Two days later.
Tong Zhen had just finished her breakfast when Tong Chen called her into his study.
She really didn't want to step into this place because she knew what she was going to face.
Didn't Ma ask Big Brother to discipline her properly? Her elder brother was like a father. It was fine if she had to face Ma, but if she had to face her elder brother, she felt as if she was going to hell.
"Why are you so pale? Didn't you eat breakfast?”
"I ate it." Hearing Tong Chen's stern words of concern, Tong Zhen felt even more uneasy about her future.
If it was the big brother before she left home, she would stick to him even without Ma's orders. But this big brother now…
He looked so serious. He would never be like this in the past. She remembered that he used to love her the most. He would play with her, do anything with her, and read to her. Now, his face was frozen. Not only was there no smile, but she could also feel the chill…
"Are you listening to me?" Tong Chen's sharp eyes stared at the absent-minded Tong Zhen. "Do you do this often? Are you daydreaming alone?"
"Occasionally!" Tong Zhen looked at him lazily. Was he concerned about her? That shouldn't be the case. If he really cared about her, he wouldn't have waited until she was 18 years old to come back. He wouldn't have ignored her for more than three years.
Tong Chen frowned and said,"Then you better get rid of this bad habit, because I won't allow you to continue like this." Tell me, what have you learned these past few years? What books did you read?"
" This…" Tong Zhen narrowed her eyes and said guiltily,""I've read the Four Books and Five Classics, but I've almost forgotten all of them now, so it's the same whether I've read them or not.”
"Is that so?" Tong Chen thought to himself that Ma was right. In the past few years, when he was not at home, she no longer touched her books. She only liked to go out all day. She did not learn anything that a girl should learn. She only learned how to fool around and fight outside.
Thinking of this, his heart ached slightly, and the harsh words in his mouth could not come out.
How could he blame her? He had to take full responsibility for Tong Zhen's condition today, didn't he? If he hadn't abandoned her back then, how could she have given up on herself? Speaking of which, the culprit behind all of this was none other than himself!
"Big brother, did Ma say something to you?”Tong Zhen saw that Tong Chen's expression was not right and quickly asked worriedly.
"Yes, I did say something." Tong Chen's gaze on Tong Zhen's face was still stern, but his tone was gentle. "Zhen 'er, since Ma has handed you over to me, as your elder brother, I have the responsibility to teach you well. From tomorrow onwards, no, from today onwards, you have to come to my place every day. I want to make up for all the homework that you have neglected in the past few years. You're already eighteen years old. You can't live like this anymore, understand?”
"Eh?" Tong Zhen was stunned for a moment before looking at him in horror. "You want me to read and write every day? How could this do? I can't be locked in here every day. Outside…"
"There's nothing you can learn outside.”Tong Chen interrupted her sternly. "I don't care if you're willing or not. I've already decided to do this! Sit down and write a few words for me to see.”
Tong Zhen tried her best to suppress the dissatisfaction in her heart. She sat down, picked up the pen, and casually waved it a few times.
When Tong Chen saw the words she had written, he immediately shot her a sharp gaze. "I think you're getting worse and worse. These few words of yours are even worse than what you wrote four years ago.”
"How is it bad? I think it's okay!”Tong Zhen pretended to be dumb. He could pretend that he didn't know that she was indirectly scolding him with the words " big bastard ", and she could also treat her extremely ugly handwriting as a rare treasure.
"Of course, if you are only ten years old this year.”Tong Chen glared at her, then took out a book from the bookshelf and handed it to her.
"First, copy this book from beginning to end for me. After you're done, your handwriting should be able to return to the standard of your fourteen-year-old self.”
"Write it from the beginning? No way. It was such a thick book. If he copied all of it, he would die.”Tong Zhen shouted.
"If you don't like copying it once, then copy it twice.”Tong Chen said coldly.
Two copies? Tong Zhen shrieked," I don't want to copy it twice. I like writing the most. It's just right to copy it once. It's not too much, but it's not too much either. I want to copy it once. I want to copy it now."”
She immediately flipped open the book and started copying from the first word on the first page.
"Write slowly and properly, or else you'll have to redo it.”
