“Zhouzhou, tell Daddy, did you touch the document on Daddy’s desk?”


  “No, Zhouzhou did not touch Daddy’s document,” said Zhouzhou matter-of-factly in his childish voice.

  Ye Zhen frowned a little and seemed to have noticed something. “Zhouzhou, did you use a document on Daddy’s desk to make a plane while Mommy went to get the story book?”


  Zhouzhou pointed outside the window excitedly, “The plane is gone!”


  Ye Zhen looked at the serious-looking Lu Beichuan and asked, “Is it a very important document?”


  Lu Beichuan sighed, lifted Zhouzhou from Ye Zhen’s chest, and had him stand up straight.

  “Zhouzhou, that’s Daddy’s work stuff. They are not for paper planes. Do you understand?”


  All kids like to have fun. Once they have a toy in their hand, they don’t hear anything an adult is saying.

  Zhouzhou bounced up and down the bed. Tossing the plane into the air, he clapped happily. “The plane has flown away!”


  Lu Beichuan frowned even more. Yanking him by his arm, he gave him a couple smacks on his buttock and said solemnly, “Are you not listening to what Daddy is saying to you?”


  This was the first time that Zhouzhou was spanked. After the two smacks, he looked as though he had no idea what had just happened or why. He looked stupefied at Lu Beichuan and didn’t know what to do.

  Lu Beichuan said sternly, “Repeat what Daddy had just said.”


  Zhouzhou shrank his neck, and his eyes were quickly filled with tears from fear.

  “The papers on the desk are Daddy’s work. Daddy’s work is very important and not to be made into paper planes. Can you remember that now?”


  A drop of tear rolled down Zhouzhou’s cheek. Choking back his tears, he said, “Yes…… I remember.”


  “How many planes did you make?”


  Zhouzhou sniffled a few times; his little face was covered in tears. Shrinking his neck a little, he said softly, “Fi……five.”


  “Stand up straight.” Lu Beichuan scolded him sternly. “You’ve made five planes and Daddy is going to give you five smacks as punishment. Do not make this same mistake again, got it?”


  Zhouzhou blinked and turned around to look for his mother.

  “Can a man not own up to his own mistake?”


  Zhouzhou shook his head and walked over to the bed voluntarily while wiping away his tears with the back of his hand.

  Lu Beichuan wrapped one hand around him and gave him three more smacks with his other before he got him off the bed and had him stand in a corner, facing a corner of the wall by the desk.

  “Five minutes. You think about what you have done wrong. Daddy wants to hear your apology in five minutes.”


  There was no comfort after the lecture, and Zhouzhou whimpered as he wiped away his tears. He dared not cry out loud and had to try hard to stop himself. His little shoulders heaved up and down.

  Ye Zhen watched Lu Beichuan teaching the child a lesson the entire time. She did not stop him even though she had very much wanted to. Her heart ached as she watched on, and she gave Lu Beichuan an anxious look.

  Lu Beichuan replied with a don’t-worry look. He tidied up the documents in front of him and picked Zhouzhou up after five minutes.

  “What should you say now?”


  Zhouzhou, with his nose still stuffed, mumbled through his son, “I’m sorry, daddy. Zhouzhou was wrong. Zhouzhou will…… will never make paper planes anymore. Please forgive me, Daddy.”


  Lu Beichuan wiped away his tears with a tissue. “Alright, you are forgiven.”


  Zhouzhou looked at Lu Beichuan, intimidated. He turned to look at Ye Zhen. Still pouting, he dared not cry again.

  Lu Beichuan sighed to himself and handed Zhouzhou over to Ye Zhen.

  Ye Zhen quickly took Zhouzhou over. Her heart couldn’t ache any more than it already was.

  Zhouzhou pressed himself against her chest and clung onto Ye Zhen like an octopus. Tears streamed down his cheeks nonstop and he kept on calling out to his mommy.

  “Alright, alright. Stop crying now. Just don’t make mistakes like this in the future. You are still a man!” Ye Zhen patted him on his back to comfort him. She pulled down his little pants. “Let Mommy take a look.”


  His white little butt was still bright red. As much as Ye Zhen understood the reasoning behind it, she couldn’t help but give Lu Beichuan a disapproving look.

  “Does it hurt?”


  Zhouzhou sniffled and nodded. His wronged look filled his teary eyes. His eyes, as though they could talk, spoke of how wronged he felt.