"……ah??"

Zhu panicked instantly.

Although she had no feelings for Zhu Mingyue and never thought of treating Zhu Mingyue as an older sister, no matter what, Zhu Mingyue had indeed stopped tearing her apart. She felt from the bottom of her heart that it was good to have Zhu Mingyue accompany her back to the Zhu family.

The three older brothers of the Zhu family are all frightening, and she really doesn't want to go back and face them alone.

But now Zhu Mingyue is swamped with work, and even if she doesn't want to, it seems she has no other choice.

Seeing her worried expression, Zhu Mingyue already guessed what was wrong. But instead of saying anything immediately, she pretended not to understand and asked, "What's wrong? Are you unhappy about going home?"

"...No, it's not that I'm unhappy." Zhu Jinzhao muttered softly, head down.

Zhu Mingyue crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at her: "If you're not unhappy, then why are you looking so gloomy?"

"...It's nothing." Zhu Jinzhao thought for a moment, but still didn't dare to say anything.

Zhu Mingyue smiled and said, "You have one last chance. If you can honestly explain why you're unhappy, then I might consider helping you out."

"Help me... Hmph." Zhu Jinzhao laughed self-deprecatingly. "Mingyue, you can't help me."

Zhu Mingyue wouldn't listen: "How do you know I can't help you if you don't tell me?"

"..." Zhu Jinzhao didn't speak, but just shook his head in disappointment.

“Sigh…” Zhu Mingyue felt a headache coming on whenever she saw Zhu Jinzhao’s cowardly appearance. She sighed, took two steps forward, and brought herself very close to Zhu Jinzhao.

"Zhaochao." She leaned down and whispered in Zhu Jinchao's ear, "You don't want to go home, do you?"

"!!!" Zhu Jinzhao's eyes widened instantly.

Zhu Mingyue knew from her reaction that she hadn't guessed wrong at all.

"Hmph," she chuckled, then straightened up, looking at Zhu Jinzhao with a smug expression.

Zhu Jinzhao nervously licked her lips and asked cautiously, "How...how did you guess?"

Zhu Mingyue: "Do you think I'm as stupid as you? You've practically written 'I don't want to go home' on your face. If I still can't guess it, I should go to the hospital to get my head checked."

"Ah..." Zhu Jinzhao raised her hand to touch her face, her expression filled with fear, "Then, then you..."

“Then I can help you,” Zhu Mingyue said firmly.

"You..." Zhu Jinzhao couldn't hide her surprise, her already bright black eyes shining even brighter. "Mingyue, can you really help me?"

"Of course," Zhu Mingyue said confidently. "I'm so smart, handling this for you will be no problem at all."

"Okay, okay!!" Zhu Jinzhao looked at her expectantly, nodding repeatedly with a silly grin. His silly and hopeful look was just like a clever little dog.

Zhu Mingyue was amused by her words, and her tone became much lighter: "Don't be in such a hurry to get better. Before I can find a way to help you, you must answer one question for me first."

Zhu Jinzhao: "What's the problem?"

Zhu Mingyue didn't rush to speak. She glanced at Shi Jing standing to the side. Although Shi Jing stood obediently and well-behavedly, she was still a little worried. So she decisively put her arm around Zhu Jinzhao's shoulder and led her a few steps towards the door.

"Come here, I'll ask you something quietly."

Wishing you well today.

Shi Jing: "...Huh?!!"

Wait, what's with this Zhu Mingyue? Why do we have to deliberately avoid talking to him? Does he look like Big Mouth? Isn't he Zhu Jinzhao's friend?

"Heh..." Shi Jing got angrier and angrier as he thought about it, and finally laughed at himself.

"You, Zhu Mingyue, you're wary of me, aren't you?" He stared at Zhu Mingyue's back and muttered in a very low voice, "If it weren't for Chaochao's sake, I would definitely be furious about your behavior today!"

“I’m Chaochao’s best friend, yet you treat me like a thief… It’s truly chilling…”

"Hmm?" Zhu Mingyue was about to ask Zhu Jinzhao a question when she suddenly felt an itch on her ear, as if someone was talking badly about her behind her back!

She suddenly turned around and glanced into the living room, only to see Shi Jing standing there with his hands behind his back, looking up at the ceiling at a 45-degree angle.

"..."

Zhu Mingyue narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing him warily for a while. Seeing that he didn't do anything strange, she turned back to Zhu Jinzhao with relief.

"Phew..." Shi Jing secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhu Mingyue: "Zhaochao, why don't you want to go home alone?"

Zhu Jinzhao buried her head in her hands, picking at her nails, and whispered, "Because I feel the atmosphere at home is weird."

"Strange?" Zhu Mingyue frowned. "Who made you think something was strange?"

Zhu Jinzhao looked up at her and, before answering the question, solemnly instructed her, "You can't tell anyone, okay? Don't tell anyone who asks."

"Mm." Zhu Mingyue blinked and said seriously and firmly, "I won't tell anyone, so you can talk to me without worry."

Zhu Jinzhao took a deep breath, hesitated for several seconds, and then timidly said, "I think my older brother is acting strangely."

Big brother...

Although she had long guessed that Zhu Jinzhao was afraid of Zhu Xingye, Zhu Mingyue still felt a chill when she heard it with her own ears.

"Why do you feel that my brother is acting strangely?" Her smile unconsciously stiffened, and her tone tightened slightly. "Did you sense something?"

“I feel…” Zhu Jinzhao thought about it seriously, then shook his head, “I just feel strange, especially when I’m alone with my older brother, this strange feeling becomes particularly strong, so strong that it makes me feel a little uncomfortable.”

"It's not that I dislike my older brother, I just simply don't want to be too close to him."

Zhu Mingyue: "So that's why you don't want to go home?"

“Hmm.” Zhu Jinzhao nodded. “If you could come back with me, I would feel more at ease. But unfortunately, you have to go out on business these few days… I’m scared to be home alone.”

“I’m afraid my older brother will pay too much attention to me.”

“…I understand.” Zhu Mingyue forced a smile and reached out to ruffle Zhu Jinzhao’s hair.

Zhu Jinzhao's hair was all messed up by her rubbing, making him look like a disheveled little dog.

Zhu Mingyue: "I'll call Sister Yang in a bit and ask her to help me tell a little lie to give you a perfect excuse for not going home."

"Really?!" Zhu Jinchao's round face was filled with hope.

"Really." Zhu Mingyue smiled faintly.

Zhu Jinzhao clasped her hands together in front of her chest, feeling both excited and a little apprehensive: "Then... I'll trust you this once?"

“…Hmm.” Zhu Mingyue rolled her eyes. “Besides trusting me, do you have any other choice right now?”

"Hehe..." Zhu Jinzhao laughed sweetly, "Thank you, Mingyue!"

"Let's go." Zhu Mingyue grabbed the handle of her suitcase and strode towards the spiral staircase.