand why Song Zhixu would suddenly say this. She didn’t seem to have anything she needed help with.

Then, Tang Ran froze. She did have one thing she needed help with: she wanted Song Zhixu to help her take down Song Wuqi.

But it wasn’t the right time to say that. And Song Zhixu couldn’t possibly have guessed it. After all, in the eyes of the Song family, the current Song Wuqi was still a sensible nephew and a filial grandson.

Unable to find a reason, Tang Ran assumed this was just a polite formality—perhaps said on account of the good relationship between her mother and Auntie Jiang.

Tang Ran nodded and gave a sweet smile. “I will definitely ask for Sister Song’s help if I need it.”

She understood the way adults handled social graces. Seeing her reaction, Song Zhixu knew Tang Ran hadn’t truly understood her meaning.

Another call came in. Song Zhixu glanced at it but didn’t answer immediately.

“Sister Song must be busy, I’ll head in first.” Seeing how occupied she was, Tang Ran didn’t want to intrude further. She waved and turned to leave. Song Zhixu didn’t call her back and lowered her eyes to answer the phone.

After returning home, Tang Ran discovered that Miao Tiantian had sent a string of messages after 1:00 PM. Tang Ran’s phone had been on silent since the bidding meeting.

Miao Tiantian: Wuhu wuhu! (^▽^)

Miao Tiantian: (Sticker: Joyfully beating drums and gongs)

Miao Tiantian: My fate with that “Tier 1 Beauty” is too strong!

Less than a minute later, Miao Tiantian sent a “crying without tears” emoji.

Miao Tiantian: HELP (ΩДΩ)!!!

Miao Tiantian: (Sticker: The sky is falling)

Miao Tiantian: The Tier 1 Beauty is actually the nitpicky Client from Hell who has been torturing me for half a month!!!

Miao Tiantian: (Sticker: Dreams shattered)

Miao Tiantian: God, why are you doing this to me! o(╥﹏╥)o

Miao Tiantian: I can’t go on. God has sealed my windows and doors with cement.jpg

Since too much time had passed, Tang Ran didn’t text back and called her instead.

“Ranran…” Miao Tiantian’s voice was weak, sounding like someone whose battery had been drained by endless revisions.

“Tortured again?”

“Don’t even talk about it.”

“What’s the deal with the ‘Tier 1 Beauty’?”

“Better not mention it.”

After some small talk, Tang Ran got the full story. After seeing the beauty in the Shengming Mansion elevator yesterday, Miao Tiantian met her again at the bar. They even joined a detective-themed party together.

Miao Tiantian and the beauty had teamed up, showing perfect chemistry to win the MVP of the night. Unsurprisingly, a few romantic sparks had flown. It was rare to find someone who shared her tastes and played well together, and Miao Tiantian was even thinking about developing the relationship.

The result? In less than half a day, the good news turned into a nightmare. Miao Tiantian went to the construction site for an inspection, only to discover that the “Tier 1 Beauty” was the very same nitpicky client who had been tormenting her.

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