TEDWR: Chapter 16

 Glossary

·Zhang Yansheng (张雁声): The female protagonist, the reborn eldest daughter.

·Zhang Huan (张寰): Zhang Yansheng's father.

·Liang Yingying (梁莹莹): Zhang Yansheng's stepmother.

·Zhang Shuocheng (张硕成): Zhang Yansheng's seven-year-old half-brother.

·Zhang Heling (张鹤翎): Zhang Yansheng's nine-year-old half-sister. Nickname: Hehe.

·Wang Yi (王姨): The nanny who cares for Zhang Shuocheng. Referred to as Auntie Wang.

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Chapter 16

Zhang Heling felt these past few days were very strange. Suddenly, the atmosphere at home had become… satisfying.

It all seemed to start with her big sister's attitude towards her changing abruptly the night before last.

The young girl was pleasantly surprised by this subtle, perceptible yet hard-to-define change. She repeatedly promised her big sister she would definitely not spend money recklessly and would keep it within the limit given to her.

She had originally wanted to rush back to her room to unbox her new game console. But with an allowance suddenly falling from the sky, she tossed aside all thoughts of the console.

Watching Zhang Yansheng carry a bunch of bags towards the walk-in closet, she first put down the console and went over to help.

"Sister, did you buy new clothes?"

Zhang Yansheng acknowledged with an absent-minded hum. She cut off tags, and Zhang Heling handed her hangers, even helping her hang the clothes.

Girls are meticulous. Zhang Heling soon noticed, "Sister, these new ones you bought… they're quite different from your old clothes."

Hearing this, Zhang Yansheng lifted her eyes and swept a glance over the clothes hanging in the walk-in closet. Indeed, they were very different styles.

The Zhang Yansheng of this time was still a good girl. The clothes in her wardrobe were all fresh, pure, youthful. But the later Zhang Yansheng was a "bad girl" with multiple tattoos. Even if she didn't want to go down the old path again, her aesthetic sense was already completely different from this time.

Today, she had specifically bought clothes that matched her current taste.

The new clothes were all in bold, intense colors, flamboyant, with more mature designs. They were in a completely different direction from the fresh, youthful style of the past.

Zhang Yansheng picked up a dress and top set, held it against herself in front of the mirror, and asked Zhang Heling, "Does it look good?"

"It looks great!" Zhang Heling propped her elbows on the jewelry storage island in the middle of the closet, resting her chin on her hands. "Sister, I feel like you've become really different from before."

Zhang Yansheng looked at her reflection in the mirror and smiled faintly.

She didn't want to ask Zhang Heling what her past self was like, nor did she want to recall what her future self was like. Since she had returned to this time, she wanted to overturn everything and start anew, to become a completely new self.

"Hey, sister, what's this?" Zhang Heling suddenly bent down, rummaged through a bag, and pulled out a flat, long bamboo item. "Is this… a ruler?"

But it had no markings. Instead, it was densely carved with small characters. Looking closer, it was the Three Character Classic?

"What's this for?"

(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)

Zhang Yansheng hung up the clothes, reached over, and took the item from Zhang Heling's hand. She said to her, "Hold out your hand."

Zhang Heling: "?"

She obediently extended a hand.

Zhang Yansheng turned her hand over, palm up, and lightly tapped her palm with the item. "This is what it's for."

Zhang Heling's face lit up with understanding. "I know! This is… what's it called? I've seen it on TV!"

"A disciplinary ruler," Zhang Yansheng said, lightly tapping it against her own palm a couple of times to test its feel. "Specifically for punishing disobedient children."

She had gone to that club today to find her sparring partner and saw this item in a small shop downstairs. Thinking it would be more effective than a clothes hanger, she bought it.

Zhang Heling sucked in a breath and quickly said, "I do my homework on time every day."

Zhang Yansheng, reborn for three days now, finally showed a smile that wasn't a sneer. "Don't worry. The rule in this house is not to hit girls."

Zhang Heling said, "Our house has that rule? Who made it? That's great."

Zhang Yansheng, holding the ruler, lifted her eyelids. "I made it."

From now on, she would set the rules in this house.

