Zhu Jinzhao didn't hear Zhu Mingyue's words because she was already afraid of spicy food.

As expected of the victor who completely dominated the fake heiress, just standing there like that was enough to make Zhu Jinzhao want to back down.

She even considered just abandoning her luggage and running away!

"Chao Chao," Zhu Xingye said softly, standing beside Zhu Mingyue, "come downstairs."

Zhu Jinzhao nervously swallowed and nodded very slightly: "Okay, big brother."

"Let's go, Chaochao." Zhu Qian gently pushed Zhu Jinchao's shoulder and walked downstairs with her.

Zhu Jinchao appeared calm on the surface, but inside she was on the verge of collapse. In a corner unnoticed by Zhu Qian, she quietly made herself walk with her arms and legs moving in unison.

"Mingyue, welcome home." Zhu Qian walked up to Zhu Mingyue, opened his arms, and gave her a big hug.

"Second Brother," Zhu Mingyue greeted him with a sweet smile.

Zhu Qian released her and gently touched her cheek: "From now on, this is your home, and we are all your family."

Zhu Mingyue: "Mm."

"This is Chaochao."

Zhu Jinzhao stood there like a fool, until Zhu Qian pulled him in front of Zhu Mingyue.

Zhu Mingyue's smiling yet slightly cold gaze naturally fell on Zhu Jinzhao, waiting for him to speak.

Zhu Jinchao nervously bit the corner of her lip, forcing herself to force a warm smile: "Mingyue, welcome home."

Zhu Mingyue said calmly, "Thank you, Chaochao."

"Let's go, let's eat." Zhu Qian put his arm around Zhu Mingyue's shoulder and led her to the restaurant in a friendly manner, leaving Zhu Jinzhao standing there in the blink of an eye.

Zhu Xingye followed, walking on the other side of Zhu Mingyue, and together with Zhu Qian, they surrounded her.

Neither of them paid any more attention to Zhu Jinzhao.

Zhu Qian: "Your third brother has a very important match tonight, so he can't have dinner with us at home."

Zhu Mingyue: "It's okay..."

The three of them walked towards the restaurant while talking, leaving Zhu Jinzhao behind.

If it were the original owner of this body, seeing that the brother she had called for twenty years suddenly had a younger sister who was more favored, she would definitely feel both sour and bitter.

But Zhu Jinchao felt the opposite. Given the tragic end of the fake heiress, she now only wanted to get as far away from the Zhu family as possible. Starting tonight, she hoped they would all ignore her so she could sneak away safely!

"What's wrong?"

Just as she was having a wonderful daydream, a hand suddenly pressed against her cheek.

Zhu Xingye, who was supposed to be by Zhu Mingyue's side, somehow ended up next to Zhu Jinzhao.

Zhu Jinzhao suddenly came to her senses and looked up at the imposing man in front of her.

"Why are you so distracted?" Zhu Xingye looked down at her, his eyes gentle and his voice soft. "Are you feeling unwell, or are you upset?"

"..." Zhu Jinzhao couldn't answer. The moment she saw Zhu Xingye's face, images of him mistreating the fake heiress automatically popped into her mind.

"Zhu Jinchao, you still don't realize your mistake!"

In the dimly lit solitary confinement cell, Zhu Xingye's tall figure resembled an insurmountable mountain.

The fake heiress lay weakly on the ground, stubbornly explaining herself: "Big brother, I didn't, I really didn't hurt her. I didn't put the broken glass in her pillow, I didn't do it..."

"Still lying!" Zhu Xingye wouldn't listen to a word. He took a few steps back, looking down at the fake heiress at his feet with a cold gaze, as if he were looking at a stray dog.

"You're incorrigible. I've wasted all these years raising you. You can stay here until you admit your mistakes."

"Aunt Wu, don't bring her food. Let her continue to go hungry."

Zhu Xingye's parents died early, and he became the head of the Zhu family when he was eighteen. He had been a prominent figure in the business world for many years, and single-handedly built the Zhu Group into the second largest in the capital. He was known for his ruthless methods.

But his favorite way to punish the fake heiress was to lock her up in solitary confinement and cut off her food. Ever since Zhu Mingyue returned home, the fake heiress had to endure this every few days.

Zhu Jinzhao vaguely remembered that the longest time the fake heiress was locked in a dark and gloomy solitary confinement cell by Zhu Xingye was for four whole days. She didn't eat or drink for four days, and she almost starved to death.

If Zhu Mingyue hadn't suddenly remembered her during her trip, she might have really died in that room.

"What's wrong, Chaochao? Why aren't you saying anything?" Seeing that Zhu Jinchao was stunned and unresponsive, Zhu Xingye patted her face worriedly.

"!!!"

It was clearly an extremely gentle touch, yet it made Zhu Jinzhao leap far away as if bitten by a snake.

"Chaochao?" Zhu Xingye looked blank.

Zhu Jinzhao clenched her fists, her small face turning deathly pale with intense fear.

"What's wrong with you?" Zhu Xingye didn't know what was going on. Out of concern, he subconsciously took two steps forward, grabbed Zhu Jinzhao's shoulders, and pulled him in front of him.

"!!!!" Zhu Jinzhao's hair stood on end.

"Is something wrong?" Zhu Xingye's eyes were fixed on her, giving her no chance to look away.

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to suppress her fear, and pretended to be calm, saying, "I...I'm fine. I was just a little distracted, so I was suddenly startled by my older brother."

"Really?" Zhu Xingye's sharp eyebrows furrowed slightly, clearly not very convinced.

"Really?" Zhu Jinzhao lied as she broke free from Zhu Xingye's hand and stiffly turned to walk into the restaurant.

"Hurry up and go eat, I'm starving..."

Zhu Xingye stood there looking at her, his eyes as deep as the ocean.

Zhu Jinzhao found the family reunion dinner unpleasant. The people at the table were all murderers from novels who drove the fake heiress to her death; she, with her limited judgment, stood awkwardly in the middle, feeling utterly flustered.

After finishing his meal in a daze, Zhu Jinzhao then watched Zhu Ning's match with them in the living room in a similar daze. Finally, Zhu Jinzhao was able to retreat back to his room.

In order to give Zhu Mingyue the utmost attention, Zhu Xingye made the fake heiress move out of her original room and give the room to Zhu Mingyue.

So the fake heiress moved in next door to Zhu Xingye.

Back in her room, Zhu Jinzhao continued unpacking her unfinished luggage.

She had damaged her suitcase and couldn't find any other suitcases to pack her things, so she had to pull out the two largest handbags from her closet. She stuffed her luggage with bags worth six figures.

"Knock knock knock—"

After finally managing to stuff all my luggage in, there was a knock on the door.

"Chaochao, may I come in?"

Zhu Mingyue's voice drifted in from outside the door. Zhu Jinzhao gasped, quickly stuffed her luggage into the wardrobe to hide it, and then tidied her own remains.

She came, she still came.

In the original novel, Zhu Mingyue confronts the fake heiress on her first night back home.

Even if Zhu Jinchao were to travel through time, he would not be able to escape this calamity.

"Come in, come in." She stood by the bed like a dazed fool, forcing a stiff smile beforehand, ready to face the punishment from the victor of the argument.

"Squeak—"

The door opened slowly and closed gently, and Zhu Mingyue walked in unhurriedly.

She looked around Zhu Jinzhao's new room, and after a moment, she finally fixed her cold and aloof gaze on Zhu Jinzhao.

"Zhu Jinzhao, are you afraid of me?"