Chapter 35: Your Husband—My Taste Is Good, Right?

Soon, Dog Egg lifted a blackish Magnetite Stone and ran back.

Jiang Ran took the Magnetite Stone, and under everyone's breath‑held, focused gaze, slowly approached the Gold Ring on Su Yanhua's finger.

Su Yanhua tried to pull her hand back, but Jiang Ran seized her wrist in one grip, the force so great she could not move.

The Magnetite Stone drew ever nearer…

The moment it touched the ring—

"Pa—!"

A faint crisp sound, and the Gold Ring actually shifted slightly, firmly sticking to the Magnetite Stone!

Silence!

Dead silence!

Everyone stared dumbfounded at the so‑called Gold Ring clutched by the Magnetite Stone.

The truth was laid bare!

"Heh."

Jiang Ran released his grip, looking at the pallid, trembling Su Yanhua with sarcasm, then glanced at the nearly fainted Liu Wen Bin.

"Su Yanhua, is this all the sentiment you claimed? A copper‑plated fake can fool you completely."

"Liu Wen Bin, you really can, using a fake ring to fool your own wife? Such sincerity is truly one of a kind!"

Jiang Ran's words caused the crowd to burst open with a booming "Boom—."

"Heavens! It's really fake!"

"How could Liu Wen Bin do this?!"

"Thanks that Su Yanhua just now was so moved and flaunted…"

"Now her face is totally ruined!"

"Truly… know the person and the face but not the heart!"

Su Yanhua stared at the fake ring still wobbling on the Magnetite Stone, while hearing the merciless ridicule and gossip around her, feeling the world spin, as if a layer of skin had been torn from her face, burning hot with pain!

It was a humiliation thousands of times greater than when Su Ruan had just escorted her away in glory.

She snatched the fake ring off in one swift motion, smashed it hard onto the ground, producing a crisp "ding," then glared at the ashen‑faced Liu Wen Bin as if he were an enemy.

"Liu Wen Bin! You're not human—!!"

After shouting this, Su Yanhua could no longer bear the continuous blows; her vision blackened, her anger surged, and she straight‑up fell backward, fainting.

"Yanhu a! Yanhu a!" Wang Juhua and Da Zhuang were scared out of their wits, quickly rushed forward to hold her.

The courtyard instantly descended into chaos.

Jiang Ran looked on with cold eyes at this farce sparked by vanity and deceit, feeling no sympathy at all.

He bent down, picked up the few bags of Gift Sweets and cigarettes that were to be handed out, and casually

"Madam, soak up some happiness."

After saying that, he never glanced at the chaotic scene again, turned, slipped his hands into his pockets, whistled lightly, and leisurely walked toward the little sedan waiting at the alley entrance.

No matter how the Su family behind him turned into a mess of chickens and dogs, crying to the heavens and seizing the earth, it was irrelevant to him and his cherished ones.

Jiang Ran returned to the little sedan, flung open the door and slipped inside.

Inside the car, Su Ruan was being pulled to each side by Li Huijuan and Jiang Nainai,

Seeing him return, Su Ruan gave him a questioning look.

"It's nothing," Jiang Ran said, waving his hand indifferently, flashing a hearty grin, "I just dropped something, went back to hand out the Gift Sweets."

He didn't want those sour affairs to spoil his wife's good mood today.

Su Ruan, seeing the sly, relaxed look in his eyes, understood a bit, didn't ask further, just gave a faint smile and handed him a bottle of soda that had just been uncapped.

"Are you tired? Have some water."

Jiang Ran took the soda, gulped it down with a gurgling sound, the icy liquid sliding down his throat, washing away the final trace of irritation from the Su family's mess.

He gazed at Su Ruan's serene profile, her skin becoming even whiter against the red wedding dress, feeling a huge sense of satisfaction and happiness fill his heart.

The little sedan moved smoothly along the street, drawing the sideways glances of countless passersby.

In this era, arriving at a wedding in a little sedan was definitely a matter of great face.

The Jiang Family's banquet this time was held at the Guoying Hotel; though not ultra‑luxurious, it was arranged to the highest standards, with chicken, duck, fish, meat all present, fine wine, cigarettes, sweets, and tea, spanning over a dozen tables. The guests invited were close relatives, friends, and colleagues and leaders with ties to the factory and hospital.

