Chapter 19: The Grandmaster of Manipulation
Although Blue Jin hadn’t known Qin Chuan for that long, she observed him with particular care. The last time Qin Chuan wore a similar smile, Guo Zikun had lost all face and ended up being cheated out of a sum of money.
So, Mrs. Lu was most likely set on a path of misfortune now, but what worried Blue Jin was—if they offended the Lu family, how would Qin Chuan get away unscathed?
“I clearly warned him just now that the Lu family isn’t easy to deal with, yet he still went up to them on his own accord. What on earth is he thinking?”
Try as she might, Blue Jin couldn’t figure it out, but when she saw Liu Qingcheng casting a seductive glance at Qin Chuan, an ill premonition immediately rose in her heart.
“Could it be that he’s trying to win Liu Qingcheng’s favor?”
At that thought, the indescribable jealousy in her chest grew even stronger.
A moment later, Zhou Yunping, accompanied only by her two personal bodyguards, led Liu Qingcheng and the others into an empty room. After being introduced by Liu Qingcheng, they learned it had just been tidied up over the past two days and was intended to be used as a temporary storage room.
“Can you tell us now?”
With only six people left in the room, Zhou Yunping could barely contain her eagerness to learn about the physical therapy.
Qin Chuan nodded vigorously, though the troubled look on his face didn’t fade much.
“What’s the problem now? Can’t you just spit it out already?” Zhou Yunping was starting to lose her patience.
Qin Chuan made an expression that said, “You’re the one forcing me to say it,” and spoke slowly, “This physical therapy is a bit painful. I’m afraid Madam Lu might not be able to handle it!”
“As long as you don’t make me diet or force me to work myself to death in the gym, I can bear any pain,” Zhou Yunping promised.
Only then did Qin Chuan nod in satisfaction. “With your word, I’m at ease. Madam Lu, come over here and step into this open space.”
Zhou Yunping quickly followed, her anticipation almost spilling out from her plump cheeks.
“Are you ready?”
“Ready.”
“It’s going to hurt a bit.”
“No problem, I can take it.”
“Then I’ll start now?”
“Hurry up—”
Zhou Yunping hadn’t finished her sentence before Qin Chuan’s figure vanished in a flash. Before she could react, she felt a heavy blow to her lower abdomen.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Qin Chuan didn’t give Zhou Yunping any time to respond. He followed up with several more quick punches.
Everyone present was stunned.
“This is physical therapy?” Blue Jin’s mouth had formed a perfect O.
Liu Qingcheng’s lips twitched. “It’s certainly very… physical.”
The two bodyguards thought, “What the hell kind of physical therapy is this?!”
Zhou Yunping was utterly bewildered, her features twisted as if she’d been in a car crash from the pain.
Who am I?
Where am I?
Was this really physical therapy?
In her daze, Zhou Yunping seemed to hear a lyric from the song “Listen to Your Mother” by Jay Chou: “Child, do you have a lot of questions?”
“How dare you hit the mistress of the house! Are you tired of living?”
The two bodyguards finally snapped to attention, ready to rush over and beat Qin Chuan to avenge Zhou Yunping.
“Stop!”
Qin Chuan immediately made the “time-out” gesture used by basketball referees. “Madam Lu, I trust you’ve seen Stephen Chow’s film ‘Flirting Scholar,’ right?”
Still stunned and furious, Zhou Yunping nodded. Of course she’d seen that classic movie, dozens of times even; she could recite many of the lines backward.
But what did that have to do with her getting beaten up?
Zhou Yunping was furious, and the consequences would be severe.
“If Madam Lu has seen the movie, I’m relieved. There’s a scene in it with the ‘Face-Changing Foot’ and the ‘Pretty Punch.’ What I just performed was a similar kind of physical therapy.”
Qin Chuan wore a solemn, confident expression. Zhou Yunping almost believed him.
“Madam Lu, look at her!”
Qin Chuan pointed at Blue Jin and raised the stakes. “That slender waist, that flawless skin—don’t you want a perfect figure like hers?”
“Of course I do!”
Zhou Yunping felt herself swept along but had no proof.
“And look at her!”
Qin Chuan then pointed at Liu Qingcheng, intensifying his pitch. “That willow-thin waist, that voluptuous S-curve—don’t you want to be as sexy and alluring as she is?”
“I want it so damn much.”
Zhou Yunping was so worked up that she even blurted out profanity. In her mind, she could already picture herself with a stunning, seductive body, making her husband—who only came to her every three months—fall head over heels for her all over again.
“So, as long as you keep at it, and let me carry out a few more courses of this physical therapy, you too can have a perfect figure like theirs. Not only can you return to your eighteen-year-old self, but your husband will be utterly captivated as well.”
Qin Chuan’s words struck right at Zhou Yunping’s heart. She felt her blood surge all the way to her forehead, her entire body growing excited.
“So please, shout the loudest slogan you can to show your determination!”
“Alright! No problem!”
“I don’t feel any pain at all!” Qin Chuan clenched his fist in an encouraging gesture and gave her a look of support.
“I don’t feel any pain at all.”
Zhou Yunping frowned deeply. Despite the cramps in her lower abdomen, she felt her body brimming with strength.
“I’m the best!”
Qin Chuan continued the chant.
“I’m the fattest!”
The pain made her tongue slip, and Zhou Yunping’s words came out garbled.
“One hundred more punches! A hundred more!”
“One hundred more punches! A hundred more!”
“Then I’ll keep going.”
“Go ahead, I don’t feel a thing.”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Qin Chuan alternated punches and slaps, raining them down on Zhou Yunping.
As they watched Zhou Yunping—bruised and battered, yet stubbornly shouting “I’m not hurt!” and motivational slogans about losing weight—everyone present was at a loss.
“This is some next-level mind control,” Liu Qingcheng muttered.
For once, Blue Jin didn’t retort, “It might be mind control at its highest form—CPU.”
“Agreed!” Liu Qingcheng nodded emphatically.
Then the two women realized they shouldn’t be getting along so well, so they simultaneously huffed and turned away, though all their attention remained focused on Qin Chuan.
The two bodyguards exchanged bewildered glances, communicating silently with their lips.
“Is the mistress being taken for a ride?”
“Seems like it, but I have no evidence.”
“But she seems to be enjoying it?”
“She really does.”
“This must be what they call ‘painful yet happy,’ right?”
“When did you get so poetic?”
“Don’t change the subject—could it be the mistress’s brain has been damaged by all the blows?”
“…”
The two bodyguards’ mouths twitched uncontrollably. They wanted to intervene, but Zhou Yunping—growing more spirited with every round—kept stopping them. From her lips, they read her message clearly:
“If you dare get in the way of my weight-loss mission, you’re finished.”
So the two bodyguards quickly stood down, and in the end, unable to bear watching any more, they quietly left the room.
“Insane. I’ve never seen anyone take a beating and enjoy it this much.”
“If we live long enough, maybe we’ll see this a few more times.”
The two bodyguards exchanged another silent look, already worrying about how they’d explain all this to the master of the house in order to save their own skins.