After Rebirth, I Discovered the Whole World Wants to Harm Me [GL] - Chapter 9

At 11:15 PM, the Tang family villa was brightly lit, and the living room was exceptionally rowdy.

“I dare you to stand right there and don’t move!” A woman’s voice rang out loud and clear. If it weren’t for the excellent soundproofing on the second floor, she would have startled Tang’s father, who had just lain down, right out of his sleep.

Tang Xiaoyu was hiding behind Uncle Zhao, showing no shame in using the elderly man as a human shield.

He poked his head out from behind Uncle Zhao, his two tufts of colored hair visible. He looked both helpless and bewildered. “Let’s not discuss the ‘dare’ part yet. You’re holding a vase—do you think my skull is made of iron? Why wouldn’t I run?”

“Xiaoran, let’s talk things through. Put down what’s in your hands first.” Uncle Zhao still had a tea leaf stuck to his hand; he had been pushed out of the kitchen by Tang Xiaoyu to act as a shield, and the wrinkles on his face were now filled with a bitter smile.

Tang Xiaoran was shaking with rage, causing the blue-and-white porcelain vase in her hands to tremble along with her. Her brother watched with his heart in his throat and added: “Steady! That’s five million if you drop it!”

Tang Xiaoran suddenly felt an unbearable weight on her wrists.

Grinding her molars, her deep brown eyes filled with heavy emotion, she set the vase back in its original place. She looked around and realized the only safe object she could use to pummel Tang Xiaoyu was a sofa cushion.

“Get out from behind Uncle Zhao!” She pointed at Tang Xiaoyu, barking an order.

“Wow, at least let me know how I’m supposed to die! You flipped the moment we got out of the taxi—Sis, have you been possessed?” Tang Xiaoyu’s expression was baffled; he was completely in the dark, leaning on Uncle Zhao’s shoulder and stretching his neck to beg for mercy.

Tang Xiaoran grabbed a corner of the cushion with one hand, dashed toward him, and began wildly swatting her brother with it.

She cursed while swinging with all her might: “Tang Xiaoyu, you bastard! You never learn anything good! You’re the best at these petty, despicable schemes!”

Dizzy from the pelting, the boy shielded his head with his hands, struggling to get words out through the storm: “I’m telling you, if you keep hitting me, I’ll fight back… I really will…”

Then, the muffled thuds landing on him stopped.

He looked up to see the girl’s eyes were red. She was breathing heavily, yet she continued to glare at him relentlessly.

It wasn’t until the tears swirling in her eyes finally fell, until the cushion slipped from her pale fingers, and until her trembling body gradually steadied.

She raised her right hand, blocking her eyes with the back of it. Tang Xiaoyu could only see her crimson lips, flushed with emotion, utter a hoarse sentence:

“You’re going to… worry me to death…”

The back of her hand hid her eyes, but it couldn’t stop the tears falling down her cheeks.

For some reason, hearing this, Tang Xiaoyu felt his heart skip a beat. He felt a sudden, distinct panic—it was as if he could feel exactly what she was feeling.

—It was a sense of utter, helpless sorrow that only comes from being truly, deeply disappointed in someone.

In that instant, he had a strong premonition.

Tang Xiaoran knew what he had done.

The living room fell silent, save for the sound of their breathing.

Tang Xiaoran covered her eyes, almost wishing she could go back thirty minutes and pull back the self who had lightheartedly joked about a prize draw.

Then she wouldn’t have known that the truth she had been searching for so obsessively… was right there with the person beside her.

Trouble brewing within the family—this was a fact she found unbearable.

She could never forget the frost-like chill that seeped into her bones when she heard Tang Xiaoyu’s thought:

【I just took the documents and gave them to the old man. He’s the one who chose to drive out at that time; he’s the one who took the dead-end road. It has nothing to do with me… I didn’t want him to die…】

The panicked internal monologue, trying to convince himself, made her feel as though she could never rest easy again.

With a click, the sound of the door unlocking turned everyone’s attention.

Tang Xiaozhang walked in carrying his briefcase and paused at the scene. “It’s so late. Why aren’t you all resting?”

The living room was usually never this lively at this hour.

Uncle Zhao walked over to take his bag and explained, “Eldest Young Master, the siblings are having a tiff. Could you…?”

In the past, he would never have asked Tang Xiaozhang to intervene. It was only because he had noticed Xiaoran’s attitude toward her brother becoming more affectionate lately that he spoke up.

Tang Xiaozhang’s ink-black eyes swept over the two of them. Meeting Tang Xiaoyu’s disdainful, averted gaze, he walked calmly toward Tang Xiaoran and asked softly, “What happened?”

Seeing his silhouette, the guilt and fear in Tang Xiaoran’s heart surged. She thought: If I were still living aimlessly this time, wouldn’t I have to hear the news of Big Brother’s death all over again for nothing?

Without thinking, she lunged forward and hugged Tang Xiaozhang, catching him off guard.

He felt that lately, Xiaoran seemed very dependent on him.

He instinctively reached out to pat her head. Much of the stiffness had left his affectionate gesture, and he spoke in a gentle tone: “Didn’t you just achieve something great today? Dad and I were discussing a reward for you. Is there anything you want?”

Over there, Tang Xiaoyu felt a surge of irritation at this eyesore of “sibling affection.” He turned his head away, standing there fuming.

Tang Xiaoran pulled back from the hug, looked up at him, and replied firmly: “I don’t want anything.”

Tang Xiaozhang was startled by her serious gaze. It was as if the child who only knew how to reach out for candy had grown up overnight.

