## Chapter 1148: Familial Affection Turns Sour
“So, you unilaterally decided to act out of “gratitude” without even considering Older Brother Jayad’s feelings or his wishes?” I asked.
Bailing Ding froze. She quickly realized I was right. She had indeed been shortsighted. However, expecting such a sheltered noble lady to genuinely consider others’ feelings was probably too much to ask.
“Then what should I do?” Bailing Ding earnestly asked for my advice. Come to think of it, wasn’t I technically a rival in love? And she was asking *me* for advice?
“I think you don’t need to actively try to repay any debt. Older Brother Jayad saved you simply because he wanted to, not because he expected anything in return,” I explained.
“But if I don’t offer thanks, I’ll feel uneasy,” Bailing Ding mumbled from within the water, a look of shame on her face.
So, at its core, her actions were driven by a need to soothe her own conscience, not a genuine desire to repay Older Brother Jayad. She just couldn’t stand the feeling of indebtedness.
“If you really want to repay him, then become friends with Older Brother Jayad. What he needs most right now are friends he can treat as equals. You have an advantage there since you’re colleagues,” I suggested, planting a seed of an idea.
“Okay! Thank you for your guidance, Miss Parul!” Bailing Ding exclaimed happily, clenching her fists as if she had made a firm decision. She actually bought into my little act of deception.
To be honest, Older Brother Jayad was already of marriageable age. I needed to screen his potential partners, at least find someone he liked and who could get along with me. I definitely didn’t want a situation where I’d have to say, “Brother, I don’t like this future sister-in-law, find someone else!”
Someone like Bailing Ding seemed unsuitable. The difference in their social standing was too vast: a noble lady on one side, and a penniless boy from the Slums on the other. Although their circumstances had drastically changed now, the ingrained personality differences from their upbringing would be difficult to overcome.
This was the concept of “matching horoscopes”—when people came from different backgrounds and had different perspectives on life. It could easily lead to vastly different, even opposing, viewpoints. Close proximity might spark minor conflicts.
The best candidate so far seemed to be Miss Lorna. She was righteous, understanding, had practiced Asceticism and understood the feelings of those in the Lower Level, yet wasn’t poor herself. She was beautiful, had a good figure, and her Profession was similar to Older Brother Jayad’s.
Most crucially, she possessed a motherly aura that could fulfill Older Brother Jayad’s childhood lack of maternal love. Every time they were together, I felt a sense of compatibility, a feeling that there was no room for me to interfere.
The only issue was that Lorna was too overbearing. I felt I couldn’t compete with her. If she were in my home, I feared she’d be too strict with me, which would be incredibly annoying!
“Um, Miss Parul,” Bailing Ding suddenly whispered in my ear, interrupting my thoughts. She seemed to have come to a realization.
“Hm? Do you have anything else to ask?” I looked at her, asking with a hint of doubt.
“Miss Parul, are you Mr. Jayad’s younger sister?” Bailing Ding asked.
“Yes, why do you ask?” I replied, confused. Wasn’t that obvious?
“But, Miss Parul, you seem to like Mr. Jayad a lot,” Bailing Ding continued.
“I do like him. Is there something wrong with a sister liking her brother?” I retorted, equally confused. The bond between my brother and me was unbreakable.
“No, that’s not what I mean. I mean, are you biological siblings? I feel like your feelings for him go beyond familial affection. It feels more like love,” Bailing Ding finally managed to say.
Her biggest confusion all along had been the relationship between Jayad and his sister. At first glance, they appeared to be siblings. But upon closer acquaintance, it felt more like a couple. Look even longer, and they seemed like an old married couple.
“Eh?!” Her question caught me completely off guard. I had never actually considered this question before. Were Jayad and I biological siblings?
After I inherited Parul’s memories, the feeling of being a transmigrator who had replaced her virtually disappeared. I had almost become one with her; I *was* Parul.
In these memories, from as early as Parul could remember, I had always been with Older Brother Jayad, and I had always called him brother.
However, the other orphans adopted by MacDuff also referred to each other as siblings. Those older than Jayad called him younger brother, and those younger than him called him older brother.
“Uh, we’re probably not biological siblings. We were just children adopted by a bully. He made all of us call each other siblings, saying we were one family,” I mused after some thought.
Although that scoundrel MacDuff never truly viewed the orphans as family, frequently beating or starving them, he only needed to instill a sense of parental authority to control them.
However, most of the orphans genuinely loved each other and treated others as blood siblings. Even in Parul’s memories, there were a few older brothers and sisters who had taken special care of her. Sadly, they had either been captured, starved to death, or even beaten to death by MacDuff in a fit of rage.
“Since you’re not biological siblings, are you two actually in love? Do you intend to marry Mr. Jayad in the future and become his wife?” Bailing Ding inquired.
“Eh? Ehh!?!?” I froze, completely stunned. That’s right! How had I never considered that possibility? I had always believed my relationship with Older Brother Jayad was purely familial, that I simply enjoyed living together.
There were also other reasons, such as needing Older Brother Jayad’s care, needing him to occasionally whip me to keep me rational, needing him to hold me while I slept so I wouldn’t have nightmares, and having him collect Monster Materials for me and protect me in combat, as well as earn money…
Wait, thinking about it, I couldn’t seem to live without Older Brother Jayad at all. That’s why I always thought that even after Older Brother Jayad married, I would choose a sister-in-law who could accept me living under the same roof, or even sharing a bed. But what girl would be willing to agree to that?
Now that Bailing Ding mentioned it, I suddenly realized: why *couldn’t* I marry my brother myself? But I used to be a man. I couldn’t imagine actually engaging in anything romantic or bearing children for Older Brother Jayad.
Just thinking about it sent me into a mental loop, my brain in a chaotic state, unable to think clearly.
“Hey, what are you two talking about? Why are your faces so red?” Elena suddenly asked loudly, interrupting my runaway thoughts.
“Nothing, the hot spring water is just too hot,” I replied. Bailing Ding nodded frantically, “Yeah, yeah, the water’s too hot!”
