Chapter 11

The mischievous child struggled, baring his teeth, but in front of the six-foot-two man, he was like a flailing little chick. Still, he continued to shout defiantly, “You’re ugly! Bleh bleh bleh!” 

Zhou Yanjing scoffed lightly, “What kind of anti-human school did you attend to have such a messed-up sense of aesthetics?” 

He took the water gun from the kid’s hand, weighed it for a moment, finding it quite heavy, then casually tossed it to Lin Yuxi. “Go ahead and play with it.” 

Lin Yuxi caught the water gun thrown into her arms, speechless. 

What was she supposed to do with this thing? 

Upon hearing him repeatedly call Lin Yuxi “wife,” Mr. Wang finally realized that his son had provoked someone he shouldn’t have. He hurried over to apologize. 

“What’s with your mischief? Hurry and come over here!” 

He reached out to grab the child, but Zhou Yanjing coldly lifted his eyelids, freezing Mr. Wang in place. 

“If you don’t know how to teach, stand aside and watch carefully.” 

Zhou Yanjing glanced at the mischievous kid. “What’s your name?” 

The kid replied, “I’m your dad!” 

Zhou Yanjing, unfazed, responded casually, “Oh, so you’re your own dad. Quite a creative name your father gave you, calling you ‘Your Dad.'” 

Mr. Wang’s face turned green as he gritted his teeth, scolding his son, “What kind of nonsense are you spouting? That’s Uncle Zhou!” 

“Don’t mix up relations. I don’t have such a bratty nephew,” Zhou Yanjing said calmly. “But you’re lucky today. Do you know why? It’s not every day you meet a warm-hearted citizen like me. Since your dad doesn’t know how to teach you, and I happen to be in a good mood, I’ll help him out.” 

With that, Zhou Yanjing grabbed the kid by the collar, lifting him up and flipping him upside down. Holding him by the ankle with one hand, he dangled the child above the pool. 

Mr. Wang, now in a panic, resembled an ant on a hot stove. “He’s just a child, fascinated by your wife’s beauty and wanting to play. He meant no harm.” 

“What’s the rush?” Zhou Yanjing said. “His aesthetics are all messed up. I’m just correcting them.” 

The kid, suspended upside down with his head facing the water, flailed and screamed, “Let me go, you big idiot! Do you believe I’ll kill you?” 

Zhou Yanjing clicked his tongue. “Did your parents never teach you to brush your teeth? Your mouth is filthy. Let’s give it a rinse.” 

With that, he dunked the upside-down child into the pool like dipping a brush in ink. 

Half of the child’s head submerged in the water before being pulled back up. His face, which had been full of defiance, turned pale with fear as he burst into tears. 

Mr. Wang, torn between anxiety and anger, wished he could throttle his own foolish son. Of all people to provoke, he had to mess with the Zhou family. His company was in a tough spot, desperately waiting for a life-saving loan from Hengtai Bank. 

“Apologize to Mr. Zhou now!!” 

“I did nothing wrong!” The spoiled child, stubborn as a bull, cried and cursed incoherently between sobs, “I’ll ” 

“Looks like it didn’t clean him up,” Zhou Yanjing said. “Better wash him again.” 

As he prepared to dunk the child a second time, Mr. Wang dropped to his knees with a thud. “Mr. Zhou, it’s my fault for not raising him properly. Please, be the bigger person and let him go!” 

Lin Yuxi, stunned by Zhou Yanjing’s straightforward and rough approach, stood frozen in place. 

The commotion by the pool quickly caught the attention of the people inside. A group rushed over, only to see Zhou Yanjing holding a child upside down above the pool, while Lin Yuxi stood nearby with the water gun. 

At first glance, it looked like a couple bullying a child together. 

“Oh my, what on earth is happening?” 

Lin Yuxi snapped out of her daze, hurried forward, and tugged at Zhou Yanjing’s sleeve, trying to convince him to put the child down. 

She preferred to take revenge quietly, behind the scenes. Unlike Zhou Yanjing, who was doing it so blatantly. 

After all, they were guests at someone else’s house. If things escalated, it wouldn’t look good for the Shi family either, and Ling Yaqiong would surely scold her for not stepping in. 

As she approached, Zhou Yanjing pulled her to his side, saying, “Stay back.” 

The child’s mother had arrived, wailing hysterically and lunging forward, only to be held back by the father. “Help! Murder! Someone save my son!” 

Everyone around started chiming in, “Second Young Master, why argue with a child?” 

“Yeah, let’s talk this out peacefully.” 

Ling Yaqiong’s face was livid. “Yanjing, what are you doing?” 

Zhou Yanjing raised an eyebrow nonchalantly, shaking the kid a little. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m delivering justice.” 

Even Ling Yaqiong’s words didn’t seem to work, and the kid’s parents threw themselves at the feet of the oldest member of the Shi family, crying, “Master Shi, please, you must help us!” 

The elderly man gave Zhou Yanjing a frustrated glare. That rascal! He was a grown man, yet he didn’t even bother to hide while bullying a child. 

With a stern face, the old man said, “Yanjing, he’s just a kid. No matter how he offended you, put him down first.” 

Zhou Yanjing, unfazed, replied with a smirk, “Grandpa, I’m a kid too. It’s just kids playing around, no need for you to intervene. Just sit back and enjoy the show. It’s wet and slippery by the pool, and we wouldn’t want you falling in.” 

Who was Zhou Yanjing? He had always been a troublemaker, impossible to control. He may have appeared more mature with age, but deep down, he was still the same rascal. 

Mr. Wang, practically tearing his hair out, shouted at his son, “Apologize already! Just apologize and you’ll be let down!” 

The mischievous child, known for bullying the weak and fearing the strong, realized that no one here could rein in Zhou Yanjing. Terrified, he sobbed, “I’m sorry, Uncle!” 

Zhou Yanjing said, “I have bad hearing. Who are you apologizing to?” 

The kid quickly corrected himself, “I’m sorry, Auntie!” 

“There’s no auntie here.” Zhou Yanjing wasn’t satisfied. “My wife’s a young lady, and you, a brat barely in your teens, are calling her auntie?” 

Lin Yuxi wanted to point out that she was already 25, soon to be 26, so calling her “auntie” wasn’t all that strange. 

“I’m sorry, sister! I know I was wrong! Please forgive me!” the kid sobbed. 

“And what exactly are you sorry for?” Zhou Yanjing asked. 

“I shouldn’t have sprayed you with the water gun just because you’re pretty.” The kid now seemed completely obedient, following Zhou Yanjing’s every word. “I’ll never do it again!” 

“Next time? The next time you see me, you’d better run as fast as you can. If not, I’ll toss you in the pool, and you can stay there until you drink it dry.” 

“I’ll never do it again!” the kid cried. 

Only then did Zhou Yanjing slowly bring the kid back and set him down, whereupon the kid’s mother rushed forward to hold him. 

Zhou Yanjing casually rubbed his wrist, saying, “What have you been eating to get this fat? You’re over the weight limit.” 

Once the child was on solid ground, the mother’s attitude changed, and she began cursing like a madwoman, “You’re a grown man bullying a child! Do you have no shame?” 

Zhou Yanjing let out a light laugh, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “So what if I bullied him? Don’t like it? If you want to stand up for him, you can try hanging me upside down. I promise I won’t fight back. Want to give it a try?”