Chapter 71 Terrible taste

Seeing his troubled expression, a cold glint flashed between Jiang Ran's brows, and she spoke again to coax him.

"But we have no other choice. Besides, we're not taking her money for nothing; we'll pay her interest."

"I suppose she can understand, after all, the interest rates are so much higher than elsewhere."

Jiang Ran deliberately emphasized the last sentence, and Lu Ziyi nodded in agreement, replying, "Okay, then I'll go and have a good talk with her."

"Mmm." Jiang Ran nodded repeatedly, seeing that her goal had been achieved.

Besides wanting to find out who was behind Song Yuqing, she deliberately reconciled with her, hoping to get her to return everything she had taken.

The best target was Lu Ziyi. Seeing that he was blinded by money, she did not forget to use all her persuasive words to coax him.

Song Yuqing knew that she had deliberately swindled money before, so it was just a matter of whether she would go along with it this time.

After they reached an agreement, Lu Ziyi was not really thinking about it. The two chatted casually for a few minutes before getting up and leaving.

As they approached the door and parted, he feigned reluctance to leave, reaching out to grab Jiang Ran's hand.

Caught off guard, Jiang Ran didn't react in time. Just as she was about to struggle free, a shout came from not far away.

"What are you doing!"

The two turned their heads and saw Si Zuochen walking towards them with a furrowed brow.

Seeing the murderous aura emanating from him, Jiang Ran instantly felt as if she had been caught in the act of adultery, and quickly pulled her hand away.

Si Jiliang watched their farce from a distance, and surprisingly, a hint of a smile appeared in his eyes.

He murmured softly, "This is getting interesting..."

Si Zuochen walked in front of them, looked at Jiang Ran, and scoffed, "Showing your true colors? What? You can't keep up the act after two days?"

"To have a lover so openly and honestly? That's truly shameless."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ran's pupils dilated in shock. Just as she was about to explain, she saw him glance at Lu Ziyi, his eyes filled with disgust.

He continued, "And you, how can you live with yourself seducing a married woman? Don't your parents find you shameful?"

"Or do you think the Si family can tolerate you again and again, and you've become addicted to being a phoenix man? Doesn't it feel great to get something for nothing? If so, do you want me to introduce you to someone like that?" "His family is well-off, although not as well-off as the Si family. But as long as you continue to use your underhanded methods to win his favor, you can directly inherit his estate in two years."

"Pfft—" Hearing Si Zuochen's mockery, Jiang Ran suddenly chuckled.

The two of them looked at him, their faces showing confusion.

Jiang Ran waved her hands repeatedly, "It's alright, it's alright, you guys continue."

If it weren't for the fact that she was currently on the same side as Lu Ziyi, she would have applauded Si Zuochen.

He can insult people without using any vulgar language; he's really something.

Lu Ziyi looked displeased upon hearing Si Zuochen's words, then realized that he meant he was only fit to seduce old ladies in their seventies or eighties.

"You!" Just as he was about to retort, Si Zuochen interrupted him.

"What do you mean, 'you'? You can't even say what you've done? You've really got some nerve, aren't you afraid of getting your legs broken?"

Si Zuochen's words contained a hint of threat, but Lu Ziyi didn't care at all. After all, quite a few people knew about his relationship with Jiang Ran. If something had happened, it would have happened long ago. Why wait until now?

Moreover, he was confident that, given Jiang Ran's feelings for him, she would not let anything happen to him.

Lu Ziyi turned his head to look at Jiang Ran, who seemed indifferent to the matter, and then thought of her previous attitude towards Si Zuochen.

As if receiving tacit approval, she lowered her eyes to look at Si Zuochen, her tone harsh: "What does it have to do with you whether your mother and I are truly in love? You should think about your future."

"Truly in love?" Si Zuochen laughed out loud as if he had heard a joke.

Then, she curled her lips into a sneer and said, "I think you're in love with money, aren't you? You just like her because she's rich, right? Why do you have to spout this high-sounding nonsense!"

Si Zuochen mercilessly exposed his thoughts, and Lu Ziyi quickly looked at Jiang Ran, only to see that she didn't care at all, as if she hadn't heard him, which reassured him a little.

Then, looking at Si Zuochen, she became furious and raised her hand to strike him.

Seeing this, Jiang Ran was about to reach out to stop him when a figure beat him to it and reached out to block Lu Ziyi.

