His Venomous Former Boss Chased Him And Beat Him Fiercely Chapter 6
byPUNISHMENT—A WAY TO EARN MONEY
After hanging up the phone, Kong Xunwen was still thinking about what his teacher had said.
It didn’t take Kong Xunwen long to figure it out: he needed to find something to do, he needed a source of income.
As for painting, no matter how he earned money, as long as he was good at it, he wouldn’t worry about making a living. He was extremely confident that he was indeed good at it.
In the past three years, he hadn’t just drawn design blueprints; he had also taken time to paint things he liked. Perhaps because of this, he often incorporated his painting habits into his design work.
He had always thought this was something he could change.
But the facts proved that changing or not changing didn’t matter; he was simply not suited for that path.
Kong Xunwen shook his head. This was something he had repeatedly worried about in his mind, and it had even caused him to doubt his own abilities. Now that he had a conclusion, overthinking was useless.
He had decided, so he would do it.
He stood up and looked out the window. The traces of the recent spring rain hadn’t vanished, but the dark clouds had completely dispersed. The spring sunlight was warm, and the blue sky lifted his spirits.
The young man, who had found a new goal, curved his eyes into a smile. The light from the window reflected brightly in his pupils.
Speaking of live streaming, Kong Xunwen looked around. The first floor was tidied up, but compared to when his parents were here, it was only just clean.
If he was going to stream, shouldn’t he decorate a bit?
Acting on impulse, Kong Xunwen first checked online to see what other painting streamers were doing. Some simply connected their screens, but most would arrange their surroundings.
After a quick look, Kong Xunwen confidently got to work. Although the house didn’t have many plants, cute dolls, or small decorations, that style wouldn’t really match anyway. Besides, wasn’t the point of streaming to differentiate himself to attract viewers?
He had shipped back all the paintings from the past three years. When he tidied up earlier, he had temporarily stored them in the utility room. Now was the perfect time to retrieve them for decoration.
He had painted a lot and experimented with many styles, so finding paintings that suited the house’s aesthetic wasn’t difficult. Kong Xunwen quickly filled the previously bare walls on the first floor with his artwork.
The sunlight streamed in through the window, and the residual light falling on the paintings was soft and gentle.
Kong Xunwen finally decided to set up his streaming spot in the reception room next to the backyard. It had originally been used as a tea room, a place to chat and enjoy the view of the backyard.
This was one of the best places to view the bamboo forest in the backyard. Sitting inside, facing the entire expanse of bamboo, opening the window brought a gentle breeze, and the rustling sound of bamboo leaves was instantly relaxing.
The low table that was originally inside had been moved out during the cleanup, and the floor cushions nearby were already worn out and unusable.
Since it was already empty, it was perfect for streaming.
The walls here already featured two paintings with bamboo elements. Kong Xunwen brought in his painting tools—the supplies he had shipped back and used consistently in his rental apartment.
It seemed that most streamers used digital tablets or screens, and Kong Xunwen had those devices too. Both digital and traditional painting had their merits, and he didn’t have a strong preference; he just went with whatever was convenient.
However, given the time, he still leaned toward traditional painting. The unique brushstrokes left on the paper, the occasional surprises or shocks created by sudden inspiration—these were what Kong Xunwen loved.
Of course, since this was his first attempt at streaming, it was safer to stick with digital painting.
Kong Xunwen moved all the necessary equipment, tools, and computers into this room, quickly making it feel full. He didn’t need much other decoration; the bamboo forest outside the floor-to-ceiling window was the best backdrop.
By the time he finished all this, it was already five o’clock. It was still bright outside, but Kong Xunwen was ready for dinner.
He opened the refrigerator, stocked with the vegetables and fruits he had bought that morning. Kong Xunwen didn’t have much of an appetite, so he planned to simply boil some noodles.
Following an online recipe step by step, he made a sour noodle soup. He hadn’t cooked in a long time and misjudged the portion size, resulting in a huge bowl—enough to satisfy two grown men.
Kong Xunwen stared silently at the overly generous bowl of noodles for a moment, then proactively gave up—the noodles were about to get soggy.
But it looked quite tasty. Kong Xunwen leaned in to cautiously sniff it, and a strong sour aroma immediately hit his nose.
He instinctively wrinkled his nose, but maybe it tasted good?
Thinking this, Kong Xunwen picked up his chopsticks. Just as he was about to lift a mouthful, he felt something was off.
It felt like someone was watching him.
He turned his head toward the direction of the feeling and saw a head quickly retracting, followed by a braid that swung out in an arc due to the sudden movement.
However, she clearly had a group of unreliable followers. The Little Boss quickly pulled her head back, but the followers beside her weren’t fast enough. They only realized their mistake after staring directly into Kong Xunwen’s eyes and then hurriedly followed their boss to hide behind the wall.
This caused a small commotion—they bumped into each other.
Seeing a little boy, about three years old, about to fall onto the ground, Kong Xunwen quickly put down his chopsticks, stood up, and walked over.
As he got closer, he heard the Little Boss’s urgent voice: “Get up quick! I told you to be careful! If we don’t go now, we’ll get caught!”
Kong Xunwen couldn’t help but chuckle, feeling both helpless and amused: “Don’t bother leaving. You can’t run away.”
The moment Kong Xunwen said this, the little boy who had been sitting on the ground with tears welling up in his eyes froze completely, forgetting even to cry.
