Chapter 71 ☆ Education of Love

The door was locked from the inside. Xie Zhao stood by the door, looking at her calmly, with a dark glint in his deep eyes.

Standing with his back to the light, Cheng Yaoyao couldn’t see his eyes clearly. She rolled up the quilt and turned over, still lying on the bed. “Why did you lock the door?”

Xie Zhao replied, “To catch the cat.”

“Where is the cat?” Cheng Yaoyao suddenly became alert, scanning the room. “I’m the only one here…”

Xie Zhao chuckled softly. His voice was like cold, hard metal, sending a shiver down Cheng Yaoyao’s spine.

She understood immediately. A strong sense of danger surged through her, and Cheng Yaoyao’s delicate skin trembled slightly. Her intuition screamed: danger.

Before Cheng Yaoyao could figure out the source of her fear, she saw Xie Zhao walk to the desk and pull out the pointer from the pen holder.

The bamboo stick was green, about the thickness of Cheng Yaoyao’s little finger, polished smooth and slightly moist. Cheng Yaoyao frequently used it to discipline Xie Zhao when he lost focus in class, referring to it as “education of love.” Now, in Xie Zhao’s hands, the stick appeared menacing. Cheng Yaoyao had always wielded it to tap his hand, but Xie Zhao now regarded it with keen interest.

Cheng Yaoyao threw off the quilt and jumped up, shouting, “That’s my teaching stick! Put it down!”

Xie Zhao held the bamboo stick and waved it. The sound of it slicing through the air was sharp. He looked at Cheng Yaoyao calmly and said, “You’re being disobedient. You need to be taught a lesson.”

“I… I…” Cheng Yaoyao fumed and said angrily, “You’re not allowed to hit me with that!”

“You said if I didn’t study hard, I’d be beaten,” Xie Zhao said seriously. “You hit me seven times during class last night. The day before yesterday, you hit me eleven times, and the day before that…”

Cheng Yaoyao’s heart raced. This guy really kept a notebook and remembered exactly how many times she had hit him!

She couldn’t stand the thought of being hit. If the bamboo stick left marks on Xie Zhao’s hands, it would certainly hurt her a lot. Cheng Yaoyao anxiously said, “I hit you because you weren’t paying attention in class! You… you dare to hit me and see!”

Xie Zhao actually nodded in agreement. “Try it?”

Cheng Yaoyao stamped her foot. “I’m going to tell Grandma!”

Xie Zhao said, “Go ahead.”

Cheng Yaoyao glanced at the locked door behind Xie Zhao and then remembered that Grandma Xie and Xie Fei were out. She exclaimed, “No wonder you didn’t let me go to the market. You planned this all along!”

The more Cheng Yaoyao thought about it, the more convinced she became. She pointed at Xie Zhao and said, “Xie Zhao, you… you jerk!” Unable to think of a more cutting insult, she felt increasingly aggrieved. “You’ve been wanting to hit me for a long time!”

Xie Zhao replied, “You’re the one who wants to stay in bed. How can you blame me?”

As Xie Zhao spoke, he slowly approached the bed. Cheng Yaoyao put her hands on her hips and said defiantly, “Just wait until Grandma comes back. I’ll tell her everything!”

Xie Zhao laughed. His laughter wasn’t reassuring, and Cheng Yaoyao grew more scared. At home, she was usually the one in charge with Grandma Xie’s support. Now, with her grandmother away, she was alone with Xie Zhao…

Cheng Yaoyao glanced around, picked up a small bamboo pillow, and threw it at Xie Zhao. He caught it and set it aside. With no other objects in the room that could be used as weapons, Cheng Yaoyao quickly decided, “I’m not sleepy anymore. I’m getting up!”

Xie Zhao remained indifferent. “It’s too late.”

Cheng Yaoyao stamped her feet anxiously on the bed and backed away to the edge, trying to keep her distance from Xie Zhao. “Don’t come over here, don’t come over here!”

Her hair was tousled, enhancing her delicate appearance. Wearing only a loose nightgown, she resembled a beautiful crabapple blossom. As she moved, the white fabric of her nightgown swirled like petals, exposing her smooth, straight calves. Her delicate feet, as white as snow, brushed the mat.

After the landslide, Cheng Yaoyao had many scars on her hands and legs. Her skin was delicate, and even a slight pinch would leave bright red marks. But now, her skin was smooth and free of visible scars.

Perhaps, as the villagers said, Cheng Yaoyao was a vixen, otherwise how could she have such a charming appearance?

At this moment, Cheng Yaoyao looked more like a disobedient kitten than a vixen. She moved backwards warily, her small, round toes clenching nervously.

Cheng Yaoyao darted around the bed, trying to avoid Xie Zhao. When Xie Zhao approached the head of the bed, she moved to the foot, and when he moved to the foot, she ran to the head. The bed creaked under their movements.

Xie Zhao had only one hand free, so he couldn’t catch her immediately. The soft fabric of her nightgown slipped from his grasp several times, and he could only grab handfuls of slippery fabric.

Cheng Yaoyao, growing more anxious and flushed from running around, protested, “Huh… Don’t come over here! If you come any closer, I’ll get angry!”

Her breathy voice sounded like she was acting like a spoiled child, making her seem even more endearing and provoking.

Sensing her tone, Xie Zhao’s voice became hoarse. “Don’t run away again.”

