He wants to adopt a younger sister, but his aloof wife disagrees.

The afternoon sun was somewhat lazy.

In the study of Tomson Riviera, Jiang Che was typing intently on the computer.

As a web novel author, even though he has a system, he still maintains the habit of writing every day. After all, this is his pretense to maintain a "proper profession" in front of Shen Qingge.

The living room was quiet.

Su Xiaoruan tiptoed out of the guest room.

Today she wore a loose white sweatshirt, jeans, and white sneakers. She also wore the black baseball cap that Jiang Che bought for her, with the brim pulled low, and a large face mask.

Fully armed, he looked like a secret agent preparing to blow up a bunker.

She glanced furtively at the closed study door, making sure Jiang Che showed no sign of coming out, before letting out a sigh of relief. She quietly changed her shoes and slipped out of the house like a thief.

"call……"

Standing in the elevator, Su Xiaoruan patted her chest, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Today is the day of her long-planned "secret operation".

A couple of days ago, while cleaning, she accidentally saw Jiang Che's ID card and realized that next week was Jiang Che's birthday.

Although the aloof Shen Qingge might send expensive gifts, Su Xiaoruan felt that as someone who was "picked up" by her brother, she had to show her appreciation.

She touched her phone in her pocket.

That was the new phone Jiang Che gave her; there was three thousand yuan in her WeChat wallet.

This wasn't living expenses given to her by Jiang Che, but rather money she had secretly earned these past few days by taking online orders to "edit" photos (as a former "spiritual young woman," although uneducated, she was a master of photo editing, capable of turning Ru Hua into Liu Yifei).

"Three thousand dollars... that should be enough to buy that, right?"

Su Xiaoruan recalled a Zippo lighter she had seen in a shop window before.

The classic matte black finish, with a gold engraving on the side, is understated yet stylish, a perfect match for the image of my brother smoking.

"My brother spent so much money to save me and even bought me clothes, so I want to buy him a gift too!"

Su Xiaoruan clenched her fists, trying to encourage herself.

……

Half an hour later.

Su Xiaoruan arrived at the commercial street in the city center.

Instead of going to a top-tier luxury store like those in Hang Lung Plaza, she went to a boutique specializing in men's accessories.

"Hello, I'd like this lighter!"

Su Xiaoruan pointed at the black Zippo lighter in the display case, her eyes sparkling.

"Miss, you have excellent taste. This is a limited edition, and it's on sale for two thousand eight."

"Bought it!"

Su Xiaoruan readily scanned the code to pay. Seeing her balance instantly drop to double digits, she felt no heartache, but rather a sense of satisfaction.

The clerk packaged the lighter in an elegant black gift box and tied it with a dark green ribbon.

Su Xiaoruan carefully tucked the gift into the inside pocket of her hoodie, covering it with her hand, as if afraid it would get bumped or damaged.

"Hehe, I'm sure my brother will like it."

She imagined Jiang Che's surprised and happy expression when he received the gift. Even if he just patted her head and said, "You're so thoughtful," she would feel that all the late nights she had spent editing photos were worth it.

In a great mood, Su Xiaoruan decided to buy a cup of milk tea to celebrate, and then hurry home.

however.

To take a shortcut to the bubble tea shop, she habitually turned into a back street behind the shopping mall.

This is an old alleyway lined with dirty little restaurants and old buildings awaiting demolition. The ground is always wet and smells of swill.

This is the back of the bustling city, and also the environment she was once most familiar with.

Su Xiaoruan had only taken a few steps into the alley when she suddenly stopped.

At the intersection ahead, several young people with brightly colored hair and tattooed arms were squatting together, smoking, spitting, and loudly telling dirty jokes.

That is……

Su Xiaoruan's pupils contracted sharply, and her heart jumped into her throat.

Although they were some distance apart, she recognized the woman in the middle wearing a leopard-print miniskirt and smoking a cigarette at a glance—Sister Hong.

