Chapter 89 is finished.

Song Zhixu lowered his eyes, his brows furrowed tightly.

Tang Ran stared at her intently, her palms slightly sweaty as she gripped the recording pen.

The room was very quiet, and every second of waiting seemed to be stretched out, passing exceptionally slowly.

After what seemed like several minutes, Song Zhixu finally made a move.

Tang Ran immediately straightened her back, placing her hands on her lap as if awaiting a verdict.

Will Song Zhixu believe her?

Do you still think she and Song Wuqi are two mentally deranged lunatics?

Song Zhixu raised his head, his gaze towards Tang Ran filled with complex emotions.

Tang Ran's heart skipped a beat.

Rebirth is such a bizarre thing that probably few people in the world would believe it, let alone someone like Song Zhixu who doesn't read novels at all.

“You.” Song Zhixu paused, as if hesitating, “How did you…”

Tang Ran quickly grabbed her hand, trying to salvage the situation, "Sister, why don't you just pretend you didn't hear anything?"

Song Zhixu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly raised his hand and hugged Tang Ran tightly.

The stunned expression shifted from Song Zhixu to Tang Ran's face. The next second, she heard Song Zhixu's gentle yet heart-wrenching voice in her ear, "I wanted to ask you, how did you get back?"

If anyone else had told her today that they were reborn, Song Zhixu would have immediately assumed they were delusional and mentally unstable.

But if this person is Tang Ran, Song Zhixu has no doubts at all. On the contrary, it makes her feel enlightened. If Tang Ran is reborn, then all the doubts that she used to find strange have become answered.

The malevolent aura emanating from Tang Ran; her intense hatred for Song Wuqi; the night after their engagement, when she returned to Jingting, and Tang Ran claimed to have seen the same bottle of medicinal wine before, even though she had only recently brought it back; and Tang Ran's fear of fire, which seemed to stem from a personal experience that caused her body to stiffen.

Combined with her conversation with Song Wuqi, Song Zhixu was able to piece together a rough outline of Tang Ran's 'past life'.

The Tang family went bankrupt, Lin Jixin faked her death and escaped, and Tang Wanru died of a heart attack.

In addition, the last words Song Wuqi said that Tang Ran heard by the lake suggest that she returned to the present only after her death.

Based on Tang Ran's words and actions, Song Zhixu guessed that Tang Ran's age when she returned should not be much different from her current age.

Rather than questioning the legitimacy of the rebirth, Song Zhixu was more concerned about why Tang Ran had returned to the present at such a young age.

"You." Tang Ran lifted her head from Song Zhixu's embrace, surprised, and asked her again to confirm, "You believe what's written here?"

Song Zhixu met her eyes, her expression serious. "I believe you."

"Can you tell me how you got back?"

She stroked Tang Ran's cheek, her voice lowering, "Was it Song Wuqi who did it?"

"No." Tang Ran shook her head. "It was an accident. The place we lived in caught fire, and I couldn't escape."

After her mother passed away, she fell seriously ill, and her physical and mental condition deteriorated. Eventually, she was sent to a nursing home.

The fire at the sanatorium was an accident; Song Wuqi probably wouldn't be so audacious as to set fire to the sanatorium.

Song Zhixu's eyes showed even more heartache, "Where was I back then?"

She could roughly guess that Tang Ran and she hadn't been together in their past lives, but she felt that even so, she wouldn't be indifferent to Tang Ran's plight.

After she finished speaking, she made another guess, "The time you saved me, I was seriously injured?"

"Hmm." Tang Ran's voice also lowered. "Your health is not good, so you went abroad for treatment."

"Don't be sad about this, I'm fine now." Song Zhixu put his arm around her shoulder to comfort her. "Can you tell me about it?"

Tang Ran relaxed and leaned on Song Zhixu's shoulder, slowly recounting her past life, only briefly mentioning the Tang family's bankruptcy.

That memory was too painful for her to recall.

Song Zhixu noticed her sadness but didn't ask any further questions.

"By the way, Uncle Song, he..." Tang Ran thought for a moment and then brought up Grandpa Song again.

Grandpa Song passed away suddenly from a myocardial infarction. Tang Ran and Song Zhixu told her the exact time, but many things have changed now, and she is not sure if it will be the same as in her previous life.

Song Zhixu thought about it seriously for a moment, "I will ask the family doctor to keep a close eye on things."

Whether or not it will be the same, it's always safer to be prepared.

