Old Master Ji had lived a life of constant busyness and never really understood the way his second son’s family thought.
Still, seeing how harmonious they were, never competing or fighting for anything, made him genuinely happy.
He had already wronged his eldest son in this lifetime, so he was especially indulgent toward the second son, hoping he could live a better, easier life.
In the past, he always worried that his second son would stir up trouble every day and get himself into danger. Recently, however, he had settled down, stopped touching those risky things, stayed at home to keep him company, and occasionally slipped away to travel with the children. That wasn’t a bad thing at all.
As for the family business, if the second branch didn’t want it, then so be it. Their shares would never be lacking anyway.
Speaking of it, back when he was young, after having his eldest son, he had devoted all his energy to raising him, intending to hand the entire family business over to him one day. Now that his eldest son was gone, leaving behind a grandson, placing the group in that child’s hands could barely be considered passing it on to the eldest branch after all.
Thinking of his eldest son who had died young, Old Master Ji let out a sigh.
There was still guilt in his heart, but with the children around him being filial and obedient, the torment that had lasted over ten years had gradually become easier to bear.
“Grandpa, have some of this.” Ji Chengsi listened to everyone talking but didn’t speak much. He still wasn’t used to integrating the Ji family that had suddenly become so warm after his rebirth. Added to that was his lingering guilt toward his second uncle’s family, so he usually only paid attention to Old Master Ji and rarely spoke to the others.
Old Master Ji came back to himself and looked happily at the extra food in his bowl. He praised Ji Chengsi with a smile and ate it with clear enjoyment.
Seeing this, Qi Qinxue gently picked up some food and placed it into Ji Chengsi’s bowl.
“Chengsi, don’t just focus on taking care of the old master. You should eat more too. Look at you, you’ve only been back a short time and you’ve already grown taller. Eat more and nourish your body.”
Old Master Ji nodded in agreement. “That’s right, eat more. Build yourself up.”
A trace of extremely faint complexity surfaced in Ji Chengsi’s eyes. He responded softly and obediently ate.
Second Aunt was the same as in his previous life, still treating him so well. But the kinder she was to him, the deeper his regret became.
No matter whether it was the previous life or this one, Second Aunt had always been innocent.
Yet his actions in his previous life had indirectly caused the death of her son, Ji Xian.
Whenever he recalled the day Ji Xian died, the always well-composed Second Aunt had lost all decorum, tears streaming down her face as she collapsed on the floor on the verge of madness. Ji Chengsi felt a sharp pain stab through his heart.
He owed Second Aunt.
Of course, as the direct beneficiary, he was able to make up his mind to forget the past and treat the Ji family well, yet he never thought deeply about why Qi Qinxue treated him so kindly.
Only Ji Xiu did.
Because he had already noticed something off about Qi Qinxue before, and after returning home had deliberately observed her, growing more confused by the day.
Ji Linlang narrowed her eyes, glanced at her absent-minded father, then at Qi Qinxue who was overflowing with maternal affection toward Ji Chengsi. A dark glint flashed through her eyes.
She was going too far.
At least in the previous life, she had known how to disguise it and wasn’t this obvious. That was why she and her brother had never noticed anything wrong. It was only after her brother died, when she and her mother joined hands to take revenge on Ji Chengsi, and when Qi Qinxue, filled with hatred for Ji Chengsi for causing Ji Xian’s death, confessed the secret to her when she was nearing death, that Ji Linlang finally understood why Qi Qinxue had always favored Ji Chengsi.
But during this half month when they weren’t home, Qi Qinxue had acted without restraint, becoming even worse than in the previous life.
Seeing that even Ji Xian had begun to show a puzzled look as he glanced at Qi Qinxue, yet Qi Qinxue herself hadn’t noticed at all and was still single-mindedly taking care of Ji Chengsi, Ji Linlang could no longer hold back.
She deliberately acted coquettish. “Mom, aren’t you being too biased? My brother and I have been gone for half a month. Why are you only paying attention to our cousin and not even seeing us?”
Qi Qinxue froze for a moment, finally snapping out of it. She looked at her daughter and son, embarrassment appearing on her face. With a gentle smile, she served them food as well.
