CHAPTER 296: CHAPTER 285: I HAVE A BROTHER NOW

Jin Jumo’s heart was fiercely moved, and she suddenly reached out to hug his neck.

Rong Mochen was slightly startled, then extended his arms to embrace her, kissing her ear hair, "Who are you calling so late?"

Jin Jumo’s eyes tightened slightly. She slowly released her hands, her Taohua eyes filled with concern as she looked at him, "...Mu Qinnian."

After speaking, Jin Jumo held her breath and stared at him.

Rong Mochen remained expressionless, his dark eyes deep and unfathomable.

Thus, Jin Jumo couldn’t gauge his emotions at the moment. She lightly parted her lips and took a breath, "There’s something I want to tell you."

"Go ahead."

Jin Jumo pressed her lips together, "Mu Qinnian and I...he is my brother."

Jin Jumo looked at him; his face was calm, without a hint of surprise or shock, at least not from his expression.

Frowning deeply, Jin Jumo stared at him in confusion, "Don’t you have anything to say?"

"What do you want me to say?" Rong Mochen said.

"Uh..."

Jin Jumo couldn’t quite grasp the meaning of his words and looked at him without speaking.

Rong Mochen withdrew his arms, stood upright at the bedside, his dark eyes profound and solemn, "Are you happy?"

Something quickly flashed in Jin Jumo’s eyes, and she slowly got down from the bed, standing in front of him, looking up at his handsome and indifferent face, "I have a brother now, aren’t you happy for me?"

"So, you are very happy," Rong Mochen said.

Jin Jumo’s brow twitched slightly, looking at his still indifferent face, not knowing what to say.

His reaction left her confused, even a bit saddened.

She had found her family, she finally discovered her roots, knew where she came from. She thought that telling him would make him happy for her.

But now it seemed, that wasn’t the case.

Rong Mochen gently stroked Jin Jumo’s soft long hair, "Little Mo, you’ve never told me about your life."

Jin Jumo’s Taohua eyes trembled lightly, "You already know everything about me."

"Knowing and you actively telling me are very different things," Rong Mochen said.

Jin Jumo’s lips turned slightly pale, her voice trembling, "What do you want to know?"

Rong Mochen stared at her, the cold and thin lips uttering two words, "Everything."

Jin Jumo took a breath, reached out to grasp his hand, and sat on the edge of the bed.

Before she could speak, Rong Mochen already felt her little hand in his grasp getting cooler inch by inch.

His heart ached slightly, Rong Mochen suddenly felt a bit of self-loathing; she didn’t want to speak, so why was he forcing her? She was in such pain!

"Little Mo..."

"It’s okay." Jin Jumo seemed to know what he was thinking, slightly raised her pale face, and tugged lightly at the corners of her mouth to smile at him.

Rong Mochen watched as she forced a smile in front of him, feeling as if a knife was cutting through his heart.

"When I was four, Liang Yi, in order to marry the real estate tycoon Gu Yaoqin and enter the wealthy family she dreamed of, sent me to the welfare home. I remember at the time she told me to obediently listen to the director, and if I was good, she would come back and get me soon.

I believed her, obediently listening to the director every day. When I missed her, I didn’t dare cry because crying meant I wasn’t being good. I waited and waited, and she never appeared."

Jin Jumo stared at the pitch-dark floor-to-ceiling window, her eyes empty, "A year later, Grandpa adopted me from the welfare home, and I went with him to the Jin Family. When I first went, I was very afraid because, except for Grandpa, no one was willing to talk to me.

My adoptive mother would even cry when she saw me, and whenever my adoptive mother cried, my adoptive father would ask me to return to my own room. For a long time, wherever my adoptive mother was, I couldn’t appear.

At first, I thought it was because my adoptive mother didn’t like me, but later Grandpa told me it was because my adoptive parents had just lost their daughter, and seeing me reminded my adoptive mother of the daughter they lost, not because she didn’t like me. After knowing that, I was even more afraid of getting close to her, afraid of causing her sadness. From then on, Grandpa became my biggest support; he was as towering and strong as a mountain, and beside him, I felt at ease, never worrying about being abandoned again.

Five years into living with the Jin Family, my relationship with Grandpa grew stronger, yet there remained a barrier between me and my foster parents. I no longer had to deliberately avoid my foster mother, but we weren’t close; deep inside, I believed that my foster parents didn’t quite like me.

But when I was ten, there was an incident with Grandpa’s construction company. The contractor who handled the workers’ payments ran off with the money and deliberately misled the workers, claiming Grandpa’s company was delaying and refusing to pay. The workers believed him and wouldn’t accept that Grandpa had already paid them in full, thinking Grandpa was trying to default on them.

