After Rebirth, I Discovered the Whole World Wants to Harm Me [GL] - Chapter 8

Dizzying neon colors were projected into every corner, and the deafening music created a festive atmosphere—a fittingly good omen for a grand opening.

This newly opened bar in S-City, named “Grand View Garden,” was located in the most famous alleyway of the district. Most of the patrons here were profligate scions spending money like it was burning a hole in their pockets. Luxury cars blocked the two-lane road at the entrance so thoroughly that only four-legged alley cats could leap through the gaps with any agility, leaving a crowd of well-dressed people standing at the end of the alley staring in frustration.

Tang Xiaoran happened to arrive earlier than the main traffic jam. She walked inside under the shifting red and green lights, heading straight toward a group of glamorous young women holding wine glasses. Surprisingly, not a single person recognized her.

She reached out and tapped the shoulder of the girl in front of her. The girl, annoyed at being interrupted, spun around and shouted something that was completely drowned out by the bone-shaking music.

Tang Xiaoran rolled her eyes expressionlessly, only to be blinded again by a strobing light ball above.

Having no interest in screaming her lungs out in a place like this, she grabbed a microphone from a nearby stand. After a quick tap to confirm it was live, she spoke into it in a flat, amplified tone:

“Big brother on stage shaking his head—yes, you. Please have the booth turn down the music. Thanks.”

The world instantly became much quieter.

The familiar voice caught the attention of the group of ladies who had been busy boasting. The girl she had just tapped turned around in disbelief, squinting through the dim, hazy lighting to identify her: “Xia—Xiaoran?”

“What on earth are you wearing? Did your dad just announce he’s handing the company over to you?” A girl in a black off-the-shoulder dress approached, hooking an arm around Xiaoran’s neck with a wine glass in hand, teasing her with a grin.

Tang Xiaoran twitched the corner of her mouth, took off her coat, and replied calmly, “I had some business to attend to today, so I was too lazy to go home and change.”

In a crowd of bold, shoulder-baring party-goers, her formal attire did indeed look somewhat out of place. She didn’t care, though; she beckoned a waiter and casually took a cocktail from his tray.

She walked toward the sofas where the crowd was gathered and picked one to sit on. Tossing her coat aside and crossing her legs, she asked with a curved lip, “What are we talking about?”

“Talking about a certain protagonist who wasn’t here just now. Seeing you looking like you just stepped off a battlefield… don’t tell me that rumor is true?” The girl in the black dress clung to her side, her glamorous face framed by wavy hair full of teasing smiles.

“Don’t do it, Xiaoran. Isn’t it great being a second-generation who just eats, drinks, and waits to die? Why do you have to go looking for trouble? Look at these shoes—I just bought them yesterday. Are they pretty?” Another girl already sitting on the sofa leaned in, showing off her beautiful high heels.

Intricate patterns were encrusted around the shoes, and a lifelike crystal flower spiraled up the thin heel, exuding a fragile and exquisite beauty.

Tang Xiaoran raised an eyebrow and gave a hum of approval. “Pretty,” she praised, while remaining tight-lipped about the business of the family company.

This immediately sparked a frenzy of “new product showcases.” The socialites present frantically pitched her the bags, shoes, clothes, and dresses they had recently purchased, as if terrified that this world of luxury wouldn’t be enough to keep her from “escaping” their ranks of decadence.

Force-fed a wave of seasonal trends, the only thing Tang Xiaoran could do was drink. However, the “little fairies” had no intention of letting her off that easily. Somehow, the topic circled back to her:

“By the way, Xiaoran, who exactly did you go out to lunch with today? Why were you at the Xiao Group building?”

All eyes in the room converged on her once more.

She swirled the drink in her glass. Hearing them mention noon, she couldn’t help but recall a certain someone’s words during that meal.

She replied absently, “Xiao Shixin.”

“Holy crap, it really was her? What’s going on with you two?” The girl in the black dress looked astonished. There was no other reason; in this circle, she was the closest to Tang Xiaoran and was naturally aware of her deep-seated dislike for the head of the Xiao family.

“Jiali, I’m starting to doubt the authenticity of your gossip now~” The girl sitting on Xiaoran’s other side tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and drained her glass. The sweet scent of plums mixed with a hint of alcohol wafted from her breath as she spoke.

Tang Xiaoran glanced at her friend, a trace of a smile in her eyes as she joined the teasing: “What, who hasn’t seen Miss Sun Jiali’s talent for talking nonsense? You guys actually believe what comes out of her mouth?”

Sun Jiali widened her eyes. Laughing as she took the hit, she flipped her black skirt: “Not bad, Xiaoran. You’ve gotten fast at turning your back on people. Come on, let’s go through it—which of my gossip items was wrong?”

Tang Xiaoran blinked and shrugged, signaling her to leak whatever she wanted; she was fearless.

The group laughed and joked for a while. Not long after, a group of S-City’s “young masters” joined them. Tang Xiaoyu was among them; the two siblings exchanged a wordless, blank stare for a second before looking away.

But that wasn’t the most awkward part. The most awkward part was when Tang Xiaoran discovered her ex-boyfriend—Zhou Haoran—was also in the group.

Everyone knew the eldest Young Master Zhou had a heart as true as the moon for Tang Xiaoran. Even after being dumped, he steadfastly claimed he only had eyes for her. Those who loved drama always enjoyed stirring the pot between the two of them.

