The Villainess Is Pretending to Be Sweet Again Today (Transmigration) - Chapter 41

“There’s nothing to discuss,” Long Huaichang said indifferently. “I just went to see my father.”

Lu Jin was silent for a long moment before asking, “You went to see your father?”

The Long family’s private cemetery didn’t allow outsiders to enter—only Long family members and certain high-ranking company executives could visit. That was why Long Huaichang had never gone before.

Hearing this, Lu Jin couldn’t help but ask, “Then… did you see your grandmother too?”

“Yeah,” Long Huaichang replied flatly. “I saw her. Why?”

“She… doesn’t have the best temper. Did she say anything to you?”

“No.”

“What about the chairman? Did she say anything?”

Long Huaichang fell silent. She knew what Lu Jin was getting at. After a long pause, she finally said, “She wants me to move back into the Long residence.”

Lu Jin seemed taken aback by this. Holding her phone, she said, “My father suspects she might be planning to groom you as the next heir. He says that even though it looks like the chairman is in charge right now, the old lady still holds some shares and assets. She probably thinks that with Long Yingjun dead, as long as she has control over you, she can take everything from the Long family.”

“Actually, my father and the other shareholders all think there’s something suspicious about Long Yingjun’s death. Two people dying in accidents within a year? And this time, it was a plane explosion—doesn’t that seem strange to you?”

Long Huaichang listened quietly and only spoke after Lu Jin finished. “Thanks for the warning. I understand.”

“Huai,” Lu Jin said, “my father still wants to talk to you. It’s not just for our family’s sake, but for the sake of everyone in the Long family. If you ever have time, give me a call.”

“Thanks,” Long Huaichang replied, her tone still calm. “If I have time, I will.”

After hanging up, Long Huaichang felt completely drained. The good mood she’d woken up with had evaporated after that one phone call.

She tossed her phone aside, washed up in the bathroom, then went downstairs to buy breakfast. There was no way Nuo Yang would be up this early—she’d definitely go back to sleep.

Sure enough, by the time Long Huaichang returned with breakfast, Nuo Yang was just stumbling downstairs, still half-asleep.

“Xiao Huai, who called you earlier?” Nuo Yang asked as she headed toward the bathroom.

“Lu Jin,” Long Huaichang answered. “She said she’s taking a break and won’t be tutoring me over winter vacation.”

“Oh,” Nuo Yang nodded, not doubting Long Huai’s explanation, and disappeared into the bathroom.

After the sound of running water and brushing teeth, Nuo Yang finally emerged.

“Jiejie, you’re going to be late,” Long Huaichang said, packing the breakfast into a container to take to the office.

Nuo Yang waved it off. “So what if I’m late? I stayed up late last night—it’s only natural.”

Long Huaichang frowned. “Jiejie, you’re about to get fired. You really shouldn’t be late again.”

Nuo Yang: “…”

This kid really didn’t know how to wish her well!!!

“Actually, I’m pretty rich,” Nuo Yang declared righteously. “Even if we both stayed home all day, we’d never run out of money.”

Long Huaichang replied dryly, “Collecting rent, are we?”

Nuo Yang bristled and retorted, “You’re the landlady!”

The two bickered for a while before Nuo Yang finally managed to explain to Long Huaichang that the company was actually hers. Long Huaichang fell silent for a long moment upon hearing this, then finally handed Nuo Yang the breakfast she had brought.

“Sis,” Long Huaichang said, “don’t lie to me just because you don’t want to work. I still have tuition to pay next semester.”

Nuo Yang happily took the breakfast from her and chirped, “I’ve already set aside money for your college and study abroad. Don’t worry—just eat up!”

After breakfast, the two took the bus to the company. Long Huaichang couldn’t understand why Nuo Yang, supposedly a wealthy woman, didn’t even have her own car and had to rely on walking everywhere—commuting, grocery shopping, and all.

But she felt too awkward to ask, so she pretended not to notice.

When they arrived at the company, the receptionist greeted them without even mentioning that they were half an hour late.

“Xiao Nuo, HR was looking for you earlier,” the receptionist relayed. “Something about the Spring Festival company party.”

Nuo Yang blinked. “Just do it the same way as last year, no?”

This was her first time being the boss, and she was clueless about most things.

“Before, we always did it together with headquarters. Now that we’re independent, HR wants to discuss it with you.”

“Tell them to talk to the general manager instead. I wouldn’t know what to say.”

The receptionist, seeing Nuo Yang’s genuine confusion, nodded in agreement.

Just then, the general manager—who seemed to exist solely to handle such matters—walked in from outside and asked, “What’s up?”

“It’s about the Spring Festival party and holiday arrangements.”

“Oh, I’ll handle that with them.”

Relieved that the task wouldn’t fall on her, Nuo Yang quickly dragged Long Huaichang into the meeting room.

