"What are you doing?" Xin Wenwen asked Tang Ran with a frown, her tone very impatient.
Standing at the door, Tang Ran saw the expression on Xin Wenwen's face, and her nose tingled with sadness, a sudden surge of grievance welling up inside her.
Tang Ran looked aggrieved, and Xin Wenwen found the expression on her face very offensive.
Xin Wenwen used to really like Tang Ran. When her father found out that she was with Tang Ran, she even had the idea of defying her family and spending her life with this person.
But she didn't expect that Tang Ran would break up with her first.
Xin Wenwen didn't ask for the reason, nor did she cry or make a scene. Like any mature adult, she silently accepted the other party's request to break up. After that, the two didn't contact each other again until Tang Ran suddenly called her on Christmas Day.
Before that phone call, Xin Wenwen would sometimes think of Tang Ran and reminisce about the time they spent together. But ever since Tang Ran suddenly called and started talking nonsense, things had changed.
Xin Wenwen's lingering beautiful fantasies suddenly shattered, and she suddenly felt exhausted. She suddenly realized that she couldn't understand Tang Ran. When they were together, because she liked her, she could quickly accept Tang Ran's inexplicable actions and unreasonable demands, but now she couldn't accept them anymore.
Perhaps she has changed since their breakup and with the passage of time.
Since then, Xin Wenwen no longer has any feelings for Tang Ran, but the other party seems to have regretted it, appearing at her parties, near her house, and near her company once or twice.
This time, Tang Ran must have gotten the news from someone else, because she arrived so quickly.
Xin Wenwen remained seated, showing no intention of leaving. Tang Ran silently watched her for a long time before suddenly speaking, "Do you know where Xin Hailan is?"
Xin Wenwen suddenly looked up, her sharp gaze instantly shooting towards Tang Ran.
Do you know where she is?
Sensing the murderous look on Xin Wenwen's face, Tang Ran said expressionlessly, "I don't know, but she often chatted with us at our gatherings before she left. Don't you want to know what she said? Maybe it will help you find her?"
Xin Wenwen fell silent for a moment, then stood up and said, "Let's go."
Xin Wenwen told Iris to wait in the recording studio while she and Tang Ran went to the adjacent lounge to talk.
Iris, who was left behind, and the bewildered sound engineer exchanged a glance, both looking completely puzzled.
The two entered the lounge. Tang Ran didn't mention Xin Hailan, but instead asked, "Who is that foreign girl to you?"
Xin Wenwen frowned and turned her head away, not wanting to talk to her.
--------------------
Author's Note:
Let me lay the groundwork again...
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2022-04-18 22:54:53 and 2022-04-19 21:10:50!
Thank you to the little angels who threw landmines: 55157345 and 58123721 (1 each);
Thank you to the little angel who watered with nutrient solution: Yaoyao (10 bottles);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 89
Do you know where Hailan is?
Xin Wenwen cut straight to the point without any preamble.
She and Tang Ran hadn't seen each other for a long time. Tang Ran followed her into the lounge, asked the first question, and then remained silent, staring intently at her.
Seeing that she didn't speak, Xin Wenwen frowned slightly, looked away, reached out and opened the door to the lounge, saying, "I have things to do, I don't have time to waste here."
The door to the lounge was barely opened a crack before Tang Ran quickly closed it again.
Tang Ran finally spoke: "Why did you block me?"
Xin Wenwen didn't speak, but Tang Ran pressed on, "You really don't want to see me?"
Hearing Tang Ran's question, Xin Wenwen, who had been silent for a long time, finally said, "Tang Ran, you were the one who broke up with me, don't act like I bullied you."
Tang Ran's expression paused for a moment. She turned her head and said in a low voice, "Back then, you kept it from me and didn't tell me you were a child of the Xin family. You know how your father treated you back then. I was under a lot of pressure."
Xin Wenwen gave a faint "hmm": "So I accepted your request to break up and didn't bother you. You should be very satisfied now; all the pressure you were worried about is gone."
Xin Wenwen's attitude was very cold, and Tang Ran's mood also darkened. Neither of them spoke, and they remained in a stalemate in the quiet lounge.
Time passed slowly, and the atmosphere remained heavy for a long time. Xin Wenwen couldn't help but speak up: "We are both adults, and we are not each other's first love. The way you are now..."
Xin Wenwen paused for a moment, not saying anything, but Tang Ran knew what she wanted to express.
Tang Ran's reputation in the entertainment industry isn't great; she's had a string of exes. She was originally a very free-spirited person—she would pursue someone she liked and break up with them when she didn't, and she never lingered with her exes.
Her relationship with Xin Wenwen was the longest of all her relationships. She did indeed have reservations when she broke up with him.
Others might not break up with Xin Wenwen because she is from the wealthy and powerful Xin family, but Tang Ran's first thought was that she would have no freedom if she dated someone from such a family.
Their relationship wasn't aboveboard from the start, and Tang Ran didn't take it very seriously at the time. Once the initial passion faded, she directly broke up with him.
But unexpectedly, it was she herself who couldn't get over the relationship.
Recalling the past, Tang Ran turned pale and remained silent.
Seeing her expression, Xin Wenwen softened her tone: "We're all adults, and adults don't allow themselves to regret their choices. You know how we got together in the first place; our relationship wasn't blessed from the start. Now that I've moved on, you shouldn't dwell on the past either, okay?"
"Then what about you and Lin Leyao..."
"Don't mention her," Xin Wenwen quickly interrupted Tang Ran. "She's very happy with my aunt now. We were the ones who wronged her back then. We're already very grateful that she doesn't mind. We don't have the face to keep bringing up other people!"
Upon hearing Xin Wenwen's words, Tang Ran's mood, which had been gradually easing, instantly darkened.
