Chapter 61

Ruan Tang used a mix of real and fabricated evidence, cutting off any chance for Ruan Zhuoxu or Ruan Ming to defend Xia Ruzhi or prevent her from being taken away, directly sending his dear stepmother straight to the Interstellar Public Security Bureau.

Of course, the evidence he submitted at the Bureau was different from what he had shown the onlookers—it was all genuine and meticulous.

Though the evidence wasn't complete, he had already contacted the person in charge at the Bureau and planned to use the earlier fabricated evidence to break down Xia Ruzhi's psychological defenses, making her confess her crimes of her own accord.

Even though Xia Ruzhi was already in his hands and Ruan Ming seemed to have given up on this wife, Ruan Tang didn't dare let his guard down. He certainly had no intention of letting off the others who had been involved in or willfully blind to what happened back then.

Their family had sought no trouble with anyone, yet ended up like this—

From the moment he had decided on revenge, Ruan Tang swore he would never let a single one of his enemies off the hook.

"Xiao Xi, Mozhi, you have to save Mom—if she goes to prison, if she gets sentenced, we're finished, Ruan Xi." After Ruan Xi's halo had dwindled sharply, his health had been poor ever since. He only learned about Xia Ruzhi being taken away by Ruan Tang when Ruan Zhuoxu came to him and Shen Mozhi for help.

Ruan Xi hadn't expected that as soon as his halo shattered, misfortune would follow one after another. He gritted his teeth in hatred: "I knew it—this Ruan Tang is a true black-hearted lotus, no good at all. He's come for revenge, come for revenge."

"He used to hide it well on the surface, but in his heart he's always hated us. All those years I trusted him for nothing—he'd been planning it all along, setting traps for me. First me, and now Mom." His emotions were in complete turmoil, his mind consumed entirely with resentment toward Ruan Tang.

It never once occurred to him that it was what his family had done to Ruan Tang that had provoked such retaliation.

Ruan Zhuoxu immediately chimed in: "Exactly—it's just like that. You and Mom both fell into his trap."

The two brothers sang in perfect harmony, slinging every bit of mud they could at Ruan Tang.

"Did Aunt Ruan really do that to Ruan Tang's mother back then?" But as an outsider, Shen Mozhi felt a chill run through him. These two were so twisted in their values it was terrifying.

If Xia Ruzhi had truly done such terrible things to Tang Yun and Ruan Yue, wasn't it only natural that Ruan Tang would want revenge?

Ruan Zhuoxu fell silent immediately.

"Wh-what happened back then—how would I know? But how could my mom ever do something like that? Ruan Tang just hates us so much that he's slandering Mom with wild accusations." Yet Ruan Xi still defended Xia Ruzhi, pale-faced and clutching at twisted logic.

He spoke with absolute conviction, as though this could be the only truth.

But having heard Ruan Xi lie so many times, and knowing that Ruan Tang had personally taken the woman away and handed her over to the Public Security Bureau—if the accusation were false, how could Ruan Tang have been so righteous and bold about it, turning Xia Ruzhi over to the police directly? Ruan Tang was no fool.

The only ones lying had to be Ruan Xi and his mother.

Thinking this through, though he had no intention of changing his decision to marry Ruan Xi, his attitude toward the Ruan Zhuoxu and Ruan Xi brothers had grown several degrees colder without him even realizing it.

……

After Ruan Tang had handled everything, he finally returned home. The moment he stepped through the door, Ruan Yang—who was in the middle of his rehabilitation exercises—hurried out on his crutches: "Xiao Tang, is everything about Xia Ruzhi true? Was it really her who did that to Mom and our sister back then? Such a huge matter—how could you go off and handle it all by yourself without even telling me?"

Though the brothers had unanimously agreed to keep Ruan Yang's recovery and awakening secret from the public for the time being, as the Empire's youngest Major General who had once led legions in the military and been deeply valued by the higher-ups, Ruan Yang still had no shortage of personal connections despite his years of unconsciousness.

