NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 14
"Then I'll have to trouble my aunt!" Ren Ran said. "Oh right, you have to carry the Buddha pendant with you at all times for it to have any luck effect, right?"
"That's right, only then can it protect you and bring you good fortune," Ren Shuyun said with a smile.
"My friend wants to take a look, but I didn't have my Buddha pendant on me. Auntie, could you lend me yours for a moment so I can take a picture of it?"
Ren Shuyun was taken aback. She wasn't even wearing one of those things.
Seeing her hesitation, Ren Ran smiled. "Auntie, you wouldn't be that petty right? You wouldn't refuse to lend it to me, would you?"
"Oh no, of course not," she awkwardly smiled in response.
Xu Zhengyang, seeing his wife's awkward predicament, took out a Buddha pendant from his pocket. "Here, you can borrow mine."
"Thank you, uncle," Ren Ran said as she accepted it.
As soon as she got up, Ren Shuyun discreetly elbowed her daughter Xu Ying, signaling her to follow along.
Noticing the little tail behind her, Ren Ran completely ignored it and headed straight for the bathroom. She closed the door behind her.
She began taking apart the Buddha pendant, surprised to find that it was solid all the way through, completely different from the ones they had.
She took out her phone and snapped a few pictures.
When Ren Ran opened the bathroom door, she noticed Xu Ying standing not too far away, pretending as if Ren Ran didn't exist. As Xu Ying walked away, she put on a show of talking on her cellphone.
"Did you see the photo I sent you? It looks just like that. Don't get them mixed up later."
"Okay, sounds good. Thanks again, I'll be in touch."
After ending the fake call, Ren Ran stood in front of Xu Ying and handed her back the pendant, smiling as she said "Here you go, make good use of it and pass it back to your dad for me."
Xu Ying nodded.
"Aren't you going to use the restroom?" Ren Ran asked with a smile, looking at Xu Ying just standing there motionless.
The corner of Xu Ying's mouth twitched a few times before she reluctantly went into the bathroom.
Back in the living room, Ren Ran sat down next to her grandmother again.
Xu Zhengyang spoke in an ingratiating tone, still putting on airs. "Uncle, we're just short of 50 million yuan. It's not a lot of money."
Just listen to that tone, saying it's not a lot of money.
Not a lot? Then don't come asking to borrow!
Thinking of that money going down the drain, Ren Ran wanted to speak up again.
But suddenly, her grandmother took her hand and gently patted the back of it.
Ren Ran understood her grandmother's meaning, and obediently kept her mouth shut.
"Uncle, I'll really need your help with this matter," Xu Zhengyang said.
Her grandfather put down his teacup. "First we'll need to look at the company's working capital situation before we know more. You two go back first and I'll let you know later."
Xu Zhengyang and his wife quickly agreed. After wasting their time chatting away for a while longer, they finally got up and left.
As soon as they were gone, her grandparents looked towards Ren Ran.
"Tell us what's going on," her grandmother said, placing the Buddha pendant on the table.
As expected, her grandparents understood the meaning behind her actions. Her grandfather picked up the pendant and opened it slightly to reveal a talisman inside.
"What's this?" Her grandmother picked up the talisman, squinting at it with her failing eyesight.
Ren Ran recounted what had happened with the Buddha pendants.
"The talismans inside have all been switched out already. I asked auntie to borrow her pendant because I wanted to see if there was something similar inside theirs too."
She did this to confirm whether or not they were innocent.
"My brother-in-law's pendant was solid all the way through, completely different from ours."
In case her grandparents didn't believe her, Ren Ran took out the photos and videos she had prepared in advance and showed them.
Sometimes just saying it outright doesn't necessarily convince people completely. Only by presenting evidence right in front of their eyes could it be more credible.
Her grandmother sighed. "Why would they do something like this?"
"In the end, it always comes down to greed," Ren Ran said, holding her grandmother's hand gently to comfort her. "Grandma, don't let those ungrateful swindlers upset you. We've done nothing wrong, they're the ones in the wrong for their insatiable greed and lack of gratitude."
Her grandmother patted Ren Ran's hand lightly. "Our Ran Ran has really grown up."
"Grandpa, when are you planning to retire?" Ren Ran asked.
Her grandfather raised his eyebrows, smiling at her. "What's this, you want to take over grandpa's position?"
"Yes," Ren Ran readily admitted. "Grandpa, you must guard your position well until I can come take over."
"Go fix something for this grandfather and granddaughter to eat," he said, shooing his wife away.
After sending his wife away, the two of them went into the study and closed the door.
"Did something happen at home?"
As expected, her grandpa was as sharp as ever despite his age.
If her grandparents had still been around in her last life, her father wouldn't have been able to seize control of the company no matter how capable he was.
She couldn't tell him about what happened in her past life, but she could talk about what had already occurred in this life.
"Grandpa, please don't get angry. Don't be upset, okay?" Ren Ran was worried for his health, afraid the old man would suffer some misfortune from rage.
Her grandfather laughed. "Girl, your grandpa has seen all kinds of storms in life. Don't you worry."
Ren Ran took a deep breath and lowered her voice, speaking with a hint of weariness and sadness. "Dad is having an affair."
Her grandfather's smile vanished instantly, his expression turning cold and stern.
"I even saw the mistress's daughter calling him 'Dad'. She looks about the same age as me." Those simple two sentences carried tremendous meaning.
Not only did he cheat right after getting married, it meant he likely never had any faithfulness to begin with. That was a huge amount of information to take in.
Her grandfather had never looked favorably on Kong Liji to begin with. Now, upon hearing about something like this, even someone with excellent self-control would find it hard to remain calm and collected.
"Does your mother know?"
That's parents for you. Their first thought is always their child.
"She's likely had her suspicions," Ren Ran conservatively reported.
Her grandfather had built up their corporation with his own two hands, nurturing it into prosperity.
She absolutely could not let her father snatch it away, turning the Ren family's assets into the Kong or Ruan family's possessions.
In her last life, Ruan Ling entered the entertainment industry riding on the coattails of being touted as the "heiress" of the Ya Star Corporation. She used that title to establish an image in the industry as a rich, beautiful socialite, gaining herself countless fans.
While Ruan Ling enjoyed extravagant clothes and lifestyle, the real heiress of Ya Star Corporation, her, was dumpster diving for bottles.
Even if the corporation was handed over to outsiders in this life, she would never let it fall into her father or the Ruan mother and daughter's hands.
Her grandfather looked at the girl before him who he had watched grow from babbling baby to adulthood, taking care of her parents and worrying for them. She really had matured.
"The corporation will be handed over to you. Grandpa will guard it for you."
With those words, Ren Ran felt assured.
Her grandfather would no longer gradually hand over power bit by bit to her father.
That night, Ren Ran stayed at the villa up in the hills.
Inside the master bedroom, the elderly couple took their supplements and leaned against the headboard.
"What did Ran Ran say to you?"
Ren Hongru took off his reading glasses and held his wife's hand. "Liji is having an affair. He has a child with his mistress, around the same age as Ran Ran."
This meant Kong Liji was already cheating before he even married their daughter.
"That despicable scum!" The old lady was furious.
"Don't get angry! Don't let Ran Ran see you upset."
Seeing her partner wasn't angry at all, Madam Ren was puzzled.
Ren Hongru held her hand, gently patting it. "Ran Ran is more outstanding than her mother. Even knowing her own father did something like that, she didn't act rashly. She knows to protect us, and she has vision for the long term rather than just the present."
It was best not to poke holes in this paper window. There was a lot of room to maneuver this way.
Once poked through, it would ruin not just Ren Suya, but the Ren family's reputation as well.