After Rebirth, I Discovered the Whole World Wants to Harm Me [GL] - Chapter 21

The answer to her question was one thing while she lay in bed alone in the middle of the night; it was quite another when she was actually awake.

“Am I… falling in love?” With the lights out, Tang Xiaoran stared at the ceiling, her fingers twined in the ends of her hair beneath the covers. She spoke the words in a soft whisper.

She thought of the time she had gone to pester her while in a bad mood, only for Xiao Shixin to give up her own bed and nap on a hard desk instead. She thought of the way Xiao Shixin had earnestly advised her not to drink before dinner that night. And she thought of the expression she had seen tonight—the look on Xiao Shixin’s face upon hearing the news of her death.

Finally, she thought of her own feelings when she had heard her big brother mention Xiao Shixin’s family matters during lunch.

An overwhelming sense of heartache. Heartache for Xiao Shixin.

In the darkness, she blinked, wide awake, listening to the rhythm of her own heartbeat buried in the pillow. She counted the beats. Then, in a breathy whisper, she spoke the name: “Xiao Shixin.”

Her heart suddenly skipped a beat, like a panicked little rabbit searching frantically for a hole to hide in. The sleepiness enveloping her dissipated completely, as if the name itself carried a spell of clarity, giving her the strength to stay awake from night until dawn.

She pulled the quilt up higher. After a long while, a cheerful, soft laugh escaped from under the covers.

She heard herself say, “Ahhh, Tang Xiaoran, you’re finished.”

You’re really finished. You’ve actually gone gay for Xiao Shixin.

Tang Xiaoran repeated this in her heart, yet her mood lifted strangely, and her cheeks felt a bit sore from smiling. A tiny version of herself inside her head argued in a small voice, “She started it.”

She was the one who said she was gay first, and then she was incredibly good to you. If that isn’t flirting, what is?

It took less than a second for Tang Xiaoran to be convinced. She even came up with a reason for a forced confession, nestling contentedly into her pillow. She could almost smell that crisp, sweet scent on her—the lingering fragrance from her memory—guiding her happily into the arms of the god of sleep.

The next day, the alarm went off.

A hand reached out from the covers and fumbled on the desk for a long time. Finally finding the culprit, she flipped the switch with all her might. The world went silent, and she burrowed back into the soft quilt.

Half a minute later, there was a knock on her door, and a voice called out with a long drawl: “Tang—Xiao—Ran—”

She dug deeper into the bed, grumbling irritably, refusing to pull her consciousness from the abyss. The key slowly entered the lock, the sound magnifying inch by inch.

Before she could sit up and glare at the intruder, even more terrifying words arrived: “You told me to wake you up today because that old man in your Ancient Chinese class is taking attendance.”

Tang Xiaoran bolted upright like a corpse coming back to life. She began frantically searching for her phone in the blankets. When she found it, the time read 8:05 AM.

In her WeChat messages, Sun Jiali had sent a few lines two minutes ago:

“Where are you?”

“Let me tell you a horror story.”

“Ancient Chinese is taking attendance :)”

Tang Xiaoran put down the phone and fell flat back into the covers, expressionless. Tang Xiaoyu took two cautious steps forward, peeking at her look of utter despair, and blinked innocently. “It was only eight when I called you.”

Tang Xiaoran’s “death stare” shifted slowly toward him. She stared for half a minute. Just when he thought she was going to grab a pillow and pummel him, he heard her say in a surprisingly calm voice:

“Forget it.”

“I’m practicing Buddhism today; I don’t kill living beings.” She calmly smoothed her hair, sat up, flashed him a smile, and got out of bed to wash up.

Tang Xiaoyu: “…????” He really didn’t understand women.

He followed her to the bathroom, leaning against the doorframe as she squeezed out toothpaste. “Why?” he asked, completely baffled.

Tang Xiaoran hummed a few notes, replying in a great mood, “Because—today is a good day.”

The sky is clear, the breeze is gentle; it’s a perfect day for a confession.

Tang Xiaoyu scratched his head. Suddenly, he reached a conclusion. “Is it because you know Uncle is coming today?”

Her mouth was full of foam. Her long black hair fell forward, as if excited by her mood and wanting to get some foam on itself. She irritably pulled it back. Hearing Tang Xiaoyu’s words, she paused while taking a hair tie off her wrist.

She asked indistinctly, “…Mmf? Ooncle is coming?”

It took Tang Xiaoyu’s “Level 8 Sister-Language” skills to recognize her confusion. He repeated the information: “Uncle. You didn’t know? Then why were you so excited just now?”

Tang Xiaoran looked at him in the mirror and waved him off, signaling for him to get out; her mouth was busy, and she had no time to talk.

Tang Xiaoyu studied her with narrowed eyes for a while before blurting out, “You aren’t planning to skip class to go on a date, are you?”

The girl held her toothbrush, diligently brushing every corner of her teeth. In her heart, she thought: Damn it, he guessed it too accurately!

Seeing her silence, Tang Xiaoyu became even more convinced. He gave an arrogant huff and left her room to go downstairs for breakfast. Meanwhile, he made a mental note to corner Tang Xiaoran one day and see which “pig” was coming to harvest their family’s “cabbage.” He’d better bring Tang Xiaozhang along and kill the guy with glares until he knelt.

