The obedient girl glances up, and the tyrannical tycoon kneels down to pamper her.

The slap didn't land, but the wind from the palm brushed against Xing's mother's face, sending a chilling sensation through her.

Exhausted, Xing's mother collapsed to the ground, her face pale.

After a while, the servants realized what was happening and rushed over to help her up; Xing's mother's legs were weak.

Some of the servants went to fetch water, some called for a doctor, and others went to inform Mr. Xing and the second young master.

Luo Huai breathed a sigh of relief, then realized that her hands were still holding Xing Yanzhao's arms, and quickly let go.

Xing Yanzhao was slightly dissatisfied.

Can't you hold me a little longer?

Luo Huai wouldn't hug him, but he would.

Xing Yanzhao picked the person up with one hand again, glancing at the servant, "Medicine box."

"Yes, yes, yes." The maid nervously went to get the medicine box and handed it over.

Xing Yanzhao took the medicine box, went upstairs, kicked open the door, and placed the person sitting on the edge of the bed.

Luo Huai tried to stand up.

"Sit still." The man's patience was running out.

Luo Huai sat obediently, watching the man rummage through the medicine box, take out a tube of vitamin E ointment, squeeze some onto his finger and prepare to apply it to her.

Luo Huai shrank his neck: "Is it useful?"

"It's better than ice or heat." Xing Yanzhao pressed his fingers on her face, but he couldn't control the pressure, and it made her eyes well up with tears.

Luo Huai remained silent, looking at him with a hesitant expression.

"You have something to say."

"You've just……"

"It's just a scare tactic. I don't hit elders or women." Xing Yanzhao squeezed out more ointment and continued applying it. "Even if you don't say anything, the old lady will scold me if she finds out."

Not only that, they'll also whip him with willow branches!

The old lady was terrified.

"Why did she hit you? Tell me the whole story, don't hide anything, or you won't win the confrontation later." Xing Yanzhao's expression was calm, but his tone subtly conveyed the command of a superior.

Luo Huai finished speaking without missing a single word.

“No wonder she’s angry. Xing Zhengyu is the only son in her heart.” Xing Yanzhao raised an eyebrow and smiled at her. “Pity me? Stand on my side.”

Yesterday, Luo Huai, acting like a drunkard, said he was pitiful, and that's when he wanted to ask.

Luo Huai knew in his heart that someone like him didn't need pity.

Pity is an insult.

She shook her head slightly.

“I married you, so I can only stand on your side. Even though I am an adopted daughter of the Pei family, the Xing family looks down on me and will not really treat me as one of their own. The old man and the old woman like me because they think I am obedient and easy to control. I don’t have a good family background or great abilities, so I can’t cause any trouble. If I disobey them one day, they can hate me and abandon me as easily as they want.”

This is a principle she learned in the Pei family.

You can't trust others.

Except for Pei Yuanzhou, he ultimately trusted the wrong person.

The Xing family is even less likely to be trusted.

“Now that I’ve married into the Xing family, I have to stand on one side. No one can remain untainted in this cesspool.” She was very frank.

Xing Yanzhao praised, "He's quite clever."

The medicine has been applied; half of my face is covered in white ointment, almost like a face mask.

"Perfect timing. There's something I should remind you of. You know I grew up in the countryside. In our village, once the wedding banquet is held, it doesn't matter whether you get a marriage certificate or not. Your marriage to me means you're my wife, and that's a done deal. What happened between you and Pei Yuanzhou before, whether you had boyfriends or not, should all be left at that point. I don't care about those things. Everyone has a past."

"Of course, me too."

“You are my wife, and I am your husband. We have to keep our promises. If I find out that you and Pei Yuanzhou are still entangled…” Xing Yanzhao’s gaze deepened, revealing a ruthless edge. “You know I have a bad temper.”

Luo Huai was startled and said, "I will obey."

Hearing her words, Xing Yanzhao added, "I don't like people around me being bullied, so don't be too obedient."

"Huh?" This was the first time Luo Huai had heard such words.

dong dong dong...

The servant knocked on the door and asked them to leave.

Luo Huai got up, but Xing Yanzhao pressed his shoulders down and made him sit down again.

"Stay put and sleep if you're sleepy."

He went out by himself and closed the door behind him.

