"Beicheng, I have only one wish. I... I'm not asking you to treat Yi Yi as your own daughter, just please take her back with you and look after her from now on..."
On the hospital bed, the old woman tightly gripped the man's hand, her tone pleading.
Deep wrinkles creased her forehead and the corners of her eyes. Her hair was streaked with silver, and she spoke with some difficulty.
At the foot of the bed, the young girl was still immersed in the grief of her relative's impending death. Her almond-shaped eyes were swollen and red. When she first heard the old woman's words, she didn't quite process them.
A few seconds later, her eyes widened in shock.
[What?! No way! They've finally reunited as a family, I shouldn't get in the way!]
The hospital room, which had been filled with quiet sobs, suddenly fell silent. Before the person on the bed could wonder why, the heart monitor flatlined.
Two years ago, Jing Yi had transmigrated into a novel.
To save a kidnapped child, Jing Yi had been stabbed in a vital area by a human trafficker.
One moment, she was on the brink of death, regretting not carrying more self-defense tools.
The next, she woke up in a soft bed with an elderly white-haired grandmother at her side, anxiously asking if she was feeling better.
Jing Yi awoke in a hospital room. The old grandmother told her she had been admitted after accidentally falling into a lake.
As Jing Yi regained consciousness, she repeatedly checked her chest for the wound, but found no trace of it...
Later, she realized she had transmigrated into a sweet romance novel she had read before.
And she was the story's biggest obstacle to the main couple's love - the vicious female antagonist, Jing Yi.
Because the character shared her name, Jing Yi had a particularly strong impression of this novel.
Jing Yi had spent two years abroad. During that time, apart from Grandma Jing, she hadn't met any other members of the Jing Family.
Of course, Jing Yi had lived quite comfortably those two years. The interest alone from her savings account was enough to support a good lifestyle.
Although she was deeply saddened by Grandma Jing's passing - after all, she was her only relative in this world - Jing Yi had also envisioned her future. She planned to live alone in her current villa, find a job somewhere, as she had enough money to support herself anyway.
However, surely the Jing Family wouldn't be so heartless as to take back the villa, right?
After all, when she had transmigrated, the original Jing Yi hadn't done anything yet, and hadn't even met the other members of the Jing Family.
She would just live out her lonely but affluent life in M Country!
Clearly, Jing Yi's wish wasn't going to come true, because at this moment, she was already on a plane back to China.
On the Jing Family's private jet.
The gazes of the Jing Family members occasionally fell on Jing Yi, who was seated diagonally in front of them, their eyes full of curiosity.
Jing Beicheng had rushed over to see his mother one last time. No matter how great the resentment, she was still the woman who had given birth to him and raised him.
But he hadn't expected to encounter such a surprising situation.
He was certain that in the hospital room that day, he had heard Jing Yi's voice, but she hadn't opened her mouth.
And he wasn't the only one who had heard it.
Jing Yi, leaning against her seat, was gazing out the window. She appeared calm, but her heart was filled with frustration.
[Goodbye, my lonely but affluent future life!]
Everyone else in the cabin looked up, their gazes converging on Jing Yi.
After many days, they had heard that voice again.
Jing Zeqian frowned slightly and was about to stand up when his older brother, Jing Zeyou, held him back.
Jing Zeyou shook his head slightly, signaling him not to act rashly.
His deep eyes moved to the flight attendant serving nearby. She showed no reaction, instead blushing slightly under Jing Zeyou's gaze.
Jing Zeyou shifted his gaze, took a sip of coffee from the cup in front of him, and discreetly looked back at Jing Yi.
It seemed only certain people could hear this voice, such as the five members of his family.
Sitting across from Jing Yi, Jing Zejun curiously looked up. Seeing that her parents and two brothers hadn't spoken, she also restrained the meaning in her eyes.
But Jing Yi still noticed her gaze and turned to give her a gentle smile.
[As expected of the female lead! She's truly beautiful!]
Jing Zejun was momentarily stunned. When she recovered, she hurriedly forced a smile and nodded slightly at Jing Yi.
Female lead? So she's seen the shows I've acted in?
Jing Zejun assumed Jing Yi's "female lead" comment referred to her roles in TV dramas and films.
However, what surprised her even more was Jing Yi's next thought.
[Money really does make things easier. If I hadn't hired a hacker, I would never have had the chance to send that email to Jing Zeyou's computer.]
All the Jing Family members in the cabin heard this sentence.
Lin Ruiqing's hand trembled slightly as she held her teacup, spilling some tea. The complex emotions in Jing Beicheng's eyes vanished in an instant as he quickly took the cup from her hand and wiped the water off her fingers with a napkin.
"Did you get burned?"
Lin Ruiqing shook her head, her gaze inevitably meeting Jing Yi's. She gave Jing Yi a slight smile, then lowered her eyes to look at her now-dry fingers, lost in thought.
Jing Beicheng held her hand tightly, silently comforting her.
The two brothers, Jing Zeyou and Jing Zeqian, were even more surprised. However, Jing Yi didn't notice as she turned back to admire the scenery, her heart still full of sighs.
Seeing that Jing Yi wasn't looking their way, Jing Zeqian leaned close to Jing Zeyou.
"Brother, was that email really sent by her?"
Jing Zeyou shook his head, his heart also extremely conflicted.
Three months ago, he had received an anonymous email. The subject line contained only three words - Jing Zejun.
Jing Zejun was his sister who had gone missing twenty years ago. The family had been searching for her all these years, but without any results.
Then came this email, which only stated Jing Zejun's current location, with no other information.
He had traced the email's origin - it came from a foreign hacker.
But since it concerned his long-lost sister, he didn't want to ignore this uncertain lead.
Later, he sent people to the address mentioned in the email, and they truly found Jing Zejun!
He quickly informed his parents of this news, and they brought Jing Zejun back home.
He just never imagined that the email had been sent by Jing Yi.
Jing Zeyou looked up, staring at Jing Yi who was focused on admiring the scenery, listening to her dejected internal complaints.
This was his first time meeting this legendary 'sister', and she was quite different from what he had imagined.
Every year, their father would go back to visit Grandma, but he had never paid much attention to Jing Yi as a person, and had never mentioned her to them.
Their first meeting was in Grandma's hospital room. She had been very sad then, and also somewhat nervous upon seeing them, appearing beautiful and well-behaved.
If he hadn't heard her inner thoughts, that's what he would have thought.
When their father proposed taking her back to China, she had been very surprised, acting as if she didn't want to trouble anyone.
At the same time, Jing Zeyou had also heard Jing Yi's inner voice.
[You really don't have to trouble yourselves! It would be uncomfortable for both you and me if I went with you! Please! Just let me live out my lonely but affluent life on my own!]
Jing Zeyou clearly saw the stiffness on his father's face, though it was quickly masked.
This Jing Yi seemed quite different from what they had imagined.
