Chapter 90: Xuan Yuan is Punished to Reflect

  Xuan Yuan Ruo felt great after leaving Nan's house, despite knowing he wouldn't have a good time when he returned. As he gazed at the lights of Nan's house, he silently muttered to himself: "Little girl, I'm willing to be your Xiao Ming, are you willing to be my Xiao Ying? When the timing is right, I must ask you." However, Xuan Yuan Ruo didn't realize that so-called timing was always like lightning - if you don't seize it without hesitation, the next opportunity usually won't come for a long time. Of course, there were also very lucky people.

  Xuanyuan Rui opened the car door and got in. The Audi sped away. Driver Zhang glanced at his master's face through the rearview mirror while driving, knowing that his young master was really in a good mood today. After getting in the car, he stared out the window at the neon lights flashing in the city, as if trying to see something from them. However, he still had to disturb him and remind him of one or two things.

  "Master Zhang cleared his throat and said, "Young Master, today the old master is really furious. You also know that the more he doesn't let people persuade him, the angrier he gets. Northern Cheng's meaning is that you don't have to go back to Songhu Villa tonight, go live in his small residence at Shuxiang Haoting for a night, and let the old master calm down. Northern Cheng can also take your pulse. Look, we are going from Xiangnan Road..." Xuanyuan Rui turned his head, with a hint of a smile still on his lips, saying: "Uncle Zhang, it's okay, we'll go straight back to Songhu Villa. If you can't avoid the first day of the month, you can't avoid the fifteenth either. My brother isn't unaware of Grandfather's temper, but this time I did something that went against Grandfather's teachings all along, and I also used his name in private. The punishment I should receive, I must accept. Otherwise, Grandfather will be disappointed."

  Uncle Zhang didn't say anything else, and drove steadily until they arrived at the Songhu Villa. Xuan Yuan looked at his watch. It was already 9:30, which meant that at this time on a normal day, Grandfather should be resting in the lounge listening to opera. As soon as he entered the gate, he felt that the lights in the hall were particularly bright today, and it seemed that Grandfather must be sitting on the sofa waiting for him.

  Xuanyuan Ruo walked in, and Old Man Ding looked at him with a severe gaze. Seriously, he said: "Xuanyuan, come with me to the study." Ding Beicheng was startled when he saw Xuanyuan Ruo enter, and judging from his grandfather's tone, he estimated that his younger cousin would not have a good outcome. He glanced at Xuanyuan Ruo and whispered: "Younger cousin, wasn't it agreed that Uncle Zhang would talk to you? Why did you come back like a fool, asking for trouble?"

  Mr. Ding didn't turn his head, but his severe voice still came over, saying: "Bei Cheng...muttering to himself, don't come up with any more nonsense, I don't understand you, what are you doing at home at this hour? Today you're all talk, I don't know what's on your mind, thinking of causing trouble..." Ding Bei Cheng immediately shut his mouth and stopped talking. He wasn't afraid of his dad or mom, but he was afraid of this grandfather. If grandma were here, it would be a bit better. But today grandma went to aunt's house, and no one could help him. It was better to know when to retreat, so in the end Ding Bei Cheng made a gesture towards Xuan Yu Ruo: "Cousin, good luck to you." And with that, he left with a hint of defeat.

  Xuanyuan Rui followed Old Master Ding into the study, where Old Master Ding sat in a reclining chair listening to opera, occasionally humming a few lines. Xuanyuan Rui stood at attention beside him, unsure how much time had passed, until Old Master Ding said slowly, "Xuanyuan, you've always been calm and collected since childhood. Don't look at your older cousin Bei Cheng being a few years older than you - he's actually quite impulsive, unlike you. I've always thought you were the least worrisome among all these young ones. Even when your father and mother wanted you to return to B City to study with them, I refused, saying that staying by my side would bring better development for you. Compared to being at their side without anyone to guide you, mixing with those spoiled rich kids would only lead to picking up bad habits. But today, you truly disappointed me - do you know where you went wrong?"

  "Grandfather, I know I was wrong. I made three mistakes: first, I shouldn't have neglected the overall situation and missed the military training report performance today for personal reasons; second, I didn't get your approval before letting Brother Li drive us to the hospital in a military vehicle; third, I let Brother Li drive through a red light and argued with the traffic police. You've always taught me to be humble and low-key, not to take advantage of my family's influence to do whatever I want. You said that even if we have influence, it's only because of our elders' efforts, and has nothing to do with our own hard work. Only when we have real abilities can we make a difference. And even then, we shouldn't be arrogant or look down on others, or we'll just be blinded by our own ignorance. You've always disliked those spoiled rich kids who act recklessly, and today my actions truly failed to live up to your teachings."

