“Looks like it’s going to rain~”
“I really want to live next door to you~”
A pleasant ringtone sounded through the headphones. Su Ling loosened her grip, took out her phone, and held it up:
“Sorry, Miss Tang, I need to take this call.”
“Go ahead.”
Tang Jin’er shrugged noncommittally.
Why does Su Ling’s phone ringtone sound like she’s singing it herself? And why have I never heard this song before?
Tang Jin’er considered herself pretty well-versed in fashion and trends, and the song’s intro actually sounded quite good, so why was it unfamiliar to her?
The young Miss Tang felt a bit puzzled but didn’t press the matter further.
“Thank you.”
Su Ling nodded politely, then turned and left.
“Well then, for the coming period, we’ll be working together again, Secretary.”
Tang Jin’er turned toward Secretary Wang, standing nearby, her clear voice lively as her slightly tousled curls swayed with the motion.
“That’s not certain, Miss Tang. In the new cooperation, I might not continue to be the liaison between the Su Family and you. That depends on—”
“What do you mean it’s not certain? I say I want you, and that’s final! What, do you have any objections?”
The young Miss Tang’s almond-shaped eyes glared sharply, her cute cheeks puffing slightly as she cut off the secretary’s next words with a coquettish scold.
“Hmph!”
“No, Miss Tang. Everything will be as you wish.”
Secretary Wang hesitated briefly, then obediently responded.
“That’s better!”
Tang Jin’er’s previous irritation instantly gave way to a bright smile.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect you, this blockhead who usually looks so dull like a human machine, to actually be pretty reliable when it counts.”
Despite her good mood and all the praise, Miss Tang couldn’t quite shake her habit of being a little sharp-tongued.
“By the way, these past few days I’ve been calling you blockhead, and Su Ling just calls you Secretary Wang—I don’t even know your real name.”
“Now’s your chance. Say it again! I’m Tang Jin’er, and you? What’s your name?”
The morning sunlight filtered through the girl’s slightly messy curls, scattering threads of golden light. Her fiery red dress contrasted sharply with her fair skin, dazzling to look at.
The girl, who usually pursed her proud lips, now smiled without reservation. The square bandage on her right cheek didn’t diminish her beauty but rather added a wild charm to her delicate features.
Caught off guard by Tang Jin’er’s sudden move, Secretary Wang blinked, then, as if infected by the fiery passion of the girl before her, a faint smile crept onto her otherwise expressionless face.
“Wang Yan.”
“My name is Wang Yan.”
“You little brat, all you ever do is cause trouble for your old man!”
Meanwhile, Gu Huaishan had also arrived at the police station to bail Gu Tian out.
“Tell me, what happened today? I heard you got into a fight with people from the Tang and Su families?”
As he spoke, Gu Huaishan slapped Gu Tian on the forehead.
“Ah! Dad, don’t hit me! The bleeding on my head just stopped!”
Gu Tian yelped in pain. Gu Huaishan awkwardly picked up a napkin and wiped the slight trace of blood off his hand.
“It’s that crazy Tang Jin’er! She showed up with that secretary from the Su Family and started fighting us for no reason! Look at my head! It’s all because of Tang Jin’er! Dad, you have to stand up for me!”
Clutching his bandaged head, Gu Tian complained to his father.
“Hmph! I already know what kind of trouble you’re always getting into. Who knows what you stirred up this time!”
“Dad! This time it really wasn’t my fault! It was all Tang Jin’er, shouting about handing over someone from the Ruan Family, then just barging in and having us beaten up!”
Gu Tian exaggerated as usual, trying to deflect blame without mentioning the rumors he spread, the shady stuff in the private room, or the fact that they were actually overwhelmed two against one.
“Shouting about handing over someone from the Ruan Family? And she brought along the Su Family’s secretary?”
Gu Huaishan murmured, lost in thought.
“Yeah! Dad! Look, they’re just looking for trouble! Who knows…”
“Shut up! You idiot!”
Gu Huaishan cut off Gu Tian’s rambling, holding back from slapping his injured head again.
“How did I end up with such a useless son? Do you even know what’s been going on these days?”
“What happened?”
Gu Tian blinked, starting to think.
“Isn’t it just our family fighting a price war with the Su Family? What does Tang Jin’er have to do with it?”
“Tang Jin’er showing up with the Su Family means they probably teamed up.”
Gu Huaishan said quietly.
“And the intel these days shows the Ruan Family matriarch and her daughter have indeed disappeared.”
“What?!”
Gu Tian was stunned.
“Dad, what’s going on?”
“Hmph, the Ruan Family’s leader is suspected missing. The huge Ruan Family has no sign of movement—most likely a trick.”
“Knowing that old hag from the Ruan Family, she’s probably plotting something somewhere.”
“If you ask me, the Ruan Family has sensed something and deliberately gone into hiding, playing this disappearing act, watching from the sidelines. And we? We’ve been used as tools to test the Su Family girl’s true nature.”
Gu Huaishan snorted, his tone both dismissive and wary.
“Test her true nature?”
Gu Tian was utterly confused.
“Hmph! Do you know that Su Ling probably isn’t the real Heir of the Su Family!”
“What?!!!”
Gu Tian was frozen in place. That Su Ling was not the true Heir of the Su Family!
“Dad, how do you know this?”
“Hmph, it’s simple.”
Gu Huaishan then briefly summarized his theory.
Never thought Su Ling would be a castoff from the family inheritance struggle. And I’ve been wary of her for so long for nothing. After hearing his reasoning, Gu Tian silently cursed in his heart.
“If the Ruan Family wants to sit back and reap the benefits, then what do we do next…?”
Gu Tian looked at his father, trying hard to keep up.
“Next, we just need to continue to take down that girl Su Ling.”
“If the Ruan Family wants to stay out of it, then let them be. When we, the Gu Family, swallow up Su Ling’s assets, won’t C City be ours to control?”
“As for the Tang Family…”
“We definitely don’t tell them Su Ling’s real identity. Right now they want to help the Su Family, but when the Su Family can’t hold on any longer, they’ll realize something’s wrong.”
“At most, they’re just lending Su Ling some money in the price war. When Su Ling loses, they won’t get a cent back.”
“In other words, we must keep Su Ling’s true identity as not the real Heir of the Su Family a secret. We absolutely can’t let the Tang Family find out early—that way we can make some serious gains off them.”
Gu Huaishan narrowed his eyes and licked his lips.
“All right, Dad!”
“Don’t worry! I definitely won’t tell anyone!”
Gu Tian tried to pat his own bandaged chest but stopped halfway, awkwardly smiling as he promised.
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