After Rebirth, I Discovered the Whole World Wants to Harm Me [GL] - Chapter 6

One week later.

The day of the cooperation negotiations between Xiao Group and Gaosheng arrived.

Tang Xiaoran stood in front of the full-length mirror, changing into the suit she had prepared early that morning. During this week, she had been exploring that strange ability of hers every day and finally found the trigger—

Whenever the news played, she would lose control of herself.

Whoever she touched ended up in an awkward situation.

Recalling what Tang Xiaoyu had said regarding their elder brother’s car accident, she grew restless and accidentally misaligned an entire row of buttons. Only after coming to her senses and catching her reflection in the mirror did she hurriedly fix her disheveled jacket.

“The most important thing right now is today’s cooperation. Cooperation!” She lightly patted her face in the mirror, giving herself some encouragement to pull her thoughts away from the tragedies of her past life.

The project manager from Gaosheng had communicated with her several times about this partnership. She already knew the floor price and the proposal, but as the moment approached—

Tang Xiaoran realized she was a tiny bit of a coward.

For the first time in two lifetimes, she was contributing to the family business. At the breakfast table, she dawdled until the very last minute before preparing to head out.

“Are you nervous? If you beg me, I might consider going with you.” As if seeing the tiny person curled into a ball in her heart, Tang Xiaoyu sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, playing on his tablet while teasing her casually.

Hearing his words, Big Brother Tang, who was also preparing to head to the office, glanced at her.

Tang Xiaoran gave him a flat “Pah!” After putting on her shoes, she looked up and smiled at Tang Xiaozhang. “Don’t worry, Brother. The manager is there. If anything goes wrong, he’ll take the blame. I’m just a mascot.”

Tang Xiaozhang’s expression softened as he nodded.

Tang Xiaoyu, watching the whole scene: “…”

Hmph, so annoying!

Who exactly is your biological brother here!

8:10 AM.

Xiao Group Headquarters.

Wearing a black professional suit and carrying a handbag, Xiao Shixin stepped out of the elevator. Her assistant immediately greeted her, walking briskly to keep pace and taking the bag. “Good morning, President Xiao.”

“What time do the negotiations with Gaosheng start this morning?” Xiao Shixin walked into her office and stood by her desk. She glanced down at her schedule for the morning and suddenly asked the question.

The assistant paused before answering, “8:50 AM. Do you plan to attend, President Xiao? I’ll contact the project manager right away.”

Xiao Shixin multi-tasked, setting the schedule aside after scanning it. She sat down in her black leather chair and replied indifferently, “No need—by the way, if Miss Tang from Gaosheng comes to see me at noon, let her in directly.”

The assistant acknowledged the order and backed out of the office.

Forty minutes later, the negotiations began on time.

After the representatives from both sides were introduced, Gaosheng’s manager began presenting their proposal. Tang Xiaoran smiled politely at the opposing side.

Then, after sitting in her seat and listening seriously for two hours—feeling more focused than she had ever been in any class—she realized…

She didn’t even have the value of a “cute mascot.”

Because the speed from the end of the discussion to the signing of the contract was lightning-fast. With one hand propping up her chin and the other holding her phone, she opened WeChat and posted in the family group:

“Cooperation with Xiao Group: Get! √”

The Blunt Dad: “What reward do you want?”

The Sincere Big Brother: “Well done.”

The Straight-Talking Younger Brother: “Oh. So are you coming back for lunch?”

Tang Xiaoran pouted. She felt zero sense of achievement. She stood up and followed the project manager out.

Walking with her head down, she replied on her phone: “Save the reward for later. Thanks for the praise, Big Brother. And, not coming back for lunch.”

As the group stood by the elevator, Tang Xiaoran headed straight in the other direction, throwing back a sentence: “I have some things to take care of. Uncle Li, I’ll leave the project reporting to you.”

The manager smiled and replied that it was no trouble.

I wonder if sneaking over to find President Xiao at this hour will result in being turned away?

Tang Xiaoran stared at her phone in the elevator for a long time. She puffed out her cheeks, mentally rehearsing a scene where the assistant told her Xiao Shixin was busy and she would have to leave dejectedly.

“Miss Tang, you can go right in. President Xiao gave specific instructions.” Standing before the pretty young assistant, Tang Xiaoran blinked twice. Once she was sure she hadn’t misheard, she stepped inside.

This was actually Tang Xiaoran’s first time in Xiao Shixin’s office, but upon pushing the door open, she realized she had seen this layout before.

Xiao Shixin looked up from behind her desk. A flicker of warmth rose in her eyes, and her face, which had been cold while reviewing documents, visibly softened.

“Negotiations finished?”

Tang Xiaoran walked to the desk and glanced at the potted plant nearby. Sure enough, it was growing perfectly straight.

Leaning her hands on the cold black desk, the girl looked at the person before her with a grin, her curiosity impossible to hide. “How did you know I was coming to see you today?”

Xiao Shixin glanced at her sideways, a hint of a smile shimmering in her eyes and spilling out from the corners.

She unhurriedly picked up the desk phone to ask her assistant to bring in a cup of milk tea, her pale fingers then setting the receiver back down.

Only when the person in front of her spoke up a bit anxiously—”Sister Xin?”—did she respond.

“That lunch you mentioned as a thank you… was it a lie?” Xiao Shixin raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly. She didn’t even realize how much her mood had improved from teasing the girl; even the corners of her lips couldn’t help but curve slightly.