"Yes." Although Tong Zhen's heart was filled with hatred, she did not dare to show any displeasure on her face. She could only concentrate on writing.
Sigh! She was like a tiger that had fallen to the plains and was bullied by dogs. The man in front of her was no longer the big brother that she could act coquettishly with. Now, he was like a complete devil in her eyes. Because she did not want him to have the chance to mess with her, she could only suffer and do as he said.
However, this was only a temporary tolerance. If he really went too far, she would definitely fight back at all costs. She respected him, not because she was afraid of him.
One day, two days, three days, four days…On the fifth day, Tong Zhen finally couldn't take it anymore. She let out all her resentment in one go.
"I don't want to write anymore. What the hell is this? I won't write anymore, I won't write anymore!”She threw away the pen, tore the paper, and threw the inkstone on the table at Tong Chen.
"What are you doing?" Of course, Tong Chen wasn't hit by her. He dodged the inkstone in a flash and looked at her with a serious face.
"Why are you asking me? Why did I ask you! Every day, I either read or write, or write or read. I'm not the top female scholar, I quit!”Tong Zhen shouted like a crazy woman.
Tong Chen looked at her silently.
Looking at Tong Zhen's angry expression, his mind flashed back to how she looked when she was angry when she was young. She still hadn't changed. Whenever she was angry, her little face would turn red, and her scowl was as cute as it could be.
"I don't want you to be the top scorer. I just hope that you can learn the most basic things. I didn't let you go out these few days because I hope that you can cultivate your character and calm down to think about how to change your bad habits in the past and become a gentle and polite young lady.”he said calmly.
"To hell with you, I just don't want to be a lady, so what?”Tong Zhen's eyes reddened and she said hoarsely,"I know you don't like my current appearance, so you want to change me. But don't you think it's useless? If you had me in your heart back then, you wouldn't have thought of coming back now. Do you think you're doing this to atone for your sins?”
She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "Let me tell you, I don't appreciate your kindness. You'd better give up on this idea as soon as possible. It's up to you where you want to go this time. I won't be sad for you anymore.”
He was too much. She was not angry that he locked her in the study and made her read and write. She was angry that he no longer loved her as much as he used to.
He only told her to read and write, but he didn't say anything to her. He only treated her as a student, not a sister at all.
She really wanted to know why he left home back then. She also wanted to know where he had been and what he had done all these years. She was so eager to know everything about him, but what about him? He hadn't said a word in the past five days. She couldn't feel the brotherly love between the two of them at all. She only felt his seriousness and indifference.
He was no longer the brother she loved the most. He was now just a stranger, a stranger who could not even be considered a friend. She was so sad and disappointed. She really could not accept this fact.
Tong Zhen's tears were still unable to shake Tong Chen's heart that was harder than steel. He ignored her tears and said expressionlessly,"" I don't care what you think, and I don't care if you appreciate my kindness or not. I'll tell you again. I want to train you to be a daughter of a noble family, a true Ge Ge. I won't leave this house until I'm satisfied with your performance.”
Tong Zhen glared at Tong Chen angrily, and Tong Chen looked back at her. Neither of them gave in to the other.
Tong Zhen hated Tong Chen to death, but what about Tong Chen? Was he really as heartless as Tong Zhen thought?
"It's useless for you to stare at me. Sit down and continue writing.”Tong Chen finally said.
"I won't." She decided not to be at his mercy anymore. He didn't treat her as his hand and foot anyway, so why should she use her warm face to stick to his cold buttocks?
"I want to leave now. No one can stop me.”She immediately walked towards the door.
"You're not allowed to leave." Tong Chen knew that it was useless to persuade her nicely, so he reached out to grab her shoulder.
"Humph!" Tong Zhen snorted lightly and dodged his hand. Her nimble figure exceeded Tong Chen's expectations.
"Where did you learn kung fu?" Ma Ma had told him that she knew kung fu, but he didn't believe it at first, but now that he had tried it, he knew that she had some skills.
"This is none of your business." Tong Zhen couldn't be bothered with him and rushed out of the door.
Tong Chen immediately chased after her and blocked her way.
