"I couldn’t tell, you know quite a lot. I thought your mind was filled with beauty, afternoon tea, and shopping for luxury goods every day. You’re so smart at this moment, so why is your mind particularly dull when you bring me trouble?" The man’s expression showed some confusion, but his hand was not gentle at all.
The woman didn’t expect the man to actually lash out at her. Caught off guard, she was struck on the cheek with a belt, leaving a bright red mark from her brow slanting down to her mouth.
"Ah!" The unique cry of a woman echoed to the skies. The man hadn’t held back, so the strike on the woman’s cheek felt like being burned by fire.
Just a few seconds later, the struck area was already swollen and gradually turned blue and purple, the swollen part raised nearly a finger’s distance, and the skin became translucent.
The woman felt as if the struck area had ceased to exist.
"You actually did it, with no feelings for me at all. I misjudged you." The woman said through gritted teeth.
"And I misjudged you as well. I will go find out who exactly is targeting us from behind. After I make the call, you will use that face of yours to apologize for me. If the other party forgives you, then I’ll let you off. Otherwise, for every failure, I’ll lash you once until you succeed. You know I am a man of my word." The false mask on the man’s face had been completely torn off.
He had invested all his assets in Shangjing and couldn’t just slink back to his original city. Otherwise, those he had once suppressed would devour him whole.
"Come on, hit me. If you have the guts, kill me." The woman didn’t dare touch the wound on her face, forcing herself to endure the pain, glaring at her husband with hateful eyes.
"You think I don’t dare?" The man sneered, unsure where she got the confidence to think he wouldn’t hit her.
Sometimes, a person’s malice is like a beast in a cage. When it tears through its cage at that moment, no one knows what consequences it might bring.
The man raised the belt high in his hand and struck his wife again without hesitation, this time directly on her neck.
"Are you really going to beat me to death?" The woman asked hoarsely.
"If you listen obediently, I won’t beat you. You’ve brought this upon yourself." The man finished speaking slowly, then struck with the belt again.
Having been pampered for so many years, while the woman’s skin wasn’t as smooth and tender as in her youth, it was now even more valuable.
After just three strikes, the woman couldn’t bear it anymore and began to beg for mercy.
"I’m wrong, I know I’m wrong. Please don’t hit me anymore. I’ll go apologize now, however you say to apologize, I’ll do it. I’ll listen to you." The woman rolled on the ground, pleading.
"It would have been better if you did this earlier." Hearing the woman’s pleas, the man struck the belt on the ground beside them, producing a sharp sound in the air, causing the woman to shudder instinctively.
"As long as you behave, I’ll pretend nothing happened. Don’t even think about escaping me. We’re no longer young; our child is already this big. The little tricks of young people are totally unsuitable for us now, understand?" The man grabbed the woman’s hair, forcing her to look up at him.
"I understand." The woman’s voice trembled slightly.
"Then behave, and I’ll treat you as well as before." The man touched the woman’s cheek.
"I’ll go find out about that person. You stay at home recently and be good, don’t go out every day, and don’t cause me trouble, got it?" The man rebuttoned his open collar, retying the tie casually thrown on the sofa, still looking like a gentleman.
The woman held her face and nodded.
"Didn’t you hear me talking to you? Are you a mute? Open your mouth and speak." The man, who had just returned to a gentle demeanor, immediately became violent again.
The frightened woman trembled and bumped into the coffee table.
"I understand." The woman dared not lift her head to look at the man’s current demeanor and replied cautiously.
"Next time I ask you something, you must answer loudly. If you don’t speak, I’ll treat you as if you’re mute." The man’s dangerous gaze lingered on the woman’s lips.
"I understand." The woman immediately closed her mouth after speaking.
Although the man’s words were only half finished, the woman had already guessed the unsaid part.
If she didn’t speak, then her tongue was unnecessary, and he would make her truly mute.
Watching the man’s departing back, the woman silently shed two lines of tears.
She didn’t know how things had come to this, how the lovers who clung to each other like they wanted to meld into each other’s bones and blood when they were young came to this point.
Was that youthful love destined to be a mistake?
Did she fantasize about something she shouldn’t have and thus received this punishment?
Kneeling on the ground, her mind was in chaos, thinking of a jumbled mess.
Meanwhile, Tang Zhongwei, accompanied by everyone, went to the hospital to get a disability assessment report and treated her wounds, only then being sent home under the strange gaze of the doctor.
"Go upstairs and change your clothes first, come down for dinner later. After dinner, I’ll help you apply medicine, and then you can rest well." Lin Mengyao touched Tang Zhongwei’s hair and said.
"Hmm." Tang Zhongwei nodded, her eyes barely holding back tears.
"Why are you crying? Does the wound hurt so much?"
"No, I’m just really touched. You’re so good to me, I’ll definitely repay you in the future. I won’t forget today." Tang Zhongwei gently blinked, and tears flowed down her cheeks.
"I don’t need your repayment, just be well for me." Lin Mengyao replied.
"Cousin, you’re such a good person. I’ll go upstairs first, see you later." Tang Zhongwei reluctantly let go of Lin Mengyao’s hand, looking back with every step she took toward her room.
Yu Xia watched this scene, her brow furrowing slightly, unsure what Tang Zhongwei was up to. But if she dared to do anything against Xu Ke and Lin Mengyao, she would make her pay.
Having made up her mind, Yu Xia put Tang Zhongwei out of her mind and began to answer Lin Mengyao’s questions honestly.
"You did well. Next time you encounter such things, stay far away. Your health isn’t good, not suitable for fighting with others, understand?" Lin Mengyao nagged like a mother, finishing one thing only to start another.