When Shang Jingwu heard that He Yi had fallen into the small pond in the garden and almost drowned, he had to interrupt the meeting he was in halfway through and rush home. He was relieved to see that He Yi was alright. Then he found Ah Hui and questioned him: “What happened?”
Ah Hui explained dejectedly, “When the young mistress was playing in the garden, he met the second young master. The second young master wanted to play hide-and-seek with the young mistress. The young mistress went to hide first and wouldn’t let me follow him. When I found him, he had already fallen into the water. It was the second young master who rescued him.”
“Go and receive your punishment yourself, fifty lashes,” Shang Jingwu said expressionlessly.
Ah Hui responded with a “yes” and retreated in fear. Fifty lashes would surely leave him severely injured. The young master usually treated them quite well and rarely punished them so harshly. It seemed he was truly angry this time.
Shang Jingwu maneuvered his wheelchair to He Yi’s bedside. Looking at He Yi’s pale face, he unconsciously softened his voice and asked gently, “Did you fall down by yourself?”
He Yi shrank further under the covers, afraid that Shang Jingwu would be angry and punish him. He said in a muffled voice, “I accidentally stepped on a small stone, slipped, and fell in. I’m sorry, I won’t go to the pond to play anymore. Honey, please don’t punish me by not letting me eat, okay?”
Instead of directly saying whether it was good or bad, Shang Jingwu continued to ask, “Was Jingyun there when you fell in?”
“Yes, my younger brother jumped down and saved me. I haven’t thanked him yet,” He Yi said gratefully.
Seeing that He Yi seemed to have a good impression of Shang Jingyun, Shang Jingyun suddenly felt uncomfortable.
He knew He Yi was stupid, and Shang Jingyun was particularly cunning, so it would be easy for him to fool a fool. But he still felt uncomfortable, a sour feeling, and he really wanted to beat up Shang Jingyun. He also found He Yi somewhat displeasing.
“What are you doing by the pond?” Shang Jingwu asked, suppressing his anger.
The angrier he got, the calmer he seemed. He Yi thought his expression was normal, so he assumed he wasn’t angry. He became bolder, poked his head out, and excitedly described to Shang Jingwu, “We were playing hide-and-seek. I hid behind the rockery. After my brother found me, we chatted by the pond for a while. Suddenly, a toad jumped down to my feet. I was startled and then accidentally stepped on a small stone and fell into the pond.”
Shang Jingwu continued to press on with a cold face: “Didn’t he jump down immediately to save you?”
He Yi thought for a moment before answering, “My younger brother seemed scared too. I heard him calling for help. Then I swallowed a lot of water and felt like I was going to drown. Suddenly, my brother jumped down, grabbed me, and pulled me ashore…”
“Stay away from him from now on,” Shang Jingwu ordered.
Based on the information he currently has, he can conclude that He Yi falling into the water was likely not an accident. Shang Jingyun has done such disgusting things before: first, he secretly tricks you, then he pretends to be a good person and helps you when you are most helpless, and then you will feel grateful to him and fall into his trap step by step.
He Yi was completely unaware of this. Hearing this, he was taken aback and asked in confusion, “Why?”
“He’s a very good swimmer and not easily scared. If he really wanted to save you, he wouldn’t have waited until you were choking on water before jumping in,” Shang Jingwu rarely offered an explanation.
He Yi hesitated and said, “But…”
Shang Jingwu didn’t want to hear him defend Shang Jingyun, and asked directly, “Do you believe me or him?”
He Yi didn’t hesitate this time and said matter-of-factly, “Of course I trust my husband.”
Shang Jingwu was fairly satisfied with He Yi’s reaction, and his expression finally softened a bit. “That’s fine then. Listen to me, stay away from him.”
He Yi nodded, not quite understanding, then asked with concern, “Honey, can I have dinner tonight?”
Shang Jingwu said irritably, “Who said I wouldn’t let you eat?”
He Yi immediately beamed with joy, sat up abruptly, rushed over and hugged Shang Jingwu’s waist, chuckling, “Honey, you’re the best! I can eat now!”
Shang Jingwu was still not used to this level of physical contact. With a look of disgust, he tore He Yi off his body and threw him back onto the bed, saying with a stern face, “Don’t be silly.”
If it were someone else, he might have had his bodyguards beat them up and throw them out.
“Honey, just let me hug you for a bit. I miss you so much. You never play with me, and I’m so bored at home all by myself,” He Yi complained sweetly.
Shang Jingwu explained somewhat awkwardly, “I need to work.”
“Is the job fun?” He Yi asked with interest.
Shang Jingwu ruthlessly dashed his hopes, saying, “It’s not fun at all.”
He Yi immediately looked dejected and sighed, saying, “Then, honey, won’t you be very bored going to work every day?”
Before Shang Jingwu could answer, he suddenly became excited again, his eyes shining as he suggested, “How about I go to work with you? That way neither of us will be bored.”
“What can you do there?” Shang Jingwu asked disdainfully.
He Yi thought for a moment and said, “I can help you serve tea and water.”
“I have a secretary.”
“I can help you clean.”
“The company provides cleaning services.”
“How about I organize your files?”
“You won’t understand, and you’ll only make things worse in the end.”
“Then I won’t do anything, I’ll just wait for you to get off work and have dinner with you.”