Within seconds, Zhou Haoran successfully maneuvered to Tang Xiaoran’s side. His eyes sparkled as he looked at her, searching for a topic: “What a coincidence, Xiaoran. You’re here too.”

Normally, Tang Xiaoran wouldn’t have been too bothered by having a “stalker” like him around. She had even seriously considered whether she should get back together with him. After all, he really did seem to like her, and she had only dumped him over a single argument.

But—

She could never forget the expression he wore in her past life when the Tang family fell from grace and she went to him for help.

High and mighty. As if looking at a drowning dog.

When her cheeks were burning with shame and she struggled to voice her intent to borrow money, the overwhelming mockery that followed nearly drowned her.

“What? The eldest Miss Tang, who always disdained even looking at me, is now so poor she has to come to my Zhou family to borrow money?”

“Need some lunch money? Fine. Do you want fifty or a hundred?”

…

Looking at that hypocritically fawning face now, her throat tightened reflexively. The cold alcohol reacted violently with her stomach acid, churning up a strong urge to vomit.

Her expression went cold. Even the soft lines at the corners of her eyes dropped. Her formal makeup for the day amplified her aura, instantly releasing a chill that pushed everyone away.

She parted her lips and uttered only one word:

“Get out.”

Zhou Haoran was startled by this rare, merciless dismissal. Not knowing how he had offended her, the smile on his face froze for half a minute.

Her friends, seeing her flip her mood so suddenly, also didn’t understand what part of today’s joke had provoked her. But for the sake of the atmosphere, someone immediately stepped up to act as a peacemaker.

“Hey, Xiaoran, come play dice!”

“Brother Zhou, come over here. Want to bet on some drinks?”

Tang Xiaoran had lost interest. She looked toward the bar’s entrance listlessly, and that single glance caught a very familiar figure.

She frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly stood up, grabbed her coat, and headed out.

“Xiaoran, where are you going?” Sun Jiali, who was enjoying the dice game, asked as she saw her get up.

Tang Xiaoran replied without thinking, “I’m leaving. Have fun, you guys.”

The entire group was stunned: “…Huh?”

Did they hear that right? The eldest Miss Tang, who always loyally stayed until dawn, was leaving just like that?

On the other side, Tang Xiaoyu noticed her early departure and knit his brows. After thinking it over, he also stood up, waved goodbye, and left.

The people left behind couldn’t figure out what kind of “early exit” disease the Tang family had caught today.

Tang Xiaoran walked out of the entrance and saw the group of people who had been blocked by the traffic and were turning back. One clean-looking man in the group had a level of attractiveness that was particularly eye-catching.

Behind her, Tang Xiaoyu tapped her shoulder: “What are you looking at?”

He followed her gaze into the crowd and spotted the man immediately. He looked at the girl beside him suspiciously, thinking: She shouldn’t know that guy…

But given how “clingy” she had been with Tang Xiaozhang lately—Damn, does Tang Xiaozhang actually have the guts to tell her about that kind of mess?

Tang Xiaoran wasn’t surprised at all that he followed her. She turned and noticed his gaze; seeing him so intently focused on the group she had been watching, she couldn’t help but wonder:

Does Xiaoyu know that man too?

How would he know him?

Big Brother shouldn’t have told him about this, right?

As the people walked away, the siblings exchanged a look, each with their own hidden thoughts. They sized each other up and suddenly asked in unison: “Who were you just looking at?”

Tang Xiaoran realized something was wrong. She grabbed Tang Xiaoyu’s sleeve and pulled him toward another street, intending to hail a taxi home.

“Sis, you didn’t just fall for some handsome guy, did you? Just say the word and your brother will definitely help you chase him.” Tang Xiaoyu decided to try a different way of testing her, hoping it wasn’t what he suspected.

“Thanks, but with my looks, I can do it myself,” Tang Xiaoran replied dismissively.

The person she saw just now was someone she had seen in the gossip news in her past life—her big brother’s suspected lover.

At that time, Big Brother was already dead, but rumors about him being gay spread like wildfire through the circles. This man’s life had been exposed, and he likely suffered a great deal because of it.

But the problem was, why did Xiaoyu seem to recognize this man now?

Countless speculations rose in her mind.

She waved her hand, and a taxi pulled up.

She hurriedly shoved Tang Xiaoyu into the back seat and climbed in after him. Pulling her phone and headphones from her pocket, she tuned into a local news app and plugged the buds into her ears.

Once everything was ready and the news broadcast started playing, she hooked her finger at Tang Xiaoyu.

“Come, my foolish brother. Give me your hand.”

Tang Xiaoyu rolled his eyes, looking at her as if she were an idiot. “What for?”

“To help me draw a prize,” Tang Xiaoran replied with a mysterious air of calm.

Tang Xiaoyu: “…???”

Believing her nonsense, he couldn’t help but flash an “emperor-tier” (lucky) smile at her, completely unaware of the “African chieftain-tier” (unlucky) fate that was about to descend upon him.

The Author has something to say:

Little Theater:

Wait until Tang Xiaoyu finds out the true story behind the “prize draw”—

Tang Xiaoyu: “…” (Heart is dead, no hope of seizing the family inheritance in this life.)

Tang Xiaoran, who just read another thought: “…” (Heart is dead, just how many secrets is my brother hiding from me?)