When Jiang Ran carefully took Su Ruan's hand and stepped into the festively decorated hotel lobby, every gaze instantly converged on them.

The groom was tall and handsome, his brows radiating undeniable vigor and pride; the bride, however, stunned everyone.

Su Ruan wore no heavy makeup, no jeweled hair ornaments; only a modest touch of gold accessories at her neck and wrists, yet she possessed a natural, unadorned beauty like a lotus emerging from clear water—graceful, dignified, instantly outshining the fashion‑forward, garishly dressed girls around her.

"My heavens, where did this kid Jiang Ran find such a celestial‑like bride?"

"This girl is truly stunning! This outfit is also beautiful, I've never seen such a style!"

"Word has it she's from the old Su family of the machinery plant? Can the old Su family produce such a lady?"

"Factory Director Jiang's family—this time they've truly married a treasure!"

Words of praise and chatter filled the air nonstop.

Jiang Jianguo and Li Huijuan listened, their faces lit with extra brightness, smiles never fading.

Jiang Nainai, pulling her old sisters along, proudly introduced her granddaughter‑in‑law.

Jiang Ran held Su Ruan's hand tightly, feeling the slight coolness and softness of her palm, listening to the surrounding compliments, his chest swelling even higher.

He turned his head, lowered his voice, and with a mischievous pride whispered into Su Ruan's ear, "Hear that? Everyone's praising my wife! Your husband—my eye is good, huh?"

Su Ruan's ears warmed slightly; she scolded him with a glance, yet a faint smile blossomed in her eyes.

The wedding ceremony was simple and warm. Under the MC's guidance, the couple bowed to the Jiang Family parents and guests, completing the rites.

The toasting segment turned into Jiang Ran's grand "Show‑off Wife" showcase.

"Zhang Shu, Li Yi, this is my daughter‑in‑law, Su Ruan!"

"Wang Ge, Liu Jie, come see my daughter‑in‑law!"

"RuanRuan, this is Zhao Bo, dad's old superior…"

He could hardly wait to proclaim Su Ruan's ownership to the whole world; that treasured, proud look made anyone see that he truly loved his newlywed wife, utterly dispelling earlier rumors that he was "incapable, didn't know how to be gentle."

Su Ruan also behaved poised and graceful, with proper manners, a gentle voice; she called people when she should, Toasting when appropriate, gave Jiang Ran plenty of face, and made the Jiang Family's relatives and friends like her even more.

A wedding banquet, host and guests all delighted.

Meanwhile, over at the Su family, it was a completely different scene.

Su Yanhua was publicly exposed by Jiang Ran for wearing a Fake Ring; enraged and overwhelmed, she fainted, was revived by a pinch to the philtrum, and then began endless crying, wailing, and curses.

She cursed Liu Wen Bin as a cowardly scoundrel, a liar; she called Su Ruan a Fox Spirit, a Broom Star; she wished Jiang Ran a miserable death… she raved like a lunatic.

Liu Wen Bin's face turned ashen, enduring her blows and curses without a word.

His inner humiliation and regret gnawed at him like poisonous insects.

To satisfy Su Yanhua's vanity, he was led astray by a street vendor's hype, spent most of the money from selling watches to buy this copper‑plated ring that could pass as genuine, intending to keep the rest for household expenses… but the result turned out exactly like this.

Wang Juhua and Da Zhuang watched their crying daughter and stone‑stiff son‑in‑law, then looked at the desolate scene with not even a proper bridal procession, and felt their faces had been completely disgraced.

Originally hoping their daughter would marry a cultured person and bring them honor, now it seemed the day was already a mess before it even began.

In the end, the wedding was almost hastily concluded.

The Liu family's relatives who came to fetch the bride also felt embarrassed, reluctantly helped the still‑crying and wailing Su Yanhua onto a shabby three‑wheeler, and, amid strange stares and pointing, left the Su family in a sullen retreat.

Su Yanhua's dream of marrying off the illustrious "Professor's wife" turned into a complete, utter joke.