A Small Punishment
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Chapter 1/9
The guests present and organizers dared not officially start the fashion week although it was time, due to the unusual turn of events.
Everyone’s gazes were focused on Yang Chen and Sauron, but no one had the courage to go near them. All they could do was focus on listening and try to pick apart their conversation.
Compared to Sauron’s prominent nickname in the European upper clan, no one there was able to recognize Yang Chen. Some people even suspected him for being a secret member of the Welsh royal family. Sauron had directly devoted his loyalty to them after all.
“Oh my, although I knew that you’d take action, you didn’t have to knock them out, did you? This fellow has hyperemia in his brain, I bet he would have to be bedridden for some time, assuming he hasn’t lost his sanity.” Yang Chen said smilingly. He felt rather helpless for the way Sauron chose to deal with the problem, but didn’t blame him at all.
Sauron looked dull. Looking displeased, he said, “Your Majesty, this woman is from the Stert clan. Shall I take care of her here or outside?”
Sauron’s question had sent a chill up everyone’s spines, causing them to shiver a little.
To kill her here or somewhere else?
The life of the lady from the Stert clan of high status sounded so worthless that the only question asked about it was the place it would end!
Demon! That man was a demon!
More depressingly, Meryl who was behaving exceptionally arrogant just a moment ago had completely lost her strength to resist after recognizing Sauron.
The remaining three bodyguards had long backed off to whichever place, losing all professionalism. Their lives were of more value than their jobs.
“I—I beg you… Please don’t kill me. I’ve made a mistake, Mr Earl, please forgive me this time…” Meryl stood there alone. She didn’t have the courage to run away. Moreover, her feet were planted to the ground despite her intentions to run.
Quite a few guests had sighed when they looked at Meryl whose eyes had turned watery. No one expected the noble lady known for oppressing the weak to end up this way.
Sauron completely ignored Meryl’s begging. He was still waiting for an order from Yang Chen.
Yang Chen thought for a while before standing up and leaning towards Lin Ruoxi. Smiling gently, he said, “Babe Ruoxi, since this woman tried to get rid of you earlier, I feel that it is up to you to make the decision. Do you want to kill her here or outside? Shall we execute her by ground or let her be crushed by a car? If you’re not satisfied with either or them, we can arrange for her to be thrown into a pond of sharks. My old friend Sauron has quite a few great white sharks as pets which all love to devour human eat. We could slowly lower her into the pound, and allow the sharks to bite her body away chunk by chunk, starting from her feet. We’ll let her look at her own body slowly getting shorter…”
Yang Chen had intentionally spoken in English as he wasn’t planning on hiding his intentions. The guests present were all able to listen to the speech with great clarity. Some ladies started to feel disgust while the men paled, subconsciously getting fearful of Yang Chen.
Lin Ruoxi wasn’t concerned about who Sauron was anymore, and even forgot that she was pissed off by Yang Chen this morning. When he spoke cheerfully, she felt rather confused and nervous. Having hesitated for a bit, she tried to remain as calm as possible when saying, “There’s no need for all of that is there? Her mistake isn’t so serious…”
“That isn’t necessarily the case. She wanted to throw you into the river Seine earlier. If she was dealing with someone of a lower status than yours, that person would’ve been dead by your hands. Also, I bet her temper hasn’t formed in just these few days. You’re definitely not the only victim of hers,” said Yang Chen.
Lin Ruoxi knew that Yang Chen was telling the truth, but throwing Meryl into Seine in front of everyone would make her feel more pain than killing herself.
Meryl initially thought that Lin Ruoxi would let the matter slide. However, when Lin Ruoxi remained quiet, she knelt down and started sobbing.
Although the organizer was terrified, he thought that Yang Chen was just be messing around. Thus, he walked forward and forced his mouth to speak, “Sir, please don’t make jokes like this. Miss Meryl is begging for mercy and offering an apology. Let’s all get along in peace—”
“Piss off.”
Before the organizer finished speaking, Sauron had stepped in front of him, muttering an ice-cold phrase.
Feeling a bone-penetrating chill, the organizer was terrified, especially when he felt that the smell of blood was getting more evident. Thus, he ran away without hesitation.
“Miss Lin, you should quickly make a decision. Everyone’s waiting for you,” said Stern. He giggled while gloating over Meryl’s misfortune. He wasn’t at all afraid, the same went to Alice.
It was the first time in Lin Ruoxi’s life that she had to decide whether someone lived or not. At last, she shook her head. “We will not kill her today. Please let her go. Just give her a small punishment at most to prevent her from repeating her mistake.”
“You’re soft-hearted as expected,” said Yang Chen with a smile.
Meryl was delighted when she heard that Lin Ruoxi didn’t plan to kill her. She crawled closer to Lin Ruoxi and thanked her repeatedly.
Lin Ruoxi frowned as she felt disgusted when Meryl fawned over her.
“Miss Lin, I will never forget your mercifulness. O—our Stert clan will repay you one day!” Meryl exclaimed while weeping.
“Humph. Shut your damn mouth, Stupid Woman. Your clan’s name isn’t of any worth here,” said Sauron coldly.
