Chapter 15 - 15 15 Emotional Abuse

Words : 1429 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Emotional Abuse Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Emotional Abuse Zheng Fa rarely felt a thread of sympathy for that Wang Gui. The Seventh Young Master, who seemed like an enthusiastic youth just a moment ago, when he turned unreasonable, was indeed quite intolerable. He threw Gao Yuan’s bookcase on the ground, his lips slightly curled as if smiling, but his eyes held not a trace of mirth. Clearly, his earlier demand for the two of them, Zheng Fa, to “get lost” was genuine. “Not speaking?” Seeing that Zheng Fa had not replied, the Seventh Young Master, as if he understood what they were thinking, said: “Did someone tell you that following me would bring you luxury and riches? Splendor and wealth?” “What nonsense! Do I seem like such an easy person to serve?” You’ve got to admit, his self-awareness was quite clear. The Seventh Young Master glanced at them, slumped back in his chair, crossed his legs in an arrogant fashion, and looked utterly lackadaisical: “Do you think by me becoming the Family Head, and you becoming my lackeys, you could go around bullying others?” He sneered, “I’m not afraid to tell you frankly, I’m just too young. Once I grow up, whoever wants to be the Zhao Family’s Head can be, I won’t be! As for your daydreaming, it’s time to wake up!” Gao Yuan’s face turned white beside him. He knew that the Seventh Young Master had a rebellious reputation within the Zhao Mansion. But this behavior was beyond his expectations. As for Zheng Fa, he didn’t feel disappointed—his intention for coming to the Zhao Mansion was clear, he wanted to experience the martial arts of this world, and incidentally improve his family’s circumstances. As for who the Seventh Young Master was, it mattered, but wasn’t all that important. As for leaving after hearing those words? Zheng Fa wasn’t that naïve; the Zhao Mansion had summoned him for this evaluation, it wasn’t his choice. Whether or not he became an Attendant Student was even less his choice. However, the Seventh Young Master’s reaction to their silence was rather excessive. This barrage of sarcasm and ridicule didn’t even seem directed at Zheng Fa and his companion. Seeing them still silent, the Seventh Young Master apparently found it unamusing and waved his hand at them: “Don’t want to leave, is that it? Stand outside, don’t obstruct my view.” Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan stood at the doorway, through the translucency of the glass window, they watched the Seventh Young Master pace around the room as if annoyed, then sat back down and picked up the book. And as he read on, he seemed to become annoyed again, standing up to pace around. His way of reading was serious, helpless, and also familiar: The sort that, you could tell on an examination site, was striving hard yet cluelessly confused. Commonly known as academic underachievers. Zheng Fa was a bit curious, putting everything else aside, this attitude of studying hard despite not understanding seemed unlike the slovenly impression the Seventh Young Master portrayed. Only, he didn’t know which book he was reading. Time trickled away, and Zheng Fa and his companion stood by the door unnoticed. The sun climbed higher in the sky, becoming scorchingly hot with midday’s arrival. Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan, having set out early in the morning without a drop of water, now felt increasingly hot and thirsty under the fierce sun, which was quite uncomfortable. Beside him, Gao Yuan repeatedly licked his parched lower lip, but it seemed the more he licked, the drier it became, and his lips began to crack. The two, dazed by the heat, suddenly heard a soft set of footsteps behind them, a maid holding a light green porcelain tray approached them. On the tray was a large bunch of freshly washed grapes glistening with water droplets, shining under the sunlight. Zheng Fa clearly heard Gao Yuan beside him swallow hard. The maid seemed to have intentionally walked in front of them and even paraded the grapes under their eyes before lifting the curtain of the study and entering. When the curtain was lifted, Zheng Fa distinctly felt a cool breeze coming from inside the room. He couldn’t help his curiosity, peering into the room. There was no ice basin, nor could there be modern air-conditioning. Where was this cool air coming from? Suddenly, he noticed an inconspicuous blue pattern on the floor of the room, faintly glowing. The cold wind seemed to be blowing from that corner. “An Array?” Zheng Fa wondered to himself, “Or is it just this simple recreational array?” What surprised Zheng Fa even more than the Seventh Young Master’s ability to enjoy such an array was the existence of Arrays that were created solely for enjoyment in this world— To Zheng Fa, this was an even clearer indication of the Immortal Sect’s influence on this world and the level of development of the cultivation civilization. The maid placed a porcelain plate in front of the Seventh Young Master, who pinched a grape and walked to the window. As if deliberately letting Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan see clearly. Under the scorching sun, Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan were almost out of saliva. Inside the window, the Seventh Young Master slowly and leisurely ate a whole plate of grapes, one by one. After finishing, he smiled proudly at the two, then sat back in his original position and continued reading his book. Now, seeing his frown and troubled face again, Zheng Fa couldn’t help but inwardly curse—Damn! By the afternoon, it seemed the Seventh Young Master found it boring and finally chased the two away. Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan followed the maid out of the Seventh Young Master’s courtyard and walked towards their own living quarters. The further they walked, the more downcast Gao Yuan’s expression became. Zheng Fa also understood his thoughts—the Seventh Young Master’s courtyard was big enough, but his refusal to let them live inside was a clear rejection of the two. They arrived at their quarters, a single-story house without an enclosure. The first room had a table and several chairs. The next room had two beds with a cupboard at the head. No more furniture was to spare. After leading the two here, the maid said nothing and turned to leave, clearly not inclined to talk more with them. Watching the maid hurry away, avoiding them as if plague-stricken. Gao Yuan heaved a long sigh and said bitterly to Zheng Fa, “I’ve long heard from my father about the Seventh Young Master... Sigh.” As if to avoid speaking ill of someone of higher status, he didn’t continue, muttering with some pain, “This is just the first day; how will we endure the days to come!” Zheng Fa took out his clothes from his bundle and placed them into the cupboard without speaking. Gao Yuan turned over on the bed and asked, “Don’t you have any thoughts?” “What thoughts can I have?” Zheng Fa, after arranging the cupboard, shrugged and said, “The Seventh Young Master isn’t really that bad.” “Huh?” “He doesn’t like us, right?” “That’s quite obvious.” “So, has he treated us wrongly?” “It seems...” Gao Yuan frowned and thought for a while, the Seventh Young Master did have a knack for being irritating, but he wasn’t really harmful. “So, he doesn’t like us, and I don’t like him either, but whether we are his Attendant Students, it seems he can’t really decide... Let’s just get by.” “But if he doesn’t like us, we can’t stay here for long, can we?” Zheng Fa nodded. After all, the Seventh Young Master is still the Young Master. “I can’t be sent back; otherwise, my father will beat me to death!” Zheng Fa fell silent, for him, if he were sent back, the consequences might be even more severe: Manager Wang may just be waiting for that day. While the two were sitting in silence, a man came to the door and said, “Mr. Xu is looking for you.” Gao Yuan jumped up, excited, “He’s going to teach us martial arts!” Zheng Fa looked puzzled as he saw Gao Yuan forget his worries in an instant, “Didn’t you practice martial arts before?” “What do you know? What I practiced was nothing but farmer’s moves, my father wouldn’t dare teach me martial arts from our mansion!”

Chapter 15 - 15 15 Emotional Abuse

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