Ji Xian was easy to placate. He immediately became satisfied and cheerful, not caring anymore that his own mother treated Ji Chengsi so well.
While eating, he chatted animatedly with Ji Chengsi beside him about the fun things from their trip.
Ji Linlang, however, was not so easy to appease. She glanced at Qi Qinxue, her expression still淡淡的.
Qi Qinxue’s heart skipped. Guilt surfaced on her face. “Linlang, Mom was wrong. I didn’t know you were coming back today, so I didn’t prepare in advance. How about this, tell me what you want to eat, and tomorrow I’ll cook it myself for you. Didn’t you really like the rose sugar cakes Mom makes? That one can…”
Ji Linlang froze, unable to speak in time as memories surged into her mind, her face instantly turning pale.
Why would Qi Qinxue apologize like this?
Of course, there were reasons.
They were memories she had almost forgotten.
When she was little, she was the first child in the family. Everyone treated her extremely well. Back then, her uncle was still around. Although she had no memory of him, she knew she had grown up being doted on.
Later, Qi Qinxue gave birth to Ji Xian.
She was young, yet had already learned jealousy. Jealous of Ji Xian for stealing the family’s attention, she often bullied him, pinching his tender cheeks when no one was around.
But Ji Xian didn’t cry. Instead, he grinned at her with an innocent smile.
That was how he was. From a young age, he liked his sister very much.
After he learned to walk and talk, he followed her around every day, taking the blame for her, helping her build castles, saving hidden candies for her, calling her “sister” again and again as he stuck close to her.
Even though she had never wanted to pay attention to Ji Xian and felt that he had diluted the love the family gave her, Ji Xian still liked her just the same.
Then she went to school and studied her way up. At thirteen, in her rebellious phase, she discovered the secret hidden in the names of her two younger brothers.
Ji Xian, Ji Li. Yes, both their names contained the “king” radical, because they belonged to the Wang generation. She did not.
At that time, she wasn’t called Ji Linlang but another beautiful name. It was said that the family had thought about it for a long time. Back then, wuxia was in fashion, and her name sounded poetic and full of martial flair.
But it didn’t contain that radical.
Because of this, Ji Linlang had a long cold war with her family, believing they valued sons over daughters and didn’t value her.
Ji Xiu and Qi Qinxue spent a great deal of effort figuring out the reason for her sulking, then took her to change her name, renaming her Ji Linlang.
This way, it had the radical.
Not just one, but two.
After leaving the office, Ji Xiu and Qi Qinxue held her as they got into the car and told her that they loved her, that it wasn’t about favoring sons over daughters, only that her brothers were younger. They said they knew they were wrong and promised not to do it again, hoping she would accept their apology and their love.
Ji Xiu had a bit of a roguish temperament, and he and Qi Qinxue were a rare affectionate couple in high society. Naturally, they doted on both children, which was why they were willing to swallow their pride and apologize to her.
Ji Linlang accepted it verbally and said she would supervise them to see if they truly didn’t favor sons over daughters.
For those years, she was the center of attention in the household. From the elders to the youngest, everyone held up their little princess.
It was precisely because everyone treated her so well that she developed a sharpness and pride uncommon in the Ji family. After graduating from university, she plunged straight into the entertainment industry.
Even so, she cared deeply about her position in the family. She constantly suppressed Ji Xian, not allowing him to shine, insisting that the family dote on her alone.
Ji Xian was a devoted sister-con. He didn’t mind at all, and so the Ji family continued on like that.
Until Ji Chengsi returned and began competing with Ji Xian for control of the group.
That was the thing Ji Linlang regretted most in her life.
Because she had always harbored resentment toward Ji Xian’s existence, when the two brothers fought over power, a single wicked thought arose, and she actually stood on Ji Chengsi’s side together with Qi Qinxue.
In the end, Ji Xian lost, was expelled from the group, and died in a car accident on his way home.
Even now, thinking about it made Ji Linlang’s heart feel as though it were being torn apart, pain so intense she couldn’t speak, pain that made her heart spasm.
