Chapter 65

The moment Tang Yun and Ruan Yang had left, Auston immediately dropped his act, wrenching his hand free from Ruan Tang's tight grip. His voice was fierce as he demanded, "Have I been too lenient with you lately? Who gave you the nerve to be so disrespectful?"

Just thinking about how Ruan Tang had poked him and pulled at him again, acting so brazenly without the slightest shred of basic deference.

All Auston could think about was how to put this Omega in his place.

Just moments ago, with Tang Yun and Ruan Yang right in front of them, he'd had to save face for Ruan Tang. But now there was no need for that.

"Was I really that bold just now? I don't think so at all. Weren't we just putting on an act to fool my eldest brother and Mom? Look — didn't we work together perfectly?" Ruan Tang blinked with exaggerated innocence, not remotely intimidated by Auston's terrifying expression or his volatile mood swings.

He had to admit he was getting rather full of himself lately, ordering around Auston — the Bluebeard whom everyone on the Imperial Star feared.

But this was all the result of Auston's own doting and indulgence toward him.

Because Auston had always been so obedient to his every whim, even now when Auston put on his most terrifying face, all Ruan Tang could think was that the man was fierce on the outside but soft on the inside — all bark and no bite.

Ruan Tang changed the subject without the slightest effort.

Auston glared at him viciously, drew in a deep breath, but stubbornly refused to fall for his deflection: "Don't you dare change the subject. Just tell me — who gave you the nerve?"

He had already been so generous as to give Ruan Tang face, and this Omega thought he didn't have any pride of his own?

His appearance was truly terrifying — menacing and ruthless, the dangerous pressure that constantly shrouded him even more spine-chilling and hair-raising when he was angry.

But Ruan Tang wasn't the least bit frightened. In fact, looking at Auston's fierce exterior and thinking of the soft, timid reality beneath — a man who was scared of even an Omega like himself — he simply couldn't hold back and let out a little laugh.

It was the first time in Auston's life that someone, upon witnessing him fly into an unprovoked rage, not only failed to cower in fear but actually laughed out loud. He froze on the spot for a moment, then adopted an even fiercer expression and demanded in exasperation, "What are you laughing at? Who told you to laugh? Do my words amuse you that much?"

The way Ruan Tang behaved made him feel that the terrifying image and authority he had painstakingly built and cultivated over so many years had been utterly demolished in this Omega's eyes.

"Not at all — I just feel really happy, and when you're happy you naturally laugh." Ruan Tang suppressed the smile still tugging at his lips, finding the Alpha before him all the more endearing. "My lord doesn't want to see me laugh? Would you rather see me cry?"

Auston was struck speechless: "..."

Left utterly tongue-tied by Ruan Tang, he grew even more convinced that this Omega's nerve was getting bigger by the day.

"I said you're not allowed to laugh, and that means you're not allowed to laugh." Auston stared blankly for a moment before putting on a dark, fearsome expression and snapping, "You still haven't answered me. Who gave you the nerve to be so unruly? You don't even have the most basic reverence and respect for me anymore?"

What infuriated him most was that he had actually followed this Omega's orders just moments ago.

"It was you who gave me the nerve." Ruan Tang said this with perfect seriousness. "My lord is so adorable — the moment I see you, I can't help but want to get close. How could I ever feel afraid or reverent?"

He looked at Auston with the most innocent expression imaginable: "I really do want to respect and revere you, but the moment I think about how adorable you are — how you've turned me down again and yet still came to help me anyway — I just can't control myself..."

No one had ever called Auston adorable in his entire life. His face flushed crimson beneath his mask, and he was left speechless with a mixture of embarrassment and irritation: "You... speak properly! Stop spouting this nonsense!"

"Everything I'm saying is the absolute truth, every word sincere and from the heart." But the more Ruan Tang saw him like this, the more he wanted to tease him. His gaze was earnest as he said, "My lord, it's been so long since I last saw you. I've missed you terribly. Do you miss me? Do you want to smell my scent? Touch me? Or would you like me to tell you a story... You've done me such an enormous favor today — just say the word, and I promise I'll keep you company however you like."

He thought for a moment, then added: "Or perhaps I should repay you with my body — letting you mark me is fine too."

