Chapter 90: Spanking—or Docking Pay
When Su Keke saw that text message, her heart instantly went weak with guilt.
She decided to come clean, so she texted back: Uncle, this time it was an accident. I got too absorbed in reading just now and forgot the time.
The line will probably take ten minutes. Taking a taxi, count five minutes to get one. The ride will take half an hour, and there’s still a stretch to walk inside the residential compound. If I go back, it’ll be ten o’clock.
After a while, he replied: We’ll talk when you get back.
Su Keke stared at those four words for a long time. The more she looked, the guiltier she felt.
So Uncle meant… they’d “properly discuss” the issue of breaking one’s word after she got home?
Su Keke immediately lowered her head, full of regret.
It was all this book’s fault for being too good—so she forgot the time.
Thinking of something, she opened to the first page to find the author.
The words “Written by Yin Shaoli” came into view.
Su Keke muttered, “Master Yin Shaoli, I’ve memorized your name.”
Even with a ten-percent discount, Su Keke still felt it was expensive. But now she’d learned mobile payment—no need to pull out cash—so the heartache felt a little lighter.
The moment she bought the book, Su Keke rushed outside.
If she could save even a few minutes, she would!
But before she could reach the main road, an arm suddenly shot out from behind her, grabbing her by the arm.
And because of the momentum, she was yanked back and spun nearly half a turn.
Su Keke startled and was just about to jab the person’s pain point—only to freeze the instant she saw who it was, the two fingers she’d raised going limp.
“Uncle?” Su Keke’s eyes widened in shock. “Y-you… why are you here?”
After pulling the little girl around, Qin Mochen released her. That hand slipped into his pocket.
“Why am I here? What do you think?” The man stood with his back to the library building. His face was half-hidden in a patch of shadow, making his expression hard to read.
Only after he took two steps forward could Su Keke see him clearly—still ridiculously handsome, just expressionless, stern as can be.
Su Keke had only felt a little guilty before, but the moment she saw her uncle’s face, she suddenly felt like she’d committed some enormous crime.
Qin Mochen walked ahead. After a few steps, he turned back to look at her. “Why are you standing there like an idiot? Get in the car.”
With guilt weighing on her, Su Keke stole two glances at him, then bent low and slipped into the passenger seat.
Qin Mochen looked straight ahead and drove steadily.
Su Keke gave a small cough and asked softly, “Uncle, you came специально to… pick me up?”
Qin Mochen said flatly, “I came out to buy something. It was on the way, so I stopped by.”
As he spoke, he lifted his chin slightly and pointed at a small box placed on the front console, proving that he really had just come out to buy something and happened to pass by.
Su Keke thought about it and agreed—otherwise, Uncle couldn’t have arrived so quickly.
Even if he only picked her up because it was on the way, the little girl was still happy. She grinned and said, “Thanks to Uncle, I saved the taxi money.”
“Girl,” Qin Mochen suddenly called her.
“Yes!” Su Keke answered loudly.
“You broke your word, and you can still laugh?”
The smile on Su Keke’s face instantly vanished, replaced by the exact same serious expression as his.
“It’s not convenient to talk on the road. When we get home, we’ll discuss the issue of integrity in detail.” The man kept his eyes on the road; his voice was completely level.
Su Keke: …
She thought this matter had already blown over.
Then Su Keke thought of something. She turned to look at him, her little mouth suddenly stretching into an extra-sweet grin, both dimples popping out. “Uncle, I was thinking about you the whole way~”
Qin Mochen’s stern face almost cracked.
After they entered the house—
Su Keke set her precious book on the coffee table, then stood obediently in front of him. Before he could even speak, she took the initiative to admit her fault: “Uncle, I was wrong. I didn’t do what I said I would. For us Dao cultivators, going back on our word is a major taboo. I promise it won’t happen again.”
Qin Mochen sat down on the sofa, his long straight legs crossed, watching her.
“Girl, do you know what a military pledge is?” the man asked.
Su Keke nodded and said softly, “In ancient times, to strengthen soldiers’ sense of responsibility, there were military pledges. Once you made one, it was black and white, and you had to fulfill it—otherwise you’d be punished according to military law. But Uncle—”
Su Keke lifted her head and gave a heh-heh smile. “Mine isn’t that serious, right?”
Qin Mochen sat perfectly straight. Even his crossed legs gave off a solemn, rigorous feeling. He said gravely, “Many things—once there’s a first time, there will be a second time. It’s because you feel it doesn’t matter, so subconsciously you don’t take it to heart.”
“Girl, since your Shifu isn’t here, I count as your temporary guardian. So when it’s time to lecture you, I still have to lecture you. Even if you don’t want to hear it, you still have to listen.”
Su Keke hurriedly shook her head. “No, no. I’m willing to listen to Uncle’s lecturing. This time… this time it really was my fault.”
Probably because Su Keke’s attitude of admitting fault was good, Qin Mochen’s expression finally eased a little. He patted the sofa beside him. “Come sit.”
Su Keke took small shuffling steps and scooted over, sitting with her butt perched on the edge of the sofa.
“Afraid of me?” Qin Mochen suddenly asked.
Su Keke quickly shook her head.
“You’re sitting that far from me and you still say you’re not afraid?”
Su Keke lifted her head to glance at him, then, like a little turtle, inched and scooted bit by bit to his side, muttering, “Isn’t it because I’m afraid you’ll lose your temper and spank my butt?”
When she was little, there was one time she went out to buy feng shui tools and came back late because she got too playful. Shifu spanked her butt, and it hurt so much she wailed and cried for a long time.
That was the first time Shifu had ever hit her. Su Keke knew Shifu was just worried about her, so even though her butt twitched with pain, she didn’t blame him.
From then on, Su Keke never dared to come home late again.
The current Qin Mochen made Su Keke think of that time when she was little.
She was really afraid Uncle would spank her butt. Getting spanked by Shifu when she was a kid was one thing—she was small then. But now she was already so big. If she still got her butt spanked, it would be too shameful.
Hearing her mutter, Qin Mochen finally couldn’t keep his face stiff. A trace of a smile showed—but he only smiled once before returning to his usual blank expression. “Afraid I’ll spank your butt? If you don’t behave in the future, I really might.”
Su Keke looked at him with a face full of grievance. “Uncle, I’m already this old. You still want to hit me—don’t I need dignity?”
Qin Mochen lifted his brows slightly. “I’m not spanking you in front of outsiders. How is that not giving you dignity?”
Su Keke: …
“Fine, we don’t have to spank. We can switch it to docking your pay. Each time you do something wrong, I deduct one thousand yuan.”
Su Keke hurriedly said, “No, no, no—Uncle, please don’t deduct money! If I really do something wrong, you’d better spank my butt!”
Getting spanked, versus losing one thousand yuan—there was no way she could choose the latter. That would be far too unprofitable!