After finishing their conversation, Tang Ran leaned on Song Zhixu's shoulder, and neither of them spoke again.

Tang Ran needs to calm the negative emotions brought on by recalling her past life, while Song Zhixu needs to slowly accept and digest these 'prophecies of the future'.

The room fell silent again, but the atmosphere was different from the previous stagnant one.

Tang Ran had always kept her rebirth a secret that she couldn't reveal. She didn't realize it when she kept it to herself, but when she finally spoke about it and had someone to share it with, she unexpectedly felt much lighter.

After a while...

Tang Ran sat up straight and glanced at Song Zhixu's expression.

Noticing her gaze, Song Zhixu turned to look at her.

Having had too many thoughts read by Song Zhixu, Tang Ran instinctively dared not hide anything from her anymore.

She pursed her lips and tentatively asked, "Song Wuqi, what are you planning to do?"

Song Zhixu raised an eyebrow slightly. "What do you want to do?"

These words struck at Tang Ran's Achilles' heel.

Song Zhixu had just said she would handle it, so Tang Ran didn't dare to have any more ideas.

"No, no." Tang Ran quickly waved her hand, then handed the voice recorder to Song Zhixu in a flattering manner, "I just wanted to ask if the recordings in here can be used?"

Song Zhixu glanced down at the recorder in her hand, her voice returning to its previous soft tone, "Tang Ran."

Tang Ran's heart skipped a beat, and she asked cautiously, "What's wrong, sister?"

No, she thought that after saying so much, Song Zhixu was no longer angry.

Song Zhixu looked at her seriously, "Even if there is a reason, it is not an excuse for you not to discuss it with me and to take risks on your own."

She snatched the recording pen from Tang Ran's hand, got up from the sofa, and left.

Tang Ran was stunned for a moment, and was now completely certain that Song Zhixu's anger had not subsided.

She caught up with Song Zhixu and stopped her. "Sister, I know I was wrong. Can you please forgive me..."

"cannot."

Song Zhixu refused outright, walked past her, and went into the bedroom.

Tang Ran is the kind of person who never learns from mistakes. If Song Zhixu lets her off so easily this time, he thinks she'll do even more risky things in the future.

"Sister, I really know I was wrong. Please don't be angry anymore, okay?" Tang Ran quickly followed, pulling on her arm and acting coquettishly.

Song Zhixu remained unmoved, "Tang Ran, acting cute won't solve anything."

Tang Ran immediately held up three fingers, "Then I swear, I promise I'll never do it again, or else..."

Song Zhixu glanced sideways and shot her a sharp look.

Tang Ran immediately covered her mouth, but did not retract her raised finger. Song Zhixu glanced slightly to the side, and Tang Ran nimbly lowered her hand.

Song Zhixu ignored her and turned to go to the next room.

Tang Ran followed closely behind her, eagerly taking the clothes from Song Zhixu as soon as she saw them. After Song Zhixu went to the bathroom, she quickly took two steps ahead and turned on the tap in advance.

Song Zhixu turned to leave, but Tang Ran quickly grabbed her, saying, "Sister, you go ahead and wash up."

She placed the clothes and towels on the shelf, sprinkled bath salts into the bathtub, and considerately squeezed toothpaste for Song Zhixu and handed it to her before closing the bathroom door and leaving.

Song Zhixu glanced down at the toothbrush in his hand, a hint of helplessness appearing on his deliberately stern face.

What a nemesis.

After leaving the bathroom, Tang Ran took a few steps outside, then turned back. She leaned against the wall, listening intently to what was happening inside.

A few minutes later, the sound of running water in the bathroom stopped.

Tang Ran's face lit up with joy. She leaned out and was about to take a step when she stepped back and turned her head to look at the full-length mirror in the cubicle.

Tang Ran changed into a loose shirt after her previous sweater was torn.

She looked at herself in the mirror, then took off her skirt. Her shirt wasn't too long, barely covering her upper legs.

Tang Ran rolled up her sleeves, unbuttoned two buttons, and looked in the mirror again.

The white shirt had its collar wide open, partially revealing pink lace trim underneath, and beneath the loose hem were a pair of fair and slender legs.

After glancing at it again, Tang Ran narrowed her eyes.

Half a minute later, a set of pink underwear appeared on the dress she had taken off.

With a soft gurgling sound, the bathroom door was pushed open again.

Song Zhixu looked up when he heard the sound.

