Chapter 57: 56. Susu's Change

Zhang Ran arrived beside Zhang Siyan and Susu; before he could even speak, Susu took the initiative to call out to Zhang Ran for the first time.

"Grandpa." Susu climbed down from her mother's arms, scurried over to Zhang Ran's side, hugged his thigh, and tilted her little head to look at him just like that.

From Susu's big eyes, Zhang Ran saw a kind of trust, or perhaps one could call it reliance.

Because the little one had grown up in such a family, she appeared somewhat precocious; furthermore, not only was her personality rather cold, but she also appeared quite timid when facing certain matters—all of which were caused by family reasons.

That layer of coldness, if one were to really speak of it, was actually a protective coloration the little one had created for herself!

Some time ago, although Zhang Ran had tried every way to "curry favor" with Susu, it had only made her attitude toward him slightly better.

But today, those two big demons in her tiny heart seemed to have been defeated by her own grandfather, and her grandfather had also said he would protect Susu and her mother well, so at this moment, Susu felt a sense of reliance on Zhang Ran in an instant.

Seeing Susu in this state, Zhang Ran felt both happy and heartbroken, while at the same time feeling even more furious at what Sun Ermin and the others had done.

If one were to analyze it carefully, this reliance Susu had on Zhang Ran was actually an instinct to seek a strong person to shelter her and her mother.

This psychology of reliance and seeking shelter actually far exceeded familial affection, only the little one herself could not perceive it.

From this sudden change in Susu, Zhang Ran also guessed a few things, and his heart ached even more; he held the little one in his arms and said softly, "It's alright now. In the future, Grandpa will protect Susu and Mom; no one will be able to bully you anymore."

"Mm." Unlike just a moment ago, this time Susu's little face clearly carried some trust.

"Are you alright?" Zhang Siyan asked with some concern.

Zhang Ran said, "I'm fine, they were just two small fry, how could anything happen to me?"

His tone naturally carried a trace of contempt; in his heart, the couple Sun Ermin and his wife never amounted to much anyway.

"I didn't expect that the grievances you and your daughter have suffered all these years were because of me. I'm sorry," Zhang Ran said with some guilt.

Zhang Siyan, however, did not think so. "You don't need to blame yourself. Actually, I've figured it out: how they treated me didn't really have much to do with you, and even without this incident, they wouldn't have treated me very well anyway."

"Regardless of whether this incident with you happened or not, Sun Gaixin and I would have reached the end of the road at this time; that is the essence of the matter, it's not because of you."

Zhang Siyan might have had some thoughts in that direction at first, but just during the time she was waiting outside, she had already figured it out.

The essence of this matter was not how Sun Ermin and Zhao Chunlan treated her, but rather Sun Gaixin's attitude.

"By the way, can you tell me what exactly happened? Was his leg really broken by you?" Zhang Siyan asked with some curiosity.

At the same time, in Zhang Siyan's heart, there was also a desire to learn more about the past of this father of hers.

Before Zhang Ran returned, Zhang Siyan's impression of him had always been imagined through Yu Qingwan's descriptions.

In Yu Qingwan's words, Zhang Ran's image was as good as it could possibly be: gentle and refined, confident and self-reliant, kind to others, and possessing unique insights into future development.

But today, she had witnessed a different Zhang Ran; it seemed this father of hers was truly somewhat mysterious.

Qian Li and Meng Mingxuan were also looking at Zhang Ran with curiosity.

Zhang Ran thought for a moment; there was no need to hide anything, and it would be good for Zhang Siyan to know the ins and outs of the matter.

"Sun Ermin was involved in the business of trafficking women and children back then. It just so happened that I ran into them at the time, and I ruined one of their good deeds, so they wanted to come and take revenge on me."

"However, I had some people with me at the time, so they ended up falling into my hands. I broke the legs of those few people and sent them to prison." Zhang Ran recounted it simply, only leaving out the matter regarding Huo Zhiyuan.

This was not something worth being happy about for Huo Zhiyuan, so it was better for fewer people to know.

"Just now, listening to what you meant, was that old woman the one you rescued back then?" Qian Li couldn't help but ask.

Zhang Ran nodded, then laughed at himself a little, "I suppose you could say that, but she certainly wouldn't think so."

"That old woman really deserves to die. How can a person be bad to this extent? It was clearly you, Zhang Shu, who saved her, yet she actually repaid kindness with enmity," Qian Li cursed hatefully.

"You did the right thing back then; you were not wrong at all in such a matter," Zhang Siyan also said very firmly.

She had already figured it out just now, and now that she had heard Zhang Ran explain the cause and effect, she had even less of an opinion against Zhang Ran.

"Alright, let's not talk about these things. Have you taken all your things?" Zhang Ran said.

"We've taken them all. Actually, they are all things of little value, it's just that I'm a bit reluctant to part with them," Zhang Siyan gestured to the things she was carrying in her hand.

"Then you go back and pack up first." Afterwards, Zhang Ran looked at Susu and said, "Susu, shall we go pick up your brother from school together?"

Susu wrapped her fair, tender little arms around Zhang Ran's neck and nodded her little head, "Mm."

Immediately after, Zhang Ran parted ways with Zhang Siyan and the others; Zhang Siyan and the others went back to pack up and also had to prepare for tomorrow's contract matters.

As for Zhang Ran, he had to go prepare to pick up the little one, Zhang Xiaotao, from school.

Sitting in Meng Mingxuan's car, perhaps because of Susu, Zhang Ran's mood also relaxed a little.

He then thought about the renovation of the house for Zhang Sicheng and the others.

He hadn't mentioned this matter to Meng He yet.

"Ming Xuan, when you go back later, tell your dad that we are giving the renovation of Sicheng's house to them as a welcoming gift. You find a good renovation company, and then let Sicheng and the others choose a suitable renovation style."

"You should know how to tell Sicheng and the others when the time comes, right?" Zhang Ran said.

Meng Mingxuan nodded and said, "I know, I'll just say my dad heard about this matter and wanted to gift them a renovation."

Meng Mingxuan was very savvy about this.

Soon, he looked at Zhang Ran with some trepidation and said, "Then Zhang Shu, I won't come over tomorrow?"

For the past two days, he had been here every day as if he were at work, and staying by Zhang Ran's side made him feel somewhat uneasy, especially after experiencing what had just happened.

Zhang Ran saw through his thoughts at a glance, "Fine, you can just rest for two days. Since tomorrow and the day after are the weekend, you can take a break too."

"Thank you, Zhang Shu," Meng Mingxuan immediately said with a sigh of relief.

However, he still prepared to get the renovation company matter sorted out early; now, he truly did not dare to be careless or negligent with any of Zhang Ran's instructions.

The way Zhang Ran had acted at Sun Ermin's place earlier had truly frightened him; this person who had always been amiable and appeared quite gentle in front of him was not as he seemed on the surface.

After dropping Zhang Ran off at the entrance of Zhang Xiaotao's school, Meng Mingxuan drove away directly.