But this really didn’t fit Tang Xiaoran’s usual style. To be sure, he asked again: “You don’t want the Porsche we talked about? Or should we swap it for a Lamborghini?”

Tang Xiaoran shook her head. Staring at the polished floor tiles, she repeated: “I don’t want a Porsche, and I don’t want a Lamborghini. I don’t want anything.”

I don’t want anything.

Can you just stay alive and live a long life, Big Brother?

Perhaps having lived through death once, her mental resilience was much stronger now. She gradually calmed down and even managed to flash a “it’s nothing” smile at her brother.

“I just had a fight with Xiaoyu. You know we fight three or five times a month. It’s late, Big Brother, go get some rest. You have work tomorrow. Don’t worry about me.”

Tang Xiaozhang checked her expression again. Seeing her eyes were clear, he nodded. “Alright. You two should get some rest early, too.”

As he saw Tang Xiaoran walk over to grab Xiaoyu’s sleeve to lead him upstairs, he thought for a moment and added: “If there’s anything you want, remember to tell me.”

Tang Xiaoyu couldn’t help but want to snap back at him, but meeting his sister’s calm yet somewhat distant gaze, his words were somehow stifled.

It was as if he was afraid of adding another layer to her disappointment in him.

Second floor, Tang Xiaoyu’s room.

Standing before the desk lined with Transformers models, the girl looked around. The materials from the Xiao Group cooperation were gone; the desk was clean, but the cabinet behind it was full of files.

She had no interest in searching herself. She held out her hand: “Hand them over.”

“What?” Tang Xiaoyu looked at her with total confusion, though his heart was in a death struggle.

What if she doesn’t know?

What if it’s about something else?

Tang Xiaoran was in no mood to play games. She repeated herself slowly, with more emphasis: “Hand over the documents you used to investigate Big Brother.”

“What documents? There’s no such thing.” Tang Xiaoyu trusted the people he hired; there was no way the information could have leaked from that end. He still had a testing look on his face, wanting to know where she got her information.

Tang Xiaoran almost laughed in anger. She looked her brother up and down—from the new colored hair on his forehead to the limited-edition sneakers on his feet—as if she were meeting him for the first time.

Words she couldn’t say in the living room in front of Uncle Zhao were now appropriate.

“You don’t like Big Brother, I know. Especially since you’ve always felt he stole the position that belongs to you.”

“But I never thought you would use such underhanded tactics to stab your own family in the back. Tang Xiaoyu, when did you become so disgusting?”

Faced with her burning questioning and disdain, the anger Tang Xiaoyu had just suppressed flared up again.

“What? You also think he’s more suited to inherit the company than me? Don’t forget, Tang Xiaoran—Gaosheng is named Tang. That’s our family’s property. It’s not something some random ‘cat or dog’ picked up from the street can sit in the Chairman’s seat for!”

“My tactics are disgusting? Can they be more disgusting than his? He found himself a man; he doesn’t even find it revolting…” Before he could finish, the girl raised her hand and slapped him.

He covered his face, pressing his tongue against the inside of his cheek. His gaze toward Tang Xiaoran also turned cold.

The girl’s palm stung with pain; she knew how much force she had used. But the expression on her face was colder than his—cold to the point of a stagnant, deathly calm.

“Wake up. The Qing Dynasty is over.”

After a few seconds, she added: “You think if Big Brother steps down from that position, Gaosheng will be yours?”

“I’m laying it out right here today, Tang Xiaoyu. Listen well—”

“Starting tomorrow, I will apply for any company tasks I can handle. Any contracts that are yours, I will snatch them. Even if Big Brother isn’t the Chairman, I will work hard to become the biggest obstacle in your path. I mean what I say. You know better than I do whether Dad prefers sons over daughters.”

Tang Xiaoyu felt the rage in his chest almost burst through his skull, making his brain ache. Yet, on the surface, he remained unmoved. He stood there, nodded, and confirmed:

“You’re going to turn against me for the sake of Tang Xiaozhang, is that it?”

The only answer he received was the steady sound of the door closing.

Back in her room, Tang Xiaoran lay on her bed and looked at the lamp on the ceiling. Beside the lamp, a star-shaped transparent container held pink glass shards, reflecting colorful starlight onto the snowy white ceiling.

Everything that happened tonight felt like a dream, and it had left her exhausted.

Yet, in this state, she still managed to drag her tired body to pick up her phone and make an appointment for tomorrow with Xiao Shixin to ask for advice on company matters.

She chuckled, thinking that human potential is truly limitless.

It turned out that the laziness she indulged in her past life had to be paid back in this one. She simply couldn’t be a “wait-to-die” wealthy second-generation.

The next day, 11:30 AM.

Top floor office of Xiao Group Headquarters.

Xiao Shixin gently set down her fountain pen and looked at the person asleep on the small sofa. Beside the coffee table was an unfinished book with a pen tucked inside.

She went to the nearby lounge to get a small blanket. Returning, she gently draped it over Tang Xiaoran. Seeing the dark circles under the girl’s eyes, her mood was inexplicably strange.

Since Tang Xiaoran arrived at her office this morning, she could tell the youngster hadn’t slept well. Her eyes were bloodshot, looking as if she had cried the night before. Tang Xiaoran had been like this since she was small—the day after crying, her eyes wouldn’t be puffy or red, but they would be completely bloodshot, as if she’d pulled an all-nighter.

Just then, Tang Xiaoran seemed to dream of something. Her brows slowly knit together, and after a while, the corners of her eyes grew moist.

Xiao Shixin instinctively reached out to wipe the moisture from the corner of her eye with her index finger. She let out a soft sigh and asked in a low voice:

“Who bullied you this time?”