Shang Jingwu glanced at him indifferently, “You really want to go?”
He Yi nodded frantically, “I want to go, I really want to go! It’s so boring at home, I want to be with my husband!”
Shang Jingwu said helplessly, “Then you’d better behave yourself. If you cause trouble, you’ll get a spanking when you get back.”
For He Yi, as long as he wasn’t denied food, it wasn’t a big deal, so he readily agreed.
Shang Jingwu didn’t want He Yi to have any more contact with Shang Jingyun, so they ate dinner in their own courtyard.
He Yi ate most of the food by himself. He didn’t have to be reserved in front of Shang Jingwu, so he ate very happily.
While complaining about his poor table manners, Shang Jingwu would occasionally add more food for him and even personally pick out the fish bones for him. At the same time, he unknowingly ate more food himself.
After dinner, Shang Jingwu noticed that He Yi kept looking at him with a strange gaze, as if he had something to say to him but kept holding back.
He deliberately ignored He Yi, wanting to see how long the kid could hold back. Unexpectedly, He Yi seemed hesitant to speak all night. Before going to sleep, he finally couldn’t help but ask, “What exactly do you want?”
He Yi glanced at the caregiver next to him, then leaned close to Shang Jingwu’s ear and whispered, “Honey, I have a question for you. Could you ask the caregiver to leave for a moment?”
Shang Jingwu wanted to know what he was really up to, so he sent the caregiver out.
Once they were alone in the room, He Yishen whispered to himself, “Honey, do you have a magic wand?”
Shang Jingwu was completely confused. “What magic wand?”
“It’s one of those magic wands that can change size and become more beautiful. Can I see it?” He Yi asked excitedly and curiously.
It took Shang Jingwu a while to understand what He Yi was talking about. He frowned and asked sternly, “Where did you get all this nonsense?”
He Yi sensed his fierceness and explained with innocent-looking eyes, “My brother told me. I just want to take a look. I won’t fight you for it. Can you just let me see it for a moment, honey?”
“Did Shang Jingyun say that?” Shang Jingwu’s voice turned cold.
He Yi nodded, sensing that Shang Jingwu seemed angry. He quickly explained, “I accidentally lost to him while playing hide-and-seek this afternoon. We agreed that the loser had to promise the other one something. He asked me if I had consummated our marriage with you, and I said no. Then he told me this secret.”
Shang Jingwu was furious and threatened He Yi, “You’re not allowed to see him or mention him again, or I’ll kick you out.”
He Yi immediately burst into tears, “No, no, husband, you promised you wouldn’t kick me out, we pinky swear, you can’t go back on your word, you can’t abandon me, if you abandon me I’ll have nowhere to go, I’ll starve to death, waaaaah…”
Shang Jingwu was getting a headache from his noise, and in a fit of anger, he covered his mouth and commanded, “Stop crying! It’s so noisy—”
Before he could finish speaking, He Yi bit his hand. This kid was particularly vicious, and Shang Jingwu couldn’t help but gasp in pain.
“He Yi! Let go! Are you a puppy?” Shang Jingwu said angrily.
He Yi bit down and wouldn’t let go, glaring at him sideways and whimpering fiercely, “Waaah, waaah—”
Shang Jingwu angrily explained, “Can’t you understand human language, you little fool? As long as you don’t see Shang Jingyun or mention him in front of me, I won’t kick you out. Let go of my hand right now, or I’ll spank you.”
He Yi was still worried, and he bit his hand and whimpered a few more times.
Shang Jingwu rolled his eyes in exasperation. “When have I ever lied to you?”
He Yi then released his mouth, covering his bottom with both hands, and said with teary eyes, “Don’t send me away…”
“I won’t kick you out.” Shang Jingwu repeated coldly, patted his thigh with a tense face, and ordered He Yi, “Lie down here.”
He Yi took a step back in fear and bargained, “Could you be a little gentler?”
Shang Jingwu held out his bleeding hand to He Yi and asked, “What do you think?”
He Yi knew he couldn’t avoid it, so he timidly moved closer and said, “Honey, I was wrong, I won’t do it again, please, please be gentle…”
“Lie down properly,” Shang Jingwu commanded again.
He Yi shakily lay down on Shang Jingwu’s lap, looking like he was bravely going to his death, and said with his eyes closed, “I’m all set, husband, you can hit me.”
Shang Jingwu was initially quite angry, but seeing He Yi’s comical appearance—clearly terrified yet trying to act innocent—suddenly made him laugh.
He recalled a quote he had read somewhere that said arguing with an idiot would drag their IQ down to the same level, and now it seemed to be true.
If others knew that he could be so childish, I wonder how many people would be shocked.
Shang Jingwu calmed down and wanted to scare He Yi, but when he saw He Yi’s pert buttocks, he couldn’t help but slap him.
“Ugh—” He Yi cried out in a wronged tone, but didn’t cry out in pain. He closed his eyes and waited for Shang Jingwu to finish slapping him.
Although Shang Jingwu is disabled in both legs, the physiological functions of the parts above his legs are intact, and He Yi’s call caused a sudden change in his behavior.
He Yi waited for a while but didn’t receive a second slap. He couldn’t help but open his eyes and asked curiously, “Honey? Are you done?”
“Remember the rest, go to sleep,” Shang Jingwu said in a slightly hoarse voice.