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

The alley was deathly silent.

Only the Bugatti Veyron's still-slow engine emitted a deep hum, like a threat from the throat of a wild beast.

Jiang Che stood in front of the car, wearing gray cotton slippers and an apron with a bear pattern (which Su Xiaoruan bought for him).

This outfit might look a bit ridiculous under normal circumstances.

But at this moment, in the eyes of Sister Hong and the group of thugs, this man was more terrifying than a demon crawling out of hell.

Because of his eyes.

It was a gaze that completely disregarded life, as if looking at a dead person.

“Who…who are you?”

Sister Hong swallowed hard, forced herself to take a step back, and her voice trembled slightly:

"Just because you drive a luxury car doesn't mean you're all that! You almost killed someone, you know that! Believe me or not, I'll call the police..."

She tried to use bluffing to mask her inner fear. Having lived on this street for so many years, although she had never seen a luxury car of this caliber, she knew that the person who could drive such a car was definitely not someone she could afford to mess with.

Jiang Che ignored her shouting.

His gaze swept past the crowd and landed on Su Xiaoruan, who was huddled in a corner with tears streaming down her face.

Looking at the red, swollen handprint on her face, the blood seeping from the corner of her mouth, and her hoodie that was torn and disheveled.

An uncontrollable surge of violent energy exploded within Jiang Che's chest.

He finally managed to clean the little stray cat and fatten it up, so much so that he couldn't bear to even raise his voice.

The result is that after only half a day, this bunch of trash has turned it into this mess?

"Oh."

Jiang Che chuckled softly.

The laughter was extremely cold, like ice shards in the dead of winter.

He strode forward and walked straight toward the blond-haired man who was still holding a lighter.

"Hey! Stop right there! If you come any closer, I'll hit you!"

The blond-haired man was intimidated by Jiang Che's imposing aura. He frantically pulled a folding knife from his waist and brandished it in his hand, shouting, "Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you have money! I have nothing to lose, so I'm not afraid of anyone!"

"Barefoot?"

Jiang Che paused, now less than two meters away from Huang Mao.

【Ding! 】

[Host detected to be in a state of extreme anger.]

[Personal harm has been detected to the pet being trained.]

The passive skill "Basic Deterrence Aura" has been upgraded to "Asura Field"!

[Temporarily activated combat skill: Grandmaster-level combat proficiency (limited to 10 minutes).]

[System notification: Let your temper flare! The dignity of a tycoon cannot be trampled upon.]

As the system notification sound faded, Jiang Che felt a surge of heat instantly coursing through his body. His muscle memory seemed to be awakened, and the movements of the group of thugs in front of him appeared as slow motion, full of flaws.

"Since you're going to do it, then don't regret it."

Jiang Che uttered a few words calmly.

next second.

He moved.

Fast! Incredibly fast!

Huang Mao only felt a blur before his eyes, and before he could even swing his knife, his wrist was gripped tightly like an iron clamp.

"Snap!"

A sharp, teeth-grinding crack.

"ah!!!"

The blond-haired man let out a piercing scream as the knife and the black Zippo lighter flew from his hand at the same time. His wrist was at an unnatural angle, clearly broken.

But it's not over yet.

Jiang Che remained expressionless and kicked the blond-haired man in the knee.

"Bang!"

The blond-haired man immediately knelt down on both knees in front of Su Xiaoruan, the sound of his kneecaps cracking sending chills down everyone's spine.

"My hands! My legs! Ahhh!"

Huang Mao rolled on the ground in pain, snot and tears streaming down his face.

The entire room fell silent.

Sister Hong and her two remaining underlings were terrified.

Is that all... ruined?

Just one second?

"Damn! This is a tough one! Let's all go!"

Although the remaining two thugs were afraid, they knew they couldn't escape now. With a roar, they grabbed bricks and wooden sticks from the ground and charged forward.

Su Xiaoruan screamed in fright, "Brother, be careful!"

Jiang Che didn't even turn his head.

He dodged a wooden stick to the side, grabbed the other person's hair with his backhand, pressed down hard, and then thrust his knee in.

"Bang!"

The thug's face was covered in bruises, and he passed out.

The other man with the brick had just rushed up when Jiang Che slapped him across the face.

"Snapped!"

This slap, delivered in anger, was so powerful that it sent the man, who weighed over 100 pounds, spinning him twice on the spot. Two bloody teeth flew out, and he crashed heavily to the ground, unable to get up for a long time.

Less than ten seconds.

The four burly men lay flat on their backs.

Only the sounds of wailing echoed through the alley.

Jiang Che stood still, his breathing perfectly steady. He straightened his slightly disheveled collar and slowly turned his gaze to Sister Hong, the only one still standing in the room.

Hongjie was so frightened that her legs went weak. She leaned against the wall, trembling, and her makeup was ruined.

"You...you stay away..."

"I...I'm a woman...you can't hit a woman..."

Sister Hong retreated, trembling, her arrogance replaced by extreme fear.

"woman?"

Jiang Che walked up to her, looking down at her with icy eyes:

"When you slapped her just now, did you ever think about the fact that she's a girl too?"

"Snapped!"

Without any hesitation, Jiang Che slapped him across the face.

The slap wasn't delivered with full force, but it was still more than Hongjie could handle. She was slammed against the wall, half her face instantly swelling up and blood streaming from her mouth.

"This slap is for her to pay."

Jiang Che said coldly, "My people, are you allowed to touch them?"

