That Stupid, Pretentious Young Master Deserves To Be Punished - Chapter 5

“Jia Yu,” Shen Si Xuan patted Jia Yu’s shoulder, “she is your biological grandmother, after all. You might as well consider this a return to your roots.”

Jia Yu opened his mouth, wanting to argue, but found no words to counter with.

As a child, he had read fairy tales where a kindly old grandmother would sit by candlelight and tell stories to her grandchild. He had longed for such a grandmother, but reality was cruel. Everyone in the Shen family was cold and sharp edged. They did not read him stories or tuck him in at night. They only asked him how his etiquette lessons were going and what rank he had achieved that day.

Now, that dream had been realized.

But the grandmother from the stories lay beneath a small mound of dirt.

Jia Yu felt a complex surge of emotion.

He knelt anyway, performing the rites taught to him by the Shen family, kneeling before his grandmother from the Bai family.

He offered incense, bowed three times, and poured a glass of wine.

After Shen Si Xuan finished his own kowtows, they burned paper money for the old woman together.

“Grandmother must be very happy to have both her grandsons here,” Shen Si Xuan said, his voice sounding distant.

The person is dead, Jia Yu thought. Saying such useless things.

Shen Si Xuan suddenly looked up into Jia Yu’s eyes, his lips curling upward. “Jia Yu, do you think we are fated?”

Was it not fate? It was a twisted fate. They had swapped lives for twenty six years. They were enemies and rivals in love, and now they were inexplicably entangled. Just thinking about it made Jia Yu feel a chill.

Jia Yu’s tone was flat. “We certainly are fated.”

They had never spoken so calmly before. Jia Yu looked away, asking the question he had been harboring.

“Do you hate me for stealing twenty six years of your life as a young master?”

Shen Si Xuan stopped smiling, his expression becoming serious. “I only hate Bai Yu.” He stared straight into Jia Yu’s eyes. “As for you, Jia Yu, I have never hated you. Instead, I pity you.”

Jia Yu stopped tearing the paper money and looked up at him.

Shen Si Xuan reached out and touched Jia Yu’s face, a gentle smile appearing. “If I had to choose again, I would definitely come here.” He paused, then suddenly gripped Jia Yu’s cheek firmly. “So, Jia Yu, what about you?”

Me?

Jia Yu remained silent.

He had never lacked food or clothing since he was a child, living in luxury with many servants at his beck and call. By all accounts, he should have lived a happier life than Shen Si Xuan. So, why had he not?

He did not understand.

Light fell upon Jia Yu, covering him in a thin layer of gold dust, making his skin appear translucent. Under the falling petals, he knelt on the ground like the most devout priest. With skin like snow, eyebrows sharp as blades, profound eyes, and lashes fluttering like butterfly wings, he was of such transcendent elegance that it felt almost sacrilegious to defile him.

Even just in silhouette, he made the whole world seem unreal.

Shen Si Xuan was momentarily distracted, his mind wandering. Looking at the scene and the person before him, he mused that Jia Yu truly possessed the blood of the Si family. Even that transcendent, holy aura was identical.

“Jia Yu, do you know? I dug this grave with my own hands. I dug for an entire day and night. Do you know what I was thinking about then?”

Hearing his voice, Jia Yu turned to look at Shen Si Xuan, silent.

“Do you know what Grandmother said to me before she passed?”

Jia Yu continued to stare at him in silence.

Shen Si Xuan suddenly shoved Jia Yu to the ground. The soil was soft, crushing stems and leaves, mixing with the fragrance of broken flowers to create a strange, peculiar scent.

Jia Yu lay on the ground, caught off guard, squinting against the scattered sunlight. Si Xuan stood above him, his entire being ringed by a halo of light, his expression hidden in the shadows, blurred and indistinct. He lowered his head and whispered softly into Jia Yu’s ear:

“She told me that her biggest regret in this life was not seeing me establish a home, marry, and have a house full of children. She told me that after she died, I must bring my wife to pay respects at her grave.”

Shen Si Xuan’s hot breath sprayed against Jia Yu’s ear.

“As for the latter, I may not be able to achieve it in this lifetime.”

Shen Si Xuan turned Jia Yu’s face to force him to look at him, and Jia Yu saw the searing heat deep within Shen Si Xuan’s eyes.

“Jia Yu, you are the inheritance Grandmother left me, the inheritance that allows me to establish a home and fulfill her regret. After she died, I was destined to inherit you.” He pointed at Jia Yu’s heart, tapping it a few times. “This belongs to me.”

He lowered his head abruptly, planting a hot kiss. His heavy breathing sprayed against Jia Yu’s skin. His scorching lips pressed against his, prying open his clenched teeth, sucking, licking, using the tip of his tongue to invade every inch of space in Jia Yu’s mouth. He pinned him down like a wild beast, one hand reaching inside Jia Yu’s sweater.

Feeling that unusual temperature, Jia Yu was stunned for a moment, then bit down hard, followed by a slap. His face flushed pink, his body scorching, his chest heaving as he gasped for breath. A towering rage burned through his fragile nerves as he roared:

“Are you insane! This is in front of a grave!”

How could he be so reckless? Was he crazy?

Shen Si Xuan wiped the trail of blood from the corner of his mouth, his lips curling. His gaze upon Jia Yu was dark and terrifying, like that of a predator eyeing prey.

“I think it is time to let Grandmother see me establish a home.”

He stood up, walked to Jia Yu, and looked down at him, leaning over to pat that excessively beautiful face. “Jia Yu, you were born to belong to me.” His tone was certain, leaving no room for doubt.

Jia Yu swiped his hand away, frowning with displeasure, and said coldly: “Do not touch me.” He stood up and made as if to walk down the mountain.

