After Rebirth, I Discovered the Whole World Wants to Harm Me [GL] - Chapter 13

Tang Xiaoyu’s phone call completely shattered Tang Xiaoran’s plan to stay at Xiao Shixin’s place for a while.

Xiao Shixin’s rented apartment and the Tang villa were separated by several districts. Tang Xiaoran calculated the time it would take on the subway and had to bid her a hasty farewell.

“I’ll drive you.” Seeing her frantically grabbing her bag and heading for the door, Xiao Shixin spoke softly. Though her tone was gentle, it was unquestionable.

Tang Xiaoran was in the middle of a “golden rooster standing on one leg” pose trying to put on her shoes. Because she couldn’t balance well, she hopped in place a few times, her curly long hair bouncing playfully in the air.

Hearing Xiao Shixin’s words, she shook her head quickly. She loosened the finger hooking the back of her shoe, and her right foot slid perfectly in. Standing straight, she turned back and gave a smile that was no longer just polite: “No, Sister Xin has been tired all day. I can just take the subway back.”

If this were the Tang Xiaoran who hadn’t experienced the “accident” yet, she certainly wouldn’t be willing to experience the crush of public transportation; as long as others didn’t find it troublesome, she would choose whatever was most comfortable.

But she wasn’t that person anymore.

Precisely because she had experienced a life where “everyone pushes a falling wall,” she knew how rare it was to receive pure kindness from someone.

Xiao Shixin wasn’t surprised by her answer at all. She simply walked to the coat rack by the door, fished her car keys out of her bag, and took a pair of shoes from the cabinet to change into.

Meeting Tang Xiaoran’s gaze, she calmly repeated: “I’ll drive you.”

Tang Xiaoran stared at her, dumbfounded, not knowing what to say for a long while.

Perhaps because she had felt the rare indulgence President Xiao had shown these past few days, she had temporarily forgotten that the person standing before her also possessed a character where “one word is final.”

She didn’t know what else to say to refuse—to show that she really didn’t want to trouble her with another trip, rather than deliberately trying to avoid owing a favor.

After half a minute, she bit her lower lip and replied: “Thank you, Sister Xin… I’m really sorry to bother you and make you go out so late.”

She felt as though she was always troubling her.

Xiao Shixin replied indifferently: “No need to apologize.”

Then, she turned the doorknob and walked out first.

Looking at the other woman’s back as she followed her out, Tang Xiaoran recalled every interaction with Xiao Shixin since she had been reborn and had to dejectedly admit—

Every single time, it was Xiao Shixin taking care of her.

Sitting in the car again, Tang Xiaoran was spacing out so badly that she forgot to buckle her seatbelt. Even after being reminded twice by President Xiao, she didn’t react at all.

Xiao Shixin had to unbuckle her own, leaning over to buckle it for her.

As the click of the seatbelt sounded, Xiao Shixin’s voice rose along with it: “Are you worried about things at home?”

Though Tang Xiaoyu had only said a few simple sentences over the phone, Xiao Shixin had pieced it together and guessed the gist of it: a set of materials unfavorable to Tang Xiaozhang had been placed in front of Uncle Hua.

And this matter, from the sound of it, was something Tang Xiaoyu had originally intended to do himself.

Deducing this far, it was easy to know exactly why Xiaoran’s mood was so bad today.

Tang Xiaoran looked up, her gaze crashing into Xiao Shixin’s cold, narrow eyes. The understanding in the other’s eyes wasn’t explicit, but the sensitive Xiaoran saw it instantly.

She twitched the corners of her mouth and moved her gaze away, looking out the car window. She let out a dejected sigh: “Sister Xin… if only I were as smart as you.”

Returning through rebirth with nothing but a jumbled notebook of other people’s inner voices, she had exhausted her strength and yet couldn’t find even a hint of the culprit’s identity.

If it were Xiao Shixin, she certainly wouldn’t have ended up in such a pathetic state.

“Don’t worry. Tang Xiaozhang isn’t the type of person to do anything shameful. Besides, this time you’re there to speak up for him.” Xiao Shixin comforted her while keeping her eyes on the road.

Perhaps because the language was plain and the emotion wasn’t heavy—like stating a dry fact—it strangely helped Tang Xiaoran calm down.

But she still instinctively wrung her fingers because she couldn’t afford the consequences of failure.

The image of the death certificate she saw in her past life was beginning to swirl before her eyes. She had to think of something else to pull herself out of this state of helplessness.

You can’t lose, Tang Xiaoran. You finally caught a break with a “reload save” chance; you can’t be wiped out before you’ve even seen the boss’s face.

As if instinctively knowing who could keep her steady, she unconsciously turned to watch Xiao Shixin’s profile as she drove, trying to associate her with something.

By the time they passed the thirteenth traffic light, she dragged a piece of news from the corner of her memory.

It was something she saw on the local news every day while stuck in that broken rented room after her downfall.

If she remembered correctly, that event was exposed in the first half of next year.

If she warned Xiao Shixin now, she could probably help her company stop its losses in advance.

