Chapter 150: Be Kinder to Her

“Punish me, please.”

The girl clasped her hands behind her back as if bound, nervously shutting her eyes, bracing for the slap that might come. Her shy fear and pitiful demeanor stirred something restless in Xiao Cheng’s heart; in that moment, violating her seemed like the right course of action.

But hitting a woman…

If it were the first case, and she had masochistic tendencies, then perhaps satisfying her request wouldn’t be wrong. The second scenario seemed unlikely and impractical; as long as he kept his wits, he wouldn’t be deceived. The third was a test, a way to deepen understanding—if that were the case…

With this thought, Xiao Cheng suddenly pushed Ding Sina. Behind her was a small bed, and the push was just enough to make her fall onto it.

The girl gasped, a sound neither of pure excitement nor of fright.

At that moment, the door opened.

The distance from the main entrance to the daughter’s room was just a few steps, but Ding Lame was breathless and limping. The scene before him was of Wen Xiao Cheng standing with his back turned, and his daughter lying on the bed, her face flushed with embarrassment. Fortunately, both were still properly dressed. It seemed that the terrible event he feared had not occurred—at least, not this time.

“You… you two…” Ding Lame stammered, unsure what to say. In his mind, Wen Xiao Cheng was almost like a demi-god—he dared not utter harsh words. His daughter was his precious jewel, and seeing her wronged was unbearable. Though angry, he didn’t know how to express it.

It was Ding Sina who first broke the silence, sitting up on the bed with a cold gaze. “Don’t ask us first. Tell me, what have you been doing these past few days?”

That single sentence flipped the atmosphere. Ding Lame’s aggressive momentum was drained; why had he stayed at the inn for six days without explaining to his daughter? He couldn’t say it was because he won money at the casino and feared being silenced, so he had to lay low.

“Who the hell do you think you are, telling me what to do? Do I need to ask your permission where I go? Who’s in charge here? I’m asking you, what’s going on?”

Ding Sina stood up defiantly. “I’m going to sleep with him! Mind your own business!”

Wen Xiao Cheng’s eyes widened instantly.

“Who says you can’t? I’m your father!”

“My father? You spend your days gambling and drinking. Have you ever cared about me? You disappear for six or seven days without a single call. I don’t even know if you’re alive or dead! If you get killed by loan sharks out there, am I not allowed to find a man to look after myself?”

Ding Lame trembled with anger. His daughter’s words were like knives, cutting deep into his flesh, leaving raw wounds. He had hoped to come home and have a drink with her, to spend the holiday taking her out, burning through the twenty thousand yuan he’d saved. He had even dreamed of starting a business while he was still young enough to hustle, preparing a decent dowry of one hundred thousand yuan for her, to see her married off with dignity…

Wen Xiao Cheng felt invisible, but he didn’t want to remain so.

Fine, your wish is granted. Xiao Cheng delivered a sharp slap across Ding Sina’s face. “How do you talk to your father like that?”

Ding Sina had just gotten up from the bed when the slap sent her sprawling back down. The red handprint blossomed immediately across her cheek, half her face swelling.

Ding Lame, already shaking with rage, trembled even more. He turned to Wen Xiao Cheng, his eyes red-rimmed. He had raised his daughter for over a decade, never willing to lay a finger on her, yet this one loud slap had landed. Seeing his daughter’s swollen face shattered his heart.

“Get up! Apologize to your father!”

Ding Sina rolled from the bed and stood, then walked straight to her father and bowed. “Dad, I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

Ding Lame was beside himself. His daughter was so outspoken, practically cursing him, yet how did Wen Xiao Cheng’s one slap make her obediently apologize? How did his own daughter become so easily managed by someone else?

He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he thought he saw a faint, subtle satisfaction on his daughter’s face.

“Uncle Ding, actually, I came looking for you today. Ding Sina said you’d be back soon, so she told me to wait here for a while. What she said just now was in anger. She and I are just ordinary friends.”

Next to him, Ding Sina’s face flushed red, as if the lie had been uncovered.

Ding Lame’s mouth turned bitter. “Just ordinary friends?” That slap was like it cost nothing! He’d been gone for six days, and his daughter said he’d be back soon—clearly she wanted Xiao Cheng to stay a little longer.

“Ding Sina, be nicer to your father. You only have one dad! It’s not easy dragging a lame leg around.”

Ding Sina bowed her head, cheeks reddened, and muttered an assent.

Every word was kind, yet Ding Lame felt uneasy. After a long pause, he said bitterly, “My daughter can discipline herself!”

Xiao Cheng smiled. “That’s best. Honestly, I didn’t want to get involved in this.”

Though awkward, the matter was at least resolved. Ding Lame stubbornly hobbled to the living room and told Xiao Cheng to sit on the sofa. To Ding Sina, he said, “I brought back some cooked food. You chop it up. Let’s have Xiao Cheng stay for lunch. And I still have a bottle of Jian Nan Chun. You, young man,” he pointed at Xiao Cheng, “drink with me.”

With his daughter involved, Ding Lame had to play the elder role; no longer calling Xiao Cheng “little master” or “Little Wen the Demi-God”—whether demi-god or immortal, he must at least call his son-in-law “Dad.”

Xiao Cheng settled in, glancing at Ding Sina busy in the kitchen. She was quite capable, managing the household chores with ease. He said to Ding Lame, “Last time, I repaid the eighty thousand yuan civil compensation, right? So about testifying on my father’s behalf…”

In front of Ding Sina, he couldn’t be too detailed. The so-called testimony was really to gather information about that day’s events, since Ding Lame had been missing for several days.

“No problem!” Before Xiao Cheng finished, Ding Lame pounded his chest. Though the compensation was eighty thousand, he actually netted two hundred and twenty thousand. With that money, not only could he secure the rest of his life, but at least have hope. Having promised to testify, Ding Lame had no regrets. “Just tell me when the court date is. I’ll testify no problem.”

Ding Sina switched on the kitchen exhaust fan and seemed to prepare to cook a couple of dishes to show off her skills. The kitchen door closed, and Xiao Cheng quietly asked, “So, how much did you win?”

“Two hundred and twenty thousand!” Ding Lame couldn’t help but grin. “I said, little money god, if you had this touch, why didn’t you let me bet more? I still had my wits about me, otherwise, if I’d only won eighty-eight thousand, how much would I have missed out on?”

Xiao Cheng shook his head, sighing. “The more you win, the greater the risk. You’ve used up all your gambling luck for this lifetime.”

That warning hit home. Ding Lame shuddered at the memory of the day he’d been followed. “Don’t worry, I’m done gambling for good.”

He sighed deeply. “Of the two hundred and twenty thousand, I’ve saved one hundred thousand for my daughter—no matter what, that’s her dowry. The rest I plan to invest in a business. Ah, you…”

Ding Lame hesitated, bitterness filling his mouth. “If you’re dating her, I won’t stop you. But you better treat my daughter well. If you dare hurt her… whether you’re Wen the Demi-God or Wen the Money God, I’ll fight you to the death!”

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