Chapter 23: Plucking Feathers from a Chicken  

Upon hearing Su Chengtai’s words, Su Ruanruan did not hesitate in the slightest and directly refused: “No.”  

It did not matter how much the Original Owner had tolerated Su Chengtai—that had been her own decision.  

But now, the Original Owner was gone. Su Ruanruan had taken over this body, and she would absolutely not continue indulging Su Chengtai.  

Even if they were siblings by blood, she would never become a woman who blindly sacrificed for her younger brother.  

From childhood to adulthood, Su Chengtai had always been spoiled within the Su family.  

Whatever he wanted, whatever he demanded, had never been refused.  

Now, being suddenly rejected by Su Ruanruan, Su Chengtai looked utterly stunned. “Sister, what did you just say?”  

Su Ruanruan gazed at him indifferently. “I said, no.”  

She spoke each word slowly, but her tone was exceptionally clear, even carrying a hint of gritted teeth.  

Su Ruanruan truly could not understand where Su Chengtai got the audacity to simply ask her for a watch.  

Her words had been perfectly clear. There was no way Su Chengtai could have misheard. And yet, he still seemed unable to believe it.  

“Why won’t you give it to me?” Su Chengtai frowned. “You’re my sister. How can you not treat me well? I’m your only brother—if you don’t treat me well, aren’t you afraid that in the future, I won’t stand up for you?”  

Hearing this, Su Ruanruan almost burst out laughing.  

Where did he get such a ridiculous sense of self-importance to say something like that?  

She looked Su Chengtai up and down. “You? Stand up for me?”  

Su Chengtai puffed out his chest. “Of course! I’m your brother! If I don’t stand up for you, who will? Just because you’re doing well now after getting married doesn’t mean there won’t be arguments or conflicts in the future. When you’re wronged, won’t you have to return to your maiden home and rely on your family? If you don’t treat me well now, don’t expect me to help you later.”  

After saying this, Su Chengtai’s expression became quite pleased with himself.  

His mother had told him that after a woman married into her husband’s family, her strength and confidence depended entirely on her maiden family.  

Without a brother to back her up, a woman could only be bullied in her in-laws’ household.  

He refused to believe that Su Ruanruan truly dared to turn her back on him.

Su Ruanruan looked at Su Chengtai with amusement. “Then tell me, exactly how can you help me? You can’t carry heavy loads, you can’t lift anything, you have no money, no power. You’ve grown this big without earning a single work point, living entirely off others. If I were really bullied by my in-laws, what could you possibly do to help me?”  

Su Chengtai had been pampered by the Su family since childhood. Father Su and Mother Su always showered him with praise. Having grown up spoiled, he had developed an unfounded sense of confidence.  

Now, being questioned like this by Su Ruanruan, he opened his mouth but could not come up with a single response.  

After struggling for a long time, his face turned red before he finally spoke. “Dad and Mom always said I’m the most promising one, the smartest in the family. I may not have earned a single work point, but that’s not because I can’t—it’s because I don’t want to. What right do you have to look down on me?”  

“Because you have nothing worth looking up to.” Su Ruanruan replied bluntly. “If you want me to respect you, then do something respectable. Instead of just talking big and begging others for things.”  

Su Chengtai, humiliated and furious, raised a finger and pointed at Su Ruanruan viciously. “You never talked back like this when we were at home! Now that you’re married, you dare to talk back to me? Just wait! I’ll go home and tell Mom and Dad, and they’ll make sure to teach you a lesson.”  

At that moment, Fu Wenjing, who had been silent all along, finally spoke in a cold voice. “And who exactly do you plan to teach a lesson?”  

Su Chengtai’s body stiffened. He turned his head with some difficulty and looked at Fu Wenjing.  

Fu Wenjing was more than half a head taller than Su Chengtai. Though he was lean, he was not the frail, stick-thin type like Su Chengtai. He was strong and well-built.  

The kind of man who looked slim in clothes but was muscular underneath.  

Not only did he have well-defined abs, but his arms and legs were also solid with muscle.  

At this moment, Fu Wenjing stood in his military uniform, his expression icy, eyes half-lowered as he gazed at Su Chengtai. His presence alone was enough to crush Su Chengtai completely.  

“I… I didn’t mean it that way…” Su Chengtai stammered. “You heard what she just said to me! What kind of Big Sister talks to her younger brother like that?”  

As he spoke, Su Chengtai even looked aggrieved, his lips quivering as if he were about to cry.  

A grown man—about to cry just from talking.  

Seeing this, Su Ruanruan was completely speechless. “Take your time crying, then. I have things to do, so I’ll be leaving now.”  

With that, she pulled Fu Wenjing along, bypassed Su Chengtai, and walked away without looking back.

After walking some distance, Su Ruanruan clearly heard Su Chengtai shouting behind her, saying he would tell their parents everything that had happened today.  

Su Ruanruan did not take his words to heart at all.  

If Su Chengtai wanted to talk, he could talk all he wanted. But even if he did, it would not change anything. She was not the Original Owner—she had no emotional attachment to the Su family’s parents and certainly had no intention of being blindly filial.  

Just as these thoughts crossed her mind, she heard Fu Wenjing’s voice.  

Compared to his cold tone earlier, his voice now was exceptionally gentle.  

“Wife, don’t be upset. If they don’t treat you well, I will.”  

Su Ruanruan blinked, looking at Fu Wenjing in confusion. “I’m not upset at all!”  

Still, Fu Wenjing continued to comfort her in a low voice. “Wife, don’t bottle up your unhappiness. I’m your husband. If anything makes you unhappy, you can always tell me.”  

Su Ruanruan knew that Fu Wenjing said these words out of genuine concern.  

But she truly was not upset.  

She met his gaze directly. “I really am not unhappy. If they don’t treat me well, why should I waste my emotions on them? I only care about the people who are good to me.”  

“I will always treat you well.”  

“I believe you.”  

The two of them exchanged smiles and continued walking home together.  

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By the time they arrived, it was already close to six o’clock.  

But since it was summer, the sun had yet to set. The golden evening light bathed the entire courtyard, filling the air with a cozy, homely atmosphere.  

The rest of the household had not yet returned from work. The younger children who had gone out to forage for wild vegetables were also still out. Only Chen Chunlan was at home, busy in the kitchen. When she heard the commotion, she poked her head out. “Seventh and Seventh’s wife are back!”  

“Yes, Third Sister-in-law.” Su Ruanruan replied with a smile. “Have you started cooking yet?”  

“Not yet. Why, are you hungry?”  

“No, it’s just that we went into the mountains, and Wenjing caught a wild chicken and a rabbit. We’ll clean them up now, so we can have them for dinner.”  

Fu Wenjing added: “Also, I’ll have to trouble you, Third Sister-in-law, to heat up some water for me—I need to pluck the chicken.”