40: Chapter 40 Undersea Brothers

"Qingyao, I..." Lin Wenzheng pursed his lips.

"Do you think Father and Mother haven't tried to persuade me over these three years? They've long since accepted it, which is why they never help me. My money... I earned it all myself."

Lin Qingyao pointed at her biological brother and rebuked him, "And you—as my brother, you never helped me during these three years, and in the end, you're the one who betrayed me. What right do you have to control me?"

"But before..."

"You still have the face to mention the past? Back then, you acted on impulse and ran away from home, picking fights and neglecting your studies. When did you ever look out for me?"

"Now that you're dressed so formally, do you think the past no longer counts and you can use the title of 'brother' to suppress me?"

"I never said I would betray the Family. As long as the Family needs it, I will do my best to help. That is my bottom line!"

Lin Wenzheng fell silent. After a long while, he only managed a few words: "I'm sorry. I haven't been a good role model."

Lin Qingyao said indifferently, "Actually, I always looked up to you as a role model, but you betrayed me."

"I only realized later that it wasn't that you didn't want to accept the Family's arrangements; you just wanted to prove you were different from your peers and were intentionally throwing a tantrum at our parents."

"Once you were out in the world, no one pampered you. As soon as your credit cards were cut off, you immediately abandoned your so-called ideals and self, and came running back."

"I was supporting you, yet you personally negated your own words and ideals."

Lin Wenzheng gripped the steering wheel tightly, feeling as if a knife had been plunged into his heart.

Because Lin Qingyao had lived alone for three years. During those three years, she had worked part-time jobs, cleaned toilets, and done all sorts of dirty and exhausting work.

Yet, Qingyao always maintained her bottom line. Every holiday, she would return to spend the New Year with her parents. Even when she was struggling financially, she never complained or asked for money.

And he hadn't done a single one of those things.

"Qingyao, I'm sorry..." Lin Wenzheng looked at his sister in the rearview mirror, his heart skipping a beat.

Previously, there was still disappointment in Lin Qingyao's eyes, but now there was nothing. She was looking at him as if he were just an ordinary person.

This meant that his sister had completely given up hope in his image as a brother.

"Forget it, I have nothing left to say to you." Having said that, Lin Qingyao pushed open the car door and jumped out.

"Qingyao!"

*Bang!*

On the highway, Lin Qingyao jumped out of the car and was immediately struck by a speeding truck from behind, sending her flying.

"Holy crap!" The driver was startled and hurriedly got out to check.

"Crap, I wasn't looking where I was going," Lin Qingyao murmured before picking herself up.

The driver ran over and said, "Um... I'm sor—"

Lin Qingyao raised her hand. "I'm sorry, I wasn't looking at the road."

Hearing this, the driver was stunned.

*I hit you, and you're apologizing to me?*

"How is it? Is the truck damaged?" Lin Qingyao asked.

"Uh... is this really the time to worry about that?" The driver was speechless. Shouldn't she be asking about her own condition? His truck was carrying ten tons of cargo.

"I'm fine. The front of the truck might be damaged; I'll compensate you," Lin Qingyao said.

Just like the Lu Family next door had their Golden Crow, the Lin Family also had an iconic ability—the Divine Tiger.

And Lin Qingyao possessed the White Tiger ability, which was exceptionally rare even among Divine Tigers. She had just used her ability and Battle Techniques to protect herself, so she wasn't injured.

Then, ignoring Lin Wenzheng, Lin Qingyao followed the driver to inspect the front of the truck and found that a large section was indeed dented.

"Many parts are ruined. I'm sorry, I'll pay for it," Lin Qingyao said.

"This..." The driver hesitated.

After assessing the damage, the compensation came to 10,000 Star Coins.

This price was still a burden for Lin Qingyao, who lived on her own.

Moreover, she had spent most of her resources on Cultivating, so she didn't have much left on her.

"Longlong, lend me some money." In desperation, Lin Qingyao sent a message to her best friend.

"Ding-dong! Your bank card has received 1,000,000 Star Coins. Please check your account." Li Linglong didn't even ask what it was for and sent the money without a second thought.

"Thanks, but I don't need this much," Lin Qingyao replied.