The big boss of this neighborhood was also the one who brought Su Xiaoruan "into the industry," forcing her to work as a hostess and steal things—a nightmare she never experienced.

"Hurry...we can't be discovered..."

Su Xiaoruan instinctively lowered her head, pulled her hat brim tighter, and turned to leave.

Now she's dressed neatly and her demeanor has changed; you probably wouldn't recognize her unless you looked up.

However, Murphy's Law always holds true.

Just as she turned around, she accidentally kicked an empty soda can.

"Clang!"

The crisp sound echoed through the alley.

The group of thugs who were smoking turned around instantly.

"Who's there?" Sister Hong squinted, exhaled a smoke ring, and swept her sharp gaze over.

Su Xiaoruan froze, then turned and ran.

"stop!"

Hongjie, with her rich experience, immediately noticed the panic in the figure's back. She threw away her cigarette butt, put on her high heels, and led a few of her underlings to chase after them.

"That figure from behind... seems familiar?"

"That's that brat Su Xiaoruan!" a blond-haired guy suddenly shouted. "Even though her clothes are different, I remember that little body!"

"Su Xiaoruan?!"

Sister Hong's voice instantly turned shrill, "Damn it, you dare to run away after owing money? Go after them!"

Su Xiaoruan was terrified when she heard footsteps behind her.

Although she had recuperated at Tomson Riviera for a few days, the deep-seated fear remained. She ran desperately, but it was a dead end, and there was a wall in front of her.

"It's over..."

Su Xiaoruan leaned against the cold wall, looking desperately at the four or five people who surrounded her.

"Running? Why did you stop running?"

Sister Hong approached with her men, a mocking sneer on her face. She sized Su Xiaoruan up and down, her eyes filled with jealousy and greed:

"Wow, you've turned from a pheasant into a phoenix in just a few days!"

"That hoodie...is it Supreme? And the shoes...limited edition Air Jordans?"

"Looks like that 'guardian' has taken good care of you." Sister Hong stepped forward, extending her manicured hand, and tried to remove Su Xiaoruan's mask.

"Don't touch me!"

Su Xiaoruan abruptly slapped her hand away, glaring fiercely at them like a small animal cornered in a corner:

"I have nothing to do with you anymore! My brother has already paid off my debts!"

"Did you return it?"

Sister Hong sneered, "That's the principal. What about the interest? What about the compensation for the emotional distress these past few days? And what about all those clothes and jewelry you took from me before? Aren't those going to cost money?"

"You're talking nonsense! Those are all cheap knock-offs!" Su Xiaoruan was so angry that she was trembling all over.

"Stop talking nonsense!"

The blond guy next to her got impatient and his gaze fell on Su Xiaoruan's chest (hoodie pocket), which she was tightly covering.

It was bulging there, clearly hiding something.

"What are you hiding? Take it out!" The blond-haired man reached out to snatch it.

"No! This is for my brother!"

Su Xiaoruan screamed, clutching the gift box tightly in her arms, curling up into a ball on the ground, using her back to bear their pulling.

She bought it with money she earned little by little by staying up for several nights in a row.

That was the first decent gift she had ever given in her life.

That was her sentiment.

We absolutely cannot let these scumbags take it from us!

"Damn! You dare to resist?"

Enraged, the blond-haired man kicked Su Xiaoruan hard in the shoulder.

"Bang!"

Su Xiaoruan groaned as she was kicked to the ground, her elbow scraping against the rough cement floor, instantly drawing blood.

Even so, she still held the black gift box tightly in her hands, her nails digging into her flesh.

"Damn, he's a tough nut to crack."

Sister Hong grew impatient. "Take the stuff back! See if it's money! And strip her of her clothes; you could sell that for a good price!"

Several men rushed forward.

Su Xiaoruan was in despair.

Faced with an absolute disparity in power, her resistance seemed utterly ridiculous.

Her hat was knocked off, her hair was torn, and her newly bought white shoes were covered with black footprints.

"Brother... help me..."