Zhang Yansheng lightly tapped the ruler in her palm a couple of times, pondering as she asked, "Is Zhang Shuocheng asleep yet?"

Zhang Heling answered without hesitation, "Definitely not. He'll be playing for a while yet."

Perfect timing. Zhang Yansheng said, "Come on, go upstairs with me."

Only then did Zhang Heling's eyelids twitch, a sense of foreboding dawning on her—was that poor kid Zhang Shuocheng going to get beaten twice in one day?

But Zhang Yansheng, carrying the ruler, was already heading out. Zhang Heling didn't dare disobey and obediently followed her upstairs.

Zhang Shuocheng had only been two when he first came to this house and still needed a nanny's care. His room was a suite, and Auntie Wang lived with him.

Auntie Wang had just gone to the bathroom. When Zhang Yansheng pushed the door open, she saw Zhang Shuocheng sitting alone on the floor playing, the carpet covered with toys.

Seeing Zhang Yansheng, Zhang Shuocheng's whole body tensed. He shot up from the floor, trying to dart into the inner room of the suite, but Zhang Yansheng grabbed him by the collar.

(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)

"What are you running from?" Zhang Yansheng asked.

Zhang Shuocheng yelled loudly, "Help! I finished my homework! I finished it!"

"Then why are you running? You know in your heart why you're guilty." Holding onto Zhang Shuocheng, Zhang Yansheng said to Zhang Heling, "Close the door."

Zhang Heling hurriedly closed the door.

Zhang Yansheng: "Lock it."

Zhang Heling locked it.

Zhang Yansheng said to Zhang Shuocheng, "I'll let go of you now, but you still can't run out of this room. Even if you yell, your mom can't get in. In my hands, no one can save you. Understand?"

Zhang Shuocheng remembered that morning—even though his mom was home, he still got spanked. Recognizing reality, he nodded.

Zhang Yansheng then released him and asked, "What did I tell you this morning?"

Zhang Shuocheng said, "I finished it!"

Zhang Yansheng snorted. "I told you to finish by noon. When did you finish?"

Zhang Shuocheng was speechless.

Zhang Yansheng turned to ask Zhang Heling, "When did he finish?"

Zhang Heling answered truthfully, "A little after one in the afternoon."

Zhang Yansheng turned back and told him, "I told you to finish before twelve noon. You dragged it until the afternoon? Hold out your hand."

Zhang Shuocheng immediately hid his hands behind his back, asking warily, "Why?"

The ruler made a whooshing sound as Zhang Yansheng swung it a couple of times.

Zhang Yansheng said, "This disciplinary ruler was bought specifically for you, to discipline you from now on. I told you to finish by twelve, you dragged it to one. You delayed an hour, one hit on the palm. Hold out your hand!"

Zhang Shuocheng was nervous and yelled loudly, "Mom! Mom!"

Coincidentally, Liang Yingying, because Zhang Huan had promised to buy her a Ferrari sports car, was clinging sweetly to Zhang Huan's arm as they went upstairs, wanting to get intimate. They had just reached the third floor when they heard Zhang Shuocheng's cries.

Normally, Liang Yingying would be very impatient with Zhang Shuocheng's noisy screaming. There were nannies, why keep calling for her!

(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)

But these past two days, Liang Yingying was also a bit on edge. Hearing Zhang Shuocheng cry out like this, her heart suddenly skipped a beat, intuitively sensing that Zhang Shuocheng's yelling this time was definitely connected to Zhang Yansheng.

Liang Yingying let go of Zhang Huan's arm, hurried over, and tried to push open Zhang Shuocheng's door, only to find it locked.

"Shuoshuo! Shuoshuo!" She banged on the door. "What's wrong? Why is the door locked?"

"Mom! My sister is going to hit me again!" Zhang Shuocheng shouted from inside.

Reflexively, he tried to charge towards the door. But Zhang Yansheng held the ruler horizontally, blocking his chest. Having suffered several times already, Zhang Shuocheng didn't dare charge headlong and froze.

