Chapter 6

“You…”

Song Ranxue’s gaze accurately met the stranger’s eyes. Unexpectedly, the other person panicked even more than she did. The instant their eyes met, the stranger fled in the opposite direction without a second thought, not even bothering to retrieve the other slender vial that had fallen to the floor without breaking.

Song Ranxue frowned slightly and withdrew her gaze.

The pheromones drifting through the air… made her extremely uncomfortable. Their scent was overpowering and horribly unpleasant. She could not determine exactly what the substance was, but the pheromone scent occasionally reaching her nose somewhat resembled that of the Omega from last night—fresh, like wind sweeping across the ocean.

The Omega’s pheromones had smelled wonderful, though.

This stuff? If Song Ranxue continued breathing it in, she might actually die.

“Bzzzz—”

Just as she wondered what connection these revolting pheromones might have to that Omega’s, the phone in her pocket rang.

She took it out and looked. Unsurprisingly, it was her wonderful manager calling. Without hesitation, she declined the call.

Scrolling through the call history, she discovered that her manager had called her more than a dozen times since last night…

How dedicated.

She must be in a great hurry to curse at her.

Not only that, but her manager had also sent her numerous messages. Song Ranxue did not need to read them to know they were filled with abuse, so she could not be bothered.

Meanwhile, the social media platform had pushed several trending topics to her phone, all of them condemning her for inexplicably throwing red wine over Tang Heya. Wearing the same wine-stained dress, Tang Heya tearfully played the victim in front of the cameras. She wept so beautifully that anyone who saw her would feel sorry for her.

As a result, fans and nonfans of their group alike joined in to condemn Song Ranxue. The entire platform was remarkably lively.

Song Ranxue skimmed a few posts without paying much attention. She simply found Tang Heya’s original post, commented beneath it, and reposted it:

[What an ugly spectacle. Absolutely disgraceful.]

The original owner’s Weibo account did not have many followers. Most were inactive accounts or haters, making it look rather pathetic.

Song Ranxue might have been left alone if she had not commented and reposted it. But the moment she did, fans from every corner of the internet chased after her like rabid dogs, snapping at her relentlessly.

They were truly hardworking and dedicated.

After reposting the comment, Song Ranxue ignored them and set her phone to silent.

However, another call immediately read the original at bailiantales.com appeared on her screen. This time, it was none other than the supposed “victim,” Tang Heya.

Song Ranxue watched the number flash across the screen without much expression and declined the call.

She was about to take another route and leave, but after walking several steps, she stopped. Returning to where she had been, she picked up the slender vial lying on the floor. She did not know what it contained, but she pocketed it before turning around and leaving once more.

The remainder of her journey went relatively smoothly. She did not encounter anyone sent by that Sister Ying.

When she finally emerged from the hotel club and the dazzling sunlight struck her, Song Ranxue felt as though she had stepped into another lifetime. The wild night she had spent with a strange Omega seemed almost like a dream—one that had ended but left its marks behind.

Tang Heya refused to give up and persistently called several more times. Song Ranxue ignored every call.

It was only after boarding the subway that she leisurely took out her phone. Tang Heya had finally stopped calling and switched to sending messages instead. Gone was the pitiful, fragile persona she displayed on social media. Her private messages were aggressive and utterly unscrupulous.

Tang Heya: [Song Ranxue, answer the phone if you have the guts! Are you too much of a coward to admit what you did? I hope your mother never recovers from her illness!]

Song Ranxue stared at the message for a long time without moving.

After a lengthy pause, she let out a cold laugh.

She did not reply. Instead, she found a video on her phone that lasted a little over ten seconds. It featured Tang Heya singing during practice—and going so badly off-key that even the tone-deaf would concede defeat.

Song Ranxue uploaded it to social media. She offered no explanation and merely added four words:

The Voice of an Angel

Then she posted it.

Once the upload was successful, she switched back to her chat with Tang Heya.

