Read Novel Full Extra 1 Part 2 – If Only He Were My Real Brother (II)
Extra 1 Part 2 – If Only He Were My Real Brother (II)
In the Jiang family garden, Jiang Li sat curled up on a bench, hugging her knees, staring blankly at the gardenias in the distance.
Gardenias were Jiang Ruo’s favorite flower, but Jiang Li hated the scent. Even though it wasn’t blooming season, she still found those gardenia trees an eyesore.
She had been back in the Jiang family for four years now, yet it never once felt like home. This cold, lifeless villa lacked even a shred of warmth. It felt even worse than the orphanage where she had grown up.
Over the years, her relationship with Jiang Ruo had been tense. At first, she thought it was due to their parents’ blind favoritism. But later, she realized—she just truly disliked Jiang Ruo as a person.
She hadn’t expected Jiang Ruo to be diagnosed with chronic kidney failure. When she first saw the diagnosis, her feelings were extremely complicated. She had always wanted Jiang Ruo to suffer as she had—but not like this.
What she hadn’t expected even more was that her kidneys were a match. And then came the moral coercion, followed by the pleas for her to donate one to Jiang Ruo.
In this house, the only one who never asked her to donate was her mother. All her mother did was cry and often look at her with that hesitant, pained expression.
That made Jiang Li feel like someone in this family might still care about her. So she signed the organ donation agreement—and agreed to give Jiang Ruo one of her kidneys.
Would donating a kidney be enough to atone for the things she’d done to Jiang Ruo over the years?
In these four years, there were three things she had done that she could never forgive herself for.
The first: she had once found a stray cat on the street and couldn’t resist bringing it home, only for Jiang Ruo to end up hospitalized.
After Jiang Ruo was discharged, everyone in the family began looking at her differently. Her mother especially kept repeating that she was never to go near stray cats or dogs again.
But before that, no one had ever told her that Jiang Ruo was allergic to cat fur.
The second: she had gone to find Qin Zheng and told him that she was the biological daughter, and that Jiang Ruo was only the adopted child who’d been switched at birth.
She had done this because everyone at school thought she was her father’s illegitimate daughter.
She had tried to explain, but Jiang Zhou had dragged her away in front of everyone, warning her not to act stupid.
When she refused to back down, Jiang Zhou threatened her, saying that even if she told the truth, no one would believe her. Everyone would just think she was an ungrateful lunatic, and their father would have her locked up in a psychiatric hospital.
Jiang Li refused to believe him. She called her mother and told her about the situation, but her mother hesitated, saying they couldn’t reveal her true identity, because it would ruin the marriage arrangement between the Jiang and Qin families.
The Jiang family wanted Jiang Ruo to marry Qin Zheng. So, out of spite, she went to ruin it. She told Qin Zheng the truth herself.
But Qin Zheng already knew. On the night Jiang Ruo had been brought back to the Jiang family, she had called him and confessed everything.
Qin Zheng didn’t care who Jiang Ruo was—he liked her for who she was, not for being the Jiang family’s daughter.
Their love was as solid as a rock, and Jiang Li realized she had only made a fool of herself.
It didn’t take long for Jiang Ruo—and then Bai Guolin—to find out she had gone to Qin Zheng in private.
Bai Guolin found her, slapped her across the face, and called her “a filthy bug crawling in the gutter.”
The third thing: she exposed Jiang Ruo and Qin Zheng to the media.
In their second year of high school, Qin Zheng had won a gold medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad and was in the spotlight. Because he and Jiang Ruo were close, many people suspected they were dating.
When approached by a gossip influencer, Jiang Li told the truth and even mentioned the marriage arrangement between their families.
As a result, Jiang Ruo’s “nation’s little sister” image took a hit. Fans and haters clashed, rival fandoms seized the chance to smear her, and Jiang Ruo’s Weibo comment section descended into chaos.
In the end, Qin Zheng came forward to explain. He said he and Jiang Ruo were just childhood friends, that the talk of a marriage arrangement was only a joke between their parents, and that the dating rumors were false. However, he did admit that he really liked Jiang Ruo and hoped to pursue her one day.
By taking all the blame on himself, Qin Zheng earned even more admiration from Jiang Ruo’s fans. They said that even if the two had dated, it was perfectly natural and sweet.
Soon, Jiang Ruo’s comment section was flooded with people shipping their “CP.”
Meanwhile, Jiang Li—the one who had leaked the story—was doxxed and cyberbullied. Some fans even mailed her a dead rat as a warning.
When she opened the package, she was terrified out of her wits, yet she had no one to talk to.
Everyone in the family thought she was malicious. Her mother’s eyes were full of disappointment, making Jiang Li wonder if she had truly done something unforgivable.
