"Okay."
This time, Mei Ling did not say any extra words yet Lu Jiang saw the gratitude. However, the gratitude was was just gratitude and nothing more than that. He didn't see any form of devotion or even a bit of adoration. What a strange girl!
But although this was a bit of a strange situation, he decided not to push anything too far.
"How about I call you Brother?", a quiet voice broke the silence.
Cough Cough Cough. "Huh!?"
Mei Ling knew he thought of her as a romantic interest probably once or twice before. However, she also knew he would not consider his tiny bit of interest in her seriously even if he was a kind person.
Plus, in addition to her listening to the gossip around the house and her own research, she found something fascinating! It turns out that Lu Jiang wasn't just a random rich man off the streets! He was the vice-CEO of one of the major corporations in all of Asia! According to the internet, he was a strict man who although was aloof would follow filial piety and was not greedy towards his friends.
Thus, if she were to successfully call him brother, she would have a stable backing and his full support as she was almost as a family member. Although he may be suspicious of her at some points, she never held any evil intentions, so even if he was suspicious he would not find anything to worry about and his distrustful nature would slowly slip away as the years passed.
"Ehem, okay..Then I will call you Ling Ling?"
Mei Ling smiled innocently. "Okay, brother!"
Lu Jiang timidly, innocently blushed. Why did it seem like he always blushed in front of this girl? But he had a little sister, that was what mattered now! He had a little sister! As the youngest in his family, he was always picked on by his elder sister. Now that he had an innocent, beautiful younger sister, he would finally have someone to hold responsibility and protection over!
Then, he held an annoyed frown.
Nevertheless, in whatever way you look at it, that also meant he had much more headache inducing problems! He had thought of sending her to college as she seemed she was at that proper age, however she was an orphan and probably had not gotten any education prior. How was she supposed to keep up with all the other students? Another problem was that...his sister was just too much of a high-class beauty! It was not like he could go to her college or send bodyguards to protect her at all times, so how would he ward off all the perverts away from his sister!?
His frown deepened as he thought of all the possible situations that could occur to his new, beloved sister.
As he was deep in thought, Mei Ling was watching him with amusement the entire time. Her research was wrong! How could her silly brother be aloof and cold? It was just a mask he put on! Her older brother was actually so silly and amusing, how could the internet spout such lies? How could her brother even hide his inner nature for so long?!
Giggling at her brother's change of expressions every now and then, she couldn't help but wave her hand in front of him to stop his daze otherwise he would never come back to the real world. His silly nature that was suddenly exposed abruptly changed back into his normal self.
Smiling wryly, Lu Jiang softly said, "Ling Ling...do..you..."
"Yes, brother?" She was genuinely confused this time. What was his brother thinking about to make him this nervous?
Hesitating, "Do...you want to go...to college?"
Mei Ling was shocked. This was what her older brother had been contemplating on for such a long time? Although she indeed had average grades in her past life, that was during her years in college!
She previously had high grades that allowed her to get a scholarship to one of the best colleges, but suddenly experienced what it was like to be mediocre. To be honest her heart was weak, and so it was a terrifying experience for her. She did everything she could to raise up her grades, and because of that was able to remember the correct answers every time she got back her average results.
At present, if she were to go to college then she was sure to excel right? Mei Ling wasn't confident, but she was willing to make the bet that if she went to college once again now, she would be the top student!
Practice makes perfect! This was a saying that she had laughed at bitterly in her past life. Now that she had transmigrated, she would no longer have a condescending attitude towards these few words. All the practice she had gotten before would now come handy in her new life!
However, the innocent look in her brother's eyes disturbed her. How was he supposed to be the vice-CEO of such a major company if he so easily trusted others? Sending in many questioning gazes, her brother easily saw through what she was feeling.
"Are you surprised?"
Mei Ling nodded, not knowing what to say to him.
He smiled lightly, "As you are now my adorable, little sister then big brother won't be lying to you. Truthfully, I have already checked your background. I believe in both my people's skills in checking whether other's are lying or not, and also in you. Although you probably had anticipated that I would ask you to stay, my intuition tells me that you also don't hold any malicious ideas towards me or my family. I believe in my intuition, and I hope there won't be a day where I find out that I was wrong."
Mei Ling opened her mouth slightly in a jolt. He...had already known? And he had still let her stay and been so nice to her? Eyes watering, she suddenly remembered something...she had such a soft heart all these years that she tried to toughen it up by forgetting there was a a side of the world that could actually make her genuinely happy. She never thought of social ties as something that could make her feel contented and comfortable with life. Realizing this now, she couldn't help but have little sobs every each second in front of her new brother, embarrassing herself.
Every time a tiny sob broke through again, Lu Jiang would wipe her tears with a few fingers lightly. Hugging her tightly, he suddenly said again, "So....Ling Ling do you want to go to college..?"
Chuckling, she raised her head and stared into his eyes with her own sparkling eyes, "Yes! Thank you big brother!"
Lu Jiang fainted!