Chapter 8 When did she arrive?

Thick smoke billowed, carrying a suffocating, acrid smell; the scorching heat threatened to melt anyone; and the entire scene was ablaze with fiery red.

Sweat dripped uncontrollably from Tang Ran's forehead as she ran towards the exit with all her might. But just as she was about to reach the door, the window shattered with a bang.

The flames, freed from their restraints, resembled a ferocious dragon, lunging at Tang Ran with its sharp claws, and devouring her whole.

The scalding heat gnawed at Tang Ran's skin, and desperate fear filled every nerve in her body.

Tang Ran struggled to break free.

Suddenly, my body felt light, freed from all restraints.

He suddenly opened his eyes and sat up.

With her vision blurred by sweat, Tang Ran raised her hand to wipe her eyes before she could make out the familiar decorations around her.

She was in the Shengming Apartments, not in the burning villa room.

Everything that just happened was merely a dream of memory replay.

The fire happened in a previous life.

And she is still alive.

Her heart was pounding wildly. Tang Ran sat hunched over on the bed, panting heavily.

Sweat mixed with tears slid down her cheeks, dripping onto the blanket and spreading out.

She lowered her head, her eyes growing increasingly dark.

Time passed second by second, and the dim sky was torn apart by the rising light, with the morning sun shining through the French windows onto the bed.

Her disordered breathing gradually calmed down. Tang Ran raised her hand, threw off the covers, got out of bed, and headed towards the kitchen.

The bed behind me was messy, and the bedding was a dark patch, already soaked with sweat.

I filled a large glass with water and drank it all in one go.

Only then was the feeling of impending death and hunger in my body relieved.

After drinking her second cup, Tang Ran turned and went to the bathroom.

The extreme fear in the dream numbed my nerves.

When the hot water is turned up to the maximum, the snow-white skin immediately turns a rosy pink, but the hands and feet just won't get warm.

After leaving the bathroom, Tang Ran wrapped herself in a bathrobe and sat on the terrace.

The morning light penetrated her cool skin, spreading warmth throughout her body. Tang Ran nestled in the rocking chair, comfortably squinting her eyes.

Ring ring.

An unfamiliar ringtone sounded, and Tang Ran turned around warily to look at the source of the sound.

Caught off guard by a pair of clear, gentle eyes, Tang Ran paused for a moment, quickly concealing the gloom in her own eyes.

The person on the opposite balcony was wearing a snow-white suit, with long hair tied up at the back of their head, a white mask covering most of their face, and a beige scarf around their neck that perfectly matched the diamond bird brooch on their chest.

Looking at the water bottle in her hand and the flower-filled wooden shelf behind her, Tang Ran forced a smile, her heart already frozen and cracked.

When did she arrive?

Or are you still watering the plants on the balcony?

Realizing that the other person might have arrived even earlier than her, Tang Ran paused, unconsciously sat up straight, and straightened her bathrobe as she did so.

In stark contrast to Tang Ran's awkwardness, Song Zhixu was much more composed.

Meeting her gaze, Song Zhixu simply nodded slightly and turned to answer the phone.

"Okay, I'll go down now."

As she spoke, she placed the watering can on the flower stand and walked into the house.

Tang Ran watched her figure disappear from the balcony.

Only when she could no longer hear a sound did Tang Ran finally relax her ears.

With her back hunched, Tang Ran nestled back into the rocking chair, her dejected aura spreading through the air once more.

My phone vibrated, and a message notification popped up.

Song Wuqi: Jiujiang opened a new restaurant, the food is pretty good. I'll pick you up after get off work.

The gloom in her heart surged again, and Tang Ran's eyes turned cold.

The nightmare unearthed Tang Ran's fears and also stirred up her hatred for Song Wuqi, since everything she suffered in the dream was due to Song Wuqi.

The finger landed on the chat box, but the words that came out were completely different: Okay, you're so busy with work, I'll come find you.

The project acquired by Yangcheng was a training opportunity given to Song Wuqi by Old Master Song. In his previous life, after the acquisition was completed, Song Wuqi was promoted from the general manager of the branch office to the deputy general manager of the business unit at the group headquarters.

Let's start with the Guangzhou project.

Let Song Wuqi also taste the bitterness of losing hope little by little, and finally losing everything.

Composing herself, Tang Ran put on exquisite makeup, wearing a beige A-line long skirt paired with a bright red round-neck jacket.

Bright and flamboyant, that's exactly the kind of person Song Wuqi disliked the most.

Before leaving, Tang Ran looked in the mirror, then went back to the dressing room to get a floral scarf and tied it around her neck.

As evening approached, Tang Ran left work an hour early and went to Song's.

The receptionist at the Song family recognized Tang Ran and took the initiative to lead her to Song Wuqi's office.

The office door was open, and Song Wuqi was talking to Ye Xiaoyu.

The moment Ye Xiaoyu saw Tang Ran, she straightened up slightly in a panic and took a step back to distance herself from Song Wuqi.

Deliberate and affected.

Song Wuqi didn't notice her little actions; her attention was entirely on Tang Ran.

Tang Ran was already pretty, and the red coat made her even more flamboyant and radiant.

Song Wuqi subconsciously frowned slightly, then quickly composed himself.

She glanced at the time and realized that Tang Ran had arrived an hour earlier than their scheduled meeting time.

My dissatisfaction with Tang Ran's attire lessened somewhat.

Even though they had been giving each other the cold shoulder for a week, Tang Ran would take the initiative to make amends as long as she gave her an opening.

He not only came to the company to pick her up after get off work, but also deliberately arrived an hour early.

