Chapter 15: I Want to Teach You a Lesson
"I won't take photos."
Yu Xian forced her focus back to the task at hand. Things like this were like actors filming intimate scenes—it was only natural to experience normal physiological reactions.
Her throat bobbed slightly. After wiping away the stray pigment that had crossed the outline, Yu Xian resumed painting the remaining details.
Having received that reassurance, Ming Ruixi unclenched her hands and let her paint. Yet whenever she watched Yu Xian's hands moving in front of her, the arches of her feet resting against Yu Xian's ankles couldn't help but tense up.
About twenty minutes passed before the Sunset Rose was finally complete.
Only when Ming Ruixi noticed that Yu Xian had stopped moving did she realize the painting was finished.
"Finished?" she asked tentatively.
"Mm."
Yu Xian stared unblinkingly at the Sunset Rose before her. It turned out that rendering it on a human body made it look breathtakingly gorgeous—as though infused with life, vibrant and vivid.
The weight on her lap suddenly vanished. The moment Eldest Miss Ming received confirmation, she sprang to her feet: "It's a deal, then—everything is wiped clean!"
With that, before turning away, Eldest Miss Ming's delicate willow-leaf brows knit in suppressed disgust. She dashed toward the door, snatched up her clothes, and hurried out.
Moments later, the sound of rushing shower water drifted from the bathroom—an urgent rush that betrayed how desperately she wanted to wash the pigments away.
A flicker of disappointment crossed Yu Xian's eyes. Even though she didn't particularly care that her artwork was being washed down the drain, seeing that her sole viewer didn't even care to appreciate the piece—displaying nothing but revulsion—she couldn't help feeling a pang of pity.
Still, she understood the young lady's disgust. After all, the painting had been made using those "bacteria-ridden, filthy hands" she loathed most.
Yu Xian stood up to pack away her tools. The half-finished Palace Pink plum blossoms on the drawing board still awaited completion; she resumed painting until the piece was finished, setting down her brush with satisfaction.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the dark patch on her knee. This time it hadn't dried, still glistening with a fresh, slick dampness.
Her hand paused slightly. Yu Xian couldn't help falling into thought: did painting on a human body truly trigger such physiological reactions?
...
The following morning, Yu Xian got up to make breakfast. Unusually, she didn't call her maid downstairs to cook, nor did she send her out to buy groceries.
She simply let Eldest Miss Ming sleep in until eight or nine, until hunger finally woke her.
"Yu Xian, this lady is starving." Ming Ruixi assumed their slate had been wiped clean, taking it for granted that Yu Xian would provide her with food.
It wasn't until she looked into the pot and found no breakfast, and saw that the refrigerator was barren of ready-to-eat items, that she snapped fully awake.
"Yu Xian, what is the meaning of this?!" Ming Ruixi couldn't believe this woman wasn't giving her anything to eat.
Swallowing the last bite of fried dough stick, Yu Xian lifted her eyelids and looked at her with cool detachment: "Starting now, you will go hungry for a day."
Eldest Miss Ming wondered if there was something wrong with her hearing. Her face stiffened as she cried out in high indignation: "This is abuse! Abuse!"
Her entire body shook with disbelief. How could someone agree that the slate was wiped clean the night before, only to withhold food the very next day?!
She had endured all that humiliation for nothing!
"Didn't we agree last night that everything was wiped clean?" Ming Ruixi was so furious she was on the verge of tears, yet Yu Xian remained completely unmoved.
She said, "What was wiped clean was that I am allowing you to stay."
Ming Ruixi's mind went blank: "Th-That didn't include food?"
Yu Xian corrected her: "It doesn't include today's food. Do you know why?"
Anger blazing in her eyes, Ming Ruixi gritted her teeth and demanded, "Why?!"
Yu Xian explained, "Because... I want to teach you a lesson."
Her attitude when apologizing yesterday showed zero genuine reflection. Instead, she treated that thousand-odd yuan as just a number. Used to squandering money with family spoiling her rotten, how could Eldest Miss Ming take a mere thousand yuan seriously? That was why she tossed out empty promises like "I'll pay you back."
Her apology was nothing more than superficial placation, without grasping the fundamental root of her mistake.