Meryl immediately shrank away involuntarily and nodded continuously.
Although she was arrogant in nature, it didn’t mean she wouldn’t be aware of the position she was in. Facing a madman like Sauron who wasn’t even afraid of royal families, her life was indeed worthless.
“Since Dear has decided not to kill you, you shall be left alive then.” Yang Chen pouted his mouth and thought for a while. “Sauron, why don’t we do it this way? Tell her family that we’ll teach this woman a lesson on their behalf.”
“Your Majesty, may I ask what exactly will the lesson be?”
“You don’t have to be too violent. Since my wife said to give a small punishment, you’ll just have to crush all her fingers and toes,” said Yang Chen casually.
Meryl who had felt relieved just a second ago felt like she had fallen into a depthless abyss again. She was so shocked that she forgot to breathe.
However, Yang Chen wasn’t done talking yet. He continued, “You mustn’t crush them all at once. Crush one a day, so it’ll be a 20-day cycle. This way, while some are recovering, the others can be crushed. Let her go through three cycles I guess. Remember to monitor her vitals to ensure she stays alive for the whole thing.”
“Understood,” answered Sauron casually.
Having listened to the conversation, Meryl instantly fainted away on the spot.
The others in the venue had held their breaths as well. The ‘small punishment’ described by Yang Chen was more than enough to numb their scalps.
Two well-built soldiers dressed in blue military uniforms came from nowhere. They carried the unconscious Meryl out of the venue without being stopped by anyone.
Lin Ruoxi was feeling complicated when she looked at the series of events taking place in front of her eyes. She silently darted Yang Chen a glance, but he was currently smiling at her.
“Let’s talk somewhere else,” said Yang Chen with a smile. Before Lin Ruoxi gave him an answer, he walked towards the rest area near the river alone.
Lin Ruoxi bit her lips and took a deep breath. Standing up, she placed her bag and documents on her seat before walking to the same direction.
No one dared to underestimate Lin Ruoxi and Yang Chen based on the sudden change in events earlier. Thus, the crowd at the rest area where the two were heading towards instantly walked away.
Yang Chen walked to the railing by the river and looked at it for a while. He only turned around when Lin Ruoxi came to his side.
“Do you feel that I’m overly violent, or do you have too many questions?” asked Yang Chen.
Lin Ruoxi swept her hair to the side as it was blown messy by the wind. Shaking her head, she answered, “I don’t know… I don’t know if I should feel happy for what you have done, or regretful for not stopping your actions.”
“Is that it? Don’t you have other doubts?” Yang Chen smiled as he felt disdain for himself. “To be honest, Babe, I’ve always been wondering if you hold even the slightest bit of curiosity.”
“I remember telling you that you’ll inform me anything you want me to know, and I won’t question whatever you don’t intend to mention,” Lin Ruoxi said with indifference.
Yang Chen smiled bitterly. “But I feel like this isn’t working too well. I’ve found it hard to explain many things when you don’t ask.”
“Alright then.” Lin Ruoxi calmed herself down asked, “What do you think I should ask you?”
Yang Chen was slightly shocked. He thought about it for a while and pouted at Sauron who had been standing not too far behind. “For example, who this fellow is, or why I know him. For example… why I don’t treat ending someone’s life as anything significant. Also, aren’t you curious about who the woman was from this morning? Actually, shouldn’t you have asked about these questions long ago?”
“What can I do even if I have all the answers?” Agony surfaced in Lin Ruoxi’s eyes. “To be honest, I’m able to tell that you’re not an ordinary man even without you telling me. The longer we interact, the more I feel that we don’t belong in the same world. You could withdraw 100 billion euros from the Union Bank of Switzerland anytime you want. You’re much wealthier than I am. The little wealth I have is an astronomical figure to lots of people, but to you, it doesn’t even measure up to a grain of salt in your world.
“When it comes to power, I believe it’s a lot more obvious. You could kill anyone at will. You could cause an enormous commotion in the underworld of Zhonghai with ease, and you could… make Rose the absolute leader there. I know that the only reason you’re not stopped by the government is due to your extraordinary identity.
“But so what if that’s the case? Am I supposed to tolerate you for getting together with other women just because you’re richer, more powerful, and can achieve what I can’t? Should I be happy when I saw the unfamiliar foreign woman coming out from your room? Should I feel that you’re born to live among groups of women?”
Although Lin Ruoxi spoke gently, each of her words was just like a thunder strike in Yang Chen’s ears.
Yeah, she’s right. Why should she ask? So what if she did? Doesn’t she know enough already? thought Yang Chen.
Is it possible that I thought by her knowing everything, she would be happy and willingly cling onto me, and dedicate everything she has to me?
If she did, she wouldn’t be my wife anymore, but just a woman I bought at a high price.
“Your speech is really hurtful, isn’t it?” Yang Chen smiled faintly.
Lin Ruoxi took a deep breath. She looked at the cruise ship slowly drifting across the river with her slightly watery eyes. Softly, she said, “If you really hope that I’ll ask about you, I’ll just ask you a question then.”
“Alright, go ahead. I’ll tell you the answer if I have one.”
“Seventeen… Who is she?”