Lin Ranran did not want to admit that Shang Xu and his mother were so despicable, but their actions kept proving it.
More importantly, she felt He Chan had no reason to lie to her.
Miss He Chan was a wonderful person. She had not only saved Lin Ranran without hesitation this time, but had also spoken up to waive the compensation when they first met.
But what had Lin Ranran done back then?
Because of a ridiculous insistence and the strange difference she had sensed the first time she saw Shang Xu, Lin Ranran ignored He Chan’s existence and went straight to speak with Shang Xu.
Her behavior back then had been rather fake.
So she had to let go.
She and Shang Xu had never been from the same social class. They should never have crossed paths in the first place.
What she had not expected was that what He Chan had mentioned would happen so soon.
At an upscale teahouse, Lin Ranran sat restlessly in her T-shirt and jeans. The extravagantly dressed woman across from her sized her up with a mocking, contemptuous gaze.
“You’re Lin Ranran, right?” Shang mother removed her sunglasses, every movement elegant.
In the past, Lin Ranran would have felt ashamed and humiliated. After He Chan and Su Xiang helped her that day, she understood what innate nobility meant.
Even in such circumstances, the two of them had remained calm and composed.
Compared with those two, Shang Mother’s elegance seemed contrived.
That mocking, contemptuous look especially bothered her. Lin Ranran felt that a truly cultured person would not make such an expression. Even when looking down on someone, a person’s behavior and bearing should remain impeccable.
She did not owe Shang Mother anything. Was there any need for her to act so superior?
Remembering He Chan’s advice, Lin Ranran straightened her back, and her expression grew more open and composed.
“Is something the matter, auntie?”
Shang Mother did not understand why Lin Ranran’s entire demeanor had changed, but she still looked down on her. To Shang Mother, Lin Ranran was nothing more than a lowly little vixen who had deliberately seduced her son because the Shang Family was wealthy.
“I heard you’re quite close to our Shang Xu?”
Before Lin Ranran could refute her, Shang Mother slandered her. “The Shang Family could never accept a girl from a small household like you. The bigger the forest, the more kinds of birds it has—even a filthy little sparrow dreams of clinging to a phoenix.”
Her malicious words drew frequent glances from the neighboring tables. Lin Ranran clenched her hands.
“Name your price. How much will it take for you to disappear from Shang Xu’s life?”
Lin Ranran laughed in anger. Miss He Chan had predicted it: Shang Mother really was an annoying old hen.
“Does Shang Xu know you came to discuss this with me?”
“He’s on a date with He Ting. What do you think?”
Lin Ranran took a deep breath. From then on, the last trace of reluctance she felt toward Shang Xu vanished.
Although Lin Ranran had harbored unusual feelings for Shang Xu, she was neither lacking in self-respect nor without propriety.
She laughed in anger. “Then how much do you think your son is worth?”
Shang Mother sneered. “Are you trying to extort an exorbitant price? My son has never even been with you. Here is a two-hundred-thousand-yuan check. Resign from Shang Corporation at once, and do not appear before anyone from our Shang Family again.”
“You think two hundred thousand can buy out my personal freedom? Everyone says the Shang Family is wealthy and powerful, yet you’re this stingy, auntie?”
Lin Ranran curled her lips in sarcasm. “Even if Shang Corporation fired me, the Severance Compensation alone would be worth tens of thousands. Hai City isn’t large, but it isn’t small either. You think two hundred thousand is enough to make me avoid your entire family for the rest of my life? Television dramas start at five million.”
Low, muffled laughter came from the neighboring table, and Shang Mother’s expression fell.
“Five million? Why not rob someone?”
“I was only making an analogy. How is that robbing anyone?”
“Five hundred thousand. Not a penny more. The Shang Family has money, but we can’t give it to a woman like you.”
“Mom! What are you doing?” Having heard the news from He Ting, Shang Xu hurried over, his face instantly darkening.
“Don’t make things difficult for Ranran.”
Hearing him defend her, Lin Ranran froze, but then lowered her eyes. She had already decided to let go; there was no reason to soften now.
“I’m making things difficult for her?” Shang Mother’s voice rose. “She’s the one making an outrageous demand! Do you know how much she wants to leave you? Five million! See her true colors.”
Shang Xu turned his head in astonishment, disbelief in his eyes. “You said that?”
Lin Ranran met his gaze and no longer backed down. “What do you think?”
Shang Xu’s dark eyes were cold as frost. “Lin Ranran, you’ve disappointed me. I thought you weren’t that kind of woman.”
Lin Ranran retorted, “I once thought you were a responsible and capable man, too.”
“Whoa, that attack power is impressive.” He Ting had hurried over behind them and stood at the doorway with her arms crossed, watching the show. Even He Chan, Su Xiang, and Ji Yan, whom she had called over, looked astonished.
Ji Yan found Lin Ranran’s transformation especially astonishing.
He had been narrow-minded. Before this, he had thought too poorly of Lin Ranran.
The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. As the female protagonist of an old-fashioned novel, Lin Ranran had plenty of flaws to criticize, but her own radiance could not be underestimated. Otherwise, the male protagonist and the male supporting character would not have fallen for her.
He Chan and Su Xiang, both female supporting characters, had broken free from the Original Plotline. Why couldn’t Lin Ranran, the female protagonist, awaken her consciousness and turn back as well?
The commotion behind him darkened Shang Xu’s expression further. He could not blame He Ting, and he could not do anything to Ji Yan or Su Xiang, so he directed his anger at Lin Ranran and He Chan.
“You’re something else. And you!”
His gaze was vicious, and his emotions fluctuated wildly, seemingly because he had lost face.
“What are you trying to do?” Ji Yan stepped forward protectively. “You’re not so shameless that you’d hit a woman, are you?”
“Ji Yan, you’d better not meddle in other people’s business.”
“They’re my friends, so I’m meddling.”
Shang Xu sneered. “What, you’ve fallen for Lin Ranran too? Aren’t you afraid Su Xiang will get jealous? Aren’t you afraid The Su Family will stop supporting you?”
Ji Yan’s expression turned severe. “You’re making a scene.”
In the Original Plotline, Shang Xu was extremely emotionally unstable. He was suspicious by nature, while Lin Ranran’s inferiority complex about her family background made her poor at explaining herself. As a result, the two often misunderstood each other.
He had not expected the real Lin Ranran, after awakening, to reveal how malicious and insulting this man was.
Disappointment was impossible to conceal in Lin Ranran’s eyes. Shang Xu’s lofty image in her heart collapsed completely.
Lin Ranran’s disappointed gaze only made Shang Xu angrier. “Ji Yan, you’re quite the upright man, aren’t you? I know you look down on me for currying favor with The He Family, but how much better are you? Without The Su Family’s support, could you have developed your current project? You’re lucky that The Su Family has only one heiress.”
He Chan’s face was filled with disgust. “What, are you unhappy that I’m the false heiress and can’t throw myself at you like before? Do you think that without He Ting, you could enjoy my devotion while enjoying Lin Ranran’s admiration at the same time?”
She spat. “I must have been blind before. You’re utterly shameless. Ji Yan is virtuous and faithful, treating Su Xiang with consideration in everything. How could you compare with him?”
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