Fyren hated this!
He hadn't even cleaned up his own mess yet! This bitch was making trouble for him every single day!
He had too many things to deal with! No time to handle this crazy girl, yet she kept pestering him for dates like she was obsessed!
Did he need dates? After dealing with Otto, did he need women at all?
Besides, even the "good" ones were just like this - putting on an act, looking all demure and virtuous on the surface while hiding a bellyful of wicked schemes behind their backs! No bottom line when it came to screwing people over!
Who would dare take her?
Wouldn't that be asking for trouble?
Fyren tried negotiating with Xena, but she just kept giggling uncontrollably, playing her seductive games with him.
Finally pushed to his limit, Fyren pounced on Xena, pinning her to the chair as he growled threateningly:
"I'm warning you! I'm a bad man! The kind who kills without blinking! I'm so angry I scare even myself! You'd better stop messing with me!"
"Hahaha! Fyren, in this position...people might get the wrong idea, you know~"
"Who's around to see? If you lie to my parents again - especially my mom - I'll strip you naked and throw you out of this car! Let's see how you'll get married after that!"
"Get off me! I'm serious!"
"Oho~ Getting angry now?"
Fyren laughed darkly. "Scared, huh? Finally realizing I'm a tiger that bites?"
"Fyren, respect my personal space! I'm telling you for the last time - get off!"
Fyren wanted nothing more than to provoke her - the angrier the better.
"Hah! Love isn't something you can buy whenever you feel like it...You tell me to let go and I should? Never! In fact, from now on you'd better watch your step around me, or I'll beat you eight times a day until you're crying and begging for mercy!"
"Fyren, I'm serious - don't make me lose my temper!"
"Good! Let's see that temper!"
Fyren's laugh turned vicious. "Today I'll show you exactly what happens when you cross me—"
Suddenly Xena started pleading pitifully: "Fyren, I was wrong...Not here, please...Save me some dignity...Wait until we get home, okay...?"
"Home? Hah! Nobody - not even the King of Heaven - can save you once you've crossed Fyren! If I don't teach you a proper lesson today, I'm not fit to call myself a man!"
"Fyren, stop! I'll scream!"
Xena struggled violently, but Fyren wasn't about to let her escape.
[Today's the day I show her my true ruthless side.]
I'll scare you so badly you'll avoid me from now on!
Xena's struggles sent her slender, snow-white legs kicking wildly.
Fyren pinned her hands down, trapping her legs beneath his thighs as his face twisted into a sinister grin:
"Go ahead! Scream! The louder you scream, the more excited I get! No one's coming to save you even if you scream yourself hoarse!"
"You little vixen! Acting all innocent around me every day! Well today, you're going to experience the full might of the Zhang family's young master firsthand..."
Fyren was still exerting his strength when he suddenly felt Xena stop struggling.
She gave up resisting and turned her head to the side as two streams of tears flowed down her face.
Fyren froze. "Wait no... you're not pretending, are you? I..."
Before Fyren could explain, he felt a large hand press directly on his head, grab his hair, and yank him out forcefully.
Fyren turned around furiously, ready to fight: "Which son of a—"
His words caught in his throat when he saw his father HongZhang's face.
HongZhang was absolutely livid. He dragged Fyren out of the car and began beating him.
Originally, Xena had noticed the electric car door was open and started acting. Fyren's current appearance didn't scare Xena - she could hear his inner thoughts and knew he was all bark with colorful language, just pretending to be fierce to intimidate her.
But outside, HongZhang and Fyren's mom were completely confused.
Was this really their son?!
And those words he'd just said in the car? Only a beast would say such things!
Fyren's mom was so angry she needed support, while HongZhang started looking around for weapons.
Fyren had been so caught up in the drama he didn't even notice the electric car door was open.
(The car was truly high-quality - its doors opened silently.)
In the Zhang family compound, HongZhang grabbed Fyren and laid into him!
Though Fyren was now a genuine ancient martial artist - where not just one HongZhang but twenty wouldn't be enough to beat him - how could he possibly fight back? He could only take the beating.
"Dad! Dad! Listen to me! She's pretending! She's just acting!"
"Acting? Today I'm the King of Heaven - let's see if I can't control you!"
"Dad! She's not a good person! Don't trust her!"
Meanwhile, Fyren's mom comforted Xena: "Xena dear, this is all because we failed to discipline him properly!"
Turning her head, she roared angrily: "Hong, beat him! Beat him to death!"
Xena buried her face in Fyren's mom's arms, sobbing: "Mom, don't hit him so hard... It's my fault for not listening to Fyren... I'm the useless one..."
"Don't say that - we're the ones who failed to raise our son right."
Xena cried: "Just let uncle casually beat him for a few hours... It hurts my heart if you hit him more."
"You silly girl, still feeling sorry for him! Why doesn't he feel sorry for you?"
HongZhang broke a broomstick and couldn't find another handy weapon.
Xena cried out: "Daddy, no! Don't take that bamboo pole over there! That one really hurts!"
HongZhang looked: "Ah yes, the bamboo pole!"
He grabbed it and continued the beating!
As an ancient martial artist at body tempering level, Fyren's physical toughness was far beyond ordinary people's.
While he did feel some pain, it was really just "some pain" at most.
