Chapter 003- The First Scum

Ruan Tang got what he wanted.       

       After leaving Ruan Ming, Ruan Tang immediately planned to head to his room, make preparations and take his mother, brother and sister out of the Ruan house to be properly settled before the wedding.

        He didn’t expect to hear a noisy argument just by walking a few steps.

       Due to Ruan Ming taking all of his lovers and illegitimate children into his residence to be with his wife and children.

These household disputes were commonplace during Ruan Tang’s childhood to adulthood.

       Hearing the commotion, he tried to make a detour to avoid the source of the dispute.

       Unexpectedly, the impatient footsteps were coming directly to where Ruan Tang was…

“Zhou Yao, don’t be like this! Fifth Elder Brother must also be unwilling to look at the situation like this…” The familiar voice entered Ruan Tang’s ears.

Ruan Tang understood right away.

Oh, this disturbance turned out to be about him.

He immediately raised his eyes to look at the source of the noise.

       He saw a handsome young Alpha in a military uniform coming towards him in a rage, a weak Omega and a Beta behind him were getting ready to pull him away.

       However, against his strength, they could not hold him back, and could only follow him to appear in front of Ruan Tang.

       Ruan Tang looked at the Alpha at the head of the group, a cold sneer immediately appeared at the corner of his mouth.

       Zhou Yao, his former fiancé, who broke off the marriage because he was too vicious and couldn’t bear the thought of him repeatedly ‘framing’ Ruan Xi.

       Along with his gentle and kind half-brother Ruan Xi, and his former best friend Wen Run.

       Seeing these three disgusting people, Ruan Tang couldn’t help but feel the impulse to turn around and leave.

       “Ruan Tang! Stop for me!” But before he could leave, Zhou Yao stopped him fiercely.
His eyes always gazed at Ruan Tang with a complex and mixed feelings that could not be explained clearly.

       There was a time when Ruan Tang thought that this Alpha really liked him——

       But in the end, it was a joke.

       Ruan Tang paused, unlike the turbulence in Zhou Yao’s eyes, his entire body was incredibly calm, “I wonder what Zhou Shao1 has to say?”

’

       It was as if he and Zhou Yao were strangers.

       “Are you really going to marry that mad dog Austin?” Looking at Ruan Tang’s indifferent attitude, the fire in Zhou Yao’s heart burned fiercer for some reason.
Gazing viciously at Ruan Tang, the blazing flame in his eyes seemed to almost burn Ruan Tang to ashes.

       Ruan Tang still calmly admitted the facts, “That’s right, I didn’t expect Zhou Shao to hear about it so quickly…”

       Zhou Yao seemed to have never thought that he would get a positive reply from Ruan Tang.
After hearing the news from Ruan Tang himself that he would marry Austin, his brain was in a daze for a moment.

       After a brief moment of stupor, his face became more and more gloomy and ugly.
He stared at Ruan Tang, almost eating him alive and said angrily, “That murderous mad dog Austin, who has scared to death countless Omegas… For the sake of power and status, you’re even willing to marry him!”

       “In order to climb up, you’ll do everything you can to get up there!” He was furious, gnashing his teeth, every word, all of which were disdain for Ruan Tang, “I was mistaken, I actually thought someone like you could be forced.”

       It was his fault, he knew what kind of thing Ruan Tang was…

       And yet still, again and again, he couldn’t control his expectations of him, only to be disappointed again and again!

       Ruan Tang coldly looked at his burning anger, as if he cared greatly about him(RT), but he had betrayed his(RT) trust, he(RT) only found it ridiculous.

       Zhou Yao appeared in his life and suddenly pursued him, at a time when he was notorious for being divorced by his first fiancé.

       ——Ruan Tang thought it was his own luck to meet him, even if this person was willful, domineering and temperamental, so long as he really cared about him(RT), it’s not like he couldn’t try to work out a good marriage with him(ZY). 

       However, after he was engaged to him, Ruan Tang found out that Zhou Yao was an admirer of his half brother Ruan Xi.
He had been secretly in love with Ruan Xi, but approached him because Ruan Xi and his(RT) ex-fiancé Shen Mozhi had gotten close, so he retreated and chose to settle with him(RT) as Ruan Xi’s substitute.

       Incidentally, he was only engaged because he wanted to clear the way to his beloved and cut off the possibility of reuniting with his(RT) ex-fiancé.

       Later, when he(RT) and Ruan Xi got into a disagreement, the fiancé did not hesitate to side with the white moonlight2 in his heart, Ruan Xi, and accused him of being ‘wicked’, which made him a target of public criticism for getting divorced again.

       Knocking him from heaven to hell.

       It’s ridiculous that people like this have the face to be so pretentious in front of him right now.