“You… If you hit me, I’ll run away,” Cheng Yaoyao said, her fear evident. Xie Zhao’s serious tone, combined with the fact that no one was home, made her feel trapped. She hid behind the lifted hem of her skirt and protested, “You’re not allowed to hit me!”

The hem of her skirt was raised, revealing her smooth, straight legs. Xie Zhao’s eyes darkened, and his tone grew colder. “If you run again, the punishment will be even more severe.”

Cheng Yaoyao, on the verge of tears, stamped her feet and seemed ready to lose her temper. Xie Zhao added, “No fake crying. Have you forgotten the lesson from last time?”

Recalling the previous lesson, Cheng Yaoyao shuddered. She pursed her lips to hold back tears, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. She whimpered, “Then… then throw away the bamboo stick. Don’t use it to hit me.”

Xie Zhao’s expression was initially gloomy, but seeing her pitiful look, a smile flickered across his eyes. However, he quickly turned serious again. “Who told you to be naughty?”

“I’m good!” Cheng Yaoyao felt embarrassed and wronged by the discussion of her behavior, but she was outmatched. She pointed at the stick in Xie Zhao’s hand and said, “Throw it away!”

Xie Zhao replied coldly, “You still dare to negotiate?”

Cheng Yaoyao pouted and shook her head in frustration.

Xie Zhao said again, “Come here.”

Cheng Yaoyao looked at Xie Zhao’s stern face. He had deep brows and looked very fierce when expressionless. “Or do you want me to catch you?”

Nervously, Cheng Yaoyao took reluctant steps forward, comforting herself that this was just a delaying tactic until Grandma Xie returned.

When she reached Xie Zhao, he suddenly raised the teaching stick. Cheng Yaoyao’s remaining courage crumbled. With a cry of “No,” she threw herself at Xie Zhao, hugging his neck tightly with both arms. She stomped her feet and pleaded, “Don’t hit me!”

Xie Zhao, enveloped by her warm, soft embrace, still spoke coldly. “You were afraid of punishment, so why didn’t you behave earlier?”

Cheng Yaoyao whimpered and rubbed against Xie Zhao’s shoulder, trying to soften his attitude by acting like a spoiled child. Xie Zhao did embrace her and then sat down on the bed.

His broad, warm embrace offered some relief. Cheng Yaoyao buried her face in his shoulder, pretending she didn’t exist.

Xie Zhao’s nose brushed against Cheng Yaoyao’s hair, which had a faint peach blossom fragrance. He pinched her chin to make her look up. “Don’t act like a spoiled child. Use your words. Are you not good, and should you be punished?”

Cheng Yaoyao’s eyes were clouded with tears. Noticing the stick Xie Zhao had put down, she secretly kicked it under the bed and sighed with relief. “Don’t punish me…Humm!”

Before she could finish, she was pushed face down onto Xie Zhao’s knees.

“Ah! What are you doing…” Cheng Yaoyao kicked her legs wildly.

Xie Zhao’s tone finally showed a hint of anger. “Punishment. Secretly throwing away the teaching stick is an even greater offense.”

Without the pointer, Cheng Yaoyao thought, he couldn’t punish me. She stared at the floor tiles, pouting. Suddenly, a “snap” of flesh meeting flesh echoed in the room, followed by Cheng Yaoyao’s scream.

She screamed genuinely, tears streaming down her face. “Ah! It hurts! You… Ah! You dare to hit me! Xie Zhao, you’re dead! Ah! Don’t hit me… it hurts so much… wuaa! I want to go home, I want to go home!”

With three sharp slaps, Cheng Yaoyao’s rear was smacked three times in quick succession. She had never imagined being punished like this. It was painful and humiliating, and she cried out loudly.

Xie Zhao was about to continue, but when he noticed something wrong with her tone, he turned her over. Her face was red from crying, and she looked as if she might pass out any moment. Xie Zhao brushed away the wet hair from her face. Cheng Yaoyao, normally beautiful and distant when not smiling, looked like a begonia in the rain when she cried^[1]means she appeared very delicate and sad when she cried., evoking a deep, unsettling urge within him.

Whenever Cheng Yaoyao made Xie Zhao angry, her tears were her defense against punishment. Little did she know, her tearful appearance only made him want to comfort her again and make her cry…

Cheng Yaoyao, sobbing, dared to open her eyes and glance at Xie Zhao’s expression. She was immediately startled by the intense fire burning in his eyes, her tears momentarily forgotten.

It felt as though a transparent flame was igniting the room, raising the temperature. Cheng Yaoyao, trembling, stared blankly at Xie Zhao. Her curled eyelashes, wet with tears, made her delicate peach blossom eyes even more enchanting.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Xie Zhao’s voice was hoarse, and he covered her eyes with his large hand. Cheng Yaoyao, hiccuping in fear, felt the warmth of his hand, which covered her face from the eyes up, leaving only her small chin and lips visible.

Her lips, small and soft, were a tempting rose color, with a cute bead on the upper lip that seemed to beckon for a kiss.

Cheng Yaoyao, feeling like a kitten with its neck held or a little rabbit in a predator’s grasp, didn’t dare move. She cried, “What’s wrong with me…”

“You seduced me,” Xie Zhao’s breath was hot, and his low voice reached her clearly. “You’re so naughty. Do you know how I’m going to punish you?”

“I… I didn’t,” Cheng Yaoyao said, biting her lower lip. The darkness in front of her eyes made her increasingly uneasy. She reached up to grab Xie Zhao’s collar and pleaded in a tearful, coaxing voice, “Don’t hit me. It hurts…”