Yun Qing knew immediately where the problem lay. It had to be that green-tea schemer again; otherwise, Zhao Hongmei would never have thought of this. Why? Because Zhao Hongmei never interfered with Yun Qing’s things unless it concerned her youngest son.
After exhaling, Yun Qing suddenly felt a little restless to act. Truly, just because a tiger had not shown its might, did she take him for a sick cat?
He took out an egg and handed it to Zhou Yunlan. “Take it and get lost.”
Zhou Yunlan accepted the egg and turned to go back inside.
Yun Qing left the house again. Over the past six months, Zhou Yunxi had been pulling one shameless stunt after another, relying on acting cute and sowing discord to constantly demand benefits from the family. At times, he was even more detestable—and more vicious—than Zhou Yunxue.
Yun Qing had not originally planned to deal with him so soon. After all, he was still young and could not take a beating; Yun Qing was afraid he might beat him to death. Normally, he could not even be bothered to deal with him. But the fabric Yun Qing had obtained himself—what right did Zhou Yunxi have to enjoy the benefits without lifting a finger?
Did he really think he was some young master? He dared covet everything.
After winding through several hutongs, Yun Qing found Zhou Yunxi. He was playing a cockfighting game with a group of friends. In some places, this game was called cockfighting: players held one leg up and hopped around, using the knee of their raised leg to knock their opponent down.
When they saw Yun Qing, the group of half-grown boys eagerly greeted him, calling, “Brother Yun Qing.” To them, he was the child from someone else’s family—their role model.
“Second Brother, what brings you here?” Zhou Yunxi greeted him enthusiastically when he saw him.
Yun Qing put an arm around his neck and said, “I came to find you about something. Come on, let’s go somewhere else to talk.”
Zhou Yunxi clearly had not realized what awaited him. He happily said goodbye to his friends.
“I’m heading home first. We’ll have another round tomorrow.” After saying that, he followed Yun Qing away.
The brothers wound through several more hutongs. There was no helping it; the capital city had far too many hutongs, and anyone who was not local could easily get lost.
After finding an abandoned courtyard, Yun Qing grabbed Zhou Yunxi by the back of his collar and dragged him inside.
At this point, if Zhou Yunxi still could not see what Yun Qing intended, then he would not be Zhou Yunxi. The boy had a little cleverness, unfortunately, he never used it for anything proper.
“Second Brother, is something wrong? How about we go home and talk?” Zhou Yunxi struggled while putting on an ingratiating smile.
“What? You know why I came looking for you?” Yun Qing stared at him expressionlessly.
“Second Brother, did I do something wrong? Just tell me, there was no need to bring me here. It’s scary.” Zhou Yunxi continued smiling ingratiatingly, but did not lessen his struggle in the slightest.
“Stop struggling. It’s useless. Even a wild boar couldn’t break free from my grip. Do you think you can?” Yun Qing’s hand did not move at all. He looked at Zhou Yunxi as though he were watching a clown make a fool of himself.
“Second Brother, what are you going to do? I haven’t provoked you, have I?” Seeing that he could not break free, Zhou Yunxi stopped struggling and simply asked for an explanation.
“I heard you wanted to wear new clothes.” The moment Yun Qing said this, Zhou Yunxi’s face stiffened.
“Second Brother, I wasn’t asking for your clothes. I didn’t touch yours.” Clearly, he remembered now.
“You didn’t know that I brought back the fabric?”
“Didn’t you give it to Zhou Yunlan?”
“No matter whom I gave it to, I brought back the fabric, so it belongs to me. You are not allowed to touch it!”
After saying this, Yun Qing drove his knee into the boy’s stomach. Although he held back, the blow was still heavy enough to make Zhou Yunxi bend over like a large shrimp.
“Ah! It hurts! Sob, sob…”
Zhou Yunxi cried from the pain.
Yun Qing was speechless. He was a young man, at least—was this really all he had? He was truly worse than a girl.