Back then, apart from attending school as usual, I spent all my time with Grandpa, who took me everywhere, perhaps to keep me from feeling lonely. The workers couldn’t find a way to force my grandpa to pay, so they kidnapped me..."

At this point, Jin Jumo’s voice suddenly choked up, and Rong Mochen could feel the five fingers he held in his palm becoming cold and rigid like an icebox, sinking his heart.

"They used me to threaten my grandpa into giving them money, saying they’d take me down with them if he didn’t. I knew they were driven to desperation, that two years worth of hard-earned money was a fortune to them. Sometimes, money is indeed as important as life itself."

Jin Jumo, eyes red, looked at Rong Mochen, "Just like I sold myself to you for money back then. I even thought that if no one wanted me, I’d rather die just to get my hands on it."

At that time, she had only one belief, and that was Jin Jiancheng: she wanted him to survive!

Rong Mochen’s black eyes revealed profound heartache as he wrapped Jin Jumo tightly in his embrace, yet not a word of comfort could he speak.

Jin Jumo leaned in his arms, and only after a while did she continue, "On the way to save me with the ransom, my foster parents got into a car accident; they never made it to the hospital..."

Jin Jumo’s throat was choked, turning her face into his chest.

The cloth on his chest gradually soaked through, piercing Rong Mochen’s heart like an ice pick, but all he could do was hold her tighter, unable to find the words of comfort.

"When those workers learned of my foster parents’ car accident, perhaps out of fear, they released me. Back at the Jin Family, faced with the cold black-and-white portraits in the living room, I was terrified, so scared I didn’t dare cry.

I thought Grandpa would blame me, abandon me, and hate me because if it weren’t for saving me, my foster parents wouldn’t have died, and Grandpa wouldn’t have had to suffer the grief of burying his children. But he didn’t; he endured the immense sorrow to comfort me instead..."

Jin Jumo’s thin body trembled violently, rubbing her tear-streaked face against his warm neck as if seeking a crumb of warmth like a desperately warmth-deprived child, "No one has ever treated me so well, Rong Mochen, you know, no one ever..."

Rong Mochen held her by the back of her neck, gently rubbing his cheek against her tear-stained face, his voice hoarse, "You have me now."

"Yes, I have you now."

Jin Jumo reached out to hug him.

Rong Mochen hugged her even tighter.

When emotions slightly settled, Jin Jumo continued in a slightly hoarse voice, "Not long after my foster father passed, the police caught the contractor who fled with the money and handed over everything to the workers.

The workers who kidnapped me perhaps felt guilty and came to apologize, expressing willingness to bear responsibility for kidnapping me. But my grandpa did not hold them accountable."

"Grandpa was very kind." Rong Mochen patted Jin Jumo’s long hair.

Jin Jumo shook her head, "My grandpa was too kind, and that ultimately led to his unfortunate end because of me."

"Don’t speak of yourself like that."

Rong Mochen frowned deeply and said solemnly.

Jin Jumo closed her eyes, withdrawing slightly from his embrace, looking at him with red eyes, "After my foster father left, Grandpa took over the company entirely. Without a confidant he could completely trust, he struggled hard to keep it going. Perhaps the chronically overworked load led to heart failure, and in my junior year of college, Grandpa had a sudden heart attack and collapsed.

Once Grandpa collapsed, the company became a chaos, without anyone to take charge, and certain unscrupulous people within the company began to manipulate things in the shadows. Before long, Grandpa’s company went bankrupt, leaving a large debt.

During that period, with Grandpa bedridden and debt collectors besieging the house every day, I had no choice but to auction off the only property we had, that villa, to pay off the debts. But though the debts were cleared, there was no way to cover Grandpa’s medical expenses."

Jin Jumo bitterly twisted her lips, "I had no choice but to find Liang Yi."

Liang Yi hadn’t shown up since she sent her to the orphanage.

She only knew Liang Yi had married into a wealthy family because of a banquet.

Gu Yaoqin was a real estate developer, and real estate developers inevitably have to collaborate with construction companies.

Back when my foster parents were still alive, my foster father hosted a banquet at home for Gu Yaoqin and his wife. Upon seeing Liang Yi, draped in jewels and exuding the aura of a wealthy lady, Jin Jumo could hardly believe she was the same mother who promised to come and get me if I behaved.

Liang Yi was also startled upon seeing her but quickly regained her composure. She pretended not to know her, speaking warmly and politely, even giving her a hug.

During that banquet, Jin Jumo’s gaze rarely left Liang Yi. She surely noticed the longing in my eyes.

But apart from a few unavoidable pleasantries at the beginning, Liang Yi never spared her another glance until she left the Jin Family.

That night was the coldest Jin Jumo had ever experienced.