Chapter 258 Twisted Dream (1)

"boom--"

"Snap—"

Thunder and lightning, strong winds and dry rain.

Large raindrops pelted down from the sky, washing away the blood on the ground into a gruesome mess.

Blood trickled down, like a ferocious and terrifying venomous snake. The snake flicked its tongue and swam swiftly toward Zhu Mingyue.

Zhu Mingyue's eyes widened in terror, and she froze, backing away. But after only a few steps, she suddenly bumped into something cold and hard.

"Bright moon?"

That thing can even talk!

Zhu Mingyue was startled and suddenly turned around—

The next instant, the thunder subsided, the lightning vanished, and the torrential rain was swallowed up by the sky. Then, the dark clouds dispersed, and the golden sun peeked out.

The world, as dark as an abyss, instantly became bright and warm.

"Bright Moon".

Zhu Xingye stood in front of Zhu Mingyue, smiled and winked at her: "What did you just say? What happened to Chaochao?"

Zhu Mingyue's mind was filled with images of Zhu Jinchao being bullied. When Zhu Xingye suddenly asked her this question, she instinctively replied, "Chaochao is fine, she's very good! Don't punish her!"

"..."

Zhu Xingye's expression remained unchanged; he still looked at her with a smile, but he didn't say a word.

"...Big brother?" Zhu Mingyue sensed something was amiss, so she tentatively called out to Zhu Xingye.

"Hmm?" Zhu Xingye raised an eyebrow and responded to her, but he was responding to a different Zhu Mingyue.

"Big brother."

Another Zhu Mingyue appeared out of nowhere behind Zhu Xingye. Zhu Xingye turned around and looked at her, asking softly, "What's wrong?"

"Big brother..."

Zhu Mingyue's voice sounded particularly aggrieved: "Big brother, am I really that bad? Am I a big loner?"

"...Why are you suddenly saying this?" Zhu Xingye raised his hands and put them on Zhu Mingyue's shoulders, then looked down into her eyes.

She hesitated for a while, biting her lip, before finally speaking: "Nothing much... I just suddenly started to doubt myself. I grew up in the mountains, I don't have much emotional intelligence, my personality isn't likable, and I don't have much in common with my classmates."

"Someone as boring as me doesn't seem to deserve friends."

"Nonsense." Zhu Xingye frowned and reached out to touch Zhu Mingyue's face. "Mingyue is so beautiful and sensible, there will definitely be many people who want to be your friends. You must not underestimate yourself."

Zhu Mingyue shook her head. Although she was smiling, her eyes were full of grievance: "I don't want to look down on myself, but the people around me are always unwilling to talk to me. I've been home for so long, and I haven't made a single friend."

"How could you not make friends?" Zhu Xingye was touched by her aggrieved look and quickly hugged her to comfort her.

“Mingyue is smart, beautiful, gentle and kind, how could she not make friends? Besides, you have Chaochao by your side, right? Chaochao has a lot of friends, let her introduce some to you.”

"...Maybe it's better not to." Zhu Mingyue leaned against Zhu Xingye's chest, forcing a smile, and said, "Chaochao's friends have known her for years, and they get along so well. I, as an outsider, shouldn't interfere."

"Besides, I really don't have anything in common with them. Even if we force ourselves to stay together, we can't become friends. They're fine playing with Chaochao. I'm not suitable to join them."

"What do you mean?" Zhu Xingye's expression changed slightly.

Although Zhu Mingyue phrased her words tactfully, Zhu Xingye could hear the grievance and helplessness in her voice.

He released Zhu Mingyue, stared intently into her eyes with a stern face, and asked, half coaxing and half forcing, "Mingyue, didn't I ask Chaochao to take you to play? Didn't Chaochao listen to me?"

"Is she only thinking about her own happiness and not taking care of you at all?"

Zhu Mingyue did not answer directly, but only said, "Chaochao has no obligation to take care of me. She has her own life and friends, and she doesn't need to revolve around me all day."

"Big brother, I'm not popular because I'm not likable, it has nothing to do with Chaochao, please don't blame her."

The words sounded nice, but Zhu Xingye only needed to think about it for a moment to realize that something was wrong.

He gripped Zhu Mingyue's shoulders tightly and deliberately lowered his voice so that Zhu Mingyue would think he was angry.

"Mingyue, tell your older brother honestly, did Chaochao not take you to play at school?"

Although the words were spoken in a questioning tone, the manner of the statement was clearly affirmative.

Zhu Mingyue shook her head timidly, her voice weaker than a mosquito's buzz: "No, Chaochao also wanted to play with me, it's just that her friends don't like me very much."

"Zhaochao is also in a difficult position..."

"Difficult?" Zhu Xingye emphasized the word "grinding" and asked coldly, "If it's so difficult, then what did Chaochao choose? Did she choose to stay by your side and protect you, or did she choose to continue fooling around with her friends?"

"..." Zhu Mingyue didn't dare to answer.

But for Zhu Xingye, not daring to answer was the best answer.

He already had a definite answer in his heart.

"Zhu Jinzhao!" he shouted Zhu Jinzhao's name viciously, then gritted his teeth and said, "You've finally become like this!"

The harshness in his words was so intense that Zhu Mingyue, standing behind him, couldn't help but shiver.

"No...that's not how it is!" Zhu Mingyue shouted at the top of her lungs, "Big brother, that's not how it is! Chaochao hasn't changed, Chaochao hasn't done anything bad!"

"..."

Zhu Xingye in front of her did not react at all, as if he had not heard her words at all.

She was so anxious that she grabbed Zhu Xingye's arm and forced him to turn around and face her.

"Big brother—"

The words had barely left his mouth when he abruptly stopped.

The person in front of her was no longer her older brother.

"Zhu Jinzhao really needs to be taught a lesson!" Zhu Ning glared angrily, her eyeballs bulging outwards.

"...Third...Third Brother?" Zhu Mingyue was stunned.

"Third Brother." Another Zhu Mingyue appeared out of nowhere, nestled softly beside Zhu Ning.

"Third brother, this matter really has nothing to do with Chaochao, please don't blame her."

“Sigh…” Zhu Ning sighed with a headache, “Mingyue, stop making excuses for her! This was clearly orchestrated by her!”

“No…” Zhu Mingyue grabbed his sleeve, urgently explaining for Zhu Jinchao, “Chaochao is a very kind and soft-hearted person. She must have been deceived to do such a thing.”

"Third brother, I beg you, please believe in Chaochao."

"Hmph," Zhu Ning sneered, "Soft-hearted? Mingyue, you're the one who's truly soft-hearted!"

"If Zhu Jinzhao were truly soft-hearted, she wouldn't have instigated people at school to deliberately isolate you!"