Tong Zhen glared at him angrily. "Good dogs don't block the way. Move aside!"
"What are you talking about?" Tong Chen frowned. Was this something a Ge Ge would say?”
"Move aside!" Tong Zhen angrily threw a punch at Tong Chen, and Tong Chen also raised his hand to block her hand. The two of them exchanged more than ten moves in the blink of an eye.
"Stop, you can't beat me.”Tong Chen and Tong Zhen had exchanged a few moves, and he knew how strong she was. She could deal with people who didn't know martial arts at all, but if there was more than one person, or if it was someone who knew a little martial arts, it wouldn't be difficult to take her down. Her mediocre kung fu could only scare outsiders. It was not even good enough for self-defense.
"Pfft! Why should I listen to you?" Tong Zhen was already a little impatient when she couldn't beat him, and now she was getting angrier as she fought. Her moves weren't as sharp as they were at the beginning.
Tong Chen didn't want her to lose too badly, but this wasn't the way to go. If there wasn't a winner, she wouldn't stop even if it was dark.
"Ah!" Suddenly, Tong Zhen screamed. Her hands were grabbed by Tong Chen behind her back. She kicked him unwillingly. She did not expect that she would trip over him instead of kicking him. Then, she screamed again.
"It hurts! Let go of me. A man bullying a woman is shameless!”Tong Zhen, who was forced to kneel on the ground, turned around and cursed at him.
Damn it. Although she couldn't see him standing behind her, she thought that he must be smiling very proudly now.
"I can let you go, but you have to listen to me obediently.”Tong Chen said from behind her.
"I don't want to listen, I don't want to listen." Tong Zhen shook her head desperately. "A warrior can be killed but not humiliated. You might as well kill me.”She really wanted to kill herself when he bullied her like this.
"You would rather be killed by me than listen to me?”Tong Chen said as he released his grip.
"You only know how to bully me. Why should I listen to you?”It really hurt! Tong Zhen rubbed her bruised wrist, her eyes wide open as she held back her tears.
Tong Chen looked at her pitiful appearance, and his heart was filled with love.
"As long as you listen to me, you won't think that I'm bullying you.”He sighed and said.
Tong Zhen glared at him angrily. She was not talking about tongue twisters. In the end, he just had to care about her.
Back then, he was the one who didn't want to care about her. After " abandoning " her for so many years, he suddenly wanted to care about her again. Did he still think that she was that fourteen-year-old girl from back then? If he really thought so, then he was gravely mistaken. She was no longer the little girl who was obedient to him and worshipped him as a god. She had grown up now. She knew how to think and understood what self-esteem was.
She stared at him for a while, then said to him with a solemn expression,"Don't use the tone of a big brother to lecture me. From the moment you abandoned me, the big brother who loved me the most in my heart was already dead. You don't deserve to be my big brother.”
"I heard it clearly." Tong Chen nodded. "But please listen carefully. It's okay if you don't treat me as your big brother. I will still treat you as my sister, so you can't escape. As long as I don't give up on you, you will be my sister for the rest of your life.”
Hearing this, a bitter expression flashed across Tong Zhen's face.
If she had heard these words four years ago, she would have been so happy that she would have cried. But now, she felt pain and no joy at all.
Because he said these words not because he loved her, but because he wanted to control her. In his heart, she would always be the little girl who would cry endlessly because of his departure. In his eyes, she would always be fourteen years old.
"Go to hell. Who wants to be your sister?”She glared at him and turned to run.
However, she did not let him chase her this time because she had escaped to a tree!
Tong Chen didn't know whether to laugh or cry at her actions. He looked up at her as she climbed to the top of the tree and shouted,"Are you going to spend the night in a tree?"
"Don't come over!" Tong Zhen was afraid that he would also climb up, so she quickly hugged the tree trunk and shouted,"If you climb up, I'll jump down. I'm serious, I'll really jump down!”
"Oh, really?" Tong Chen crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked at her with a calm expression. "Alright, I'll play this boring game with you. I'll wait here. When you're done playing up there, we'll go back to the study to study.”
