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Chapter 491: Chapter 276_3
Shen Jingxiu stared intently at Ji Yuanzhou, "Haven’t you forgotten what you promised me? That day at the restaurant when we bumped into your dad, he hinted at a marriage alliance between our families. You told me yourself that you had no feelings for my sister."
"What?" Ji Yuanzhou frowned, "Is it me who’s forgotten what happened that day, or is it you? It was my father, me, and you talking about your biological sister, Shen Zhirou. No, she should now be called Qin Yulong. We weren’t talking about Wenyan."
"Yes! I haven’t forgotten that, but that’s exactly the problem! Your father wants you to marry my biological sister. It’s clear he only values the Shen Family’s biological daughter, not the adopted daughter."
"But that’s not the issue."
"Yuanzhou! How can you be so sure of yourself? Have you ever defied your father, ever since you were little? Whether it was leaving the family business to go abroad, or when you were called back home during the success of your career, wasn’t it all at your father’s behest? Would you marry an orphaned adopted girl when he asks you to marry a daughter from a prestigious family?"
"I understand now your intentions towards Wenyan, and I can clearly tell you, she has no feelings for you. To her, you are just her elder brother’s good friend, a family friend older than her brother, nothing more."
"Don’t take any further action. Since there is no future, let’s not let things that shouldn’t happen, happen. I don’t want to end up in a situation we can’t get out of, where it would be awkward for you in the Ji Family, and she would be hurt."
"..." Ji Yuanzhou fell silent.
After a while, his eyes refocused on Shen Jingxiu’s face.
"You’re my best friend, I think you know me better than anyone else in this world. But now, even you want to stop me from pursuing the one I want? I’ve never liked watching someone laugh, listening to her talk, watching her eat, as much as I do now. Do you have to stand in my way too?"
"Yuanzhou, of course I want you to be happy. But your happiness should not be built on the foundation of her pain."
"! But what makes you so sure that I would bring her pain? Have you been to an amusement park with her, or had a hearty conversation about life with her under the stars by the sea? Perhaps you’re right that she has no feelings for me, but she doesn’t dislike me. There is hope between us."
"No," Shen Jingxiu said firmly, "you can take her on an adventure, but I cannot, and I won’t allow you to do so. There are plenty of attractive laughing women out there, find someone else to chase."
Ji Yuanzhou fell silent once again.
He looked at Shen Jingxiu, and after a while, he suddenly let out a low chuckle.
"Find someone else to chase? So, if I switch to someone else, you wouldn’t care if the girl matches my family’s social status or not? You only care about your sister. No, Jingxiu, you probably don’t consider her your sister, do you? You care about her more than a brother should for a sister."
"On the beach earlier, you showed your possessiveness—you didn’t allow me to carry things for her, or walk too close to her, you had to interfere. Shen Jingxiu, after being adopted by the Shen Family, she now shares the Shen surname with you, she’s now family in your household registry. Do you actually harbor those kinds of feelings for your sister?"
"You think my liking her would hurt her, just because my father disagrees. What about your feelings, then? Have you considered Aunt Su’s feelings? What about your father’s? Is it better to snip her blossoming love and forcibly keep her by your side than me? You are more selfish and despicable."
"..." For a moment, there was no sound in Shen Jingxiu’s ears.
Since Ji Yuanzhou spoke of his feelings for Wenyan going beyond that of a brother’s love for a sister, a buzzing noise filled Jingxiu’s head as if he’d turned to wood, or as if lightning had struck him.
After a while, he managed to regain his sense of numbness.
"Nonsense," he heard himself say, unsure of the conviction behind his words, "Yuanzhou, you’ve gone too far. She’s my sister, whether it’s her, my biological sister, or my brothers, I don’t want any of them to be hurt emotionally! No one can harm my family, not even my best friend."
