My Ares Son-in-Law

Jiang Xuanxuan took a deep breath, suppressing the anger and contempt in her heart, and said each word firmly: "I have finally seen clearly that you don't even have the most basic conscience and humanity."

Zhou Hao's face flushed red and then turned pale, all color draining from his skin. His lips trembled, and he stammered for a long time, unable to utter a single word of explanation. He was filled with panic and embarrassment.

Grandma Zhou's face also darkened completely. Her kind expression vanished, and a hint of anger flashed in her eyes, but she suppressed it.

Unwittingly, the old lady's gaze fell on the dark gray stand-up collar jacket that Jiang Xuanxuan was wearing, her eyes narrowing slightly and showing a hint of scrutiny.

“Xuanxuan,” she began slowly, her voice regaining its feigned calmness, yet tinged with probing, “this coat you’re wearing, judging from the style and material, isn’t your style at all. It probably isn’t yours, is it?”

Jiang Xuanxuan glanced down and then remembered that it was the coat that the masked benefactor had draped over her last night, which she had forgotten to take off in her panic.

"It was left by the person who saved me. He didn't take it with him when he left," Jiang Xuanxuan answered truthfully, her tone calm, yet unable to conceal a subtle, almost imperceptible thought.

"Oh?" A glint flashed in the old woman's eyes as she pressed, "Did you see what the person who saved you looked like?"

“He wore a mask the whole time, covering most of his face,” Jiang Xuanxuan said without hiding anything. “I only saw his eyes, not his whole face.”

"Wearing a mask?" The old lady frowned thoughtfully, then asked, "How did he treat your wound and stop the bleeding? The doctor said your injury healed very unusually."

Jiang Xuanxuan briefly recounted what happened last night: the other party knocked down the pursuers, stopped the bleeding by applying pressure points, informed them that the ambulance would arrive in five minutes, and then quietly left without staying for a moment longer.

"Acupressure to stop bleeding?"

The old lady's brows furrowed more and more, her expression growing increasingly solemn. She said in a deep voice, "This is not a skill that ordinary people can do. It is definitely not something an ordinary passerby can do. It is probably a master who is hiding his true abilities."

She glanced at the coat a few more times, her gaze deep, but she didn't ask any more questions, secretly plotting something in her mind.

Zhou Hao stood aside, listening intently as Jiang Xuanxuan praised and described her savior. Hearing her say that the man had personally treated her leg injury, Zhou Hao felt a burning jealousy in his heart, his face contorted with filthy suspicion.

A strange man of unknown origin pressed and touched her legs, winning her favor, which made her extremely jealous and resentful.

"Xuanxuan," he couldn't help but ask sourly, his tone full of malicious speculation, "where did that person touch you when he was treating your injuries?"

Jiang Xuanxuan looked up at him, her eyes instantly filled with intense disgust, and said coldly, "Why are you asking this? It's utterly boring."

"I just felt something was wrong, it was too strange."

Zhou Hao's tone was sour, and he was spouting nonsense.

"A complete stranger is treating your leg injury in the middle of the night, massaging and touching it. Who knows what his ulterior motives are? Maybe he's taking advantage of your distress and has no good intentions at all; he just wants to molest you..."

"Zhou Hao!" Jiang Xuanxuan sat up abruptly, radiating an intimidating aura of anger. Her eyes were cold and sharp as she interrupted him sharply, "What nonsense are you spouting!"

Zhou Hao was startled by her sudden outburst of anger, his body trembled, but he still stubbornly tried to argue:

"I just felt something was off. Anyone would have thought of this. It's suspicious that a man and a woman were alone together in the middle of the night, and he was treating your injuries..."

"I deliberately pulled up my pants to expose the wound."

Jiang Xuanxuan coldly interrupted him, her face ashen and full of contempt.

"Because he needed to expose skin to precisely apply pressure to stop the bleeding. Throughout the entire process, his fingers only touched my knee and acupoints, with perfect restraint, without the slightest unnecessary lewd movement—completely aboveboard." She stared intently at Zhou Hao, each word sharp and piercing:

"Unlike some people, who only care about saving their own lives when disaster strikes and push their companions out to take the fall, and now have the nerve to come here and slander the benefactor who risked everything to save me, they are utterly despicable."

Zhou Hao's face instantly turned a deep shade of liver, and he roared in fury and embarrassment, "I..."

"What do you mean, 'what do you mean'?" Jiang Xuanxuan's voice rose, burning with anger, each word ringing out.

Do you know what he did?

He stabilized my injuries, stopped the gushing blood, quietly called an ambulance, told me the pursuers had been dealt with, left me his still-warm coat, and then left without a sound, asking for nothing in return.

Her eyes were slightly red, not from grievance, but from heartbreak, yet her tone was as cold as ice:

"And what about you? You're the one who brought this trouble upon yourself, yet you abandoned me, a weak woman, in a den of wolves and tigers, leaving me to fend for myself without ever looking back. Zhou Hao, you're a complete coward, unworthy of being called a human being."

"enough!"

Zhou Hao was hit where it hurt, and enraged, he roared hysterically.

"What makes you say that about me? That man is no relative to you, yet he's being so attentive to you in the middle of the night. Who knows if he has ulterior motives?"
"Maybe he's actually in cahoots with those people, deliberately staging this 'hero saves the damsel in distress' act just to get close to you..."

"Snapped!"

A crisp, loud slap landed hard on Zhou Hao's face, echoing in the quiet ward and making everyone's eardrums vibrate.

Jiang Xuanxuan withdrew her hand, her fingertips trembling slightly, her eyes so cold they sent chills down your spine, showing no mercy whatsoever.

Zhou Hao covered his burning, stinging face, his eyes wide with disbelief and astonishment. He never expected Jiang Xuanxuan to dare slap him in public.

"Get out of here." Jiang Xuanxuan's voice was icy cold, leaving no room for negotiation. "Get out of this ward right now. I don't want to see you again."

Grandma Zhou slowly stood up, her face ashen and her aura extremely low, but she ultimately did not speak to defend Zhou Hao, nor did she blame Jiang Xuanxuan.

Zhou Hao covered his face, feeling both ashamed and angry, utterly embarrassed. Under Jiang Xuanxuan's cold gaze, he slunk out of the ward without even daring to lift his head.

After the ward door closed, Mrs. Zhou remained silent for a long time, and the atmosphere around her was frighteningly tense.

“Xuanxuan,” she finally spoke, her voice eerily calm yet carrying a hidden pressure, “Haohao did act inappropriately and was in the wrong first, you…”

“You don’t need to plead for him anymore.” Jiang Xuanxuan interrupted her, her tone resolute, leaving no room for negotiation. “Grandma, don’t force me to kick him out. Let’s leave each other with a little dignity.”

Grandma Zhou stared at her intently for a long time, her eyes filled with complex emotions—anger and apprehension. In the end, she said nothing more, turned around, and, leaning on her cane, quickly left the ward.

In the corridor, Zhou Hao was leaning against the wall smoking, the bright red five-finger mark on his face particularly glaring, his expression gloomy and resentful.

The old woman walked up to him, and without saying a word, raised her hand and slapped him hard across the face. (End of Chapter)