Since it had already been confirmed that he had transferred his affections, Jiang Zhu couldn’t think of a good way to explain, so he just admitted it.
“Alright, alright, I really have fallen for Feng Ling… But I’ve already discussed it with Xiao Lin. We’ll just go through the motions for the matchmaking meeting. We’ve both agreed on our story—we’ll just say we’re not compatible…”
“Sister Xiao Lin actually knows about this…?”
This was something Jiang He hadn’t anticipated.
Her indignant tone suddenly softened.
“Big Bro, do you really not like Sister Xiao Lin?”
“Yeah, I’m devoted to Feng Ling.”
Jiang He was silent for a while.
Jiang Zhu had already prepared himself to be labeled a cheater.
But then she looked up and said something he never expected.
“Big Bro, I’m sorry…”
Jiang Zhu was taken aback.
“Why are you apologizing to me?”
She lowered her head and spoke in a serious tone unlike her usual self: “You know, back when Mom was trying to cure my illness, she spent a lot of money. Besides our family’s savings, she borrowed a total of 500,000 from various people to pay off the medical bills.”
Jiang Zhu nodded.
Of course he knew about this.
Jiang He’s health had taken a turn a few years ago.
He was still in college at the time.
His mother had been vague on the phone about the specifics, only saying that his little sister was sick and needed to be hospitalized, telling him not to worry and to focus on his studies.
Jiang Zhu was very worried and tried to earn some extra money at school to cover the financial gap, but soon his mother said the debt could be paid off slowly.
So he shifted his focus back to his studies, hoping to repay it after he started working.
“Yeah, I’ve already saved up 100,000 now. I can pay back part of it.”
Jiang Zhu thought of his savings and felt a bit more at ease.
“Well… actually, it might not need to be repaid…”
Connecting this to why Jiang He brought it up, Jiang Zhu quickly guessed who had lent them the money.
“So it was borrowed from Uncle Lin…”
“That’s right. Uncle Lin’s exact words to me were, ‘We’re all family, so no need to be so clear about it.’”
Lin Ciwei’s family was just an ordinary dual-income household—not impoverished, but definitely not well-off.
That 500,000 was probably saved up over decades of frugal living.
And yet, a lifetime’s savings could be lent out so easily with just the words “we’re all family.”
Of course, Lin Ciwei’s father had made the decision, but it must have also included Lin Ciwei’s resolve.
“So… Big Bro, you know, even though with your 700,000 annual salary you could pay it back in a year, there’s still the debt of gratitude…”
Jiang He looked down and rubbed her fingers together, knowing how heavy this debt of gratitude was.
“I think, since Sister Xiao Lin’s family was willing to give their life’s savings to help us, it’s not really right for us to just go through the motions with the matchmaking meeting.”
Jiang He also knew this all started because of her.
On one hand, she certainly hoped her brother could be with the person he truly loved.
On the other hand, she couldn’t just treat the Lin family’s kindness with indifference.
“But Big Bro, if you really like Feng Ling, I’ll support you… After all, you’ve already made it clear to Sister Xiao Lin. I’m just bringing this up here. I hope you’ll reconsider. Sister Xiao Lin might care about you much more than you think.”
“I understand.”
Looking at it this way, Lin Ciwei’s feelings for him were far heavier than he had thought, or rather, far heavier than he had dared to admit.
He had always thought that matchmaking meeting was just the enthusiastic matchmaking of both mothers plus some long-expired childhood sweetheart filter that he could pop with a few words.
Now it seemed it was just his own wishful thinking.
Moreover, recently, interacting with Lian Ge as Feng Ling, his understanding of Lian Ge as a person was subtly changing.
Especially that moment when Lian Ge shielded him from behind—it truly gave him a sense of security he hadn’t felt in a long time.
If you really asked whether he disliked Lian Ge, Jiang Zhu’s answer would probably be no.
But he had poured too many lies into his identity as Feng Ling.
This layer of lies had grown from a casual fabrication at the start to its current scale, and it could no longer be solved by simply admitting he was Jiang Zhu.
This was no longer about what he wanted or didn’t want.
That Lian Ge, who firmly believed that magical girls should selflessly dedicate themselves and that people should be upright and honest, probably wouldn’t accept someone like him who would say any lie as long as it was necessary.
So even knowing this, his goal remained unchanged.
She still had to earn enough money as Feng Ling, save up enough retirement funds, and then find a way to completely shed the identity of a magical girl, retiring and withdrawing.
Maybe only then could he truly accept Lin Ciwei, and Lin Ciwei truly accept him.
“I understand.”
Jiang Zhu repeated those words.
“Alright, alright, I can see you’re really troubled.”
Jiang He spread her hands on the armrests of her wheelchair, striking a pose like “This judge now adjourns court.”
“Since Sister Xiao Lin knows, then this is between you two. I won’t interfere too much.”
Jiang He slumped in her wheelchair, looking at her cheater of a big bro.
She never expected that the CP she shipped would actually have a third party.
All those beautiful fantasies instantly turned to bubbles.
“But Big Bro, I’m not done settling accounts with you yet…”
Even though she knew Sister Xiao Lin was aware, just thinking about it still made Jiang He angry.
She started preparing to drag Jiang Zhu into criticism on other fronts.
“So Big Bro, you stayed overnight at Feng Ling’s place, right? You’ve already moved in together, right? You’ve already slept in the same bed, right?”
Her speech got faster and faster, rapid-fire questions, and her volume also rose.
“You haven’t done that kind of thing, have you? Big Bro, you scumbag, Feng Ling isn’t even an adult yet!”
Seeing his sister so indignant, Jiang Zhu was almost afraid she would call the police the next moment.
He quickly raised his hands in surrender and hurriedly explained: “We haven’t established a relationship yet! And she just looks underage; her actual age might be the same as mine… And even if she isn’t an adult, I can wait a few years until she is… I really just came over to help fix things. See, she left early this morning. I’ve confessed everything, there’s no need to lie anymore, okay?”
As he spoke, he turned sideways to give her a clear view through the doorway.
Jiang He leaned and peered into the room a few times.
It was empty; indeed, there was no sign of Feng Ling.
“Alright, alright, I believe you.”
Actually, by this point Jiang Zhu had already relaxed.
What he was considering now was that if he told his sister, it might get spread around, and if Feng Ling got boyfriend rumors, it would be bad for her earning money.
“So what are you going to do, Big Bro? Are you really going to abandon Sister Xiao Lin?”
“I’ll handle it.”
Jiang Zhu looked up, and instead, a deeper desire for money burned in his eyes.