  Ding Lao Tai Ye turned off the radio, sat up straight and said: "Xuan Yuan, you seem to have heard clearly that it's intentional. Say, what special reason do you have for insisting on taking Ya Tou to the hospital yourself? I heard from Shang Guan's superior that he suggested letting Ya Tou's parents come pick her up. You knew very well that her father was away on a business trip and her mother was busy with work and had no time. Later, you even reported my name, which has a bit of an arrogant tone to it."

  Xuanyuan Rui knew that his reason couldn't be spoken out loud, nor could it stand on its own. He wasn't the original Xuanyuan Rui, but rather Xuan Yu Rui reborn. This made it difficult for him to face the old man who was over 70 years old, yet treated him so well - not his biological grandfather, but better than his grandfather in his past life. He had once made a mistake that caused Little Maid to be reborn back into her childhood, and he himself had been reborn into Xuanyuan Rui's body after being hit by a car due to his dazed state of mind. It wasn't until two months ago that he remembered everything, and at first, he couldn't accept it in his heart and wanted to avoid Little Maid. However, after he came to terms with himself, when Little Maid fell down, his instinct was to take her to the hospital, putting aside things like military training reports and collective interests. Perhaps this sounds a bit exaggerated, but this was truly his reaction at the time - even he himself didn't dare believe it.

  "Alright, you've always had your own way of thinking. If you don't want to talk about it, then so be it. But I want to tell you that from now on, no matter what you do, you must calm down and think things through. Go home and write the phrase 'think thrice before acting' a thousand times, and bring it back to me for inspection in a week's time. You'll stay at home for the next week reflecting on your actions. And another thing, I didn't know you'd argued with the traffic police officer, but it seems your older cousin helped smooth things over for you. That rascal is always up to something behind people's backs, taking advantage of situations. Given that you're usually honest, go and apologize yourself, don't do it in someone else's name. You should know better. This time I'll let it slide, but next time won't be so easy, or else I'll have to use the methods I used when I was a young soldier."

  "Grandpa, I'm innocent! I'm more innocent than Dou E. I didn't know about this at first, and later that young traffic cop just let it go. I only found out from a friend and then just said hello." Xuan Yuan Rui said loudly, "Got it, Grandpa, there won't be a next time, please don't worry." "Alright, you can go out now. I'll finish listening to this and talk about it tonight. You're the one who's been giving me a headache all day!" After his grandson left, Old Man Ding muttered to himself, "Xuan Yuan won't be like me, mature too early. When I was young, I liked his aunt... But he likes Xiaoyu? He needs to have some self-control, though. Never mind, I'll train him slowly later."

  Xuanyuan Jue had just walked out of the study when Ding Beicheng came up and patted him on the shoulder, saying: "Cousin, you're something else! I've been keeping an eye on the time. You went in at 9:40, and now it's already 11:00. You didn't suffer any physical punishment for such a long time? I still remember the taste of Grandfather's whip to this day." As he spoke, Ding Beicheng put on a pained expression, as if recalling an unpleasant memory.

  Xuanyuan replied, "Elder brother, we are different in nature. In the past, you made a mistake but didn't want to admit it. If not for Grandfather's whip, you would have insisted on denying it. Now I am voluntarily confessing and apologizing. Grandfather is not an unreasonable person, he just takes principle-related issues seriously, which is also why people respect him. And thank you for the traffic police matter."

  Ding Beicheng was confused and said, "What's this about traffic police? Whatever it is, why are you being polite to me? If you don't have anything else to say, I'll go back to my room to rest." Xuan Yuanlie said sincerely, "Thanks, Brother-in-law."

  From that day on, Xuan Yuan stayed at home writing and reflecting for a week. In the middle of it, he went out once and even made a report to Old Man Ding before going out. It was through his cousin's inquiry that he knew the young traffic police officer who had stopped him for running the red light was from Chengxi area, so he went to apologize in person and also wrote a letter of apology in the tone of a young student.

  When they first went in, Officer Liu was still speaking a bit aggressively, but Xuan Yuan always apologized sincerely with a smile on his face. People say that you don't hit someone who smiles at you and offers their hand, and since he was a smiling person who came to apologize, Officer Liu eventually accepted the apology quite happily.

  Mr. Ding was a man of his word, and one week later, still in the study, he reviewed Xuan Yuan's thousand copies of "Three Deliberations Before Action", carefully looking at each one, saying: "From your words, I see the remorse I wanted to see, but I hope not to see another thousand such pages again. From today on, your confinement order is lifted, take this as a warning."