Chapter 87 Song Zhixu is angry, and very angry…
Song Wuqi reached out to grab her phone. Tang Ran dodged, but Song Wuqi still managed to get his hands on it.
With a light tap of your finger, the screen is activated, revealing a brightly lit app component in the center of the sky-blue wallpaper, indicating that it is recording audio.
The recording time is 10:18:06, and the last two stops of the stopwatch are still turning the pages.
Judging from the timeline, Tang Ran started recording as soon as they walked to the lakeside.
Song Wuqi swiped left to delete the recording, his face turning completely grim. "Why did you do this?"
She angrily threw Tang Ran's phone on the ground. "Tang Ran, isn't it enough that you've ruined me like this? Do you want to destroy me completely?"
In her previous life, apart from Lin Jixin's 'suicide,' neither the bankruptcy of the Tang family nor Tang Ran's gradual emaciation gave Song Wuqi any sense of revenge. On the contrary, she felt more guilty.
So she chose not to tell Tang Ran the truth, so as not to make Tang Ran even more heartbroken.
After learning about all the things Tang Ran had done to retaliate against her, Song Wuqi felt a sense of relief in addition to anger.
That way, she would no longer owe Tang Ran anything.
But Tang Ran clearly didn't think so.
Tang Ran was still scheming against her.
Seeing the anger building up on Song Wuqi's face, Tang Ran glanced discreetly at the surveillance camera on a large tree in the distance.
"Are you so angry because I hit the nail on the head?" Tang Ran didn't answer Song Wuqi's question, nor did she try to take back her phone. Instead, she continued, "So you're the one who had someone set the fire, right?"
She paused for a moment, then stared fearlessly into Song Wuqi's already furious eyes, speaking each word with exceptional clarity.
“You don’t want to burn her to death, because if your aunt gets injured and has health problems that prevent her from continuing to manage the company, Uncle Song will have no other choice but to hand the company over to you to manage.”
"Ha!" Tang Ran looked at her coldly. "Song Wuqi, you really have a lot of wild ideas! With your current track record of ruining every project you make, even if you were made the president of Song's Group, how could you possibly gain the respect of the people at Song's Group?"
Song Wuqi clenched his fists tighter and tighter.
Tang Ran's expression suddenly changed again.
"It's not entirely wishful thinking. You were prepared. You originally intended to use the acquisition of Gonghua Technology's project to build a framework for yourself, and through the benefits transferred from the Gonghua Technology project, you would get District Chief Huang to agree to the Song family's participation in the development project in the northern part of Beijing."
"With the development project in the north of the city, you'll gain Uncle Song's approval, and you've already made preparations with the board of directors, haven't you?"
"If I'm not mistaken, you should have already gotten hold of Xiong Fangnian's weaknesses?"
In his previous life, after Song Wuqi took power, the person who was most dissatisfied was this Director Xiong. Later, Song Wuqi seized on his weaknesses and suppressed him.
Tang Ran had suspected this when she was analyzing Song Wuqi's motive for arson a while ago, and she notified a private investigator to keep a close eye on whether Song Wuqi and Xiong Fangnian were in contact.
As expected, the private investigator photographed Song Wuqi and this Director Xiong entering and leaving the same high-end club around the same time.
The evidence wasn't conclusive, but it was enough for Tang Ran to piece everything together.
With the addition of Song Wuqi's rebirth, everything becomes even clearer.
Song Wuqi wanted to replicate the path he took to rise to power in his previous life.
"It's a pity you failed at the first step, and you will never succeed at any of the steps that follow!" Tang Ran stared at her, her eyes full of disdain.
"You, Song Wuqi, will never become the president of the Song Group in your lifetime!"
"Shut up!"
Song Wuqi roared, clearly on the verge of exploding with rage.
Tang Ran walked past her, intending to leave, but after taking only two steps, she turned back and asked, "I heard that Uncle Wei from our hometown bought a house in town. Does Uncle Song know about this?"
Song Wuqi's pupils widened suddenly.