Tang Xiaoran froze for a second and instinctively explained, “No, no, no! That was for real!”

After saying that, she belatedly whispered under the other’s smiling gaze, “I just feel like you understand me quite well…”

The assistant knocked and entered with a cup of hot milk tea. As Tang Xiaoran sat on the small sofa nearby to sip her drink, Xiao Shixin picked up her fountain pen and casually signed papers—but her mind was echoing with that sentence: “I just feel like you understand me quite well.”

Because Tang Xiaoran’s tastes and hobbies hadn’t changed since they were children.

So, Xiao Shixin remembered them all.

Xiao Shixin would always remember who used to come to the Xiao manor as a child, accompanying her through those eternally boring and rigid days, becoming the only sweetness in her memory.

Except, it seemed Tang Xiaoran had forgotten.

Those memories, which were incredibly precious to Xiao Shixin, were merely passing clouds in the other girl’s life, lost in her already colorful and brilliant childhood.

Mulling over Tang Xiaoran’s words, she looked down at her files, pursing her lips slightly. After a long silence, she silently uttered one word to herself.

“Little ingrate.”

She couldn’t even tell who was good to her; she truly was a bit of a silly little ingrate.

But it didn’t matter. With Gaosheng’s current net worth, Tang Xiaoran could go on being this silly for the rest of her life.

Furthermore, although she didn’t know why the girl had suddenly started approaching her again, Xiao Shixin could guarantee that as long as it was within her power to help, she wouldn’t let Tang Xiaoran run into trouble.

Sipping her milk tea, Tang Xiaoran had no idea she’d been labeled “silly.” She was currently pondering what to treat Xiao Shixin to for lunch.

After thinking for a long time, she decided to consult her group of “plastic sisters”—the friends who were reliable for partying but would disappear the moment someone went broke.

Tangtang: “Any cuties want to recommend a local restaurant? The ‘insanely delicious’ kind.”

“Whoa, Xiaoran, how long has it been since you came out? A friend of mine is opening a small bar tonight. Want to come?”

“Heh, I heard the eldest Miss Tang is so obsessed with the family business lately she can’t pull herself out. Is it true?”

“Wow, the rumors upstairs are terrifying! Didn’t our Xiaoran used to despise ‘career women’ like President Xiao of the Xiao family the most?”

“Horrifying.”

“+1”

“+10086”

“What? What? I stepped away for two minutes and feel like I missed an entire world?”

They were all just messing around; no one was actually answering the question.

For some reason, seeing someone point out the fact that she used to dislike Xiao Shixin the most made Tang Xiaoran feel a pang of guilt. She took another gulp of milk tea to calm her nerves.

Shifting her gaze from her phone to the person working seriously behind the desk, she looked down and typed:

“Send me the bar address. I’ll allow you to gossip all you want tonight. Right now, give me restaurant recommendations. RECOMMENDATIONS. RECOMMENDATIONS. Do you see the point?”

“A new French restaurant opened at Houhai a couple of days ago. I thought it was pretty good. You could try that.”

“How many people are eating? What’s the taste? If you want something light, I have a private kitchen recommendation, but I think it’s invested in by the Xiao Group. Do you still want it?”

“Hey, let me tell you, my family just opened a Sichuan place that’s incredibly good. If you come, it’s on the house.”

Tang Xiaoran fell into deep thought.

What kind of food did Xiao Shixin like? Spicy? Sweet? Light?

After recalling the other’s performance during their last meal, Tang Xiaoran discovered in despair—

(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻ How should I know!

Because she had never cared! She never cared about Xiao Shixin’s tastes!

Carrying a strange sense of guilt, she cautiously and somewhat flatteringly looked toward the desk again, catching Xiao Shixin’s eyes as she looked up at the same time.

“If you’re bored, I can have my assistant take you downstairs to look around.”

The sense of guilt suddenly became as heavy as a mountain.

“No, no, no. It’s just… Sister Xin, is there anything you want to eat? Your lunch break probably isn’t very long, right? How about I pick something close to the office?”

Seeing that she really wasn’t just bored, Xiao Shixin looked back down to process the work at hand and replied indifferently, “Whatever you like is fine. I’m not picky.”

Tang Xiaoran puffed out her cheeks and continued poking at her phone screen:

“Two people. A restaurant near Xiao Group headquarters. Taste doesn’t matter.”

The group chat instantly became as silent as a grave. Tang Xiaoran almost wondered if her phone had lost its signal.

Half a minute later—

“Xiao Group headquarters? Two people? Am I suddenly hallucinating? Would Xiaoran ever go near that place?”

“Fake, it’s fake. Xiaoran’s account definitely got hacked!”

“Dear Group Leader, quick! Use the old rule!”

Tang Xiaoran: “…???”

She wordlessly typed a line: “I haven’t been hacked…”

However, a giant red exclamation mark appeared in front of that sentence.

“You have been removed from the group chat by the Group Leader.”

Tang Xiaoran: “…”

The Author has something to say:

Little Theater:

Tang Xiaoran: Childish! Making a fuss! It’s nothing! What’s wrong with having a meal with Xiao Shixin???

Xiao Shixin: I heard you hate me?

Tang Xiaoran [Throws phone down]: No no no, Sister Xin, let me explain!