Chapter Seventy-Nine: The Folding Scissors

Upon hearing this, I nearly burst with rage. If the little witch had merely beaten me senseless, I could endure it; as long as I still drew breath, there’d always be a chance for revenge. But to have my pants stripped and be spanked—such a humiliating disgrace no man could tolerate. Even if I were to exact vengeance a thousand-fold, the stain would never wash away. My dignity would be lost forever; what meaning would remain in living?

With a sharp click, my belt was undone. The little witch’s fingers found the zipper of my trousers and gently pulled it down. Anger and fear made my voice quiver as I issued my final warning: “Xu Xin, I’m telling you—if you dare take off my pants, there will be enmity between us deeper than the sea. Either you kill me now, or I’ll never let you go. I’ll make you suffer ten times worse! I, Tang Qian, mean what I say—this isn’t an empty threat. If you don’t believe me, go ahead and try!”

The little witch snickered. “Ten times? Does that mean you’ll strip me naked? Oh, I’m so scared! I guess I’ll have to wear ten layers from now on.” Ignoring my warning, she tugged my trousers halfway down and reached for my thermal underwear.

Helpless, I pressed myself desperately against the mattress, resisting with all my strength, and cried out, “Xu Xin!”

She laughed. “What’s the matter? Yelling so loudly—it startled me! But let me tell you, there isn’t a soul within five hundred meters. Scream your lungs out, no one will hear you. If you’ve got the strength, go ahead and shout!”

In the midst of her words, she forcibly pulled down my thermal underwear. Suddenly, the little witch burst out laughing—a peal of giggles that wouldn’t end. My calves could feel her body trembling with mirth. She laughed so hard she couldn’t catch her breath, collapsing onto my back, gasping and convulsing in hysterics.

Face livid with anger, I growled, “You wretch! What’s so funny?”

It took her a long moment to recover, wiping tears from her eyes, still chuckling. “Tang Qian, you… you’re too much. Why are there two eyes on your underwear? Ha… I can’t take it, oh my! I’ll die laughing…”

It suddenly dawned on me—earlier that morning, searching for clean underwear, I couldn’t find any except for the old pair I refused to throw away, worn thin on both sides and riddled with two little holes. The rest were still damp from washing. I’d figured, since it was the innermost layer, no one would see, so I wore them. Who could have predicted… who could have imagined…

My face burned, ears tingling, and I wished I could bash my head against the wall and end it all. Teeth clenched in hatred, I wished nothing more than to break free and tear the little witch apart, limb from limb!

Just then, a cell phone rang from somewhere on her. Regaining her composure, she pressed my back and sat up.

She fished the phone from her jacket pocket, glanced at the caller ID, and jumped off me in delight. Flipping it open, she cried, “Sis! Where are you?… Oh, when are you coming back? I can hardly wait… Really? That’s great, I’ll pick you up at the airport… What? You know?… I can’t stay in that house anymore… I… Hold on, someone’s here—I’ll talk outside.” With that, Xu Xin hopped off the bed and went outside.

Hearing her call “sis,” I wanted to shout for Xu Shu, but remembered she was far away in America. Calling her would do no good, and besides, the fewer people who knew about my humiliating state, the better. Watching Xu Xin head outside for her call, I began plotting my escape.

I writhed and twisted, but the hemp rope binding me to the bed was tight as iron. I could barely move side to side, so I pushed myself forward and backward, hoping to loosen it.

After much wriggling, the rope stayed tight, but my trousers crept back up to my waist. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the end of my belt poking out, recalling that the belt had been undone, and my pants were halfway down—my shame nearly exposed to the world. What rotten luck.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck me. I remembered the keychain that used to hang from my belt. With my hands tied behind me, it was usually out of reach—but now that the belt was undone, maybe I could pull it out, let the keys drop, and grab them. I knew there was a small folding scissors on that keychain.

The scissors were small, but right now they could rescue me from disaster.

Ecstatic, I prayed for the little witch’s phone conversation to drag on. Straining my fingers, I tried to reach the belt, but couldn’t. So I kept shimmying forward and backward, pushing my trousers bit by bit up to my waist. Finally, my fingers brushed the belt at my back, and with two fingers, I inched it out.

A metallic clang—the keychain dropped from the belt, landing at my waist. Now, if I could just turn sideways, I could grab it. But bound to the bed, turning was no easy feat.