His wrist was caught, and a deep voice came from behind: “Do you know the way?”

Of course, he did not; the mountains all looked identical. Jia Yu stayed silent, shook off the hand, and stubbornly walked forward.

Si Xuan sighed behind him. “Stubborn as an ox.” He caught up.

Back at the bamboo hut, Jia Yu took off his shoes and discovered several blisters on his heels; no wonder his feet were aching so intensely. Shen Si Xuan leaned over, picked up Jia Yu’s feet, and inspected them.

His feet were sensitive; at Shen Si Xuan’s touch, Jia Yu nearly jumped.

“Do not move! Is there any part of you I have not touched?”

Shen Si Xuan glanced at Jia Yu, forced him to stay still, took a careful look, and said in a deep voice: “Sit here, do not walk around. I will apply medicine for you.”

The surface beneath him felt hard and uncomfortable. Jia Yu had no choice but to cross his legs on the long wooden chair, looking out through the door of the bamboo house at the dense bamboo forest outside. As the wind blew, the bamboo leaves rustled.

A few minutes later, Shen Si Xuan returned with a bowl of pitch black herbal juice, took Jia Yu’s feet, sat down, and began to apply it.

Feeling somewhat repulsed, Jia Yu looked at the black mess and resisted: “What is this trash you are smearing on my feet?”

Shen Si Xuan grinned. “Young Master, this is an ancestral herbal medicine. 24k pure natural and non toxic; you should be reassured.”

The pair of feet in his hands were as white as jade, the ankles slender, even the tips of the toes were tinged with pink. The exposed calves were smooth and delicate, their shape graceful, like a work of art. After applying it, Si Xuan lowered his head and kissed the top of his foot devoutly.

As soon as he finished, Shen Jia Yu kicked him away, sweeping him with a look of disgust: “How disgusting. Go cook.”

Shen Si Xuan climbed off the floor, gave a faint smile, and rose to go to the kitchen. He lit the firewood he had gathered, skillfully using the earthen stove to pour oil and stir fry the food.

Bored, Jia Yu sat on the threshold in his slippers, tilting his head to look at the tall, sturdy back. It was truly a novelty; this wild dog actually had eighteen different skills.

Shen Si Xuan cooked three dishes: a stir fried meat dish, shredded potatoes, and scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

The craft did not look bad; it was colorful, fragrant, and appetizing.

Jia Yu tasted it; it was decent, but he only took two bites before putting his chopsticks down.

Seeing he had not eaten much, Shen Si Xuan raised an eyebrow and asked: “What, not to the Young Master’s taste?”

He had spent half the day climbing the mountain, his stamina had long since been depleted, and he was too tired to eat. His expression was a bit weary, and he said impatiently: “Too tired, do not want to eat.”

Hearing this, Shen Si Xuan moved his stool and sat right next to Jia Yu. He picked up some meat with his chopsticks and fed it toward Jia Yu’s mouth.

“Open up, Young Master.”

Jia Yu turned his face away, wearing a sour expression. “I told you, I do not want to eat.”

Shen Si Xuan pinched Jia Yu’s chin, turning his face back, a smile playing on his lips: “Young Master, how about I chew it for you? You just have to swallow; that will not be tiring, right?”

Jia Yu pushed the chopsticks away, frowning, his tone very displeased: “I said I am not eating! Do you not understand human speech?”

The chopsticks were stubbornly pushed forward. Si Xuan softened his tone: “Eat a little; the Young Master is so delicate, skipping meals is bad for your stomach.”

“Get lost!” Jia Yu’s temper flared, and he directly overturned the table.

Clatter.

The old wooden table groaned in agony under the strain. Shattered bowls and chopsticks fell like pearls onto a plate, breaking into pieces.

“I hate it when people force me! Do you not understand human speech!” A dog also wants to climb on his head? Laughable.

Shen Si Xuan’s expression turned cold instantly. Jia Yu refused to back down, the two men’s gazes clashing. After a few moments, Shen Si Xuan turned around and left, face dark.

Seeing the pile of debris, Shen Jia Yu did not feel much and sat back on the wooden stool inside the house.

The immense drop made him feel dazed. He could not accept that his home was actually this poor. Even though he was penniless now, even though he was no longer the lofty Young Master, he refused to admit this was his destination. He wanted to leave. Let us go back to City A.

Shen Si Xuan returned from somewhere with a plate of fruit, cut into pieces, and placed it in front of Jia Yu.

“You can eat fruit, right, Young Master?”

Seeing the cute arrangement of the fruit, he did not refuse, and Jia Yu ate half the plate. As he was eating, the corner of his eye caught a black blob, and he immediately stood up.

“Spider,” Jia Yu’s beautiful face showed a trace of panic, pointing at the black spider the size of a palm with strange markings, his face turning pale. “Si Xuan! Did you not see it?”

Hearing the commotion, Shen Si Xuan paused in his cleanup of the broken bowls and looked in the direction of Jia Yu’s gaze. “You are a grown man, and you are afraid of a little thing not even one percent of your size?”

Jia Yu had been afraid of such little things since childhood. Watching the spider move in his direction, he immediately jumped up and ran barefoot toward the door.

Seeing he was about to step on the broken porcelain, Shen Si Xuan grabbed Jia Yu and picked him up. His tone was a bit angry. “Can you not put on shoes to run? Are your eyes just two holes in your head?”

“Did you not see that spider coming over? Fuck, it was not heading toward you, of course you would just spout nonsense.”

Shen Si Xuan carried Jia Yu in his arms and walked inside. “He likes you, Young Master. Why do you not just stay in here for a while? I will finish cleaning up outside and then you can come out.”