Chapter 259 Twisted Dreams (2)
“No…” Zhu Mingyue shook her head repeatedly, looking aggrieved as she defended Zhu Jinzhao, “That’s not how it is, Third Brother, this wasn’t instigated by Chaochao! Chaochao didn’t do anything, it was all those classmates’ doing.”
“…Mingyue!” Zhu Ning took Zhu Mingyue’s hand and held her delicate hands firmly in her palm. “Stop making excuses for Zhu Jinzhao. I had someone go to the school to inquire about the situation, and all her friends said in unison that she was the one who instigated them to deliberately not play with you!”
Zhu Mingyue looked up at him, her eyes filled with anxiety: "But we can't necessarily trust what those people say."
Zhu Ning: "I didn't want to believe it either, but one person said it, two people said it, and almost everyone was accusing Zhu Jinzhao of malicious bullying. I had no choice but to believe it even if I didn't want to."
"This..." Zhu Mingyue's words were all shut down, and she could no longer argue.
"Third Brother, isn't there some misunderstanding? How could Chaochao be that kind of person? She was so warm and friendly to me when I first came home!"
Zhu Ning touched her face tenderly: "Silly Mingyue, people can pretend. Chaochao may have been really kind before, but now, that's not necessarily true."
"Don't you find it strange that her friends, who have been hanging out with her for years, are now coming forward to accuse her?"
Zhu Mingyue lowered her head and softly hummed in agreement: "It is quite strange... but I still don't believe that Chaochao would be that kind of person, because she has absolutely no reason to harm me."
"Why is there no reason?" Zhu Ning raised an eyebrow, a cold smile playing on her lips. "Although you two are both my sisters, only one of you is my biological daughter. No matter how kind Chaochao is, she can easily become jealous and evil under the threat of blood ties."
“Before you were home, all the love and care in the house belonged to her. Now that you're back, she has to give you most of that love. This must be very uncomfortable for her, which is why she has the idea of deliberately targeting you and isolating you, trying to take back all the love you have.”
Hearing these words, Zhu Mingyue frowned, feeling somewhat aggrieved: "So, in that case, it's all my fault... If I hadn't come back, Chaochao wouldn't have turned bad..."
"How can you blame yourself?" Zhu Ning tilted his head to look at her, his slender fingers stroking her brows, smoothing out the wrinkles between her eyebrows.
"Chaochao turned bad because she was too jealous and didn't learn good things, it has nothing to do with my Mingyue! Mingyue, please don't overthink it, understand?"
Zhu Mingyue pouted, looking like she was about to cry.
Zhu Ning couldn't stand seeing her like this, and immediately felt resentment towards Zhu Jinzhao.
"That brat is really hopeless! You are clearly the true heiress of the Zhu family, yet she can't tolerate you! With such a wicked mind, I have to teach her a lesson!"
"No!" Zhu Mingyue, who was standing to the side, loudly stopped him. "Second brother, you can't punish Chaochao. Chaochao didn't do anything!"
"..."
Zhu Ning remained unmoved, not even sparing her a second glance.
She glanced at Zhu Ning, then at Zhu Mingyue who had appeared out of nowhere to her left, hesitated for only a moment, and then decisively rushed forward to block their path.
"Second brother, Chaochao is a good child, she hasn't done anything bad! This Zhu Mingyue is lying to you, she's lying to you!"
"What?" Zhu Ning frowned slightly.
Zhu Mingyue reached out and grabbed his arm, about to explain the extra Zhu Mingyue to him, when a layer of mist suddenly appeared on his face.
The mist condensed for a moment and then dissipated in an instant. After it dissipated, Zhu Ning's face strangely transformed into Zhu Qian's.
"...Second Brother?" Zhu Mingyue's eyes widened in horror.
"Bright Moon".
Zhu Qian smiled gently and walked towards the other Zhu Mingyue.
Zhu Mingyue's gaze followed his movements blankly, and the surrounding background changed accordingly.
"Mingyue." Zhu Qian walked to the door of his study and pulled Zhu Mingyue, who was standing outside, inside.
"Have you finished reviewing all the lessons? Why did you suddenly come to see your second brother?"
Zhu Mingyue clutched her elbow, her chin clenched, and remained silent.
Zhu Qian turned to look at her: "What's wrong? Why isn't Mingyue saying anything?"
Zhu Mingyue gritted her teeth, trying hard to suppress the tremor in her voice: "Second Brother, I... I wanted to ask you, do you have any medicine here to reduce swelling and relieve pain?"
"Medicine to reduce swelling and relieve pain?" Zhu Qian adjusted his glasses. "Of course I have medicine, but what are you going to do with it?"
"I..." Zhu Mingyue lowered her head, unsure how to explain.
Zhu Qian noticed something was wrong with her, so he carefully examined her twice and, unsurprisingly, noticed the elbow she was covering.
"Mingyue, what happened to your elbow?" he asked directly.
"...No, it's nothing." Zhu Mingyue spoke hesitantly, clearly hiding something.
Zhu Qian didn't believe her, so he decided to check it himself.
"Second brother, take a look." He took Zhu Mingyue's injured hand and lifted her sleeve to examine her elbow.
As expected, he saw a large, red, swollen welt on Zhu Mingyue's elbow.
"What's going on?!" Zhu Qian's heart tightened, and his brows immediately furrowed.
Zhu Mingyue glanced at him cautiously, and stammered, "I did this by accident..."
"How careless of you to cause such a large abrasion?" Zhu Qian pulled her into his arms and hurriedly led her to the other side for treatment.
She said it was an accident, so Zhu Qian didn't suspect anything. But after a while, she took the initiative to say, "Second Brother, I really didn't mean to."
Zhu Qian followed up with her question, asking, "How exactly was it an accident?"
Zhu Mingyue: "Chaochao... came to my room just now and said she wanted to see the new dress my brother bought for me. I took the dress out for her, but she slipped and fell while looking at it. Without thinking much, I rushed over to catch her."
"In the end, I not only failed to catch it, but I also injured myself."
"...What?" Zhu Qian was taken aback by her explanation. "You tripped and fell while looking at the dress? And you got hurt too?"
This reason was not only lame but also extremely far-fetched, and Zhu Qian didn't believe a word of it.
"Mingyue, stop covering for Zhu Jinzhao, tell me honestly how you injured your elbow!"
"..." Zhu Mingyue lowered her head timidly, not daring to tell the truth at all.
Zhu Qian looked up at her and said in a commanding tone, "No silence, no lying. Tell me honestly how you got the injury on your elbow!"
“…Alright.” Zhu Mingyue couldn’t withstand Zhu Qian’s questioning any longer, so she had no choice but to tell the truth.
"I...I was accidentally pushed and fell by Chaochao."
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