Chapter 61: Can't I Satisfy You? You Actually Snuck Out at Midnight to Find a Woman?

Su Dazhuang's face turned ghastly pale, his lips trembling: "I… I'm her father… I asking her for money is absolutely justified…"

"To hell with your 'justified'!"

Jiang Ran roared suddenly, and a fist slammed hard onto the table beside him!

The solid wood table let out an overburdened groan, and the tabletop instantly split with several cracks!

The tremendous force and terrifying aura made Wang Juhua let out a startled "Aoo", nearly fainting.

Su Yaozu also shivered in fear, daring not to speak again.

"I'll tell you!" Jiang Ran's gaze was knife‑sharp as it swept over them one by one. "Su Ruan is now my wife! She belongs to the Jiang Family! She has not the slightest connection with your Su Family!"

"Whatever you did to her before, I've kept a score in my heart! I didn't come after you because I spared RuanRuan's face, not wanting to get my hands dirty!"

He lunged, grabbing Su Dazhuang's collar, nearly lifting him off the ground, his eyes ferocious as if to kill: "If you dare harass her again, dare cause trouble in her shop again, dare make a move on her… I have plenty of ways to make you unable to survive in this territory!"

"Do you believe I can make your suffering a hundred times worse than now? If you don't, go ahead and try!"

He released his grip, shoving the terrified Su Dazhuang onto the ground, then coldly glanced at the trembling Wang Juhua like sifted chaff and the outwardly fierce yet inwardly timid Su Yaozu.

"Today, this is just a warning." Jiang Ran clapped his hands as if they were stained, "Next time, it won't be so cheap!"

After speaking, he no longer looked at the three Su family members collapsed on the floor, turned, and walked away with a composed yet icy stride, stepping over the door he had kicked to pieces, melting back into the night, leaving behind a house of dead silence and post‑disaster‑like terror.

Su Dazhuang lay sprawled on the ground, gasping heavily, his whole body drenched in cold sweat.

Wang Juhua clutched him, sobbing. Su Yaozu leaned against the wall, his calves still trembling.

They finally understood completely that Su Ruan was already a being they could not afford to provoke.

And Jiang Ran, behind her, was an even more ferocious beast they could never match.

From now on, not even the courage to approach Su Ruan, let alone ask for money, they likely lack.

Jiang Ran walked the road home, the night wind dispersing some of the malice clinging to him.

He looked up at the hazy moon, thinking of the sleeping Su Ruan, and his gaze softened again.

He didn't want these filthy matters to disturb her, so he would become the villain, clearing every obstacle that tried to harm her.

His wife only needs to be at ease, happy, and pursue her dreams.

Back at his home's gate, Jiang Ran silently vaulted over the courtyard wall, landing with almost no sound.

He brushed dust off himself, inhaled deeply, trying to dispel the lingering malice, put on a sleepy, lazy expression, and only then gently pushed open the bedroom door.

The room was pitch black, only the hazy moonlight outside the window outlining the furniture's vague shapes.

Feeling a little relieved, assuming Su Ruan was already sound asleep, he tiptoed like a thief toward the bedside, ready to slip in and pretend he had never left.

But just as his finger was about to touch the blanket corner, a crisp, cold voice rang abruptly in the darkness, like a bucket of ice water, instantly dousing all his subtle moves and pretenses.

"You still know how to come back?"

Jiang Ran's whole body froze, his movement halted completely, his heart feeling as if gripped by an invisible hand.

He turned his head stiffly, and by the faint moonlight, saw clearly the scene beside the bed—

Su Ruan was not sleeping.

She wore that water‑red silk nightgown, casually draped with a coat, sitting upright on the bed's edge.

Moonlight fell on half of her face, reflecting her calm, unruffled expression, but those clear eyes shone startlingly in the darkness, staring at him without blinking.

Jiang Ran's scalp tingled instantly, a fine layer of cold sweat seeping down his back.

That gaze… made his skin crawl more than when he had raged at the Su family earlier!

"Ruan… RuanRuan, you… you weren't sleeping?"

He spoke hoarsely, his voice tinged with barely perceptible guilt and nervousness.

Su Ruan didn't answer, merely tilting her head slightly, her tone still flat, yet it pierced Jiang Ran's heart like a soft knife.

"At this late hour, coming back all neatly dressed… what, am I not satisfying you? Do you need to sneak out at night… looking for another woman?"

"No! Absolutely not!"

Jiang Ran was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, nearly leapt up, his voice raising a few pitches, then suddenly realized he'd disturb his family, quickly lowered his voice, and explained with a flushed, frantic face.

"Wife! What nonsense are you spouting! How could I ever look for another woman! If I, Jiang Ran, did such a thing, may heaven and thunder strike me!"

He broke into a cold sweat on his forehead, wanting to rush forward and embrace Su Ruan, but her cold gaze pinned him in place, and he dared not act.

He felt suffocated to death inside; he didn't want Su Ruan to know he'd once again stirred trouble with the Su family, fearing she'd think him impulsive and hurt her feelings, yet he absolutely could not tolerate any misunderstanding on her part.

"Then where did you go?" Su Ruan pressed, her tone revealing neither joy nor anger.

"I… I…"

Jiang Ran stammered, his gaze drifting, his large hand unconsciously scratching the back of his head.

That look was just like a large dog caught doing something wrong, ears drooping, both pitiful and awkward.

"I just… just can't sleep, went out… to stroll, to get some fresh air…"

"Stroll?" Su Ruan repeated lightly, the ending slightly rising, clearly doubtful, "Strolling requires scaling walls?"

Jiang Ran was at a loss for words, his handsome face flushed red, throat stuck, unable to articulate, only able to clumsily repeat, "Anyway… it's not what you think!"

"You're the only one in my heart, the only one!"

Seeing his awkwardness, eager to prove loyalty yet refusing to tell the truth, Su Ruan had already guessed about seventy‑or‑eighty percent of it in her heart.

The fact that he could sneak out in the dead of night, yet find it so hard to speak, was most likely for her, to get back at those few members of the Su family.

Douzi and Yaya's looks at Jiang Ran today were off; they probably reported something secretly.

She felt both angry and amused inside, mixed with an indescribable warm current.

She was irritated by his impulsiveness, laughed at his clumsy concealment, but what warmed her was his unreserved, almost overprotective devotion.

Su Ruan stopped pressing, simply watching him quietly.

That calm gaze, however, carried an invisible pressure that made Jiang Ran increasingly panicked, his head bowing lower and lower, almost burying into his chest, his whole being exuding a grievance of "I'm wrong but I have reasons."

Finally, Su Ruan let out a soft sigh, rose from the bedside, and walked up to him.

Jiang Ran felt her approach, his body tightened even more, already prepared for further questioning or a beating.

However, the anticipated questioning did not arrive.

A slightly cool, soft hand gently landed on the top of his head, with a soothing intent, kneading his stiff short hair.

Jiang Ran jerked his head up, meeting Su Ruan's eyes, which bore a trace of helplessness and even more tenderness.

Then, Su Ruan stretched out both hands, cupped his face, forcing him to look straight at herself.

Her fingertips were slightly cool, yet the sensation was unusually clear.

In the moonlight, her face was gentle and beautiful, her gaze focused.

"Jiang Ran," she whispered, her voice brushing his heart like a night wind, "I know you did it for me."