Several more viciously abusive messages had arrived. Song Ranxue did not read them carefully. She merely counted how many Tang Heya had sent.

For every abusive message Tang Heya sent, Song Ranxue published another post exposing something disgraceful from her past.

She would let Tang Heya experience what it felt like to be relentlessly hunted down and cursed at.

…

By the end, Tang Heya had sent a total of twenty abusive messages.

Song Ranxue took screenshots to preserve the conversation while posting twenty pieces of Tang Heya’s sordid history on social media. She was in an exceptionally good mood.

One exposé might be fake—but what about ten? What about twenty?

Moreover, every post could be traced back to a credible source. Anyone with even a little common sense would realize that Tang Heya’s carefully read the original at bailiantales.comcultivated public persona, as well as all the accusations she had leveled against Song Ranxue, were false.

Song Ranxue was the true victim.

She was the one Tang Heya had trampled beneath her feet to climb higher.

Song Ranxue was not remotely afraid of Tang Heya’s insults or retaliation.

Her revenge had already begun. She would eliminate every obstacle standing in the way of her future career. No one would stop her from advancing and returning to the very top.

“Sister Ya… Sister Ya… please stop messaging Song Ranxue…”

Inside Tang Heya’s room, Tang Heya sat cross-legged on the sofa, continuously sending messages to Song Ranxue.

Song Ranxue had not replied to a single one, making Tang Heya increasingly agitated. She wanted nothing more than to rush over and tear apart that deliberately composed face.

However, just as she was engrossed in cursing her, her assistant suddenly spoke up beside her.

Tang Heya’s fingers continued moving, and her tone remained nasty.

“What is it? Am I not even allowed to curse at her now?”

“No… Song Ranxue posted a lot of damaging videos about you on Weibo… Quite a few ordinary read the original at bailiantales.com users have reposted them, and so have several of your rivals. The repost count is already approaching ten thousand…”

Knowing how foul Tang Heya’s temper was, her assistant spoke with trembling caution, terrified that Tang Heya would turn on her.

“What?! How dare she?”

Tang Heya had never expected Song Ranxue to become so bold. She was normally silent and submissive. How could she suddenly dare challenge her like this?

She immediately stopped sending messages and opened the posts Song Ranxue had published.

Every video was alarming. The more she watched, the more frightened and guilty she became.

“This is outrageous, Song Ranxue…”

Tang Heya was furious. She wanted to call Song Ranxue and unleash a torrent of abuse, but she managed to calm down at the crucial moment.

She turned to her assistant.

“Where’s Sister Qian? Didn’t she contact Song Ranxue?”

“She probably did, but Song Ranxue ignored her,” the assistant answered cautiously.

Tang Heya was already beside herself with rage. She called Song Ranxue again.

This time, Song Ranxue answered. Her voice sounded languid.

“Hello? Miss Tang.”

Tang Heya became furious just hearing her tone.

“Song Ranxue, what exactly are you trying to do?”

“Nothing much. I merely did to you what you did to me. Is there something wrong with that?”

Song Ranxue sounded genuinely puzzled, which only made her more infuriating.

“You’re doing this deliberately, aren’t you?” Tang Heya demanded through clenched teeth.

“Miss Tang, you’re truly amusing. Do you believe officials should be allowed to set fires while ordinary people are forbidden even to light a lamp? There’s no such principle. I know everything you did to me and every hardship you put me through. I’m still deeply hurt, you know. Even terminating my contract is difficult. I might have to pay your company an astronomical termination fee. I’m only a Z-list trainee. I truly can’t afford to waste any more time.”

“If you want to terminate your contract, talking to me is useless. You should negotiate with Sister Qian.”

“Everyone knows Sister Qian supports you, not me. She has always done nothing but find fault with me. Don’t pretend you don’t know that.”

“Then what do you want from me?”

The longer Tang Heya spoke, the more aggrieved she felt. Nevertheless, she knew that if she refused Song Ranxue’s demands this time, the latter undoubtedly had many more moves prepared.

She truly had underestimated her before.

