After the fake young master left home, he discovered that it wasn't raining at all outside.

The heavy door to the study was pushed open a crack, and before Zhu Mo and the others could be seen, Zhu Yan and the others heard Zhu Yu's voice.

"Ayan, Ayan!" Zhu Yu practically stormed into the room and rushed to Zhu Yan's side.

Zhu Yan's slender fingers stopped on the computer keyboard. She looked up and quietly stared at Zhu Yu, whose face was full of anxiety, without saying a word.

"Ayan, your injury hasn't healed yet, why are you in the study? You should rest more." Zhu Mo followed Zhu Yu a few steps behind and quickly walked in, followed by a large group of people.

"I'm almost fully recovered, thank you for your concern, Father." Perhaps Zhu Yan himself didn't realize that his words carried a strong sense of distance, and Zhu Mo was stunned for a few seconds.

He answered Zhu Mo, but Zhu Yan's gaze remained fixed on the young man beside Zhu Mo and Bai Zheng.

He was fair-skinned with regular features and a slight smile on his lips. He was about 180 cm tall and stared directly at Zhu Yan without any fear in his eyes.

At their first meeting, Zhu Yan could sense the inexplicable hostility emanating from him.

Bai Zheng noticed Zhu Yan's gaze and explained to him, "Oh, Yan, you don't know Sheng An yet, do you? He was adopted by us more than ten years ago and is a few months older than you."

Xie Sheng'an, with his trademark slight smile, allowed Bai Zheng to introduce him, "Ayan, may I call you that?"

Zhu Yan suppressed the disgust in her heart, her face expressionless. "Do as you please."

Having said all that, everyone present could tell that Zhu Yan's tone was off, and they were all wondering what they had done to hurt her. Only Xie Sheng'an...

"Ayan, are you... in a bad mood? Is it because of me...?" Xie Shengan asked softly, her voice seemingly tinged with grievance.

"No, I just ran into some unpleasant things, Sheng'an... If you mind, I'll apologize to you in person after I've calmed down?" Zhu Yan realized that his emotions were not quite right, and forced a smile as he met Xie Sheng'an's malicious gaze.

"What's bothering you? Can you tell your brother?" Zhu Qian seemed to have only heard Zhu Yan say that he was in a bad mood.

"Ayan, did someone bully you?" Zhu Cheng also frowned with concern.

"Yes, Ayan, you're injured now, so you must keep a cheerful mood so your wound will heal faster." Zhu Yu took a few steps closer, his eyes filled with Zhu Yan.

"No, it's just a work-related issue," Zhu Yan replied casually, her gaze shifting away from Xie Shengan.

Upon hearing Zhu Cheng and the others' meticulous concern for Zhu Yan, Xie Sheng'an's expression changed, and his smile froze. "This won't do. A-Yan, you are the young master. How can you apologize to others so casually?"

Ah, finally revealing your true purpose.

Zhu Yan smiled coldly to himself. Was it really necessary to harbor such inexplicable hostility towards him just because he was a young master?

Frustrating.

Xu Zhiyuan couldn't stand it anymore. Weren't Zhu Yan's brothers supposed to be powerful and influential figures in their respective industries? Why did their IQ suddenly drop offline? They couldn't figure out why Zhu Yan was in a bad mood.

Zhu Yan desperately wanted to be alone at that moment. She turned her head and gave Xu Zhiyuan a look, which Xu Zhiyuan immediately understood.

"Patriarch Zhu, if there's nothing else, you may leave now. I need to apply medicine to Xiao Yanyan." Xu Zhiyuan thought he was being particularly clever. By saying this, he could make them feel sorry for Zhu Yan and thus feel ashamed for neglecting Zhu Yan at noon. On the other hand, he could also perfectly express his intention to get out of here.

But Zhu Yan's lips twitched slightly, and she looked at Xu Zhiyuan with a look of utter despair.

……

"What! Ah Yan, you're injured again? Where are you hurt? Let us see."

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, several people rushed over to check Zhu Yan's wounds.

……

I should have kept Xu Zhiyuan quiet...

He had assumed that Xu Zhiyuan, being a few years older than Lu Ze, would be more mature and composed, but he never expected him to lie in front of so many people...

"I'm really fine," Zhu Yan quickly stopped the others from doing so.

But it was too late. Because Zhu Cheng was standing the closest, he was already half-squatting at Zhu Yan's feet, hugging his legs, forcing Zhu Yan to turn half a circle with the chair, exposing his legs that were originally hidden under the table.

Zhu Yan had just changed into casual clothes at noon, wearing only a white T-shirt and black shorts that barely reached his knees, making his injury immediately visible.

The redness and swelling on her ankles looked out of place against her fair skin.

"What happened?" Zhu Cheng looked up and asked, staring at the rather gruesome wound on his foot.

