After Rebirth, I Discovered the Whole World Wants to Harm Me [GL] - Chapter 25

Half an hour later.

A green taxi, driven with frantic urgency, screeched to a halt at the mall entrance. A boy wearing a silver-grey hoodie quickly fished a large red bill from his pocket and tossed it to the driver. “Keep the change!”

He yanked the door handle and dashed out like a whirlwind a second later.

The driver hadn’t seen such a generous idiot in years. Rubbing his chin, he mused that he truly didn’t understand the youngsters these days. Smacking his lips twice, he slowly accelerated, joining the army of cars queuing at a red light ahead at a snail’s pace—the complete opposite of his speed coming here.

When Tang Xiaoyu ran to the fourth floor of the mall, he stepped off the escalator and looked to his left. He saw Tang Xiaoran sitting on a bench in the crowded corridor, head down, doing something on her phone.

Because he had run with such intensity, he was still breathless when he reached her.

Sensing a figure standing before her, the girl looked up, not at all surprised. She puffed out her cheeks and handed her phone over:

“How do you actually buy these ‘Double Color Ball’ tickets? Why does the price per bet keep changing? I thought they started at two yuan?”

The eyeliner around her beautiful brown eyes had been reapplied, clear and soft, as if the person who had been sobbing uncontrollably on the phone just now wasn’t her.

Tang Xiaoyu was still a bit dazed as he took the phone, asking a beat late:

“…What are you doing?”

Tang Xiaoran hadn’t expected him to be even more clueless than her. She pouted and replied, “Can’t you see? Buying lottery tickets.”

Tang Xiaoyu: …I damn well know you’re buying lottery tickets! I’m not blind!

The problem was—when other people go through a breakup, they drink. Why was his sister’s heartbreak process such a literal landslide of absurdity?

At this moment, he wished he had the dead-fish eyes of a cartoon character so he could give her a vivid, world-class roll of the eyes.

“I mean… never mind.” He cut himself off halfway. Meeting her gaze, he swallowed the rest of his sentence and resignedly looked down at the cluster of numbered balls on her screen.

Just as he was about to explain the rules, she snatched the phone back, muttering, “Actually, forget it. I’ll just pick randomly. Since I’m already this unlucky, any number I choose is bound to win.”

“Huh?” The boy didn’t immediately catch what she meant by “unlucky.”

Hearing his confusion, Tang Xiaoran looked up and explained seriously: “Isn’t there a saying? ‘Loving you has used up all the luck of my lifetime.’ Now I’m working hard to earn that luck back. Tomorrow’s five-million-yuan jackpot is definitely mine.”

Tang Xiaoyu opened his mouth, then closed it. After watching her finish picking the numbers in silence, he asked, “Going home?”

The moment she heard the question, Tang Xiaoran looked up at the ceiling of the mall corridor. The lights dazzled her eyes until the rising heat behind them receded. Only then did she answer slowly:

“Let’s go home.”

Walking into the small villa after getting out of the taxi, she muttered to herself in a tone that was half-complaint, half-spoiled: “Why do people fall in love? Isn’t being single great?”

“Are games not fun enough, or are TV dramas not good enough?”

The boy following behind didn’t speak. He simply watched her back and her long shadow stretched out by the setting sun, stepping forward to follow her silently in a protective stance.

Tang Xiaoran, however, wasn’t satisfied with just talking to herself. Without turning back, she asked him:

“Tell me, if I win five million tomorrow, what should I buy for myself first?”

Tang Xiaoyu couldn’t find his voice. He clenched his fists. He heard his own voice, thick with hidden anger, call out: “Tang Xiaoran.”

“Mm?” The person who had been trying to stand on her tiptoes under the osmanthus tree at the entrance to catch a scent turned around. The emotion in her deep brown eyes had been cleared out, her pupils illuminated cleanly by the sunlight.

But when she turned around, the speaker averted his head, the hard lines of his profile glowing strangely in the sun.

“Shut up. If you say one more word, I’m going to hit someone.”

Tang Xiaoran shut her mouth aggrievedly. She truly didn’t understand why, as the one who just got her heart broken, she had to face violent threats from her own brother. She wanted to cry; her heart was bitter.

Tang Xiaoyu watched her walk dejectedly into the living room, his clenched fists never loosening.

He really wanted to know what kind of person it was—what kind of blind person—who couldn’t see how good Tang Xiaoran was and made her this sad. Just recalling her tone during that afternoon phone call made an impulse to destroy something surge within him.

The treasure the Tang family held in their palms had been treated with such disdain.

Tang Xiaoyu decided he couldn’t be the only one who was angry. Expressionlessly, he created a group chat and added the remaining two Tang men.

The first message in the new group: “Tang Xiaoran got her heart broken today.”

Big Brother: “?”

Dad: “Hmm? When did she start dating again?”

Tang Xiaoyu: “She just cried.”

Big Brother: “!”

Dad: “Which little brat was it this time?!”

Even back when Tang Xiaoran had “puppy loves,” they never heard her mention them. Who on earth was the opponent this time? Not only did the Tang princess hit a wall, but she was made to cry?!

Tang Xiaozhang sat in his office and pressed the intercom, instructing his assistant: “Check with Porsche right now if they still have that model in stock. If they do, buy it immediately.”

Tang Zhihua, halfway through tea with an old friend, hurriedly stood up to say goodbye. Before going home, he turned to his special assistant: “Go check what kind of skincare or makeup young girls like these days. Pick out ten different sets for me.”

The special assistant acknowledged the order. Turning around, he immediately called his girlfriend: “Honey, which skincare brand did you say you wanted to buy? Right, send me all the brands you like.”

“No, I didn’t get a raise or win the lottery. My boss just asked me to buy a few sets… But I feel like we’ve been together so long, I absolutely have to get one for you too!” The special assistant, possessing a very strong survival instinct, pulled a sharp u-turn mid-sentence, over-achieving the goal of coaxing his girlfriend while completing his task.

That Evening. Inside the Tang Villa.

Tang Xiaoran looked at the car keys in front of her, then at the mountain of skincare sets on the table—Shiseido, Lancôme, La Prairie, La Mer, and so on. Seeing that the sets perfectly avoided the SK-II she actually used, she let out a loud wail.

“Dad, Big Brother, what are you doing? Burning money?” It was bad enough being heartbroken, but suddenly discovering her own family was so profligate made Tang Xiaoran feel the company was one step closer to bankruptcy. She sat on the sofa, sobbing thunderously.