3
Only then did Gu Xueyi get up and move to the passenger seat.
She thought to herself, rather casually.
Already this age and still acting like a child. In her family, the children of the Sheng clan were already following their fathers and uncles onto the battlefield at this age. But childishness, after all, makes a person easier to handle and discipline. It’s not too late to steer him back onto the right path now.
Jiang Jing let out a cold snort: “Yan Wenbai, what are you playing at?”
“Say one more word, and I’ll stuff your head under the car wheel,” Yan Wenbai said coldly.
The two exchanged a few more insults, but at least they didn’t come to blows inside the car.
The car soon arrived back at the Yan family villa.
Inside the villa, Jiang Meng had just finished seeing the family doctor. Wang Yue had also come to her senses by now. So that Miss Jiang had been faking the whole time? That kind of tactic… was way more formidable than Gu Xueyi’s! If she got herself entangled in the Yan family, wouldn’t she cause even more trouble?
Wang Yue placed a cup of coffee beside Jiang Meng.
Jiang Meng flipped her hair again and said feebly, “I’m sorry, but I’m pregnant. How can I drink coffee?”
Wang Yue was just about to say something tactful when she heard the sound of a car outside.
Soon, Gu Xueyi and Yan Wenbai entered the house one after another, followed by Jiang Jing.
Jiang Meng was taken aback.
Gu Xueyi had actually brought back the Yan family’s Fourth Young Master?
Jiang Meng quickly stood up.
Yan Wenbai also noticed this side and turned his head, asking coldly, “Who is she?”
“Hello, Fourth Young Master. I’m Jiang Meng.”
Jiang Jing chimed in: “Oh, I’ve seen her on TV. Didn’t she act in some pretty stupid drama a few years ago? It was pretty popular, though. And that lingerie commercial she did wasn’t bad.”
Jiang Meng’s expression froze.
She had a distinct feeling that this Young Master Jiang was indirectly calling her an idiot.
“Since when can just any old thing waltz through the Yan family’s front door?” Yan Wenbai had been holding in a lot of anger all day and decided to take it out right here.
Jiang Meng’s expression stiffened even more.
She carefully racked her memory, she hadn’t done anything to offend the Fourth Young Master. In fact, not only had she never offended him, she’d never even laid eyes on him before!
“Fourth Young Master, I’m here to—”
“Upstairs,” Gu Xueyi cut in succinctly.
Jiang Jing, ever eager, was the first to step onto the staircase. Among all the women he’d encountered, he’d never met anyone quite like Gu Xueyi. Besides, she was nothing like the rumors made her out to be. Jiang Jing was genuinely curious about what this Mrs. Yan was planning to do. Get back at Yan Wenbai for her? Or apologize on his behalf? Ha, how interesting!
Seeing this, Yan Wenbai also strode upstairs with a dark expression.
He couldn’t let Gu Xueyi do whatever she wanted!
Gu Xueyi, meanwhile, brought up the rear, leisurely making her way upstairs.
Wang Yue was stunned once again.
Had the madam really hit the Fourth Young Master?
How… how had they all suddenly become so obedient to the madam’s words? Just because she said go upstairs, they went upstairs?
Jiang Jing led the way, arriving on the second floor.
There was a sitting room on the second floor, but before he could even set foot on its tiles, Gu Xueyi suddenly struck her belt at his feet, blocking his path.
Gu Xueyi came from a military family. When she was young, she had learned archery, whip techniques, and horseback riding from her father.
Later, because a woman’s strength was ultimately limited, she practiced archery less often, but her skill with the whip grew increasingly masterful. When she lashed out with the belt, it whistled through the air, carrying a sharp force. Even grazing past someone was enough to make them feel the power and momentum behind it.
So even though Jiang Jing had been somewhat prepared, he still jumped back two steps in alarm, his face turning pale from fright once again.
She really was going to get back at Yan Wenbai for her!
“Since no one in Young Master Jiang’s family seems to discipline him, I’ll take on the burden today and teach him what manners and rules mean on their behalf.” Gu Xueyi’s expression remained unchanged as she whipped the belt again in a backhanded strike.
The belt landed squarely on Jiang Jing’s back.
Jiang Jing let out a pained yelp, feeling as if the blow had split him in two. He scrambled to dodge, shouting furiously as he fled, “Are you crazy? How dare you hit me!”
Yan Wenbai was also shocked and quickly stepped back two paces to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.
Could this… could this be the reason Gu Xueyi had insisted on getting them out of the police station first? To have a better opportunity to whip people?
