Chapter 86: Miss Ning, I am Zhu An'an

Zhu Yuan arrived at the theater the next day. She took a deep breath before walking into the dressing room, already prepared to move flower baskets, but as soon as she entered, the dressing room was no different than usual.

Everyone was doing their own thing: some were applying makeup, some were reciting lines, and some were stretching.

Lights, mirrors, tables, and chairs—there were no flower baskets and no fresh flowers.

Everything was normal.

She had just let out a sigh of relief when she heard someone calling her from behind.

"Zhu Yuan!"

Zhu Yuan turned around instinctively, and a large bouquet of fresh flowers came toward her. She already had a shadow cast over her by fresh flowers, so she abruptly took a step back.

At this moment, a delicate face with a slightly heroic air appeared from behind the flowers.

"I wanted to come over yesterday, but something suddenly came up, so I could only come today. Congratulations on getting the role!" Dong Shu said with a smile, but she noticed that Zhu Yuan's expression was off.

"What's wrong?"

Zhu Yuan felt a sense of relief in her heart; it turned out to be Dong Shu, not someone from Pei Ling's side.

She smiled and took the flowers, looking at Dong Shu, who had neat short hair. "It's nothing, thank you, Miss Dong."

Dong Shu said with displeasure, "Why call me Miss Dong? You were engaged to Zhan Ge; logically, I should call you little sister-in-law. But since Zhan Ge is gone, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to call you that anymore. I'll call you Zhu Yuan, and you can just call me Dong Shu."

Zhu Yuan was not coy. "Thank you, Dong Shu. The flowers you sent are truly beautiful."

"This is what you deserve. You beat Ning Chu; I couldn't be happier." Dong Shu glanced to the side.

This Ning Chu was arrogant just because she had the Ning Family and Yu Ge backing her, so it was about time she suffered a setback.

Ning Chu clenched her fists, daring to be angry but not daring to speak.

Ever since Lu Huaizhan passed away, the Five Great Families of Jingdu City had changed.

From the original Sheng, Pei, Lu, Yuan, and Qi, it had become Sheng, Pei, Yuan, Qi, and Dong.

The Dong Family had become one of the newly promoted Five Great Families, and the Ning Family could not afford to provoke them.

Dong Shu was also two years older than her; if she called her Sister Dong, the other party might not appreciate it.

She could only watch helplessly as Dong Shu and Zhu Yuan grew close. The two chatted congenially, their personalities and values very much in sync. As they talked, Dong Shu added Zhu Yuan on WeChat.

After Dong Shu left, Zhu Yuan sat in her seat reading the script. Ji Xiang came over, smelling the fragrance of the flowers. Unaware of the situation, she exclaimed, "Today's flowers are so beautiful. Second Master Pei sent you flowers again."

As soon as Ji Xiang finished speaking, Ning Chu, at the vanity on the other side, fiercely snapped, "What are you making so much noise for!"

She had long since heard about Pei Ling sending a flower basket to Zhu Yuan with great fanfare yesterday.

She had deliberately asked for leave and not come because she didn't want to see it!

"It's not that; a friend sent them," Zhu Yuan said to Ji Xiang, pulling Ji Xiang to the side to avoid Ning Chu's anger spilling over onto her.

Ning Chu sneered, saying contemptuously, "You become friends just because someone sends you a bouquet of flowers? What kind of face do you have to be on friendly terms with a young lady from the Dong Family?"

"What kind of face do I have? Naturally, this beautiful face." Zhu Yuan mimicked her sneer and turned her head to continue reading the script.

Ning Chu was so angry she gritted her teeth, but she didn't know how to retort. She was simply no match for Zhu Yuan's sharp tongue!

She threw her things down and got up to leave the dressing room.

……

Zhu Family Villa.

Zhu An'an planned to find Feng Mingyue to go shopping. Zhu Yuan had gotten the role, and she was so annoyed she wanted to go out to clear her head.

As it turned out, she didn't see anyone when she went to Feng Mingyue's room. She went downstairs and met the nanny, asking, "Where is my mother?"

"The mistress is in the kitchen."

