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

Zhu Yan didn't answer, but kept staring at him intently. Xu Zhiyuan was really a coward, and didn't dare to look at Zhu Yan even once.

"Fine, I'll have the driver stop the car now, you get out, and we'll never contact each other again."

"No!"

Sure enough, the reverse psychology tactic worked.

"Xu Zhiyuan, are you out of your mind? You think you can tolerate my bad habits, and that's why I'll dislike you for them?" Zhu Yan's tone turned colder. "Do you really consider me a friend?"

Xu Zhiyuan: We weren't friends to begin with...

(つ﹏＜.)

Xu Zhiyuan now hates An Yixuan to death. If it weren't for him, he wouldn't have impulsively confessed his feelings to Zhu Yan in front of so many people.

Fortunately, Zhu Yan interrupted him and prevented him from saying it, otherwise he would have been even more embarrassed.

Woo woo

He was too embarrassed to face the banquet.

"Think it through before you talk to me." Zhu Yan gave up on communicating with Xu Zhiyuan and let him think it through on his own.

I was a bit tired from the banquet today, so I stopped using my phone, turned it off and tossed it aside, adjusted my chair, and went to lie down and sleep.

Only after Zhu Yan closed his eyes did Xu Zhiyuan dare to openly gaze at him.

He stared blankly at Zhu Yan's superior face.

He recalled all the times he and Lu Ze had played around with Zhu Yan together...

I'm still unwilling to leave like this.

The car's air conditioning was a bit too cold, so he sighed, took off his coat, and covered Zhu Yan with it.

Zhu Yan noticed Xu Zhiyuan's movements and opened his eyes. Xu Zhiyuan paused in his act of tidying his clothes.

They both waited for the other to speak.

Xu Zhiyuan lost.

"When you pushed me into An Yixuan's arms, I thought you were disgusted with me..."

Zhu Yan thought back for a moment and realized that there seemed to be such a thing.

"Wasn't it because he likes you?"

A gentleman helps others achieve their goals; it's clear that An Yixuan truly loves Xu Zhiyuan.

"But I don't like him!"

Xu Zhiyuan's bright eyes stared quietly at Zhu Yan, the firmness in his eyes conveying his sincere attitude.

Zhu Yan fell silent.

Wasn't it because he didn't know at the time?

Under those circumstances, a new idea was suddenly instilled in him, and it took him a long time to realize what kind of feelings Xu Zhiyuan had for him.

"You were the one who pushed me away, so I thought that after you found out how I felt about you, you started to dislike me."

Xu Zhiyuan's voice was not as clear as a boy's; being a few years older, he sounded more mature. But at this moment, his deep voice was full of grievance.

I feel like I'm about to cry.

"It was wrong of me to push you away, I apologize." Zhu Yan was afraid he would really cry, "But you should know clearly what my feelings for you are."

But no matter what, he had to make it clear, otherwise, wouldn't that be fooling Xu Zhiyuan's feelings?

"Alright then, I'll reluctantly forgive you." Xu Zhiyuan avoided Zhu Yandi's gaze, automatically ignoring the second half of his sentence.

The tone of forgiveness was rather reluctant.

"But from now on, no matter what, you're not allowed to push me away," Xu Zhiyuan added, his tone quite arrogant.

You may not like me, but could you... not push me away?

Zhu Yan lay motionless in his chair, silently watching the person in front of him who was diligently adjusting his clothes to keep him from getting cold.

"Xu Zhiyuan".

"Yes, I'm here."

Xu Zhiyuan took a moment to respond.

"We can only be brothers."

So, don't be so nice to me.

Zhu Yan's tone was very earnest.

"I know, does being a brother mean I can't be good to you?" Xu Zhiyuan straightened his clothes and sat back down in his seat.

"Little Yanyan, I hope you can accept this as calmly as you have before."

I'm good to you because you deserve it.

Zhu Yan saw determination in Xu Zhiyuan's eyes, and he knew that he couldn't change Xu Zhiyuan's mind.

That's settled then.

Go back to the past.

After resolving the immediate issue, Zhu Yan was finally able to fall asleep peacefully.

Xu Zhiyuan turned his head, rested his arm on the window, and stared intently at Zhu Yan.

A small banquet...

I don't need anything in return for liking you.

……

The car drove smoothly and without any obstruction on the way to the manor, and the banquet was not disturbed.

But when it tried to drive into the main building, it was indeed stopped.

The bodyguards in the main building recognized the first car as Zhu Jinmian's.

"Miss Jinmian, we haven't received any summons from the head of the family. Could you please show us some documents?"

The bodyguard's tone was still respectful, after all, he was going to be the one in charge of the South Building.

"No, we brought the young master back."

Zhu Jinmian certainly couldn't produce any documents; the young master was in the car, what proof did he need?

"What? You mean the young master is here too?" The bodyguard glanced around the car but didn't find the young master.

He had some doubts.

"If it were the young master, we naturally wouldn't dare to stop him, but..." The bodyguard didn't finish his sentence, meaning:

You said you'd give it to the young master, but where is the young master?

Zhu Jinmian naturally understood, "Young Master is naturally sitting in the middle carriage, how come he's here with me? Can't you even figure that out?"

The bodyguard nodded sheepishly.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Zhu Jinmian, but rules are rules. If he let the person in without seeing the young master, and something happened, he would be the one to suffer.

Since Zhu Yan and Xu Zhiyuan were sitting in the back, Zhu Jingfeng went to the passenger seat.

"Young Master Jingfeng, is the young master in your car?" the bodyguard asked.

"Hmm," Zhu Jingfeng responded, but seeing that the bodyguard showed no sign of leaving, he asked, "Not letting them through?"

"No, it's just... I might have to see the young master in person, otherwise..."

Otherwise, I wouldn't know if what you're saying is true or false.

"Young Master is sleeping. Are you sure you want to disturb him?"

Zhu Jingfeng kindly reminded him, and even the bodyguard hesitated.

Even if I had eight hundred lives, I wouldn't dare!

But it's no longer necessary, because the banquet has already ended.

He rolled down the window from the back seat.

"It's so noisy." She'd just woken up, her tone clearly impatient. "What, they won't let me in, so I won't let them in either? Do I need to get a pass from your family?"

"No...no need!" The bodyguard was startled when he suddenly heard Zhu Yan's voice coming from inside the car. He quickly ran to Zhu Yan's side and stood up straighter.

"I'm sorry, young master. I thought you would come in your own car. To ensure the safety of the main building, I need to make sure you are in your car before letting you in. I didn't mean to disturb you." The bodyguard kept his head down, afraid that Zhu Yandi's resentment would affect him.

"You guys have so many rules. I can ride whichever car I want. Are you going to stop me every time from now on?"

Zhu Yan genuinely disliked the complicated rules of the Zhu family.

Bodyguard: ┐(『～`;)┌

In principle, yes.

But it seems the Zhu family follows your lead too.

"I'm sorry, young master, this will not happen again. Please come this way."

Finally, the four cars, without special permission, entered the main building openly and legitimately, escorted by the bodyguards.