After washing her face, Tang Xiaoran applied her skincare unhurriedly in front of the clear mirror. Her deep brown eyes met the reflection of the thoughtful girl in the mirror. A thought surfaced in her mind: Uncle hasn’t visited in a long time.

Before going downstairs for breakfast, she stood at the door for a few seconds, looking at her phone lying on the messy bed. She turned back to pick it up before continuing downstairs.

As she sat at the table leisurely peeling a tea egg, the doorbell rang. Uncle Zhao went to open it. Tang Xiaoyu, sitting on the sofa, was the first to see the guest. A bright smile appeared on his handsome face. “Uncle!”

Tang Xiaoran stirred her vegetable and pork porridge with a white spoon. As she brought a spoonful to her lips, the guest stepped out from the entryway.

He was a spirited middle-aged man. A common side-part hairstyle looked elegant on him, and his British-style casual wear highlighted his masculine charm. If one didn’t know his real age, many would mistake him for being under thirty, like Tang Xiaozhang.

“Xiaoyu, long time no see! Come let Uncle see if you’ve grown taller again.” Tang Zhicheng walked toward the sofa with a smile. When he laughed, he exuded a harmless sense of intimacy. In the S-City business circle, many women a decade older than Tang Xiaoran had their eyes on him.

Tang Xiaoyu took off his headphones. Although he didn’t move from his spot, his tone was familiar. “Uncle, we just saw each other two months ago, okay? How was your trip abroad?”

“Traveling is always the same. But I brought some gifts for you and Xiaoran; you can pick them out later.” The man casually ruffled Xiaoyu’s hair and smiled. His gaze scanned the room, finding the girl at the dining table. He walked toward her, laughing. “Why haven’t you greeted me? Is Xiaoran in a bad mood today?”

The shell of the tea egg was already very crushed, but the girl continued to roll it back and forth on the table with her palm. The man approached and heard a sound. After listening carefully, he realized it was coming from her phone lying face down on the table. He pulled out a chair and sat down casually, saying with a grin, “Oh? Since when has Xiaoran been so studious? Listening to English broadcasts in the morning?”

“She’s faking it. She was in a hurry to go on a date this morning.” From the other side, Tang Xiaoyu, who was opening his gifts, added an obstacle to his sister’s act without looking up.

Tang Zhicheng raised an eyebrow, looking as if he’d heard some secret news. He leaned in and asked in a lowered voice, “Really? Then am I visiting at a bad time?”

Tang Xiaoran stopped rolling the egg and replied in a foul mood, “Don’t listen to his nonsense.”

Then she slanted her gaze, looking at her uncle with displeasure until he wore a bewildered expression. Only then did she pout and reveal her thoughts: “Uncle, you tell me—how long has it been since you came to see us?”

Hearing this, Tang Zhicheng’s smile instantly filled with helplessness and a desire to please. He even made a gesture of surrender. “Oh, my little ancestor was upset about that. Fine, fine, it’s my fault. I’ll take you out to buy an apology gift later. How does that sound?”

Tang Xiaoran pretended to think for a while before tilting her head and replying reluctantly, “We’ll see about the gift later. Peel an egg for me first.”

The tea egg had been rolling on the table for a long time; she just didn’t want to do it herself, fearing the juices might stain her hands. Tang Zhicheng’s hands usually touched only tea or books, but for his niece and nephew, he was willing to play in the mud or roll up their pant legs. Without a word, he took the fragile egg and began peeling.

He didn’t mind when his fingertips accidentally brushed against Tang Xiaoran’s. After all, the purpose of this visit to the Tang villa hadn’t been achieved yet.

The girl smiled as she watched him peel the egg. No one was listening to the foreign language blaring from her phone. But—no one knew the exact sentence echoing in her mind.

【This is all just the beginning. Everything I am taking away belonged to me originally. It’s all what Tang Zhihua owes me, you hear?】

No. I don’t hear.

I don’t know what Dad owes you.

I only know that it seems we’ve let a wolf into our home.

The peeled egg was placed in front of her. She looked up and saw her uncle’s impeccable smile. The smile on that youthful face had always seemed very kind to her and Tang Xiaoyu.

But she could no longer smile back, and she lost interest in the egg in his hand. The innocent tea egg rolled twice on the table and came to a stop in the corner, looking quite pitiful.

Tang Zhicheng looked at her in confusion. One moment his niece was waiting expectantly to eat, and the next she looked utterly dejected, propping her face in her hands. “What’s wrong with our Xiaoran now?” He showed no sign of displeasure that his hard work had been set aside, only asking good-naturedly what was wrong.

Tang Xiaoyu, sitting on the sofa, stole a few glances. When he saw the “I’m unhappy, hurry up and coax me” expression on his sister’s face, his mouth twitched. He was smart enough not to make trouble while she was demanding benefits—otherwise, he might get pummeled.

“It’s just that Tang Xiaozhang is so stingy. He won’t buy me a car, he won’t buy me anything. What’s the point of living?” After saying this, she let out a heavy sigh.

In the next second, Tang Zhicheng patted her hair and gave the standard answer she had been waiting for: “It’s okay. Uncle will buy it for you.”

Fifteen minutes later, Tang Zhicheng sat on the sofa, staring at a text notification on his phone in a deathly silence:

“Your account ending in ‘xxxx’ paid 750,000.00 CNY at 10:32 AM on Sept 29, 2016. Please confirm this was your purchase. [Bank of China]”