Brothers who had fought alongside him through life and death, subordinates who had been unwavering in their loyalty—all of them had risen to high positions by now. The moment Ruan Yang reached out to them, they were overjoyed. Though they kept his awakening secret as he had asked, they still relayed a great deal of information and current events to him.

Things like Ruan Tang causing a scene at the Ruan Family estate and personally escorting Xia Ruzhi to the Public Security Bureau—as Ruan Yang's hands and eyes, they had informed him of it immediately.

"There's nothing to discuss—everything's already settled. All I need to do is make one trip to put that woman behind bars. There's no need for you to worry, Big Brother. I can handle it myself." Ruan Tang knew Ruan Yang was concerned about him and offered a smile: "Big Brother should just focus on your rehabilitation at home and aim for a full recovery as soon as possible."

Though he was an Omega, he was no fragile vine that needed someone else's protection.

He could handle these things on his own.

Ruan Yang looked at the baby brother who had once been the most pampered and protected in the family, and who had somehow grown into this indomitable, unstoppable person without anyone realizing it—God knew how much suffering he had endured along the way. Ruan Yang's heart ached beyond measure: "Xiao Tang, it's Big Brother who let you down..."

"There's nothing to be sorry for—I think I'm doing just fine now. So just focus on getting better and leave everything to me." Ruan Tang smiled, utterly nonchalant.

Once his enemies paid the price, he would forget the pain of the past. What mattered more to him now was the present.

Looking at this brother of his, Ruan Yang felt an overwhelming ache in his heart. He silently swore that from now on, he would treat him better and make it up to Ruan Tang doubly.

"Oh, Big Brother—you won't blame me for causing that scene at the Ruan Family estate today, will you?" Ruan Tang suddenly thought of something and asked.

He knew that his family, who had once held such beautiful expectations for him, would surely not be pleased with what he had become.

But even after all this, he still wanted his family's support and approval...

"Blame you? What would I blame you for?" Ruan Yang looked at Ruan Tang in surprise, not expecting him to ask such a thing.

Ruan Tang immediately said: "After all, I didn't consider the bigger picture—toward the Ruan Family, toward Ruan Ming..."

Unlike himself, Ruan Tang felt that his eldest brother—who had given his all for the Ruan Family and for Ruan Ming—must still hold some affection for them. He had made such an ugly scene, publicly insulting Ruan Ming in front of everyone, looking completely unfilial and disrespectful in outsiders' eyes. Ruan Tang was afraid Ruan Yang wouldn't be able to understand.

When Ruan Yang heard him mention Ruan Ming and the Ruan Family, his gaze dimmed slightly. But his voice was firm as he praised Ruan Tang: "You did well. You've already done everything Big Brother wanted to do... He lost the right to be our father long ago."

Ruan Yang hadn't been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. When he was born, Ruan Ming hadn't yet made his fortune, and Ruan Yang had essentially been raised by Ruan Ming's own hands. Ruan Ming had placed great hopes in him, and the bond between father and son had once been stronger than with any of Ruan Ming's later children. For a time, Ruan Yang had deeply admired and felt close to this father, considering him—apart from a bit of chauvinism—a decent husband and a good father.

But all of that changed once Ruan Ming rose to power—

From the moment Ruan Ming's affair and openly kept mistress became known, Ruan Yang had developed a grudge against this father. He had privately urged Tang Yun to divorce more than once, but Tang Yun, deeply indoctrinated by traditional values, refused to divorce and insisted on desperately holding together the broken family—even giving birth to Ruan Tang.

Seeing that he could not change his mother's mind and losing all hope in such a family dynamic, Ruan Yang made the military his permanent home, rarely willing to return unless absolutely necessary.

Since his mother refused to divorce, he had hoped to use his military honors to earn her dignity and respect, to give her a better life.

But things had not gone as he wished, and unexpected disasters arose—

And now, after waking years later and learning of everything Ruan Ming had done over all those years, no matter how deep the father-son bond between them had once been, Ruan Yang felt nothing left but hatred and disgust.