Tang Ran curled her lips slightly and went to pick up the phone that Song Wuqi had thrown on the ground.
But as soon as she bent down, she was pulled up.
Song Wuqi grabbed Tang Ran, threw her backward, and pushed her against the fence.
"You hate me that much?! You won't stop until you drive me to my death?!"
Song Wuqi questioned her fiercely, his face contorted with rage.
The lakeside fence serves only as a warning; a short section is installed near the dock, with a rope hanging between two waist-high posts, but it cannot prevent people from falling in.
Tang Ran had her back to the lake, and the water was just two steps away. If Song Wuqi had used a little more force, she would have been pushed into the lake.
A look of panic flashed across her face, and she was so startled that she dropped her bag. "Song Wuqi, what do you want to do?!"
"Now you know fear?!" Song Wuqi's eyes were full of gloom.
"Are you threatening me?" Tang Ran asked in a trembling voice. "Song Wuqi, are you trying to kill me to silence me?!"
Song Wuqi gave a strange smile. "Yeah, if you die, will no one be able to threaten me anymore?"
Seeing Tang Ran's increasingly panicked expression, Song Wuqi forcefully pulled Tang Ran's shoulders and pushed her towards the lake, his smile turning maniacal.
"Tang Ran, do you think if we died together, we could start over together?"
Tang Ran closed her eyes, intending to fall into the water in the direction Song Wuqi was pushing her.
But before she could make a move, she felt the pressure on her shoulder loosen.
Song Wuqi released her.
Song Wuqi did not release her hand voluntarily; rather, her wrist was gripped so tightly it felt as if someone was going to crush her bones.
She let go of Tang Ran and turned around.
Snap!
Before he could even see who was behind him, Song Wuqi felt a burning pain on the left side of his face.
She was seething with anger and had nowhere to vent it, so she instinctively raised her hand to retaliate, but it was blocked again.
At the same time, she also saw clearly who had hit her.
"Auntie?!"
Song Wuqi's anger subsided considerably in an instant. He cried out in a panic, trying to explain, "I...I didn't really mean to..."
She didn't really intend to push Tang Ran into the water; she just wanted to scare Tang Ran so that she wouldn't retaliate against her again.
Song Zhixu completely ignored Song Wuqi's explanation. She took two steps forward expressionlessly and kicked Song Wuqi directly into the water.
"Why are you up so early..."
Tang Ran's words of surprise stopped abruptly when she saw Song Zhixu's indifferent gaze.
She felt that Song Zhixu seemed to already know her plan.
Tang Ran's eyes flickered; she was genuinely a little guilty.
The spot where she and Song Wuqi were standing was blocked by the small wooden hut at the dock, so Tang Ran couldn't guess when Song Zhixu had arrived or how much he had overheard.
She pursed her lips, thinking about how to explain, when she saw Song Zhixu take off his suit jacket and drape it over her shoulders.
Tang Ran looked at her in surprise.
"The sleeve is torn."
Song Zhixu glanced at her left shoulder, uttered five words indifferently, and turned to walk towards the direction where Song Wuqi had fallen into the water.
Tang Ran was stunned for a moment before she remembered that when Song Wuqi pulled her earlier, she seemed to hear the sound of something breaking.
She glanced down and saw her bare shoulder below the right shoulder of her beige suit.
She was wearing a thin cardigan, secured by two pearl buttons on her right shoulder, which had popped off when Song Wuqi tugged at it earlier.
After a brief moment of awkwardness, Tang Ran looked up at Song Zhixu.
As Song Zhixu walked, he slowly rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, then took off his wristwatch and put it in his trouser pocket.
Her face was expressionless, and she exuded a cold aura, a stark contrast to her usual gentle demeanor, making them seem like two completely different people.
Song Wuqi could swim. Caught off guard by being kicked down, he choked on some water but quickly calmed down and managed to reach the shore.
She tried to get out of the water by supporting herself with her hands, and when she looked up, she saw her aunt standing on the shore looking down at her.
This angle immediately reminded Song Wuqi of that afternoon in the garden.
