The Mighty Mage
Chapter 297: 100 Million Yuan

Chapter 297: Chapter 297: 100 Million Yuan

The young woman’s hands trembled as she read the letter, her fingers brushing over her brother’s familiar handwriting.

She couldn’t hold back the tears that spilled down her cheeks, each word feeling like a stab to her heart.

"Brother..." she whispered, clutching the letter to her chest. The hope in her eyes faded, replaced by grief and resignation.

She looked back up at the dark figure—Gu Jin—who stood silently, a shadow of empathy flickering across her otherwise stoic face.

After a long silence, Gu Jin finally spoke, her voice soft yet steady.

"Your brother fought bravely. He wanted you to have a future, one that he couldn’t stay to see. Use what he left behind to make his sacrifice worthwhile."

The young woman blinked at her through her tears, trying to process the words. She bit her lip, determined not to appear weak.

"Why... why did he die? Who... who did this to him?"

Gu Jin met her gaze, her eyes reflecting a sorrow she rarely let others see.

"The parasites they killed him. But he asked me to ensure that you don’t live just to seek revenge. Live a fulfilling life and become a mage your brother will become proud of."

The young woman clenched her fists, anger, and sadness mingling in her expression. She gave a shaky nod, swallowing hard.

"I’ll make sure of it... I’ll fulfill his wish."

Gu Jin extended the black card one last time, and this time the young woman reached out, accepting it with a look of quiet determination.

"Thank you..." she whispered, looking up at Gu Jin.

"For bringing me this, for letting me know... I don’t even know your name, but I’m grateful. But I have one question, how did my brother...have so much savings?

He...he was merely a soldier with 90,000 yuan as his monthly salary. So how can..." 100 million yuan can be transferred to my account every year?

Gu Jin shook her head,

"That can’t be told. It’s a secret."

The young woman nodded after some reluctance and finally, said,

"Alright. Then I won’t trouble you. Thank you."

Gu Jin simply nodded.

"There’s no need to thank me," she replied. "Just honor his memory."

With that, she turned and disappeared into the night, leaving the young woman standing in the doorway with the letter and the card, symbols of a promise her brother had made with his life.

Gu Jin continued to search for all the families and one by one she delivered money to them.

By the time she was finished, she had spent 30 billion yuan, and 2 days had passed.

At the same time, she harvested a batch of pyschomindris and carefully packed, it as she sent it to Country R.

She also sent two parcels to the military and asked Lu Siyao to write a letter to inform them about the situation over there.

With an exhausted expression, Gu Jin returned to her villa. She thought of resting for the next 2 days, but to her dismay, she had a few more things left to handle.

As soon as she entered the house, she saw Song Hancheng and Su Qing sitting in the living room with serious expressions.

Since she was tired and going to tell Song Hancheng about her true identity anyways, Gu Jin didn’t bother to put on the disguise.

She expected Song Hancheng to be surprised and sure enough a surprised expression appeared on his face.

However, Gu Jin soon realized that the surprise on Song Hancheng’s face was mixed with horror.

Hm?

Was he truly that surprised that she was a woman?

Gu Jin turned toward Su Qing whose face for some reason was a little red.

Before she could even ask, Song Hancheng rose slowly from his seat, his eyes never leaving her as he took a few tentative steps forward.

He extended his hand, his expression filled with something resembling sorrow.

"Boss..." he began in a strangled voice. "I... I didn’t understand."

Startled, Gu Jin took a step back, dodging his hand.

"What are you doing?" she asked, her tone tinged with genuine confusion.

Unexpectedly, Song Hancheng’s face crumpled as he dropped his hand and covered his eyes with it, seemingly overwhelmed.

To Gu Jin’s utter shock, he choked out,

"I’m so sorry, Boss. I... I failed you as a subordinate. I should have noticed sooner. I should have supported you instead of being oblivious!"

Gu Jin blinked, processing his sudden outburst.

