Chapter 88: Punishment

Caught by her weakness, An Ling instantly went soft.

Her legs gave out and she dropped onto the bed.

Tears filled An Ling’s eyes.

Her weakness was in someone else’s hand, she had been pressed down on the bed, and he already knew the secret of her body.

It’s over.

An Ling’s heart had already turned to ash.

Thinking of Li Yang’s state tonight, she didn’t even dare imagine what would happen next.

Yet it was different from what An Ling expected.

Li Yang actually let go of the tail he was holding.

Li Yang of course had no intention of letting her off.

He had just thought of a better way to settle this.

Next he would let her choose for herself.

Feeling her tail slip free of that grip, she carefully climbed up from the bed, stayed alert toward the demon behind her, and inched toward the door.

But Li Yang showed no sign of stopping her at all.

He rolled over, sat on the edge of the bed, and watched her.

He watched her hand slowly settle on the door handle.

At last he spoke.

“An Ling, if you walk out this door today, from now on we will be people of two different worlds.”

“I won’t treat someone well unconditionally.”

“My attitude toward you after this will depend on the choice you make right now.”

Of course that wasn’t the whole truth.

If An Ling dared walk out today, he would absolutely let her see the side of him that was not gentle at all.

An Ling’s hand stayed on the door handle.

Her whole body froze in place.

Li Yang’s words were like a needle driven into her heart.

Her hand didn’t dare move even a little.

Become people of two different worlds with Li Yang?

Absolutely not.

She didn’t want to lose Li Yang.

She had already lost him once.

Now that she had gotten him back, she couldn’t bear to let go.

But what he said wasn’t wrong either.

What right did she have to let him keep protecting her?

The two of them weren’t even related by blood.

Speaking of it, they were only neighbors.

An Ling bit her lip.

Tears turned in her eyes.

The door handle felt faintly hot in her palm, as if an abyss lay behind it.

She was so scared she suddenly let go of the handle and took a step back.

She slowly turned around and looked at Li Yang sitting on the edge of the bed.

“I…” 

An Ling opened her mouth, her voice as small as a mosquito’s.

“I’m not leaving. Really.”

Li Yang looked at her.

Good.

Next he could properly deal with this disobedient little thing.

She had hidden it from him for so long.

Li Yang really was a little angry.

He wouldn’t have hurt her.

Yet she had still hidden it.

The more he thought, the angrier he got.

He even suspected that An Ling had suddenly moved away years ago precisely because she had become a girl.

An Ling slowly moved back to the bedside and stopped in front of him.

She kept her head down.

Her ears were pressed completely flat against her hair.

Her tail shrank behind her.

She had fully become a small animal that had done something wrong.

“Sit.” Li Yang patted the mattress beside him.

An Ling hesitated, then carefully sat down next to him, keeping half a fist of distance.

“Closer.” Li Yang said.

An Ling shifted a little more toward him.

Her shoulder almost touched his arm.

“Look at me.”

An Ling bit her lip and slowly raised her head.

Their eyes met.

“An Ling, I’m asking you one more time.” Li Yang’s voice was very calm, which made An Ling’s heart crawl.

“You’re a girl now, right?”

“Mm.” She answered softly, a sob in her voice.

“How complete is the change?”

“All of it changed.”

“Mom took me to the hospital to get checked.”

“There’s no difference from a normal girl anymore.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I…” An Ling forced herself not to let the tears fall, her voice breaking.

“I didn’t dare tell you.”

“I was afraid.”

“You were afraid of me?”

“No! Absolutely not.” An Ling hurriedly waved her hands.

“What else?”

“Confess all of it!”

“I…” An Ling looked at him with tear-blurred eyes and finally gave in.

She told him every little secret she had hidden over these years.

The memory fragments.

The matter of Chen Ping that he had already resolved.

The more Li Yang listened, the angrier he became.

So many things.

She hadn’t told him a single one.

Did she distrust him that much?

“So after the Chen Ping matter, the things in the memory fragments were resolved?”

“They should be.”

“The flow of fate already seems different.”

“Done?”

“Finished talking?”

“Mm.” An Ling nodded honestly.

Li Yang’s blood had rushed to his head.

He had only meant to scare her a little.

He hadn’t expected this little thing to have hidden so much from him.

Now he had to give her a punishment she would actually remember.

“Come here.”

“Stand in front of me.”

“You… what did you say?” Her voice was shaking.

“You heard me.” Li Yang’s tone left no room for argument.

“I said stand in front of me.”

An Ling’s face burned.

Her mind went blank.

“I…”

“No more nonsense.” Li Yang looked at her.

“Come here.”

“Don’t make me say it a third time.”

An Ling bit her lip, struggling hard inside.

She really didn’t want to go over.

But Li Yang’s tone was too firm.

She felt that if she delayed any longer, he would truly do something even more excessive.

An Ling took a deep breath, slowly stood up from the bedside, and stepped in front of him.

“From today on, you don’t get to hide things like this anymore.”

“That’s the punishment.”

An Ling stood there stiffly, head still lowered.

“Look at me and say it.”

An Ling hesitated, then still obediently lifted her eyes.

This posture was already shameful enough.

She could feel her face burning.

Her ears felt hot enough to catch fire.

“Say it.” Li Yang’s voice was steady.

“No more hiding from me things that can get you hurt.”

“If something happens, you tell me first.”

“One…” An Ling’s voice was as small as a mosquito’s, with a clear sob in it.

“I won’t hide it anymore.”

“Louder.”

“I won’t hide it anymore.”

Tears were already turning in her eyes.

From childhood to now she had always been a good child.

She had never thought the first time she was truly held to account would come from Li Yang, and in this kind of way.

“Again.”

“I won’t hide things from you anymore.”

An Ling’s voice had started to tremble.

She buried her face toward her own arms and didn’t dare look at his expression.

It was too embarrassing.

This kind of standing there and being questioned was even harder to bear than being scolded in a rush.

Li Yang looked at the little wolf who had finally stopped running.

He drew a deep breath and pressed down the mess of anger in his chest.

Right now he was punishing her for lying.

He could not let it turn into anything else.

“Twenty times.”

“You will repeat it until I believe you.”

“If you get it wrong, we start over.”

“Four…”

An Ling counted through her teeth, tears finally spilling.

“I won’t hide it anymore.”

She had never been treated like this.

She hadn’t expected the first real punishment of her life would be standing in front of Li Yang and saying the same promise again and again.

Li Yang’s gaze was too direct.

Every sentence landed clearly.

“Keep going.”

An Ling’s voice shook more and more.

She didn’t dare look up, and still less dared look at Li Yang’s face.

Too shameful.

This way of punishing her was more mortifying than a straightforward scolding.

Li Yang watched her ears stay flat and her tail stay curled.

He drew another breath and forced the rest of his temper down.

This was punishment.

He would not think about anything else.