Read Novel Full Chapter 149 Part 1 – Would You Mind Swapping Nieces? (I)
Chapter 149 Part 1 – Would You Mind Swapping Nieces? (I)
There were no secrets that could be kept forever. Old Master Feng had long known his daughter’s situation couldn’t stay hidden for much longer, but what he hadn’t expected was that Xiao Jiang Li would go so far as to take leave from school and come all the way home, saying she wanted to see her mother.
After a few seconds of silence, Old Master Feng finally said, “Her condition really isn’t good, but… It’s karma, I suppose. Grandpa doesn’t want you to force yourself to do anything you don’t want to. That’s why we’ve kept this from you until now.”
Jiang Li smiled. “But I don’t feel forced at all. And I never intended to forgive her. I just want to say a few words to her.”
Old Master Feng looked hesitant. “The doctor said… she may seem calm, but she could break down at any time. She can’t take too much stimulation, so…”
Jiang Li interrupted, “Don’t worry, Grandpa. I’ll read the situation and try not to upset her.”
Seeing how determined she was, Old Master Feng had no choice but to agree.
The two of them walked to the hospital lawn, where Jiang Li immediately spotted Feng Yun sitting on a bench in the sun, a nurse in a white coat beside her. The two hadn’t exchanged a single word.
Feng Yun’s gaze looked particularly vacant, like it lacked focus. But the moment she saw Jiang Li, her expression changed to one of shock.
Her lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but after hesitating a few times, she said nothing at all.
Seeing this, Old Master Feng could tell right away—Xiao Jiang Li was clearly the knot in his daughter’s heart. If Xiao Jiang Li were willing to talk to her more, even if she didn’t completely recover, there might still be a chance for improvement.
But… what exactly did Jiang Li want to say to her?
Jiang Li walked slowly up to Feng Yun but didn’t speak right away. Instead, she turned to Old Master Feng and smiled. “Grandpa, can I talk to her alone?”
After a brief hesitation, Old Master Feng and the nurse both left.
Though his daughter’s mental state wasn’t exactly stable, she hadn’t shown any violent behavior since being admitted. There was little risk of her harming Xiao Jiang Li.
Besides, Xiao Jiang Li had trained in martial arts with A’Qi before—she knew some self-defense. Even if his daughter suddenly snapped, Xiao Jiang Li could protect herself.
Once they were alone, Jiang Li stood before Feng Yun and said softly, “Grandpa is very worried about you.”
Feng Yun slowly raised her head to look at Jiang Li. Her eyes moved sluggishly, and after a long while, she finally asked, “Are… are you… worried about me?”
Her voice was hoarse and disjointed—likely from not speaking for too long. She kept her hands tightly pressed to her sides and stared unblinkingly at Jiang Li.
Even though she already knew the answer, Feng Yun still couldn’t stop herself from asking now that her daughter stood before her. And in that moment of waiting… a small flicker of hope surfaced.
Jiang Li answered without hesitation. “No. I’ve never worried about people who don’t matter.”
The light in Feng Yun’s eyes, which had held the faintest trace of hope, immediately dimmed—her entire expression dulled, as if all life had drained from her face.
Jiang Li’s emotions remained steady. She looked at Feng Yun and said quietly, “Let me tell you a story. Or rather, you could think of it as one of my dreams.”
Seeing no reaction from Feng Yun, Jiang Li simply began to speak.
She started from the moment the original “Jiang Li” was brought back by the Jiang family—describing how she was ignored by her parents, verbally abused by her biological brother, bullied by classmates at school, targeted by Jiang Ruo’s circle, even slapped by Bai Guolin.
While recounting this “dream,” Jiang Li’s expression never changed—but Feng Yun was completely shaken. Several times, she looked like she wanted to interrupt, but Jiang Li barely paused between words, giving her no opening.
When Jiang Li finally reached the part where “she” was pressured by the entire Jiang family to donate her kidney—while her biological mother could only cry—Feng Yun completely lost control.
She clutched her head and shook it violently. “No… that’s all fake… I never… I never lived through any of that!”
None of it had happened. She knew that. But when Xiao Li described it all, the scenes felt so vivid—so real.
Because while Xiao Li spoke, Feng Yun couldn’t help inserting herself into that “dream”—and realizing that the version of herself in that story, so cold and neglectful toward her daughter, was indeed something she would have done.
In both the dream and in real life, she had ignored her biological daughter from the very beginning.
After Xiao Li was brought home, she—guided by Jiang Huai—had never truly shown care for her daughter. She had even compared Xiao Li to Jiang Ruo and concluded that her adopted daughter was more lovable.
And in Xiao Li’s “dream,” that same girl had tried over and over again to reach out to her—only to be rejected every time.
Even without that dream, she hadn’t treated Xiao Li any better in reality. When her son threatened her with death, she gave in far too easily.
Back then, she’d simply assumed Xiao Li wouldn’t agree to the kidney donation. But she’d never stopped to consider that the request itself should never have been made.
To ask your own daughter to donate a kidney to someone else… how much pain must Xiao Li have felt?!
Feng Yun looked at Jiang Li, her voice trembling. “That story… It’s not real… right?”
But even if it wasn’t real, so what? The fact that Xiao Li had been able to invent such a cruel “dream” must mean… the damage her family had done to her had already pushed her to the edge.