"I don't want to go back to that damn study room. If you want to read it, go read it yourself.”Tong Zhen didn't care how long she could stay on the tree. Anyway, she wouldn't do anything if she was asked to study. She would do anything else.
Tong Chen shrugged his shoulders after hearing her words. He looked at her again and sat down on the ground.
This person was really detestable to the extreme. Tong Zhen was furious, but she did not dare to say anything. The only thing she could do now was to hug this tree tightly. She had to endure longer than him. She did not want to be looked down upon by him.
She decided to continue wasting time with him!
She hugged the tree even more tightly, her feet carefully stepping on the branches, her eyes looking at the sky to pass the time.
It seemed like a long time had passed. Just as her hands began to ache and her feet began to tremble, thinking that she might not be able to hold on for long, at this critical moment, she did not know if it was her jinx or her savior who appeared.
"Chen 'er, why are you sitting on the ground? Is there gold underground?" Tong Shan, who was passing by, looked at Tong Chen, who was sitting on the ground, in surprise.
"Ama, it's not gold, it's thousands of gold.”Tong Chen pointed at the tree. "Our princess is enjoying the beautiful scenery up there!”
"Zhen 'er?" When Tong Shan saw Tong Zhen on the tree, he cried out in shock,"What are you doing up there? It's too dangerous, come down quickly!"
"I don't want to." Tong Zhen refused to go down no matter what. "If I go down, big brother will find me to settle the score. I don't want to go down and die.”
"What do you mean by dead or not? I think you'll fall to your death sooner or later if you stay any longer.”Tong Shan sighed a few times, but now was not the time to sigh, so he said to Tong Chen,""Hurry up and bring your sister down. She's reading on a tree. Sigh! Our Ge Ge is really different.”
"Yes, I am!" Tong Chen looked at the tree with a doting gaze. He knew how different she was. If she wasn't so different, how could he not forget her after leaving her for more than three years?
If only Tong Zhen could see the look in Tong Chen's eyes now. Unfortunately, she was too far away from him and missed this great opportunity to understand his inner feelings.
"Ama, don't harm me. I don't want to go down.”Tong Zhen shouted from the tree.
"Where do you want Chen 'er to go? He finally came back! Chen 'er, go up quickly." He had to see her land safely before he fainted from anger.
"Yes." Tong Chen jumped up after he finished speaking and climbed to the bottom of Tong Zhen in no time.
"Zhen 'er, give me your hand." He reached out his hand to her.
Tong Zhen looked at him with a resentful gaze, then obediently handed her hand over to him.
Tong Chen's thin lips unconsciously curved into a smile. He carefully pulled her down, his hands naturally wrapping around her slender waist.
Because Tong Zhen's position was relatively high, the two of them stood almost face to face.
She could smell the familiar scent. Staring at his beautiful black eyes, she was a little confused.
They could finally get so close again. She really wanted to hug him like she did in the past, but she couldn't do it because she really didn't know if he was still the same person as before.
Tong Zhen didn't say anything, and Tong Chen didn't say anything either. There were thousands of words hidden in his heart, those thousands of words that he couldn't say...
"Zhen 'er." He called her name softly.
Tong Zhen suddenly smiled at him and quickly lowered her head.
" You…" Tong Chen was surprised to see her lips kissing his hand.
She bit him hard.
"Zhen, why did you bite me? How did this happen?" Tong Shan, who was under the tree and saw this scene, was so angry that he shouted and jumped.
Tong Chen quietly watched her mouth leave his hand, neither moving nor speaking.
Tong Zhen looked at the wound on his hand. The wound had turned purple, and blood was seeping out from the place where her teeth marks were.
She smiled at him again. "Welcome back, Big Brother."
After saying that, she quickly climbed down and quickly reached the ground.
"Zhen Er, what are you doing?”Tong Shan, who went forward, asked.
"He knows." After Tong Zhen finished speaking, she ran away, completely ignoring Tong Shan's call.
"He knows? Who knows?" Tong Shan shouted at Tong Chen who was still on the tree with a confused look,"Chen 'er, have you been bitten silly? Why aren't you coming down?"
