Tian Sangsang was initially startled, then desperately tried to free her hand from his grasp. Yet the harder she struggled, the stronger his grip beca, and the more her bones ached.
Turns out even being a big guy isn’t all-powerful. Despite his injuries, this man’s strength rivaled that of an ox.
This infuriated her—trying to save soone only to end up almost being murdered!
"Are you trying to rebel here, Jiang?!" Tian Sangsang was livid, glaring at him. "Let go of , do you hear?! If you don’t let go, I’ll solve this with a knife. Jiang!!!"
After scolding him, the man laying on the ground still refused to release his grip. His resolute brows were furrowed tightly, his eyes seed to flicker open briefly before shutting again. His delicate face remained pale. His thin lips parted slightly, and he murmured, "Sis..."
Tian Sangsang was incensed, staring at him in disbelief. "I didn’t expect you to be such a smooth operator! Even in a haze, you can call for ’Sis.’ How many sisters do you have, Jiang? Or were you calling ’Sis’? Even to , this black and chubby woman, you can muster calling ’Sis’..."
A shiver ran down her spine; she dared not contemplate further.
"Fine, fine. Sis it is then." Tian Sangsang lowered her voice. "But could you kindly let go of my hand, Jiang? If you don’t soon, I swear I’ll pry your grip off with a knife. Jiang, I an it—shed blood, don’t bla . Bla your sister instead."
He seed to be in pain, his voice faltering, "Not... Jiang. It’s... Jinghuai... Little... Jinghuai..."
Little Jinghuai?!
Jinghuai?!
Oh, right. His na is Jiang Jinghuai, isn’t it? At this mont, Tian Sangsang finally recalled the na of the villainous Big Boss!
His strength had not waned, and Tian Sangsang frowned in deep thought. By all logic, soone injured shouldn’t be this strong unless he’s currently unconscious, dreaming—perhaps encountering a pivotal mont in his dream that’s got him worked up. The only solution now was to coax him to sleep.
But how? How to lull him into peace?
Like soothing a small child, maybe that would work?
Tian Sangsang thought about the tone she usually used with ng Shuyan and spoke softly, tenderly: "Little Jinghuai, I’m mama, okay? Be good, baby, sweetheart, go to sleep, alright?"
Go on, sleep already. Mama’s begging you!
And by the way, don’t forget to loosen your grip before sleeping!
She extended her chubby hand, stiffly patting his chest to reassure him into slumber.
But he wouldn’t cooperate, murmuring a few incomprehensible sounds again. Tian Sangsang leaned in closer to listen—it was "sister."
Sister?
Suddenly, his grip tightened further, and he weakly but repressedly called out repeatedly, "Jiaqi, Jiaqi..."
The sound was forlorn and heartrending, tugging at anyone’s sympathies.
Tian Sangsang gazed at him curiously; this heaven’s prodigy Jiang Jinghuai—he had monts of pure agony too? In the earlier Chapters, wasn’t he mostly free of suffering? But what’s this deal with his sister?
She sifted through her mory of the book *Rebirth of Business Genius* for fragnts she might recall. Jiang Jinghuai—it turned out he wasn’t an only child. She vaguely rembered he had a father, a mother, and a biological younger sister nad Jiang Jiaqi. But the book didn’t elaborate much on Jiang Jiaqi, only ntioning her na briefly, as she had passed away during her most beautiful years—when she was barely over ten. Too young, innocent, without a clue about the ways of the world. Later, the Jiang Family adopted Jia Wenxiu, who was rely a foster daughter.
How Jiang Jiaqi died, Tian Sangsang hadn’t read about, so she couldn’t think of any way to comfort him.
Sitting dazed on the ground, her gaze fixed on Jiang Jinghuai’s face but her thoughts drifted elsewhere—to her own younger brother. Jiang Jinghuai missed his sister, just as she missed her brother. Such is family—once, when she and her brother were in school, sumr vacation at ho would drag on, and they’d quarrel and annoy each other endlessly. Yet during the school term, with only weekly ho visits, they’d feel deeply hosick. And later, as adults with jobs, even occasional gatherings brought complete contentnt.
Suddenly, a flash flickered in Tian Sangsang’s eyes—perhaps this could work.
She gently clasped Jiang Jinghuai’s hand with her other hand, channeling an Oscar-winning performance, her expression softening.
"Bro, I’m Jiaqi, your sister. I’m right here, and I’ll stay with you always, Brother. You used to say that you’d protect . Now it’s my turn to protect you. I’ll protect you forever—you don’t have to hurt anymore, okay? If you hurt, you’ll hurt too with your grip. Let go of my hand, alright, Brother—"
Tian Sangsang rambled on, talking nonsense, watching Jiang Jinghuai’s facial expressions as she did so.
Sure enough, the grip on her hand loosened. Jiang Jinghuai’s pallid face began to ease, bit by bit, his furrowed brows still faintly knit together. From the corners of his shut eyes, crystalline tears slowly began to fall.
"Brother—You—" Tian Sangsang was at a loss for words, staring at him dazedly, forgetting even to revise her lines.
He cried.
He actually cried.
A grown man.
Why was he crying?
Because of his sister?
A bittersweet pang settled deep in Tian Sangsang’s heart; she felt touched. She wanted to pry Jiang Jinghuai’s hand away, but he seed to sense her intention and clutched her again.
Gently stroking his cheek, lightly tracing the scars along his face, Tian Sangsang’s tone softened further with a hint of compassion. "Brother, I’ve always been here, and I’ll always stay by your side. Let go of —I won’t leave you."
Finally, he relinquished his hesitation, allowing Tian Sangsang to remove his hand and lay it at his side.
Tian Sangsang took a clean towel and wiped his sweat-drenched forehead, then wiped the dirt and blood smudges off his face, plus the areas of exposed skin. Soon after, he looked considerably cleaner. The sky outside had grown dark, and it was ti for her to leave.
She got up but turned back, pulling out a thin blanket from her space and draping it over him. His pale complexion resembled a fragile porcelain doll, an injured and lancholic figure strikingly similar to ng Shuyan. But not entirely similar. Upon closer inspection, he resembled ng Shuyan only about six or seven parts, not the eight or nine she’d initially believed. So it seed her original body had so pretty decent genes too.
Feeling much lighter, Tian Sangsang exuded a gentle glow. She leaned down and humd softly, singing faintly with a tender voice: "Twinkle, twinkle, little star... How I wonder what you are... Up above the world so high... Like a diamond in the sky... Twinkle, twinkle, little star... How I wonder what you are..."
Perhaps her ethereal, distant, soothing tone wove a mirage of a peaceful dream. Jiang Jinghuai’s furrowed brows finally relaxed, his lips faintly curving as he drifted into slumber.
Coaxing a big kid into sleep was no small task. Tian Sangsang sighed softly, patted her pants, and disappeared into the night.
...
That night, listening to ng Shuyan’s steady breathing under the gentle glow of moonlight streaming through the window, Tian Sangsang’s scissors glinted with a cold, silvery light.
She lifted the thin blanket quietly, carefully pulling up her son’s... shirt. Then, snipping the red cord from around his neck, the still-warm jade thumb ring slipped into Tian Sangsang’s dark hand.
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