Jiang Li didn’t respond to Feng Yun’s question. Instead, she continued recounting how “Jiang Li” had run blindly into the street after arguing with Jiang Zhou, completely disoriented—only to be hit by Bai Guolin’s car.
When Bai Guolin saw her struggling in a pool of blood, he barely hesitated before choosing cold indifference. His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, and he didn’t take out his phone to call an ambulance until after she had completely stopped breathing.
Looking at Feng Yun, Jiang Li spoke in a calm, detached voice: “In that dream, Jiang Ruo took both of my kidneys. And you? You were sad only for a few days. No one pursued any responsibility from Bai Guolin. Instead, all of you were worried whether Jiang Ruo would suffer organ rejection.”
Jiang Li had clearly said it was a dream from the beginning—but Feng Yun had been completely drawn into it. By the time she heard the ending, her face was soaked in tears.
“Xiao Li… I… I’m sorry… That was never my intention. I didn’t… didn’t want to hurt you…” Feng Yun sobbed uncontrollably.
Jiang Li shook her head. “There’s no need to say sorry to me. The one you owe an apology to is the Jiang Li in that dream. But she’s already dead—killed by Bai Guolin. No matter how many times you say sorry, she’ll never hear it.”
As she said this, Jiang Li suddenly felt a wave of relief.
And only then did she realize—coming here to see Feng Yun today wasn’t something that aligned with her usual personality.
At first, she’d thought she had come here purely for Grandpa’s sake. But as she spoke about everything the original “Jiang Li” had endured, she realized she’d also been affected by the plot of the novel itself.
Or rather, by the lingering obsession of the original “Jiang Li”.
In the book, even as she was dying, “Jiang Li” still longed for motherly love from Feng Yun.
It was that desperate yearning for family that led her to agree to donate a kidney to Jiang Ruo in the first place.
From the moment she was brought back into the Jiang family, Feng Yun had been the only one who ever gave her even a shred of warmth. And even though that warmth was brief and inconsistent, compared to Jiang Huai and Jiang Zhou, Feng Yun had still been “the best.”
The original Jiang Li had expectations for Feng Yun—but also resentment. All of that became an obsession that lingered.
But after Jiang Li spoke those truths aloud, the obsession finally disappeared—like it had never existed at all.
“I… I…” Feng Yun didn’t know what to say—because no matter what she said, it all felt meaningless and hollow.
Jiang Li lowered her eyes and said, “I told you years ago that the words ‘I’m sorry’ are useless. Grandpa is getting old, yet he’s still exhausting himself over you. Are you planning to wait until his health breaks down before saying sorry to him, too?”
Feng Yun’s face changed dramatically.
In her mind, her father had always been invincible. She had never once considered that his body could fail him.
Seeing that expression on her face, Jiang Li continued calmly, “You’ve probably forgotten how old Grandpa is, haven’t you? Because you only ever think about yourself.”
Feng Yun tried to protest, “That’s not true… I…”
Jiang Li cut her off, voice still cold. “You ignored your own daughter because you worshipped love above all else. Because Jiang Huai preferred Jiang Ruo, you followed his lead without hesitation, never once sparing a thought for the daughter you neglected.”
Feng Yun went pale, completely unable to refute her.
“After Jiang Huai hurt you, you couldn’t accept the fact that the past twenty years of your life were a complete failure—so you shut yourself off from the world. Even though you knew Grandpa would suffer because of it, you still went ahead anyway. Because you’ve always lived in your own little world. You’ve never considered Grandpa for even a moment.”
Feng Yun thought back over everything and collapsed into the chair, completely defeated. She knew that everything her daughter had said was true.
So this was who she had been all along—selfish, through and through!
Seeing her like this, Jiang Li felt a subtle relief, because she knew her words had finally made an impact.
“You don’t need to beg for my forgiveness, because I will never forgive you. But you can make it up to Grandpa. Because he’s not as strong as you think.”
After saying this, Jiang Li turned and walked away without a second thought.
Old Master Feng didn’t know when exactly Jiang Li had left, but when he returned to Feng Yun’s side, he heard her softly call out, “Dad.”
His eyes widened in disbelief, and tears welled up almost instantly. His lips trembled—he didn’t even know what to say.
Feng Yun looked at him and finally said the words she should have said many years ago: “Dad, I’m sorry.”
After a long silence, Old Master Feng replied with just three words: “It’s all right.”
He knew very well that Feng Yun’s sudden improvement was likely triggered by Jiang Li’s visit. Maybe this state wouldn’t last long—but for him, it was already more than enough.
In the days that followed, Feng Yun still refused to speak to the doctors or interact with other patients. Whenever they tried to engage her, she remained completely silent.
But when she was with Old Master Feng, she behaved like a completely different person. She would chat with him, reminisce about her childhood, and even accompany him to visit his late wife’s grave.
All of these changes happened only after Jiang Li visited her.
Naturally, Old Master Feng was curious about what his granddaughter had said—but since Feng Yun never brought it up, he didn’t ask.
Even though Feng Yun wasn’t fully recovered, the fact that there was hope clearly lifted Old Master Feng’s spirits. The doctors even believed she was ready to be discharged.
< | >
Translator’s Note:
Extra chapter on Sunday~