"ah--"

Lu Ziyi's wrist was gripped tightly by Si Jiliang, and he felt as if his bones were about to be crushed.

Si Zuochen thought he was doomed to be slapped, but unexpectedly someone stood in front of him.

Looking up, he saw something familiar, and after thinking about it carefully, his expression turned ugly.

He was unaware of the details of that day and only assumed it was Jiang Ran's other lover.

"It's you?" Si Zuochen frowned slightly and looked at Si Jiliang before speaking slowly.

"You know me?" Si Jiliang tilted his head, a hint of doubt flashing across his face.

To avoid suspicion, he never appeared in front of them, but judging from his tone, it felt like he had seen them before.

Si Zuochen lowered his eyes and remained silent.

"Let go, let go!" Lu Ziyi quickly reminded them when he saw that the two were still chatting.

Si Jiliang turned his head to look at him, and Lu Ziyi couldn't help but feel fear when he saw the coldness in his eyes.

But the sharp pain in his wrist forced him to grit his teeth and continue, "Let go now!"

Si Jiliang remained unmoved, looked him up and down, and then said coldly, "Are you ordering me around?"

As she spoke, her hand unconsciously tightened its grip slightly, then she slowly asked, "Does it hurt already?"

Jiang Ran watched Si Jiliang's sudden appearance with a cold eye, her face showing confusion.

Then he heard Lu Ziyi's cry of pain and quickly pulled himself back to look.

Lu Ziyi looked pained, his forehead covered in sweat, while Si Jiliang watched him with amusement.

He quickly said, "Let go."

Si Jiliang raised an eyebrow: "Are you sure?"

"Hmm." Jiang Ran looked at Si Jiliang seriously and nodded in response.

Although she also disapproved of Lu Ziyi's actions, especially his attempt to hit Si Zuochen in front of her...

But since there's something to gain from him right now, it would be too lenient to break off relations with him too early.

Si Jiliang sneered, then casually released his hand, but pushed him away, causing Lu Ziyi to stagger back two or three steps before finally regaining his footing.

Jiang Ran quickly stepped forward and asked with feigned concern, "Ziyi, are you alright?"

Lu Ziyi looked shaken and waved his hands repeatedly, feeling utterly humiliated by being manipulated like this, yet he was powerless to retaliate.

Si Jiliang lowered his eyes slightly to look at Lu Ziyi, his eyes full of disdain, and sneered, "People always have to pay the price for what they have done. You should be glad that slap didn't fall."

“Otherwise…” He paused slightly, then continued, “your hand would be crippled.”

Although he spoke casually, Lu Ziyi couldn't help but shiver.

He believed that the man in front of him was absolutely true to his word!

Upon hearing this, Si Zuochen looked up at him in surprise.

Was he protecting him? He then sneered. How could that be? He was probably just trying to impress that woman.

It's a pity, that woman would love to be beaten up.

Jiang Ran was not surprised at all by what she saw. Si Jiliang appeared indifferent, but in reality, he was very protective of his own.

Even if they don't get along with the Si family, they won't let someone like Lu Ziyi bully them.

"Ranran, who is he?" Lu Ziyi asked, his brows furrowed.

Jiang Ran pursed her lips and replied, "Not someone I'm very familiar with."

"Not that close?" Si Zuochen suddenly spoke up sarcastically, "Aren't you afraid of hurting people's feelings by saying that?"

Others? Jiang Ran was slightly taken aback by his words, her face showing confusion.

What does it mean when this sentence suddenly pops up out of nowhere?

However, Si Zuochen had misunderstood the relationship between the two when he followed her last time.

Si Zuochen looked at the group of people in front of him with disgust, sneered, and then turned to leave. But before leaving, he glanced back at Si Jiliang with some inexplicable emotions in his eyes.

When Lu Ziyi saw Si Jiliang looking at him coldly, his back stiffened, and he quickly said to Jiang Ran, "I have something to do, so I'll take my leave first."

"Mmm," Jiang Ran responded softly.

Lu Ziyi turned and left, quickening his pace as if some vicious wolf was following him.

Si Jiliang watched his retreating figure, sneered, and a hint of disdain flashed across his face: "Your taste is really terrible, you can actually like this kind of trash."

"Are you genuinely unable to see what he's thinking, or are you just pretending to be stupid?"

Jiang Ran seemed oblivious to his sarcasm and retorted, "You were following me?"