"As long as Big Brother is willing to support me, that's enough." When Ruan Tang heard Ruan Yang clearly willing to stand on his side, he let out a long, deep breath, as though a heavy stone pressing on his heart had been lifted.

Even the sour frustration he had felt today when swatting at flies—and being disgusted by them—had completely dissipated.

Ruan Yang immediately made his promise: "Whatever you want to do, Big Brother will be right here supporting you. All you have to do is ask."

He owed this brother of his far, far too much...

……

Auston had been going back and forth, afraid he might send Ruan Tang the wrong signals, and also worried that Ruan Tang might be feeling down because of those flies from the Ruan Family buzzing around. After agonizing for a long time, he stared at the communication system's input box, typed out a message to ask, then deleted it word by word.

He went back and forth several times before finally sending Ruan Tang a single message: "Are you okay?"

For some reason, no matter how much Ruan Tang had changed from when he'd first known him—no matter how tough or domineering he'd become—in Auston's eyes, he still seemed like that delicate, fragile little Omega who loved to cling and whine.

Though the reports Auston had heard painted Ruan Tang as having stormed the Ruan Family estate and single-handedly carried off the family matriarch in spectacular fashion, the more he thought about it, the more convinced he was that Ruan Tang would come home and hide under his blankets crying quietly...

"My Lord missed me today? You actually sent me a message first?" Ruan Tang had been just about to pester Auston when he received Auston's message instead. He was instantly thrilled beyond measure: "If you missed me, come find me. I don't mind being fed on."

Seeing that he was still quite spirited, Auston felt relieved and immediately shot back: "Missed you, my foot. I was just afraid you'd be so angry you'd cry. That would be truly embarrassing."

"If you don't miss me and don't like me, why do you care whether I cry or not?" Ruan Tang reacted instantly.

Auston was rendered speechless: "..."

He had absolutely no idea how to respond to Ruan Tang and could only regret, over and over in his head, why he had to go and stir things up by messaging him first.

When Ruan Tang saw no reply for a while, he gauged Auston's likely reaction in his mind and felt his teasing instincts flare even higher. He continued to flirt: "I miss you. Just thinking about you makes my heart race. I really want you to feed on me... Do you really not want to drink from me? Not want to smell my scent? I remember you used to love it. Got tired of it already? What a scumbag."

Though the past had been bitter, everything was getting better now. Ruan Tang felt truly happy—he had a family who supported and understood him, and the most wonderful, most adorable Alpha in the whole world...

Even if this Alpha didn't yet acknowledge that he belonged to him, Ruan Tang believed the day he would have him wasn't far off.

Ruan Tang felt incredibly, supremely happy.

Bubbling over with happiness and seeing that Auston still hadn't replied, Ruan Tang's mischievous side flared up. He sent Auston a few ambiguous, suggestive photos along with some risqué lines, giving it his all to seduce this hopelessly dense straight Alpha.

Auston still didn't reply with a single word.

But every time Ruan Tang imagined what Auston must look like right now, he only got more worked up. Just as his messages were veering further and further into wild territory—

The scarred male servant Set, who hadn't appeared in a long while, suddenly knocked on Ruan Tang's door carrying a tray.

Ruan Tang looked toward the door in surprise: "What are you doing here? I don't remember summoning anyone."

"Madam, His Lordship asked me to bring you Suppressant and chrysanthemum tea, and to advise you to calm down." Set presented the freshly brewed chrysanthemum tea and the unopened Suppressant with an air of utmost seriousness.

After this Omega had let himself go, there was simply no telling where he'd end up.

Ruan Tang was struck speechless: "..."

Auston looked at his speechless expression and felt his own mood lighten instantly. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Ruan Tang or smelled his Pheromone in quite some time. As Ruan Tang talked and talked, a craving had been stirred up deep in his heart.

Mm—now he could finally smell it again. Though it was faint, and he couldn't just bury his face in it and drink deeply like before, it smelled just as wonderful as he remembered.

Truly intoxicating.