The Aston rolled to a gentle stop outside Wen Pharmaceuticals. Mo Xiuchen leaned over to unbuckle Wen Ran's seatbelt, his voice warm and tender: "I have a social engagement tonight and will be home late. The weather's been cold and rainy—don't wait up for me. Get some rest early."
Wen Ran smiled and nodded. Through the car window, she caught sight of Bai Xiaoxiao walking toward the office building inside the factory compound. She opened the car door and turned to Mo Xiuchen, saying, "I won't wait. Drive safely."
"Alright," he replied with a slight lift of his lips. His brow was relaxed, and his gaze softened as he watched her pass through the factory gate. Only when Bai Xiaoxiao turned back to glance at Wen Ran from the steps of the office building did he finally drive away.
"Xiaoxiao, what brings you here at this hour?"
Inside the compound, Wen Ran quickened her steps to meet Bai Xiaoxiao. The two entered the building, conversing as they walked. Bai Xiaoxiao cast her a knowing glance, her tone teasing with mock envy. "Unlike you, I don't have a thoughtful husband to dote on me, so I can only come to my bestie to kill some time."
Wen Ran rolled her eyes playfully. "With all the gossip surrounding Xiao Yuting and Linda these past few days, you barely have time to laugh at it all. How could you be bored?"
At the mention of it, Bai Xiaoxiao frowned slightly, her eyes probing as she looked at Wen Ran. "You talk. That day I had you and Mo Xiuchen watch the livestream—and suddenly, you two went off the grid. Don't tell me you were doing something naughty in the office?"
Wen Ran's gaze flickered, evading Bai Xiaoxiao's mischievous eyes. Unbidden, the memory of that afternoon in Mo Xiuchen's private lounge surfaced—an entanglement both tender and intoxicating. Her cheeks flushed a delicate pink.
"Ah-ha! Ranran, you totally did something naughty! Mo Xiuchen really knows how to keep things spicy, even in the office," Bai Xiaoxiao exclaimed triumphantly, having caught the telltale blush.
"Stop spouting nonsense. It's almost time to start work," Wen Ran scolded, casting her a glare as she stepped toward the stairs. "Now tell me—did you come for something important, or are you just here to loiter all afternoon?"
"I most certainly did not come with nothing to do," Bai Xiaoxiao said, falling into step beside her. "Let me tell you—I accomplished two things today."
"Oh?" Wen Ran asked casually. "What things?"
Bai Xiaoxiao raised a proud brow. "First, Xiao Yuting called and invited me to his house for dinner. I turned him down. Tell me, was that not fabulously well done?"
A flicker of surprise flashed across Wen Ran's face. Her hand paused briefly on the doorknob before she turned to look at Bai Xiaoxiao's proud and smug little face. With a soft laugh, she said, "Indeed, very well done. But why did he invite you? Was it an apology? Or is he trying to win you back?"
"Pfft." Bai Xiaoxiao scoffed and dropped onto the couch with no trace of elegance, crossing her legs and slouching back. "His parents put him up to it. Neither of our families know about the engagement being called off. They want to invite me and my parents to dinner."
Understanding dawned on Wen Ran. Narrowing her eyes with amusement, she asked, "So tell me, Xiaoxiao—if Xiao Yuting was trying to win you back, would you say yes?"
"I'd sooner agree to date a ghost," Bai Xiaoxiao declared with an exaggerated tilt of her chin, full-on queen mode activated. "Even if he knelt before me begging, I wouldn't take him back."
She had long since given up on Xiao Yuting. After watching him make a fool of himself yesterday and reading the media's exposés of his endless romantic escapades, she realized she no longer had any feelings for him.
It was a liberating revelation—one that made her feel as though she could take flight.
Perhaps what she had clung to for so many years was never truly Xiao Yuting, the philandering heir, but rather her own fantasy of the perfect lover.
And now that she saw his true colors, she found her past obsession almost laughable.
Wen Ran smiled in relief. "Xiaoxiao, you've truly moved on from him. Congratulations."
Bai Xiaoxiao returned a cheeky grin, then added, "Not only did I reject Xiao Yuting today, I also stood up Luo Haofeng."
Chuckling, she teased, "It seems my luck with men is on the rise. Maybe I should do like you—find a man and get hitched on a whim. Who knows, maybe I'd land someone like Mo Xiuchen."
Wen Ran shot her a side-eye and rose to fetch two glasses of water. Handing one to Bai Xiaoxiao, she took a sip from her own and asked, "What do you mean you stood him up? He asked you out too?"
Bai Xiaoxiao laughed. "Somehow, he got in touch with my dad and came by our office this morning. Dad called him an honored guest and asked me to take him out to lunch. Can you believe it? The other day at the hotel, he actually asked if I had fallen for him. Said there's a line of women from one end of the street to the other dying to be his girlfriend. So I gave him a chance—sent one of our most boy-crazy employees to entertain him."
"What?" Wen Ran looked baffled.
Patiently, Bai Xiaoxiao explained, "He's like a butterfly, flitting from flower to flower. The moment he stepped into our office, even the secretaries and receptionists were swooning. So I sent the worst of the bunch to lunch with him—and slipped away quietly myself."
"Pfft—Xiaoxiao, you really dare to pull that kind of stunt? If Luo Haofeng's considered a VIP at your company, then he probably came on behalf of MS Group. Didn't Uncle Bai tell you?"
Bai Xiaoxiao blinked in confusion. Wen Ran shot her a look and said, "You remember the proposal you had me show to Mo Xiuchen? He agreed to work with your company. Luo Haofeng is here because of that."
"That can't be," Bai Xiaoxiao frowned. "Isn't he the director of the H City plant? Why would he…"
Her heart sank. She suddenly had a very bad feeling—her father was definitely going to scold her until her ears bled.
"I heard from Mo Xiuchen that Luo Haofeng will be staying in G City for a while. He just took office and needs strong support. Tan Mu can't manage everything alone, so Luo Haofeng is here to help."
Just as Wen Ran finished speaking, Bai Xiaoxiao's phone rang shrilly. Startled, she fished it out and groaned at the caller ID. "It's my dad… I'm doomed. That sinister Luo Haofeng must've ratted me out!"
"Surely not," Wen Ran said with a chuckle. "Even if you sent a flirty girl to have lunch with him, he wouldn't be so petty as to complain."
Bai Xiaoxiao gave a wry smile and confessed, "I told her to dress sexy and really look after him. You know the one I mean—the hopeless romantic who practically throws herself at any man…"
Wen Ran's lips twitched. Of course she knew who Bai Xiaoxiao meant—a desperate woman pushing thirty who had failed in every relationship she'd ever had. At this point, she practically pounced on anything male.
And with Xiaoxiao's special instructions… if Luo Haofeng didn't faint on the spot, it would be a miracle. Especially since the woman was anything but a stunner—more like round and rough.
No doubt Bai Xiaoxiao had sealed her fate.