Chapter 9: Who are you, Zhou Tingyun?

That’s absolutely not allowed!

Ming Zhao was like a local official who allowed herself to set the rules while not allowing anyone else to. She shot him an angry glare.

“No, you can’t change it! Zhou Tingyun, how can you be so petty?”

Zhou Tingyun looked at her beautiful face, so justified and confident, with her big, round eyes and the corners slightly raised. She looked spoiled, willful, and somehow managed to turn the situation around, shifting the blame onto him.

Before he could even say anything, she dragged him down and pushed him onto the couch.

“Give me your phone now, I need to check it.”

Ming Zhao, with a commanding presence, began searching him directly.

Her soft fingers roamed unreservedly from his chest to his side. His breath deepened as he rubbed his temples, trying to resist the urge to push her away.

She would cause a scene if stopped, and if he tried to speak, she would cover his mouth. Zhou Tingyun could predict her thoughts, and his mind flashed with the image of her red-rimmed eyes and the tears that were about to fall.

He feared that if he upset her again, she might leave for a few years without coming back, so he could only let her touch him however she pleased.

The girl pressed closer and closer, her soft hair brushing against his chin. Eventually, she simply sat down, practically curling up in his arms.

But finding a phone shouldn’t take this long.

Zhou Tingyun lowered his gaze, noticing the hint of intentional retaliation in the curve of her slightly raised lips.

He went along with her, not meeting her gaze, and didn’t expose her intentions.

Finally, the troublemaker straightened up, her smugness evident as she happily shook the phone she had managed to grab.

She pointed the screen at his face to unlock it, then tapped into WeChat.

When she saw the pinned message, Ming Zhao’s eyes curved slightly.

But the next second, her gaze shifted to the contact’s name.

“…”

“Min… Zhao?”

She gritted her teeth, each word clearly enunciated.

“Zhou Tingyun! This is the name you’ve saved me under?”

…

The moment the question left her lips, she suddenly realized—she didn’t know when exactly, but Zhou Tingyun had started calling her Ming Zhao with her full name.

Then, gradually, even “Zhao Zhao” had become less and less frequent.

Now, even the contact’s name had been changed, making things feel more distant than even a stranger.

For a moment, feelings of frustration, confusion, and sadness piled up in her chest.

Her heart was full of emotions, yet it felt emptier than ever. The person who once held her hand, calling her ‘little good girl’ and asking if she wanted ice cream, had long since disappeared.

Ming Zhao felt like she was experiencing the cost of growing up for the first time. No matter how hard she tried to bring their relationship back to how it once was, it only seemed to drift farther apart.

Was it because they didn’t share that blood bond?

A wave of grievance surged within her.

Ming Zhao collected her emotions, stood up silently, and walked over to the dining table to sit down.

Just at that moment, Aunt Lin brought out the dishes, and immediately sensed something was off in the atmosphere, her heart sinking.

Had they argued again?

Hurriedly, she scooped a small bowl of warm, fragrant chestnut red bean soup and placed it in front of Ming Zhao with a cheerful smile, trying to ease the tension.

“I know you like it. Your brother specifically asked me to make this for you. Go ahead, try it.”

No matter how angry she was, she couldn’t turn Aunt Lin down. Reluctantly, Ming Zhao picked up the spoon and took a sip.

The soft chestnuts and red beans were cooked to a sweet, fragrant perfection, but she had no appetite to savor them and couldn’t help but retort.

“Who needs his fake kindness.”

Zhou Tingyun put away his phone and sat beside her.

Ming Zhao kept her head down, focusing on her food, ignoring him completely. She didn’t even touch the dishes he had placed in her bowl.

“I’m done,” she said, soon putting down her chopsticks.

Having no appetite, she ate very little.

“Zhao Zhao,” Zhou Tingyun said in a low voice.

“Don’t call me that.” Hearing this made her even angrier. She stood up, turning to leave.

Zhou Tingyun grabbed her wrist, but she shook it off.

“….”

Ming Zhao quickly initiated a one-sided cold war with Zhou Tingyun.

In the hallway, she would walk past him expressionlessly, avoiding eye contact. When she fetched water, she’d deliberately dodge his helping hand. Every now and then, she’d throw a few sarcastic remarks his way.

