Transmigrated as the Mary Sue: The Villainess's Revenge System | Chapter 46 | A Fresh Start | Novela.app

Unwilling to go to Han Geng’s home, the two took the long way back to Lan Mi’s house. "Please, have a seat..." Lan Mi stiffly invited Que Tang to sit on the sofa before heading into the kitchen to brew a pot of tea. Que Tang didn't touch it. Seeing that Que Tang had refused to meet her eyes from the very beginning, Lan Mi felt a pang of sorrow. She gave a self-deprecating smile. "I know that no matter how much I say, it won't help. I’ve done so many... things to let you down. It’s only right that you ignore me." "Didn't you say you were going to explain something about... rebirth? Just say it," Que Tang urged, her tone laced with impatience. Interrupted so abruptly, Lan Mi pursed her lips and swallowed the bitterness in her throat. "I knew from the start that you would apply to our company. Everything I did was indeed targeted at you. All of this is because... I was reborn." Que Tang frowned, her expression one of pure disbelief. "You must find it absurd," Lan Mi chuckled softly. "To be honest, I still find it hard to believe myself. In my past life, Wanqi Aotian really did fall in love with you and broke up with me, cutting ties completely. After giving her so much, I wasn't willing to let it go. I wanted revenge, but I was defeated by the two of you time and again. She even swallowed up my company... Finally, in my desperation, I tried to take you both down with me, but you escaped. I was alone in the driver's seat as the car plunged into the valley. I hit the ground hard and died." She gripped her bone china teacup, trying to let the warmth of the tea thaw her freezing palms. "When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back to the time before you applied for the job. At first, I thought it was all a dream. But as the things Wanqi Aotian had done began to happen one by one, I had to admit that I had encountered that most ridiculous of possibilities: rebirth." Que Tang let out a deep breath and picked up her teacup. "Lan Mi, regarding everything you've said... logically, I can understand it, but emotionally, I cannot accept it. You could have chosen a different path instead of obsessing over revenge and hurting..." She bit her lip, suppressing the emotions that threatened to spill out with her words. "Even if it really was a rebirth... even if I really did hurt you alongside her in that past life, I haven't done anything in this life, have I? I did my best to help you with every difficulty you faced at work. If you didn't love me, if you didn't want to see me, you could have just fired me..." Her eyelids drooped, trying to hide the shimmering tears. "Instead of pretending to love me while simultaneously exploiting my feelings." Her voice hitched, and a tear fell, blooming into a dark spot on her jeans. "Que Tang..." Lan Mi took Que Tang's hands as they rested on her lap and knelt before her, looking up at her. "You're right. I could have chosen not to hurt anyone. I am luckier than most; I was even given the chance of rebirth to make things right, to make a change. But I still chose the same path. I used you, I hurt you... I know I really... really don't deserve you." Her eyes grew red. "But... in all those lies, the only thing that was true is that I really do love you." "Things have already reached this point..." Que Tang interrupted coldly. "I gave the Wanqi shares back. We signed an agreement to buy back our respective equity at the original price." Que Tang was stunned. "I don't want any more entanglements with her. I also know that even though Wanqi Aotian isn't a good person, you would feel guilty for making her lose control of the group... and, I want to start over. Just as you said, as someone who was reborn, I can choose another path and stop immersing myself in a hatred that should have long since passed." Lan Mi lowered her head. "I don't dare ask you to be with me again right now... but at least, give me another chance to pursue you, okay?" She was terrified of Que Tang's answer, so she didn't dare look at her. Because she had been crying so intensely just a moment ago, Que Tang could only stare stiffly at the top of Lan Mi's head. *If I love her, I should probably give her another chance... if I don't want to make things hard for myself...* She thought for a long time—so long that Lan Mi, thinking there was no hope, slumped onto the floor in despair. "Mm..." Que Tang agreed, her voice nearly a whisper. Lan Mi looked up at her in disbelief. "Did you... did you just agree?" Seeing her shining eyes, Que Tang awkwardly turned her head away. "You still owe me unpaid wages." When the General Manager's assistant returned to work, everyone finally understood why the vacancy had never been posted: the General Manager had never actually accepted her resignation. With Que Tang's return, the company, which had been under a cloud of gloom, finally regained its vitality. Their General Manager—whose smile was like a spring breeze over Lugu Lake or autumn rain soaking Jiuzhaigou—had also returned. Que Tang's desk was moved back into the General Manager's office, and she became the third reason why the office door would be closed. As Que Tang's tenure grew longer, the door stayed closed for longer periods, to the point where whispers began circulating in the company asking for "Office.avi" links. "General Manager... please return to your own seat, alright?" Que Tang was currently checking the next quarter's budget plans submitted by various departments. This was a crucial task involving all major construction projects for the coming season. However, a certain someone kept sitting at her desk, staring at her, making it impossible to work. The employees' guesses were all wrong. The door was closed purely because Lan Mi was constantly neglecting her duties to stare at her. To prevent Lan Mi's professional image from crumbling, Que Tang had no choice but to sacrifice her own principles and keep the door shut. Lan Mi rested her chin on her hand, a permanent, gentle smile on her lips. "Que Tang... though it sounds cliché, if it weren't for you, I would definitely still be hating Wanqi Aotian, doing everything in my power to ruin her. But there's no meaning in that. My life is my own; why should I waste time and suffer for someone irrelevant? But..." She pulled Que Tang's hands away from the keyboard and held them tightly. "If it weren't for Wanqi Aotian, I wouldn't have known how wonderful you are. So, how can I waste time working when I could be looking at you?" Que Tang, who had been feeling uncharacteristically shy while listening to the beginning of the confession, felt all her touched emotions vanish instantly at the final sentence. In their place, a vein throbbed at her temple. "Lan Mi." She rarely addressed the other woman so directly by name. "Do you know what time it is?" "Hmm?" Lan Mi's eyes crinkled into crescents upon hearing Que Tang call her name. "It's already noon, and all morning you..." Mid-sentence, Que Tang realized she had uttered a "forbidden" word. "What? It's already noon?" Lan Mi interrupted, asking in a panic. She glanced at her watch and saw it was indeed twelve o'clock. She hurriedly left the office, went to the private pantry outside, and took a lunch box she had specially woken up early to prepare from the fridge. After heating it in the microwave, she carried it back into the office and placed it before Que Tang. "Tangtang, this is a new dish I made. Why don't you try it?" Que Tang's mouth twitched. Ever since she returned to work, the female lead had taken over all her meals, providing different dishes every day. While she was indeed happy to eat them... *General Manager, have you abandoned your career to go to culinary school?* *And isn't this method of pursuit a bit too cruel to a foodie?* She felt like she was about to fall in love. Under Lan Mi’s expectant yet anxious gaze, Que Tang picked up her chopsticks and took a bite. Que Tang's eyes immediately filled with tears. *How can it be this delicious?* It was worlds apart from the first time Lan Mi had cooked at her house. She looked at Lan Mi, who seemed to be waiting for praise. She cleared her throat. "It's very good." Lan Mi beamed. "That's good. I'll go back and study more recipes to make new dishes." "..." Que Tang felt like their roles had been swapped. The original female lead had become like a doting little wife, preparing everything for her, while she had become the "CEO" figure. She was being pampered into a pig... "Wait, wait a minute. If things are already this sweet, why hasn't the Happiness Value increased?" Que Tang asked with a headache. Although the value had jumped to eighty after she agreed to give Lan Mi another chance, it had been stuck there ever since. "Host, it's because your chastity is still intact. Keep working hard. I'm going to go eat some crackers, meow~" "Get lost!"