The younger sister pretends to be hypnotized, and her older brother gets addicted.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

Lu's assistant, Ming's wife, and the driver, who knew the inside story, kept their eyes downcast, but couldn't suppress the smiles on their lips as they watched with great interest.

The maids, unaware of the situation, didn't think much of it.

It's no secret that the eldest young master has always doted on Miss Ruan.

Jiang Zhuo remained frozen in the driver's seat, looking out the car window.

The older brother kissed Ruan Yang in front of so many people, but the action was not intimate; instead, it carried a familiar and natural intimacy.

Is he overthinking it?

"Jiang Zhuo." Jiang Yanci looked at him frankly. "A bet's a bet."

Jiang Zhuo snapped out of his daze.

He lost completely in the area where he was most confident.

An unprecedented sense of frustration weighed heavily on me.

He got out of the car and knelt on the cobblestone street paved with flowers.

The pain from the pebble hitting his knee suddenly reminded him of something:

Before his eldest brother turned nineteen and before their father disappeared, his eldest brother had just as many hobbies as he did.

And racing is one of them.

Jiang Yan dismissed the maid, leaving his younger brother with a final act of dignity.

He fought Jiang Zhuo today intentionally to avenge Ruan Yang, but it wasn't that he didn't care about his younger brother.

On the contrary, he hoped that Jiang Zhuo would remember this lesson and be able to distinguish right from wrong in the future.

Only then did he feel at ease entrusting the Jiang family to his care.

Beside her, Qiao Lingling wiped away her tears, stubbornly looking at Jiang Yanci:

"President Jiang, A-Zhuo is your brother, how could you mistreat him like this?"

Ming's wife frowned and muttered under her breath:

"If Miss Qiao truly cares about the Second Young Master, she should contact him less. All of the Second Young Master's suffering stems from you."

Qiao Lingling choked back tears, which streamed down her face. She turned to leave.

Jiang Yanci was unmoved by her tears and said coldly, "Miss Qiao still owes Yangyang an apology."

Qiao Lingling bit her lip and turned to Ruan Yang: "...I'm sorry."

Ruan Yang did not respond.

Since it's an apology, she has the right not to forgive.

She didn't dislike Qiao Lingling before, after all, she was the "female lead".

But today's events made her see things clearly.

Qiao Lingling knew perfectly well that she hadn't pushed Jiang Zhuo, but when Jiang Zhuo questioned her, she deliberately gave vague answers, leading everyone to blame her.

...She looks exactly like the innocent, scheming female supporting character in a palace drama.

She stopped looking at Qiao Lingling and tugged at Jiang Yanci's sleeve: "Let's eat first."

*

Yao Jinzhi returned late.

As the car drove into the yard, the first thing I saw was Jiang Zhuo kneeling on the gravel road.

After understanding the situation, she sighed and said, "Yan Ci, let Xiao Zhu eat first, then punish her after she eats."

Jiang Yanci nodded: "Okay."

Not long after, Jiang Zhuo limped into the restaurant.

At the long dining table, Yao Jinzhi sat in the main seat, while Jiang Yanci and Zhao Zhao sat on either side of Ruan Yang.

This seating arrangement made Jiang Zhuo frown slightly.

In the past, the eldest brother and Zhao Zhao would sit on one side, while he and Ruan Yang would sit on the other side.

"What are you standing for? If you don't want to eat, then go back to kneeling," Yao Jinzhi said.

Jiang Zhuo didn't hesitate any longer and pulled out a chair to sit down.

Yao Jinzhi turned her head to look at Jiang Yanci: "Yanci, how was your trip to Europe?"

"Yes, thanks to Yangyang, everything went smoothly."

Jiang Yanci briefly recounted what had happened at the negotiating table, and as he spoke, he inadvertently glanced at the necklace around Ruan Yang's neck, his gaze pausing slightly.

It's like an exhibit from that night's auction.

But he didn't take the picture.

"Well done." Yao Jinzhi nodded, picked up a piece of fish and put it into Ruan Yang's bowl. "Yangyang is truly our little lucky star."

I was praised.

Ruan Yang was a little embarrassed, her soft black hair draped over her shoulders, revealing her bright red ear tips.

Jiang Yanci's thoughts stirred slightly.

Under the table, he subtly took Ruan Yang's hand, which was resting on her lap.

Ruan Yang froze, instinctively trying to pull back.

