SAG -Chapter 55 I Know Where to Draw the Line

Zhang Ran picked up the phone again. Seeing that the call was still connected, he smiled faintly.

He had no interest in wasting more words on Tian Yaohui. There would be plenty of time to settle things between them later—there was no rush.

Glancing at the screaming Sun Ermin and Zhao Chunlan, Zhang Ran tossed the phone onto the floor in front of them before leaving with Meng Mingxuan.

As for the phone?

He considered it a gift.

Listening to the agonized screams coming through the speaker, Tian Yaohui’s expression darkened.

He was angry.

But beneath that anger was something he refused to admit—

Fear.

He had assumed that after all this time, Zhang Ran would have accepted reality.

The past was the past.

Back then, they had all followed behind Zhang Ran. Whatever Zhang Ran told them to do, they did.

He had invested money and effort into building their companies and businesses. He had even pointed out the industries that would thrive in the future.

At that time, Tian Yaohui and the others had openly acknowledged Zhang Ran as their boss—their benefactor.

Without Zhang Ran, they would never have achieved what they had today.

But times had changed.

After all these years, they were no longer insignificant nobodies.

They were no longer followers waiting for Zhang Ran’s orders.

They were bosses themselves.

Over decades, they had built wealth, influence, connections, and power.

They now stood at the top of society.

Meanwhile, Zhang Ran had disappeared because of the accident and, in their eyes, returned with nothing.

A penniless man.

What right did Zhang Ran have to fight them now?

Tian Yaohui knew nothing about Zhang Ran’s resettlement compensation.

That compensation had been personally approved by high-ranking authorities and came with confidential agreements.

As a result, Tian Yaohui had no idea that Zhang Ran now possessed fifty billion yuan in cash alone.

He believed Zhang Ran should have understood everything the moment none of them went to welcome him home.

At that point, Zhang Ran should have realized there was no point clinging to the past.

He should have accepted reality.

And with children and grandchildren now depending on him, he was no longer a man with nothing to lose.

He should have learned to keep a low profile.

He should have reassessed the balance of power between them.

But clearly…

Tian Yaohui had been wrong.

Zhang Ran understood exactly what they were thinking.

He knew perfectly well that neither his money nor his shares would ever be returned.

He also understood that, in terms of wealth, status, and influence, they were no longer on the same level.

Yet…

He remained just as domineering as before.

His methods hadn’t changed in the slightest.

That was something Tian Yaohui had never expected.

He knew Zhang Ran possessed some mysterious method.

To this day, none of them knew how it worked.

They didn’t know the principle behind it.

They didn’t even know if it could be treated.

Because of that, they had long agreed among themselves:

As long as Zhang Ran didn’t try to reclaim the past…

As long as he didn’t demand his former shares……they would simply pretend he didn’t exist.

But today’s incident……felt like a declaration of war.

Lost in thought, Tian Yaohui was jolted back by Sun Ermin’s trembling voice.

“P-President Tian… you… you have to stand up for us…”

Between screams of pain, Sun Ermin pleaded desperately.

Tian Yaohui sighed, temporarily setting aside his thoughts.

“Brother Sun.”

“I truly didn’t expect Zhang Ran to remain this uncompromising.”

“That’s my mistake.”

“But don’t worry.”

“I’ll arrange for the best doctors to treat you.”

“President Tian, call the police! Arrest him! What he did is against the law!”

Of course Tian Yaohui had thought about calling the police.

His first instinct had even been to record the conversation as evidence.

But he had quickly abandoned the idea.

He didn’t dare.

If he could think of it…

How could Zhang Ran not have?

Tian Yaohui might not understand Zhang Ran’s intentions anymore.

But he knew one thing.

No matter what, Zhang Ran had never been an impulsive fool.

Besides…

Zhang Ran’s final warning still echoed in his mind.

“Forget it.”

“Don’t call the police.”

“After all, this is essentially a family dispute.”

“Whether the police get involved or not won’t make much difference.”

Hearing that, Sun Ermin almost forgot the pain in his legs.

A family dispute?

This counts as a family dispute?

At the same time, however, a chill ran down his spine.

