Just as Qiao Zhen was in a daze, she suddenly received a transfer notification.

She was momentarily stunned as she looked at the 500,000 yuan that had been deposited into her account online.

Before she could even react, Lu Zheng's call came in.

"Did you receive the money?"

"You know perfectly well what I'm asking. How could I not receive it?"

For some reason, the words that came out of Qiao Zhen's mouth became aggressive.

Even Qiao Zhen herself felt that these words were somewhat impolite.

"It's good that you received it. Just follow our previous agreement. I'll give you the money, but you can't leave me."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Zhen was taken aback, then heard him continue on the other end of the phone, "Why aren't you saying anything?"

"Not enough money," Qiao Zhen blurted out, almost as if possessed.

She regretted it as soon as she finished speaking, and was about to say something to make amends when she unexpectedly heard Lu Zheng on the other end of the line agree.

"Okay, I'll transfer another million to you, is that alright?"

Qiao Zhen froze, her voice tinged with uncertainty: "Wait, when did you become so generous?"

If he had been as generous as he is now, I wouldn't be living such a stingy life.

On the other end of the phone, Lu Zheng's voice sounded slightly irritated. He rubbed his temples and said, "Qiao Zhen, my patience has its limits. This amount of money is already a concession I've made. Don't be so ungrateful."

Thinking that it was her mother's life-saving money, Qiao Zhen took a deep breath and then said in her signature tone, "President Lu is right."

Despite hearing Qiao Zhen's suddenly obedient tone, Lu Zheng's mood was not as good as he had expected.

After receiving the money, Qiao Zhen immediately went to the hospital to pay the bill.

Only after giving her the money did she have the opportunity to get closer to her mother.

As soon as she reached the top of the stairs, she saw another figure in the ward, so Qiao Zhen quickly ran inside.

Qiao Zhen was even more surprised after discovering that it was Qiao Luosheng.

"Why did you suddenly come back? Weren't you in school?"

Seeing Qiao Zhen's bewildered expression, Qiao Luosheng was furious and pushed her.

"Sister, how could you not tell me that Mom is sick, such a big thing!"

Seeing Qiao Luosheng's anxious expression, Qiao Zhen couldn't help but pinch her brow and say something.

"It's not that I don't want to tell you, but I'm afraid it will affect your studies."

Hearing this, Qiao Luosheng retorted, "What if something happens to Mom... wouldn't I miss seeing her one last time?"

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Qiao Zhen glared at Qiao Luosheng.

Qiao Luosheng realized he had said something wrong and said with some guilt, "I misspoke. I didn't mean it that way. I just felt that you should have informed me about such an important matter. After all, I'm an adult now, and it's time for me to be the pillar of the family."

Seeing Qiao Luosheng's determined look, Qiao Zhen nodded.

"You're right. I didn't think this through as your older sister. I naively thought you were still the same as when you were a child."

Seeing Qiao Zhen's remorseful expression, Qiao Luosheng softened his voice.

"Sister, I was too emotional just now. I shouldn't have done that. I believe you can understand me."

Hearing this, Qiao Zhen nodded and pulled him into her arms.

"Don't worry, blood is thicker than water. How could our deep friendship possibly fester over just a few words?"

The two were enjoying themselves when Lu Zheng suddenly pushed open the door to the ward.

Before Qiao Zhen could even react to his sudden appearance, he had already forcefully separated Qiao Zhen and Qiao Luosheng.

"What are you doing..." Qiao Zhen was halfway through her sentence when she noticed Lu Zheng's somewhat angry gaze.

Qiao Luosheng, who was standing next to her, was unaware of what was going on between the two and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at Qiao Zhen.

"Sis, brother-in-law is jealous!"

Qiao Zhen didn't know whether to laugh or cry as she listened to Qiao Luosheng's whispers behind her back.

"OK……"

Qiao Zhen shook her head and smiled, "Let's just say he's jealous."

Thinking of this, she gave Qiao Luosheng a look, then pulled Lu Zheng towards the door.

Qiao Luosheng wisely refrained from following, giving the two of them some alone time.

The two walked into a quiet corridor. Seeing that Qiao Zhen seemed indifferent, Lu Zheng suddenly grabbed her arm angrily.

What are you doing?

Qiao Zhen and Lu Zheng stared at each other, wide-eyed.

Qiao Zhen was aggressive, acting as if she was completely in the right.

"Why are you criticizing me? Don't you know what you just did?"

Listening to Lu Zheng's accusations, Qiao Zhen suddenly found it somewhat amusing.

"Mr. Lu, that's my younger brother. What's wrong with me hugging him?"

Moreover, a hug in this situation is purely out of deep family affection; there's no other emotion involved!

But Lu Zheng didn't think so, and continued speaking with a furrowed brow.

"That won't work either. Your younger brother is all grown up now, and the two of you should avoid any appearance of impropriety between you."

Hearing his stubborn words, Qiao Zhen rolled her eyes helplessly, but on the surface she just nodded and said, "Okay, okay, I promise you, alright? Keep some physical distance from him in the future."

Hearing this, Lu Zheng's expression softened a little, and he nodded.

Qiao Zhen couldn't help but retort, "How did you know my mother was hospitalized, and why did you time it so closely?"

"Isn't it easy for me to find out something?" Lu Zheng scoffed.

Hearing this, Qiao Zhen pursed her lips speechlessly, and then said, "You timed it way too tightly, I'm starting to suspect that you installed a camera on me."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!