“Nothing excessive. First, I want my contract terminated unconditionally. Every song I previously created for the company must be returned to me, and I will retain final authority over all rights relating to my work.”

“Second, you will personally write me a letter of apology. You will clearly explain everything you did to me, every false accusation you smeared me with, why you treated me that way, and how you intend to change in the future. Once you’ve finished writing it, you will let me review it. Only after I confirm there are no problems will you publish it and clear my name.”

“I will walk out of that company openly, honorably, and with my reputation spotless. Otherwise, don’t even think about debuting successfully.”

“You—”

“Miss Tang, I haven’t finished speaking. Please allow me to finish before you interrupt.”

Song Ranxue’s tone remained careless, yet every word made Tang Heya itch to grind her teeth.

Then Song Ranxue continued, “You insulted my family over WeChat just now. Please apologize to them as well. Otherwise—”

“Song Ranxue, you’ve gone too far!”

By the time Tang Heya heard the final demand, she could no longer endure it.

The earlier conditions had already been outrageous enough. She had never expected Song Ranxue’s final demand to be even more intolerable.

It was infuriating!

“We’ve barely begun.” Song Ranxue delighted in hearing her lose her temper. “Those are my only demands. There aren’t many. Since your memory isn’t particularly good, please use that chicken-scratch handwriting of yours to note them down. Otherwise, you might forget and force me to repeat myself. I’m very busy. I don’t have time to say the same thing over and over.”

“Also, until this matter is resolved, stop harassing me. And don’t ask me to delete the posts exposing your sordid history on Weibo. I won’t agree.”

After saying her piece, Song Ranxue had no desire to continue speaking with her and ended the call.

At that exact moment, the subway announced her stop.

Song Ranxue put away her phone and left the station in an exceptionally good mood.

How could she not be pleased? She had avenged both the original owner and herself, and she was about to escape that den of misery.

She stopped at a fruit shop and bought several apples. When she scanned the code to pay, she discovered that the original owner had truly been penniless.

She had only 68.91 yuan to her name—not even a hundred.

It seemed Song Ranxue needed to find work as soon as possible.

Otherwise… she would not even be able to afford food.

After paying, she carried the fruit home. Her steps were light and relaxed, as though she had already cast last night’s “romantic encounter” to the back of her mind.

Suddenly, a message arrived.

Song Ranxue lowered her head to look.

This time, it was not Tang Heya offering herself up for another round of torment. The message had come from a senior student Song Ranxue knew at the original owner’s university.

[Ah-Xue, didn’t you ask me recently to keep an eye out for work? A magazine shoot is looking for a model, and I think you meet all their requirements. Would you like to give it a try?]

Delighted, Song Ranxue immediately replied:

[Senior Lin, yes, I would!]

This senior student was named Lin Yurou. She quickly responded:

[Great. It’s scheduled for the day after tomorrow at the sixteenth floor of Xingkong SOHO. Remember to arrive on time~]

Song Ranxue: [All right. Thank you, Senior!]

After replying, even her steps became noticeably more cheerful.

However, the mention of another SOHO building involuntarily reminded her of the Omega with whom she had nearly spent a passionate night. That fresh, oceanlike pheromone scent seemed to linger faintly at the tip of her nose once more.

Nevertheless, Song Ranxue thought…

It would be best if she never encountered that Omega again.

She was probably someone Song Ranxue could not afford to provoke.

What she did not know was that shortly after her departure, Leng Xingxuan’s special assistant arrived.

After handling a series of matters, the assistant could not resist asking, “President Xuan, regarding the plan to select a live-in wife at Xingkong SOHO the day after tomorrow… will it proceed on schedule?”

Leng Xingxuan leaned against the sofa with her eyes closed, resting.

She had already changed into another suit and looked as polished and capable as ever. Yet her posture appeared languid and seductive.

Without opening her eyes, she replied, “Of course. Proceed according to the original plan.”

—??? OMG! Is she about to make the villain wear a green hat…?