       “Don’t bother, who I marry is my own choice and has nothing to do with Zhou Shao!” Ruan Tang didn’t care and sneered back, “Besides, I think Duke Austin is quite good…”

       “Even a madman has the advantages of being mad…like not being so complex-minded as to do the odd thing of betraying his sweetheart for his own lust at every turn, getting engaged to his rival, and then withdrawing his marriage, no?” Ruan Tang mocked.

       When he was younger, Ruan Tang would have never thought that a madman like Austin would be a good marriage partner, even if he could bring him more benefits.

       But at this age, he has seen too many disgusting things…from too many normal looking Alphas.

       Ruan Tang thought that the madman was very good now.

’

       At least that madman has a clear distinction of being gracious and straightforward… he wouldn’t be like Zhou Yao who appeared to be open-minded, but actually relied on backstabbing and scheming behind his back.

       “You-” Zhou Yao had never thought that Ruan Tang would actually say that, his eyes immediately turned red and he gritted his teeth.

       Ruan Tang’s name was chosen by his mother, which meant that his mother hoped that her youngest Omega child would grow up into a sweet, soft, fudge-like3 Omega; a moon surrounded by lots of stars4.

       However, Ruan Tang himself was the opposite of this name, cold and hard.
Not only harsh, but could knock your teeth out.

       During the period of their relationship when Ruan Tang did not reveal his malicious face, although Zhou Yao never liked Ruan Tang, he still truly wanted to marry this Omega and live a good life with him.

       However, before the wedding–

       Ruan Tang revealed his true colors by plotting against Ruan Xi, who was not only malicious but incorrigible. 

       The relationship would never go back to the good old days of the engagement, and is getting nastier and more extreme.

       They had been stabbing each other with the worst words, and Zhou Yao couldn’t remember exactly how long it had been since he and Ruan Tang had had a proper conversation.

       Looking at this kind of Ruan Tang, Zhou Yao felt depressed–

       But what exactly he was depressed about, even he himself didn’t know.

       Obviously, Ruan Tang’s malicious and calculating behavior is contrary to his taste in Omegas, but Zhou Yao doesn’t know why he still expects something from him…

       “Brother Zhou, don’t do this! If you’re worried about Fifth Brother, just talk to him, I’m sure that Fifth Brother must have his own difficulties.” When Ruan Xi saw them arguing, he immediately stepped in, looking like a standard white lotus flower: weak and kind, as if he wanted to be the peacemaker between the two.
The more gentle, kind, simple and lovely he was, the more he contrasted Ruan Tang’s incomprehensible, paranoid and vicious nature.

       Ruan Tang looked at this white lotus act of his and immediately let out a snicker.

       There was a time when he had been blinded by this soft and harmless appearance of Ruan Xi, thinking that Ruan Xi was really a white lotus5… Because of his mother, brother and sister, Ruan Tang had always hated Ruan Ming, but he had never hated Ruan Xi, and had even once sincerely believed that this half-brother was innocent.

       He found him weak and honest, and at one point gave him his utmost love and care.

      It wasn’t until later that Ruan Tang unexpectedly realized that all his bad luck was inextricably linked to Ruan Xi.
It was only then that he woke up to reality.

       Because of Ruan Xi, first his father, who was not warm to him, became more and more indifferent and disgusted with him.
Followed by the heir of the Shen clan, the leader of the ten families’ Shen Mozi, the youngest parliament speaker of the empire, who took the initiative to make a marriage contract with him(RT), then suddenly found out that Ruan Xi is the benefactor who saved his life when he was young, and fell madly in love with him(RX).

       He broke off his engagement with Ruan Tang, and turned to pursue Ruan Xi.

       It was not just a matter of getting out of a marriage, although Ruan Tang originally planned to marry Shen Mozhi as a contractual partner, there were also expectations regarding each other’s future.
However people didn’t like him and Ruan Tang realized that he wasn’t indispensable, so he planned to let it go.

       How could he be regarded as a victim in the public opinion?

’

        However, Shen Mozhi not only cancelled the marriage, but also publicized that it was Ruan Tang who deceived him, that Ruan Tang had ulterior motives, and that he was engaged to Ruan Tang because he misunderstood that Ruan Tang was Ruan Xi, his savior.

       At that time, Ruan Tang became the target of public criticism within the aristocratic circle of Empire Star.
He became the representative of a malicious black hearted lotus who would do anything to clamber over the dragon and hang onto the phoenix6.

       Ruan Tang’s dark7 face had a question mark and he had no idea what happened.

       He went to explain to people, but none of them believed him, instead, they were even more convinced that he was highly skilled in his methods, and that he could trick Shen Mozhi into getting engaged to him before…

       All the while, Ruan Xi’s reputation in the circle was getting better and better.

