“But…” Jiang Zhou hesitated. Could her fans really understand? What if they thought Ruoruo was using her condition to gain sympathy and started posting hurtful comments?
Jiang Ruo looked at Jiang Zhou and said, “I know what you’re thinking, Brother. You’re wondering if my fans will stop liking me once they realize I’m not as perfect as they imagined, right?”
Before Jiang Zhou could respond, she continued, “When Jiang Li first came home, I was so fearful. I was afraid of losing Mom and Dad, afraid of losing you, and afraid that my classmates would find out that I was just an impostor who took someone else’s place. So, I chose to deceive everyone.”
“I lied to my classmates, saying that Jiang Li was adopted by our family because her parents had helped Dad, and they believed me.”
“To keep the lie from being exposed, I had to tell more lies to cover the initial one. But lies are always lies, and they are bound to be exposed eventually. When the truth came out, everyone knew I was a liar.”
“Later, I fantasized countless times about what would have happened if I had told everyone the truth when Jiang Li first came home. Maybe many people would have laughed at me, taking glee in my misfortune, but some would definitely stand by me.”
“Brother, I don’t want to lie anymore. It’s better for my fans to know that I performed poorly on the college entrance exam due to my illness than to make up a score and then get exposed as a fraud.”
Jiang Zhou’s expression was complex. He reached out and tidied the stray hair on Jiang Ruo’s forehead, whispering, “Ruoruo, you’ve grown up.” Before he knew it, Ruoruo was no longer the little girl who needed his constant protection. She was starting to have her own ideas and learn how to carve a path for herself.
Jiang Ruo leaned on his shoulder. “Telling them the truth isn’t a bad thing. Think about it, Brother. Those fans indeed like the Jiang Ruo who is excellent in every aspect, but they might appreciate even more the Jiang Ruo who fights against illness and never gives up!”
Jiang Zhou nodded, “Yes, they will like you. And you won’t always be fighting this illness. Once we find a suitable donor, our Ruoruo will be healthy again and won’t have to go to the hospital for dialysis all the time.”
He calculated the time and realized that the Feng family’s regular health check-up was only two days away. He had deliberately set things up so that the doctor conducting the check-up for the Feng family was heavily in debt due to his son’s gambling habit. The doctor wanted to pay off his son’s debts, which was not an easy task, so he had to comply with Jiang Zhou’s demands.
Moreover, his request was not unreasonable—it was just to obtain a blood sample from Jiang Li. It wouldn’t cause her any harm.
As a doctor, the man should have guessed Jiang Zhou’s intentions, but he had no choice because of his son’s predicament.
With Jiang Li’s blood sample in hand, Jiang Zhou could decide his future actions. If it matched Ruoruo’s, he could proceed with further plans.
However, he didn’t intend to tell Ruoruo about this for now. Since it was still uncertain whether the match would be successful, he didn’t want to raise her hopes, only for her to face disappointment.
…
In early July, Jiang Li’s classmates organized a reunion. Having been the mascot/class president for three years, she naturally had to attend.
Before she left, Old Master Feng reminded her again and again, “Even though you are an adult now, you shouldn’t drink alcohol outside. You’ve never had alcohol before, so you don’t know your limits. You never know people’s true intentions these days, and there have been plenty of incidents at class reunions… Anyway, be very careful.”
Facing her grandfather’s repeated nagging, Jiang Li nodded earnestly each time, assuring him that she absolutely wouldn’t drink.
Eventually, Feng Bai couldn’t listen any longer and interjected, “Grandpa, if you’re really worried, why don’t you just go with her to the reunion?”
His grandfather gave him a death glare: “If you have nothing useful to say, be quiet. No one will think you are mute because you don’t speak. Just because those incidents haven’t happened to you doesn’t mean they can’t. It’s always better to be safe than sorry, understand?”
Feng Bai scratched his nose, regretting his loose tongue. Why did he provoke Grandpa for no reason? That was clearly asking for trouble!