Jiang Jing was the youngest son in his family, not as capable or outstanding as his older brothers. His family paid him little attention and seldom disciplined him. Plus, he had an uncle who had served in the military, so he’d learned quite a bit of martial arts from him. As a result, he had been undefeated in his social circle since childhood.
This was truly the first time Jiang Jing had ever been hit.
And on top of that, it hurt like hell… Ow, ow, ow, ow!
Jiang Jing dodged frantically, only to realize—he couldn’t get away!
He gritted his teeth and resigned himself. Fine! He’s hitting a woman today… Holy shit, that hurts!
Gu Xueyi didn’t give Jiang Jing any chance to fight back.
His flashy but impractical moves were nothing in her eyes—she was more than capable of taking him down.
Watching from the sidelines, Yan Wenbai’s eyelids twitched faster and faster. He watched helplessly as Jiang Jing couldn’t dodge, couldn’t fight back… Just watching made him feel the pain.
He’d never known Gu Xueyi was this formidable!
“Enough, enough! Shit, stop hitting me! It hurts! I’m going to end up in the hospital!”
“Mrs. Yan!”
“Gu… Sister Gu! Sister Gu!”
“Come on, I’ll call you sister-in-law too, alright?”
“If you hit me again, I’ll—”
“Tell your parents?” Gu Xueyi coolly finished the sentence for him.
Jiang Jing swallowed the words that had been on the tip of his tongue.
If he did that, would he have any dignity left? He’d be beaten and humiliated!
“I apologize! I’ll apologize, alright?” Jiang Jing said through gritted teeth.
A real man knows how to bend and stretch—he couldn’t let himself get beaten to death in the Yan household! He’d never known how much a belt hurt when it landed on you… The skin burned, and each lash felt like it was tearing flesh from bone. This must be what the Ten Tortures of the Qing Dynasty felt like.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t take it!
Gu Xueyi stopped.
Looking at Jiang Jing, he had curled up, hugging his head and crouching on the ground with his back hunched.
Yan Wenbai’s mouth twitched.
He had truly never seen Jiang Jing look so pathetic.
“Apologize,” Gu Xueyi said, lowering her gaze as she slowly rolled up the belt in her hand.
The belt was dark brown, but her fingers were long, slender, and fair. Next to each other, her hands looked like priceless luxury goods. Extremely beautiful.
Jiang Jing looked up, paused for a second, and then his expression returned to normal.
“I… what do I apologize for?”
Gu Xueyi’s hand gripping the belt paused.
Jiang Jing quickly said, “No, no, I’m not backing out! I just… I just really have no experience with apologizing! Could you… give me a hint?”
Gu Xueyi wasn’t angry. She said calmly, “Think about what you said today.”
That gave Jiang Jing an idea. He immediately said, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have insulted President Yan. I shouldn’t have insulted you—no, I shouldn’t have insulted you. I have a habit of running my mouth without thinking. It’s just… it’s habitual, you know? I was just throwing out a taunt. But I didn’t really mean it. Really, you have to believe me.”
“Is… is that okay?” Jiang Jing asked quietly.
Yan Wenbai’s expression remained dark, but a lot of the anger in his chest had dissipated.
He truly hadn’t expected that a beating would make Jiang Jing cave like this.
But then, Gu Xueyi suddenly turned her head to look at Yan Wenbai.
His heart skipped a beat.
What else did she want?
Gu Xueyi raised her finger, pointed at him, and said to Jiang Jing, “What about him?”
Jiang Jing was dumbfounded. “I have to apologize to him too?”
“You hit him.”
“He hit me too.”
Gu Xueyi’s fingers tightened slightly, gripping the belt.
“Fine, fair is fair. Right, I need to apologize. I’m being polite now, aren’t I?” Jiang Jing looked at Yan Wenbai and forced a stiff smile. “Fourth Young Master Yan, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have fought with you. At the next banquet, I won’t bring up the Yan family.”
Yan Wenbai couldn’t have cared less whether Jiang Jing apologized or not.
Even if he did apologize, it wouldn’t be sincere.
But Yan Wenbai couldn’t help looking at Gu Xueyi again. She had actually remembered to make Jiang Jing apologize to him as well? His feelings at that moment were somewhat complicated.
“Can I go now?” Jiang Jing asked through gritted teeth, wincing in pain.
No wonder people outside said Gu Xueyi was willful and unreasonable. In his opinion, that wasn’t willfulness—that was sheer ferocity! He wouldn’t be surprised if Gu Xueyi killed him right here and buried him in the basement.
“Leave,” Gu Xueyi said without even glancing at him.
Jiang Jing felt a little stung by that.
Did Mrs. Yan have such high standards?
He’d taken a beating and still couldn’t get a single look from her?
