"What do you know?" Zhu Xingye frowned and looked at him.

"Sigh..." Zhu Qian sighed, called out "Silly Chaochao" and walked over to Zhu Xingye.

“My dear brother,” he lowered his voice and leaned closer to Zhu Xingye, “have you forgotten? Your birthday is in a month. With your birthday approaching, what can Chaochao possibly buy you?”

Birthday……

The words "Zhu Jinzhao is very close to them" clearly reached her ears. A flash of inspiration struck her, and she immediately crafted a complete reason, ready to deal with Zhu Xingye at any moment.

Upon hearing Zhu Qian's words, Zhu Xingye's gloomy expression instantly changed.

"you mean……"

Zhu Qian nodded: "That's exactly what I meant. Chao Chao always has a lot of ideas; he must be preparing some kind of surprise for you this time."

Zhu Xingye suddenly understood, and when he looked at Zhu Jinzhao again, his eyes had subtly changed.

Zhu Jinzhao dared not look at him, but she could vaguely sense that the pressure around him seemed to have eased, and her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down a little.

"Chao Chao," Zhu Xingye called her softly.

"Hmm?" Only then did Zhu Jinzhao have the courage to look up, her bright eyes looking at him with timidity.

He asked, "Are you working to earn money so you can buy things for your older brother?"

Zhu Jinzhao hurriedly admitted, "Yes, I really want to buy something for my older brother."

Zhu Xingye curled the corners of his lips, and his tone softened unconsciously: "Why not use your own living expenses to buy it? Why do you have to earn the money yourself?"

Zhu Jinzhao lied through his teeth: "Because the meaning is different. My living expenses are all given to me by my older brother, and it would seem insincere to use my living expenses to buy things for him. So, I wanted to try to earn my own money and use it to buy gifts for my older brother. That's what sincerity means."

Zhu Xingye was already laughing: "So, have you earned enough money?"

Zhu Jinzhao: "Not yet, there's still a long way to go."

"..." Zhu Xingye was silent for a moment, then suddenly let out a long sigh and compromised, "Alright then, keep up the good work."

"……Um?!"

Zhu Jinzhao and Zhu Mingyue both widened their eyes at the same time.

Zhu Jinzhao didn't quite understand what he meant. She took several deep breaths before stammering, "Big brother, are you... are you not angry anymore?"

Zhu Xingye glanced at Zhu Qian and said with a hint of helplessness, "We're not having any more children."

"..." Zhu Jinzhao blinked. "Then, then, can I... can I still continue working?"

Zhu Qian gave her a clear answer: "Sure! Go ahead and do it."

"!!!" Zhu Jinzhao gasped, his eyes and brows filled with surprise.

“But—” Zhu Qian’s tone shifted abruptly, his expression suddenly turning serious, “Your part-time job is only valid for this period. Once you’ve bought what you want, you must stop and go home, understand?”

"I know!" Zhu Jinzhao replied loudly, but in reality, he didn't take Zhu Qian's words to heart at all.

"We'll deal with the future later..." she thought nonchalantly. After Zhu Xingye's birthday celebration, she'd prepare gifts for her second and third brothers. That way, she'd have a reason to keep working!

She was overjoyed; the chains hanging from her headdress swayed playfully under the bright lights, dazzling Zhu Xingye's eyes.

Zhu Xingye beckoned to her: "Come here."

She ran over happily, but after taking only two steps, she heard a "whoosh" sound—

The food she had hidden inside her clothes fell to the ground in a mess.

"..."

Zhu Xingye and Zhu Qian were dumbfounded when they saw the snacks at their feet.

"...Chaochao, what are you doing?" Zhu Qian asked in surprise.

Zhu Jinzhao froze, her smile frozen on her face: "I...I..."

Seeing her eyes darting around, Zhu Xingye knew without a doubt what she was thinking, so he warned, "Don't lie."

"..." Zhu Jinzhao died slightly, 40% of the time.

She dared not lie and could only tell the truth: "When I got home, my older brother seemed really angry. I was afraid he would punish me and lock me in a dark room to starve, so I hid some food for myself beforehand..."

"Hmph..." Zhu Qian laughed heartlessly and teased, "Our Chaochao really had foresight!"

Zhu Jinzhao wore a long face: "..."

Zhu Xingye laughed in exasperation: "You're quite clever at times like this."

Zhu Jinchao retorted in a very low voice: "Of course..."

Zhu Xingye pinched her fair cheek: "Silly girl, how did the Zhu family produce such a silly girl like you..."

Zhu Qian added insult to injury from the side: "Isn't that silly girl something you taught her to do..."

The commotion was resolved so easily that three of the four people in the room were laughing heartily, while the remaining one couldn't laugh at all.

Zhu Mingyue stared expressionlessly at the three people chatting and laughing happily, her teeth clenched in hatred. She especially hated Zhu Qian!

Zhu Xingye was furious and on the verge of questioning Zhu Jinzhao, then becoming suspicious and distant towards her, when Zhu Qian just happened to bring up her birthday. This made all of Zhu Jinzhao's actions seem reasonable and endearing!

Zhu Jinchao secretly ran away to work, but instead of being punished, she was treated with affection.

What's this?

Zhu Mingyue's painstaking efforts to feign pitifulness and folly have been completely turned into a joke by Zhu Jinzhao!

Zhu Jinchao clearly has ill intentions. What exactly are Zhu Xingye and Zhu Qian moved by?

They even ignored her!

I'm so angry!

Zhu Mingyue grew angrier and angrier, wishing she could rush up and slap Zhu Jinzhao twice!

"Mingyue, come over and have some milk tea," Zhu Qian suddenly said.

Zhu Mingyue snapped out of her daze and expertly put on a smile: "Coming!"

"What are you chatting about that makes you so happy?"

Zhu Ning rushed home as fast as she could, but instead of seeing the dangerous scene Zhu Qian had described, she saw the whole family enjoying a happy and harmonious time together.

"You're back just in time, come over here." Zhu Qian divided the milk tea into smaller portions, poured one cup and handed it to Zhu Ning, "Come and try the milk tea that our Chaochao earned through hard work, and see if it tastes good."

"What is this?" Zhu Ning was completely confused. He strode up behind Zhu Qian, took the small cup of milk tea, and was amused by the scene before him. "What are you doing? Did your family go bankrupt? Five people have to share one cup of milk tea."

“Third Brother, you don’t understand.” Zhu Mingyue held her cup and drank her milk tea, explaining, “This cup of milk tea was earned by Chaochao after working for several hours at her part-time job, so it has a special meaning.”

"A part-time job?" Zhu Ning was stunned. "Why would you do a part-time job out of the blue? Is Chaochao that short of money?"

Zhu Qian: "Zhaochao is never short of money, and he's always doing his job properly. Don't ask so many questions yet, let's drink the milk tea that Chaochao gave us first."

Zhu Ning obediently took a sip, then smacked her lips dramatically, exclaiming with an exaggerated expression, "My goodness, this is so delicious! This is the best milk tea I've ever had! Chaochao is amazing!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jinzhao gave him a look as if he were an idiot: "Third Brother, you're so fake..."

Hahahaha!

The people in the study burst into laughter.