“This is your birthday present from me. Do you like it?” When Jiang Zhou asked this question, his gaze remained as gentle as ever, yet Jiang Ruo sensed a hidden intensity in his eyes.
If she could disregard the sense of strangeness as her misunderstanding, what about the ring on the figurine atop the cake? Her brother surely knew what it meant for a man to give a woman a ring and yet, he had given her one.
But… he is her brother, how could he…
Jiang Ruo stood there, dazed, her mind almost blank. She had no idea what kind of reaction she should make.
Jiang Zhou stepped forward, took the ring off the figurine, and looked at Jiang Ruo with a gentle, affectionate gaze, “Don’t you like it?” He asked softly.
“Bro… brother, why… why would you give me this…” Jiang Ruo’s speech was disjointed, and her voice started trembling.
Jiang Zhou lowered his head and locked eyes with her, “Can’t you already tell?”
Jiang Ruo: “…”
Jiang Zhou held the ring in one hand and reached out to take Jiang Ruo’s hand with the other, intending to put the ring on her finger, but she quickly evaded her touch. “Brother,” Jiang Ruo’s voice was filled with clear panic, her eyes widening in disbelief as she stared at Jiang Zhou, unable to comprehend why her beloved brother would do such a thing to her.
Jiang Zhou finally realized his actions were too hasty. Letting out a soft sigh, he turned his gaze towards Jiang Ruo and spoke, “Just take this ring as a birthday present. You don’t need to overthink it.”
Jiang Ruo instinctively shook her head, “How can a ring… How can a ring be just a birthday present?” Even if the ring was a birthday present, it definitely shouldn’t be from a brother to his sister!
“If you want to see it as a normal birthday present, then it’s just that,” Jiang Zhou said, his voice carrying a subtle heaviness, “My feelings, if you don’t want to understand them, you can forever pretend not to know.”
“But you’re my big brother!” Jiang Ruo’s expression was full of shock.
Jiang Zhou shook his head, “But we are not related by blood. Although I don’t want to admit that Jiang Li is my sister, she is indeed the person who shares a blood relation with me.”
“But… but I’ve always seen you as my real brother, and that has never changed,” Jiang Ruo’s voice carried a hint of desperation, as if she was trying to persuade Jiang Zhou, or maybe even convincing herself.
Jiang Zhou was silent for a few seconds before he slowly said, “But we are not related by blood, Ruoruo.”
Jiang Ruo still couldn’t accept it. She only found out at the age of fifteen that she and her family were not blood-related, but before that, her brother was always her real brother!
She could freely act spoiled with her brother, accepting all his kindness without reservation, because he was her brother!
Seeing Jiang Ruo silent, Jiang Zhou continued, “It’s normal for you to find it difficult to suddenly accept this. I’m not asking you to make a decision right away, but could you at least consider me?”
Jiang Ruo stared at Jiang Zhou and shook her head, “I… I don’t want to consider it. I’ve always seen you as my real brother.”
“But I’m not your brother,” Jiang Zhou’s voice was deep, “I am a normal man, and I am already of age. We are not related by blood. My kindness towards you is not because you’re my sister, but because I like you.” Jiang Zhou knew he should not pressure her too much, “Ruoruo, you can take your time to think, and I can always wait, wait until you understand, but shouldn’t you at least give me a chance?”
Jiang Ruo bit her lip, asking, “What if… what if I can never understand?”
Seeing her attitude soften, Jiang Zhou laughed softly, “If you can never understand, then I’ll just keep waiting for you to do so. No matter which day you come to understand, I’ll be right here waiting for you.”
“…” Jiang Ruo’s mind was a tangled mess at this moment, making it impossible for her to think clearly, let alone understand the situation. Fortunately, Jiang Zhou didn’t press her for an immediate answer, which gave her a bit of respite. She looked at the ring in Jiang Zhou’s hand and whispered, “Can I… not accept this?”
Jiang Zhou contemplated briefly before approaching Jiang Ruo, intending to remove the pendant around her neck. Jiang Ruo quickly retreated to a wall, covering her neckline with her hands, her face filled with terror, “Brother, what… what are you doing?”
Jiang Zhou’s lips slightly curled up as he approached, “Silly girl, where is your mind going? Even if your brother were to hurt himself, he would never harm you.”
Hearing this, Jiang Ruo felt a sense of relief.
Jiang Zhou pulled the chain holding the pendant from Jiang Ruo’s neck. He could feel her trembling as he approached, only relaxing again when she realized he was just going to take the pendant.
Jiang Zhou was pleased because he knew that after today, Ruoruo would never see him as a mere brother again. Her aversion to physical contact with him was not because she disliked him, but because she began to see him as a man.
Looking at the pendant in his hand, he was delighted to discover it was the one he had previously given to Ruoruo. He unclasped the chain, threaded the ring onto it, and after clasping it back again, he placed both the pendant and the ring back around Jiang Ruo’s neck. “Ruoruo, the things I’ve told you, I’ll only say once. I promise I won’t pressure you after today. If you come to understand, take this ring off and wear it on your finger, to let me know your decision, okay?”
Jiang Zhou’s voice was especially deep and gentle, exerting an indescribable appeal. Jiang Ruo hesitated for a while before finally nodding, “I… I understand.”
Jiang Zhou smiled and ruffled her hair, “Happy 18th birthday, little birthday girl. Now you’re an adult. Let’s light the candles, make a wish, and eat the cake, okay?”
Looking at the familiar smile, Jiang Ruo felt as if they had returned to the past, yet some things had already changed forever.
Seeing her silence, Jiang Zhou playfully tapped her nose, “I’ll put the candles on for our little birthday girl. You just need to make a wish and blow them out.” Jiang Zhou skillfully placed and lit the candles, then sang a birthday song off-key before saying, “Ruoruo, you can make your wish now.”
Jiang Ruo nodded, closed her eyes, and made three wishes.
The first wish: May Dad’s business prosper and return to its former state as soon as possible.
The second wish: May Mom and Dad live harmoniously again and stop having endless quarrels.
The third wish: May she be admitted to her dream university and for her livestreaming career to go to the next level.
After making her three wishes and blowing out the candles, Jiang Ruo suddenly realized that none of her wishes this year were about her brother.
Seeing Jiang Ruo lost in thought, Jiang Zhou laughed and removed the candles from the cake, asking, “What are you thinking about?”
Jiang Ruo immediately shook her head, “No… nothing.”
Her wishes this year didn’t include her brother, because she now knew what he wanted the most. However, she was not yet ready to accept the fact that her brother liked her in that way and thus didn’t know how to wish for him.
Just as they were about to enjoy the cake, a sudden knock on the door interrupted them. Jiang Zhou went to open the door, only to see Feng Yun standing there.
< Previous | TOC | Advanced TOC | Next >
Wants more chapters?
Click this page for the status of sponsored chapters.
Click this page for advanced chapters TOC.
This feels… gross and uncomfortable
Girl, run and don’t look back! Ugh, he’s so creepy I wanted to jump away from the screen.
Also, If it turns out that she’s his half-sister, I will cackle so viciously I would make Disney villains proud.
No matter what Ruo Ruo doesn’t deserve to live under the abuse of this pervert fvk poor baby was finally going on the right path .
No matter how much animosity and gaslighting she did against Jiang Li when she was in school I do feel she has changed now even if she didn’t that doesn’t mean she should suffer under this psychopathic pervert.
She deserves to be free and independent person. Away from Jiang Zhou .
Feels like this novel got two parts… like Jiang Li continuing her life peacefully. Meanwhile, Jiang Rou’s life still on dramatic novel plot with Yandere adopted/stepbro.