Neither Zhu Qian nor Zhu Yu spoke; they simply watched Zhu Yan quietly, waiting for an answer.

"I just went out this morning," Zhu Yan replied succinctly.

"Lin Shen! How did you take care of Ayan!" Zhu Qian shouted angrily as he turned around.

Lin Shen: ...This wave is coming for him.

"I'm sorry, Second Young Master, it's my fault for not taking good care of the young master." Lin Shen lowered his eyes and quickly admitted his mistake.

What can he do? He'll just have to put up with it.

Bai Zheng and Zhu Mo also leaned over to take a look at the wound; the gruesome wound felt like a sharp blade cutting into their hearts.

"Ayan, you're covered in injuries... Go back to your bedroom and rest properly, okay? It must hurt a lot to be enduring this." Bai Zheng's eyes reddened, her heartache evident in them.

"Yes, Ah Yan, you can look at these documents later. Anyway, the entire Zhu family will be yours in the future." Zhu Mo couldn't understand Zhu Yan's sudden coldness, but after seeing his wound, she put aside her thoughts and advised him.

Just because of the words "Zhu Yan is injured", in the blink of an eye, everyone around Xie Shengan rushed to Zhu Yan to offer their concern and care.

……

All that love and affection I received before was rightfully mine...

Xie Shengan was ignored by everyone and stood alone. His lonely figure looked particularly ridiculous under the lamplight. His clenched hands were full of hatred for Zhu Yan.

"Let's go back later." Zhu Yan felt that going back to the bedroom now might be the best choice, for it would be quiet.

Surrounded by this sudden concern, his restless gaze wandered aimlessly, finally settling precisely on Xie Sheng'an behind the crowd, his resentful eyes practically wanting to come over and chop him up.

Banquet:…

Just as everyone was concerned about the banquet, Xie Sheng'an's weak voice came, "Mom and Dad, brother, I was in such a rush to catch the bus this morning that I didn't notice I was hit by a car. I feel a little unwell now, so I'm going back to rest."

Xie Sheng'an tried to use the news of his injury to persuade Zhu Mo and the others to turn back, but what he received in return were a few cold words:

"Okay, go back to your room and rest. We'll call the doctor to take a look at you later."

Xie Shengan's eyes were dull and lifeless as he stared intently at Zhu Yan, who was sitting in a leather recliner surrounded by the crowd.

"Pfft..." Lu Ze couldn't hold back his laughter and burst out laughing. This made Xu Zhiyuan, who was biting his lip to suppress his laughter, unable to hold it in either.

Hahahahaha.

joker.

Trying to play the victim to gain sympathy?

Sorry, no one is answering you.

Fortunately, Zhu Yan quickly averted her gaze from Lu Ze, merely pursing her lips and suppressing a smile.

But Xie Shengan saw all of this as nothing short of a provocation.

Seeing that Xie Shengan was quite angry, Zhu Yan felt much of her anger had subsided and decided to help him out.

Want to get noticed? Here it is.

"You should go check on Brother Sheng'an. My injuries are minor, but Brother Sheng'an was in a car accident and his injuries are much more serious."

Playing the victim? Anyone can do that.

"A minor injury? Is this how you treat your body?" Zhu Cheng's displeasure deepened when he heard Zhu Yan say that his injury was just a minor one.

No one paid attention to the second half of Zhu Yan's statement; everyone was dissatisfied with Zhu Yan's self-judgment of his wounds.

Only Zhu Mo turned to look at Butler Lin and said, "Don't just stand there, quickly take Sheng An back to her room to check her wounds." After saying that, without any hesitation, he turned his head and looked back at Zhu Yan.

"But I..."

"hiss--"

Xie Shengan seemed to want to struggle, but unexpectedly he was interrupted by Zhu Yan.

But this wasn't intentional on his part, and he didn't understand why Zhu Cheng and Zhu Qian were squatting in front of him, staring at his wounds, and what they were trying to do.

Zhu Qian originally only intended to gently stroke Zhu Yan's wound, but it seems he didn't control his strength well and touched her a little too hard. Zhu Yan groaned softly in pain, which also interrupted Xie Sheng'an's words.

"Does it hurt? I'm sorry, Yan, let me carry you back to your room to rest." Zhu Qian knew he had hurt Zhu Yan, so he used this as an excuse to take Zhu Yan back to his room. But just as he got up, bent down, and reached out to pick up Zhu Yan, Zhu Cheng stopped him.

"Wait, let me do it. You're too rough. What if you hurt Ayan?" With that, Zhu Cheng pushed Zhu Qian aside, took his place, bent down, put one arm around Zhu Yan's back, and used the other hand to hold Zhu Yan's knees, easily lifting him up.

Zhu Qian: ?

How did I become so reckless?

No, brother, that's going too far.