The Whip

When the whip came down, it sliced through the air and landed on flesh, burning hot. The pain brought tears to Bai Yunsheng's eyes at once.

Feng Zhiyou lowered his eyes to look at him, the whip in his hand hanging at his side before swaying down to the floor.

Feng Zhiyou said, "Bai Yunsheng, I don't care what you're planning. Don't use Tingfan as a target for practice."

Bai Yunsheng's vision blurred. Hearing Feng Zhiyou say that, the pain in his body seemed to vanish in an instant. Bai Yunsheng slowly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot. "A target? Feng Zhiyou, after all these years, do you really not know who the target has been? Wasn't it me?" He gave a cold laugh, then changed his tone. There was no grievance in his reddened eyes, only mockery. "You think I don't know that you hate me?"

"You always act like you don't care about anything."

"You think you've hidden it well."

"Feng Zhiyou, aren't you just resentful? Resentful that Mom left you alone in the Feng Household back then!"

The wind howled outside the window. It blew against something, and a cup that had been sitting properly on the table fell to the floor. With a bang, shattered glass flew everywhere like a clap of thunder.

Feng Zhiyou's hand tightened ever so slightly around the whip, making a creaking sound.

Feng Zhiyou said, "Shut up."

Bai Yunsheng's face turned paler as blood seeped from his back. "Feng Zhiyou, Mom asked you whether you wanted to leave."

Feng Zhiyou's expression hardened. A crack finally appeared in his calm face. "No! She never asked me!"

Bai Yunsheng said, "She didn't? But Mom told me that she did."

"Mom asked you whether you liked buns or cake."

"She asked whether you liked a small house or a big house."

As Bai Yunsheng spoke, Feng Zhiyou's icy expression froze for a moment, and memories surged forth uncontrollably.

Bai Zhi knelt on the soft carpet and asked gently, "Youyou, tell Mom. Do you like buns or cake?"

Feng Zhiyou said, "Cake! Who would want to eat something like buns?"

Bai Zhi paused, then asked, "Do you like a small house or a big house?"

Feng Zhiyou spread his arms wide. "A big one! Like our home now. I can't even run all the way around it."

Bai Zhi asked, "Then, Youyou, do you like Dad or Mom?"

Feng Zhiyou answered without hesitation, "I like both Dad and Mom!"

Bai Zhi said, "What if you could only choose one? Like buns and cake, a small house and a big house. What if you had to choose one?"

Feng Zhiyou thought for a while. "Do I have to choose?"

Bai Zhi nodded.

Feng Zhiyou said, "Then... I choose Dad."

The expectation and bright light in Bai Zhi's eyes went out at once.

Feng Zhiyou said, "Dad always takes me lots of places and buys me lots of things. Mom always makes me do chores. Even though we have servants at home, I still have to clean my own room." With that, Feng Zhiyou threw himself into Bai Zhi's arms. "If Mom stops making me do chores from now on, Youyou will like Mom the most!"

Bai Zhi gave a soft hum and hugged Feng Zhiyou back, pressing a light kiss to his hair. "Mom just thinks there are some simple things Youyou can do by himself, right? Then when you grow up, you can become a..."

Hearing that, Feng Zhiyou shoved Bai Zhi away with all his strength, his little face flushed red. "No! Taking out the trash and things like that are disgusting! Mom, you're always like this. I don't like you anymore!"

Feng Zhiyou's memory ended there.

Bai Yunsheng's voice rang out. "You made your own choice, and yet you still hate someone who had nothing to do with it? My dear brother."

"Are you happy calling someone else Mom? Do you feel like a real older brother when you protect Feng Tingfan? But do they really see you as a son and an older brother?" The words were calm, but they sounded exceptionally piercing in Feng Zhiyou's ears. He took two steps back, and the whip fell to the floor. There was no trace left of his previous composure. "Stop sowing discord. They've treated me well all these years."

Bai Yunsheng did not believe Feng Zhiyou. Even if they treated him well, they surely had an ulterior motive. He did not believe someone like Jiang Li could truly tolerate a person competing with her son for the inheritance.

At some point, the force pinning Bai Yunsheng down eased. Bai Yunsheng seized the chance to break free. The wound on his back left him hunched over. That posture and sensation felt just like returning to the time before his rebirth. Bai Yunsheng closed his eyes. "Has that whipstroke satisfied you? If you really want to know about my relationship with Mr. Meng, then if you have the nerve and ability, ask him yourself. Why ask me?"

Feng Zhiyou closed his eyes and suppressed his increasingly heavy breathing. He adjusted himself several times before finally calming his chaotic emotions. Without saying another word, he left Bai Yunsheng's room. The people he had brought were perceptive enough to pick up the whip from the floor and follow him out.

As soon as Feng Zhiyou left, Bai Yunsheng could no longer hold himself up. He braced himself against the wall and made his way to the bed.

Although his body had suffered for it, those words today must have made Feng Zhiyou feel awful too.

For someone like Feng Zhiyou, physical pain would not stir even the slightest ripple. Mental torment, on the other hand, cut far deeper.

Bai Yunsheng took a deep breath and endured the pain as he took off his clothes. He could neither reach nor see the wound on his back, so he stood up and opened the door. Just then, he saw a servant passing by and immediately called out, "Go get Doctor Luoluo."

The person instinctively glanced at Bai Yunsheng, then quickly looked away.

Bai Yunsheng frowned. "Didn't you hear me?"

The person immediately nodded. "I heard you, I heard you. I'll go right away."

After receiving an answer, Bai Yunsheng shut the door.

About ten minutes later, Doctor Luoluo finally arrived. The moment she entered, she saw Bai Yunsheng sitting by the bed, as well as the wound on his back.

Bai Yunsheng said, "Sorry to trouble you, Doctor Luoluo."

Zhang Luoluo gave a hum and began treating Bai Yunsheng's wound. "No alcohol, spicy food, or seafood. Don't let it get wet for the next few days."

Bai Yunsheng gave a hum.

Zhang Luoluo was the Feng Household's family doctor. She was aloof, but not as lacking in human warmth as she appeared. Whenever the servants came to her for treatment, she took them very seriously. In his previous life, because of his personality, Bai Yunsheng had never sought Zhang Luoluo out even when he was injured. Having grown used to being looked down upon, he had instinctively assumed that even Zhang Luoluo would not help him.

After putting away her things, Zhang Luoluo reminded him, "Young Master Bai, remember to have someone call me tomorrow to change the dressing."

Bai Yunsheng said, "I understand. Thank you, Doctor Luoluo."

Zhang Luoluo said, "You're welcome. I'm a doctor. This is what I should do." She paused, then added, "I remember Chairman Feng has been away on a business trip these past few days."

The implication was clear: where had these injuries come from?

Zhang Luoluo was not someone who meddled in others' affairs. The wound on Bai Yunsheng's back must have been severe enough to move her as a doctor, or she would not have said that for no reason.

Bai Yunsheng put on a clean shirt. "My older brother did it."

A flash of shock passed through Zhang Luoluo's eyes, but she said nothing.