The maid said that the eldest young mistress was also going downstairs, but Xing Yanzhao gave her a look and she immediately fell silent.

Luo Huai walked to the door, pressed his ear against it, and listened to the sounds below.

"Kneel down!" Xing's father roared.

Xing Yanzhao: "I kneel to heaven, earth, and my ancestors, but not to the living."

Mr. Xing: "You scared your mother so much that she had heart palpitations, and you still have the nerve to complain?"

Xing's mother sat on the other side of the sofa, her face pale. The family doctor was examining her with a stethoscope. Xing Yuru's eyes were red, and she and Pei Youyou accompanied her.

Xing Zhengyu acted as a peacemaker: "Big brother, apologize to Mom and Dad. They won't really be angry with you."

"Apologize?" Mr. Xing scoffed. "I've never seen a son hit his own mother before."

Xing Yanzhao looked completely unrepentant, "I didn't hit him."

"To scare someone is also unfilial!"

“You’re used to not having parents, you don’t know what filial piety is.” Xing Yanzhao glanced at everyone in the family and reminded them, “I just told you not to bully the people around me.”

"It's okay, I'm going upstairs." He strode away.

Father Xing: "Stop!"

Xing Yanzhao turned around impatiently and kicked the railing of the spiral staircase, bending it and making a buzzing sound.

Xing's mother and Xing Yurou were so frightened that they huddled together, trembling all over.

Pei Youyou was also startled, her eyes wide open and tears welling up in her eyes.

Whoever gets kicked by this kick will die.

A chill ran through her body. She got up and walked towards Xing Zhengyu, took his hand, and was held in his arms for a while before she reacted.

She was frightened once yesterday, and now it's happened again today. Pei Youyou couldn't take it anymore. She went back to her room and immediately said, "Zhengyu, can't we not live here anymore? Can't we live separately after we get married? Zhengyu, he's really too scary, too scary."

She was completely stunned.

"long……"

"Move out, we'll move out tomorrow," Pei Youyou kept muttering until Xing Zhengyu kissed her, which calmed her down after a while.

"Youyou, it was my fault tonight. I didn't go to protect you right away. This won't happen again." He hugged her and gently kissed Pei Youyou's hair.

"My brother only smashes things, he doesn't hit people easily. You are a young lady of the Pei family, so he wouldn't dare to lay a hand on you. If he were to lay a hand on you, not only would the Xing family not let him off the hook, but the Pei family, your parents, and your brother wouldn't let him off the hook either. Don't you think so?"

Pei Youyou snuggled closer to him and nodded.

That's true, but if she lived under the same roof as Xing Yanzhao every day and was constantly frightened, she was afraid she would develop a nervous breakdown.

"Brother Zhengyu, I know you're reluctant to leave Mom, Dad, and your sister. Could you ask them to move out of the Xing family home and live elsewhere?"

"Silly Youyou, he finally came back, how could he possibly move out?" Just like how he came to the Xing family by chance, enjoyed twenty-nine years of wealth and power, how could he bear to give it up?

If he leaves the Xing family, his relationship with them will become distant.

Without his comparison, without his occasional reminders and instigation, Xing Yanzhao would gradually take over the Xing family's place in their hearts, and one day he would be completely squeezed out of the Xing family.

The bond of raising children is important, but blood ties are a mysterious thing; they are genes etched into the bones of the Chinese people.

He cannot afford to relax.

"Youyou, I'm here, don't be afraid."

Pei Youyou nodded slowly, not very willingly.

She had a nightmare at night, dreaming that Xing Yanzhao kicked her.

With a thud, she rolled off the bed, drenched in sweat.

Pei Youyou opened her eyes, rubbing her sore bottom as she called out for help, but no one answered.

I got up and looked around; there was no one in bed.

"Brother Zhengyu?"

There was no one in the restroom either.

"Brother Zhengyu?"

There was no one on the balcony.

She gathered her clothes and went out. The dim light from the room shone into the corridor, forming a small triangle.

Xing Zhengyu stood at the end of the corridor answering the phone, his tone displeased: "I've told you not to call me easily, not to contact me. I've sent you a lot of money over the past three years, and it's all gone?"

"Yes, yes, we just heard you got married, so we wanted to..."