Aunt Lin saw it all and couldn’t help but advise Zhou Tingyun, “Zhao Zhao is soft-hearted. If you coax her a little, it’ll blow over. Why upset her?”

Ming Zhao had grown up under their care, pampered and never having faced any grievances. Back then, the young master used to cater to her every request.

Aunt Lin sighed. Now, even she could sense the young master wasn’t as attentive as before. How could the sensitive young lady not notice?

“Aunt Lin, she’s not a child anymore,” Zhou Tingyun responded.

Zhou Tingyun remained calm.

“Some things that were appropriate in the past are no longer suitable now.”

Aunt Lin could only sigh. “You couldn’t bear to let her go when she went abroad, and now that she’s back, you don’t get along well. If she throws a fit and leaves again, you’ll regret it when it’s too late.”

She felt torn. Ming Zhao was like the palm of her hand, cherished and loved, but Aunt Lin couldn’t bear to see Zhou Tingyun becoming more and more withdrawn either.

“How many four years does one get in life? Little girls change day by day, and you’ve already missed so much of her growing up.”

There was no change in the expression on Zhou Tingyun’s face, but his grip on the water glass tightened slightly.

Later that evening, he still stood at Ming Zhao’s door, holding a glass of milk.

 The “Do Not Disturb” sign faced him; its drawn expression filled with anger.

Zhou Tingyun raised his hand and knocked on the door.

“Zhao Zhao?”

No response.

He pulled out his phone and sent a message.

[The spare key is with me.]

Ming Zhao: “…”

Fuming inside, she cursed him for being shameless. Even her footsteps on the floor were full of irritation as she stormed over and yanked open the door.

Expressionless, she glared at the glass of milk, picked it up, gulped it down in one go, then placed it back in his hand, and shut the door again.

Zhou Tingyun raised his hand to block the door.

Seeing that she almost slammed it on his hand, Ming Zhao was furious and snapped at him, “What are you doing? Trying to play the victim won’t work on me. We’re not even close.”

Left and right, she kept saying, ‘who are you?’ and ‘we’re not close.’

“I’m heading to the Zhou Family’s old residence tomorrow,” his voice was calm and deep as he reminded her, “If anything comes up, call me. And if you’re going out, be safe.”

His attempt at reconciliation was obvious, but she wasn’t having any of it.

“Oh,” Ming Zhao responded flatly, “Got it, Mr. Zhou. I won’t disturb you while you’re off bonding with the Zhou family.”

Every word dripped with sarcasm.

Already familiar with her ability to hold grudges, Zhou Tingyun sighed helplessly. “Zhao Zhao—”

She cut him off coldly, “It’s MingZhao.”

“I’m going to sleep now. Mr. Zhou, please see yourself out. No need for a send-off,” Ming Zhao said as she forcefully shoved him out and slammed the door shut.

Back in bed, she resumed her ranting with Lin Zhiwei.

Lin Zhiwei: [That’s just how siblings are! If you’re not fighting tooth and nail, consider it a miracle. Look at the siblings from the Lu family in the capital. One day they’re watering each other’s company plants, the next day they’re stealing each other’s official seals. Yours is practically a wonder of the world!]

Lin Zhiwei: [What kind of nickname were you expecting? Baby or something?]

Ming Zhao didn’t care about all that, angrily typing: [Lin Zhiwei, whose side are you on?]

Ming Zhao: [He’s calling me by my full name now! At the very least, it should be Zhao Zhao, right? But what did he put? Ming! Zhao! Am I some subordinate in his company? I’m his beautiful, lovely, and kind-hearted sister!]

Ming Zhao: [What’s wrong with ‘baby’? Are you saying I’m not worthy of the title ‘baby’? I declare to the world that even at 21, I have the right to be a baby!]

Fuming with frustration, Ming Zhao typed furiously on her phone. Suddenly, a pop-up window appeared, but she paid no attention and sent the message right away—

[Where are you? Say something, hubby! Hubby, talk to me!]

…

Bastard: “?”

Ming Zhao stared blankly at the screen, frozen in disbelief. Oh no, she had accidentally sent it to Zhou Tingyun!