Zhu Rong panicked and sat motionless in the passenger seat.

After saying this, Huo Jiayuan smiled, leaned back, and sat back in the back row in a very comfortable position, stretching lazily.

"Oh dear, it seems I really am drunk," she laughed. "Now I'm starting to feel a bit of a headache, Zhu Rong..."

"Miss, is there anything else you need?" Zhu Rong asked guiltily.

"We're going back soon, so I won't keep you there tonight."

"What?"

Zhu Rong was startled. Since she came to Southeast Asia, she had been living and eating with Huo Jiayuan, which made it easier for him to take care of her.

But Huo Jiayuan won't let her stay there tonight... So where should she go?

“Miss Zhu,” the driver smiled, “you probably don’t know, but our young lady has always been like this; when she has a headache, she doesn’t like anyone in front of her.”

"I...I'm not in front of you, Miss!" Zhu Rong turned around. "Miss, I'm in the living room downstairs, okay? You can call me anytime if you need anything, I..."

“Miss Zhu, just leave when the lady tells you to. Don’t bother her.” The driver looked at her. “Don’t worry, you won’t be without a place to go. There are servants’ quarters in the Grand Palace. You can stay there for the night.”

"this……"

"The conditions are quite good," the driver said. "Of course, it can't compare to the girls' places."

Zhu Rong bit her lip.

Huo Jiayuan, sitting in the back seat, had a slightly flushed face and closed her eyes, seemingly asleep.

But she could clearly see the corners of her lips slightly upturned.

Zhu Rong took a deep breath. When she came to Southeast Asia, everyone saw that she was with Huo Jiayuan, and even the servants in the Grand Palace treated her with respect.

But now, if she goes to live in the servants' quarters without any explanation, what will people say?

The Grand Palace is full of people, and everyone there is a shrewd individual. They could tell at a glance that something was wrong.

What will happen to her pride then?

So, all rich people like them like to play pranks on others, right?

They are rich and powerful, with an innate sense of superiority, and punish others mercilessly at the slightest provocation... But do they know how much effort it takes for someone as insignificant as her to stand shoulder to shoulder with them?

With just a single sentence, they could negate all her efforts!

"Miss Zhu, I'll take Miss back first."

The car had already stopped in front of Huo Jiayuan's residence. The driver looked at Zhu Rong and smiled gently, "Your luggage will be delivered by Butler Zheng in a little while. Just wait here."

"What...what luggage?"

"Your luggage! You're staying in the servants' quarters tonight, how can you manage without any personal belongings?"

"you……"

Zhu Rong's expression changed. Was this an invitation to get rid of her?

“Miss Zhu,” the driver said, looking at her quietly for a while after getting out of the car, “Actually, Miss Zhu is usually very kind to people. If you hadn’t upset her, she wouldn’t have treated you like this.”

"I don't!"

"Even I, as the driver, can tell that the young lady is unhappy. How can you not even have that much self-awareness?"

Zhu Rong was furious. She watched helplessly as Huo Jiayuan, who was pretending to be drunk, got out of the car and deliberately ignored her as they passed by.

...

The dormitory conditions in the Grand Palace were not bad, but Zhu Rong did not stay for long before dragging her suitcase back.

Huo Jiayuan had no classes that day and was reading and drinking coffee in the courtyard when Butler Zheng brought Zhu Rong in.

Huo Jiayuan pursed her lips gently.

It seems like they've been waiting for this moment.

It just happened much earlier than she expected.

"I thought you wouldn't back down to me," Huo Jiayuan said softly. "Even if you did, it would be at least three days later. I didn't expect you to come so soon."

"Miss, could you please give me another chance?"

"I don't really want to," Huo Jiayuan said bluntly, looking up at her. "When you were flirting with my boyfriend behind my back, did you ever imagine this day would come?"

Zhu Rong looked terrible and clenched her fists tightly.

She hasn't had a good time these past few days. All the servants in the palace know that Huo Jiayuan kicked her out late at night, and they've all been treating her badly.

The story spread like wildfire, and soon various versions of the rumor emerged.

There were even rumors that Zhu Rong was the reason Miss Huo couldn't tolerate her, because she stole something from Miss Huo.

The Grand Palace has zero tolerance for thieves.

So Zhu Rong came back looking disheveled today because she couldn't stay there any longer.

“Miss, I know you’re punishing me this way.” Her voice trembled. “I coveted what didn’t belong to me, and I deserve to be punished… But Miss, does Mr. Meng truly belong to you?”

"You say I don't understand him, but how much do you actually know?"

Huo Jiayuan's hand, which had been doodling in her sketchbook, suddenly stopped.

She drew a firework, a thought that came to her in a moment of inspiration. She planned to first complete the sketch, then revise it carefully, and submit it to her professor as her graduation project.

Zhu Rong slowly walked behind her, looked at the scene, and slightly curled her lips.

"It's so beautiful... Is Miss going to give it to Mr. Meng?"

"Miss, do you know that Mr. Meng doesn't like fireworks at all?"

Huo Jiayuan suddenly turned around and stared at her coldly.

That look in her eyes frightened Zhu Rong.

However, she forced herself to remain calm and continued, "I don't know Mr. Meng well either, but I was his psychologist after all. Although he didn't mention his past to me, I could still guess a bit from some small details."

Huo Jiayuan narrowed her starry eyes slightly and calmly asked, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

“I used hypnotherapy on him,” Zhu Rong said. “During the hypnosis, his emotions were very unstable. After the treatment, I asked him what he saw, but he refused to say. Coincidentally, there were children setting off fireworks outside that night, and his expression changed immediately.”

“I can tell he’s terrified of this kind of thing.” Zhu Rong bent down and pointed to Huo Jiayuan’s design draft. “Miss, there’s a term for this in psychology called PTSD, which is stress disorder.”

"So..." Huo Jiayuan looked at her in confusion, "he has post-traumatic stress disorder?"

“What I’m trying to say is that he’s hiding many things from you.” Zhu Rong looked at her. “If Mr. Meng is truly on your side, as you say, why doesn’t he tell you about his past?”

Do you really know how complicated his past is?

"The fact that he's hiding something from you means..." Zhu Rong said, emphasizing each word, "...that you're not the person he trusts the most!"

"Enough!"

Huo Jiayuan suddenly stood up, packed up her sketchbook, and went into the house.

"Miss, I'm a psychologist!" Zhu Rong exclaimed quickly. "I can help you solve this problem! As long as you do as I say, Mr. Meng will definitely tell you everything about his past! You also want to know these things... don't you?"