So many people are watching.

But Jiang Yanci's attitude was firm. His thick, long fingers forcefully squeezed between her soft fingers, interlocking with hers, and they hid in the shadow of the tablecloth.

I have this strange feeling... of having an affair.

Ruan Yang's ears burned even hotter, and her right hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly. The soup she scooped up spilled back into the white porcelain bowl in front of her, splashing out a few drops.

All eyes at the table immediately turned to them.

Yao Jinzhi asked with concern, "Yangyang, are you feeling unwell?"

Jiang Yanci turned his head to look, his face nonchalant: "What's wrong?"

Ruan Yang could only shake her head: "It's nothing."

Only Jiang Zhaozhao, sitting opposite, noticed the two people's tightly clasped hands under the table and secretly covered her mouth to laugh.

"Zhao Zhao, what are you laughing at?" Jiang Zhuo frowned.

Jiang Zhaozhao quickly shook her head: "No!"

Her voice was soft and gentle, like a small rice cake.

Jiang Zhuo felt puzzled.

After returning to China this time, everyone in my family started acting strangely.

Zhao Zhao used to always frown, but these past few days he's been speaking to Ruan Yang in a high-pitched voice all the time.

My mother has always doted on me the most, but this time when I came back, she was noticeably colder towards me.

Not to mention the eldest brother.

—The eldest brother has always been rigid and strict. On the surface, he seems no different from before, but Jiang Zhuo always feels that he has changed the most.

But what exactly has changed? He couldn't say.

His gaze fell on Ruan Yang.

She was eating with her head down, her cheeks and earlobes flushed pink, and she seemed even more beautiful than he remembered. He picked up a piece of celery and put it in her bowl, almost as if possessed.

Ruan Yang looked up in surprise: "What are you doing?"

Jiang Zhuo looked away: "Don't you like celery?"

The next second, Jiang Yanci's chopsticks snatched the celery away and replaced it with a piece of okra, saying in a flat tone, "Yangyang doesn't eat celery."

Ruan Yang's heart skipped a beat.

She thought no one knew about it.

She was twelve years old when she was first recognized by the Ruan family. She was 156 cm tall and weighed 100 kg.

In Ruan's mother's eyes, she was already very fat, and it was embarrassing to take her out, so she forced her to control her weight.

They can't eat meat, they can only eat vegetables.

Celery, in particular.

Ruan's mother said that celery helps with weight loss, so she juiced celery and forced her to drink it.

For a while, she felt nauseous at the smell of celery, but in order to make her mother like her, she could only pretend to love it.

Since awakening her storyline, she no longer craves maternal love, nor does she touch celery anymore.

She thought she had hidden it well, but she never expected that Jiang Yanci would see through such a small thing.

She turned her head and looked at him blankly.

Jiang Zhuo retorted, unconvinced: "But when Aunt Ruan came before, she always gave Ruan Yang a lot of celery."

Ruan Yang looked at Jiang Zhuo, her gaze calming down: "You just said that I'm not as well-liked by my parents as Ruan Mingzhu. How would a mother who doesn't love her daughter know what she likes and dislikes to eat?"

Jiang Zhuo paused, his hand holding the chopsticks still.

Yao Jinzhi frowned: "Jiang Zhuo, did you say such a thing?"

Jiang Zhuo gripped his chopsticks tightly and explained, "I acted rashly in a moment of panic..."

Yao Jinzhi put down her chopsticks, pointed to the door, and said in an uncompromising tone, "Get out."

"mom!"

"Don't call me Mom."

Even if it's an enemy, you shouldn't say such things.

Besides, he was the person Ruan Yang trusted most, yet he stabbed her in the heart.

Fortunately, Yangyang forgot those memories with Jiang Zhuo.

Otherwise, how sad would that be?

Jiang Zhuo couldn't help but look at Ruan Yang.

In the past, she would plead for him every time he made a mistake.

But not this time. She simply ate her food slowly and deliberately, treating him like a complete stranger.

Yes, to her, she is now a stranger.

Jiang Zhuo suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.

He suddenly stood up and looked at Jiang Yanci: "Brother, I want to talk to you alone."

Jiang Yanci nodded.

My phone vibrated; it was a message from Assistant Lu:

[President Jiang, we've found it. The person who bought the pearl necklace that night was an Italian named Ke Yun.]