Now that Jiang Ruo had been diagnosed with chronic kidney failure, everyone hoped she would donate a kidney. So fine, she would.
If she gave up a kidney, would her mother finally care about her a little more?
“Jiang Li, you haven’t gone to bed yet?”
The familiar, low voice pulled her out of her thoughts. She slowly raised her head and saw Qin Zheng standing before her, his face drawn and tired.
Looking at the quiet girl before him, Qin Zheng hesitated for a few seconds before speaking. “After the surgery, I’ll give you some money. If you want to go abroad, I can make arrangements for you.”
Jiang Li didn’t understand. “Why should I go abroad?”
If it was to make way for Jiang Ruo, she had already yielded more than enough.
Qin Zheng: “…”
He had once thought that, compared to the adopted Jiang Ruo, the Jiang family would naturally care more for their real daughter, Jiang Li.
But during Jiang Ruo’s illness, he had personally witnessed how Jiang Huai and Jiang Zhou treated the two sisters.
Jiang Li might have been their biological child, but in that family, everyone only cared about Jiang Ruo. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have taken turns persuading Jiang Li to give up her kidney.
Qin Zheng knew this wasn’t right. But Jiang Ruo was his girlfriend—he couldn’t bring himself to say the words to stop it.
The only thing he could do was try to ensure that Jiang Li could live a better life afterward.
In Qin Zheng’s eyes, compared to staying in the country and continuing to be overlooked, maybe going abroad would be a better choice for Jiang Li.
But if she didn’t want to, he couldn’t force her either.
Seeing that Qin Zheng remained silent, Jiang Li stood up from the bench. She took a deep breath and said softly, “If you’re thanking me for donating a kidney to Jiang Ruo, there’s no need. I didn’t do it for you, and I certainly didn’t do it for her.”
With that, Jiang Li turned and left the garden.
When she reached the gate, she found Jiang Zhou standing there.
He looked at her with a mocking expression. “What were you just saying to Qin Zheng?”
“I—”
Jiang Zhou cut her off. “He’s Jiang Ruo’s fiancé. As her sister, shouldn’t you be keeping your distance? Or do you think that, since you’re the Jiang family’s real daughter, the marriage alliance with the Qin family should belong to you instead?”
Jiang Li tried to explain. “I never—”
Jiang Zhou interrupted her again. “All the terrible things you’ve done—wasn’t it all because you were jealous of Jiang Ruo? But what’s the point? Did you really think someone like Qin Zheng would ever fall for someone like you?”
Jiang Li: “…”
These people were always so self-righteous. They never even bothered to listen to her side of the story.
She turned and walked out of the house. Once past the community gates, she wandered aimlessly down the road on the outskirts of town.
Jiang Zhou’s words still echoed in her mind, and so did the years of favoritism from her parents. It was impossible to calm herself down.
She didn’t know what more she could possibly do to make them satisfied.
The sound of a car horn startled her. Only then did she realize that she was standing in the middle of the street.
Her first instinct was to jump out of the way, but it was already too late.
In the split second before the car hit her, Jiang Li thought she would die or at the very least be severely injured. And in that moment, a thought flashed through her mind:
If I die… would Mom be sad?
She had been sad when she learned that Jiang Ruo had been diagnosed with chronic kidney failure.
So if she died, surely Mom would be sad too. Right?
But just as the car was about to hit her, another vehicle sped in from the side and crashed into it head-on.
One of the car’s side mirrors caught her clothing and dragged her several meters before she finally hit the ground. As she lay there, all Jiang Li could think was: Ah, I’m alive.
But her head had slammed against the pavement. The collision made everything feel dizzy and hazy. She barely registered the moment when one of the car doors flung open and a man in a black shirt rushed toward her.
Without hesitation, he picked her up and said, “Xiao Lizi, I’m sorry I’m late.”
Jiang Li forced her eyes open. She wanted to see his face clearly, because his voice was the gentlest she had ever heard.
She locked eyes with this stranger. The way he looked at her reminded her of how Jiang Zhou looked at Jiang Ruo.
But it wasn’t the same.
When Jiang Zhou looked at Jiang Ruo, there was indulgence, yet it was also mixed with a hint of possessiveness. Subtle as it was, Jiang Li could see through it.
But she had never told anyone. Because even if she had, no one would’ve believed her.
The way this man looked at her now, however, was filled only with concern and affection.
It was the tenderness of an elder toward someone dearly loved. The worry for a family member—true family.
Just now… he called her “Xiao Lizi.”
Did he mistake her for someone else?
Jiang Li wanted to ask him, but her head hurt too much, and her vision was quickly blurring.
Right before she lost consciousness, one final thought crossed her mind: If only he were my real brother… how wonderful that would be!
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