Ning Rongrong noticed something was wrong with Zhu Zhuqing. Frowning, she gave her arm a gentle tug.
"Zhuqing? What's wrong? You look awful."
Zhu Zhuqing came back to herself and forced a smile uglier than a grimace.
"It's nothing. I just suddenly figured a few things out."
So it wasn't that Dai Mubai lacked talent. He was afraid—afraid to compete with his elder brother.
Xuan Xiao kept working, his voice as flat as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him.
"To be fair, if you weren't dragging him down, Dai Mubai might actually have dared to fight his elder brother for it."
Seeing Zhu Zhuqing's face grow paler, Ning Rongrong hurriedly tugged at Xuan Xiao's sleeve.
"Hey! Can't you keep your mouth shut?"
Xuan Xiao shrugged.
"I'm just telling the truth."
Bang!
Zhu Zhuqing slammed both hands onto the counter. The sharp crack sent the parts on it jumping.
"Why? Why am I the one dragging him down?"
She was crying. Really crying.
Tears spilled like pearls from a broken string, striking the counter one after another and splashing into tiny droplets.
She bit her lip and fought to hold them back, but they wouldn't stop. They only fell harder.
Startled, Ning Rongrong rushed over to steady her.
"Zhuqing! Don't cry! He's a bastard. Don't listen to his nonsense!"
Zhu Zhuqing ignored her. She stared at Xuan Xiao with such fierce hatred that she looked ready to tear him apart.
"Do you know how I've lived all these years? Do you know how much I've sacrificed to catch up with Zhu Zhuyun?"
Xuan Xiao finally looked up and met her gaze calmly.
"I don't know, and I don't want to."
Zhu Zhuqing shuddered, and her tears flowed even harder.
"I started training when I