Zhu An'an was puzzled. Her mother hadn't cooked in a long time; what was she doing in the kitchen?

She hurried to the kitchen and saw Feng Mingyue sorting out the vegetables from the shopping bag one by one, a smile on her face, muttering to herself as if reciting a recipe.

"Mom, why did you suddenly want to cook? I haven't eaten your cooking in a long time; I've been craving it to death." Zhu An'an walked over and affectionately took her arm.

Feng Mingyue smiled and took out a prepared fish, saying, "Yuanyuan getting the role in the new play is a big deal. I'm preparing to cook myself and have her come back for dinner tonight. I checked; she doesn't have a performance tonight."

The expression on Zhu An'an's face stiffened slightly. "You're so well-informed about her performance schedule. Why did you suddenly think of having her come back for dinner?"

"Ever since she returned to the Zhu Family, I only cooked when she first came back. It's been a long time since I made her something delicious. I'll take this opportunity to clear up the misunderstandings, and from now on, our family of four can live well."

As Feng Mingyue spoke, she thought, "I'd better call her first and have her clear her schedule for the evening."

"Mom, let me call her. Yuanyuan misunderstood me regarding the last incident, and I haven't had a chance to talk to her." Zhu An'an pulled Feng Mingyue back.

Feng Mingyue's eyes lit up. "That's good. You are sisters; there's no such thing as an overnight grudge. Besides, it was just a misunderstanding; it'll be fine once it's cleared up. Don't blame Yuanyuan either. Cutting off a finger is Second Master Pei's rule. She suffered a lot to save you; it wasn't easy for her."

Zhu An'an said understandingly, "Of course I won't blame Yuanyuan; I still want to thank her properly."

"My phone is in my room; I'll go to my room to call."

Feng Mingyue smiled and said, "Okay."

Zhu An'an turned and left the kitchen, going to her room on the second floor. Only after the door was closed did she take her phone out of her pocket.

She walked to the vanity and sat down, tossed the phone aside, picked up an eyebrow pencil to touch up the ends of her brows, and then applied some lipstick before picking up the phone and going downstairs.

Before walking into the kitchen, she worked up her emotions, her eyes turning red.

"What's wrong?" Feng Mingyue hurried to meet her.

Zhu An'an turned her head and wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "Mom, Yuanyuan won't come. She said..."

"What did she say?" Feng Mingyue's heart tightened.

Zhu An'an took a deep breath. "She said she will never return to the Zhu Family again."

"She really said that?" Feng Mingyue felt a stinging pain in her heart and shed tears of sorrow. "She is resenting us."

Watching her sad and distressed appearance, the hatred Zhu An'an felt for Zhu Yuan deepened. Before Zhu Yuan returned, her parents' hearts and eyes were full of only her; why should she have to share them with Zhu Yuan?

……

Sheng Tang VIP private room.

A group of girls, not a single man.

"Ning Chu, drink a little less; it's easy to get drunk drinking like this," a young friend beside her advised.

"That's right, Ning Chu, have some fruit instead."

Ning Chu pushed the other person's hand away, "Leave me alone, I'll drink what I want; whether you drink or not is up to you."

Everyone fawned over Ning Chu because the Ning Family was under the protection of the Sheng Family.

Knowing what she was angry about, they said with shared indignation, "That Zhu Yuan doesn't look like an easy person to deal with at all; she looks so slutty, she must have seduced Second Master Pei and made him spend money to buy internet trolls for her."

"Time will reveal a person's true heart; sooner or later, Second Master Pei will see through her tricks. Ning Chu, let's not be angry anymore."

Ning Chu was so angry her eyes turned red. When she thought about how Pei Ling, whom she secretly loved, was helping Zhu Yuan and even sent her flowers with such fanfare—only for Zhu Yuan to throw the flower baskets away without him even getting angry—could he really like Zhu Yuan that much?

Her tears fell, and seeing the private room door opened from the outside, she snapped in a fit of shame and anger, "Who is it!"

The private room door was closed again, and a strange woman walked in, saying respectfully, "Miss Ning, I am Zhu An'an."

"Zhu An'an?" Ning Chu narrowed her eyes.

Another one with the surname Zhu.