'Can't you see this pretentious act? He cried for so long without shedding a single tear. Do I really have to eat shrimp shells just to keep him from throwing a tantrum?'

'Why does my family seem to have such low intelligence? Will prolonged exposure to low-IQ individuals reduce intelligence by association? Once the medicine passes clinical trials, I should probably let them try it too.'

The dining table instantly fell silent.

They exchanged quick glances with one another. The atmosphere turned strange and tense.

'If I'd known this would happen, I wouldn't have listened to the professor. Why did I even come back? This feels like a low-budget short drama—boring and ridiculous.'

Adeline glared at me fiercely and said through clenched teeth,

"I'm warning you—don't even think about sowing discord here!"

"Don't think that just because you share Zamora blood, you can take advantage of anything!"

"These shrimp shells were originally for me to eat. If you don't know your place, don't even dream of integrating into this family!"

As she spoke, Adeline suddenly reached out—right before my eyes—and swept all the shrimp shells into her own bowl, crunching down on them loudly.

My father seemed completely used to this scene. He set down his chopsticks and looked at me calmly.

"Julian, right?" he said.

"You've been living in the mountains for years. It's normal if you're not used to city life yet."

"We'll arrange for you to start working in the company's cleaning department first. That way, you can gradually familiarize yourself with the business."

Then he turned to Cedrick, whose eyes were still red from crying, and gently rubbed his head.

"Cedrick, you were raised by us since childhood. Even without blood ties, you've long been our family."

"Your brother has never eaten shrimp before. He doesn't know that shrimp shells can supplement calcium."

"Don't be sad."

"You just graduated and want to do an internship, right?" my father said casually.

"Go straight to the CEO's office and work as a deputy director first. After you get familiar with things, you'll be put in charge of one of the subsidiaries."

"Thank you, Dad! You're the best!"

Cedrick instantly beamed. He practically flew over and planted an exaggerated kiss on my father's aging face, making my stomach churn.

Then he turned to me with a hypocritical smile.