Chapter 7: Someone Actually Still Wants to Marry Him?

"Ah! I'm going right now!" Jiang Ran cheerfully replied, and rushed back to his own room.

On the other side, Su Ruan said goodbye to Jiang Ran, but did not immediately return home.

That suffocating home, even a moment later was still just a moment.

She tucked the few dimes Wang Juhua had slipped to her that morning for her to "dress up," and aimlessly strolled the streets, getting familiar with this 1980s small town.

On both sides of the street were mostly grayish low-rise buildings, walls painted with slogans, pedestrians dressed in blue, gray or green tones, bicycle bells ringing incessantly, and occasionally an old-fashioned car would pass by, drawing many glances.

As she walked, a sudden fierce argument erupted ahead, causing passersby to turn their heads.

A man in a blue work uniform, looking somewhat respectable, was loudly berating a woman in an off‑white knit sweater and black trousers, his tone extremely harsh.

"Jiang Jiaojiao! That's enough! How long are you going to cause a scene?! I told you I'm just a regular colleague with that female comrade, why are you being so unreasonable!"

The woman named Jiang Jiaojiao turned pale with anger, yet tried to stay composed: "Zhang Jianmin, stop spouting nonsense! Would a regular colleague write you that kind of letter at midnight? Slip Snowflake Ointment into your drawer? Do you think I'm a fool!"

"You chase shadows every day, suspecting everything, like a mad woman constantly probing me here and there!"

"I've had enough of you! Look at yourself now—where's any dignity of an intellectual? You're just a tigress!"

The man grew increasingly vulgar, his finger nearly poking Jiang Jiaojiao's face; people around pointed and whispered, but no one stepped forward.

Jiang Jiaojiao trembled all over from his words, her eyes instantly reddened—not from grievance, but from anger and humiliation.

Her proper upbringing prevented her from making a scene on the street, and for a moment she was so blocked she couldn't speak.

"I'm telling you, Jiang Jiaojiao, if you keep stirring up trouble like this, forget about this match; I wonder who could tolerate a woman like you!" Zhang Jianmin shouted louder.

Su Ruan hadn't intended to meddle, but hearing words like "mad woman" and "tigress," and seeing the man's arrogant face, a spark of righteous anger flared within her.

She stepped a few strides forward; her voice wasn't loud, yet clearly rose above the man's shouting, carrying a naturally soft, mellow tone with an undercurrent of chill.

"You, sir, just talk, point fingers, spew filthy words—this is your dignity?"

The sudden voice made Zhang Jianmin and Jiang Jiaojiao both pause, turning to look at her.

Zhang Jianmin, seeing a strange young girl who was indeed very beautiful but poorly dressed, sneered, "Who are you? Our business doesn't concern you. Get out of here!"

Su Ruan ignored him, turning to Jiang Jiaojiao, her tone softened: "Sister, reasoning with a man who can't understand human words and only uses volume and shouting to mask his insecurity and incompetence is useless."

As soon as she said that, someone among the onlookers couldn't help but let out a snickering laugh.

Zhang Jianmin's face flushed red: "What nonsense are you spouting? Who's insecure? Who's incompetent!"

"Isn't that so?"

Su Ruan turned her head, her gaze sharp as she stared at him, as if she could see through the filth in his heart.

"If you were truly open, why would you publicly humiliate your own partner to prove it?"

"True dignity is respecting your partner and solving problems, not barking like a dog whose tail has been stepped on, trying to scare and question the other."

"Your behavior just now was truly demeaning and also pitiful."

"You! You!"

Zhang Jianmin was left speechless, especially by Su Ruan's "dog whose tail was stepped on" comment; his forehead veins throbbed with anger, but he couldn't find a rebuttal against the sharp‑tongued girl.

Jiang Jiaojiao stared in shock at the suddenly appearing stranger who defended her; every word was incisive, striking the core, voicing everything she wanted to say but was restrained from expressing due to her status and upbringing.

Looking at Zhang Jianmin's twisted, deflated face, a sudden sense of exhilaration and gratitude rose within her.

"Also," Su Ruan tilted her head slightly, adopting a thoughtful expression, her voice still soft yet fully lethal, "you called this sister a tigress?"

"But from my perspective, the sister is cultured and generous, and even when forced into such a position she still tries to reason."

"On the contrary, you, brandishing claws, hurling insults, acting crudely... in fact, you resemble that 'tiger' even more, but it's paper‑thin, shatters with a poke, and only knows how to howl."

"Hahaha!" At this point, the onlookers couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter.

Zhang Jianmin had never been so humiliated in his life; a Huang Mao girl cursed him on the street, prompting the crowd's ridicule.

He trembled with fury, pointing at Su Ruan and shouting "you" for a long while; finally he stamped his foot hard and roared at Jiang Jiaojiao, "Look at the trouble you've caused! Just you wait!"

After that, he slunk away, pushing through the crowd, and fled in a disheveled hurry.

The farce unexpectedly concluded in an extremely dramatic fashion.

Seeing the spectacle over, the crowd gradually dispersed.

Jiang Jiaojiao finally let out a long sigh, tidied her slightly disheveled hair and collar, walked up to Su Ruan, and sincerely said, "Little sister, I really thank you just now; if it weren't for you, today I would have…"

She said, shaking her head, a bit helpless.

"It's a trivial effort, no need to be polite," Su Ruan smiled, "With that kind of man, the more you reason, the more he pushes back; you have to be even harsher."

Jiang Jiaojiao looked at the girl's bright smile and the spunky sharpness that belied her appearance, feeling a surge of goodwill: "That may be so, but not everyone has the courage to step forward and speak so satisfyingly."

"By the way, what's your name? Are you from around here?"

"I'm Su Ruan; if we have the chance, we'll meet again. I should go back to cook; with a man like that, you should break up early—he's not worthy of you at all."

Jiang Jiaojiao watched Su Ruan's retreating figure, a flash of envy crossing her eyes before a chill rose within.

If her parents hadn't returned, there'd be no room for Zhang Jianmin to bark here.

After Su Ruan's silhouette vanished around the corner, Jiang Jiaojiao finally withdrew her gaze and let out a long, foul breath.

The lingering frustration in her heart caused by Zhang Jianmin was largely dispelled by that stranger girl's sharp words.

After Zhang Jianmin's commotion, she lost any desire to continue shopping and headed straight home.

As soon as she pushed open the front door, the aroma of cooked food greeted her.

Mother Li Huijuan and father Jiang Jianguo, beaming with joy, were in the living room tallying the newly purchased parcels—wheat milk essence, pastries, brand‑new fabrics... piled across the table.

"Dad, Mom, you're back? Why did you buy so many things?" Jiang Jiaojiao asked while changing shoes.

"Oh dear, Jiaojiao's back!" Li Huijuan looked up, an unstoppable smile on her face, "Come see, these are all Proposal Gifts prepared for your future sister‑in‑law!"

Grandma Jiang also stuck her head out of the kitchen, chuckling, "Yes, our Ranran finally got it together, he's getting married! Tomorrow your dad and mom will go to propose!"

Jiang Jiaojiao's shoe‑changing halted abruptly, suspecting something was wrong with her ears, her voice pitched up a few notes.

"Who? Jiang Ran? Getting married?! To whom? Mom, you aren't mistaken, are you? He's like that... and someone would still be willing to marry him?"