Chapter 48 If you can't protect Mommy, I'll find another dad to protect her.

Chapter 48 If you can't protect Mommy, I'll find another dad to protect her.

"What do you want to do?" Jiang Ruanxin suddenly tensed up and turned around to look at him with wary eyes.

Huo Zhizhou's gaze met hers, his expression calm: "Nothing much, just wanted to chat about everyday things."

Jiang Ruan clenched her fists tighter and tighter, her nails digging into her palms and drawing blood from the original wounds again.

It clearly hurts a lot.

But she seemed completely oblivious.

"She said some nonsense in front of me, that's why I hit her." Jiang Ruan didn't want him to mess up her work and life, so she suppressed her emotions and explained to him.

Huo Zhizhou calmly retorted, "When I was backing you up in the past, did you ever see me reasoning with anyone else?"

With a simple sentence, Jiang Ruan's carefully prepared explanation was completely thwarted. The streetlights illuminated her expression clearly, but behind her lay darkness, just like the darkness that would follow.

“If you feel she’s been wronged, you can make me repay her tenfold or a hundredfold, just like in the hospital.” She tightened her grip on her bleeding hand, searching for the last chance to preserve her self-respect.

But this is Huo Zhizhou.

How could someone who is ruthless enough to disregard even themselves possibly get what they want?

He's unhappy, and those who're unhappy with him will also feel uncomfortable.

"I won't stop you if you want to pay me back tenfold or a hundredfold." Huo Zhizhou took a step towards her, his deep, obsidian-like eyes fixed on her small, palm-sized face. "But you can't forget the apology."

"Does it have to be this way?" Jiang Ruan's heart shattered into pieces.

Huo Zhizhou: "The choice is yours."

He had already thought it through: as long as she sweet-talked him and said she didn't want to apologize, he would let it go.

How could Jiang Ruan possibly do as he wished?

She adjusted her mindset, forcing herself to compromise temporarily for the sake of life: "If I apologize to her, will you not tell my dad my address and not interfere with my life?"

Although Yuan Yi and Huo Zhizhou have no relationship, if he were to confront her, she might be pressured to reject him, since no one would offend the powerful Second Young Master Huo for someone insignificant.

"Yes." Huo Zhizhou's eyes were clouded with a layer of black mist as he said this word.

"Okay." Jiang Ruan compromised for the sake of life and stability. "I will apologize to Su Anran tomorrow. I hope you will keep your promise then."

Huo Zhizhou's eyes grew increasingly cold.

I'd rather apologize against my conscience than say a kind word.

They're really getting better and better at infuriating people.

"Is there anything else?" Jiang Ruan's voice became unusually calm. "If not, I'll take Sui Sui home first."

Before Huo Zhizhou could speak, a cheerful and high-pitched voice suddenly rang out: "Little Jiang Jiang!"

Then Ye Yanzhi appeared in their sight. He jogged towards Jiang Ruan, his eyebrows raised when he smiled, and his whole body was full of energy.

"Yan Zhi?" Jiang Ruan was a little surprised. "Why are you here?"

“My little Sui Sui asked me to come and pick you up.” Ye Yanzhi glanced in Sui Sui’s direction, completely ignoring Huo Zhizhou’s presence. “He said that if we encounter any danger late at night, this little man can’t protect you.”

Sui Sui walked over with her short legs: "I asked Uncle Ye to come over."

Jiang Ruan paused for a moment.

I didn't expect that.

"Why is your hand bleeding so much?" Ye Yanzhi frowned involuntarily when he saw blood seeping from her hand hanging at her side. "Did the wound from before reopen?"

He had seen it when they were eating before and asked how it happened. Jiang Ruan told him that she had accidentally cut herself on glass, but the wound had already started to scab over. Why was it bleeding again?

Jiang Ruan wiped it off and said nonchalantly, "Maybe my palm was too curved before and I accidentally strained it."

Huo Zhizhou then noticed the glaring red on her palm, and his hand unconsciously tightened.

In the past, she would have cried out in pain long ago at times like this.