As Long Huaichang set down the sunflower seeds from her bag, she found herself mostly convinced that Nuo Yang really was wealthy. It didn’t seem like the kind of lie someone would tell just to save face.

Once Long Huaichang had arranged her test papers and stationery, Nuo Yang said, “Xiao Huai, I’ll get to work now. You have fun here.”

“Mm,” Long Huaichang smiled. “Go on, Sis.”

No sooner had Nuo Yang settled into her seat than Cheng Bai wheeled her chair over.

“Xiao Nuo,” she said, “did you hear? Long Yingjun from the Long family died.”

Nuo Yang’s heart skipped a beat. Of course, she knew—if anything, Long Yingjun’s death had a little something to do with her.

Seeing Nuo Yang’s expression darken, Cheng Bai continued, “Should we go with the media group to the Long family’s private cemetery tomorrow? Pay our respects and maybe snap some photos?”

“Will they allow that?”

“Not sure, but all the major outlets are talking about it, spinning all kinds of wild theories. I’ve got a friend at a TV station who says she can sneak one of us in.”

Nuo Yang gave her a puzzled look. Ever since becoming the boss, she’d paid little attention to such matters. Back when she was just a lowly editor, her presence—or absence—had hardly made a difference anyway.

“What are people saying about the Long family these days?” Nuo Yang asked curiously.

Cheng Bai explained, “There are many theories, but the most convincing one is that after Long Yingjun’s death, the Long family lacks a suitable heir—the younger ones are all too small, some still in the womb, so they’re out of the question. On the first day of the funeral, I heard the Long family’s illegitimate daughter also showed up. Not sure if she has anything to do with the inheritance.”

Nuo Yang’s eyes widened. “The heir?”

Recalling how Long Huaichang had mentioned yesterday that the woman wanted her to move back into the Long residence, combined with Cheng Bai’s words today, Nuo Yang felt her heart clench.

Noticing Nuo Yang’s troubled expression, Cheng Bai asked with concern, “Xiao Nuo, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Nuo Yang quickly replied. “We can only go tomorrow?”

“Yeah, the media team can only enter tomorrow.”

Nuo Yang thought it over. Since the first wife and her assistant had already seen her, showing up at the cemetery again might be inappropriate and could cause trouble for Long Huaichang. After a moment’s consideration, she asked, “Who’s going tomorrow?”

Chu Kexin popped up eagerly. “Me, of course!”

Seeing Chu Kexin’s confident demeanor, Nuo Yang knew she’d handle the task well and reminded her, “Make sure to take plenty of photos—see if any of them are useful.”

“Got it!” Chu Kexin rolled up her sleeves. “I’m waiting to snap pictures of the Long family’s illegitimate daughter. I won’t miss a single eligible young girl!”

Meanwhile, the Long family’s illegitimate daughter was doing homework in the conference room. Growing restless, Long Huaichang reached out to scratch Guazi’s chubby cheeks, then poked them with a mechanical pencil.

Guazi flicked her tail and let out a big yawn in the warmth of the conference room.

Long Huaichang glanced at her phone—it was already 11 a.m., time to order takeout.

Unsure which nearby restaurants were good, she decided to step out and ask Nuo Yang what she wanted for lunch. As soon as she left the conference room, she spotted Nuo Yang across the hall, talking to a few colleagues.

Noticing Long Huaichang, Nuo Yang wrapped up her conversation and walked over.

“What are you doing out here?” Nuo Yang asked, puzzled. “Finished your homework?”

“Nope,” Long Huaichang replied. There was no way she could finish all those worksheets. “What are we having for lunch? It’s time to order.”

“Oh, it’s already this late?” Nuo Yang said in surprise. “I’ve been so caught up with the annual party prep all morning, I didn’t even notice.”

“Annual party?” Long Huaichang asked. “What’s that?”

Nuo Yang explained, “It’s an event before the Spring Festival holiday where everyone gets together to sing, dance, and hand out year-end bonuses.”

Long Huaichang nodded. “Aren’t you going back to your hometown for Spring Festival, sis?”

“No, there’s no family left there anyway.”

Besides, it wasn’t like she could go back even if she wanted to!

Long Huaichang smiled. “I don’t have family either. Let’s spend it together.”

Nuo Yang grinned. “That’s what I was thinking. I wonder if we can set off fireworks here. How about we go up to the rooftop for fireworks during the festival?”

Their apartment building had a large open space on the roof, complete with a greenhouse and benches set up by residents. It would be perfect for fireworks.

Long Huaichang’s eyes curved into crescents. “Sounds great. Let’s do it together.”

After the Spring Festival, her birthday wasn’t far away.

Long Huaichang had never looked forward to her birthday so eagerly before, because in just a few more months, she would finally become an adult…