Determined, I took a deep breath and summoned all my strength to twist…

Sweat poured from me, the bed creaking under my struggles. Perhaps fate favored me: at the edge of the bed was a small corner missing—a depression several centimeters deep, hidden beneath the bedsheet so the little witch hadn’t noticed. The hemp rope was tied right beside this hollow. By struggling, I managed to shift the rope into the groove.

This gave me a few centimeters’ slack—crucial for me. At last, I managed to turn most of my body sideways and hook the keys into my hand.

Panting with exhaustion, I dared not pause, fearing the little witch might return at any moment and undo all my efforts. But the rest was simple: I found the folding scissors, opened them, and began cutting at the rope binding my wrists. Though the rope was thick and scissors small, with a tool at hand, it was only a matter of time.

Two minutes later, my hands were free. Manipulating the scissors, I quickly cut the rope binding me to the bed frame—just a dozen snips, and it fell away. Lastly, I freed my ankles, not even needing the scissors, simply untying the knot.

Thank heavens—the little witch’s call lasted long enough for me to escape. Now, she could come in; I wanted nothing more than to see her face the moment she realized I was free.

I pulled up my pants, fastened my belt, and stepped off the bed with a sinister grin, flexing my numb arms and legs. I walked over to the bamboo slat she’d left on the floor, picked it up, and thought, “Since you found this little treasure, it’d be a shame not to use it. Get ready for bamboo shoots stir-fried with pork!”

Bamboo slat in hand, I hid behind the door, waiting for the little witch to return. Reaching back to touch my head, I felt a sharp pain, and when I looked at my hand, it was stained with dried blood. Rage flared anew. Forget the pants and the kidnapping—just this wound alone was reason enough to teach her a lesson. Today, I wouldn’t rest until she mended her ways.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside—Xu Xin was back. She stepped inside, and after two steps, noticed the empty bed and ropes scattered everywhere. She froze for a moment, then reacted quickly, turning to flee.

But she was no match for me. I slammed the door shut with a loud bang, standing guard with a cold smile, tapping the bamboo slat in my palm—“pa! pa!”—making it snap sharply.

The little witch looked shocked, her eyes darting as she schemed for a way out. Holding the advantage, I wasn’t in a hurry to punish her. I wanted her to feel fear, to understand that torment begins with the mind.

She forced a smile. “Brother Tang Qian, you’re really something. How did you escape such thick ropes?”

I flashed the folding scissors in front of her, then hung the keys back at my waist.

A trace of regret flickered in her eyes, but she kept smiling. “Brother Tang Qian, if I said everything just now was just me teasing you, would you… believe it?”

I laughed. “Do you think I’d believe that?”

Her smile twisted into something worse than tears. “It’s not easy to believe, I know. But I was really only joking—I wouldn’t actually hurt you. Just wanted to scare you a little. Brother Tang Qian, you have to believe me!”

I reached back and touched my head again, then held out my blood-stained hand. “Tell me, is this a joke too? If so, your humor is a bit much, isn’t it?”

She scratched her scalp and forced a laugh. “That… wasn’t me.”

I said, “Those people acted on your orders. How is that any different from doing it yourself?”

“There’s a big difference! I only told them to knock you out—but there are hundreds of ways to do that, and they picked the most brutal one. I didn’t know, and I gave them a good talking-to afterward.”

Her shameless defense made me laugh despite myself. Shaking my head, I said, “Your way of ‘talking-to’ is special—giving them a thousand bucks for a good meal. Is that ‘severe’? Next time, you should ‘talk-to’ me more. I really need your guidance.”

Her eyes lit up. “Sure, sure! How much do you want? I’ll give you whatever you ask!”

Enraged, I laughed. “Not much—just a thousand bamboo slats like this. Let me break a thousand on you. That ought to be deep enough education, right?” With that, I raised the slat, feigning a blow to her backside.

She shrieked, clutching her bottom and retreating, crying, “Brother Tang Qian! Uncle Tang Qian! I was wrong, I’ll never dare again, please forgive me!”

I lowered the bamboo slat and stepped toward her, intentionally ramping up the tension to frighten her. With a sinister grin, I said, “Now, even if you call me Grandpa Tang Qian, it’s no use. Do you admit your mistake? If so, be good and lie down on the bed and let me spank you a thousand times!”