The Subtle Seduction of My Ex-Girlfriend’s Aunt - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Very Cute.

After coming home from work, Tang Ran made a special trip to a flower shop to buy a beautiful floor-standing flower stand, along with gardening tools like a watering can and a small trowel.

As the red sun dipped below the horizon, Tang Ran finally finished arranging her new flower stand. On the windmill-shaped stand, besides that cute pot of sun roses, she had hung up star-shaped fairy lights. A clay cartoon cat was perched on the edge of the flower pot, appearing to climb inside, followed by a string of other adorably shaped small animals.

The once empty balcony felt instantly whimsical with this new addition.

Tang Ran glanced at the dark apartment next door; since she hadn’t returned by this time, she was likely at a business dinner. Tang Ran really wanted Song Zhixu to see her new flower stand, but this wait lasted nearly a week.

During this week, several things happened that made Tang Ran happy.

The first was that Director Yu of the Jiangcheng Convention and Exhibition Center was placed under internal investigation for illegally accepting property from others by taking advantage of his position. Every project that had passed through Director Yu’s hands was being re-examined, including last week’s catering bid.

GM Yu shared this good news with Tang Ran immediately.

“Shengtang’s contract was halted directly! Huang Hui was too clever for his own good and reaped the whirlwind!” GM Yu couldn’t have been more satisfied. The audit department had already found records of Huang Hui bribing Director Yu. Due to bid rigging, Shengtang’s winning status was revoked.

According to the bidding regulations, the center would select the next company in order of score ranking. Tang’s was the highest-rated candidate among the remaining bidders. Barring any accidents, the project would fall to Tang’s as the runner-up.

“Our luck is truly great!” GM Yu had previously tried to get surveillance footage of Huang Hui and Director Yu playing golf, but she hadn’t found any solid proof. She had almost given up hope, but then the tables turned with the internal investigation.

Seeing her so happy, Tang Ran said with a smile, “Call the colleagues from the Marketing Department tonight. Let’s go to Xinghe Mansion to celebrate. I’ll have Manager Wang save a room for you.”

“President Tang is so generous!” The average spending at Xinghe Mansion was quite high; this meal for the Marketing Department would cost at least five figures. GM Yu immediately posted the news to the group chat, and the department erupted in cheers, their favorability toward the young boss skyrocketing.

The second happy event was that the acquisition between Da Ning and the Song Group collapsed.

After Song Wuqi proposed her revised offer, Da Ning appeared hesitant on the surface but was actually wavering. Song Wuqi felt victory was within her grasp, believing Da Ning would agree to her plan in the third round. Unexpectedly, in less than a week, Da Ning quickly signed a “vulture” performance agreement with Jia-Chuang from Hong Kong and raised a massive amount of capital.

Jia-Chuang led a partnership between Da Ning and Hong Kong’s Global Supermarkets to fully upgrade and renovate Da Ning. Da Ning Supermarkets was no longer for sale.

“Haha, Song Wuqi’s acquisition project got intercepted! Did you hear?” Miao Tiantian sent a voice message to Tang Ran immediately upon hearing the news.

Tang Ran took a bite of bread and, listening to the cheerful laughter, walked to the balcony with her watering can to water the flowers Song Zhixu had given her. As she bent over, she caught a glimpse of a figure on the balcony next door.

Song Zhixu was coming out of her room. Seeing Tang Ran look over, she gave her a soft smile.

“You’re back?” Tang Ran’s expression was full of surprise. As soon as she spoke, the piece of bread fell out of her mouth and hit the floor with a soft thud.

As if suddenly realizing something, Tang Ran turned her head and stole a glance at her reflection in the glass door.

If you were to ask Tang Ran when she felt most humiliated in this life, it was definitely this very moment. On the neighboring balcony, Song Zhixu was neatly dressed in a white boat-neck tailored suit set with a lily-of-the-valley brooch—simple yet elegant.

In contrast, Tang Ran was wearing an oversized cartoon T-shirt and ripped denim shorts. She was completely bare-faced, and her “bedhead” hair, flattened by her pillow and sticking up, hadn’t been brushed yet. At her feet lay a half-eaten piece of toast.

For a moment, Tang Ran wanted to be reborn again. Not by much—just thirty minutes back would do. She definitely wouldn’t have been lazy; she would have applied beautiful makeup and picked out a new C-brand dress before coming out to water the flowers.

Over the past week, Tang Ran had done exactly that every morning, but she had never caught Song Zhixu. Since she hadn’t appeared for so long, Tang Ran had begun to assume the apartment was just an occasional stopover for her. So, Tang Ran had let herself go.

And of course, just as luck would have it, Song Zhixu appeared.

When did she get back? Tang Ran had specifically checked the room next door before bed last night and hadn’t seen any lights on. Tang Ran was so preoccupied with her embarrassment that she didn’t notice the smile in Song Zhixu’s eyes deepened after hearing her words.

“It’s very cute.”

Tang Ran was just thinking of an excuse to flee when she heard Song Zhixu’s voice, filled with laughter and praise. She looked at Song Zhixu in confusion.

Cute? Was Song Zhixu complimenting her? Was she trying to ease the embarrassment because she noticed Tang Ran’s distress? Song Zhixu’s voice was soft yet resonant, like a slowly flowing hot spring; it was incredibly pleasant to the ear. Even though she guessed “cute” might just be a courtesy, the tips of Tang Ran’s ears turned hot.

“Your flower stand is very cute.”

Song Zhixu thought Tang Ran hadn’t heard her clearly, so she looked at the flower stand again.

Tang Ran: “…”

She had overthought it again! She knew it—looking this disheveled, how could she possibly be called cute?

Seeing the change in her expression, Song Zhixu seemed to understand; Tang Ran hadn’t misheard, she had misunderstood. The smile in the corners of Song Zhixu’s eyes grew even more pronounced. Even though she was grown up, she was still as vain as she was when she was a child, wanting others to call her cute.

Tang Ran felt her entire ear heating up. She touched her ear and asked, “Do you like it?” Hearing her call the stand cute reminded Tang Ran of something.

Song Zhixu nodded. “It’s quite interesting.” Just like its owner.

“Wait a second.” Leaving those words behind, Tang Ran rushed back into her room and, a moment later, came flying back out.

“Here, this is to thank you for the flowers.” Tang Ran reached her arm out over the glass railing of the balcony and handed a bag to Song Zhixu. Her bright eyes were filled with dots of expectation, looking more beautiful than the brightest stars in the night sky.

Rarely curious, Song Zhixu wanted to know what gift was inside. Inside the bag was a wooden box shaped like a house; inside that box were all sorts of small animal ornaments. They were from the same series as the ones on Tang Ran’s flower stand, just with slightly different designs.

Compared to the previous meal, this thank-you gift was truly thoughtful.

With her willow-brows curving, Song Zhixu’s smile spread to the depths of her eyes. “Thank you, I like it very much.”

Now, Tang Ran felt that not only her ears, but her face was burning too. “I’m glad you like it.”

Help. Song Zhixu looks too good when she smiles!

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