“When get out of class ended at noon today, I invited Mingyue to have lunch with me, but Mingyue said she had something to take care of and asked Jiangjiang and me to go eat by ourselves first. I was worried that she was not familiar with the school, so I asked her what she needed to take care of and offered to go with her. But she refused, saying that she didn’t need anyone to accompany her.”
"After saying that, she left by herself. Jiang Jiang and I had no choice but to go eat by ourselves."
As Zhu Xingye listened, the furrows between his brows deepened.
Zhu Jinzhao's explanation was earnest and detailed, with a hint of grievance in his tone: "I don't know where Mingyue went to do business, and I can't contact her. Jiang Jiang and I came out to play on a whim, and I just wanted to bring her along, but I don't know where to find her."
“…Zhao Chao.” Zhu Xingye’s heart softened at her words. Although he didn’t really mean to blame her, he felt a sense of guilt after hearing her words.
"Big brother really doesn't blame you. Big brother is just asking you to take good care of Mingyue in the future. Please don't misunderstand big brother, okay?"
"..." Zhu Jinzhao kept his head down and didn't say anything.
The Bentley has already driven into the villa area; the Zhu family is almost there.
Zhu Xingye subtly increased his speed and parked the car in the villa's yard. Then, he unbuckled his seatbelt with one hand, opened the car door, got out, and strode around to Zhu Jinzhao's car door.
"Zhao Zhao." He opened the car door from the outside and knelt down directly in front of Zhu Jinzhao.
Zhu Jinzhao stared at him blankly, both surprised and bewildered.
"Big brother really doesn't blame you, please don't be angry with big brother, okay?"
Zhu Jinzhao's voice was muffled: "I'm not angry with you, I'm just explaining myself... I really didn't stop playing with Mingyue."
"Okay, I believe you." Zhu Xingye raised his hand and gently touched her face. "It was my fault for saying the wrong thing, which made Chaochao misunderstand. I apologize to you, please don't be angry with me."
Zhu Jinzhao pursed her lips; how could she dare to be angry with Zhu Xingye?
"Yes, I'm not angry with you, brother." Although she was full of resentment, she had to pretend to be obedient. "It's good that you believe me, brother."
Zhu Xingye: "I believe in Chaochao, I have always believed in Chaochao."
These were just casual words he said to comfort Zhu Jinzhao, but Zhu Jinzhao had a little scheme in mind after hearing them.
Her bright black eyes darted around mischievously, and she boldly made a request to Zhu Xingye.
"Big brother, can you promise me that no matter what happens in the future, you'll believe me as long as I'm willing to explain things properly?"
"Of course." Zhu Xingye answered without the slightest hesitation, "I raised Chaochao myself, and no matter what, I believe in Chaochao."
Zhu Jinzhao: "You promise!"
Zhu Xingye smiled indulgently: "I promise."
Zhu Jinzhao pulled out his phone: "You write a statement!"
Zhu Xingye: "How does Chaochao want me to establish myself?"
Zhu Jinzhao thought for a moment and said, "You, you just record a voice message for me, promising that no matter what happens in the future, you will believe me."
"Okay." Zhu Xingye took her phone, opened the built-in recording software, and solemnly recorded a message.
"I, Zhu Xingye, hereby promise Zhu Jinzhao today—no matter what happens in the future, I will unconditionally trust Zhu Jinzhao. As long as Zhu Jinzhao is willing to explain properly, I will believe her."
Is this a good idea?
Zhu Jinzhao took the phone back and carefully saved the voice message: "Okay."
Zhu Xingye pinched her cheek: "Is Chaochao happy?"
Zhu Jinzhao nodded: "I'm quite happy."
Although she guessed that the recording might not be of much use in the future, it was better than nothing. At least having Zhu Xingye's personal promise made her feel less uneasy.
"Get off the bus if you're happy." Zhu Xingye didn't know what she was thinking; he just wanted to appease her.
He stood up and extended his left hand to Zhu Jinzhao.
Zhu Jinzhao hesitated for a few seconds, then reluctantly placed her hand into Zhu Xingye's palm.
Zhu Xingye took her hand and led her home.
Meanwhile, on the second floor of the Zhu family villa, Zhu Mingyue had seen the entire scene clearly.
"Hmph..." A cold smile appeared in her eyes. She took a few steps back from the balcony, turned around, and went downstairs.
Zhu Ning just finished a match and is currently being interviewed. Zhu Qian is still undergoing surgery, and it's unclear when it will be finished.
Therefore, there were only three people at the dinner table tonight: Zhu Xingye, Zhu Jinzhao, and Zhu Mingyue.
Zhu Jinchao sat on the edge of the dining table, eating without speaking, trying his best to minimize his presence.
Zhu Xingye didn't pay much attention to her, only occasionally putting a couple of bites of food on her plate, and spending the rest of the time caring for Zhu Mingyue.
As Zhu Mingyue spoke with a smile, she glanced at Zhu Jinzhao out of the corner of her eye. Seeing that Zhu Jinzhao had not received any preferential treatment from Zhu Xingye because of what had just happened, the resentment in her heart eased a little.
"Mingyue, put this chicken wing in front of you." Seeing that Zhu Mingyue liked it, Zhu Xingye gave her the whole plate of chicken wings without hesitation.
"Thank you, big brother." Zhu Mingyue happily accepted the gift, a hint of pride flashing in her eyes, before turning to look at Zhu Jinzhao.
"..." Zhu Jinzhao was listlessly shoveling rice into his bowl, completely ignoring them.
She had eaten a lot of snacks at the mall that afternoon and wasn't hungry at all, but the cook gave her a full bowl of rice. She didn't dare not eat it, so she forced herself to eat it.
"Shut up, hurry up and stuff it in..." Her attention was completely focused on her own rice bowl, and she had no idea that Zhu Xingye had given Zhu Mingyue a plate of chicken wings.
Not seeing the reaction she wanted, Zhu Mingyue was secretly a little annoyed. The smile on her face froze for a few seconds, then suddenly deepened.
"Zhao Zhao." Since Zhu Jinzhao wasn't paying attention to her, she would take the initiative.
"This plate of chicken wings is too much for me. You can eat it with me."
"I don't want it." Zhu Jinzhao raised her hand to cover her bowl, her whole expression and actions clearly showing her refusal. "I'm already full, I can't eat this plate of chicken wings. Just put it in front of you and eat it yourself."
"Are you full?" Zhu Mingyue frowned slightly, her eyes showing obvious concern as she looked at Zhu Jinzhao. "But you only ate a small bowl of rice. Can you be full with such a small amount?"
"Chaochao, although this plate of chicken wings was given to me by my older brother, we are sisters. You must not refuse to eat it just because you want to let me have it, and make yourself go hungry."
"She won't let herself go hungry."
Before Zhu Jinzhao could find the words to refute, Zhu Xingye answered her question for her.
"She spent the whole afternoon playing in the mall and probably ate a lot of food. She won't be hungry even if she doesn't eat dinner tonight. Mingyue, you eat yours and don't worry about her. She won't go hungry."
"Mmm-hmm!" Zhu Jinzhao nodded repeatedly. "Big brother is right. I'm not hungry at all. You go ahead and eat. I'm about to burst."
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