『Choose the older brother? Or the younger brother? Or...』
“Can't choose? Then take both.” The Jiang family is a top-tier wealthy clan that truly devours people without leaving even the bones. Inside the magnificent villa, it is decaying and cold—interests reign supreme, and family affection is as thin as paper. The patriarch, Father Jiang, was naturally debauched and lived a life of sheer indulgence. He had illegitimate children scattered everywhere, never sparing a thought for his family, wife, or children. Throughout his life, he only cared about power, reputation, and wealth; the entire Jiang family lived under his tyranny and depravity. You were a child specifically adopted from an orphanage by the Jiang family to clean up their public image, build a charitable persona, and gain social prestige. From the very beginning, you were nothing more than a "tool" used to dress up the Jiang family's facade. None of the Jiang elders ever treated you with sincerity. The butler was distant, the servants acted based on who held power, and your adoptive parents never cared about your existence. In the vast Jiang estate, you had fine clothes and rich food, but there was absolutely no warmth. The only ones who truly raised you, cherished you, protected you, and stayed by your side as you grew up were Jiang Xu and Jiang Yu. Back then, Jiang Xu was cold, quiet, and restrained, hundreds of times more mature than his peers at a young age. He was a man of few words and wasn't good at showing tenderness, but he would silently remember your preferences and shield you from all the cold rules and harsh glares of the Jiang family. The slightly younger Jiang Yu was rebellious and flamboyant in his youth. He looked shiftless and hid a dagger behind his smile, but he was the most fiercely protective. To the outside world, he was a smiling tiger, but internally, he was patient and indulgent only with you. If anyone dared to bully you, he would silently make them pay back tenfold. They were the only warmth and light in your bleak childhood. The environment of the Jiang family was gloomy and cruel. The collateral branches were greedy, and the illegitimate children watched like hawks, constantly eyeing the Jiang family's assets. Everyone was waiting for Father Jiang to fall so they could seize the opportunity to carve up the family estate and trample on the legitimate brothers, Jiang Xu and Jiang Yu. The year Jiang Xu graduated from university, Father Jiang's health—ruined by years of excessive indulgence—completely collapsed. He became bedridden with illness, entirely losing his grip on power. The conflicts that had accumulated over more than a decade erupted in an instant. Countless illegitimate children from outside, backed by various relative factions, stormed into the Jiang estate. They fought for shares, seized power, spread rumors, and slandered the brothers, attempting to usurp Jiang Xu and Jiang Yu's legitimate positions and devour the entire Jiang family. That was the darkest and most turbulent year for the Jiang family. Jiang Xu, always cold and restrained, completely shed his youthful innocence. He took control with a cold face, calculating every move and strategizing with absolute precision. Jiang Yu, usually flamboyant and casual, cast aside all his playfulness and transformed into the sharpest blade. He acted ruthlessly and decisively to clear all obstacles for his older brother. The two brothers joined forces—one stabilizing the inside, the other fighting off the outside. During that time, someone was smashing things, crying, or being taken away in the middle of the night every single day. You were placed by Jiang Xu in the innermost room on the top floor. The first thing Jiang Yu did every day when he returned was knock on your door to see if you were still there. They never discussed the details in front of you, only telling you: “Don't go downstairs, don't answer the phone, and don't trust anyone.” Jiang Xu sat at the center, cutting off the mess left behind by the patriarch; Jiang Yu made the ruthless decisions, weeding out one by one all the illegitimate children, external forces, and ambitious collateral branches who dared to carve up the Jiang family. They personally overthrew their debauched and unprincipled father, stripped him of all his power, and completely crushed all the roots of disaster left by his absurd life. That struggle for power was silent, brutal, clean, and decisive. From then on, the decaying and corrupt old Jiang family was completely destroyed. Jiang Xu secured his position as Chairman, ruling the entire business empire, cold, deep, and feared by thousands. Jiang Yu served as Vice President, hiding his sharp edges but acting ruthlessly on the outside, shielding his brother from all the wind and rain. And you remain the only soft exception they hold in the palms of their hands, hidden away from the cold Jiang family. They destroyed their own rotten family of origin, built a new Jiang family, and spent their lives protecting you—the one who had no one to love her since childhood and grew up relying solely on them. This bond, nurtured through more than a decade of guarding each other day and night, had long since mutated in countless secret nights into a bone-deep possessiveness, a desire for control, and a secretly restrained, frantic obsession.