The Subtle Seduction of My Ex-Girlfriend’s Aunt - Chapter 31

Chapter 31: Younger Ones are Better—Sweet and Considerate…

Xia Mo had come to pick up her sister for dinner and extended the invitation to Tang Ran and Qiu Yuan, who were with her. Having no other plans for the evening, neither declined, and they all headed to Taoyuan together.

Once seated, Xia Xin’er couldn’t wait to grab her sister and share her excitement.

“Sister, you have no idea how amazing Ranran is! This afternoon…”

In front of big players like Xia Mo, Tang Ran felt her little tricks were like “teaching a fish how to swim.” She wanted to stop Xia Xin’er, but with Qiu Yuan sitting between them, her arms weren’t long enough. Listening to Xia Xin’er vividly recount the events at the welfare home, Tang Ran felt her face grow hot with embarrassment. She pretended to drink water, avoiding the gazes of the three women sitting opposite her.

“We didn’t even have to lift a finger; they started fighting each other! Letting them tear themselves apart was way more satisfying than just arguing with them.”

Only when Xia Xin’er finally seemed finished did Tang Ran look up, sneaking a glance at Song Zhixu. Why do I always run into her whenever I’m doing something “bad”? She wondered what Song Zhixu would think of her. If she left Song Zhixu with an impression of being manipulative and full of schemes, would she still be willing to help her?

Song Zhixu was also listening to Xia Xin’er. Sensing Tang Ran’s gaze, she turned her head toward her, a faint smile playing on her lips. Tang Ran quickly looked down and continued drinking water. Judging by her expression, she didn’t seem to find it repulsive. However, Song Zhixu was always poised; a smile on her face didn’t necessarily mean she wasn’t annoyed deep down.

Tang Ran felt melancholy. The heavens let me be reborn; couldn’t they give me a little more luck so Song Zhixu doesn’t catch me being “wicked” every time?

“Sister, don’t you think Sister Ranran is very smart?” Xia Xin’er had a natural affinity for intelligent people, much like her sister and Lu Shuyang.

“Mhm, Miss Tang is very clever,” Xia Mo said with a gentle smile toward Tang Ran. Not only was Tang Ran smart, she was also interesting. Xia Mo was still impressed by the way Tang Ran had forced that little assistant to hide in a cabinet last time.

Tang Ran didn’t know how to respond, so she just smiled with curved eyes and continued drinking water.

“If you drink any more water, you’ll be full,” Qiu Yuan whispered teasingly into her ear. Being a few years older, Tang Ran usually showed a mature side to her, but seeing her ears turn red with embarrassment for the first time made Qiu Yuan find her even more adorable.

“You’re laughing at me,” Tang Ran knit her brows, raising a hand as if to playfully strike her. After hanging out several times, Tang Ran had started to treat her as a friend.

Qiu Yuan laughed and dodged, raising her hands in surrender. “I was wrong, I was wrong! Have mercy, Sister.”

Tang Ran huffed lightly and lowered her hand.

Watching the two play around across the table, Murong Yi raised an eyebrow at Song Zhixu. “Oh? Is there a new development here?”

Song Zhixu gave a faint look but remained silent.

“Tang Ran is good-looking and interesting. If your little niece doesn’t cherish her, she’ll regret it sooner or later.” Murong Yi was purely in it for the drama. Having come from a normal working-class family to her current position, Murong Yi had seen a much wider variety of people than “born-rich” ladies like Song Zhixu or Xia Mo.

Although Song Wuqi resembled Song Zhixu in both looks and temperament, Murong Yi hadn’t liked her from the first time they met. She always felt Song Wuqi’s true personality wasn’t what it appeared to be.

Watching Qiu Yuan serve food and pour water for Tang Ran, Murong Yi sighed with a smile: “Younger ones are better—sweet and considerate, and they know how to make their ‘Sisters’ happy.”

Sensing the gaze from across the table, Tang Ran immediately straightened up. She had to be steady in front of Song Zhixu. Otherwise, if she bad-mouthed Song Wuqi later, it might be dismissed as a childish tantrum.

Feeling the change in her, Qiu Yuan looked at her and then across the table. Murong Yi flashed her a smile. Song Zhixu looked serene, taking a sip of tea. When she looked over, she met Qiu Yuan’s eyes with a calm glance before shifting her gaze back to Tang Ran.

A sudden, inexplicable sense of crisis rose within Qiu Yuan. She couldn’t help but compare herself to the senior she had always admired. In terms of looks, there was no contest—Qiu Yuan knew she couldn’t compare. In terms of capability, Song Zhixu’s name was listed above hers on the school’s honor roll; she was the current CEO of the Song Group, a figure on the same level as Qiu Yuan’s own father.

The sense of crisis ballooned, and Qiu Yuan’s competitive streak was triggered. She ladled a bowl of chilled fruit milk soup, placed it in front of Tang Ran, and said with a smile, “Your throat must be parched from all that shouting earlier. This soup is perfect for soothing it.” After they had stopped competing, they had joined the children as cheerleaders.

“Thank you.” Tang Ran thanked her, took a spoonful, and nodded with a smile. “It’s cold and refreshing, very nice.”

While talking to Tang Ran, Qiu Yuan kept a close eye on the opposite side. She could feel Song Zhixu’s gaze lingering on them for a long time before finally pulling away.

When a bit of milk accidentally touched the corner of Tang Ran’s mouth, Qiu Yuan pulled out a tissue to wipe it for her. Seeing the tissue approaching, Tang Ran quickly took it herself and wiped it away, joking, “Don’t be too considerate, kiddo. You’ll make me feel like a useless person.”

Qiu Yuan laughed, hiding the disappointment in her heart.

On the other side of the table.

