TEDWR: Chapter 9

Glossary

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

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

·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.

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

·Luo Yi (罗姨): The nanny who has cared for Zhang Yansheng since birth.

·Auntie Wang (王姨): The nanny who cares for Zhang Shuocheng.

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Chapter 9

The Zhang family did not hit children. At least, Zhang Huan and his first wife did not.

Back when Zhang Yansheng was the only child in the house, she was truly the one and only little princess. Hitting her? That was impossible.

Once, Zhang Yansheng's mother saw a news report about parents accidentally beating their own child to death and sighed deeply. "How can anyone hit a child?"

Furthermore, Zhang Yansheng, having trained in taekwondo and sanda for years, had been repeatedly warned by her coaches that people like them, who had trained, must not casually lay hands on others.

Under these influences, apart from accidentally pushing Zhang Heling when they first met, Zhang Yansheng had never laid a hand on her half-siblings, no matter how much she disliked them.

And the result?

What kind of things did the grown Zhang Shuocheng, who eventually became taller than her, end up doing?

So, children still need discipline. When they develop into spoiled brats, they need a good spanking.

That wooden hanger came down on his bottom, and Zhang Shuocheng let out an exaggerated, blood-curdling wail. He screamed wildly, "It hurts! It hurts! Let me go! How dare you hit me! I'll kill you!"

Thinking about what the grown-up Zhang Shuocheng did later, Zhang Yansheng felt that if he kept developing for a few more years after her death, he probably wouldn't be far from killing someone.

She gave a cold laugh, raised the hanger, and brought it down hard on Zhang Shuocheng's bottom again. The always arrogant, lawless little terror screamed once more and began shouting for help.

Spanking a child requires knowledge. Children are much more fragile than adults, which is why every year there are cases of adults, in a fit of rage, accidentally beating a child to death.

The head, the back, the stomach—all could cause irreparable harm to a child. So, if you really want to punish a child's mistake by spanking, the safest method is the one passed down for thousands of years—spanking the bottom.

Zhang Yansheng died young, so she naturally wouldn't know this. But fortunately, she was someone who had trained in sanda. In class, coaches had explained the human body's structure and vulnerable areas. In her anger, while fiercely spanking Zhang Shuocheng, she naturally avoided areas that could be dangerous, aiming squarely for the bottom.

"Do you know what you did wrong?" She stopped after two strikes and asked.

Unfortunately, although Zhang Shuocheng was already crying tears and snot from the pain, he still refused to yield, shrieking, "You just wait! When Dad comes back, he'll beat you to death!"

"Your dad..." Zhang Yansheng sneered, "Before he was your dad, he was my dad for eight years."

(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)

Another hard strike of the hanger landed on the little terror's bottom.

Zhang Shuocheng continued wailing like a ghost, just refusing to admit he was wrong.

Zhang Heling felt immensely satisfied.

Her brother really should have been spanked a long time ago, but neither of their parents could bring themselves to do it. No matter what he did, even when they got angry, they would just scold him verbally at most, or at worst, punish him by forbidding him to play with his game console.

Zhang Shuocheng had long stopped being afraid. Who would be scared of such light punishment? Children have a natural tendency to bully the weak and fear the strong. When the adults shrink back, he pushes his luck, becoming more and more audacious.

Becoming more mischievous with each passing day.

Someone should have come long ago, like her sister, to give him a proper lesson!

But Zhang Heling was also a little worried. If they spanked her brother like this, what would happen when their parents came back and he tattled?

Then she thought again and stopped worrying. In this household, although her mother often argued with her sister, her mother actually couldn't do much to her sister. When her father dealt with her sister, he always tried to smooth things over and didn't really want to do anything to her either.

Her sister was someone who feared nothing in this house.

The more Zhang Heling thought about it, the braver she felt. The light in her eyes as she looked at Zhang Yansheng grew brighter and brighter.

Suddenly, frantic knocking sounded on the door!

"Yanyan! Yanyan! What are you doing?" Auntie Luo's voice came through. "Why is Shuoshuo in your room? What are you doing? Why is he crying? Yanyan, open the door!"