Song Wuqi smiled gently: "You've come so early?"

"I came early because there was nothing else going on." Tang Ran thanked the receptionist and went into the office.

Her tone was casual, completely ignoring Ye Xiaoyu's presence, as she walked to the sofa and sat down. "Still busy?"

Song Wuqi tapped the document in his hand, "There are still some loose ends to finish, but it'll be done soon."

"You go ahead with your work, I'll wait for you."

Tang Ran nodded obediently, a stark contrast to her enthusiastic attire.

Song Wuqi felt even more relieved; she liked Tang Ran's obedient demeanor.

After getting together with Tang Ran, she intentionally or unintentionally instilled in Tang Ran that she preferred her gentle and quiet nature, smoothing out the rough edges of Tang Ran's unrestrained and flamboyant personality.

Tang Ran was indeed subtly influenced by her and became increasingly obedient and compliant.

As for the slap at the bar, Song Wuqi attributed it to Tang Ran venting her jealousy while drunk.

We'll just stop letting Tang Ran drink alcohol from now on.

Seeing the two chatting and laughing, Ye Xiaoyu lowered her head and said, "Manager Song, Miss Tang has arrived, so I'll head back now."

She glanced at Tang Ran cautiously as she spoke, as if she were afraid of her.

"What do you mean by that, Assistant Ye?" Tang Ran raised an eyebrow and asked directly, "What do you mean you went back as soon as I arrived? Are you implying that I'm in your way?"

Tang Ran has never taken Ye Xiaoyu, this kind of scheming mistress who pretends to be weak to gain sympathy and climbs the social ladder by stealing other men, seriously, whether in her past life or this one.

As long as she doesn't dance in front of her, Tang Ran is too lazy to waste her energy dealing with her.

But Ye Xiaoyu just doesn't know her own limitations, and keeps jumping around in front of her again and again.

Ye Xiaoyu's expression stiffened, and she looked at Song Wuqi guiltily.

Song Wuqi frowned.

If she and Ye Xiaoyu are truly innocent, then Ye Xiaoyu's words can be interpreted as not interfering with her and Tang Ran.

But since they were no longer innocent, Tang Ran's question took on a different meaning.

However, Song Wuqi didn't think there was anything wrong with Ye Xiaoyu's words, but rather that Tang Ran was being too sensitive.

It's just a sentence, why make such a big deal out of it?

"Things are almost all taken care of, there's no trouble at all, just wait for me for a moment," Song Wuqi interrupted.

Her relationship with Tang Ran had just improved, and she didn't want to argue over a single sentence.

"That's good. I thought Assistant Ye was worried that I had overheard Song's project and leaked some secrets," Tang Ran said half-jokingly.

She endured her disgust to find Song Wuqi because she had something important to do, not to expose the affair between those two scumbags.

"I...that's not what I meant." Ye Xiaoyu shrugged.

Tang Ran didn't want to waste time, but Ye Xiaoyu felt that now was the right time.

She deliberately wanted to arouse Tang Ran's suspicion.

Ye Xiaoyu was never content to be just a secret lover.

After what happened yesterday, Ye Xiaoyu's thoughts became even stronger.

She didn't want to be confined to the cramped closet like she was yesterday.

Before seducing Song Wuqi, she had already learned about Tang Ran.

She knew that with Tang Ran's personality, if she discovered Song Wuqi's infidelity, she would definitely not stay with Song Wuqi anymore.

Ye Xiaoyu looked at Song Wuqi with a wronged expression, "I was just afraid that Miss Tang wouldn't want to see me."

Her attempt to plead for help did not elicit any pity from Song Wuqi. Instead, her gaze shifted, and she gave Song Wuqi a warning look.

Ye Xiaoyu's previous statement could be misinterpreted as a misunderstanding, but this statement seems too deliberate.

Song Wuqi wanted to use Ye Xiaoyu to make Tang Ran jealous.

But Ye Xiaoyu was so clueless, deliberately saying such ambiguous things to arouse Tang Ran's suspicion, which made Song Wuqi very dissatisfied.

Ye Xiaoyu's eyes reddened, and she lowered her head in grievance, rubbing her thigh with her hand.

She stood in the cabinet for four hours, and her legs have been sore all day.

Song Wuqi's expression softened.

Yesterday, it was she who suggested that Ye Xiaoyu hide in the closet.

Ye Xiaoyu must have been wronged to speak so recklessly after hiding for so long.

Tang Ran's gaze swept lightly over the two of them, finally settling on Ye Xiaoyu.

"Why would I not want to see you? I don't think I'm that familiar with Assistant Ye. Why would I hate someone so insignificant for no reason?"

Her tone was so casual that every word she spoke sounded like a crushing insult to Ye Xiaoyu's self-esteem.

In that instant, Ye Xiaoyu felt that in Tang Ran's eyes she was nothing but a clown.

Her face turned pale, and she bit her lip as she looked at Tang Ran with humiliation.

That night at the bar, Ye Xiaoyu overheard Tang Ran questioning Song Wuqi on the phone, asking what their relationship was.

Tang Ran must have been jealous back then, but now she calmly says that she is an insignificant person.

Ye Xiaoyu felt that something was wrong, but there was no doubt that the person in front of her was Tang Ran.

"Why is Assistant Ye looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?"

Tang Ran didn't wait for her answer after asking the question, and glanced at her sideways, "However, Assistant Ye is right about one thing: I have never liked seeing ugly things."

Ye Xiaoyu's face turned pale and then red, and tears welled up in her eyes.

A note from the author:

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