"Mommy, blow on it." Sui Sui blew on it for her, her big eyes full of worry and heartache.

Jiang Ruan rubbed his head: "It's okay, it doesn't hurt."

“How could such a big wound not hurt?” Ye Yanzhi said to her. “I don’t know who used to cry loudly every time she fell down.”

Jiang Ruan: "..."

Seeing the two so intimate and familiar with each other, Huo Zhizhou's eyes, shrouded in darkness, grew increasingly deep, and the chill on his body intensified, causing the surrounding air to drop several degrees in an instant.

Sui Sui sensed it and turned her little body to look at him: "Daddy, aren't you going to let Mommy blow on you?"

"You can just take a nap." Huo Zhizhou stared at Jiang Ruan for a few moments before looking away and focusing on him. He then said the rest of his sentence, "Come here, Dad has something to ask you."

Although Sui Sui was puzzled, she still walked towards him.

The two walked a distance before stopping.

Sui Sui opened her big eyes wide and asked, "What does Daddy want to say?"

"Why did you call Ye Yanzhi over?" Huo Zhizhou composed himself and half-squatted in front of him, placing his large, warm hands on his shoulders, and asked him in as gentle a tone as possible.

Sui Sui feigned confusion: "Hmm?"

"Stop acting, answer me," Huo Zhizhou exposed him.

"If you can't protect Mommy, I'll find another daddy to protect her." Sui Sui said this very seriously, in her childish voice, "Uncle Ye is a very nice person, I don't mind him being my stepfather."

Huo Zhizhou: "..."

Even though she knew he said those words on purpose to provoke him, she was still a little annoyed.

“I won’t interfere with you leaving Mommy and finding someone else,” Sui Sui continued to tease him. “And you shouldn’t interfere with me finding myself a stepfather.”

"Do you have to annoy me to be happy?" Huo Zhizhou pinched his chubby little face.

Despite being young, she's perfectly intelligent: "You're the one who upset Mommy first."

Huo Zhizhou tried to reason with him: "When did I ever upset your mother?"

“Just now,” Sui Sui said logically, her childish voice crisp and clear, “Mommy didn’t see that you had a smile on your face before you spoke to her, but your eyes lost their sparkle afterward.”

Huo Zhizhou hadn't expected him to be so observant: "Is it my fault that your eyes lack sparkle?"

Sui Sui nodded her little head: "Mmm."

"Are you being reasonable?" Huo Zhizhou poked his little head, but his love for him didn't diminish at all.

Sui Sui: "Mommy is right."

Huo Zhizhou: "So biased?"

Sui Sui didn't answer immediately. He blinked his round eyes and turned to look in Jiang Ruan's direction, his gaze meeting her concerned eyes.

"It's not favoritism," he said earnestly in his youthful tone, "it's love."

A hint of confusion flashed across Huo Zhizhou's face.

“If you can’t give Mommy your unique favoritism, then I will.” Sui Sui looked at him, her soft and cute face showing unprecedented seriousness: “She will always be my only one and my exception, the person I care about and love the most in this life.”

A simple sentence made Huo Zhizhou pause in surprise.

He tried to say something, but found he couldn't refute it.

"Dad," Sui Sui called to him.

Huo Zhizhou seemed a little out of sorts: "Hmm."

"I'm going home with Mommy." Sui Sui leaned over and hugged him, her small body providing plenty of warmth. "You should get some rest."

Huo Zhizhou raised his hand, but before he could hug her, Sui Sui had already stepped out of his arms and ran towards Jiang Ruan with her short legs. She grabbed her uninjured hand and said happily, "Mommy, let's go."

"Okay." Jiang Ruan suppressed her emotions and led him away.

Sui Sui reached out her other hand to Ye Yanzhi: "Uncle Ye, let's hold hands."

Ye Yanzhi agreed, "Okay."

The two of them, each holding a child's hand, walked out chatting and laughing. Their backs looked exceptionally harmonious and warm, just like a happy family of three. They walked further and further away, gradually disappearing from Huo Zhizhou's sight.