Punishment

“How come Zhao Yiming’s phone is in your hands?” Xiao Banxia was astonished. “When did you steal it, and how did no one notice?”

Xiao Yao retorted, “What do you mean, steal? That junk phone of his is hardly worth my attention. I just wanted you to see the messages inside, so you could truly understand who he is.”

“Even if you have his phone, it’s useless, isn’t it? Do you know the password?”

“That’s a trivial matter—don’t underestimate your little brother.” As he spoke, Xiao Yao deftly unlocked the phone screen and, with a few quick taps, opened Zhao Yiming’s WeChat.

“Take a look. You’ll never guess what Zhao Yiming is really like.” He handed the phone to his sister.

At this point, Xiao Banxia was too preoccupied to ask how her mysterious brother had managed to crack the password. Taking the phone, she began to browse through Zhao Yiming’s WeChat messages.

Line by line, as she read, her expression darkened.

Although she had already decided to break up with Zhao Yiming, seeing the content in his messages ignited a furious rage in her. Her lungs felt as though they might explode.

Zhao Yiming was entangled with at least four other women. The conversations were brazen, filled with explicit arrangements for hotel meetings—there were countless such exchanges, easily found with a casual scroll.

She felt she must have been blind to have fallen for such a hypocritical scoundrel!

Reflecting on their year-long relationship, Xiao Banxia realized there had been plenty of clues, but her infatuation had blinded her to them all.

After a while, she had seen enough. She no longer cared to look further—she now understood perfectly what kind of man Zhao Yiming was.

Xiao Yao took the phone back and said, “No regrets now, right? You made the decision to break up on the spot, so you weren’t entirely blinded by romance. There’s hope for you yet.”

Xiao Banxia gritted her teeth. “Zhao Yiming is an incredible actor. If I’d known he was such trash, I never would’ve wasted my time and feelings on him.”

“That’s the spirit. There’s plenty of fish in the sea, and you’re a rich, beautiful woman in everyone’s eyes now. Next time you pick a man, keep your eyes open. Don’t mess with those rotten scoundrels again.” Seeing his sister wasn’t as heartbroken as he had feared, Xiao Yao reverted to his sharp-tongued ways.

“Watch your mouth,” she scolded, glaring at her brother. “I suppose, thanks to your little contribution today, I’ll let it slide. Still, thinking about how Zhao Yiming tricked me all year, I really was foolish.”

“Would you like to vent your anger and teach Zhao Yiming a lesson he won’t forget?”

“It’s a civilized society now. After breaking up, ignoring him is enough. You’re not thinking of beating him up, are you?”

Xiao Yao shook his head. “A beating won’t do much. If we’re going to help you vent, it has to be a lesson he’ll never forget.”

His tone was calm, but it carried a chilling ruthlessness, reminiscent of a crime boss in a gangster film.

“What are you planning? We can’t do anything illegal—it’s not worth it for someone like him.”

Xiao Yao boasted, “Your brother is a high-IQ talent. I wouldn’t do anything stupid. Just wait, you’ll see.”

With that, Xiao Yao began to sift through the information on Zhao Yiming’s phone.

He scanned quickly, and before long, a delighted smile spread across his face as he began to copy and paste at a rapid pace.

Originally, Xiao Yao intended to expose all of Zhao Yiming’s negative messages, so everyone around him could see his true colors. Unexpectedly, he found a wealth of incriminating evidence—records of Zhao Yiming soliciting bribes and pocketing kickbacks!

With this information, Zhao Yiming’s current job was surely doomed; at best, he’d be fired.

Having copied all the negative chats, especially the evidence of bribery and kickbacks, Xiao Yao pasted them into several of Zhao Yiming’s work group chats.

He showed his handiwork to his sister, a hint of pride in his voice. “Well, this ought to make Zhao Yiming suffer, don’t you think?”

“You were always causing trouble as a kid, but you’ve really taken it to another level now. Still, I like it—let’s do it!” The thought of Zhao Yiming’s impending downfall finally quenched the anger in Xiao Banxia’s heart.

With Zhao Yiming dealt with, Xiao Banxia felt much better. Thinking back on her brother’s behavior that day, she asked directly, “How did you know Zhao Yiming had several girlfriends? Did you investigate him beforehand?”

After a moment’s thought, Xiao Yao chose to reveal only so much. “Before today, I hadn’t even heard of Zhao Yiming. How could I have investigated him? I knew he had several girlfriends because I know a little about physiognomy.”

“You mean fortune-telling and face-reading? When did you start studying the mystical arts? I had no idea!”

“Before he passed away, Old Master Zhao left me all his wealth, and also imparted all his mysterious knowledge to me.” Knowing his family understood him best, and that his abilities would only become more astonishing, he needed a plausible explanation.

“You only spent a few days with him, didn’t you? Isn’t physiognomy supposed to be hard to learn? How could you master it so quickly?”

“Old Master Zhao was a remarkable master, versed in many disciplines. He used a method called ‘direct enlightenment’ to transfer his knowledge to me. It sounds incredible, almost unbelievable, but it’s the truth.” Xiao Yao spoke with solemn conviction.

“Is it like the ‘direct transmission’ in esoteric Buddhism? That’s truly mysterious. So what have you learned?”

“Not quite the same, but the effect is similar. Old Master Zhao taught me a vast array of subjects—music, chess, calligraphy, painting, medicine, divination, astrology, and more. There’s so much, I’ve been sorting through it all these days.” Xiao Yao spoke with confidence. “So when I stay inside all day, lounging in my recliner, I’m not just daydreaming. If you don’t have anything important, please don’t disturb me.”

Seeing her brother speak with such conviction, Xiao Banxia was half persuaded, half skeptical.