The first thing that catches the eye is a slender, long leg. As the gaze moves upward, the viewer pauses slightly.

The loose shirt was only buttoned up with the middle button fastened, and from Song Zhixu's perspective, it looked no different from not buttoning it at all.

"Can I shower with my sister?"

Before Song Zhixu could answer, Tang Ran pinched the only button with her fingers and gently pushed it, causing the white shirt to slip off her shoulder.

Her fair, jade-like feet stepped into the bathtub, and the water level slowly rose. The excess water flowed over the edge of the tub and down the tub wall.

Tang Ran knelt in the bathtub, pulled Song Zhixu's hand to her waist, and leaned down to kiss her lips.

"I'll offer myself as an apology, please don't be angry with me anymore, sister."

After a while, more water overflowed in waves, following the ripples in the bathtub.

That night, Tang Ran presented herself as a gift to apologize, making Song Zhixu unpack her again and again.

*

Tang Ran didn't ask about Song Wuqi's matter again until half a month later, when Song Zhixu told her that Song Wuqi would be sent abroad.

In fact, Song Zhixu had already sensed something was wrong when Xiong Fangnian was shorting the stock price. Later, she found evidence that Song Wuqi and Xiong Fangnian were colluding to manipulate the market.

Adding to the fire and Tang Ran's recording, Song Zhixu gave Old Master Song two choices: either send him out so he could never come back, or send him in.

Grandpa Song was completely disappointed in his granddaughter this time, but still chose the former out of consideration for their blood ties.

Tang Ran felt that sending Song Wuqi abroad was too lenient on her.

What she didn't expect was that Song Wuqi would get into a car accident just a few months after going abroad, ending up like Sun Xiao.

The truth behind the car accident was eventually revealed to be that Sun Xiao, who was paralyzed in bed, hired someone to kill her, because the car accident she was in was orchestrated by Song Wuqi.

Although she stopped paying attention to Song Wuqi, Tang Ran hasn't been idle lately.

Firstly, although Tang Ran tried to coax Song Zhixu all night, Song Zhixu's anger had not subsided, so she had to keep trying different methods to appease him.

After coaxing her for almost half a month, Tang Ran finally calmed down after giving a guarantee that she would never do it again and taking the initiative to mention that she wanted to go see the house in Yulan Bay with Song Zhixu.

Secondly, there's the Tang family.

After Zhong Weide fled, Tang Ran immediately launched an internal investigation, and after nearly half a month, she had found conclusive evidence.

Tang Ran reported the case directly to the Economic Crime Investigation Department.

Compared to his premeditated escape in his previous life, Zhong Weide's escape this time was far too hasty. He didn't have time to deal with the real estate in China, which will be auctioned off according to law later, thus recovering most of the losses for the Tang family.

And then there's Lin Jixin.

Song Zhixu found out where Lin Jixin had gone from Song Wuqi, and Tang Ran then used some tricks to make Lin Jixin return the money.

A few days later, Tang Wanru invited Tang Ran and Song Zhixu to come home for dinner.

Seeing her daughter come in alone carrying a bag, Tang Wanru glanced behind her and asked, "Where's Zhixu?"

Tang Ran sat down on the sofa. "She's not at the company, and it's not on my way."

As she was speaking, Song Zhixu sent her a message. She raised her phone and said to Tang Wanru, "We'll be there in ten minutes."

Seeing her smiling face, Tang Wanru spoke again: "Sister Mei told me that she wants to discuss your marriage with Zhixu. What do you think? Do you want to get to know each other better, or do you want to settle it now?"

Tang Ran didn't think much of it and said directly, "Let's decide now."

She's basically with Song Zhixu every day now, and apart from that certificate, she doesn't lack anything else.

“Okay,” Tang Wanru said happily. “Then I’ll arrange a time with them.”

"Mommy."

Tang Ran sat down next to Tang Wanru, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Mom returned the last sum of money today."

Tang Wanru nodded without saying anything.

Having gone through so much, she was completely disappointed in Lin Jixin. She wasn't pursuing any other responsibilities against her, only for the sake of her daughter.

She has already filed for divorce in court, and once the process is complete, they will have no further connection.

Seeing that her expression didn't change, Tang Ran breathed a sigh of relief.

Unexpectedly, after a few seconds, Tang Wanru suddenly asked her again, "She helped, didn't she?"

Without her name being mentioned, Tang Ran knew she was referring to Anna.

She nodded. "It was my aunt who helped."