Auston stared fixedly into his eyes, as if he had been scalded by Ruan Tang's words — playful in tone but devastatingly sincere in gaze. He dared not look at him a moment longer. Humiliation and anger surging through him, he spun his wheelchair around and wheeled away: "Stop talking such utter rubbish! I helped you once, and I won't do it a second time. Stay away from me and stop annoying me!"

Never in his life had Auston imagined there would come a day when an Omega's pursuit would cause him such distress.

"My lord, why are you running away so fast? It's not like I'm going to force myself on you — why are you dodging me like I'm some sort of pervert?" Watching him like this only made Ruan Tang find it more entertaining, and he quickened his pace to follow.

Life as it was now held a kind of joy he had never dared to imagine.

......

Ruan Ming, that old and cunning fox, had cut his losses and severed ties with the Xia Family and Xia Ruzhi quickly and decisively, with a good show of contrition. But as the Xia Family's in-law and Xia Ruzhi's former partner, it was virtually impossible for the Ruan Family to emerge from this incident completely unscathed.

Ruan Ming rushed about in every direction, spending who knew how much effort and pulling every connection he had, all in the attempt to minimize the damage the incident would inflict on the Ruan Family.

But how could Ruan Tang possibly let him walk away unscathed?

From the moment he decided to seek revenge, Ruan Tang's target had never been Xia Ruzhi's family alone. Ruan Ming — that heartless Alpha who had betrayed his marriage — was in Ruan Tang's eyes the most culpable offender of all.

The moment he learned that Ruan Ming was scrambling to protect the Ruan Family, Ruan Tang reached out to Ruan Yang and a network of the Ruan Family's rival forces, as well as families who didn't want to see the Ruan Family escape unharmed and wished to carve up its interests. He made known his deep loathing for his own birth father, Ruan Ming, and his determination to ally with them in delivering a fatal blow.

Having united all the forces that could be united, Auston then launched a full-scale assault and crushed the Ruan Family.

Ruan Ming was no fool. He soon realized that the one stirring up the storm behind the scenes, targeting the Ruan Family, blocking its recovery, and leaving it not a moment's respite — was none other than his own two sons who had just changed their surnames.

"What exactly do you want? I am your father. The Ruan Family is your family. Even if you're ashamed to be associated with me and changed your surname... I still raised you to adulthood. Surely you wouldn't go so far as to drive me — drive the entire Ruan Family — to its death?" Ruan Ming felt guilty toward Ruan Yang and didn't dare seek him out, so he confronted Ruan Tang directly, demanding answers in a fury.

The Ruan Family was the life's work of his entire existence, and now, under the crushing pressure of forces on every side, it was nearly cornered with nowhere to turn...

But never in his wildest dreams could Ruan Ming have imagined that the person driving him into this desperate corner was none other than his own flesh and blood.

The Ruan Family was, after all, Ruan Tang's family too. Even with the surname change, the family's prosperity would do him no harm — it could even serve as a towering tree sheltering this branch of the bloodline. Yet Ruan Tang wanted to drive the Ruan Family to ruin, deliberately positioning himself as the very instrument of its downfall...

This was nothing less than destroying his own foundations — harmful to him as well, with no benefit whatsoever.

In Ruan Ming's eyes, this son was simply incomprehensibly stupid.

Were Ruan Tang not now holding power and commanding influence, Ruan Ming wouldn't have bothered with him at all. But unfortunately, Ruan Tang had risen to prominence — he now held the Ruan Family's very throat in his grasp...

Ruan Tang looked at Ruan Ming's frantic, rage-contorted face and let out a laugh: "As Tang Yun's son, I think that rather than watching the Ruan Family grow powerful while my mother's and brother's life's work gets divided up by your mistresses and illegitimate children, I'd much rather watch it crumble so that no one gets anything at all. Wouldn't you agree, Marshal Ruan?"

He knew that Xia Ruzhi and the other women around Ruan Ming all looked down on his mother Tang Yun — a woman of commoner origins, with an unremarkable family background.

Even though Tang Yun had married Ruan Ming in his days of poverty, had poured her entire family's fortune into helping him rebuild the family, and had stood by his side from nothing to something, no one cared.