He was right. Tong Chen was dumbfounded. He was still on the tree, staring at Tong Zhen's back with a pair of misty eyes.
The next day.
Tong Chen waited in the study for two hours, but Tong Zhen still did not appear, so he went to Tong Zhen's dormitory to look for her.
" Eldest, Eldest Young Master... this servant... pays his respects to Eldest Young Master..." The person who came out to welcome him was Xiao Die. Xiao Die was particularly flustered when she saw Tong Chen, and even her words were stuttering.
"Where's Miss?" Tong Chen asked.
" Miss, she..." Xiao Die swallowed and said,""Miss asked me to tell Eldest Young Master that she's not feeling well and wants to rest for the day.”
Tong Chen knew that Xiao Die was lying just by looking at her guilty look. Tong Zhen's unwell was just an excuse. She really didn't want to see him.
"When did Miss feel unwell?”he asked.
" Um... just now, no, it was last night, last night..." Xiao Die hurriedly replied.
"Then have you found a doctor to see Miss?”
"Miss said there's no need." Xiao Die immediately replied.”She tilted her head and suddenly felt that she had said something wrong again, so she quickly added,"Eldest Young Master, don't misunderstand. It's not that Miss is not seriously ill. She's very sick. Not really. Miss said that she was not feeling well, but it was not to the point where she needed to see a doctor. Miss said that she only needed to rest for a few days and she would be able to recover without medicine. That's right." She nodded, glad that she had finally remembered what Tong Zhen had told her.
"I see." Tong Chen almost laughed out loud. He cleared his throat, trying to hide his urge to laugh with a serious expression. "Alright then, let Miss rest for a day. Go back and tell Miss that I'll wait for her in the study tomorrow. Tell her not to forget, understand?”
"Only rested for a day?" Xiao Die's face was filled with uneasiness. Miss wanted her to argue with Eldest Young Master for a few days, but she didn't expect Eldest Young Master to only allow her to do so for one day. If she went back, she would definitely be scolded by Miss.
"Eldest Young Master, one day is too little. Can you let Miss rest for a few more days?”she begged.
"What?"
Being stared at by Tong Chen's unfathomable eyes, Xiao Die was so scared that she quickly shut her mouth.
"So you hope that Miss will be sick for a long time? You don't want Miss to recover, do you?”Tong Chen questioned her threateningly.
Xiao Die hurriedly said," This servant wouldn't dare. Eldest Young Master, you've wronged this servant. This servant naturally hopes that Miss will get better soon."”
"Is that so?"
"Yes, yes." Xiao Die hurriedly nodded.
"Then serve me well.”"If Miss's condition gets worse, I'll hold you responsible. Do you hear me?" Tong Chen said sternly.”
"Yes, this servant will obey." Xiao Die said fearfully.
After Tong Chen left, Tong Zhen, who had been eavesdropping behind the door, jumped out and accused Xiao Die. "You idiot! How do you do things? What was the use of resting for a day? I worked so hard to pretend to be sick in exchange for a day of rest. This is not worth it!”
Xiao Die looked at Tong Zhen aggrievedly. "Miss, you heard it yourself! The Eldest Young Master was very shrewd. He definitely did not believe that the Young Miss was really sick, which was why he refused to let the Young Miss rest for a few more days. This really isn't this servant's fault." Indeed, it was not her fault. It was Miss who liked to lie too much, resulting in a bad reputation. That was why she could not deceive Eldest Young Master.
Tong Zhen rolled her eyes at Xiao Die and pouted,""Damn it, he's really heartless. He's not feeling well and he still wants him to study. How can there be such a heartless big brother in the world? I'm really too unlucky!"
"Miss, don't be angry. I think you should obediently go to Eldest Young Master's place tomorrow!”Xiao Die desperately advised Tong Zhen not to act on impulse.
"Humph! I'm not going. Have you forgotten that I'm sick?”Tong Zhen said angrily.
"Miss, are you still pretending to be sick?" Xiao Die widened her eyes.
Tong Zhen raised her chin and said," That's right. I'm going to continue pretending to be sick tomorrow. I don't believe that he would really dare to touch a patient like me. Hmph!"”#
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