That Stupid, Pretentious Young Master Deserves To Be Punished - Chapter 15

The two men stood at loggerheads, the tension between them like clashing needles. For a moment, the air seemed to congeal; a tense, oppressive atmosphere enveloped the scene. Everyone else was as silent as cicadas in winter; Jia Yu, Zhang Yi, and the surrounding bodyguards did not dare to breathe.

Shen Youlin’s eyes flashed with a cold light. “So, Shen Si Xuan, you still intend to remain obsessed and unrepentant.”

“What do you mean by unrepentant? My wife and I are a legitimate couple,” Shen Si Xuan said, pausing before a mocking smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Big Brother, your reach is extending a bit too far, is it not?”

“Since you dared to touch a member of my Shen family, Shen Si Xuan, you must bear the consequences of my Shen family.” Shen Youlin’s eyes were filled with murderous rage as he shouted, “Shen Jia Yu, why are you still dawdling over there?”

Called by name, Jia Yu found himself in an incredibly awkward situation. Facing this scene, he gritted his teeth and pushed against the iron grip on his waist. He whispered angrily, “Shen Si Xuan, let me go, hurry up! Did you pour concrete into those dog claws of yours?”

Jia Yu pinched and pulled, but the grip remained immovable. Instead, he ended up flushed with frustration, a thin layer of sweat breaking out on his forehead.

“Wife, do you want to go to him?”

Whenever Shen Si Xuan looked down at him with such calmness, Jia Yu could sense a terrifying storm beneath those pitch black pupils; if he were even slightly careless, he would be sucked in and torn to shreds.

Jia Yu felt his scalp tingle. Even though Shen Si Xuan had never hit or scolded him, he found himself increasingly afraid. He cursed himself internally, Damn it, I am practically developing PTSD; I am becoming more cowardly with age.

He cleared his throat. “Where I go is none of your business. Worry about yourself!”

Shen Si Xuan continued to look at him calmly, neither laughing nor angry, as still as a dark, deep pool. He replied faintly, “Wife, wherever you are, that is where I am.”

Jia Yu wanted to say more, but a gunshot interrupted him.

Bang!

Jia Yu lowered his head and saw a bloodied hole in the arm Shen Si Xuan was using to hold him; fresh, crimson blood was bubbling out. He turned his head to see Shen Youlin holding a handgun, the hollow barrel emitting a wisp of white smoke that dissipated into the cold morning air. Looking up, he saw Shen Si Xuan staring calmly at Shen Youlin.

“Let go of Shen Jia Yu, Shen Si Xuan.” Shen Youlin’s expression was cold and ruthless.

Shen Si Xuan did not move. He stood there silently, fearlessly facing the fire spitting metal monster. Even the force of his arm around Jia Yu did not waver in the slightest, clearly expressing his stance: In your dreams!

Bang!

Another gunshot rang out.

The moment the trigger was pulled, Shen Si Xuan used his free hand to press Jia Yu’s face against his chest, covering his ears.

After the gunshot, Jia Yu lifted his head from Shen Si Xuan’s chest and saw a hole in his right shoulder. The black fabric was soaked in deep red. The scent of wood mixed with the sweet, metallic smell of blood filled his nostrils.

He looked up into Shen Si Xuan’s calm eyes.

Shen Si Xuan noticed the gaze, lowered his head, and dropped a cold kiss on Jia Yu’s forehead, a trace of a smile on his lips: “Wife, do not be afraid.”

Bang!

Caught off guard, another bloodied hole appeared in Shen Si Xuan’s arm. His entire right hand was a mangled mess of flesh and blood. A few drops of warm blood splattered onto Jia Yu’s pale face like plum blossoms in the snow, while more dripped onto the ground, forming a pool of blood.

Drip, drip.

The sound echoed in everyone’s heart. They all knew that this true second young master of the Shen family, who had only just been brought back and barely enjoyed any wealth, had now completely ruined his right hand. His future would not be easy.

Jia Yu’s entire body was rigid, trembling uncontrollably. His mind flashed back to the image of the fall; it had also been after a loud sound, with blood splattering onto him, the sight of brains and flesh scattered on the ground. To this day, it remained his recurring nightmare.

Shen Si Xuan lifted his remaining left hand, using his fingertips to wipe the red from Jia Yu’s face with a faint, tender smile: “Wife, I love it when you are stained with my essence. It is so beautiful.”

Jia Yu looked up into those gentle eyes. That pathological persistence felt as if he were being branded into his pupils. He did not understand why Shen Si Xuan looked at him this way. Was his revenge merely weaving a gentle web to let him drown in? How could he have forgotten the things he had done in the past! Did he really love him?

He did not believe it!

Perhaps Jia Yu did not know that this stare, lasting only a few seconds, would appear on his ceiling countless times when he woke in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, a silent gaze telling him one thing: I am always watching you!

Bang!

The hand Shen Si Xuan was using to caress Jia Yu’s face froze.

Jia Yu turned his head. Just a foot away, a hole appeared in the remaining left arm. A drop of blood fell straight into Jia Yu’s eye, streaming down from the corner. The warm sensation was far too vivid!

His line of reason snapped.

I cannot take it! I cannot take it!

Jia Yu broke down instantly, sobbing uncontrollably. He pushed Shen Si Xuan away and roared: “Why! Why! Why must you punish me like this! Why must you treat me this way!” He screamed until his throat was raw, his eyes bloodshot, his expression as terrifying as a jade faced demon crawled out of hell. He turned and roared again: “Shen Youlin! If you let someone die in front of me again, I will die in front of you too!”

Shen Youlin held the handgun coldly, as if he did not care about Shen Jia Yu’s attitude at all, and ordered coldly: “Shen Jia Yu, come over here. Otherwise, the next bullet will be in his heart.”