But the humiliation...!
All the Zhang family's servants, maids, gardeners, and security guards had come out to watch the spectacle.
And they were all chatting away.
"What's going on with the young master?"
"Hey, standard procedure - tried to get handsy in the car and got caught by the old master."
"So the young master has gone from a simp to a straight-up bastard now?"
"Keep your voice down! Are you insane? The young master isn't human. If he hears you, you're dead!"
"Damn, the old master's still got it! That's some impressive technique!"
"Of course! There are two things I've mastered in life: business and beating the young master."
"What? Could this be the legendary..."
"Yep, it's the 'Disciplinary Bamboo Pole Technique' - perfected by the old master over the years but rarely seen recently. These past few years, to save face for the young master, the old man hasn't used this set of moves much. Let the new recruits come take a look - witness the old master's power!"
"Whoa! Still going at it! Should we... intervene?"
"Don't be stupid! Timing - wait another fifteen minutes before stopping them, otherwise the young master might actually get broken."
"So right now..."
"He's not broken yet!"
"Hey hey hey, keep it down over there! Don't ruin our viewing experience!"
Fyren felt utterly humiliated.
Here he was - in his twenties, president of Dasheng Group - getting beaten by his father in front of so many people. It was beyond shameful.
He gripped the bamboo pole. "Dad, that's enough already!"
HongZhang paused: "You dare talk back?!"
Fyren stammered, "Dad, I was wrong. Take it easy - I don't mind you hitting me, I'm just worried you'll tire yourself out."
"Hmm, that's reasonable." HongZhang nodded. "You there - each grab a bamboo pole and come help beat him!"
Only then did Xena approach, timidly tugging at HongZhang's sleeve. "Dad, please don't hit him... I... I can't bear to see Fyren get beaten."
The sight of Xena made Fyren so furious he could grind his teeth to dust.
Just moments ago, she'd been secretly cheering him on, winking and giving him a triumphant "V for victory" sign. Now she was playing the good samaritan!
"Get lost! I don't need your fake mercy!"
HongZhang heard this: "You still haven't learned your lesson?!"
"No, Dad! I've learned my lesson!"
...
In the restaurant, HongZhang remained fuming. Fyren's mother wiped her tears while Xena nestled in her arms, putting on a pitiful act.
HongZhang sighed. "Fyren, you've grown up. I realize now I can't keep disciplining you like this. But tell me - what were you thinking with that shantytown project? Turning prime real estate into a charity case? That's my life's work you're gambling with!"
"If it works out, we might turn a profit..." Fyren said meekly.
"'Might turn a profit'!" HongZhang scoffed. "You sink five billion dollars into something and all you can say is 'might'? With that kind of money, even a bank deposit would guarantee returns, wouldn't it?"
"I've already signed the contract. I can't change it now."
"Fine. When I handed the business over to you, I prepared for this possibility. I'm getting old, my health isn't good - I can't run the business myself anymore. If you run the company into the ground, that's our Zhang family's fate. I accept that!"
HongZhang said sternly, "But our Zhang family has never raised a scoundrel! I've lived an upright life, yet you're turning out to be this kind of man!"
Fyren protested, "It's really not what you think."
"I saw it with my own eyes! And you're still making excuses!"
"Aigoo, don't be angry. Anger is bad for your health. I was wrong, I was wrong, Dad. Your health comes first."
HongZhang sighed: "If you'd just take a fraction of the filial piety you show me and your mother and direct it toward Xena, I wouldn't get so angry! If you truly want me to live a few more years, treat Xena better!"
"I... understand."
HongZhang continued, "You're an adult now, Fyren. I can't follow you around forever - you'll have to walk your own path. Do you think having money and good looks means you can treat women however you please? Many great men have been ruined this way, their reputations destroyed! A man who can't care for his family isn't a real man! A real man treats his woman right!"
"Yes, I understand."
Fyren was genuinely afraid of aggravating his father's condition and didn't dare argue further.
"You should visit the Xu family tomorrow. ZhiXu hasn't approved your engagement yet. You'll need to handle this yourself - you must convince your future father-in-law to consent to the marriage."
"Alright, I'll do my best."
"Not just 'do your best'! If you can't win over your father-in-law, I'll take back control of Dasheng Group myself!"
Fyren looked at his father. "Dad, the doctors said you can't overexert yourself. You're not fit to manage Dasheng Group anymore."
"I don't care! We have to take responsibility for Xena!"
Fyren hesitated. "What about Eliza? We're engaged to her!"
HongZhang said, "It's not our fault the Leng family looked down on us. They're the ones who broke off the engagement - what can I do? But Xena - this girl is devoted to you, gentle and virtuous, dignified and gracious. I like her! She'll be my daughter-in-law! You handle this for me! Understood?"
Xena tenderly approached Fyren, gracefully kneeling on the carpet. She took Fyren's hand, gently touching the wounds on its back, and asked sincerely, "Fyren, does it hurt?"
Fyren narrowed his eyes at this little demon. "It doesn't hurt."
At that moment, Zaring rushed in frantically. "Master! Madam! Young Master! Trouble!"
Fyren snapped: "Stop panicking! What is it?"
Zaring stood awkwardly, his face tense. "The... the Leng family's eldest young lady is here."