Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1260: Contact

“Hahaha! Just kidding, just kidding.” Ren Ziling laughed dryly, not looking the least bit embarrassed.

She was the type who warmed up to people instantly. Seeing that Song Ying was struggling a little, she covered her mouth with her hand and smirked. “But honestly, you really scared me at first. I thought a company that big—its president, even if not middle-aged, shouldn’t be that young… and a woman on top of that.”

Song Ying was annoyed inside but resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She smiled politely. “I didn’t intend to hide anything. It’s just that even if I said it from the beginning, not many people would believe it anyway… Sit, don’t stand.”

The two beautiful women sat facing each other.

Ren Ziling recalled their meeting that day. “Wait… didn’t you say you were in the acting department?”

Song Ying blinked. “I did minor in stage acting, that’s true. But my main job was managing my family’s business.”

Seeing Ren Ziling immediately start taking notes, not letting even a sliver of information slip by, Song Ying was slightly surprised… she actually liked serious employees.

But their identities were strangely tangled. Song Ying couldn’t help thinking about it.

Ren Ziling’s company had been secretly acquired by her. Technically, she was the hidden boss above Editor-in-chief Ren… But the company was nominally under Luo Qiu. According to cliché palace-drama logic, Auntie Ren was essentially the “empress dowager” of the new company—and Song Ying herself was actually working for Luo Qiu.

She knew all these complicated ties clearly, but Ren Ziling had no idea… yet here they were: one interviewing, one being interviewed.How was this not all that deadpan guy’s fault…? Miss Ying complained silently in her heart.

“Family business?” As soon as Ren Ziling entered reporter mode, she put aside her personal curiosity. “Mm, I read the introduction in the invitation letter. Your company aims to make a big impact in biotechnology. Miss Song, could you give a rough overview of your company?”

“Of course,” Song Ying smiled gently.

What followed was a simple and somewhat dry round of questions and answers.

Ren Ziling felt that this young, beautiful CEO was far from simple. Song Ying never directly dodged her questions—she revealed some things while making others open to interpretation. Even the sharper questions were only lightly deflected. In her many years of work, this was one of the trickiest interview types she’d handled.

Unknowingly, forty minutes passed.

Song Ying suddenly said, “Miss Ren, I’ll have my assistant prepare a more detailed set of materials for you later.”

Ren Ziling froze and instinctively glanced at the time… So the interview was ending. But she had already gathered more than enough material—more than expected, in fact. Since they were even offering extra documents, she had no reason to be dissatisfied.

“Then, in that case, I—”

Before she could finish, Song Ying suddenly said, “Can I call you Sister Ren?”

“What?”

Song Ying’s voice softened. “I don’t know why, but the moment I first saw you, I felt you were especially approachable—like a big sister to me. I haven’t been here for long, and strictly speaking, Sister Ren, you’re the first friend I’ve made.”

Why did this feel like a setup…? Auntie Ren couldn’t help thinking, but she couldn’t identify what she could possibly be tricked for. Public relations? There were far better media outlets out there. As for taking advantage of anything else… She still had twenty years of mortgage and three years of car loans. Sure, she got a promotion, but she was still very much in the struggling-worker category.

“No problem,” Ren Ziling replied without overthinking it. From a journalist’s perspective, befriending influential people was never a bad thing. Even shallow connections could prove useful one day.

But as a woman, her sixth sense suddenly tingled. She felt the mysterious heiress investing in China didn’t seem to be targeting her.

“Speaking of which, how did you and my kid get to know each other?” Ren Ziling asked cautiously after giving herself an imaginary IQ boost. “You studied abroad… How could you have been classmates with Luo Qiu?”

“You guess.” Song Ying smiled mysteriously.

It must have been recently… Ren Ziling began consciously piecing things together. Now that she thought about it, Luo Qiu had gone on several trips in the past year. And she actually had no idea what he had been doing since dropping out.

The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed… She had never actively tried to look into it. She didn’t even remember wanting to. That wasn’t normal.

People said pregnancy lowers IQ… but she didn’t even have a man!

Was she just getting old…?

Seeing Ren Ziling’s suspicious expression, Song Ying lifted a corner of her lips and said something that sent Auntie Ren’s imagination into overdrive. “Sister Ren, if I told you Luo Qiu and I are bound by life and death, would you believe it?”

“Life… and death!” Ren Ziling was shocked. She blurted out, “Life and death to what extent! No—what happened? Wait… is this another act?”

Song Ying only smiled without answering.

Ren Ziling felt this girl had a witch-like personality—impossible to grasp. She shook her head, slightly annoyed. Her tone cooled. “Miss Song, I’m just a small reporter. My family is ordinary, nothing special. I might offend you by saying this, but I still need to say it. If you sincerely want to make friends, even if it’s above my league, I won’t mind. But if Miss Song only wants to tease or play around… then I’ll have to decline.”

Just like that dead kid… changing faces instantly.

Miss Ying felt things were backfiring. She spoke pitifully, “Sister Ren, I wasn’t trying to tease you. It’s just… he doesn’t want me to say it. I—I’m afraid he’ll get mad.”

Acting! Keep acting!

This woman is so bad!

Ren Ziling remained expressionless inside, half-believing and half-doubting.

Song Ying felt like she had wrapped herself into a cocoon. With a helpless sigh, she said, “Miss Ren, I’m really sorry for causing so many misunderstandings. This exclusive interview… it’s actually just a small compensation for tricking you last time. Luo Qiu and I only met by coincidence. I don’t have any intentions. Please don’t misunderstand.”

This explanation made Ren Ziling more inclined to believe her… or rather, it made more sense.

