Jiang Leyi took a step back, her face tensed, "I don’t understand what you’re saying."
Indeed, it was about this matter.
She didn’t want to hear what Jiang Nanshu had to confess at all.
Did she really want Chu Muxi to be fully accepted?
And then she would be pushed aside?
Jiang Leyi simply couldn’t stand to see Jiang Nanshu being bullied.
"Sister," Jiang Nanshu held Jiang Leyi’s hand, "Everything I’m saying is true. I opened my eyes and found myself here. Before this, I didn’t know any of you. I thought about finding a chance to go back, but I’ve realized I might not be able to return."
"Nannan..." Jiang Leyi’s eyes gradually filled with worry.
She wanted to say that it was pretty good here too; she lived in a wealthy family. She would never have to worry about money for the rest of her life, and she had a handsome and wealthy fiancé. The future looked bright. Even though she wasn’t really Jiang Nanshu, under these circumstances, wasn’t it enough for her to consider herself a true member of the Jiang Family?
She sighed softly, "Then what... are you thinking."
Jiang Nanshu lowered her gaze, not letting Jiang Leyi see her eyes.
Indeed, everyone knew that a different soul now inhabited this body.
A normal person wouldn’t just accept such an unimaginable situation so calmly.
Either they had known all along, or she too was a transcender.
Clearly, Jiang Leyi was the former.
But that didn’t matter.
She would resolve this predicament.
When Jiang Nanshu looked up again, her eyes were brimming with tears. She took a deep breath and sniffled, "I want to tell you a story."
"I know a girl who was abused by her parents from the time she could remember. She had endless chores, incessant beatings. Her parents hated her. Her younger brother, a few years her junior, treated her like a slave. She couldn’t get enough food or warm clothing. All she saw was the sky above and the mountains blocking her view. She didn’t even have the privilege to study. At seven or eight years old, she couldn’t recognize letters or write her own name. She thought if she just obeyed, she could grow up safely. But when she was eight, her parents wanted to sell her to a man over forty whose wife had died. He chained her with an iron chain, cursing while treating her like an animal. Yet, he still felt unlucky because he had to feed her for a few more years before she could be of use..."
"Nannan, don’t say anymore..." Jiang Leyi’s eyes also reddened, and she felt suffocated inside.
So, this was Jiang Nanshu’s previous life?
No wonder she was so cold.
No wonder, no matter how well others treated her, her heart couldn’t show a hint of warmth.
It turned out she had endured such hardship before, while Jiang Leyi had grown up in a pampered environment.
The biggest turmoil she had faced was when the real and fake heiress issue broke out, plunging her world into darkness.
But the Jiang Family was still willing to love her, their affection only growing.
Jiang Nanshu blinked away tears, her eyes exceptionally clear as they fell, "Sister, listen until I finish."
"The girl was lucky later on; a compassionate deity rescued her, and for a while, her life was beautiful. But then the compassionate deity died unexpectedly, and her life plunged back into darkness. She thought she would die in the muck, but then heaven sent her a group of family members. She had never felt kinship before, didn’t know how to interact, and was a bit afraid of getting hurt, so she was hesitant to accept and embrace them. But the more the family liked her, the more she thought she might be loved. But then suddenly, someone disrupted everything. Sister, what do you think she should do?"
Jiang Nanshu didn’t mention her at all, yet Jiang Leyi knew, every word was about her experiences.
"Since her family has started to love her, they will continue to love her. She shouldn’t be anxious; everything will get better," Jiang Leyi sincerely said, word by word.
Jiang Nanshu raised her hand and hastily wiped away tears, her voice choked with emotion, "Sister, I had a terrible nightmare the day I met Chu Muxi."
Jiang Leyi hugged her sorrowfully, "Tell your sister, what dream?"
Jiang Nanshu’s chin rested on Jiang Leyi’s shoulder as she took a light breath, "I dreamt that someone else took over my body, that person wanted my body. When I was very young, they banished half of my soul to another world, and the remaining half disappeared in the winter when I turned sixteen. I don’t know which side is real and which side is false, but I hate Chu Muxi. I feel uncomfortable all over when I see her. I’m scared of her appearance. To others, I might seem nonsensical, but sister, do you believe me?"
Jiang Leyi let go of Jiang Nanshu, eyes wide with shock, then shifting to ecstasy.
Looking into Jiang Nanshu’s clear eyes, it seemed she had figured it out.
No wonder the initially smart, gentle, kind-hearted Jiang Nanshu, who was amiable to everyone, loved eating deep-fried pastries, liked calling her sister, and clung to her in that villa.
Later, after frostbite, when she woke up in the hospital, her temperament had changed—she became foolish and clumsy, nothing like a top scholar.
So, the Jiang Nanshu from another world in front of her was the real Jiang Nanshu, and the one who usurped someone else’s body, making grand declarations and running back to recognize her family was the fake?
Although the situation was bizarre, verging on frying her CPU, she still nodded firmly, "Nannan, I believe you, and I will tell our family the truth."
Jiang Nanshu, in panic, grasped her, "You can’t, they will definitely treat me as a monster. Mom already doesn’t like me, what if they disown me? I don’t want to fight her, sister, I just want to be with you and brother and dad."
Jiang Leyi grew increasingly angry at the thought, why should the latecomer prevail.
Seeing Jiang Nanshu both anxious and flustered, she comforted her softly, "Alright, be good, don’t cry. I won’t tell, okay?"
Only then did Jiang Nanshu break into a smile, "Mhm."
Jiang Leyi mentally added, Fat chance!
She would definitely drive the impostor out of the Jiang Family and let everyone know the truth!
"Let’s go inside, it’s time to start filming."
Jiang Leyi, being one of the leads, had the assistant urging her from inside, so she went ahead.
Jiang Nanshu trailed slowly behind, wiping her tears.
Tears are so handy—they evoke others’ sympathy, pity.
Her inner thoughts, plus what she had revealed to Jiang Leyi, were enough to keep that transcender pinned down, unable to rise.
She indeed had that dream.
At the Ji Family, the transcender’s hysterical appearance, desperately tearing at her, and those words accidentally revealed in haste—thinking about it carefully, she could guess that the "lucky guy" chosen by the transcender was her, right?
The transcender was indeed foolish; there was a reason for ruining a good hand.
But Jiang Nanshu didn’t want to dwell on these details.
Whether she was Jiang Nanshu or not didn’t matter.
Because her ultimate goal, from the beginning, was not here.