The Subtle Seduction of My Ex-Girlfriend’s Aunt - Chapter 26

Chapter 26: The Chickens Ranran Sent This Morning…

If the bar incident were to be investigated further, Ye Xiaoyu would inevitably be dragged into it. Song Wuqi could not allow Tang Ran to interfere.

She held Tang Ran’s hand firmly. “Shuyang is handling it. You don’t need to call Lawyer Chen.”

“Alright then.”

Looking at the wound on Song Wuqi’s arm, Tang Ran knew when to stop pushing. She tucked her phone away, smoothly withdrew her hand from Song Wuqi’s grasp, and asked: “Didn’t you say you were going back to Jingting?”

Song Wuqi’s earlier message had said she was going back to see Elder Master Song that evening. Jingting was in the suburbs; usually, when Song Wuqi went back to visit, she would stay overnight before returning to her own place.

Tang Ran guessed that Song Wuqi, having botched the acquisition and been scolded by the Elder Master, had called her friends out to drown her sorrows in alcohol. Tang Ran asked despite knowing the answer—partly to maintain appearances so Song Wuqi wouldn’t get suspicious, and partly to intentionally poke at Song Wuqi’s sore spot.

Sure enough, Song Wuqi’s expression stiffened for a moment before she quickly recovered.

“Shuyang called me, so I came out,” Song Wuqi said without blinking an eye, then added an explanation, “I ran into Assistant Ye at the bar later. She saw I was injured, so she came to the hospital with us.”

Tang Ran sneered inwardly. Song Wuqi was trying to fool her with these superficial lies, completely unaware that she herself was a fool being played by Ye Xiaoyu.

Having ruined the acquisition, Song Wuqi had shifted the blame onto Ye Xiaoyu. Ye Xiaoyu felt both aggrieved and sad, and she had sensed Song Wuqi’s intention to distance herself. Knowing that clinging further would only make her more loathsome, Ye Xiaoyu had simply started playing “hard to get,” acting flirtatiously with a senior from her school who used to pursue her.

Whether it was the “chance” encounter at the bar or intentionally provoking the senior’s dissatisfaction by rejecting him, it was all part of Ye Xiaoyu’s plan. The result? Song Wuqi fell for the trap hook, line, and sinker.

Karma is a cycle; a trashy woman will always be handled by a scheming one.

Through today’s drama, Tang Ran finally understood why, in her previous life, Song Wuqi could stay entangled with Ye Xiaoyu for so many years, even producing an illegitimate child. From the very beginning, Ye Xiaoyu had mastered Song Wuqi’s character flaw: she didn’t want what was given freely; only what she had to fight for was “fragrant.”

“Since you’re being so proactive in explaining, I’ll believe you.”

It was the middle of the night and the formalities were over; Tang Ran truly had no mood to waste any more time on Song Wuqi’s hypocritical displays. Once Song Wuqi’s bandages were finished, Tang Ran dropped her off at home without delay, gave a few half-hearted instructions, and left.

Before getting out of the car, Tang Ran—as if forgetting there was a wound on Song Wuqi’s arm—accidentally gripped it firmly, causing Song Wuqi to hiss and draw in a sharp breath of pain.

It was early morning when Tang Ran arrived back home. As she passed through the living room, she took a turn toward the balcony. The balcony across from hers was pitch black; the lights in Song Zhixu’s place were already out.

The next morning.

Jingting.

Elder Master Song was practicing Tai Chi in the courtyard when the maid, Auntie Wang, walked in carrying two plucked chickens. Seeing the Elder Master glance at her, Auntie Wang spoke up: “Miss Tang sent someone to deliver these. They’re free-range chickens from Mount Hu.”

Hearing that Tang Ran had sent them, Elder Master Song’s eyebrows shot up. He was exceptionally satisfied with Tang Ran as a future granddaughter-in-law. Tang Ran had been beautiful since she was a child, and her mouth was particularly sweet, making her very likable. He had once considered arranging a “childhood betrothal” with the Tang family, but thinking that the age gap between his daughter, Song Zhixu, and Tang Ran was a bit too large, he feared the Tangs wouldn’t agree and dropped the idea.

Later, when he learned that Song Wuqi and Tang Ran were dating, he was happy for quite a while. As for why he hadn’t considered Song Wuqi for the childhood betrothal initially, it was because he felt they were of different generations. He was sixty-six this year, nearly twenty years younger than the late Elder Master Tang; he had called him “Uncle Tang” since they first met.