He turned his head, instinctively looking toward the boss, but only saw a group of small backs hurriedly disappearing behind the wall.
The little boy immediately pouted, but since his friends had left, he didn’t dare stay either. He suppressed his fear and tried to scramble up, using his dirty little hands to push his chubby body off the ground.
But Kong Xunwen was clearly much faster. He quickly grabbed the little boy by the collar and checked him over. He was a bit dirty, but not injured, which relieved Kong Xunwen greatly.
He looked toward the few children running away in a panic.
By now, Liu Tingfang and her friends had stopped. Two heads peeked out from behind the wall, one on each side, and at the very back, one child was standing on tiptoes, only showing a pair of eyes above her neck.
This time, the little girl didn’t adopt her usual mother hen posture, but her gaze, fixed on the follower Kong Xunwen was holding, was no longer filled with the curiosity she had shown while peeking.
She knew that secretly coming to peek at someone’s house was wrong. She clenched both hands into fists, took a deep breath, bravely stepped forward, and shouted, “I’m the one who wanted to come! If you’re mad, then pun-ish me!”
Her little heart was pounding. That Brother Kong had been so fierce in front of that person before. Since they had done this today, would he be just as fierce with them?
It took Kong Xunwen a few seconds to realize that “pun-ish” was what she meant by “punishment.” He hadn’t intended to punish them, but then an idea suddenly struck him.
A few minutes later, Liu Tingfang and her little followers received their “punishment.”
Brother Kong sat down opposite them. Liu Tingfang looked at the small bowls of noodles placed in front of her and her followers, and hesitantly pointed, “Is this… our pun-ish-ment?”
She saw the young man opposite her, whose expression was calm but whose eyes seemed to hold a hint of amusement, nod.
Was the noodle soup poisoned?
Just as she was thinking this, she saw the young man pick up the large bowl, take a mouthful with his chopsticks, and chew politely with his mouth closed. His face revealed nothing.
Their noodles had just been scooped out of that large bowl.
Liu Tingfang tentatively picked up her chopsticks.
Eating noodles… was a punishment?
Kong Xunwen took a bite, and the sourness instantly rushed up. He struggled to maintain a poker face.
It seemed he needed to use less seasoning next time. Fortunately, he had people who willingly showed up to help him finish these noodles.
He couldn’t handle sour flavors, but even setting aside the sourness, which he considered a flaw, the rest of the bowl was still underwhelming.
Eating this kind of thing was definitely a punishment.
Kong Xunwen quickly finished his self-imposed punishment and looked at the group of short, small children opposite him. The chairs in the house weren’t tall enough for five children, so he had gone upstairs and brought down a few more.
Although it was a punishment, the portions divided among the five children weren’t large—just a few mouthfuls each.
While the girl who looked like the Big Sister was still hesitating, the chubby boy who had fallen and gotten dirty—and who had refused to wash his hands, settling only for a wet wipe cleanup—unhesitatingly picked up his chopsticks.
He put the punishment into his mouth, slurped it down, and even looked like he hadn’t had enough.
The skinny little boy sitting next to the chubby one then slowly started eating. Next was the round-faced girl next to the Big Sister, whose eyes lit up after a big bite. Seeing this, the little girl in the white dress tentatively took a mouthful, put it in her mouth, and then wrinkled up her face.
Out of the six people, the only ones truly being punished were probably Kong Xunwen himself and the girl in the white dress.
After this thought, Kong Xunwen stood up, not wanting to force the child. He placed the four empty small bowls into his own empty large bowl and reached for the bowl in front of the girl in the white dress, which was still half full.
But the little girl immediately shielded her bowl, quickly shoveling several spoonfuls into her mouth. Her brown eyes stared at Kong Xunwen like a wary little fox.
Kong Xunwen withdrew his hand, waiting for the little girl to finish, and added, “Slow down.”
That was his genuine intention, but his cool tone sounded like a provocation to the little girl.
She ate even faster.
Kong Xunwen: …
Alright.
Soon, the fifth small bowl was collected and stacked inside the large bowl.
Kong Xunwen temporarily took the dishes into the kitchen, then walked back out, intending to see his guests off. Although his unique little guests had come because of a punishment, they were still guests, and he, as the host, should be polite.
However, as soon as he stepped out, he only saw the little braid disappearing around the corner of the courtyard wall, swinging wildly. This time, the chubby boy didn’t fall again.
Kong Xunwen paused, then looked back at the yard. The light was already dim; it was getting late.
He returned to the kitchen to wash the dishes, looking down, and suddenly smiled faintly.
He wondered if they would still have an appetite for dinner when they got home.
*
“Boss, there’s no direct flight to the county seat here. We probably won’t make it today,” Wang Tongliang said from the front seat, driving. He had been driving for three hours. This trip was too rushed; they couldn’t book a ticket for a driver, and the route involved multiple transfers and driving. A private jet would have taken even more time, so it was just him and Qiu Zhijie.
Before these three hours, Qiu Zhijie had driven for two hours, but Wang Tongliang had persuaded him to stop because he was driving too fast.
He still wanted to go home alive.
In the back seat, Qiu Zhijie’s face was alternately dark and bright under the passing streetlights. When illuminated, his fatigue was evident, even deeper than Wang Tongliang’s.
Understandably so; he hadn’t been traveling for so long after rushing back from a business trip.
Wang Tongliang glanced back several times before hearing Qiu Zhijie say, “Let’s rest today.”