After Transmigrating into a Cannon Fodder Real Daughter, the Plot Changes

Chapter 125 Part 2 – Some Things Just Can’t Be Rushed (II)

On the day of her nineteenth birthday, Jiang Ruo got into another fight with her roommates. Even though she hadn’t done anything wrong, not a single person stood by her side.

Everyone in the dorm was aware of her conflicts with her roommates, but no one believed the roommates were at fault. The notoriety of the kidney-stealing case had already tainted her reputation, causing many to view her with a negative impression. With five roommates united against her, any attempt she made to seek help was dismissed—people simply assumed she was the one to blame.

Jiang Ruo truly couldn’t understand—she had already kept such a low profile, yet the retaliation never seemed to end. She used to wonder whether it was the Feng family making things hard for her or Tong Yi.

Until one day, she overheard a roommate on the phone. The roommate’s tone was very respectful, saying she would definitely complete the task Mr. Tong had assigned her.

Jiang Ruo finally realized that Tong Yi had been the one targeting her all along. Back when she went to Tong Xu with the information, Tong Yi must have already been aware—and that was likely why he had bribed her roommates to turn against her.

Did Jiang Li know what Tong Yi was doing?

She probably did, and she might even compliment Tong Yi for this, since they were both vengeful by nature.

Even after finding out the mastermind, Jiang Ruo’s miserable days didn’t end. Following Tong Yi’s orders, those people constantly picked on her—even on her birthday. Her nineteenth birthday was the most miserable one she had ever had.

Before the high school entrance exams, she had always celebrated her birthdays with her family. Back then, she was still her parents’ darling; her birthday was always celebrated grandly, with a lot of guests, beautiful decorations, lively music, and a big cake and well-wishes.

During her three years of high school, she had lost much of her former glory, but with her brother by her side, her birthdays never felt lonely.

On her eighteenth birthday last year, she didn’t yet know that she and Jiang Zhou were truly related by blood. When he suddenly confessed his feelings back then, all she wanted to do was escape.

Later, when she finally decided to accept him, she found out the truth—that they really were blood-related. They had no choice but to part ways.

Now, her brother had been arrested for a serious crime. Being held in a detention center, it was almost impossible to see him.

Luckily, they were still listed on the same household registration. She could visit him as a relative. Though the process was tedious, her request was eventually approved, and now she had one opportunity per month to visit him.

When she saw Jiang Zhou through the glass wall, she noticed he was thinner than before, with an unshaven face. He looked completely worn out. The moment he said “happy birthday,” she couldn’t hold back her tears.

Her brother comforted her like he always did, telling her not to worry and insisting that he was doing fine in the detention center. But Jiang Ruo didn’t believe it for a second. If he were doing fine, he wouldn’t look so gaunt.

Seeing her sobbing uncontrollably, Jiang Zhou’s heart ached uncontrollably. Through the phone behind the glass, he told her, “You must live well. As long as you’re still alive, I’ll eventually come out and see you again.”

Jiang Ruo nodded immediately. “I will. I’ll live well. I’ll wait until the day you come out.” No matter how hard life got, she would keep going—because she knew that if she left this world, her brother might lose the will to keep going too.

Soon, a staff came to remind her that visitation time was almost up. Jiang Ruo reluctantly said goodbye, knowing she wouldn’t be able to see him again until next month.

After leaving the detention center, she quickly put on a mask and rushed to catch the subway—she still had to go to the hospital for dialysis.

After Jiang Ruo left the detention center, Jiang Zhou went off to his usual labor assignment and ran into Bai Guolin, who was working alongside him.

Bai Guolin looked at Jiang Zhou. “Miss Ruoruo… she came to see you?”

Jiang Zhou nodded and explained, “Ruoruo is my younger sister. She came to visit me as a family member.”

Bai Guolin nodded. “I know. Even if she wanted to visit me, she wouldn’t be able to.”

They had just exchanged a few words when a staff came over to stop them, ordering them to stop talking and get back to work.

Life in the detention center wasn’t easy. Over time, Bai Guolin had grown numb. Sometimes he would even fantasize that if they had acted faster back then, Lin Zhao’s kidney might already be in Ruoruo’s body, and all the suffering he was enduring now would have been worth it.

Unfortunately, they had failed. Not only did they fail, but both he and Jiang Zhou had been arrested.

They themselves getting arrested wasn’t the worst part. What hurt was leaving Ruoruo alone outside. She must be feeling sad and scared. She could only visit Jiang Zhou, not him. Would she miss him? Would she worry?

Bai Guolin knew why Jiang Ruo couldn’t visit him, but he couldn’t understand why his parents hadn’t come to see him—not even once. He had been locked up for so long. There was no way they didn’t know, so why hadn’t they shown up?

Had they completely given up on him?

