Chapter 36: The Hidden Truth
Nan Yuanman was originally so sleepy she kept yawning, but hearing Jiang Lixuan’s words, she instantly sobered up a bit. She vigilantly hugged her small shoulder bag: “Not giving it. What if you tear it up for me?”
Jiang Lixuan was stunned for a moment, his expression bitter: “In your eyes, am I that kind of person?”
Nan Yuanman nodded seriously, her little milky voice firm: “Yes!”
Jiang Lixuan choked.
Nan Yuanman muttered while hugging her shoulder bag, shifting her little buttocks farther away from him: “Looks like you have no idea about your own character. I need to stay farther away from you, so you won’t sneak a peek while I’m asleep later.”
Jiang Lixuan, who did have that thought in his mind: “…”
He opened his mouth, irritably ruffled his hair: “How about this—I won’t flip it open to look, I’ll just look at the family photo on the cover, okay?”
Nan Yuanman gave him a sideways glance and reached out her hand: “One hundred bucks per glance, pay first then look.”
Jiang Lixuan: “…”
“You really are money-obsessed.” Jiang Lixuan tsked, took out a few hundred bucks from his pocket and placed them in Nan Yuanman’s hand: “Here’s five hundred bucks, enough for five glances, right?”
Nan Yuanman stuffed the money into her small shoulder bag: “No problem.”
She carefully took the diary out of her small shoulder bag.
Bai Wenyin’s diary was already a few years old, the cover and pages inside all yellowed, the family photo stuck on the cover full of scratches.
When Jiang Lixuan looked at this photo that someone had stuck together with double-sided tape, his heart tip trembled slightly.
He remembered this photo.
This photo was taken right after the family had just found Bai Wenyin and brought her back.
At that time, Bai Wenyin’s personality wasn’t so vicious yet, her actions weren’t so malicious. Mother said to celebrate her return home, so they took a family photo together.
Jiang Lixuan stared blankly, as if recalling the scene when this family photo was taken back then.
The atmosphere at the time wasn’t very good. They felt guilty toward Bai Wenyin, but more than that, it was estrangement.
Jiang Yueyao cried as she secretly told him: “I’m so envious of Sister Wenyin. She has a father, a mother, and a brother. Even after being abducted for so many years, she could return to the happy Jiang family. Unlike me, I don’t even know where my dad and mom are…”
“Little brother, your biological sister is back. Can I still be your sister from now on?”
Jiang Lixuan’s heart ached immediately upon hearing that, and he spoke up to stop the photoshoot right away.
He was thinking back then that a family photo could be taken anytime, so why rush it in the two days right after Bai Wenyin came back?
Jiang Yueyao was feeling insecure because of her return. Bai Wenyin was a year older than Jiang Yueyao, so she should understand her and be tolerant of her.
Bai Wenyin reacted strongly when she heard him say that, arguing with reason, and in the end, still got Father to agree to take the family photo.
But in this family photo, their expressions made it seem like they weren’t her family at all, but her enemies.
Later, Second Brother even tore this photo up to please Jiang Yueyao. He originally thought Bai Wenyin would throw away the torn photo, but he never expected…
She actually kept it…
Jiang Lixuan was a bit dazed when suddenly Nan Yuanman’s voice came from beside his ear: “Mom in this photo looks so aggrieved.”
Jiang Lixuan blankly looked toward Nan Yuanman. Nan Yuanman didn’t look at him, but lowered her eyes to look at the photo stuck on the diary cover, her chubby little hand gently stroking the pretty young girl on it who was forcing a smile through tears at the camera.
The young girl looked only sixteen or seventeen, her features not fully matured yet, a bit childish. Her eyebrows and eyes were very delicate, and Nan Yuanman’s eyes resembled hers a little.
In this family photo, only the young girl’s mouth was curved upward.
The others’ expressions were either angry, cold, or impatient, as if… the ones posing with her weren’t her relatives, but her enemies.
As Nan Yuanman stroked it, under Jiang Lixuan’s stunned gaze, her white tender little hand grabbed one corner of the photo and yanked downward forcefully.
“Rip—!”
The family photo, securely stuck with double-sided tape, was torn from top to bottom, leaving only the young girl’s individual photo on the cover.
Jiang Lixuan’s heart ached, and he subconsciously grabbed Nan Yuanman’s hand, his voice rising: “Yuanman! What are you doing!”
Nan Yuanman gave him a strange look, still holding the half of the photo she’d torn off: “Why are you reacting so strongly? I didn’t tear your photo.”
Jiang Lixuan’s cheeks flushed red, blustering: “But this is your mother’s photo! How can you just tear it like that!”
As he spoke, he snatched that half of the photo from Nan Yuanman’s hand, carefully took the diary, and tried to stick that half back on top.
But for some reason, he couldn’t get it to stick no matter what, and his hand was trembling slightly.
Nan Yuanman watched Jiang Lixuan, her round black-and-white eyes blinking innocently: “Jiang Lixuan, didn’t you all not acknowledge me and Mom as Jiang family members before? Why react so strongly when I tore the photo?”
Jiang Lixuan’s hand movements paused slightly. He took a deep breath, not daring to look up at Nan Yuanman, dodging her question: “Call me Uncle, no manners.”
He didn’t know why he reacted so strongly either, as if… what Yuanman tore off wasn’t the photo, but the last connection between Bai Wenyin and him, and the Jiang family members.
Nan Yuanman propped her chin with her hand, squeezing out a little chub from her fleshy cheek, and huffed lightly: “Not calling. Anyway, since you all were so unwilling, I tore it.”
Jiang Lixuan hung his head, speechless.
“Alright, five glances time’s up, give it back.” Nan Yuanman reached out carefully to take the diary from Jiang Lixuan’s hand. Jiang Lixuan subconsciously used a bit of force to snatch it from her.
Afraid of damaging the diary, Nan Yuanman quickly let go. Jiang Lixuan also happened to loosen his hand, and the diary dropped with a smack inside the car.
The old lock made a crisp click, and the originally locked diary flipped open with a rustle.
Jiang Lixuan instinctively looked down, and what caught his eye was a very familiar milky yellow sticky note.
The sticky note had elegant handwriting: Today is day 66 of little brother’s hand rehab. Keep it up~ I’ll keep accompanying you.
Jiang Lixuan’s pupils shrank slightly, and he reacted strongly by picking up the diary and flipping to the back, where more sticky notes were stuck.
The sticky notes had all sorts of encouraging words for him.
And… a diary entry from May 20, 2037.
The diary paper had residual tear stains, with a few lines written on it:
[Something really scary happened today. Those bad guys actually bullied my little brother! Good thing I got there in time and didn’t let them succeed.
They said they wanted little brother’s hands. Tsk, my little brother is going to join China’s esports team in the future! How can such precious hands get hurt!
Luckily I fought back hard… okay, didn’t succeed many times, but they said since I’m little brother’s sister, as long as I trade my hands for his, his hands can be saved, and they won’t target him anymore.
Good thing, good thing, they only severed my tendon, didn’t completely ruin my hand. I can still use chopsticks to eat, it just hurts a little…
Hehe, little brother, if you knew I protected you, would you be a little nicer to me? Call me sister?]
Jiang Lixuan’s pupils trembled, his hand holding the diary shaking violently.
He clearly remembered what happened on May 20, 2031.
What happened that day destroyed his esports dream.
It also made him thoroughly despise Bai Wenyin.
But what did these words recorded in the diary mean?
What did it mean… trade her hand for his hand?
Back then… wasn’t it because she was scared of those thugs that she abandoned him in the alley, causing his tendon to be severed?