After leaving the house, Jiang Li headed straight to the popular hotpot establishment near their high school to meet her classmates. Once most of them had arrived, one of the boys started a commotion, suggesting that the boys should split the bill. Some hotpot and karaoke wouldn’t cost much anyway, might as well treat the girls!
After he spoke, several other boys agreed, saying girls ate less and should indeed eat for free.
Zhang Qingqing immediately chimed in, “I didn’t realize you guys were so chivalrous!”
One of the boys put his arm around Zhang Qingqing’s shoulder, “When have your bro ever not been chivalrous to my buddies?”
However, Jiang Li noticed some boys in the class fell silent after the suggestion of boys footing the bill. Even though they didn’t voice any objection, it was clear that they weren’t happy with this arrangement. She exchanged a glance with Wang Simin, who quickly whispered in her ear, “I don’t think this is right.”
Jiang Li nodded, “I agree.” Her nickname might be Moneygrubber, but she didn’t like taking advantage of others, especially since they were all students spending their parents’ money. Some of the boys’ families weren’t well-off, and they definitely weren’t keen on the idea of paying extra.
Considering she had been the class president for three years, Jiang Li decided to speak up. But before she could, Qin Zheng interjected, “I’ll cover today’s bill. We’ve been classmates for three years, consider this my treat as a farewell dinner.”
“Oh, wow! Old Qin, are you really that generous?” Zhang Qingqing exclaimed, “Nearly all our classmates are here today. Just the meal will cost several thousand yuan, not to mention the karaoke later.”
For Qin Zheng, who came from a wealthy family, a few thousand yuan was nothing. However, he had always been low-key, so his classmates didn’t know he was rich.
In response to Zhang Qingqing’s doubt, Qin Zheng simply smiled and explained, “I did well in the exams, so my parents rewarded me with a lot of money. I planned to treat you guys to this meal anyway.”
Hearing this, the students immediately began to compliment Qin Zheng on his generosity.
Zhang Qingqing then turned to Jiang Li and said jokingly, “Miss Class President, you’re also a top scorer. Didn’t your family give you a big bonus too?”
Jiang Li nodded, “Yes, but it’s mostly in the form of real estate like houses and cars. While it’s under my name, selling it to treat you guys isn’t practical.”
Zhang Qingqing was stunned, “Class president, I know you don’t want to treat us, but there’s no need to exaggerate like that, right?”
Seeing Qin Zheng trying to hold back his laughter, Zhang Qingqing turned to him, “Doesn’t our class president look incredibly calm when she’s bragging? Don’t you think so, Old Qin?”
Qin Zheng shook his head, “I don’t think so, because I know Jiang Li isn’t exaggerating.”
Shen Mian immediately added, “I can vouch for that. Jiang Li is definitely telling the truth.” Even though she wasn’t from a wealthy background, there were many rich kids at her alma mater, Minjiang International School. Some people had shared the information about the Feng family in the group chat, so she had some understanding.
Zhang Qingqing: “…”
This is bad. The drinks haven’t even been served, and these three are already drunk!
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Translator’s Note:
Hello, everyone! As I explained before, The Healer Demands Payment! is going to enter hiatus. After looking around for replacement and asking for suggestion, most of you suggest I take over abandoned titles, and it just happens that one of my favorite title has been abandoned for a few years now, so I feel comfortable taking it over. Here it is: Wake Up Male Lead, You Belong With The Female Lead!. What I love from this author’s novels are always the dynamics between the main couple and the twist incorporated into the seemingly typical cultivation world settings. Hope you can enjoy it as much as I did!
For this week only, there will be daily updates (5 updates), and then it will follow THDP’s update schedule: Tuesday and Thursday.
Enjoy~
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Jiang Zhou really be dreaming big. Does he really believe that Jiang Li will easily agree to his request after how treated her??!!
I bet this Jiang Zhou planning bad. Maybe he’ll do what Bai guy did in OG plot.
What is og story, say me