After Descending the Mountain, Seven Big Brothers Spoil Me

Chapter 265 Zhouzhou Gets Spanked

Little Zhouzhou obediently lay there, exposing her bottom for a spanking. Qin Lie felt both heartache and amusement. Thinking about today's events, he raised his hand and gave her three light smacks. Ye Lingfeng wanted to intervene, but An Ya stopped him, shaking her head.

It's crucial that there aren't conflicting voices when disciplining a child. Even Grandma Qin, who dotes on Zhouzhou the most, stayed silent. Zhouzhou needs to learn from them so she can grow up safely. Today's incident was indeed Zhouzhou's fault.

Though she's quite capable, she's still only five years old. Venturing into a dangerous situation for a stick of candied fruit was reckless. What if something had gone wrong? Those villains are skilled in dirty tricks, and Zhouzhou, being naive and straightforward, wouldn't know how to deal with their schemes. Teaching her to be cautious now will give them peace of mind in the future.

Understanding this, Ye Lingfeng pressed his lips together and kept quiet. Xi Mo, standing nearby, clenched his fists and looked away, feeling a pang of guilt and sorrow.

Qin Lie didn't hit her hard, but after the spanking, Zhouzhou hung her head, her expression unreadable. Large teardrops began to fall onto the floor.

Usually, when she faked crying, she would be loud. Seeing her silently weep made Qin Lie's heart ache. Fighting the urge to pick her up, he asked sternly, "Do you know what you did wrong?"

Zhouzhou nodded.

"Will you do it again?"

Zhouzhou hesitated and then honestly replied, "I don't know."

Last time, she promised not to do it again but still did. She had a feeling she might repeat her actions in the future, but she didn't want to lie to her father.

Her honesty was both endearing and frustrating. The Ancestral Master floated over to chime in, "Zhouzhou is part of the Mystery Sect. Of course, she must confront evildoers. Besides, she's very powerful. What is there to fear? I'm here too."

Zhouzhou nodded vigorously, causing more tears to fall.

Qin Lie glared at him. His presence was part of the problem. He must have been involved in encouraging her.

Seeing Zhouzhou's small shoulders shake occasionally, Qin Lie couldn't hold back any longer. He lifted her up and hugged her. The wetness on his clothes made his heart ache even more. Softening his tone, he said, "Promise Daddy you'll try to avoid dangerous situations, okay?"

This time, Zhouzhou nodded.

After a moment, she mumbled, "Daddy, please don't ignore me in the future. Zhouzhou is scared."

She choked up a little, making Qin Lie feel even worse. He gently released her and looked into her eyes, "Daddy will never..."

Before he could finish, he noticed her eyes were dry. He touched the corners of her eyes—they were dry too. "You didn't cry?"

"No," Zhouzhou shook her head, blinking innocently. "Daddy's spankings are so light, they barely tickle! When I make mistakes, Master would spank me so hard my butt turned blue. Daddy's spankings don't hurt at all!"

She beamed at him happily.

Qin Lie's brow furrowed deeper. "Then the water on the floor..."

Before he could finish, he noticed Zhouzhou swallowing. A sense of dread filled him. Sure enough, the next moment, Zhouzhou asked, "Daddy, can you buy me some candied fruit? It was so delicious."

Drool started to trickle from her mouth as she spoke, and she quickly slurped it back.

Just thinking about that sweet and tangy taste made her mouth water uncontrollably.

Qin Lie: "..."

Ye Lingfeng and the others: "..."

He looked at Xi Zhi and said calmly, "Wu Dongfeng has confessed. It was you who ordered him to murder and kidnap. You'll be spending the rest of your life in prison."

With that, he made a phone call. Within minutes, a group of uniformed officers arrived and without a word, handcuffed her and began to lead her away. The handcuffs were specially made, and she would be sent to the most secure prison, from which no one could rescue her.

Xi Zhi panicked completely and begged for help. When she saw no one would save her, she began to curse hysterically.

"You said you treated me like your own daughter, but it was all lies!"

"What's wrong with you sacrificing yourself for me, old man! I even donated blood for you! You're the real ingrate!"

Hearing her turn the tables so audaciously, Grandpa Xi's face darkened, and he trembled with anger.

Xi Yan felt no sympathy at all, thinking she deserved it. Yaya was so good, but he didn't cherish her, protecting someone so worthless instead.

He glanced at An Ya and saw that she didn't seem to care and wasn't upset, which reassured him. Fearing that the old man might soften and get muddled again, he spoke sarcastically, "Dad, you are really kind-hearted. Even after Xi Zhi was sent in by my brother, you wanted to pull her out. Anyone would think she was your real daughter."

Grandpa Xi's face flushed with embarrassment, and he stammered, feeling guilty. After a long pause, he finally whispered, "I'm sorry."

If he hadn't been confused and let Xi Zhi out, the little girl wouldn't have been in danger.

Thinking about Xi Zhi's cold and ruthless words, his heart ached. He finally understood why his two sons had never been close to Xi Zhi since they were young. Blood ties were one thing, but more importantly, they had seen through her nature.

Selfish and manipulative, she treated those who were useful to her well and kicked away those who weren't, with no regard for years of upbringing.

Even if he didn't want to admit it, Grandpa Xi knew he had raised an ungrateful wretch.

Xi Yan sneered, "If 'sorry' worked, what would we need the police for?"

Hearing this, Zhouzhou turned her little head around, her chubby cheeks serious as she said, "Second Uncle is very useful; he can catch bad guys!"

Qin Xu was momentarily stunned, then slowly smiled, looking at the little girl with soft eyes.

Xi Yan also laughed, the tension dissipating. He couldn't be bothered to deal with Grandpa Xi anymore and walked over to Zhouzhou, tickling her chubby double chin like petting a cat.

Xi Mo looked at her too, his eyes filled with amusement.

For a moment, no one paid attention to Grandpa Xi, which made him feel even worse. He would rather his son scold him than this silent treatment.

He knew he had thoroughly broken his sons' hearts this time.

He also knew he was wrong.

Seeing that they were ignoring him, he could only approach the little girl and say, "Little girl, thank you so much this time. Thank you for saving me."

If it hadn't been for her, his old bones would probably have turned to dust.

At this, Zhouzhou suddenly remembered something and held out her chubby hand.

The little girl was still willing to hold his hand!

Grandpa Xi's heart warmed, and he was about to extend his hand when he heard the little girl say crisply, "Silly Grandpa, I gave you two pills just now. One costs 100,000, and the other is a Thousand Mile Ear Talisman, which is 2 yuan. I'll round it off for you, just give me 220,000!"