That was her brother. The brother who had loved her, admired her, and followed her around all his life. The brother she had seen come out of the delivery room when she was two years old, so small, red and wrinkled like a little mouse, opening eyes that couldn’t yet see but smiling at her all the same.
After Dad left, it was only her brother who protected her. Why had she been so brainless as to stand on Ji Chengsi’s side and persuade her brother to give up the group?
Truly, only someone with lard blinding their heart could hurt their own brother’s heart like that.
Ji Linlang hated herself and hated everyone who had caused her brother’s death. She pushed Ji Chengsi down the stairs, let Qi Qinxue take the blame, deliberately punished herself by never sleeping, running everywhere, humbling herself to protect the Ji family group that belonged to her brother, seeking opportunities. She became haggard like a madwoman, living in constant pain.
Then, suddenly, the world shattered like a glass mirror.
Ji Linlang sensed that she was about to die and went willingly, never expecting that she would be given another chance.
Dad was alive.
Her brother was alive too.
She swore that in this life, she only wanted to protect her father and her brother, the two most important men in her life. As for everything else, she didn’t care. Even if the world would fracture like it did in the previous life, at least she wanted to die together with her family, not survive alone in this world.
After being reborn, Ji Linlang followed her own wishes and plans. She first saved her father, who had gone missing by the seaside, then secretly gave Ji Chengsi information about returning home, hoping her brother could happily pursue his dreams.
It was just that the painful memories were too deep. After her rebirth, her mind selectively ignored some memories, forgetting that seven years ago, she herself had been the little tyrant of the household.
Now that Qi Qinxue was apologizing with such guilt, she suddenly remembered that the true culprit behind her brother’s suffering had been her.
She had slowly changed her brother’s position in the family, but those harms didn’t simply disappear. Hadn’t she only been slightly cold, and Qi Qinxue already paid her even more attention than she did to Ji Xian?
Her brother had always been the most overlooked one in the family.
Ji Linlang fell silent. A long, hidden pain surged up in her heart, stabbing at it once more.
She was sorry to her brother.
Suddenly, she no longer wanted to stand by coldly.
Ji Xian was a foolish little brother. He looked proud and aloof, but he was actually the most devoted to the family. He loved her as his sister, loved Ji Xiu as his father, and loved Qi Qinxue as his mother as well.
She couldn’t let Qi Qinxue continue like this, exposing that secret and hurting her father and brother.
She had to warn Qi Qinxue.
…
Dinner ended in a subtly silent atmosphere.
After leaving the table, Ji Xian thought Ji Linlang was upset about Ji Chengsi being favored. He squeezed in front of her and comforted her discreetly.
Ji Linlang felt both touched and guilty. After reassuring him, she hurried off to find Qi Qinxue.
“Linlang?” Qi Qinxue was stopped at her bedroom door. She turned around with a gentle smile. “What is it? Is there anything else you want to eat? Tomorrow Mom will make it for you too.”
For the first time since her rebirth, Ji Linlang carefully examined Qi Qinxue.
Qi Qinxue wasn’t actually a bad woman. She was beautiful, from a prestigious family, yet unlike many wealthy wives, she wasn’t obsessed with shopping and indulgence. She cared for the elders, loved her husband, doted on her children, far surpassing many women of similar background.
The affection in her eyes now was real.
She had only gone wrong once, during the struggle for power between Ji Xian and Ji Chengsi.
Ji Linlang’s emotions were complicated as she slowly spoke. “Mom, restrain yourself a bit.”
Qi Qinxue looked shocked, somewhat hurt. “What did I do? Did Mom upset you somehow? Or are you bothered by Chengsi? He just came home, so I took a bit more care of him…”
Ji Linlang interrupted her. “Mom, when I was born, Uncle was still alive.”
Qi Qinxue froze, unable to speak.
Ji Linlang took a deep breath and spoke more plainly. “Mom, Dad is still alive. Many elders in the family are still alive. If you’re this obvious, Dad will notice.”
Qi Qinxue’s pupils shrank, her face turning deathly pale. “You, what are you saying…”
At that moment, the bedroom door opened from inside, and Ji Xiu’s voice came out.
“What will I notice?”