Su Xiaoruan cried out in her heart.

Just then, her fingers touched the phone in her pocket.

She suddenly remembered a feature that Jiang Che had specifically set up when he gave her the new phone that day.

"I've set up SOS on this side button for you. Just press it three times and my phone will receive an alarm and be located."

"If you encounter danger, don't try to tough it out, just press it. If the sky falls, I'll hold it up for you."

These words exploded in her mind like a thunderclap at that moment.

Su Xiaoruan didn't know if Jiang Che would come, or if he could make it in time.

But this was her last hope.

In the midst of the chaotic tug-of-war, she mustered all her strength, reached into her pocket, and pressed the side button with trembling fingers.

a bit.

Two times.

Three times.

"Buzz—"

The phone vibrated slightly, sending a silent distress signal.

"Take your hand off!" The blond-haired man grabbed her wrist and twisted it forcefully.

"what!"

Su Xiaoruan screamed and dropped her phone to the ground.

Immediately afterwards, the black gift box she was holding in her arms was also snatched away.

"I'd like to see what kind of treasure it is."

The blond-haired man triumphantly tore open the packaging, opened the box, and took out the exquisite Zippo lighter.

"Wow, it's a designer brand? This must cost several thousand!"

Sister Hong's eyes lit up, and she smiled greedily: "Not bad, it seems your 'brother' is quite generous. This thing is mine."

"Give it back to me! That was for my brother!"

Su Xiaoruan, drawing strength from who-knows-where, lunged forward like a madwoman, trying to snatch it back.

"Get out of my way!"

Sister Hong slapped Su Xiaoruan across the face.

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound.

Su Xiaoruan was knocked to the ground, her face instantly swollen, and blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

She lay on the dirty ground, looking at the lighter that the blond-haired man was playing with in his hand, and tears finally streamed down her face.

That was a gift for her brother...

That was a gift she gave to prove she wasn't a useless person anymore...

Why treat her like this?

Why do these people still haunt her like demons, even though she has tried so hard to become better?

"Stop crying, it's so noisy."

Sister Hong squatted down, patted Su Xiaoruan's face, and smiled maliciously:

"Since you're so rich now, why don't you talk to that tycoon and ask him to give us another 100,000 or 200,000? Otherwise..."

"boom--!!!"

A terrifying roar of an engine suddenly exploded at the alley entrance.

The sound was like the roar of a ferocious beast, carrying a chilling sense of oppression that even drowned out the noise of the nearby commercial street.

Sister Hong and the thugs were startled and instinctively looked up.

All I could see was the backlit area at the alley entrance.

A black Bugatti Veyron, like a black lightning bolt, smashed through the garbage heap at the alley entrance, forcefully squeezing into the narrow alley with a ferocious momentum.

The screeching sound of tires rubbing against the ground was enough to send chills down your spine.

"squeak--!!"

The car came to a sudden stop less than half a meter from Sister Hong.

That huge air intake grille is like a gaping maw, ready to devour everything at any moment.

The car door opened.

A long, slender leg stepped out.

Jiang Che was wearing slippers from home and an apron for cooking, but his face was so gloomy it looked like it could drip water.

His eyes were terrifyingly cold. He wasn't holding any weapon, but the murderous aura emanating from his very bones made everyone present feel the temperature drop by ten degrees.

He spotted Su Xiaoruan lying on the ground, covered in mud and with blood at the corner of her mouth.

And the lighter with the dark green ribbon tied to it that the blond guy was holding.

"..."

Jiang Che did not speak.

He walked over slowly, each step feeling like he was stepping on Hongjie and the others' heartbeats.

"Who did it?"

Jiang Che's voice was very soft, as soft as a devil's whisper.

But to Su Xiaoruan's ears, it sounded like heavenly music.

She looked up, through her blurry, tear-filled eyes, at the man walking towards her against the light.

"elder brother……"

Su Xiaoruan cried out, all her grievances and fears erupting at that moment.

This time, the gods truly descended.