Pressing his lips together, Jiang Jing limped downstairs, no longer daring to hope for any kind of consolation in the Yan household.
Downstairs.
Although the villa had good soundproofing, the sitting room door had been wide open. They had heard every single crack of the belt loud and clear.
Even Jiang Meng’s face had turned pale.
She instinctively touched her lower abdomen, feeling a nagging sense that she might be next in line for a reckoning from Gu Xueyi…
This was definitely Gu Xueyi killing a chicken to warn the monkey!
She was deliberately trying to scare her!
But… but she had even beaten the Fourth Young Master… no, now even Young Master Jiang… Jiang Meng watched Jiang Jing in stunned disbelief as panic slowly spread through her heart.
“Young… Young Master Jiang, are you alright?” Although Jiang Jing had been rude to her earlier, Jiang Meng now rushed over to him with excessive eagerness.
Jiang Jing had been walking with a slightly awkward posture, but he immediately straightened his back and said through clenched teeth, “I’m fine! I’m perfectly fine!”
“Mrs. Yan is so rude to people…” Jiang Meng said with a worried frown.
“No, she’s not. She’s fine. Mrs. Yan is quite polite.”
Jiang Meng: “…”
Jiang Jing couldn’t be bothered to waste words on such an extra. Without another glance at her, he hurried out the Yan family’s front door.
Upstairs, the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.
Yan Wenbai had never spent this long in the same space as Gu Xueyi. She was always on the verge of exploding or in the middle of exploding, and no one could coexist peacefully with her.
But today…
Yan Wenbai took another look at Gu Xueyi’s face.
She had beaten Jiang Jing to defend him?
No.
That was ridiculous.
It was absolutely impossible!
Just as Yan Wenbai’s thoughts were spiraling chaotically in his mind, Gu Xueyi suddenly straightened out the belt and raised her hand.
A sharp “swish” cut through the air.
The belt landed on Yan Wenbai.
Shit!
That hurt like hell!
Yan Wenbai finally understood what Jiang Jing had just gone through. No wonder he’d caved so quickly…
Yan Wenbai gritted his teeth in hatred. “Gu Xueyi! What the hell are you doing?”
“I hit him because he bullied you and disrespected the Yan family with his words.”
“I hit you because you chose a crude method like fighting to solve your problems, with absolutely no regard for the Yan family’s dignity.” Gu Xueyi paused. “And on top of that, you lost.”
“…”
Yan Wenbai’s face burned with shame.
Gu Xueyi opened her mouth, about to say: In my Sheng family, we don’t have sons like you who can’t even win a fight. But just as the words reached her lips, she suddenly remembered that she was no longer the matriarch of the Sheng family.
Gu Xueyi frowned, then raised her hand and struck Yan Wenbai with another lash of the belt. “This one is for not understanding the proper order between elders and juniors, and for showing no respect to your superiors.”
Yan Wenbai bit his lip hard to keep from crying out.
He glared at Gu Xueyi with a mix of resentment and anger, yet oddly enough, his previous disgust for her had lessened.
His emotions were incredibly tangled, his mind a chaotic mess…
Gu Xueyi stopped. This time, instead of leisurely rolling up the belt, she casually tossed it aside.
Only then did Yan Wenbai slowly release his tightly clenched lip. Because he had been gritting his teeth against the pain, when he finally spoke, his voice came out much lower than usual…
“You’re not going to hit me anymore?”
There was a hint of resentment in his tone, but it was soft and low, almost like a child whining to someone close to him.
Yan Wenbai silently cursed himself, instantly regretting having said that.
But Gu Xueyi didn’t seem to notice his various reactions at all. She said with complete composure, “No, I’m done. When dealing with outsiders, heavy strikes are needed to have a deterrent effect. It’s different when disciplining your own family.”
Your own family?
Yan Wenbai was stunned. He opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. In the end, he didn’t say that she wasn’t really part of the Yan family.
Gu Xueyi slowly walked forward, leaned over slightly, and looked down at the floor below. “Doctor.”
The family doctor hadn’t left yet. Right on cue, he grabbed his medical kit and hurriedly clattered up the stairs.
Gu Xueyi turned around, leaning against the railing behind her, and pointed at Yan Wenbai’s forehead. “Take a look at him.”
“Along with the welts from the belt on his body.”
Her expression remained indifferent and calm, yet her features were strikingly beautiful.
The red trench coat draped over her body seemed to transform into a blazing flame, searing itself into the onlooker’s eyes with its scorching heat.
Yan Wenbai lowered his head.
A surge of even more complex emotions churned within him, tinged with a faint, barely perceptible mix of bitterness and warmth.
**