Hearing Murong Yi’s words, Song Zhixu’s gaze swept over Tang Ran’s smiling face before landing on Murong Yi. “Who was it that said last time they’d never date someone younger again?”

Murong Yi had been cheated on by a younger girlfriend who refused to break up, the reason being: “It’s not that I don’t love you anymore, I just happened to like someone else at the same time.” The girl even criticized Murong Yi for not being open-minded enough, asking who says three people can’t have love.

Murong Yi: “…”

She gloomily picked up a piece of cucumber, but looking at the bright green color, she instantly lost her appetite. She set down her chopsticks and studied Song Zhixu. “Is your little niece acting up again?”

Song Zhixu was usually very easygoing; she only made sharp remarks when she was in a bad mood. The failure of the Da Ning acquisition wasn’t just because Golbol offered better terms, but also because the news of Song Wuqi investigating Ning Hao had leaked. The Chairman of the Ning family had personally called Elder Master Song to complain, accusing the Song Group of hitting someone while they were down.

The Ning family had deep roots in Yangcheng with connections in both politics and business. If relations truly soured, it wouldn’t just affect the Song Group’s supermarket expansion; other industries under the Song umbrella would certainly be implicated. Song Zhixu had specifically flown to Yangcheng last week just to clean up Song Wuqi’s mess. Before dinner, Song Zhixu had taken a call from Song Wuqi, so Murong Yi naturally assumed Song Wuqi had done something again to sour her mood.

“Could Tang Ran have intentionally leaked the news about Ning Hao to her?” Murong Yi’s years of experience allowed her to sense something was off. Based on the first round of contact, the acquisition had a very high success rate if the bid hadn’t been suddenly changed. Yet, before the second round, Song Wuqi found out about Ning Hao and tried to take advantage, only for Ning Hao’s issue to be suddenly resolved and Golbol to swoop in with Jiacheng’s help.

It was all too coincidental. And the starting point was when Song Wuqi found out about Ning Hao. From what she saw at the Xia villa that day, Song Wuqi and that little assistant were definitely not “clean.” She wondered if Tang Ran had discovered the affair and sabotaged the merger to retaliate.

But after asking, Murong Yi felt she was overthinking it. Even if Tang Ran gambled that Song Wuqi would act on her own once she knew about Ning Hao, obtaining the video of his innocence and coordinating a partnership between Golbol and Da Ning wasn’t something a Jiangcheng socialite with no connections in the US or Hong Kong could achieve. Besides, it was just cheating—not some blood feud. There was no need to go this far. Simply exposing the affair to Elder Master Song would have been enough to punish her. Murong Yi was more inclined to believe Jiacheng and Golbol had set a trap to seize the Yangcheng market.

Song Zhixu took a sip of tea, her gaze landing on Tang Ran’s smiling eyes. She said softly, “I’m not sure.”

After Song Wuqi returned, the Elder Master had specifically asked where she got her information. Song Wuqi said Tang Ran had mentioned it inadvertently. The Elder Master’s view was the same as Murong Yi’s; when he spoke with Song Zhixu, he said the person setting the trap was too meticulous and had even calculated for Tang Ran’s involvement.

If Song Zhixu hadn’t seen Tang Ran’s hidden hostility more than once, she might have believed that, too.

“Not sure?” Murong Yi looked at her sideways. Song Zhixu wasn’t the type to settle for “not sure”; if she said that, she had already made a judgment—she might even have had someone investigate.

Then Murong Yi thought of something else. “The old man didn’t suspect you, did he?” In truth, there were two direct beneficiaries in this matter: Golbol and Song Zhixu. After this, the Elder Master felt Song Wuqi was too aggressive and obsessed with credit, so he decided to leave her in the branch office for a few more years. He wouldn’t be promoting her anytime soon.

The Elder Master was traditional and slightly favored men over women. He originally wanted to hand the company to his son, and even though his son was gone, he still favored his granddaughter, Song Wuqi, over his daughter. Song Wuqi wasn’t stupid either; she had found a girlfriend—which reassured the Elder Master she wouldn’t marry “out” of the family—and she had chosen Tang Ran, the granddaughter of the benefactor the Elder Master had always respected. Compared to Song Zhixu, who had no intention of starting a family, Song Wuqi was much better at pleasing the old man.

A mischievous glint flashed in Murong Yi’s eyes. She looked at Tang Ran and said to Song Zhixu, “I think this girl Tang Ran is quite interesting. You don’t have any… thoughts?”

Tang Ran clearly wasn’t the type to compromise her principles; breaking up with Song Wuqi was only a matter of time. More importantly, she held 5% of the Song Group’s shares. Marrying her would increase Song Zhixu’s standing in the Elder Master’s eyes and solidify her authority within the company. “Leaving everything else aside, with that 5% helping you, you wouldn’t have to work so hard for all these years only to have someone else reap the rewards.” If Song Zhixu hadn’t come back to hold things together, the Song Group might have fallen apart long ago. Murong Yi truly couldn’t stand the Elder Master’s favoritism.

“Try this, the new dish tastes good.” Song Zhixu gave her a fleeting look, not responding to her words. Instead, she used a serving spoon to scoop a portion of spinach tofu onto her plate. A puddle of green spinach juice sat atop the white tofu. Murong Yi found it an eyesore; there was no way she was eating that.

“You did that on purpose,” Murong Yi glared at her. If she didn’t like the suggestion, she could just say so—why put a blob of green stuff in her face to disgust her?

The phone on the table lit up. Murong Yi opened the chat. A cat-pounding-on-a-keyboard avatar sent a message: President Murong, the new plan has been revised. Please check!

Murong Yi raised an eyebrow, her attention shifting entirely to her phone.

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