Jia Yu’s expression was one of terror and disbelief. “You are crazy! He is your own brother!”

“The Shen family does not like disobedient heirs, and I only need one brother.”

Jia Yu lost his voice, murmuring in a daze: “Lunatics, all of you are lunatics.”

“Wife, be obedient. Come to your husband. Even if I die, I want to die in your arms.”

Shen Si Xuan’s bleeding left hand pinched at Jia Yu’s sleeve, instantly staining that patch of fabric red.

Jia Yu turned back and saw Shen Si Xuan’s pale face. He had never seen Shen Si Xuan this weak; should he not always be that confident, flirty, and relaxed man? Why did it feel like he was about to shatter and drift away into this world at any moment?

He saw it: in Shen Si Xuan’s pupils, there was still only his own reflection, so attached. The intense love seemed about to solidify and overflow from his eyes. He had always refused to admit it, refused to admit that the person he clashed with at every turn could love him, refused to believe that someone in this world could love him. He would rather have this twisted love locked in a cage of revenge.

In the next moment, Shen Youlin’s icy, authoritative voice rang out again: “Shen Jia Yu, do not make me say it twice.”

Jia Yu took a breath, brushed against that bloodstained arm, and said calmly: “You go. I want to return to City A.”

Shen Si Xuan tried to reach out to grab Jia Yu, his tone filled with lingering attachment: “Wife, do not leave me.”

However, Shen Youlin would not give him the opportunity. He said ruthlessly: “Hold him.”

Several black robed bodyguards behind him seized Shen Si Xuan’s injured arm, firmly restraining him in place.

“Bring the whip.”

Secretary Zhang Yi opened the box and, with gloved hands, retrieved a red ox leather whip; the glaring red seemed to have been soaked in blood. On the handle at the top of the whip, a single character was deeply engraved: Shen.

This was the Shen family’s discipline whip. Jia Yu knew it clearly because he had endured this whip himself. He had taken twenty lashes, so he knew that bone deep, slicing pain, as if one’s entire body were being torn apart.

“Hold him down.”

A black robed bodyguard kicked Shen Si Xuan behind the knee, forcing him to his knees.

Shen Youlin held the whip and walked toward Shen Si Xuan. “Shen Si Xuan, as long as you carry the surname Shen, the Shen family must be responsible for you.”

He swung the whip. The sharp, piercing sound cut through the air, followed by a whimper, as it landed mercilessly on Shen Si Xuan.

“Shen Si Xuan, you defied your elder brother.”

Snap!

“You violated the family code.”

Snap!

“You betrayed your kin.”

Snap!

“You secretly embezzled family assets.”

Snap!

“You forged information.”

Snap!

Lash after lash, with irresistible force, it kicked up sprays of blood from Shen Si Xuan’s body and whipped them onto Jia Yu.

Shen Si Xuan looked as if he had crawled out of a blood drenched hell. Covered in blood, he knelt on the ground, deathly pale, his only feature a pair of pitch black eyes that stared fixedly at Jia Yu.

Jia Yu did not dare look at him, his fingertips trembling, his own face equally ghastly. He had once hated the Shen family’s rigid traditions and these harsh family laws to the core. He had argued and fought back, but without exception, he had been suppressed by Shen Youlin, just as ruthlessly as he was today.

This is the Shen family’s business, he told himself. I should not intervene, and I have no grounds to intervene. He consoled himself this way.

The sound of the whip hitting flesh continued for a long time. Jia Yu inadvertently lifted his eyes and locked gazes with Shen Si Xuan again.

Shen Si Xuan’s clothes were shredded into ribbons hanging from his body; his skin had split open, revealing the bleeding flesh beneath. He knelt on the spot, staring at him the entire time, his gaze never leaving him. How could such a calm expression reveal such desperate, tragic wailing?

Do not look at me! Do not look at me! I beg you… Jia Yu screamed internally. He felt like he could not breathe; he felt like he, too, was about to crumble.

Jia Yu finally could not take it anymore; tears poured out once again.

He lunged forward, grabbed that damned whip, and roared: “Stop hitting him, damn it! Can you not see that he is about to be beaten to death? He is bleeding out! He is your own brother!”

Shen Youlin looked down at him coldly: “Shen Jia Yu, do not interfere with the execution of family law.”

Jia Yu felt the string in his brain about to snap. The overwhelming pressure was about to submerge and suffocate him.

“Only the living can be subject to family law!” His shriek was like that of a trapped beast.

Shen Youlin withdrew his gaze and looked at the blood mangled Shen Si Xuan on the ground, calmly spitting out a few cruel words:

“The dead can be, too.”

Jia Yu suddenly felt dizzy, the world spinning around him as he collapsed sideways.

Zhang Yi reached out to support him. Jia Yu pushed his arm away, reached out with trembling fingers, pointed toward Shen Youlin, and said in despair:

“Monsters… You Shen family are all monsters…”

Shen Youlin held him and handed the whip to Zhang Yi. Unexpectedly, even though Jia Yu could not stand steady and his footsteps were unsteady, he pushed Shen Youlin away and walked forward on his own, using his remaining strength to curse: “Do not touch me, none of you dare touch me! You disgusting, repulsive trash.”

Zhang Yi opened the car door, but Jia Yu walked ahead, stumbling and falling, like a rose about to disintegrate.

Shen Youlin stepped forward to intercept him and lead him back.

When he turned his head, he met Shen Si Xuan’s damned eyes again. He was still kneeling, covered in blood, but those eyes were calm, devoid of any emotion, as if he were looking at a complete stranger.

Jia Yu’s heart felt a sudden pain. In the next moment, he blacked out.

This faint lasted seven full days. Floating and sinking in his dreams, he actually dreamt of Shen Si Xuan.