Sister Hong covered her face and slid to the ground, not daring to cry out loud, she could only nod her head desperately and beg for mercy.

Jiang Che ignored the group of trash.

He bent down and picked up the black Zippo lighter from the muddy ground.

The matte black casing was speckled with mud, and the gold engravings on the side shimmered in the sunlight.

Jiang Che took out a handkerchief from his pocket and carefully wiped the lighter clean, his movements as gentle as if he were polishing a rare treasure.

Then, he turned and walked towards Su Xiaoruan in the corner.

Su Xiaoruan was still crouching on the ground with her head in her hands, trembling all over. Until a pair of familiar gray cotton slippers came into view.

"Can you still walk?"

A familiar voice sounded overhead, carrying a hint of helplessness and heartache.

Su Xiaoruan slowly raised her head.

Backlit, Jiang Che's tall figure resembled a majestic mountain, shielding him from all wind, rain, and malice.

"elder brother……"

Su Xiaoruan's lips trembled, and tears streamed down her face like a burst dam. She wanted to stand up and throw herself into Jiang Che's arms, but her legs were too weak to move, and the injury on her knee was excruciatingly painful.

Jiang Che sighed, put the lighter in his pocket, and then bent down.

They didn't mind the dirt on her body, nor the blood at the corner of her mouth.

He stretched out his strong arms and lifted Su Xiaoruan up from the ground.

A standard princess carry.

Su Xiaoruan gasped and instinctively hugged Jiang Che's neck, burying her tear-streaked face in his chest, inhaling his reassuring scent, and burst into tears.

"Waaaaah... Brother... I'm so scared..."

"I'm sorry... I'm useless... I've gotten my clothes dirty..."

"Shut up."

Jiang Che glanced down at her, his voice hard, but his eyes were as gentle as water:

"I can buy new clothes if they get dirty. But where am I supposed to buy new clothes if I get injured?"

Su Xiaoruan cried even harder, but this time it was out of emotion.

Jiang Che hugged her and turned to walk towards the Bugatti Veyron.

As Jiang Che passed by Sister Hong and Huang Mao, who were still groaning on the ground, he paused for a moment.

He didn't turn around, but coldly left behind a single sentence:

"Three days."

"If you show up in Jianghai City again within three days, or dare to let her hear your voice again..."

"Then next time, it won't just be your hands and legs that break."

"Did you understand?"

Sister Hong and the blond-haired man kowtowed frantically, pleading, "We understand! We understand! We'll leave right away! We'll leave right away!"

Jiang Che snorted coldly, put Su Xiaoruan in the passenger seat, and helped her fasten her seatbelt.

"boom--!!"

The Bugatti Veyron roared, executed a beautiful drift and U-turn, its tires kicking up mud and water that splashed all over the group of thugs' faces.

The black supercar transformed into a streak of light and disappeared into the alleyway.

……

In the car.

Su Xiaoruan nestled in the spacious leather seat, her emotions gradually calming down.

She stole a glance at Jiang Che, who was driving.

Jiang Che's expression was still not good, his lips were tightly pursed, and he was obviously still angry.

Su Xiaoruan felt a little flustered. She was afraid that Jiang Che would blame her for running around, and even more afraid that Jiang Che would think she was a troublemaker.

"Um...brother..."

Su Xiaoruan carefully took the lighter box (which Jiang Che had just given her) out of her pocket, her voice barely audible.

"This... is for you."

Jiang Che stared straight ahead: "What is that?"

"A...birthday present." Su Xiaoruan lowered her head, twisting the hem of her clothes with her fingers. "I saw on your ID card that your birthday is coming up soon. I bought this with my own money. It's not as expensive as the one my sister gave me, but..."

"squeak--"

The car suddenly stopped on the side of the road.

Jiang Che turned his head and looked at the black lighter in Su Xiaoruan's hand.

Of course he knew what it was. That silly girl almost got beaten to death just now because of it.

"You earned this money yourself?" Jiang Che asked.

"Um... I earned it by editing photos for people online," Su Xiaoruan quickly explained. "I didn't steal or rob!"

Jiang Che looked at her small face, half of which was swollen but full of hope, and felt as if his heart had been hit hard by something.

It tastes sour and makes you feel bloated.

Shen Qingge is very rich; she has given him watches worth millions and sports cars.

But no one has ever been so desperate as to hold onto a lighter worth several thousand dollars, even after being kicked into a mud pit.

"Fool."

Jiang Che cursed, but his voice was a little hoarse.

He reached out, took the lighter, and fiddled with it in his hand for a moment.

"This is the best gift I've ever received."

Su Xiaoruan suddenly looked up, her eyes lighting up: "Really?!"

"real."

Jiang Che carefully placed the lighter into the pocket of his shirt.

Then, he reached out and gently touched Su Xiaoruan's swollen cheek, his eyes filled with heartache:

"Does it hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt!" Su Xiaoruan grinned, but the movement aggravated her wound, causing her to hiss. "Hehe...it hurts a little, but since my brother likes the gift, it doesn't hurt anymore."

Jiang Che looked at her silly expression and sighed helplessly.

"Sit still."

Jiang Che restarted the car. "Let's go to the hospital to treat the wound first, then go home."

"go home……"

Su Xiaoruan pondered these two words, watching the scenery rushing past the window, and then looked at the man beside her who seemed like a god descended from heaven for her sake.

She leaned closer to Jiang Che, silently thinking to herself:

Even if I die, I will still cling to my brother for the rest of my life.

No one can separate us.

Even that older sister... won't do.