novelraw Chapter 588 - 589: Need to Be Low-Key
Chapter 588 - 589: Need to Be Low-Key
"Did you hear? Yesterday, Zhuge Mingshan was totally isolated by everyone." Cao Na would come over to Gong Ruini’s place every day to read books.
Of course, the books Cao Na read weren’t the heavy tomes Gong Ruini read; she read comics.
To be honest, Cao Na still remembered how surprised she was when she first saw Gong Ruini’s study.
Cao Na had seen places with more books than this, but those were libraries, totally incomparable to private collections.
The most important thing was that there were so many comics here that Cao Na couldn’t even finish reading them all.
Actually, her home had comics too, but first of all, not as many, and secondly, her family strictly controlled her reading. She wasn’t allowed to read at all; only here could she read comfortably for as long as she wanted.
Cao Na’s visits also brought Gong Ruini quite a lot of news.
Zhuge Mingshan being isolated? Gong Ruini was genuinely surprised. She was supposed to be very popular in the class.
Gong Ruini remembered the last time she went to apologize to Zhuge Mingshan. At first, Mingshan didn’t even show up; her entourage did, acting like she was some kind of celebrity.
How could such a popular person be isolated so quickly? It’s truly puzzling.
"Everyone says she let us win intentionally, so we could overshadow her." Cao Na thought it was amusing. "Anyone in an advanced class might let others win, but not her."
Zhuge Mingshan seemed to think seeing us was a headache, eager to teach us a lesson and see us humiliated; she would never let us win intentionally.
Letting us win? Zhao Guangran laughed excitedly, "Yeah, she let us win, otherwise why hasn’t she attended class for so many days?"
Zhao Guangran was obviously thrilled. Knowing that Zhuge Mingshan always wanted to suppress them, now she not only failed but got blamed. She’s surely stewing with anger at home.
Zhao Guangran thought this outcome wasn’t bad enough, given her scheming. If she hadn’t been scheming, none of this would have happened. "It just shows, people shouldn’t do bad things, or karma will immediately come."
Karma? Bad things? Hearing this, Cao Na knew there was more to the story. Of course, she pulled Zhao Guangran to ask more questions.
How could Zhao Guangran keep secrets, especially since he’d been holding onto this for so long? If he didn’t find someone to vent to, he’d truly be on the brink of collapse. Now that someone wanted to listen, he couldn’t pass up the chance.
He described everything vividly, as if it were all true. If Gong Ruini hadn’t been directly involved, she might have believed it was that complicated. But the truth was, it wasn’t complicated at all.
Or rather, this hadn’t been confirmed, only very likely that Zhuge Mingshan was behind it.
Zhao Xuran winced. He had thought that recently Zhao Guangran had shown progress, understanding responsibility and team spirit, but still, he remained unreliable.
Fortunately, he only spoke to Cao Na; otherwise, the rumor could drive Zhuge Mingshan to the edge.
Even though Zhuge Mingshan was no longer the Zhuge Family’s favored third generation, she still had her capabilities. If stories were spread that badly, what if she’s driven to desperation?
While he didn’t think Zhuge Mingshan lacked the face to confront it all, one could never be certain how she’d react if cornered too severely.
Zhao Xuran coughed lightly to signal them to be cautious.
Zhao Guangran was really at a loss with his brother’s cautious nature. Even at home, he couldn’t talk freely. Sigh, really unsure how to proceed.
"Don’t worry, Brother Xu Ran, I won’t spread it." Cao Na was more sensible than Zhao Guangran and understood why Zhao Xuran was cautious.
"But if she’s so scheming, are you just going to let it go?" Cao Na had disliked Zhuge Mingshan for a long time, and she wasn’t blindly hateful; she’d researched Mingshan’s character thoroughly.
"She’s not one to suffer losses. After what she lost with you, she’ll definitely try to get back, maybe even to steal the recipe." Cao Na knew Zhuge Mingshan wasn’t a good person.
But she hadn’t expected such shamelessness, planning to take someone else’s recipe. Honestly, this outrageous behavior shocked Cao Na.
Considering how well Gong Ruini’s business was doing, many were envious; who would be so open about it? It was truly shameless.
"What about your plans to go to the Northeast? Your business?" Cao Na knew with so many quails laying eggs daily, the business couldn’t be ignored; it would be a loss.
"We’ll continue but stop retailing." Gong Ruini hadn’t expected their trial run with the hospital to be so successful.
The quail eggs, fried quails, and tea eggs business was doing so well they considered giving up on retail.
Making the same money, yet having to set up stalls and be watched? Luckily, they hadn’t expanded the business too much, marking it as earning living expenses. Still, if a year or two passes, would the locals remain unaffected?
Though nowadays people were good, many are envious, including the Zhuge Family — surely they’d take action.
Since people were watching, it was best to abandon the local business. Gong Ruini mostly felt she hadn’t had time to write or paint since starting the business, feeling she’d given up too much to earn money.
No retail? Well, Cao Na didn’t understand the concept but knew from Gong Ruini’s displeasure they likely wouldn’t set up stalls anymore.
This disappointed Cao Na, "You still doing quail eggs then?"
Though eating them constantly made them feel ordinary, the diet was plain, and Gong Ruini’s quail eggs and tea eggs tasted great, not to mention the fried quails were eagerly awaited by everyone.
"No way, can’t cut off my supply." Cao Na protested. "My family loves your tea eggs."
It wasn’t just about wanting them, they were comparable in price to the black market, so why take risks to buy there? Plus, they tasted good.
It was Zhuge Mingshan’s fault; if she hadn’t messed up, would Gong Ruini be reluctant to do retail?
Cao Na really wanted to teach Zhuge Mingshan a harsh lesson for her scheming.
"Don’t worry, good friends will definitely be taken care of." Anyone could be lacking, but not Cao Na’s family. Gong Ruini reassured that she’d have to trouble Cao Na to come over when needed.
As for the small request, Cao Na promised it wouldn’t be a problem; she’d definitely accomplish it.
The task wasn’t heavy, but seeing Cao Na’s serious expression surprised Gong Ruini.
Sigh, for foodies, being able to eat delicious food was truly a top priority.