"It seems my younger brother has really grown up."

"Of course not, I've already grown up, you just don't know it." Qiao Luosheng looked at her with a grin, revealing a manly expression.

Seeing him like this, Qiao Zhen felt very gratified.

The siblings walked out of the company and immediately saw a car parked at the company entrance.

Seeing that car, Qiao Luosheng suddenly felt that his sister didn't need his protection either.

His presence here is the real obstacle.

Maybe I should leave work early tomorrow and let someone else do the flattery.

Having made up his mind, Qiao Luosheng wanted to find an excuse to slip away. But Qiao Zhen wouldn't give him that chance.

"Have you been waiting long?" she asked as she sat in the passenger seat.

"Just arrived," Lu Zheng replied, glancing at the rearview mirror.

Noticing his gaze, Qiao Luosheng smiled ingratiatingly at him.

He really didn't mean to be a third wheel!

Whether it was because Qiao Luosheng was there or something else, they remained silent the whole way.

On the way back, Qiao Luosheng felt it was too quiet, so he secretly sent a message to Qiao Zhen.

"Can you play some music?" Qiao Zhen couldn't help but smile upon seeing this message.

She was lost in thought and didn't notice how quiet the car was.

"Can you play some music?" She repeated Qiao Luosheng's message. Lu Zheng listened, nodded, and reached out to turn on the music.

A hand with distinct knuckles slid back and forth across the car's screen. Qiao Zhen looked at that hand and found it inexplicably pleasing to the eye.

As the music started, a scene suddenly appeared in my mind.

It seems that this scene occurred a long time ago, but the person was not Lu Zheng.

Qiao Zhen frowned slightly, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. She suppressed her discomfort and pretended to look out the window with a relaxed expression.

I don't know what happened outside, but there was a group of people gathered there, talking about something.

Someone was holding their phone anxiously, talking loudly, and gesturing in the air with their hands.

As their car passed by, Qiao Zhen saw a car accident that had occurred where a crowd had gathered; a car had crashed directly into the guardrail.

The car behind couldn't brake in time and rear-ended it. The front of the car was crushed, and there was a pool of blood on the ground.

Soon that place was out of her sight, and when she looked back, her mind went blank.

Back home, she still felt dizzy.

Noticing that she wasn't in a good mental state, Lu Zheng told her to take a shower and rest first.

He went downstairs to make Qiao Zhen a cup of milk, so she could drink it after she finished showering.

Qiao Zhen came out with her hair still wet. After taking a shower, she felt much more refreshed.

But thinking about what I saw on the way back made me feel very uncomfortable.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Lu Zheng pushed the door open and came in, seeing her holding a towel and staring blankly, her wet hair still dripping water.

Upon hearing Lu Zheng's voice, Qiao Zhen was stunned for a moment before she realized what was happening.

"Ah? It's nothing, I was just thinking about something." Seeing that she was unwilling to talk about it, Lu Zheng did not force her.

He handed her the milk and took the towel from her hand. He sat down next to her and began drying her hair.

Qiao Zhen had something on her mind, so she didn't stop him and let him do as he pleased.

The sound of the hairdryer filled her ears, but all she could hear were cries for help.

The innocent cries for help from children assaulted her ears.

In the middle of the night, Qiao Zhen lay in bed, breathing rapidly.

In her dream, she saw a girl slumped on the side of the road shouting something. People came and went, some stopped and some walked quickly, but no one paid any attention to her.

Two cars collided in front of the girl, leaving behind shocking debris and bloodstains on the ground.

The girl looked around helplessly, her face streaked with tears.

When Qiao Zhen saw the girl's face, she was suddenly awakened. She sat up in bed and felt a chill on her face.

She reached up and touched her face, finding it covered in tears.

"What's wrong?" The door was suddenly pushed open, and Lu Zheng appeared in the doorway.

The corridor light shone on her as she sat on the bed, her face streaked with tears, her bright eyes now filled with panic and helplessness.

Her appearance made Lu Zheng's breath catch in his throat, and a silent pain spread from the bottom of his heart.

He hugged Qiao Zhen, and it was as if Qiao Zhen, who was now in a nightmare, had found her own canoe, and hugged Lu Zheng tightly in return.

Noticing Qiao Zhen's movements, Lu Zheng hugged her and gently patted her back.

The two embraced silently for an unknown amount of time before Qiao Zhen slowly emerged from the nightmare.

She held Lu Zheng and wept silently, tears dripping down her cheeks onto Lu Zheng's clothes.

Feeling the chill from his clothes, Lu Zheng's heart ached with sharp pain.

The next day, Qiao Zhen woke up in Lu Zheng's arms. Looking at his sleeping face, she felt a sense of security she had never felt before.

Unlike the boundless sense of security that her parents gave her, he made her feel at ease and allowed her to trust him completely.

Qiao Zhen was startled by this idea. Before this, she had regarded Lu Zheng as her father's killer, but now she had developed trust in him.

It might be related to what Qiao Luosheng told her, or it might be related to the dream she had last night.

Thinking of the dream she had last night, Qiao Zhen's eyes narrowed, and her curiosity about the past reached its peak.

"Awake?" Lu Zheng opened his eyes and saw that she was awake. He reached out and ruffled her hair.

The first time he ruffled her hair, he felt it felt nice, so he raised his eyebrows and ruffled it a few more times.

He hadn't gotten out of bed yet, and his hair was a mess. Qiao Zhen didn't stop him; she just nodded.

The two tacitly avoided mentioning what happened last night, and got up one after the other to wash up.

In the days that followed, Qiao Zhen would often bring up things from the past, and Qiao Luosheng would occasionally let slip some information.

But he was too young back then and doesn't remember many things.

Qiao Zhen knew that targeting Qiao Luosheng wouldn't work; she had to find another way.

"Who doesn't know that the Shen family is not what it used to be? The outfit you're wearing is from last season, isn't it?"

Qiao Zhen and Song Siyi went out to eat, but unexpectedly ran into Chen Yan and several other rich girls they didn't recognize.

Judging from their expressions, they seemed to have some deep-seated hatred for Shen Yan, and they kept humiliating her.

"Even if it's out of season, Miss Shen is quite beautiful and still looks good."

"She's only good-looking, otherwise how could she have captivated Zihao?" The person who replied glared fiercely at Chen Yan.

Seeing this, Song Siyi tugged at Qiao Zhen's clothes and whispered, "Let's go somewhere else."

Qiao Zhen didn't recognize these people, but she did.

These people have been at odds with Shen Yan since childhood because Shen Yan is quite good-looking and always looks down on others because of her appearance.

When the Shen family was at its peak, they dared not speak out against it. In addition, at that time, Shen Yan only had eyes for Lu Zheng and only followed Lu Zheng.

Although they didn't get along, they didn't have any direct conflict of interest, so they lived peacefully together for many years.