"W-what?"

Zhu Xingye's words were strange and inexplicable, and his two younger brothers couldn't understand them at all.

"Brother, what do you mean?" Zhu Qian frowned, confused and unconsciously a little flustered. "What do you mean by lying all the time and habitually deceiving people? Who's lying? Zhaochao or Mingyue?"

Zhu Ning: "Or are they both lying?"

"..." Zhu Xingye closed his eyes in frustration, but did not explain anything.

"I've said everything I need to say. If you still want to act like brutes and speak up for your dear sister on Weibo, then go ahead and do as you please."

After saying that, Zhu Xingye turned and went upstairs, ignoring his two mentally challenged younger brothers.

"Bang!"

Zhu Xingye slammed the study door shut and strode to the desk, pulled out a chair, and sat down in front of the computer.

The computer screen was still black, and he had no intention of turning it on.

He slumped into his chair, staring at himself through the dark screen.

Sinister, cold, and full of hostility, he looks too fierce when he's not smiling, but when he smiles... it's too awkward.

"Eh..."

He withdrew his somewhat unsightly twitched lips and sighed helplessly and dejectedly.

Perhaps he was just not suited to laughing. Even if he tried very hard to make himself laugh, he could never compare to Shi Jing.

Although Shi Jing's appearance was just as sharp as his, his smile was completely different.

Shi Jing's smile was warm and bright, her eyes sparkling with affection. He, on the other hand, was cold and fierce; even with a smile on his lips, his eyes remained icy and devoid of any warmth.

No wonder Zhu Jinzhao was unwilling to get close to him.

"Buzz—"

"Buzz—"

The phone on the table suddenly vibrated twice. Zhu Xingye snapped out of his daze and reached out to grab the phone.

He finally received a reply to the WeChat message he sent half an hour earlier.

Yang Min replied with five messages in one go. First, she explained the whole story in detail, then she confessed the reason for the concealment, and finally she sincerely apologized.

He read through the messages one by one, replied with only "Mm," and tossed his phone back onto the table.

"Snap!"

There was a brief commotion in the study, followed by a heavy silence.

Zhu Xingye looked at his reflection on the screen and suddenly smiled.

"Zhu Jinzhao, since you dare to lie, then you must dare to bear the consequences of lying."

...

At midnight, the Mercedes-Benz G-Class finally appeared at the Ning family's gate.

Zhu Jinchao unbuckled his seatbelt and immediately jumped into the back seat after getting out of the passenger seat.

"Shijing, what are we going to do with all these flowers? Should we move them all back to the room?" she asked, sitting amidst the vibrant roses, looking somewhat troubled.

Shi Jing opened the car door and followed him into the back seat, sitting down next to Zhu Jinzhao.

“I texted the housekeeper at home, and when I get back, they will pick all the flowers from the car and make flower arrangements and bouquets for my room. If Chaochao wants to see flowers, she can come to my room.”

“Okay.” Zhu Jinzhao nodded. “Uncle Ning is allergic to pollen, so I can’t bring the flowers back to the Ning family. It’s best to leave them with you.”

Shi Jing held her hand: "My room is Chaochao's room. Chaochao is welcome to come and bother me anytime."

“…Get lost.” Zhu Jinzhao slapped his hand away and glared at him fiercely. “I won’t bother you. I’m not a female hooligan.”

"Hmph," Shi Jing smiled at her, and seeing how cute she was, he couldn't help but reach out and pinch her cheek. "Our Chaochao is the best behaved, she would never be a hooligan."

"..." Zhu Jinzhao suppressed a laugh, pursed her lips, and ignored him.

He opened his arms and said with a pitiful look, "Chao Chao, we're about to part ways, can you hug me one more time?"

Zhu Jinzhao didn't say anything, but obediently turned around from her seat, took the initiative to throw herself into Shi Jing's arms, and raised her hands to tightly wrap around Shi Jing's firm waist.

Filled with the sweet and soft Zhu Jinzhao, Zhu Jinzhao closed her eyes contentedly, gently lowered her hands to hug Zhu Jinzhao's shoulders and back, and pulled her even closer to her.

"Zhao Zhao." He unconsciously nuzzled the top of Zhu Jinzhao's head, his heart swelling with satisfaction and happiness.

"Hmm?" Zhu Jinzhao responded softly.

"I like you so much." He confessed his feelings openly and sincerely, his tone carrying an infatuation that he himself was unaware of.

Zhu Jinzhao pursed her lips and smiled shyly, replying to him, "I... I like you very much too."

"Eh..." Shi Jing sighed comfortably, unconsciously hugging her tighter and tighter.

"Hmm..." Zhu Jinzhao frowned uncomfortably and pinched his waist. "Shi Jing, you're holding me too tightly. I... I can't breathe."

"Huh?" Shi Jing suddenly came to her senses and quickly let go of the person. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Chaochao. I was too engrossed and lost control of my strength."

Take a deep breath today, and then exhale quickly.

"It's okay." She smiled and shook her head, not minding at all, but rather quite happy. "I understand how you feel, you don't need to apologize to me."

"...Does Chaochao understand my feelings?" Shi Jing lowered his eyes slightly, and the smile on his face suddenly became somewhat subtle.

"Yes." Zhu Jinzhao said naively, unaware that Shi Jing was setting a trap for her. "You like me, so it's normal for you to want to hold me tight. Of course I understand."

"Hmm..." Shi Jing casually raised an eyebrow, his gaze deliberately falling on Zhu Jinzhao's rosy lips, a hint of mischief in his eyes, "Since Chaochao can understand my feelings about wanting to hug you, can she also understand my feelings about wanting to kiss you?"

"...Huh?" Zhu Jinzhao was a little confused.

Shi Jing grabbed her shoulders, pulled her close, then leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers, affectionately and ambiguously coaxing, "Can I...?"

Zhu Jinzhao blinked, her eyes sparkling from the heat on her cheeks.

"Chao Chao..." Shi Jing rubbed her forehead, pleading like a puppy, "I didn't kiss you well the first time, can you let me kiss you again? I want to kiss you..."

Zhu Jinchao couldn't stand him like this. Whenever he acted cute and spoiled, her heart would flutter.

"I'm your girlfriend, you can kiss me if you want," she said in a hoarse voice.

Shi Jing then stopped being polite, tilted his head slightly, and kissed her lips forcefully.

The first kiss didn't go well, so before the second kiss, Jing specifically went online to find some kissing tutorials to learn.

He studied very diligently and now strictly follows the tutorial.

At first, he gently sucked on Zhu Jinzhao's lips, then tentatively extended his tongue to trace the shape of her lips. Once Zhu Jinzhao was a little more comfortable, he boldly used his tongue to pry open her lips.