He wasn’t particularly clever.

But he wasn’t stupid either.

He could hear it clearly.

Tian Yaohui…

Was deeply wary of Zhang Ran.

Without another word, Tian Yaohui hung up.

Sun Ermin stared blankly at the phone in his hand.

He desperately wanted to dial the police.

Yet in the end…

He didn’t dare.

Even Tian Yaohui—the powerful man he regarded as his greatest backer—feared Zhang Ran.

How could he possibly dare call the police?

In the end, he only dialed for an ambulance before sitting there numbly, listening to Zhao Chunlan’s endless screams.

For the first time…

Sun Ermin regretted everything.

Not only had he ruined himself…

He feared his son’s future would be ruined as well.

Just as Zhang Ran stepped out of the courtyard gate, he spotted Qian Li squatting by the wall, secretly listening.

Seeing them emerge, she jumped in fright.

She peeked into the courtyard.

The moment she saw what had happened inside, she shuddered.

“I’m sorry.”

“I scared you, didn’t I?”

Zhang Ran spoke gently.

Looking farther ahead, he saw Zhang Siyan waiting with Susu instead of coming over.

Quietly, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately…

Susu hadn’t seen any of it.

Qian Li hurriedly shook her head.

“No… no.”

Then she looked at Zhang Ran.

His smile was still as warm and gentle as before.

Feeling embarrassed, she admitted honestly, “I was… a little frightened.”

Of course she had been frightened.

She hadn’t heard what Zhang Ran and Tian Yaohui discussed on the phone.

But she had heard the sounds of Zhang Ran striking them.

And she had seen Sun Ermin and Zhao Chunlan lying there in misery.

She was simply a straightforward woman.

It was her first time witnessing something like this.

Being shocked was only natural.

Fortunately, she adapted quickly.

In that regard…

She recovered much faster than Meng Mingxuan.

At least Meng Mingxuan was still in a daze.

“Uncle Zhang…”

“How about we find a lawyer right now?”

“I have a friend who’s a lawyer.”

Although frightened, Qian Li felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.

She had wanted to beat those two old monsters for a long time.

Seeing them end up even worse than she’d imagined made her feel as though years of resentment had finally been released.

But immediately afterward, she began worrying about Zhang Ran.

Zhang Ran smiled.

“Don’t worry.”

“They won’t call the police.”

“Huh?”

Qian Li couldn’t understand where his confidence came from.

Yet seeing how calm he was, she felt he wasn’t merely trying to reassure her.

At that moment…

She suddenly felt that her best friend’s father was an incredibly mysterious man.

After chatting for a while, Qian Li had mostly calmed down.

“Uncle Zhang…”

“I’ve wanted to hit them for ages.”

“You don’t know this, but once, just because the water Siyan poured was too hot, that old woman dumped the whole cup onto Siyan.”

“I was furious…”

She continued venting.

Without noticing…

Zhang Ran’s eyes had turned cold once more.

“Uncle Zhang!”

“Uncle Zhang!”

“Please don’t!”

“If you go back in there now, something serious will happen!”

“Even if you don’t care about yourself…”

“You have to think about Susu and Taotao!”

Meng Mingxuan had been watching Zhang Ran carefully.

Seeing the change in his expression, he immediately became nervous.

He truly feared Zhang Ran would storm back inside.

If that happened…

Things might become impossible to clean up.

Qian Li realized the same thing.

“That’s right!”

“Uncle Zhang, it’s not worth it.”

“You’ve already gotten revenge.”

Zhang Ran made no move to return.

Instead, he simply said, “I know where to draw the line.”

“Don’t worry.”

“We have plenty of time.”

The moment he said that…

Meng Mingxuan and Qian Li exchanged glances.

Each saw the same speechless expression in the other’s eyes.

You call this knowing where to draw the line?

And they both understood exactly what Zhang Ran meant.

This matter…

Was far from over.

Qian Li couldn’t help feeling secretly delighted.

She was already looking forward to seeing Sun Gaixin’s downfall.

She didn’t know why Zhang Ran was so confident.

But one thing was obvious.

He wasn’t bluffing.