Back when he lived with his parents, he used to find them annoying—always nagging and interfering, even though he was already an adult, still treating him like a child.

But now, he couldn’t help but miss them.

‘Dad’s probably still angry. Once he calms down, maybe he’d come with Mom to visit me…’

…

Ever since Assistant Bai’s wife got pregnant, he had resigned from work to stay home and care for her. As usual, he brought her to the local hospital for a prenatal check-up today. When they received the ultrasound report showing the baby was developing well, Assistant Bai felt relieved. After using the restroom, he came out to find his wife chatting enthusiastically with another pregnant woman. That woman was particularly talkative, going on about how hard it was to raise a child and how, with bad luck, one could end up raising a rotten bastard that could infuriate their parents to death.

Mrs. Bai caressed her belly and smiled. “Kids don’t understand things when they’re little. It’s normal for them to make mistakes. As parents, we just have to teach them properly. Always getting angry isn’t good for us either.”

The other woman curled her lip. “Of course you discipline them for small mistakes. But if they make a big mistake—or commit a crime—then parents will be driven crazy for sure.”

Seeing Mrs. Bai didn’t respond, she continued, “I saw all kinds of horrific stories on the news. College students poisoning roommates, guys stabbing their exes out of heartbreak, and even someone who committed a crime just to get a kidney for a woman. Wouldn’t parents of kids like that go insane?”

Mrs. Bai raised her eyebrows. “Someone committed a crime to get a kidney for his girlfriend?” She’d heard of the first two stories but had no recollection of the third one.

Just as the woman was about to elaborate, Assistant Bai stepped up and smiled at his wife. “Did I keep you waiting?”

Mrs. Bai shook her head. “I was just chatting. Have you heard it? Some crazy young man tried to rob someone’s kidney for his girlfriend.”

Assistant Bai frowned. “Kidney robbing? That sounds so bloody. Listening to that all day isn’t good for the baby.”

His wife chuckled, “You’re exaggerating.”

Though she said that, she didn’t bring up the topic again. After exchanging a quick goodbye with the other woman, she got up and took her husband’s arm, ready to head home.

After leaving the county hospital, Mrs. Bai looked at her husband and sighed. “That other mom said kids are hard to raise, but I don’t really feel that way. Our son used to be a bit of a handful, but he’s changed recently. He calls home often to check on me, and his teachers haven’t said anything about him skipping classes. It’s like he’s a completely different person.”

Assistant Bai smiled. “He’s already an adult—it’s about time he matured. It’s just a pity he can’t come home for the New Year because he’s working on a project with his advisor.”

He said it all with a calm expression as if it were the absolute truth.

In fact, Assistant Bai had been run ragged over his son. Though he hadn’t gone to Beijing himself, he had been closely following the case. When his wife kept complaining that their son never contacted her, he had no choice but to hire a voice actor through a livestream platform to imitate their son’s voice and call her every few days.

At first, he was nervous and worried she’d see through the lie. But as time passed and she remained unaware, he gradually relaxed.

After hearing what he said, Mrs. Bai frowned. “A first-year student working on a project? More like being used as cheap labor. I have a feeling he has another motive.”

Assistant Bai was taken aback. “What motive?”

“If he’s willingly slaving away for his advisor, it must be for money. But we haven’t been stingy with his living expenses. Could it be that he’s doing it for Jiang Ruo?”

Assistant Bai: “…”

When he didn’t reply, his wife continued indignantly. “That girl Jiang Ruo is something else. Our son’s been wrapped around her finger since they were little. Now the Jiang family is in such a mess, she’s no longer some rich young lady, and yet our stupid boy is still obsessed with her. He’s probably working so hard to earn money to pay for her medical treatment.”

Ever since getting pregnant, her temper hadn’t been as good as before. Assistant Bai knew this, so he could only go along with her.

“That foolish boy is definitely disappointing, but we have to take it slowly with him. If we push too hard, I’m afraid he’ll just cut contact and disappear on us again. Right now, he’s managing his studies and keeping in touch with us—that’s already good enough.”

His wife sighed. “That’s all we can hope for now.”

If she weren’t pregnant, she might have gone to Beijing with her husband to give their son a proper lecture. But in her current state, it wasn’t safe to travel far. So that would have to wait until after she gave birth.

And her husband was right—they couldn’t push their son too hard. At least, he hadn’t broken any laws. If he really did what that other pregnant woman described—committing a crime to get a kidney for Jiang Ruo—then she really would be driven mad.

Seeing that his wife had let the matter go, Assistant Bai finally breathed a sigh of relief. He now had only one thought: from now on, whenever he took her to prenatal checkups, he’d stay by her side every second. If something like today happened again, and she learned the full story of the kidney case, the baby she was carrying might be in danger.

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