"Song Hancheng," she said carefully, "what on earth are you talking about?"

Peeking between his fingers, Song Hancheng looked at her with an expression of earnest guilt.

"Boss, I... I know it must have been difficult for you to tell me. I can’t believe I was so dense... You’ve always been a brilliant leader, and I’ll always respect you for that.

But I was so wrapped up in the idea of you as, well, a man that I never even considered what you were going through."

Gu Jin’s confusion only deepened, and she shared a bewildered glance with Su Qing who looked amused.

"I don’t understand what you’re trying to say, Song Hancheng," she replied, her voice laced with genuine confusion.

Song Hancheng took a shaky breath, finally letting his hands drop. His eyes were red-rimmed as he continued,

"Boss, I know about the clothes... the women’s clothes. I saw them in your room when I was cleaning up one day, and I wanted to respect your privacy, but... I knew they couldn’t be for anyone else. And I figured that... I figured you wanted to be a woman."

The room fell into a stunned silence as Gu Jin processed his words.

It dawned on her in a surreal flash—Song Hancheng had completely misunderstood her situation.

He actually thought that she, his boss, Su Jin, wanted to "become" a woman.

Her mouth opened and closed, at a rare loss for words.

Song Hancheng took her silence as confirmation and nodded, eyes shining with bizarrely intense sincerity.

"All this time," he continued,

"I thought it was something you were struggling with in silence. That you didn’t trust me enough to tell me directly. I waited and waited but never tried to uncover it.

I wish...I wish had tried more. At least you wouldn’t have to hide your true self."

Gu Jin closed her eyes briefly, a headache starting to throb.

She couldn’t believe the layers of misunderstanding piling up.

She’d used the male disguise simply to keep her identity private while assessing whether she could trust Song Hancheng.

And then, as time went by, it amused her to see how long it would take him to figure out that she was, in fact, a woman from the start.

But now... this? This was a scenario she hadn’t predicted in a million years.

"Song Hancheng," she said slowly, trying to phrase her response carefully, "I think you’re misunderstanding something."

Song Hancheng shook his head vehemently, mistaking her attempt at clarification for hesitation.

"No, no, Boss! You don’t need to feel embarrassed. I support you fully—whatever you choose.

If you wanted to change your appearance or even... undergo some procedures, I would have been there to help. I would have supported you every step of the way!"

Her eyes widened in shock as she fought back an incredulous laugh. She took a breath, hoping to clear up this absurd misconception.

"Listen carefully, Song Hancheng. I... am already a woman. I was born a woman. The disguise was just that—a disguise. A tool I used because, frankly, I didn’t trust you at first."

She gave him a flat look.

"The women’s clothing you saw in my room belongs to me because, well, I am a woman."

Song Hancheng’s expression went from horrified to bewildered, and then his face slowly flushed as realization dawned on him.

He looked between her and Su Qing, the gears turning in his mind.

His mouth opened as if to say something, then closed abruptly, clearly struggling to absorb the revelation.

"You mean..." he managed to stammer, his gaze darting around the room as though searching for some sign that this was all some elaborate prank.

"You’re... not a man trying to become a woman?"

Gu Jin sighed, crossing her arms.

"Correct. I was never a man to begin with. Su Jin is a fake name I used, just as I wore men’s clothing to keep my identity concealed.

I wanted to see how long it would take you to figure it out. I didn’t realize you’d come to such... elaborate conclusions."

Song Hancheng blinked rapidly, a mix of relief and mortification crossing his face.

He looked at Su Qing for some sort of grounding, but Su Qing only smirked, clearly amused by her fiance’s plight.

Song Hancheng turned back to Gu Jin, his face red.

"So... you’re saying you’re... a woman... and the disguise was just a precaution?"

"Precisely," she replied, a dry tone slipping into her voice.

"And for the record, I was waiting for the day you’d finally catch on. It seems you just happened to notice at the wrong time, with the completely wrong interpretation."