No Respect for Elders

On the afternoon of a day off, the sunlight seemed more generous than on workdays, pouring unreservedly into the living room and warming the wool carpet.

Gu Yue wore loose loungewear and lay sprawled on the carpet like a lazy cat, her chin resting on her folded arms as she enjoyed this rare moment of leisure.

Tang Wulin sat in the armchair beside her, holding an apple peeler and working his way around an apple. The long strip of peel dangled down, nearly reaching the floor.

Hearing faint footsteps from the hallway, Gu Yue lifted her head and asked Tang Wulin, "Is that guy Xie Xie?"

"Mm," Tang Wulin said. "It's been a long time."

The moment he finished speaking, the doorbell began ringing wildly. Then Xie Xie's signature, punchable booming voice pierced through the door. "Boss! Boss! Open up! I'm dying of heat out here!"

Tang Wulin set down the half-peeled apple and got up to open the door.

The instant the door unlocked, Xie Xie squeezed inside like a cannonball leaving its barrel, bringing a wave of outdoor heat and his inexhaustible energy with him. "Whoa! It's still warmer at home!" he shouted as he familiarly kicked off his shoes, padded barefoot across the floor, and made a beeline for the snack cabinet in the living room.

"Xie Xie, you're still as restless as ever." Tang Wulin smiled helplessly and steadied the umbrella stand that Xie Xie had nearly knocked over.

"Isn't it because I haven't seen you in so long, Boss? I'm excited!" Xie Xie chuckled, grabbed the apple Tang Wulin had just peeled from the coffee table, and took a huge crunching bite. "Sweet! Thanks, Boss!"

He sprawled into the most comfortable spot on the sofa, opened a bag of chips, and started eating, completely treating the place as his own home. His gaze swept over the delicately arranged pastries on the coffee table, then over Gu Yue sunning herself on the carpet. There was none of the awe he had shown when they first met. Instead, he carried the casual attitude of, "Now that you're married, you're safe."

Gu Yue remained where she was and did not even fully raise her eyelids. Through the gap between her arms, she coldly watched this guy, who had once possessed at least some manners but was now becoming increasingly presumptuous.

At least he used to call me Sister Gu Yue. Now that I'm married, he thinks I've gotten softer, does he? Gu Yue sneered inwardly. Her expression remained blank as she closed her eyes again.

Xie Xie clearly failed to notice the subtle danger in the air. After finishing the chips, he casually tossed the bag onto the coffee table and stood up. Perhaps he had been sitting too long and wanted to stretch his legs. As he turned, his right foot naturally and casually—stepped onto the beloved carpet that Gu Yue had spent over an hour scrubbing on her knees that morning, exhausting herself to restore it to fluffy, pristine whiteness!

It was an expensive carpet, soft and delicate. Gu Yue always cleaned it herself, afraid someone else might damage it.

"Scrrrape—"

A faint, teeth-grating sound of friction.

Gu Yue's eyes flew open.

The calm lake within her violet eyes instantly froze solid. Sharp light shot toward Xie Xie's back like blades.

Xie Xie remained completely unaware, trying to hook the game controller on the floor with his toes.

The next second, an icy hand clamped around his ankle like iron pincers.

"Ah!" Xie Xie jumped in fright and instinctively tried to pull his foot back, only to discover that the other person's strength was astonishing.

Gu Yue rose to her feet, neither hurried nor slow. Yet the low pressure radiating from her body made the living room feel ten degrees colder. Gripping Xie Xie by the ankle as though she were holding an unruly large dog, she ignored his cries and dragged him straight toward the soundproof door leading to the training room.

"Sister Gu Yue?! What are you doing?! I can walk by myself!" Xie Xie flailed wildly, trying to keep his balance.

"Shut up." Gu Yue's voice was as cold as ice chips.

Bang!

Gu Yue kicked open the training room door, then slammed it shut behind her. The excellent soundproofing completely cut off the sunlight and noise outside.

Tang Wulin had just picked up a second apple. Before he could even process what had happened, he heard a dull thud, as though something heavy had been thrown onto a mat, followed immediately by Xie Xie's distorted scream.

"Who are you?! What do you want?!"

Inside the training room, Xie Xie had been tossed onto a padded mat. Before he could scramble up, he saw Gu Yue approaching step by step with the light behind her. Her usually cool or gentle face was now filled with undisguised fury.

"I'm teaching you who your mother is!" Gu Yue said bluntly. She lifted her foot and planted it on Xie Xie's stomach, preventing him from getting up as she looked down at him. Her gaze was so fierce it seemed ready to skin him alive and tear him apart.

"Argh! Sister Gu Yue! I was wrong! I'm blind! I shouldn't have stepped on the carpet! Spare me!" Xie Xie was truly terrified now. He scrambled backward, shielding his face with both hands. "Not the face! I make a living with my face!"

"Yuanen won't like me anymore!" Xie Xie tried to bring in reinforcements, though he knew Yuanen would most likely not come save him.

Gu Yue sneered and pressed down harder with her foot. "That's your own problem."

"Ahhh—!"

A shrill scream pierced through the heavy soundproof door and faintly reached the living room.

Tang Wulin's hand, still holding the apple peeler, froze in midair. The corner of his mouth twitched as he silently set the apple down. He walked to the training room door, hesitated for a moment, but neither knocked nor went in to break up the fight.

The commotion inside lasted around five minutes, accompanied by Xie Xie's pig-slaughtering wails and Gu Yue's icy reprimands.

"Letting you act so disrespectfully!"

"Letting you step on my carpet!"

"Letting you come in without greeting anyone!"

"Ah! It hurts, it hurts! Sister Gu Yue! I really know I was wrong! I won't do it again!"

At last, the door opened with a click.

Gu Yue came out first. Her face had returned to its usual indifference, though a trace of lingering anger remained in her eyes. Without even looking at Tang Wulin, she headed straight for the kitchen and tossed out, "I want boiled fish tonight."

"Okay, okay, whatever you want." Tang Wulin nodded quickly.

At the training room doorway, Xie Xie clung to the frame and limped out. His hair was a mess like a chicken coop, and though there was no blood on his face, his clothes were wrinkled beyond recognition. There was even a frightened tear hanging from the corner of his eye.

He looked pitifully at Tang Wulin, his voice trembling with tears. "Boss... Sister-in-law... ah..."

Tang Wulin patted his shoulder sympathetically, pointed toward the kitchen, and lowered his voice. "You deserved it. Who told you to step on the carpet? That thing is her treasure. And remember next time: greet people before you come in."

Xie Xie sniffed and looked at the busy figure in the kitchen, on the verge of tears.

He finally learned a profound truth: when a tiger did not show its might, people really thought it was Hello Kitty!

Meanwhile, Gu Yue tied on an apron in the kitchen. Watching the fish swim around in the sink, the anger in her heart finally subsided by more than half.

It seemed that setting some rules once in a while worked rather well. At the very least, that blind fool Xie Xie probably would not dare get so presumptuous again anytime soon.

As for the boiled fish for dinner... she had to think carefully about whether to add a little extra chili.