"Mommy, there's one more thing I need to tell you. The shop on Chaoxi Street was bought by my aunt. She gave it to me when I got engaged."

Tang Wanru hadn't been feeling well recently, so she hadn't mentioned this matter. She's taking this opportunity to bring it up now.

As Tang Ran spoke, she observed Tang Wanru. Upon hearing her words, Tang Wanru frowned.

Afraid that she would be angry, Tang Ran quickly explained, "My aunt said it was an engagement gift for me. I didn't dare to tell you at the time, so I just accepted it. If Mommy doesn't agree, I'll return it to my aunt."

Tang Ran felt a little embarrassed to accept such a large gift. If Tang Wanru didn't accept it, Tang Ran would have a perfectly legitimate reason to return it.

Tang Wanru was silent for a moment, then said calmly, "No need to return it."

This time, it was Tang Ran's turn to be surprised.

A few minutes later, Tang Wanru suddenly spoke up again: "Give me her contact information."

"well."

Tang Ran was even more surprised, but she didn't dare to ask any more questions. She immediately took out her phone and sent Anna's contact information to her.

After dinner, Tang Wanru called Song Zhixu and Tang Ran to the living room on the second floor.

Tang Wanru went back to her bedroom and came out carrying a square brocade box.

She opened the box in her hand and handed it to Song Zhixu, "This pair of bracelets was left to me by Tang Ran's maternal grandmother. Now I'm giving them to you."

A jade bangle in imperial green, with its pure color and no impurities, is not only valuable but also precious and rare due to its symbolic meaning of inheritance.

This is not just a gift, but also a form of recognition.

"Thank you, Auntie. I will take good care of it." Song Zhixu calmly accepted the bracelet.

Tang Ran sidled up behind her and expressed her 'dissatisfaction' to Tang Wanru, "Mommy, you're being unfair! This family heirloom should have been passed down to me, shouldn't it?"

Tang Wanru glanced at her and said, "With your forgetful nature, this thing will probably never reach my granddaughter if it gets into your hands."

One sentence made both Song Zhixu and Tang Ran blush slightly.

Sure enough, the next step after pressuring someone to get married is pressuring them to have children.

Author's Note: The main story ends here. There will be side stories later. What would you like to see first? The married life? The mother and aunt? The perspective of Song Zhixu from the previous life? Or an "what if" scenario where Song Zhixu is reborn as Tang Ran at age 17?

Thank you all for your support. Seeing your comments every day makes me so happy. Love you all!

My upcoming novel, "After Becoming an Omega, I Marked the Cold and Aloof Academic Genius," is available for pre-order. Please add it to your favorites if you like it!

Chi Sui, an alpha, fell in love with Cheng Yiqing, who was also an alpha, but in the end, he learned that Cheng Yiqing was engaged to an omega.

Chi Sui was in a car accident and stayed in the ICU for a month. Cheng Yiqing never came to visit her once. Chi Sui felt utterly hopeless and lost the will to live.

In his second life, Chi Sui returned to the age of 20.

While in the ICU, Lin Yishi was the only one who cared about whether she lived or died. Although Chi Sui knew that Lin Yishi was just fulfilling her duty as a doctor, Chi Sui still wanted to repay her and thank her for accompanying her during her darkest time.

In her previous life, Lin Yishi came from a poor family and was bullied by her classmates. She had to drop out of school and work to pay for her grandmother's medical treatment.

In this life, Chi Sui stands up for Lin Yishi, helping him under various pretexts.

In his previous life, Lin Yishi had a crush on the omega Shen Yin.

In this life, Chi Sui devised a plan, determined to help Lin Yishi win over Shen Yin.

In his previous life, Chi Sui differentiated into A.

In this life, Chi Sui differentiated into an Omega. Without any inhibitors prepared, she could only bite Lin Yishi as an inhibitor.

Chi Sui: The situation was urgent at the time, don't take it to heart, we're still best buddies.

Lin Yishi lowered her eyes and remained silent, her tightly clenched fingers digging into her palm.

Not long after, Chi Sui contradicted himself.

With a flushed face, she knocked on Lin Yishi's door, wrapped her arms around her neck and refused to let go: Lin Yishi, can you let me bite you again?

This time, however, it's not just about taking a bite.

*

For Lin Yishi, Chi Sui was like the moon in the sky, unattainable.

Until one day, the moon fell into her arms.

Lin Yishi found it difficult to suppress his delusions.

She wanted to keep the moon hidden away.