Because, to them, Tang Yun was merely an ordinary woman, and her entire fortune was but a drop in the bucket — utterly insignificant compared to what Ruan Ming's other women possessed.

No one gave a thought to the fact that it was every last asset of an ordinary common family.

And though Ruan Ming had never said it aloud, he probably thought the same deep down...

Vainglorious and obstinate as he was, Ruan Ming likely believed the Ruan Family's rise to power was entirely his own magnificent achievement, completely blind to Tang Yun, blind to everyone else's contributions that he considered as weightless as feathers.

And this was precisely what Ruan Tang hated most — what disgusted him above all else—

"Spare me the sarcasm and scorn." Ruan Ming's clouded eyes mocked him, but his voice dripped with cutting irony: "Let's not speak in riddles. Say plainly what you want, Duchess Auston."

He now utterly loathed this son — born defiant, devoid of all filial feeling, bent on destroying his life's work.

And yet, he had no choice but to beg him...

At the same time, he also knew that Ruan Tang's actions weren't born of stupidity — there was surely an ulterior motive, and terms to be negotiated.

If there had truly been no room for compromise, Ruan Tang wouldn't have agreed to see him at all.

Ruan Ming was cold-hearted, but when it came to dissecting human nature, he was a master.

"Very well. Since Marshal Ruan puts it that way, I'll speak plainly too, without beating around the bush." Ruan Tang had no more patience for pretense. His expression grew languid, all masks abandoned, and he laid out his conditions in a single breath: "I want the entire Ruan Family."

He fixed his gaze on Ruan Ming and spoke with deliberate weight: "Hand over the entire Ruan Family to me on a silver platter. Let me become its head, and I will naturally cease my interference, stop all the forces from attacking the Ruan Family, and guarantee its safety."

Even with Xia Ruzhi behind bars, Ruan Tang had no intention of simply watching Ruan Ming and his mistresses live carefree, dividing up what rightfully belonged to his mother as a married wife.

When Tang Yun had divorced Ruan Ming after being poisoned into madness, she hadn't received a single cent. Even though Ruan Tang had secured a large sum for her at the time of his own marriage, it was still a drop in the bucket compared to the Ruan Family's total assets.

And Tang Yun, as the original wife who had helped Ruan Ming build everything from nothing, was entitled to half the Ruan Family's fortune.

"You—" Ruan Ming had never expected this normally quiet, unassuming son to harbor such enormous ambition, such an insatiable appetite. His face drained of color, and he thundered with rage: "In your dreams!"

Even his chosen heir — the eldest son Ruan Yang, whom he valued most and wished to win back — would have to be treated with care, forced to change his surname back, and show him, the father, the utmost respect before Ruan Ming would even consider stepping aside.

And Ruan Tang — this Omega son who had been married off, born defiant, at odds with him and never once uttering a kind word — dared to take advantage of the crisis and demand, with the greed of a lion, the entire Ruan Family that was his life's blood. The sheer audacity of it was beyond delusional.

"Whether I'm dreaming or not, Marshal Ruan, you'll find out soon enough." Ruan Tang didn't even spare him a glance, scoffing openly: "When I want something, I get it — no matter what the cost."

He enunciated each word as a warning in advance: "But let me make one thing perfectly clear. What I cannot have, I would rather destroy than see it whole. So whether I take the Ruan Family by having you hand it over intact and willing, or by shattering it first and then slowly swallowing it piece by piece — that, I cannot say."

"The Ruan Family is your life's work. You'd best give it some serious thought."

He had no desire to split the Ruan Family with anyone just yet. But if Ruan Ming refused to cooperate, he would simply destroy it first and then take the lion's share through more complicated means.

After all, the Ruan Family was Ruan Ming's life's work, not his.

"You... do you truly believe you have the ability to swallow the entire Ruan Family? Even if I were willing to hand it over, aren't you afraid of choking to death?" Ruan Ming's face had gone white with fury, on the verge of a cerebral hemorrhage.

Ruan Tang was utterly nonchalant, not even looking at him: "Whether I choke or not is my concern, not yours. Since you haven't made your choice yet, let us wait and see — what goes around comes around."

"You—" Ruan Ming stared at his retreating figure, too furious for words.

That very night, he suffered a sudden heart attack and was rushed to the hospital.