“Sister Xin, your group’s overseas operations have been getting better and better these past few years. Big Brother said your phone sales were already second in the Country A market last year.” After thinking it through, this was the only gift Tang Xiaoran could offer to repay Xiao Shixin.

Xiao Shixin didn’t catch her leap in logic for a moment, but after half a second of confusion, she gave a calm “Mm.”

“I remember your group relies on overseas markets as its main profit source. I heard many graduates want to join the Xiao Group specifically to be sent abroad—especially to places like Africa or South America. I also heard that those already stationed there don’t want to come back, and they don’t even want the head office to send more people to compete for their ‘rice bowls’.” She casually mentioned a few things that everyone in S-City knew by now.

Xiao Shixin certainly understood her meaning.

The benefits and treatment at the Xiao Group were excellent, especially the subsidies for overseas personnel, which had always been the envy of other companies.

Then, Tang Xiaoran threw out the final line: “It seems the overseas market is very ‘fat.’ But I just want to ask a rather naive question, Sister Xin: How often does the head office go to the overseas branches to audit the books? Once a quarter? Every six months? Or once a year?”

Hearing this, Xiao Shixin’s expression gradually turned cold.

She knew, of course, that Tang Xiaoran wasn’t actually looking for an answer to that question.

The car stopped at another red light.

The light from the signal spilled into the car through the windshield, casting a cold, hard shadow on the driver’s face. A spark of red reflected in her dark eyes, looking like a predator ready to strike.

Her right index finger tapped silently on the steering wheel twice. As the red light countdown dropped below ten seconds, she replied indifferently: “I understand.”

The car stopped on the path outside the Tang villa. Tang Xiaoran was desperate to get out, pulling the door handle while unbuckling her seatbelt.

As the door opened halfway, she suddenly turned back, looking at Xiao Shixin earnestly. She gave a solemn thank you: “Thank you, Sister Xin. Thank you for everything today.”

Xiao Shixin watched her quietly, and just as she was about to reply that it was unnecessary, she saw the girl raise a sudden smile and ask: “If my news today proves helpful, can I bother you again next time like I did today?”

“Regardless of that news, you can find me anytime.”

“Always.”

Her tone was as steady as ever, as plain as plain water, yet it warmed right into the depths of Tang Xiaoran’s heart.

Xiao Shixin didn’t drive away until she saw Tang Xiaoran’s silhouette enter the house.

After stepping on the gas, she dialed her assistant’s number, her cold eyes dark with intent:

“Lily. Tomorrow morning, place the profit reports for the overseas branches on my desk. Also, get me the list of personnel who went to audit those branches over the last two years.”

On the other side.

Seeing the expressionless Tang Xiaoran, the boy irritably ruffled his hair, causing the colored tufts to stand out messily among the black.

Faced with those deep brown eyes whose depths he couldn’t read, his tone became even more aggressive for some reason: “Damn it, you don’t actually suspect I’m pulling some self-directed drama to trap him and lie to you, do you?”

Tang Xiaoran didn’t speak, still watching him quietly.

Her bangs blocked the light from the living room ceiling, making the contrast in her brown eyes sharp.

Seeing no reaction, Tang Xiaoyu’s anger flared. He wanted to kick the coffee table over. He clenched and unclenched his fists several times before saying angrily: “F***, I don’t care if you believe me or not. Either way, if I catch the grandson who set me up, I’ll definitely screw him over!”

That teeth-gritting look of hatred—if it was an act, then the entertainment industry owed the Tang family an Oscar.

Just then, the already open master bedroom door upstairs slammed against the wall. Tang Zhihua appeared at the door, the fire in his eyes burning bright. His roar was full of energy: “What are you shouting for? What are you two arguing about in the middle of the night?!”

Usually, Tang’s father was very easy to talk to, but when he lost his temper, no one in the house dared to move.

Even Tang Xiaoyu’s anger was forcibly stifled.

“Uncle Zhao, ask Tang Xiaozhang when he’s coming back!” Seeing the siblings had quieted down, he barked an order to Uncle Zhao below with a foul mood.

…He was so angry he was losing his mind.

Even though she knew the anger wasn’t directed at her, Tang Xiaoran’s heart skipped a beat at her father’s roar. In the slight shock, she assessed her old man’s anger index.

The house fell silent for a moment, but it felt like the precursor to a storm.

She moved her gaze back from the second floor and looked at the fuming “Xiaoyu-bun” opposite her. Much of her anger dissipated. She instinctively took two steps forward and raised her hand to smooth out the hair on his forehead.

Seeing him clearly enraged yet stubbornly standing there allowing her to approach while suppressing his emotions…

Tang Xiaoran’s heart softened completely.

Letting out a sigh, she gave this awkward, tsundere, and closest younger brother a hug.

“I believe you.”

The Author has something to say:

PS: Little brother Tang really isn’t that bad; he truly never intended for Tang Xiaozhang to die…

Speaking of which, I’m clearly writing this to serve up sugar for a CEO novel, so why! Why do I keep writing it! Like a serious drama! Help!

Ahhh, I thought I could be lazy and write less tonight, but the plot really moved forward, and Big Brother didn’t even show up. But… the word count didn’t change!!! Why do I have so much to say! Crying on the floor.