Another voice, much more anxious than Auntie Luo's, belonged to the nanny who cared for Zhang Shuocheng. She banged on the door. "Miss Yanyan! Open the door! What have you done to Shuoshuo? Shuoshuo! Shuoshuo, are you okay? Shuoshuo, say something!"

With reinforcements at the door, Zhang Shuocheng shouted, "Help! Help! Zhang Yansheng is going to beat me to death!"

Hearing him shout, Zhang Heling grew nervous again. Subconsciously, her back left the door panel, and she even raised her hand...

"Don't you dare open that door!" Zhang Yansheng shouted sharply!

Zhang Heling jumped in fright but obediently did not open the door.

"Yanyan, open the door!"

(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)

"Miss Yanyan, don't do anything rash! Shuoshuo is still little! Don't hurt him! Miss Yanyan! Miss Yanyan! Open the door first! Let's talk this through properly!"

If something happened to Zhang Shuocheng, the nanny caring for him would be afraid of being held responsible. She was much more frantic than Auntie Luo, pounding on the door.

Zhang Yansheng raised her voice. "Don't worry, I'm only hitting his bottom, nowhere else! I know what I'm doing!"

Although she refused to open the door, her voice sounded very calm, not like someone who had lost all reason in a fit of anger. The nannies were slightly reassured but still pounded on the door, trying to get Zhang Yansheng to let them in.

Zhang Yansheng ignored the knocking. She struck Zhang Shuocheng again and asked him, "Do you know what you did wrong?"

Zhang Shuocheng, pinning his hopes on the rescuers outside, howled and cried, just refusing to admit he was wrong.

With this kind of perseverance, if applied to the right path, he could achieve great things. But applied to the wrong path, he ended up doing those disgusting things later.

Zhang Yansheng sneered, raised her hand, and this time delivered three sharp, consecutive whacks to Zhang Shuocheng's bottom!

Zhang Shuocheng hurt! Tears and snot flowed, his crying now utterly genuine!

"Sis!" Zhang Heling, who had been listening at the door, suddenly said. "Auntie Wang went to call my mom!"

Hearing this, Zhang Shuocheng's crying noticeably paused for a moment.

Zhang Yansheng held him down and said leisurely, "You think your mom can save you? Where is she right now? She woke up and went shopping, getting beauty treatments, playing mahjong, right? Even if she turns around and rushes back immediately, it'll take an hour, won't it? It only takes me two seconds to spank you once. Sixty seconds in a minute, sixty minutes in an hour. Go on, calculate. See how many times I can spank you in one hour?"

It was a bit complex. With Zhang Shuocheng's first-grade math level, he couldn't calculate it. But he knew the answer was "many" times. Many, many!

Zhang Shuocheng finally began to feel afraid.

"Even if your mom comes, so what? Even if my dad comes, so what?" Zhang Yansheng asked with a smile. "Who in this house do you think I'm afraid of? Have you ever seen me afraid of anyone?"

Zhang Shuocheng thought about it. Zhang Yansheng seemed... truly afraid of no one.

And their parents didn't seem to have any way to deal with her either. Even when her mom argued with her, it seemed she couldn't really do anything to her. She had never even confiscated her game console!

At most, her mom would hold him and curse Zhang Yansheng behind her back.

(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)

As for their dad, he was even less likely to do anything to Zhang Yansheng. He would even put on a stern face and tell him to "listen to your sister."

Before he could think it through clearly, another hard strike landed on his bottom, a burning, stinging pain!

Zhang Shuocheng burst into loud sobs!

But Zhang Yansheng's phone suddenly rang. The ringtone came abruptly, startling Zhang Heling. She walked over and looked at it, then looked up. "Sis, it's Dad..."

Zhang Yansheng said sternly, "Bring it here!"

Zhang Heling bustled over with Zhang Yansheng's phone.

Zhang Yansheng, still holding Zhang Shuocheng with one hand, handed the hanger to Zhang Heling. "Hold this for me."

