Chapter 177 Greed to the End

Chapter 177 Greed to the End

“Boss,” Lin Bei said, following beside him, “aren’t you going to buy something before you go? No one will forgive you for apologizing empty-handed.”

Huo Zhizhou: "Shut up."

Lin Bei consciously stopped talking.

Upon arriving at the ward, Huo Zhizhou told him to wait outside while he went in.

Jiang Ruan thought it was Xu Jiu returning, and looked towards the person who opened the door at the sound of the voice: "Why did you take so long? Is it...?"

Her words abruptly stopped upon seeing Huo Zhizhou, and her previously relaxed and natural expression instantly turned distant and unfriendly.

"How is Mom doing?" Huo Zhizhou shamelessly went over to ask.

Jiang Ruan: "It's alright."

Huo Zhizhou: "This morning, Su Anran spilled juice on me. I didn't like the smell and sticky feeling, so I took a shower. I left my phone in the bedroom and didn't expect her to come in."

“I don’t care about your business with her.” Jiang Ruan suppressed her emotions and looked at him. “I just want to know why you took it upon yourself to fire me from my job.”

“They hired you just to take advantage of you,” Huo Zhizhou explained. “If you like this job, I can help you find another one.”

These words acted as a fuse, igniting the most sensitive part of Jiang Ruan's heart.

She stood up: "Help me?"

Huo Zhizhou noticed her change in mood.

Jiang Ruan said even more angrily, "Do you think I can't find a job with my abilities, or do you think I can't live without you?"

"Neither," Huo Zhizhou said, looking at her intently. "I just want you to have an easier life."

Jiang Ruan swallowed back the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

See?

It's always like this.

He inadvertently touched a nerve, while saying he was doing it for her own good. On the surface, it seemed like she was the one being unreasonable and ungrateful.

But he was the one who denied her value and said she was worthless.

That thorn has remained buried deep in my heart and has never been pulled out.

"You can tell me anything," Huo Zhizhou said, pulling her hand close and speaking slowly and deliberately.

He became calmer.

Jiang Ruanyue's emotions fluctuate greatly.

Have I said it so many times in vain?

“If you really can’t let go of that job with the Lu family, I can talk to Lu Er.” Huo Zhizhou never thought of anything deeper. In his worldview, the money he earned was for Jiang Ruanhua, and she was just suffering when she went out to work.

He didn't want her to suffer.

He wanted her to live a happy and carefree life.

The old Jiang Ruan could have done it, but after her value was questioned and so many things happened to transfer marital assets, she can no longer do it.

She began to firmly believe that only when she had money and ability in her own hands would she feel at ease.

Even if she earns very little, less than one ten-millionth of his.

"Is this a work-related matter?" Jiang Ruan retorted, feeling a surge of anger. "Resigning from my job without my permission is disrespectful, and repeatedly saying that I don't need to work is denying my value."

“You’re the president of the Huo Group, worth hundreds of billions. It’s normal for you to look down on my little bit of money.” Jiang Ruan became more and more agitated as she spoke. “But this is mine, it has nothing to do with you, and you have no right to interfere.”

Huo Zhizhou remained silent.

After going over all her words, he spoke up: "It was wrong of me to fire you without your permission, but I have never denied your value."

Having said that, Jiang Ruan didn't care about anything else and vented all her grievances: "You never denied my value, yet during the divorce you said that all the money was earned by you, so why should I get a share?"

“That was said in anger,” Huo Zhizhou reasoned. “I’m very angry that you brought up divorce.”

Jiang Ruan's words were barbed: "You're still angry that you said you'd support another woman for the rest of your life? What right do you have to be angry?"

There was a long silence after those words.

The two men stared at each other, one burning with anger and stubborn as an ox, the other calm and undisturbed.

"I want you to firmly choose me." After a long while, Huo Zhizhou finally spoke, his expression unusually solemn. "I feel indebted to you because of Su Anran, but I will try my best to balance everything and make it up to you."

"Enough!" Jiang Ruan couldn't bear to hear another word.

"The only thing that can separate us is ourselves, not others." Huo Zhizhou was also heartbroken. "Even if I have to take care of Su Anran for the rest of my life, my love for you has never changed."

Jiang Ruan looked away and stopped listening.

She wanted to ask again: Does a promise really require risking a lifetime and a marriage?

But his previous answer made her realize that asking this question was pointless; he wouldn't tell her a single word.

“You can’t maintain your balance. Even if something happens to her in the middle of the night, you’ll go to her. She can use promises to control you for the rest of your life.” Jiang Ruan knew this all too well. “You can’t just let her go and ignore her.”

Huo Zhizhou paused.

He remained silent for a while before revealing his selfish thoughts: "As long as our hearts are together, none of her actions can affect us."

“I feel disgusted.” Jiang Ruan said bluntly, “Even the air is dirty where she is. You know what she did to me.”

She spread rumors about her at school.

They ganged up with others to bully her.

Those in the dormitory who spoke up for her all suffered her retaliation.

She spent her final year amidst rumors and gossip.

During meals, younger students would hand her their contact information, listing their size, length, and stamina, promising to meet them for free. During breaks in large lectures, people would slip notes into her books right in front of her; she couldn't even avoid being texted, emailed, or contacted by phone.

Even worse, AI-generated deepfake videos are being spread everywhere.

That was the darkest period of her life.

Later, she couldn't bear it anymore and told her mother. She and Jiang Chenren stepped in together to resolve the matter. However, Su Anran did it very secretly. At first, they didn't know that she was the one who did it. Her phone, like everyone else's, was receiving text messages asking about it.

They never suspected her until her mother finished investigating and told her that Su Anran was manipulating everything behind the scenes, but she couldn't find any concrete evidence.

It was then that she saw her true colors, and the two had a complete falling out.

"When I asked her why she did that, do you know what she said?" Jiang Ruan said angrily, "She said why should I be better off than her just because we're both human? She wanted to destroy everything I had!"

Huo Zhizhou pursed his thin lips into a line.

My mood gradually turned sour.

The information Jiang Yu had looked up for him included details about Jiang Ruan and Su Anran's time at the same school, mentioning the conflict involving spreading rumors and colluding with others to bully.

The parentheses following indicate: It has been dealt with by Jiang An and Jiang Chenren.

Seeing that the matter had been resolved, he did not bring it up again.

“You said I didn’t make a firm choice to be with you. If you were just repaying a debt of gratitude, I could tolerate and accept giving her money or sending someone to take care of her for your sake.” Jiang Ruan was angered by what he said. “But you chose to take care of her yourself. Did you consider my feelings?”

"I'm sorry." This was the only thing Huo Zhizhou could say.

He couldn't break his promise not to take care of Su Anran.

They couldn't give up on Jiang Ruan, the light they had finally encountered.

He knew he was greedy, but since he was already greedy, he might as well go all the way.