The Subtle Seduction of My Ex-Girlfriend’s Aunt - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Owu!

While she was talking to Miao Tiantian, Song Wuqi called. The incoming call flashed for a second before hanging up automatically. After comforting Miao Tiantian, Tang Ran ended the call.

The phone jumped from the call screen back to the home page, where a notification showed an unread message. It was a voice memo from Song Wuqi.

“Ranran, I tried calling you just now but you were on the line. Who were you chatting with? Was it Miao Tiantian? I’m going to Yangcheng on a business trip tomorrow, so I wanted to let you know. I’ve been too busy lately and haven’t had time to keep you company.”

He went on a long, rambling explanation about how important the Yangcheng project was, but Tang Ran didn’t listen further. What caught her attention was that Song Wuqi was heading to Yangcheng again tomorrow—that meant he had likely confirmed the news about Ning Hao.

Things were exactly as Tang Ran guessed.

Last week, Ye Xiaoyu told Sun Jiaojiao that the Song Group wanted to acquire Da Ning and asked if she knew anything about Ning Hao. Sun Jiaojiao had always had a crush on Song Wuqi. She wrote him secret love letters in school and used the cooperation between Shengtang and Song’s supermarkets to get close to him after starting work.

Unfortunately, Song Wuqi had no interest in her. Once she found out Ye Xiaoyu had become Song Wuqi’s assistant, she reached out to her to fish for information. Back in college, Ye Xiaoyu had been bullied by Sun Jiaojiao because she looked like a “white lotus” and had good grades. Later, because her good grades allowed her to finish all of Sun Jiaojiao’s homework, she became one of Sun Jiaojiao’s “loyal sisters.”

Of course, Sun Jiaojiao had no idea that the “spy” sister she was using had already hooked up with the man she desired but couldn’t have. Ye Xiaoyu told her that Song Wuqi valued this project highly; if Sun Jiaojiao could dig up the truth, Song Wuqi would surely be very grateful.

Given such a great chance to show off, Sun Jiaojiao went all out. Not only did she get the information, but she also spent 100,000 yuan to buy photos of the case files involving Ning Hao.

In Country M, Ning Hao had lost his mind after smoking marijuana and accidentally killed a companion. To reduce his sentence, the Ning family spent a fortune on mediation and agreed to pay a massive compensation to reach a settlement with the victim’s family. The Ning family kept this strictly hidden; very few people knew. They wanted to use the initial acquisition funds from Song Group to fill the hole Ning Hao had made. The reason they couldn’t reach a deal in the first round of bidding was simply because the money wasn’t enough.

Upon receiving this news, Song Wuqi was overjoyed. He spent the night revising the proposal for the second round of negotiations with Da Ning.

A faint light appeared on the horizon, the golden skyline delicately outlining the city’s silhouette. Tang Ran turned off her alarm and got out of bed. As she walked past the living room, she heard a nearly inaudible sliding sound.

She stopped, turned, and tiptoed toward her balcony. Reaching the door, she paused, stepped back, and fixed her hair in the reflection of a glass cabinet. Only then did she carefully peek through the sliding door.

In front of a vibrant flower stand, Song Zhixu was watering the plants. Her long hair was elegantly pinned up, and she wore a pair of high-quality jadeite earrings that matched her slim-fitting, light cyan dress. She looked elegant and refined. The morning sun pierced through the thin clouds, and the water droplets sparkled like fine gold as they fell among the flowers.

It was a beautiful scene, warm and cozy like a morning breeze. Unconsciously, Tang Ran felt herself relax.

While she was dazing, Song Zhixu seemed to sense something and suddenly looked back. Realizing her “peeping” was improper, Tang Ran hurriedly pulled her head back and retreated. However, her movements couldn’t keep up with her panic; her left leg tripped over her right, she lost her balance, and fell straight onto her backside.

“Owu!”

The moment her butt made intimate contact with the floor, Tang Ran couldn’t help but let out a heart-wrenching wail of pain.

The silhouette had vanished too quickly for Song Zhixu to identify, but she heard the cry of pain echoing across the space. Looking thoughtfully at the balcony next door, Song Zhixu’s beautiful features softened, and a bright smile appeared on her face.

After changing her clothes and heading out, Tang Ran winced as the large step over the threshold pulled at her bruised backside. She was instinctively rubbing it as she walked toward the elevator, only to run right into Song Zhixu, who was also heading to work.

Tang Ran immediately snapped her hand away from her butt, put on a brilliant smile, and greeted her boldly: “Sister Song, good morning!”

Step one to recruiting Song Zhixu as an ally: build a good relationship.

Song Zhixu walked over and replied with a smile, “Good morning.”

Just as she reached Tang Ran’s side, the elevator arrived at the 19th floor. Tang Ran stepped aside to let her in first, then took small, stiff steps inside. Her gait wasn’t obviously broken, but a careful observer could see a hint of incoordination.

Song Zhixu had only heard Tang Ran’s voice this morning and didn’t know exactly what happened—whether she had bumped into something or fallen. It was June and getting hot; Tang Ran was wearing a light green short-sleeved shirt and a white long skirt. Her exposed arms and ankles showed no redness or swelling.

Sensing her gaze, Tang Ran’s ears flushed hot. She pretended to be nonchalant: “I slipped this morning and took a bit of a tumble.”

There were no visible injuries, and she could walk (albeit in small steps), so Song Zhixu tactfully refrained from asking for details.

Because of the lost bid yesterday, the atmosphere in Tang’s Marketing Department was very gloomy. At noon, Tang Ran ordered two lunches from Xinghe Mansion and brought them to GM Yu’s office. Seeing her, GM Yu’s dark face immediately brightened. Xinghe Mansion only served dine-in customers; in all of Jiangcheng, only Tang Ran, the owner’s daughter, could get them to deliver.

Tang Ran opened the bag, handed her a meal, and raised an eyebrow. “Any results?”

Only the project team for the Convention Center bid in the Marketing Department had access to the proposal. GM Yu had spent the morning interviewing them one by one.

“Mhm. I have a good guess who it is.” GM Yu opened her lunch box. Seeing the crab roe rice inside, she felt that her “anger” leading her to skip the cafeteria was a very wise decision.

“What do you plan to do?” Tang Ran asked as she unwrapped her utensils.

“Keep them for now,” GM Yu smirked. She had no hard evidence and didn’t plan to expose the person immediately. Although she was frustrated, the chances of finding proof of bribery between Shengtang and Director Yu were slim. After taking such a big hit, she had to find a way to pay Shengtang back.

GM Yu’s thoughts coincided perfectly with Tang Ran’s. In her previous life, Shengtang was the first to kick Tang’s while they were down. After Song Wuqi, Shengtang was the second entity Tang Ran wanted to destroy, but right now, she had to solve Tang’s own crisis first.

Thinking of Tang’s crisis, Tang Ran’s heart sank. The main reason for Tang’s bankruptcy was that bank loans weren’t approved on time, causing a break in the capital chain. She had to understand the company’s financial situation as soon as possible and find a way to deal with the funding gap that would occur next year when the final batch of loans failed to arrive.

Support The Subtle Seduction of My Ex-Girlfriend’s Aunt