The Sickly Villain Only Wants to Survive

98

Zhu Tong always tried to maintain a composed expression in front of his sister. But after the initial warmth on his face, he quickly turned serious. "Why are you, a young girl, asking about these things?"

Zhu Xin reminded him with a serious expression, "We're twins, born on the same day. If I'm a young girl, what does that make you? You're the one dating early."

Zhu Tong: "..."

When she wasn't teasing, Zhu Tong rarely had the upper hand in conversations with her.

He looked at Zhu Xin with a resigned expression.

"Yes, that exact look!" she suddenly exclaimed, excited. "And the serious face you had just now—it's just like grandpa's."

"..."

Zhu Tong froze for a moment.

Like their grandfather?

No one had ever told him that he resembled anyone.

It wasn't that he looked like their parents—but like their grandfather.

Thinking of his grandfather's perpetually serious face, Zhu Tong's expression turned a bit odd. "Do you talk like this in front of grandpa too?"

Zhu Xin nodded without hesitation. "Of course! Grandpa doesn't talk much, but every time I speak with him, I can tell he's happy."

Zhu Tong's lips curved into a faint smile.

Looking at it this way, he did have some similarities with his grandfather.

Back when he was in the hospital alone, even though he acted like it didn't matter, he was always genuinely happy whenever Zhu Xin came to visit.

Sending Zhu Xin to stay with their grandfather, even if he had no other motives at the time, turned out to be the right choice.

Thinking about choices inevitably brought Zhu Tong's thoughts back to Zhu Shoushan.

His smile faded slightly, and he leaned closer to ask quietly, "Xiao Xin, do you want to go back?"

Zhu Xin's expression froze for a moment before she shook her head. "Dad... he's doing fine now. I heard from the house staff that he and Auntie Qin got divorced, and he's busier than ever. He hasn't been back in a long time."

If he was that busy, it surely had something to do with grandpa.

Grandpa didn't push him to the edge; he just shaped him into the person he thought he should be... someone who could focus on his own work without any attachments.

Without grandpa's support, how far he could progress on his own was entirely up to him.

Zhu Tong didn't want to dwell on the subject and changed the topic. "You 'heard'? How do you manage to hear about everything?"

Zhu Xin let out an exaggerated sigh. "What else can I do? Being home alone is boring—I have to find someone to talk to, right?"

Getting along well with the household staff made it easier to find things out.

Zhu Tong smiled again, "I'll keep you company in the future."

Zhu Xin immediately pouted, "I don't believe you. Now that you have a partner, where will you find the time to talk to me?"

"..."

"Hey, you haven't answered me yet! How far have you two gotten?"

Zhu Tong, now embarrassed and annoyed, snapped, "Stop asking about that."

Zhu Xin, satisfied to see him blushing, leaned back against the car seat and replied obediently, "Okay, I won't ask. But is your partner staying at our place now? Am I going to be third-wheeling during dinner tonight?"