Zhang Heling immediately took the hanger and handed the phone to Zhang Yansheng.

Zhang Yansheng answered the call. "Hello." Even though she knew it was Zhang Huan, her voice remained cool, calm, and unruffled.

Zhang Huan's anxious voice came through the phone. "Yanyan! Yanyan! What are you doing? Are you hitting Shuoshuo?"

Hearing Zhang Huan's voice, Zhang Shuocheng immediately screamed, "Dad! Dad—! Zhang Yansheng is hitting me!"

Zhang Yansheng tossed the phone onto the sofa, snatched the hanger back from Zhang Heling's hand, and without another word, delivered three quick whacks.

"Who gave you permission to call me by my full name? Have you no manners at all?" Zhang Yansheng said. "Also, when someone is on the phone, you stay quiet, understand? You make another sound and I'll give you another whack for each one!"

True to her word, she gave Zhang Shuocheng's bottom another strike.

Zhang Shuocheng, tears in his eyes, shut his mouth.

Zhang Heling, showing great initiative, picked up the phone, took the hanger, and handed the phone back, thoroughly acting as her sister's little helper.

Zhang Yansheng put the phone to her ear. "Dad, what did you say just now? Zhang Shuocheng was making noise, I didn't catch it."

Zhang Huan was speechless for a moment. "He's little, don't stoop to his level. Yanyan, let him go first. Wait for Dad to deal with him when I get back tonight."

Zhang Yansheng said slowly, "Aren't you busy? Let me handle it. I'm on summer break anyway, nothing much to do."

Zhang Huan knew his daughter's temperament somewhat. She had a fierce temper and was stubborn. If she dug her heels in, it was really hard to talk her out of it. He could only compromise. "Well, take it easy, okay? You've trained, remember. He's little! Don't hurt him!"

(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)

"I won't hurt him, don't worry. I've trained; I know my own strength," Zhang Yansheng said. "I'm only hitting his bottom. I won't touch anywhere else. Absolutely no safety issues."

There was a silence of several seconds on the other end of the line before Zhang Huan's drawn-out "Oh—" sounded.

"Just the bottom?" he asked. "Nowhere else?"

"That's right,"Zhang Yansheng said. "The head, back, and stomach shouldn't be hit; they can be dangerous. Even the legs are no good; children and the elderly fracture easily. There's also a major artery in the thigh; if it ruptures, it could be life-threatening. The only safe place to spank a child is the bottom. Don't worry, Heling is here watching. I won't do anything reckless."

It had been a long time since Zhang Yansheng had spoken to him so calmly since Liang Yingying entered the household. She had grown increasingly extreme.

No, actually, it seemed like since last night, she had been a bit different.

Zhang Yansheng's cool but calm voice gave Zhang Huan some confidence. He cleared his throat and said, "Well, in that case, just... you know, a couple of whacks to make the point is enough, okay? Don't be too hard, alright?"

Zhang Yansheng was a bit surprised. Her explanation had carried a hint of sarcasm. She thought Zhang Huan would be furious. But he wasn't?

Zhang Yansheng was silent for a second. "Understood."

Before hanging up, Zhang Huan added, "He really has been too mischievous lately. He does need some discipline..."

From beginning to end, he never once asked what Zhang Shuocheng had actually done.

"Did you hear that?" Zhang Yansheng threw down the phone and asked Zhang Shuocheng. "Who's coming to save you?"

She took the clothes hanger back from Zhang Heling and asked slowly, "Do you know what you did wrong?"

Zhang Shuocheng's face was covered in tears and snot. He was both afraid of and hated Zhang Yansheng, his eyes full of despair.

Auntie Wang, having finished calling both Zhang Huan and Liang Yingying, rushed back to the second floor in a flurry.

Auntie Luo had her ear pressed to the door, listening. Auntie Wang listened too. Zhang Shuocheng didn't seem to be crying or screaming anymore?

She tugged at Auntie Luo anxiously. "What's going on?"

Auntie Luo put a finger to her lips. "Shh—"

She said, "Shuoshuo is admitting he was wrong..."

(End of Chapter)

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