She nodded, accepting the explanation. A rich heiress managing her family business, a bit willful and eccentric—that was nothing unusual. And she hadn’t truly offended her either. She was just confused why Song Ying suddenly softened so much.

“Since we’ve cleared things up, it’s fine.” Ren Ziling smiled. “Miss Song, I know you’re busy. Since the interview is done, I won’t disturb you. Of course, if Miss Song thinks of me for future interviews, I’d be very happy… Thank you for accepting today’s interview.”

Song Ying opened her mouth, wanting to say something to make her stay, but couldn’t get the words out. She felt stifled and uncomfortable—it wasn’t supposed to go like this.

“I’ll walk you out,” she finally squeezed out.

Right as they were about to reach the door, Auntie Ren suddenly turned around. Song Ying was caught off guard when she heard Ren Ziling suspiciously say:

“Tell me… you’re not interested in that brat from my family, are you?”

“I… how could I possibly like that dead—” Song Ying abruptly stopped, her ears warming behind the tips.

“Oh~” Auntie Ren narrowed her eyes. Compared to the earlier, reasonable explanation, her sixth sense leaned far more toward this expression of Song Ying’s… Auntie Ren smiled sweetly. “But your opponent is quite formidable, you know! Still, I won’t interfere in young people’s affairs, so… good luck~”

Song Ying was unable to utter a single word even after Ren Ziling left with her usual flair.

…

Ziyun later brewed a pot of coffee and brought it over, only to find Song Ying resting her cheek in her hand, sitting on the cushion in the lounge area, staring out the window in a daze.

“Miss, you couldn’t find out anything about Young Master Qiu’s girlfriend?”

“What are you talking about!” Song Ying huffed, displeased. “Why do you make it sound like I want to know! That dead guy is still a descendant of the Song family, and he’ll definitely inherit the Song family’s assets from Grandpa in the future! Of course I have a duty to investigate clearly. How could I allow some sketchy woman to enter the family!”

“Yes, yes, Miss is completely right,” Ziyun said with a smile. “It’s all for the Song family!”

Song Ying shot her a sideways look and snorted. “You’re not allowed to play with your phone!”

“Then… can I apply to return to the academy for retraining?”

“I’ll ‘retrain’ you myself first!” Song Ying sneered, suddenly pouncing on Ziyun and pinning her onto the tatami, immediately reaching out to grab her.

“Miss… no…! The instructor didn’t teach this course… ah~”

…

…

Toward evening, when Nan Xiaonan returned to the apartment building, her phone suddenly received a text. She glanced at it and froze.

The sender was Ren Ziling, asking if she wanted to come stay at her home for a while. The tone was extremely sincere.

Nan Xiaonan was quite tempted… She knew Ren Ziling’s true situation, and naturally understood that staying by this woman’s side would push her safety level instantly to MAX.

But whose idea was this…? Had Mr. Luo allowed it?

Before figuring things out, Nan Xiaonan didn’t intend to act rashly—she pressed the elevator button and stepped inside, still thinking about the Auston Pharmaceuticals matter.

The night the underground cultivation pods exploded, she slipped away in the chaos. The next night, she actually went back again to investigate, but Auston Pharmaceuticals suddenly caught fire that night.

She had no choice but to give up for the moment—but what she found strange was that the people originally lurking around her to monitor her seemed to have been withdrawn. At least, in her true vision, she no longer sensed any danger.

Looks like she still needed to investigate Auston Pharmaceuticals again… I’ll go again tonight, she thought, stepping out of the elevator and pulling out her apartment key.

Someone was inside.

Her pupils contracted slightly, but she didn’t hesitate. Without even pausing, she unlocked the door and walked in.

She saw a man standing before the bookshelf next to the computer desk, holding a photo frame—one that Ren Ziling had broken earlier, and which Nan Xiaonan had casually replaced. It was part of the “Nan Xiaonan” identity’s belongings.

She looked him over.

She remembered he had been in the underground lab that night—Mr. House’s assistant. At the end of that night, he had secretly sabotaged her. Thinking back, she even suspected the final explosion of the cultivation pod was also connected to him.

His name was… Jimmy?

Click.

She gently closed the door and placed her hand on the circuit breaker near the entrance. A dark red mark faintly appeared on her palm and merged silently into the switch.

“I don’t recall giving my key to an outsider,” she said coolly.

Jimmy—“Tang Tianlin”—put the frame down and turned around. After examining her for a moment, he finally said, “Relax, Forensic Nan. I didn’t come here today to deal with you.”

Nan Xiaonan laughed coldly and stepped into the living room. “Really? I don’t believe someone who arranged ambushers all around my home with orders to kill me has no intention of dealing with me.”

“Tang Tianlin” sat down. “Those people—I’ve withdrawn them all. No one is watching you anymore… and no one will touch you. You can rest easy.”

“How considerate of you.”

“Tang Tianlin” frowned slightly, puzzled. “When did your skills become this good? That night…”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Nan Xiaonan stood still.

He studied her again, confused, then shook his head. “You’ve changed… though maybe I never really understood you.”

“I don’t understand you either,” she replied casually.

He thought for a moment, then said suddenly, “House is almost finished. Auston Pharmaceuticals is now under my control.”

“So what?”

Tang Tianlin looked at her. “You know why I was born. You were one of the participants in the project back then. Now that I’ve betrayed House, you should understand.”

Understand your head… She laughed bitterly inside. She had simply been dragged into this sub-world and forced to inherit the identity of “Nan Xiaonan”!

“You came to tell me about your ambition?” she sneered.

Tang Tianlin shook his head, expression serious. “Miss Nan, I want to invite you to participate in the experiment again. Also, I’ve already obtained information about the Perfect Man cell…”

Her lips parted.

The Perfect Man cell is… what?

(End of Chapter)

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