She had to make sure she learned a lasting lesson.
Ming Ruixi glared at her in fury: "Just because of that meal yesterday? So you're going to starve this lady for an entire day?!"
Yu Xian nodded: "Yes."
Ming Ruixi drew in a sharp breath. How could words that cold come out of a person with a 36-degree body temperature?
"Yu Xian, I didn't eat dinner last night..." Ming Ruixi clutched her rumbling stomach, softening her tone: "Can you let me eat a meal first before punishing me?"
"You didn't eat last night?" Yu Xian raised an eyebrow, and Ming Ruixi nodded vigorously.
Yu Xian: "Then that works out perfectly. I was just wondering whether I should extend the punishment by half a day."
Ming Ruixi: "???"
"You're not human!" Feeling completely played, Ming Ruixi's temper flared instantly: "Yu Xian, you're abusing me!"
Yu Xian cleared the dishes: "Think whatever you like."
Seeing her get up, Ming Ruixi followed her step for step. Only when they reached the second floor did she realize Yu Xian was planning to head out today.
"Where are you going? Are you leaving me alone at home? Aren't you afraid that by the time you return, this lady will have starved to death?!"
Yu Xian picked up her art box, answering her questions one by one with steady patience: "I'm going into town to sketch from life. You can stay home, or you can come with me. As long as there is water, even if you want to starve to death, it would take at least a week."
Ming Ruixi choked hard on her words.
Yu Xian stepped out the door without looking back, leaving Ming Ruixi with no choice but to tag along.
On the road, Eldest Miss Ming endured the gnawing discomfort of hunger. Hoping to get Yu Xian to lift the punishment sooner, she cleared her throat, though she still asked in an imperious tone: "Do you want this lady to carry the art box for you?"
Yu Xian glanced at her: "No need."
Ming Ruixi: "..." Fine, forget it then!
Arriving in town, Yu Xian chose a spot on the sidewalk in front of a café she frequently visited.
There was steady foot traffic from tourists here, and just beyond the railing ran a wide, winding river. The view was open and expansive, with the landscape completely unobstructed.
Yu Xian’s setup was quite simple: an easel, a folding chair, a thermos flask filled with hot water, and a small wooden box holding her oil paints and brushes.
There were no shortcuts in oil painting; she simply had to put in the hours. She aimed for at least a hundred pieces a month—an average of at least three paintings a day.
To distract herself from the gnawing hunger, Eldest Miss Ming wandered around the nearby area.
Midway through her painting, Yu Xian suddenly heard a familiar, sharp voice ring out from not far away, mingled with angry retorts.
"What's wrong with you, kid? If you're not going to buy anything, that's fine, but what gives you the right to snatch a whole handful of Granny's bells?!"
"Just because someone isn't charging means you can take whatever you want?! By that logic, I could say you standing here gives this lady the right to curse you out!"
Yu Xian looked over. Standing in front of a cart selling handcrafted dolls was Eldest Miss Ming, engaged in a heated shouting match with a boy of about seven or eight.
Beside them, an elderly grandmother stood hesitating, looking distressed and caught in the middle.
Yu Xian quickly set down her brush and walked over: "What's going on?"
Seeing her arrive, Eldest Miss Ming treated her like thin air. Meanwhile, the little boy had been shouted down until he burst into tears.
Seeing him cry only infuriated the young lady further. Crossing her arms, completely indifferent to the gazes of passersby, she snapped impatiently: "What are you crying for? Just because you're a child means you have the right to cry? Hand those bells over right now!"
Clutching a handful of bells, the boy angrily threw them down at Ming Ruixi's feet. They scattered across the pavement as he glared at her with venom: "I'm telling my mom!"
Eldest Miss Ming sneered coldly: "Even if you call your dad over, it won't help! Pick them up for this lady!"
Before the words fully landed, an aggressive woman pushed her way through the crowd, shielding her precious son: "Why are you picking on a child?! He just grabbed a handful of bells—I thought it was something valuable! Don't cry, baby, don't cry."
Emboldened by his mother's arrival, the boy bawled even louder.
Seeing that coaxing her son wasn't working, the woman turned her sights onto Ming Ruixi: "Apologize to my son."
