Chapter 23: Late-arriving affection is cheaper than grass.

I truly didn't expect Jiang Yue to say something like that. She seemed changed, yet at the same time, she felt exactly the same. It was hard to put into words—it was just very strange. In the past, she never would have helped me stand up to Jiang Zi; it would have been absolutely impossible.

Jiang Zi, however, let out a scoff of derision. "Pah! He’s hardly fit to be my brother-in-law. He isn't even worth a single finger of Jun’s."

Jiang Yue’s expression shifted, and she said sternly, "I told you to stop saying that! If you say it again, I won't help you with what I promised last time."

Jiang Zi paused, then quickly put on a flattering smile. "Sister, my dear sister, I won't talk about him anymore, okay? You have to help me; this opportunity is incredibly rare."

Jiang Yue sighed, then said in a low voice, "Actually, Chu Jianghe was the one who helped you with this."

"Him? How is it that he helped me?" Jiang Zi looked at Jiang Yue, completely bewildered.

Hearing her say that, I knew exactly what she was referring to. It went back three months, to that night when Jiang Zi came to visit Jiang Yue, and the two sisters were chatting. I had accidentally overheard Jiang Zi mention that she had met a film crew, and the director was considering her for the lead role. However, there was a condition: she needed to thoroughly understand the script. But Jiang Zi lacked professional ability; she couldn't even deliver her lines well.

I had come up with a solution: I would turn her script into a manga format so she could understand the story better. Plus, it would show the director that she had put in the effort. After Jiang Zi left that day, I spoke briefly with Jiang Yue about it. At first, she didn't believe me, and it was only after I begged her that she let me see the first scene of the script. I adapted that first scene into a manga, converted it into a PDF, and sent it to her. She tried sending it to Jiang Zi, and to everyone's surprise, Jiang Zi came running back the next day, saying the director had been extremely impressed by the manga adaptation of the first scene.

Later, Jiang Yue asked me to adapt the entire script into a manga. I did it all for her sake, working overtime to finish the whole thing before handing the final product over. Now that Jiang Zi knew I was the one behind it, she looked completely stunned.

"Sister, how can that be? You aren't lying to me, are you? How could he have drawn this? It’s impossible!"

"He studied fine arts. It really was him. I’m not lying to you," Jiang Yue said earnestly.

Jiang Zi fell silent, her expression gradually turning anxious. After a long while, she finally said, "But he’s already dead, so does that mean it’s all over?"

"He had already finished the final work, and I have it right here."

"Really?" Jiang Zi became excited again immediately.

Jiang Yue remained calm. "So, don't talk about him like that. I might be able to say things about him, but you can’t."

Jiang Zi curled her lip. "Sister, don't tell me you’ve actually fallen in love with him?"

"Don't talk nonsense! In any case, remember what I said: don't talk about him like that anymore. He’s already gone; there’s no need for it."

"Alright, alright, I won't say it, okay? My dear sister."

"I’m sending you the manga now. Take a look and get a feel for it yourself."

Jiang Zi smiled again and suddenly added, "Actually, he wasn't that annoying. It was mostly because I knew you didn't like him, so of course, I stood on your side."

"Then why did you target him at every turn? And that time you put itching powder in his pajamas—that wasn't a prank, that was just plain malicious!"

Jiang Zi pouted, looking aggrieved, and whispered, "I was wrong, sister. I just lost a dare with some friends."

Jiang Yue sighed, appearing somewhat distressed.

Jiang Zi added, "Come to think of it, he was quite pitiful. An orphan since he was young, and even when he finally fell for you, he…"

"What? You realize you were wrong now?"

"I am wrong, but what's done is done. He’s dead anyway. You don't expect me to go to his tombstone and apologize, do you?"

"That won't be necessary. Just stop talking about him like that."

"Mm, I got it, sister. I’ll listen to you."

Jiang Yue was truly acting unusually today; it was clear she was intentionally speaking up for me. That would have been impossible in the past. What was going on? Could she really be feeling a shred of guilt toward me? Even if she were, it was too late. Jiang Yue, don't you know that affection arriving late is worth less than grass?

Once Jiang Zi received the file, she started looking through it on her phone. "Sister, did he really draw this? You’re not lying to me?" Jiang Zi looked at the drawings, still finding it hard to believe.

"I didn't believe it at first either," Jiang Yue said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I saw him draw it with my own eyes that day."

Jiang Zi frowned, as if deep in thought. After a while, she said, "Sister, do you know what the director said when I showed her the sample?"

"What did she say?"

"She said I was a genius—a genius at art—and that it was a waste for me to be an actress."

A faint smile appeared on Jiang Yue’s cold face. "It just goes to show we never really understood him. Chu Jianghe was truly talented when it came to drawing."

"What a pity!" Jiang Zi curled her lip. "He’s dead…"

Jiang Yue sighed softly. "There’s no use dwelling on what’s a pity and what isn't. Perhaps this was just his fate."

Yes, Jiang Yue was right. This was my fate. Even if I hadn't been murdered by the people Cheng Jun hired, my physical condition at the time wouldn't have allowed me to hold on for much longer.

Jiang Zi sighed as well. "Actually, if you think about it, Chu Jianghe wasn't that bad of a person." She paused, then continued, "Sister, do you remember when I accidentally broke Second Aunt’s bracelet last year? The one she loved so much?"

"Wasn't that broken by Chu Jianghe?" Jiang Yue asked.

"I was the one who broke it. I framed him for it."

Jiang Yue gasped. "The point is, Chu Jianghe didn't even try to expose me back then. He took the blame himself, and you know what happened—he was punished by Father according to the family law."

I remembered that incident well. I knew Jiang Zi had intentionally framed me, but I didn't expose her at the time because no one would have believed me. I had no human rights in that house; it was better to endure the injustice than to argue. Another important reason was that I was in the middle of asking Jiang Yue for a loan of a hundred thousand, and I didn't want to upset her. If she didn't lend it to me, I would have been finished.

Jiang Yue only now realized that I hadn't been the one to break the bracelet. She looked at Jiang Zi with a helpless, frustrated expression. "Why didn't you tell me back then?"

"I…" Jiang Zi pouted, looking wronged. "Sister, I was planning to tell you the next day, but then I was notified that I had been cast in the film, and I just forgot."

"You…"

Jiang Yue looked at her sister with total helplessness and sighed. "You really are a fine sister. I gave Chu Jianghe such a hard time over that incident."

"He was an idiot, too. Why didn't he make it clear to you?"

Now she was blaming me for not making it clear.

Jiang Yue said, "Do you think she would have believed me if I had tried to explain at the time?"

Jiang Zi fell silent. She lowered her head, lost in thought. After a long while, she looked up at Jiang Yue. "Sister, I think I should go and offer some incense for him."