She sat on the ground crying, while her aunt stood there calmly, looking down at her and watching her cry.
The fear that came from the depths of his heart was like the icy lake water, rising straight up to Song Wuqi's neck.
Song Wuqi suppressed her trembling. She dared not go ashore and spoke very softly, "Little Aunt."
By this time, it was completely dark, with only the streetlights emitting a faint glow.
Unlike the last time when he quietly watched her, this time, Song Wuqi watched as his aunt squatted down to the side, casting a shadow that completely enveloped Song Wuqi.
Song Wuqi was terrified.
Song Zhixu lowered her eyes and looked at her calmly, "I was returning it to you on behalf of Ranran."
She raised her hand and placed it on Song Wuqi's head, her voice cold, "This is to avenge the fire at the old house."
She didn't act immediately after saying that, but waited until Song Wuqi reacted before making a move.
Survival is a human instinct. Although Song Wuqi could swim and hold his breath, he still choked on several mouthfuls of water due to panic.
Tang Ran was stunned when she saw Song Zhixu push Song Wuqi back into the water.
When she came to her senses, she saw Song Wuqi lying on the shore, coughing uncontrollably.
Song Zhixu had already stood up again and turned to look at her.
Tang Ran's back straightened instantly.
She was now 100% certain that Song Zhixu was angry, and very angry.
Song Zhixu glanced at her briefly before looking away and started walking towards the wooden house.
Tang Ran swallowed hard, picked up her bag and phone, and followed her.
There is a small handwashing basin on the side of the cabin.
Seeing her walk to the sink, Tang Ran immediately stepped forward and turned on the tap for her.
Song Zhixu turned her head to look at her. Tang Ran smiled sweetly. Song Zhixu still didn't say anything and slowly washed her arms.
Tang Ran thought to herself, "This is it, I'm doomed." She pulled out a tissue from her bag while quickly trying to figure out how to appease the man.
The sound of water stopped, and Tang Ran quickly pulled out a tissue and handed it over.
Song Zhixu took the tissue, dried his arms, rolled up his sleeves, turned around, walked around the cabin, and headed outside.
Tang Ran followed her, thinking of trying to coax her with some sweet talk, when she looked up and saw Assistant Jiang standing at the intersection.
He was about to reach out and grab Song Zhixu's hand when he pulled it back.
Seeing them come out, Assistant Jiang took two steps forward to greet them.
Because the wooden house was blocking the view, Assistant Jiang didn't see what had just happened and assumed that his boss had come to find Tang Ran on his own.
However, as a professional assistant, Assistant Jiang keenly sensed that something was off about the two of them.
The boss looked very angry, while Tang Ran's face clearly showed her guilt.
Song Zhixu said to her calmly, "Have Lao Zhang bring the car over."
The banquet hall was brightly lit, and cheerful music could be heard from inside, indicating that the full moon celebration had already begun.
If someone drives over at this point, it goes without saying that they won't be attending the banquet anymore; they'll be heading straight home.
"that……"
Just as Tang Ran opened her mouth, she heard Song Zhixu say to Assistant Jiang, "Go to the monitoring room and copy back the surveillance footage from the lakeside. Don't let them keep a copy."
Tang Ran quickly swallowed back the words she wanted to say to Song Zhixu to wait for her because she had something to take care of.
"OK."
Assistant Jiang was surprised for a moment, then quickly responded and took out his phone as he walked.
After Assistant Jiang walked away, Song Zhixu turned to look at her, and Tang Ran quickly shook her head, "I'm fine."
"Um."
Song Zhixu simply responded and walked towards the roadside.
Tang Ran quickly followed her and tugged at Song Zhixu's sleeve, "Sister."
Song Zhixu stopped and turned to look at her, his eyes deep, as if he could see right through her thoughts.
Upon seeing her look, Tang Ran's prepared string of coquettish words all stuck in her throat.
Tang Ran bit her lip. "That."
Song Zhixu interrupted her, her voice light: "Tang Ran, think it through before you speak."
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