His grip was so strong that Duanmu Xue thought her shoulder was about to crumble under its force. She wanted to yell out in pain but the moment she looked up, she saw his dark eyes looming over her. As such, she quickly became too frightened to say a word. She did not have her shoes on when she was dragged out and just followed behind him barefoot.
Duanmu Zhe did not look back at her even once. His presence was so overwhelming that she almost suffocated. It was perhaps her first time seeing her brother in that state.
When they got in the car, Duanmu Zhe ordered her to put her seatbelt on. Not daring to defy him, she simply complied obediently. The air felt heavy throughout the drive. When they arrived home and the car came to a stop, she suddenly felt scared and was unwilling to get out. Duanmu Zhe might not reprimand her for what she did, but her Grandfather? He would not let her off that easily.
Duanmu Xue refused to unfasten her seatbelt and stayed seated inside the car. Seeing this, Duanmu Zhe said to her bleakly, “We’re already home. It’s too late even if you regret it now. Do you want to get out on your own or should I get someone to get you out of there?” There was no hint of affection in his question. If she did not answer him, he was going to find someone to get her out of the car right away.
“I’ll give you ten seconds.” He gave her an ultimatum without waiting for her to answer.
Since she did not have another choice, she reluctantly got out of the car under his watchful gaze then followed him inside. As they walked, she started to cry. “Zhe, I know what I did was wrong. Can you beg Grandfather for mercy on my behalf?”
However, his expression remained cold and hard as though the person pleading in front of him was not his sister.
“Zhe. You used to pamper me the most. I know what I did was wrong so please help me this one time. Just once!” Upon seeing him unmoved, she felt truly afraid.
Whenever she made mistakes in the past, Duanmu Zhe would either look unhappy for a bit or he would have a serious conversation with her and taught her right from wrong. It was unlike how he was now. Despite her tears and pleas, his expression did not change, and he only gave her the silent treatment. Her brother, who normally cherished her so much, was already acting this way, let alone her strict grandfather. Her legs turned weak and she could not bring herself to take another step.
Duanmu Zhe suddenly spoke out, “If you keep idling, I’m not going to care about you anymore.”
Her head quickly snapped up. “Zhe?” Is he saying that he still cares then? She was afraid to linger any longer. Despite her weak legs, she quickly picked her feet up and caught up to his pace.
They did not know how long they walked before they finally saw the living room. There, Duanmu Aotian was sitting on the sofa and smoking in silence. The housekeeper was exceptionally well-behaved as she stood next to him, afraid to even breathe loudly. That scene was enough to show the tension that was in the room.
Upon seeing that, Duanmu Xue almost collapsed. However, she saw her brother’s big and tall figure in front of her and thought, It’s fine. Zhe still cares about me. He’ll help me later. She was sure of it.
Once they entered the living room, she felt a cloud hanging over them. She lowered her head and said in a small voice, “G-Grandfather. I’m b—ah!”
Before she could finish talking, Duanmu Aotian suddenly got up from the sofa where he was sitting. Then, without much warning, his hand slapped her across the face forcefully.
Smack! The abrupt slap resounded clearly in the quiet living room. They felt the strength of his slap just from the sound of it. Her whole body fell to the ground. The housekeeper was also stunned but she was too scared to make a sound.
Duanmu Zhe remained standing where he was without wavering. His lowered eyelids disfigured the beautiful shape of his jet-black eyes that were now solemn and unclear.
“How dare you call me grandfather? I don’t have such a disgraceful granddaughter like you in the Duanmu Family. Go pack your things and get out of my house now.”
That slap had completely stunned her, so much so that she was out of it for a while. She only knew that, in her ear on the side where she was slapped, there was a ringing—as though something had been punctured. She also tasted blood in her mouth because her lips had started to bleed. She only pulled herself back together when he told her to leave the house. She was going to reach up to cradle her face but the pain had been so excruciating that the slightest touch almost made her cry out in pain. Immediately, she started crying and looked up at Duanmu Aotian with a face full of tears.
Nonetheless, that slap had not been enough to put out his anger. He felt the anger was building up even more inside his chest. He pointed at her nose and scolded, “As a daughter from the Duanmu Family, how could you do something so atrocious? If word gets out, people who don’t know any better would even think that it was me, Duanmu Aotian, who taught you that way! You have tainted my great and honorable name!”
She cried out, “Grandfather, I know I was wrong. Please forgive me.”
“You know?” He snickered. “What was the situation at the hotel last time? When he rejected you then, you should’ve just forgotten about him. But instead, you harbored those evil thoughts and ended up doing something so degrading!” At the mention of that incident, Duanmu Aotian became even more furious.
A ball of fury had been growing in Duanmu Aotian’s heart ever since Yuchi Shen said he did not want to get engaged with Duanmu Xue and rejected their whole marriage proposal. His granddaughter was good in every aspect and even had an exceptional family background. Why was Yuchi Shen so picky? What about her was not good enough for him? But now, after what she had done, Duanmu Aotian understood why he did not want to marry her.
The more he thought about it, the angrier and more disappointed he felt. The fact that his one and only granddaughter turned out that way also broke his heart. His eyes burned red with anger as he said, “It’s my fault. It’s all my fault. You only did those things because I didn’t discipline you properly. It’s all my fault…”
“Grandfather.” She sobbed. “Grandfather, I was wrong. Please forgive me this once. I won’t dare do this ever again.”
He looked at her hopelessly. “So what if you won’t dare do this again? You’ve completely humiliated us. How am I ever going to show myself in front of Yuchi Jin again? Get out of my house now. From now on, you are no longer my granddaughter.”
When she saw that he was serious about casting her out, she panicked and quickly went up to hug his leg. “No! No, Grandfather. I don’t want to go. This is my home and you are my grandfather. I don’t want to go!”