The conflict between Tang Ran and Lin Leyao has a long history. Back then, it was because of the accumulated conflict that she took action to snatch Xin Wenwen from Lin Leyao.
She thought Lin Leyao would be devastated, and she also thought she would remain as carefree and independent in relationships as ever, but neither of these things came to pass.
What was even more unexpected was that Lin Leyao and Xin Wenwen later became a family, and Xin Wenwen even spoke up for Lin Leyao several times and lost her temper with her.
Tang Ran finally couldn't hold back any longer, her voice turning completely cold as she said with utter disdain, "Xin Wenwen, what are you pretending to be a good person for? You cheated on her and deceived her feelings, and now you're going around protecting her. What, you can't forget your old flame, and now you feel sorry for your former lover and want to make it up to her?"
Xin Wenwen turned around abruptly and stared intently at Tang Ran.
This was the first time Tang Ran had seen Xin Wenwen, who was usually gentle, with such an expression on her face—cold, gloomy, and mixed with disgust.
Tang Ran froze, and took a step back abruptly.
Xin Wenwen stared intently at Tang Ran for two seconds, then suddenly scoffed, "You're right, I don't need to pretend to be a good person. Although I, Xin Wenwen, am the most useless one in the Xin family, there isn't a single good person in our Xin family, including me."
After Xin Wenwen finished speaking, she paused for two seconds, then slowly looked away, the cold and fierce expression on her face gone.
When Tang Ran saw Xin Wenwen like this for the first time, she was so shocked that she stood there stunned for a long time before she came back to her senses.
She froze, unsure how to begin. Xin Wenwen had already decided not to continue the conversation: "If you don't want to talk about Hailan, we have nothing to say right now."
Xin Wenwen opened the door to the lounge and was about to leave.
Tang Ran suddenly spoke up. Her emotions had returned to normal, and her tone was very calm: "Xin Ying doesn't know anyone when she returned to China. Either your family helped her or the people she met at parties helped her. You should investigate this yourselves."
The door slammed shut, and before Tang Ran could finish speaking, her voice was completely cut off in the lounge.
Xin Wenwen stood at the door for a moment, her mind blank, before quickly regaining her composure. Just as she was about to leave, she saw Iris standing not far away, staring intently in her direction.
Iris looked over expectantly, and Xin Wenwen pursed her lips and walked over, saying, "Let's go home."
After taking a couple of steps with Xin Wenwen, Iris stopped and said, "I want to go in and talk to her."
Iris refers to Tang Ran, who is still in the lounge and has not yet come out.
Xin Wenwen was feeling exhausted and didn't want to deal with it anymore, so she said, "Whatever."
Iris pushed open the door to the lounge and went inside herself.
Xin Wenwen waited outside the door, and five minutes later, Iris opened the door to the lounge and walked out with a relaxed expression.
"let's go!"
Xin Wenwen looked Iris up and down, and seeing that she was alright, they left together.
In the parking lot, Xin Wenwen and Iris got into the car together.
Xin Wenwen had just started the car, but after a while the car didn't move and remained parked in the same spot. Iris looked at Xin Wenwen in confusion.
Xin Wenwen finally couldn't hold back and asked, "What did you and she talk about in the room?"
Xin Wenwen didn't look at Iris, but faced straight ahead with a very calm expression, as if she had just asked casually.
Iris turned her head toward the right-hand window, a secret smile playing on her lips.
Iris suppressed a laugh and replied, "She didn't say anything, just that you're not a good person."
Xin Wenwen's expression changed instantly.
Iris leaned closer and whispered, "She said you used to be with Yao, but you cheated on her and got together with her. She said you regret it now and feel guilty towards Lin Leyao, and feel sorry for her."
Xin Wenwen was surprised that Tang Ran would say these things to Iris. Her eyes turned cold instantly, and she pursed her lips and gritted her teeth.
Every time Iris noticed Xin Wenwen's drastic emotional changes, she would say to herself, "But I told her, it's all your own fault!"
Xin Wenwen was stunned for a moment after being scolded by Iris, her expression blank.
Xin Wenwen stared blankly at Iris, hearing her say, word by word, in her broken Mandarin, "I told her that if you cheated on me and don't feel guilty, you're not a normal person, so you deserve it, but she called me a lunatic for speaking up for you."
Xin Wenwen was still in a daze, thinking blankly that this foreign girl's Chinese was not fluent, and what she probably meant was that what she did was "right" rather than "serves her right".
Before Iris could finish speaking, a sweet smile suddenly appeared on her face: "I told her, because I like you, of course I have to speak up for you."
After saying that, Iris looked at Xin Wenwen.
Iris's eyes were always smiling. Her pupils were naturally light blue, usually appearing dull and gray, like aged ice, with an unyielding indifference. But when she smiled, the ice in her pupils seemed to melt instantly, filling her eyes with a clear spring, reflecting the color of the sky and brimming with tiny stars, making her whole being shine and sparkle.
Xin Wenwen stared at Iris's smile for a long time, her blank mind suddenly filled with those smiling eyes.
Xin Wenwen quickly snapped out of her daze and turned her head to look at the front of the car.
Xin Wenwen didn't say anything more and quickly started the car and drove away.
Throughout the journey, Xin Wenwen seemed to be disturbed by Iris's smile earlier, and remained silent.
Iris also fell silent, secretly glancing at Xin Wenwen along the way, wondering why she had suddenly stopped talking, but feeling that she wasn't angry.
Xin Wenwen had no energy to pay attention to Iris beside her. Her mind was in complete chaos, a jumble of thoughts swirling in her head, but she couldn't figure out what she was thinking, so she could only remain silent.
Iris stared at him for a long time before asking softly, "Why aren't you talking to me? Are you angry?"
Xin Wenwen replied quickly in a muffled voice: "I didn't!"