"Knock knock knock—"
A knock sounded at the door, and Zhu Qian put down his tablet, got out of bed, and opened the door.
The door opened, and Zhu Ning poked her head into the room, looking at Zhu Qian and whispering, "What's wrong with Big Brother? Why did you say he's gone mad?"
Zhu Qian's face was cold, and his expression was still very sour. It would have been better if Zhu Ning hadn't brought it up; the moment he did, the anger inside him flared up again.
"I don't know," he said stiffly.
"You don't know?" Zhu Ning's eyes widened in surprise. "Second brother, you're a doctor, how could you not know why eldest brother went crazy?"
Zhu Qian: "I don't know, I just don't know. Doctors aren't omnipotent, how could they possibly know why he's going crazy?"
"...Hmm?" Zhu Ning frowned suspiciously, finally realizing that Zhu Qian's behavior was off.
"Second brother, what's wrong? Why are you talking so sarcastically? Did you have a fight with eldest brother?"
"..." Zhu Qian frowned in annoyance, turning his face away as if to avoid the issue. "No."
"Don't lie to me." Zhu Ning didn't believe it at all. "You're usually the most easy to talk to, but now you've suddenly become so cold and irritable. Something must have upset you."
"..." Zhu Qian turned his gaze elsewhere and remained silent.
Silence is the most definite answer, and Zhu Ning instantly had a guess in her mind.
"Second Brother?" He leaned closer to Zhu Qian, his initial puzzled expression gradually turning into concern. "What conflict did you have with your eldest brother? Tell your younger brother, and I'll help you resolve it."
“No need to resolve it.” Zhu Qian coldly raised his eyes and said sarcastically, “You just need to take your phone to your brother’s office and discuss Chaochao’s gossip with him, and you’ll find out what conflict I have with him.”
"Huh?" Zhu Ning didn't understand what he meant, and subconsciously asked, "Why? Why should I discuss Chaochao's gossip with my older brother?"
"Heh..." Zhu Qian sneered and explained, "To find out why your older brother went crazy."
"...Huh?" Zhu Ning was increasingly confused. "No, Second Brother—"
"Bang!"
Zhu Qian's patience had run out. Before Zhu Ning could finish asking her questions, he impatiently slammed the door shut, leaving Zhu Ning alone outside.
The gentle breeze from closing the door brushed against Zhu Ning's face, causing strands of hair to flutter and fall across her forehead.
"Oh my god..." He raised his hand and touched his nose in astonishment, feeling a wave of fear wash over him.
"If I had dodged any slower, that door would probably have pinched my nose off..."
Although he didn't know what conflict Zhu Qian and Zhu Xingye had, nor why Zhu Qian was so insistent on him talking to Zhu Xingye about Zhu Jinzhao's gossip, Zhu Ning decided to do as Zhu Qian said in order to figure out why his two brothers had gone crazy.
He took out his phone, opened Weibo, quickly browsed the trending topics of "Let's Make Friends," and then walked to the door of Zhu Xingye's study and knocked.
"Knock knock knock—"
"Big brother, it's me."
"Come in." Zhu Xingye's voice sounded somewhat fierce, suggesting he might be even more difficult to communicate with than Zhu Qian.
Zhu Ning took a deep breath and hesitated for several seconds before turning the doorknob in front of her.
"Brother, is this female celebrity named Su Ying out of her mind? Why is she always targeting Chaochao?" He randomly picked a trending topic and walked into the study as he spoke.
"Chaochao has only been in the industry for two days, she's a complete newbie, and she's not in the same league as Su Ying, so there's no competition between them. What is it about Chaochao that Su Ying dislikes? Why is she making things difficult for her?"
"I don't know." Zhu Xingye stared blankly at the computer screen, his long, slender fingers tapping slowly on the keyboard, replying to the mountain of work emails.
"N-I don't know?" Zhu Xingye's indifferent response startled Zhu Ning. He stood there for a moment, then stiffly walked to Zhu Xingye's desk, carefully sat down on it, and looked at Zhu Xingye with a confused yet timid gaze.
"Big brother, how could you not know? The story of Su Ying making things difficult for Chaochao has been trending all night, didn't you see it?"
Zhu Xingye stared straight at the computer screen, his reply remaining indifferent: "I've seen it."
"...You saw it, so...aren't you worried?" Zhu Ning was a little dissatisfied with his reaction, but since he didn't dare to provoke him, he could only try his best to suppress his emotions.
“Chaochao is timid and has never encountered anything like this before. Now she's suddenly being targeted for no reason. Aren't you worried that she won't understand?”
“Worried…of course I’m worried.” Zhu Xingye finally stopped what he was doing and turned to look at Zhu Ning directly. “But what’s the use of me worrying? When I saw the trending topic, I called Chaochao’s agent and asked her if Chaochao and this Su Ying had any conflicts before. But the agent said that the two of them had no conflicts at all. Su Ying’s targeting was probably just because she felt that Chaochao’s future career path would overlap with hers, and she was afraid that her resources would be taken away, so she was hostile to Chaochao.”
“In the entertainment industry, there are too many celebrities who tear each other apart for resources. If Chaochao can’t even accept this, then she shouldn’t have entered the industry on a whim in the first place.”
Zhu Ning: "But Chaochao did nothing wrong. Even if Su Ying is scared, we can't just bully her for no reason, right? Big brother, we are Chaochao's family. Are we just going to stand by and watch Chaochao be targeted and do nothing?"
"Hmph..." Upon hearing this, Zhu Xingye suddenly chuckled mockingly, "Do you think Chaochao still needs us to stand up for her?"
"Why not use it?" Zhu Ning blinked, not understanding the implication in his words.
He gave a cryptic smirk and said in a strange tone, "One is the Crown Prince of the capital, and the other is a national movie star in the entertainment industry. With two men protecting Chaochao, do you think Chaochao still needs us?"
"Why not?" Zhu Ning retorted innocently, "Shi Jing and Li Weiwan do protect Chaochao, but what are their identities? At most, they are Chaochao's suitors, not even proper boyfriends."
"And what about us? We are Chaochao's brothers, Chaochao's own brothers! Our status and significance are completely different from those two men, how can we replace each other?"
"..." Zhu Xingye was speechless after being rebuked.
Seeing his furrowed brows, Zhu Ning continued, "Big brother, we are Chaochao's brothers, her strong support. Even if she is dating Shi Jing or Li Weiwan now, we will still be her brothers."
"The protection from my brother is something no boyfriend can replace."
"..." Zhu Xingye was furious at his words, but had no way to refute them. In the end, he could only point at him in exasperation and say, "You get out too!"
Zhu Ning: "Huh?"
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