"Zhang Yansheng! What are you doing! Shuoshuo already finished his homework! Are you so heartless you're going to hit him again? Zhang Yansheng, open this door!" Liang Yingying yelled from outside.

Auntie Wang also hurried out from the bathroom at this moment, pulling up her pants. "What's wrong, what's wrong?"

Really, this eldest young miss, who knew what she was stirring up these two days? She couldn't even have a peaceful bowel movement!

Zhang Yansheng ignored all these people. She only said to Zhang Shuocheng, "One hour late, one hit. If you hold out your hand now, I'll only hit you once. I'll count to three. If you still don't hold it out, I'll hit you three times. If you make such a fuss that your mom gets in, I'll hit you thirty times."

Her eyes fixed on Zhang Shuocheng. "One, two… three!"

Zhang Shuocheng thrust his hand out with a whoosh!

Excellent.

Zhang Yansheng didn't want to waste a lot of time and energy every day on a bratty kid. She wanted to quickly get Zhang Shuocheng in line, make him know fear, know obedience.

It was starting to work now.

Zhang Yansheng grasped the hand Zhang Shuocheng had extended and raised the ruler.

Zhang Shuocheng was so scared his mouth trembled, on the verge of tears.

Auntie Wang had a weak spot in Zhang Yansheng's grasp and didn't dare speak up to stop her.

Only Zhang Heling couldn't bear it and pleaded for leniency for Zhang Shuocheng. "Sister… go easy…"

Zhang Yansheng had originally intended to give Zhang Shuocheng one hard smack. Hearing Zhang Heling's plea, her heart suddenly stirred.

(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)

She raised the ruler high, creating a breeze, but paused just before bringing it down, gently tapping it onto Zhang Shuocheng's palm.

Auntie Wang and Zhang Heling both heaved a huge sigh of relief.

Zhang Shuocheng: "…" Huh?

"Didn't hurt, right?" Zhang Yansheng released Zhang Shuocheng's hand. "Because I didn't use force. Do you know why?"

Zhang Shuocheng shook his head.

"Because your sister pleaded for you," Zhang Yansheng said. "I let you off this time for your sister's sake. But from now on, I'm putting your sister in charge of checking your homework every day. You have to listen to her. If you do something wrong and she corrects you, you have to listen to her too. Understand? If you're told and still don't listen, then no one's pleas will work. Understand?"

Outside the room, unable to hear Zhang Shuocheng's cries anymore, Liang Yingying grew more anxious, banging on the door. "Open the door! Open this door! Zhang Huan, tell your daughter to open the door!"

Inside the room, Zhang Shuocheng nodded. Zhang Yansheng said, "Repeat it for me. Whom will you listen to from now on?"

Zhang Shuocheng: "My sister."

"Which sister?"

"Hehe sister."

Zhang Yansheng brought the ruler down on a large plush toy on the floor with a loud thwack.

Zhang Shuocheng shuddered in fright.

"Listen to which sister?"

"You."

Another loud thwack as the ruler hit the floor.

"Listen to which sister?"

Auntie Wang quickly prompted Zhang Shuocheng, "Both! Both!"

Zhang Shuocheng's face lit up with sudden understanding. "Listen to both sisters!"

"Remember what you said." Zhang Yansheng was finally satisfied. She said to Zhang Heling, "Open the door."

Zhang Heling had been standing by the door, tense as her biological mother yelled, screamed, and banged outside. Finally receiving Zhang Yansheng's order, she quickly opened the door.

(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)

The door opened. Liang Yingying pushed Zhang Heling aside and rushed in, pulling Zhang Shuocheng into her arms like a protective mother hen.

"Zhang Huan, Zhang Huan! Are you going to control your daughter or not! Shuoshuo was so good today! He did homework all morning! What right does your daughter have to hit him!" Liang Yingying shrieked.

Zhang Huan was right there now and couldn't ignore it. He glanced at Zhang Yansheng, walked over, and asked his son, "Got hit again? Does it hurt?"

Zhang Shuocheng answered bluntly, "It doesn't hurt!"

Liang Yingying, who had just taken a deep breath preparing to perform a wail, choked directly on it!

"Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough!"

(End of Chapter)

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