“Shut up!” Yun Qing scolded. “You’re a man, yet you insist on acting all girlish, is that it? If you want to be a girl, I’ll make it happen!”
Zhou Yunxi wiped away his tears, afraid to cry out loud. His gaze at Yun Qing held both fear and resentment.
“What? Not satisfied? Someone like you—I could cripple you without even exerting myself, and you still dare to be dissatisfied with me?”
Yun Qing threw him to the ground and then kicked him several times, targeting fleshy areas like his buttocks and his back. He was afraid of killing him if he kicked elsewhere, and wanted to teach him a proper lesson: not everything was his to covet.
“Stop hitting me, Second Brother! I was wrong! I know I was wrong! I’ll never dare again! Sob, sob…”
Zhou Yunxi begged for mercy while crying, clutching his head tightly. He was not entirely stupid, at least, and unlike Zhou Yunxue, he did not put up a tough front. He was simply a coward.
Yun Qing guessed that the boy’s back must have turned black and blue. It would not heal for ten days to half a month, and he would have to sleep on his stomach.
Crouching down, Yun Qing looked at him and said, “Zhou Yunxi, I know you’re dissatisfied, but don’t show that dissatisfaction in front of me. If you want revenge, come at me. If you want to make a complaint, go ahead. I’ll deal with all of it.
“Remember this: do not covet what is not yours. Otherwise, it won’t end with just the few kicks you received today.”
Yun Qing left after saying this.
When Zhou Yunxi returned home, everyone from the Zhou Family was enjoying the cool air in the courtyard. Seeing him like this, Zhao Hongmei paid no attention, assuming he had gotten into a fight with someone outside. Boys got into fights; wasn’t that normal?
Zhou Yunxue, however, asked, “Did you get into a fight? Did you win?”
Zhou Yunxi cast a glance toward Yun Qing but did not dare say anything. He went straight inside to change his clothes.
By mealtime, Zhou Yunxi’s buttocks had already swollen. The moment he sat down, he bared his teeth in pain.
After dinner, Zhou Yunxue accidentally slapped him on the back. Zhou Yunxi sprang to his feet with a howl of pain, startling everyone.
Tears immediately streamed down Zhou Yunxi’s face, and he cried miserably.
Zhao Hongmei hurriedly lifted his shirt to examine him. Zhou Yunxue leaned over for a look and sucked in a sharp breath.
That was brutal. His entire back had turned purple, and it looked truly frightening.
“Who hit you? Huh? Speak! Who was it?” Zhao Hongmei’s heart ached so much that tears fell from her eyes.
Zhou Yunxi did not dare say a single word and only kept crying.
“I did it.” Yun Qing admitted it without the slightest hesitation, with not a trace of guilt on his face.
Everyone in the room froze. He admitted it just like that?
“Why did you hit him? He’s your younger brother. How could you be so vicious?” Zhao Hongmei directed her anger at Yun Qing.
“I didn’t hit him. I kicked him.” Yun Qing looked at her calmly as he spoke.
Everyone: Was this really the time to quibble over hands and feet?
Crying, Zhao Hongmei turned to Zhou Hongjun. “Old Zhou, aren’t you going to do something? Second Brother was far too vicious!”
Zhou Hongjun felt some heartache as well. After all, this was his youngest son, and he was inevitably somewhat partial.
“Why did you hit him?” Zhou Hongjun asked with a frown, anger in his voice.
“He deserved it. Who told him to covet things he shouldn’t?” Yun Qing looked at Zhou Hongjun as he spoke.
Zhou Hongjun froze for a moment, then asked Zhou Yunxi, “What did you covet?”
Zhao Hongmei also understood. She glared at Zhou Yunlan, her eyes blazing. That wretched girl must have reported it! She had certainly grown bold!
“Isn’t it just a set of clothes? Since you gave them to Yunlan, they belong to Yunlan. What’s wrong with giving them to Old Third? She’s just a girl—what does she need new clothes for? Old Third is about to start junior high school. What’s wrong with making him a set of clothes?”
Zhao Hongmei said this while crying.