"Why the hell are you being so polite with me?" Li Linglong replied.

"..." Lin Qingyao.

Afterward, she gave the driver 15,000, pulled a commuter vehicle out of her storage device, and drove away.

"Qingyao! Qingyao!" Lin Wenzheng shouted, but received no response.

He watched the direction his sister had gone, completely dazed.

*Why couldn't I have been like that back then?*

Lin Wenzheng's heart sank as he suddenly seemed to understand something.

A few years ago, the arrest of the Old Dean led to the exposure of several corrupt individuals within the Lin Family, resulting in the Family being punished by the Alliance and losing far too much.

Therefore, in recent years, the Lin Family had considered political marriages with various other families to make up for their losses.

Lin Wenzheng and Lin Qingyao happened to be the chosen targets; both had arranged childhood betrothals with the Mu Family and the Lu Family next door.

However, Lin Qingyao's stance was very firm, so their parents had tacitly accepted it by cutting off her living expenses and letting her be independent.

As for Lin Wenzheng, he had taken over some of the Family's industries over the years, and the constant exposure had caused his mindset and way of thinking to change.

Lin Wenzheng knew, of course, that if his sister lived with an A-Rank Esper, her life wouldn't be bad.

But at that moment, his Family-oriented mindset thought that if Lin Qingyao married Qin Feng, the benefits to the Family would be far less than if she married into the Lu Family.

In other words, Lin Wenzheng's so-called "for my sister's happiness" was actually him lying to himself. At that moment, all he had thought about was the Family's interests.

As long as his sister married into the Lu Family, the gains for the Lin Family would definitely be greater than if she married Qin Feng.

"I've actually... become just like Mom and Dad?" Lin Wenzheng stood there in a daze, watching the receding vehicle.

...

On the Interstellar Train, Qin Feng leaned against the window, lost in thought.

After thinking for a long time, he sent a message to Chen Xing.

"Old Chen, I want to Cultivate with you."

"..."

"Send me your location. I'll come pick you up."

"..."

Chen Xing didn't know what he had done and decided to meet up first.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Lin Qingyao was speeding down the highway. She had tried to chase him back earlier but could no longer see Qin Feng anywhere, leaving her extremely anxious.

"Feng, don't mind what Lin Wenzheng said. Whatever difficulties there are, we can get through them together," she messaged him.

"The other party is not currently your friend. Please add them as a friend before sending a message." Then, she was met with a red exclamation mark.

"Motherf*cker, Qin Feng! You dare to block me!"

Even in her earlier rage, Lin Qingyao hadn't lost her composure, but now she exploded, swearing and cursing at Qin Feng.

"Don't let me find you, or I'll f*cking kill you!"

...

November.

Recently, Qin Feng had been training with Chen Xing on Planet Quanshui.

Seemingly motivated by recent events, Qin Feng had been Cultivating diligently since arriving. He immediately achieved a Breakthrough to the eighth stage and was now working hard toward the ninth.

Today, Chen Xing finally couldn't help but ask him what exactly had happened.

"Sigh..."

Three thousand meters deep in the ocean, the two brothers had a heart-to-heart while enduring the deep-sea pressure. Qin Feng finally told him everything.

"Great families..." Chen Xing stared into the pitch-black depths of the sea, lost in thought.

"They've always cared about social status. Marrying into another great Family brings them immense benefits. It seems they've treated Miss Lin like an object; she'll eventually become a sacrifice for the Family." Such cases were all too common.

"But his brother wasn't wrong. Compared to being with me, Qingyao... Miss Lin would live a better life with those other suitors," Qin Feng said.

"Why are you acting like this? Even when you were cheated on during the Awakening ceremony, you weren't this dejected. What, have you accepted your fate?" Chen Xing kicked him.

"Doesn't he just want someone of equal status? Fine then. We'll both Cultivate hard and work to build a great power. When the time comes for you to propose, who would dare object?"

Qin Feng smiled bitterly. "Forget it. Not to mention whether it's even possible, even if it were, that would be years from now."

"By then, Miss Lin will probably have already married another man and had children. They might even call me Uncle Qin... Sigh." He stared into the distance, dazed.

"Stubborn as a mule," Chen Xing said irritably.