       Not only Shen Mozhi, but also Ruan Tang’s second fiancé, Zhou Yao…All of Ruan Tang’s misfortunes seemed to have been caused by Ruan Xi.

       And after losing two fiancés in succession, for some reason, as if Ruan Xi had some kind of halo, everyone around Ruan Tang seemed to have been suddenly influenced by him and went to Ruan Xi’s side.

       This included Ruan Tang’s close associates, suitors, and his childhood friend.

       And because of the disputes between him and Ruan Xi, they criticized Ruan Tang one after another, “Ruan Tang, how can you be so vicious? What good does it do you to set up Ruan Xi over and over again? He’s forgiven you again and again, yet you bully and harm him like this…Isn’t this just taking advantage of kindness?”

       “Do you think that since you are the son of the first wife, that you are noble! That you feel that way because Ruan Xi is the third son of a mistress.
Let me tell you, that’s the business of the previous generation.
Besides, when your mother was conscious she acquiesced to Marshal Ruan looking for a lover outside.
Although he had plenty of lovers and illegitimate children, only XiXi’s mother turned legitimate…But your behavior of only targeting XiXi is disgusting and vicious, and it seems you’re doing it on purpose, you’re just jealous.”

       Everyone believed that Ruan Tang was malicious and mean to Ruan Xi.

       Ruan Tang had reasonably argued at first, but then realized that his struggle was not only useless, but also made the group of idiots even more convinced that he was a vicious villain against Ruan Xi, and used public opinion to constantly ‘slap’ him in the face later.

       Ruan Tang was too lazy to argue.

       These people are just like maggots in the gutter, disgusting but they can’t do any real harm to him.
The more he paid attention to them, the more excited they jumped and the more they targeted him.

       Instead, Ruan Tang let it go and ignored them, and the maggots stopped.

       Although Ruan Ming didn’t like his son, as the head of a family, the marshal of the Empire would not treat his own son harshly.

       In particular, this son was the only remaining healthy child born to him by the original spouse with whom he shared weal and woe8.

       In fact, at the most extreme moment, it wasn’t that Ruan Tang hadn’t thought about leaving, away from Empire Star, away from the Ruan family, away from Ruan Xi and the bunch of idiots around him, but then looking at his delirious mother, his comatose brother, his crazy sister…

       Ruan Tang knew he couldn’t leave.

       He was already the only one with a sound mind in their big house.
Although Ruan Ming did not deliberately treat his original wife and two, once proud but now useless, children harshly.

       But if he leaves…

’

       The current Mrs.
Ruan, Ruan Ming’s group of lovers, and those children are not easy to deal with, it’s likely his three blood related relatives wouldn’t even know how they died.

       Moreover, he had a premonition that even if he left, Ruan Xi would not let him off…

       He had a vague feeling, though he didn’t know what or why, but his gut told him that the stars holding the moon have everything go one’s way9 and Ruan Xi was trying to plunder something from him…He wouldn’t let him go, but he couldn’t kill him either.

       Ruan Tang had always had a beast-like intuition.

        Therefore, he chose to stay in the rich and powerful Ruan Family peacefully, like a rice worm who eats and waits to die.

       As for what others thought of him, Ruan Tang didn’t care at all, his lonely childhood cultivated his cool character.

       Those who are clear will clear themselves, and those who are muddy will be muddy.10

        In his eyes, those who didn’t trust him, betrayed him, and chose to take Ruan Xi’s side had no qualifications continuing to stand besides him.

 

TL Notes:

[1] Shao – another way of referring to a young master

[2] White moonlight – first love/ unforgettable love

[3] Fudge-like – Just reiterating to be sweet and soft, like fudge, gummies, etc.

[4] A moon surrounded by lots of stars – Variation of the chinese saying “The stars holding the moon”: to be admired a lot, people surrounding a person they respect

[5] White Lotus – the unsarcastic one; meaning a sincerely pure and kind person

[6] Clamber over the dragon and hang onto the phoenix – Can also be translated as “serve an Emperor and do service for a throne”, a Chinese idiom that means to curry the favor of those in power in order to climb a social or political ladder.
It’s used in a derogatory way.
The closest English equivalent would be  “brownnoser”, “bootlicker”, “suck-up”.

[7] Dark face –

[8] Shared weal and woe – refers to the good and bad times, the joys and sorrows, or prosperity and misfortune

[9] 但直觉告诉他众星捧月已是要风得风要雨的阮惜想要从他身上掠夺些什么 – I tried my best to translate this but if someone has a better way please tell me.

[10] 清者自清，浊者自浊 – From Qu Yaun’s Father of Fisher, it means that people naturally show their true colors under certain environmental changes, such as a good person will behave as a good person and a bad person will behave as a bad person.
An innocent person is innocent even if they do not declare themselves as such, A corrupt person is corrupt even if they declare themselves innocent.