The fake heiress naively believed that all her friends were true friends and was completely unguarded, which is why she ended up suffering such a terrible fate.
Zhu Jinzhao should remember her fate and be determined not to fall into the same trap.
"Have you really forgiven me?" Zhao Haizhou asked uncertainly.
Zhu Jinzhao smiled gently: "Of course. It's just a small misunderstanding, I won't hold it against you."
"That's good." Zhao Haizhou breathed a sigh of relief and subconsciously turned to look at Zhu Mingyue. Zhu Jinzhao stared at him intently, her smile gradually fading.
"Here, take this." He looked away, took a cup of milk tea from his bag, and handed it to Zhu Jinchao. "I was wrong yesterday, so I'm making amends with this milk tea. I even added an extra portion of pearls for you."
"God... what are you doing?" Jiang Jingwen frowned, staring at Zhao Haizhou in disbelief, feeling like she hardly recognized him anymore.
"Hey," Zhao Haizhou scratched his head sheepishly, "What happened yesterday was indeed my fault, so I should apologize."
As he spoke, he took another cup of milk tea out of the bag: "Xiao Jiang, this cup of milk tea is for you."
Jiang Jingwen didn't think too much and reached out to take it, but suddenly felt Zhu Jinzhao's hand tug at her under the table.
She paused, then turned to look at Zhu Jinzhao, puzzled.
Zhu Jinzhao looked apologetic: "What bad luck! Jiang Jiang and I just finished a cup of milk tea and we're feeling really cloying right now."
"Huh?" Zhao Haizhou was a little stunned.
Zhu Jinzhao returned both cups of milk tea to him, saying, "Thank you for your kindness. You can drink these two cups of milk tea. Jiang Jiang and I can't drink anymore."
“…Well, okay then.” Zhao Haizhou was visibly disappointed. He took the milk tea back, drank one himself, and shared the other with his deskmate.
"Holy crap, the sun has risen in the west! You actually treated me to milk tea!" Zhao Haizhou was always stingy, and his deskmate was so shocked when he received milk tea from him for the first time that his jaw almost dropped.
"Just drink yours," Zhao Haizhou said irritably.
Desk mate: "Thank you, godfather!"
"Why don't you want his milk tea?" Jiang Jingwen asked, somewhat confused.
Zhu Jinzhao leaned closer and whispered to her, "Why would I want his milk tea? We're not even that close. It's like we're best friends."
“…Hmm?” Jiang Jingwen seemed to understand but not quite.
"Class is starting." Zhu Jinzhao didn't say much to her, but reached out and patted her notebook.
Zhu Jinzhao received his part-time pay in the evening; he earned a full 100 yuan for just four hours.
One hundred yuan isn't a lot of money, but she still opened the food delivery app and ordered Jiang Jingwen's favorite glutinous rice balls.
The moment the glutinous rice balls arrived, Jiang Jingwen's WeChat message popped up.
—Chaochao, you ordered tangyuan for me?
While listening to the lecture, Zhu Jinzhao replied: Yes, I bought it for you with my part-time salary. Do you like it?
—I love it! I adore these glutinous rice balls! But your part-time job only pays you 100 yuan, and you spent over 20 yuan on me, so you don't have much left for yourself.
Zhu Jinzhao: It's okay, I can earn more. By the way, Jiang Jiang, I'd like to ask you for a favor.
Jiang Jingwen: You say it.
She wished Zhu Xingye or Zhu Mingyue a break from classes. She had originally intended to send a voice message, but fearing that Zhu Xingye or Zhu Mingyue might hear it, she continued typing instead.
—Could you help me open a bank account using your ID card? I want to use this card to store my secret stash of money.
Jiang Jingwen was eating glutinous rice balls and couldn't type, so she replied with a voice message.
Zhu Jinchao dared not listen, so she could only transcribe her voice message into text.
Why? Don't you have a card?
Zhu Jinzhao: My brother opened all my bank accounts. If I deposit money into them, he'll definitely find out. Wouldn't that expose me?
Jiang Jingwen: Oh, right... Okay then, I'll use my own ID to open a bank account for you. You can deposit the money in there, and I'll hide it for you.
Wishing you a happy day: Thank you, Jiang Jiang!
"Knock knock knock—"
"Every morning."
Just as Zhu Jinzhao finished explaining the matter, Zhu Xingye suddenly knocked on her door.
She quickly put her phone away and called out towards the door, "I'm here!"
Zhu Xingye: "May I come in?"
Zhu Jinchao shook his head: "Okay!"
With permission, Zhu Xingye opened the door and came in.
"Why are you suddenly listening to the lesson? Did you not understand it?"
Zhu Jinzhao touched his nose and quickly found an excuse for himself: "I didn't quite understand... This semester's classes are too difficult, and I can't understand a lot of them, so I bought tutoring classes to listen to when I have free time."
"Can you understand?" Zhu Xingye pulled up a chair and sat down next to Zhu Jinzhao.
"..." Zhu Jinzhao remained silent.
You can fake anything in this world, but you can't fake learning. If you don't know how to learn, you simply don't know how. No matter how well you pretend during regular study time, your true colors will be revealed during exams.
"I can understand two-thirds, but I need to listen to the remaining third several times to understand it." She dared not lie and honestly told Zhu Xingye.
Zhu Xingye frowned, his cold eyes staring straight at her: "You did quite well in your freshman and sophomore years, so why did you suddenly find it hard to understand in your junior year? Are the courses really that difficult, or is something disturbing your mind?"
"The course is really difficult!" Zhu Jinzhao answered earnestly. "I... I listened carefully in class, but I just couldn't understand it. I really find it difficult."
Zhu Xingye: "Then how about I hire you a private tutor? You can use your free time to catch up."
“No need!” Zhu Jinzhao quickly refused. “This is enough for me, I don’t need to hire a private tutor…”
She also has to work during her free time; if she hires a private tutor, she won't be able to earn money.
"Are you sure?" Zhu Xingye narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze carrying a clear scrutinizing quality.
Zhu Jinzhao bit her lip, feeling inexplicably uneasy under his gaze: "I'm sure, I can listen to the lessons by myself, big brother doesn't need to hire a private tutor."
"Alright then." Zhu Xingye didn't press the issue. "As long as you study hard, whatever you say goes."
Zhu Jinzhao didn't dare look at him, and nodded timidly: "Mm."
"Chao Chao." Zhu Xingye leaned back in his chair, his tone suddenly becoming serious.
Zhu Jinzhao slowly turned her head, staring at him with a stiff expression: "Hmm?"
Zhu Xingye: "Do you think you've been behaving well lately? Have you been doing anything behind your older brother's back that you shouldn't have?"
"!!!"
Zhu Jinzhao's heart skipped a beat, and her face turned deathly pale instantly.
Zhu Xingye smiled enigmatically, his posture languid, yet Zhu Jinzhao inexplicably felt as if she were being judged.
"Big brother, why are you suddenly asking this?" Zhu Jinzhao skillfully feigned ignorance.
Zhu Xingye: "I was just asking casually, do you have it every day?"
Zhu Jinzhao took a deep breath: "Of course not. I haven't done anything I shouldn't have, nor have I been disturbed by anything. Don't worry, brother."
"Don't worry..." Zhu Xingye murmured these two words, his eyes turning cold.
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