The late Madame Tang had poor health and didn’t give birth to Tang Wanru until she was nearly forty. Tang Wanru also married late, having Tang Ran in her thirties. Meanwhile, he had married his first wife in the village at nineteen; he was twenty when his son was born, and his son married early as well—he became a grandfather at forty-three.

Thus, the Tang and Song families were a full generation apart in age, but according to the original relationship between the two Elder Masters, Song Zhixu and Tang Ran were actually of the same generation.

Thinking of his daughter, the Elder Master’s brow furrowed again. His granddaughter’s marriage was on the horizon, but his daughter was already thirty-one and still single. Forget bringing a friend home; he hadn’t even heard her mention anyone.

His first wife had died of illness before he became successful. It was ten years later before he met his current wife, Jiang Mei, and had his youngest daughter, Song Zhixu. His daughter had been smart since childhood; he never had to worry about her. Now that she was grown and he wanted to worry, he couldn’t control her anymore. The Elder Master thought that when his daughter came home for dinner tonight, he would have to urge her again.

While his thoughts were spinning through a hundred scenarios, Auntie Wang was only thinking about the two chickens.

“Miss Tang is truly a good person. She called me early this morning saying the Little Miss ‘Song Wuqi’ had injured her hand. She specifically sent someone up the mountain to catch these chickens to stew soup for her to recover.” When Tang Ran called, she started by praising Auntie Wang’s soup-making skills, saying Song Wuqi loved her cooking, which left the maid beaming with joy.

“Xiao Qi is injured?” The Elder Master stopped his movements.

“They said she accidentally hurt her hand.” Auntie Wang didn’t notice anything wrong, adding with a sigh, “Young people nowadays just don’t know how to take care of themselves.”

Elder Master Song dropped his stance and walked toward his study with his hands behind his back.

The Da Ning acquisition project was something he had specifically told his daughter to give to his granddaughter for practice. The early background checks and the basic acquisition plan were already very mature; as long as they followed the plan, there was a high probability nothing would go wrong. Yet, even with such a simple project, his granddaughter’s arrogance had caused them to lose it. He was disappointed. His son had died early, and feeling guilty, he wanted to make it up to his granddaughter. He intended to promote her, but though she appeared as reserved as his daughter, she was far less steady.

Back in the study, the Elder Master ordered someone to investigate how Song Wuqi got injured. Within half an hour, his subordinates reported back: Song Wuqi was injured because she got into a fight at a bar yesterday.

The Elder Master was inevitably even more disappointed. Yesterday in the study, he couldn’t help but scold her a bit, and she had put on an act of accepting it humbly. He had felt relieved that his granddaughter was becoming more composed after this setback, but it turned out she was just suppressing it and took her anger out elsewhere the moment she left.

Near noon, Song Zhixu took some time to return to Jingting.

Seeing her return, Elder Master Song raised an eyebrow. “Why are you back at this hour?” Unless she had social engagements or business trips, Song Zhixu consistently returned to Jingting for dinner on Friday nights. The Elder Master felt that both children in the house—one after the other—seemed a bit “off.”

“I have a meeting this afternoon that will end quite late, so I came over at noon.” Song Zhixu handed her bag to the servant and sat on the sofa next to the Elder Master. Hearing it was just work-related, the Elder Master lost interest and went back to his newspaper.

“Zhixu is back?” Jiang Mei heard her daughter’s voice and walked out of the kitchen with a smile. “Lunch is ready. Wash your hands and let’s eat.”

Auntie Wang followed behind her, carrying a large bowl of chicken soup. As Song Zhixu stood up and rolled up her sleeves, she looked back at the Elder Master and whispered to her mother, “What’s going on with him?”

Seeing the old man sulking and waiting for someone to coax him, Jiang Mei couldn’t help but smile. She jerked her chin toward the soup on the table. “The chickens Ranran sent this morning.”

Song Zhixu’s gaze landed on the bowl of soup.

Chickens sent by Tang Ran?

Based on her behavior yesterday, Tang Ran should have the intention of breaking up with Song Wuqi; she shouldn’t be sending gifts to gain favor at this time. Song Zhixu knit her brows.

Or… did I misunderstand her meaning?

Perhaps Tang Ran didn’t want to break up, and the “help” she mentioned meant something else. Like… helping her keep Song Wuqi stable?

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