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

Zhu Yan carried her bag and laptop back to her room. Lin Shen had witnessed the whole process, so he could only follow Zhu Yan silently, trying to minimize his presence.

"Everyone, get out," Zhu Yan said as she entered the room.

"Ah? But..." Before Lin Shen could finish his struggle, Zhu Yan turned his head, raised his eyes, and shot him a sharp glare:

"I said, get out." His face was expressionless, calm, and showed no sign of anger.

"Yes." Lin Shen had never seen such a celebratory banquet before, and quickly directed the people to evacuate.

Just as he was about to step out of the room, Zhu Yan's voice drifted from behind him:

"Don't bother me before noon tomorrow."

Lin Shen did not respond immediately, but turned around and looked at Zhu Yan with a deep gaze.

Zhu Yan sat alone on the sofa with a computer on the table. He spread his legs, rested his arms on his knees, and looked down, fiddling with the parts in his hands.

For some reason... I feel a little lonely.

"Yes."

Lin Shen knew that he was not qualified to persuade Zhu Yan right now, and he wanted to be alone for a while.

And so, Zhu Yan silently disassembled all the computer components by himself. But for some reason, with each part he removed, the image of Bai Zheng applying ointment to Xie Sheng'an's burns would appear in his mind, making it impossible for him to concentrate.

It looks familiar.

Zhu Yan remembered that the same scene unfolded the day he left the Wen family.

Lan Li lowered her head and gently applied the medicine to Wen Chen, her tender gaze almost overwhelming him.

But at the time he didn't care, and even found it a bit ridiculous. So what if he wiped it? Who was he trying to impress?

But now he finds that scene particularly jarring.

He started to care.

He once had a gentle and kind mother who told him that she would love and cherish him. He took it seriously, and he did indeed get what he wanted, receiving care and love that he had never had before.

But when he saw Bai Zheng immediately go to care about Xie Sheng'an, he felt inexplicably unhappy.

Isn't that too selfish?

They've only just begun to possess it, yet they're already trying to monopolize all the favoritism.

Moreover, Xie Shengan was the child who had been with them for more than ten years.

He was merely a "stranger" who was elevated to the position of young master solely through blood ties.

Zhu Yan had never felt this emptiness in his heart before. He had always thought of himself as an extremely rational madman.

It turns out that when you're walking in the dark, a ray of sunlight tearing through the starry sky can really make you lose your mind.

Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore.

Zhu Yan dropped what she was holding, propped her head up with her hand, and casually scratched her hair.

So annoying.

After calming down for a while, Zhu Yan prepared to take a shower and then sleep until noon the next day.

His schedule used to be very irregular; he would either stay up for several nights and then collapse into bed and sleep for a whole day.

Even at the Zhu family's house, he still had to pretend to go to bed early and get up early every day, and never miss a meal.

Now that he's driven the person away, he wants to sleep with him until he's completely exhausted.

A bunch of annoying things, thinking about them is giving me a headache.

sleep!

Without hesitation, Zhu Yan took a shower, didn't even blow-dry her hair, just casually dried it with a towel a couple of times, and went straight to bed.

Oh, and he also locked the door while he was at it.

Xie Shengan's side—

After the banquet ended, Xu Zhiyuan grew angrier and angrier. How could the person he cherished so much have suffered so much in a run-down place?

Who cares about some shabby noble family?

If Zhu Yan is unhappy, even if the Heavenly King himself comes, he will take Zhu Yan away and find another place to cheer him up.

"Patriarch Zhu, just now I thought that as long as you treated Ayan well and he was happy, I would be at ease. But now... ha." Xu Zhiyuan's purpose was clear. He glared at Xie Shengan and continued, "Ayan has suffered so much injustice here. Please be merciful and let Ayan come with me. I can't bear to see him suffer any harm."

Xu Zhiyuan was genuinely angry; he didn't even call him "uncle," and his words were filled with either estrangement or sarcasm.

How could the high-ranking members of the Zhu family have ever heard such words? They were always treated with kindness and respect.

Zhu Cheng looked at him with displeasure. "What do you mean?"

Considering he was a friend of Zhu Yan, Zhu Cheng was already being very polite and didn't tell him to get lost immediately.

"Mr. Xu, are you saying that Ayan has been wronged here?" Zhu Qian couldn't stand it, and of course he wouldn't tolerate it, so he retorted.

"You don't need to act like superiors to me, and don't try to intimidate me with your aura. I'm just stating the facts." Xu Zhiyuan was fearless, even with a hint of disdain in his tone. "I'm just asking, have you ever seen Ayan Xiao in the Zhu family?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Cheng and Zhu Qian were both stunned, as if they were genuinely pondering the question.

Xu Zhiyuan is right; let's press our advantage.

"Your so-called care is just giving him money? Giving him status? And then watching him get bullied by your adopted son? I just don't understand, since you chose to adopt him, why bother bringing Ayan back? Why not just let him inherit your fortune? With Ayan's intelligence and talent, do you really think he can't make something of himself?"

Xu Zhiyuan left the Zhu family members speechless, but he had no intention of letting the matter rest.

"If all you can give is this self-righteous love, I advise you to let go. Ayan is not happy and is not at all content."

Upon discovering that Xu Zhiyuan was being sarcastic, Xie Sheng'an, with her fiery temper, couldn't stand it. "You're just Ayan's friend, what right do you have to stand up for him? Besides, I've only been there for my parents for over ten years on Ayan's behalf. What right do you have to criticize me?"

"Shut up! Stop calling me 'Ayan,' it disgusts me. What can you do besides pull stunts behind people's backs? You know perfectly well whether there are photos on your computer or not. When your lie was exposed, you deliberately bumped into a water glass and broke the computer to try and gain sympathy. Have you no shame?"

"I...!" Xie Shengan's behavior was completely exposed by Xu Zhiyuan, and she was so angry that her face turned red. She still wanted to continue arguing with him.

"Enough, shut up." Zhu Yu couldn't stand it anymore either. He didn't understand how Xie Shengan's little tricks could fool others, and he shouted at him impatiently.

Then, turning to Zhu Cheng and Zhu Qian, he said, "Brother, I think you've been sitting in those high and mighty positions for too long, enjoying being fawned over every day. You've really lost all ability to read people's expressions. Didn't you notice that Ayan's mood was off today?"

They were already stunned enough by Xu Zhiyuan's scolding, but now Zhu Yu had joined in, and they all stared at Zhu Yu with wide surprise.

Xie Shengan, having been rebuked by Zhu Yu, didn't dare say a word and could only stare blankly from the side.

"None of us told Ayan about Xie Shengan beforehand. Today, someone suddenly appeared claiming to be Mom and Dad's son, someone who has been living with us in his place for over ten years. How can you feel about that?"

Zhu Yu didn't dare to confront Zhu Mo and Bai Zheng, but the two of them seemed to have realized that something was wrong and sat quietly to the side, heads bowed in thought.

"Mr. Xu, thank you for your concern for Ayan. We were careless before and didn't consider Ayan's feelings. But we lost him once, and we won't do it again. You can't take him away." After realizing his mistake, Zhu Cheng's tone was no longer so impulsive or condescending. Instead, he spoke to Xu Zhiyuan calmly.

"But do you really understand Brother Yan?" Lu Ze, who had been silent for a long time standing next to Xu Zhiyuan, finally spoke up.

Perhaps he was intimidated by the aura, or even the status, of Zhu Cheng and the others, but now he wanted to stand up and say a few words for Zhu Yan.