Ming Ruixi rolled her eyes. Resting her delicate fingers against her arm, she didn't even deign to look at her, radiating pure disdain: "What do you think you are? Someone like you thinks you're worthy of this lady's apology?"
Frightened and helpless, the elderly woman took down a cloth doll, wanting to give it to the boy to quiet him down.
Who could have expected that the moment she offered it, the mother snatched it and hurled it to the ground, sneering: "Who wants this cheap junk? Make her apologize to my son!"
Looking at the tossed doll on the ground, the hunched old woman stood trembling with unease.
Yu Xian stepped forward to pick it up. Just as she was about to guide the old woman back to her cart, a figure blurred past her eyes. Looking up, she saw the aggressive woman lunging forward to grab Eldest Miss Ming's wrist, yelling loudly: "Apologize to my son right now!"
Just as the final syllable left her mouth, a crisp, resounding slap landed squarely across the woman's face, accompanied by Eldest Miss Ming's signature line:
"Is this lady's hand something a person like you can touch? Disgusting."
That slap was every bit as sharp and ferocious as the one from the birthday banquet back then.
The woman was knocked senseless by the blow. When she finally came to her senses, shame turned into explosive rage. As she lunged forward to brawl, Yu Xian hastily let go of the grandmother and stepped between them to block her.
"Auntie, please calm down, let's stop fighting..."
Refusing to listen to reason, the woman clawed relentlessly to reach Ming Ruixi. Yu Xian's mediation fell on deaf ears; in the chaotic scuffle, a hard slap caught Yu Xian across the cheek out of nowhere, followed by a vicious spit.
"Bitch! You're with her! Ptooey! Consider this payback!"
Yu Xian froze in place. Before her mind could fully process what had happened, a burning, stinging pain flared across her face.
"You're the bitch!" A sharp cry exploded from behind.
Stunned, Yu Xian looked up. Eldest Miss Ming stepped around from behind her with blinding speed, delivering a stinging slap right back across the woman's face, leaving her completely dazed.
Clutching her cheek in disbelief that anyone dared strike her a second time, the woman glared with venomous fury at Ming Ruixi. But the moment she tried to lunge forward again, her wrist was locked in an iron grip.
"Let go of me!" The woman snapped her head toward Yu Xian. Yet for some reason, the grip around her wrist had tightened with immense force, sending a sharp throb through the joint. Looking up, she was jolted by the icy chill and steady ruthlessness in Yu Xian's eyes.
"Auntie, know when to stop."
Yu Xian shoved her arm away coldly. The woman stumbled back two steps. Sensing the disapproving glares from the gathered crowd and hearing her son still wailing, she realized no one was on her side. Mumbling curses under her breath, she scooped up her child and scurried off.
As the crowd dispersed, Yu Xian noticed the elderly grandmother gathering the scattered bells. Pushing down her lingering adrenaline, she knelt down to help pick them up.
Ming Ruixi stood by, her brows furrowed as she watched Yu Xian.
Once all the bells were collected, the old woman took Yu Xian's hands with deep gratitude, thanking them repeatedly.
Yu Xian: "You're welcome, Granny."
To show her appreciation, the grandmother took down two of her best-selling handmade dolls to gift them.
Eldest Miss Ming looked distinctly reluctant, keeping her hands tucked back. Yu Xian could tell she looked down on the trinkets; after all, there was nothing remotely this cheap among the plush toys at her family manor.
"No need, Granny. We still have things to attend to, so we'll be going now." Yu Xian politely declined the kind gesture.
Returning to her easel, Yu Xian picked up her palette knife and resumed mixing colors.
Ming Ruixi stood before her with arms folded, staring at the faint red mark on Yu Xian's cheek with clear displeasure: "Why didn't you dodge when that woman swung at you?"
Yu Xian's hand paused for a fraction of a second. Ignoring her, she went back to blending pigments.
"Yu Xian, you're hopeless."
Feeling weak from hunger, Ming Ruixi squatted down to rest. Resting her chin on one hand, her gorgeous almond eyes swept over Yu Xian with a light, disdainful flick: "How can someone be so bad at standing up for themselves? If this lady hadn't been quick on her feet to hit her back, you would've taken that slap for nothing."
Comments (0)