Chapter 14 Equivalent Exchange

Zhang Pengfei finally decided to be honest: "Chen Jingyang, I'm truly grateful for all the help you've given me, but I'm a grown man with hands, feet, and an education. It's really unreasonable for me to rely on you to support me every day! I want to help ease your burden a bit..."

Even Zhang Pengfei himself found this statement unbelievable. Did Chen Jingyang really need him to lighten his burden?!

Sure enough, Chen Jingyang's lips curled up, and a hint of amusement appeared in his eyes: "If you really want to lighten my burden, you might as well practice your tongue."

Zhang Pengfei's breath hitched, and he chuckled awkwardly: "How about you treat it like a game? You throw a frisbee, and if you accidentally throw it too far, I'll run to pick it up. Two hours later, I'll come back with the frisbee in my mouth, and I'll also bring back 400 yuan?"

This poor joke not only failed to elicit a smile from Chen Jingyang, but instead made his face darken. Chen Jingyang slowly exhaled a cloud of white mist and stared at Zhang Pengfei.

Why was he so insistent on preventing Zhang Pengfei from earning his own living?

The real reason was that he wasn't entirely confident he could make Zhang Pengfei completely kneel at his feet!

Zhang Pengfei is so outstanding. Despite experiencing such a huge family tragedy, he still achieved perfect scores in his final exams, with a GPA of 4 points on all exams!

Moreover, he is too self-reliant!

Of course, Chen Jingyang admires his self-reliance, but this is based on the premise that he can control him.

However, Chen Jingyang always had a vague sense of crisis. If Zhang Pengfei, who was so self-reliant, was allowed to grow up, he would eventually become so powerful that he would fly out of his grasp!

He didn't know when that day would come, but rather than worrying about the uncertain future, he decided to put out the flame now!

We should clip his wings before he becomes fully grown, so that Zhang Pengfei will have no choice but to rely on him in the future!

He enjoyed watching this self-reliant man struggle to survive in his company!

"I'm resigning!" Chen Jingyang said forcefully and domineeringly, leaving no room for negotiation.

Zhang Pengfei felt a pang of pain in his heart!

So, it still doesn't work?

"Chen Jingyang, are you really going to turn me into your dog?"

Chen Jingyang chuckled: "You already are."

"I'm not!" Zhang Pengfei roared hysterically, "I'm a fucking human being, Chen Jingyang! Can't you open your eyes and look? I'm a fucking human being, just like you!"

Chen Jingyang's face was cold and stern as he quietly looked at Zhang Pengfei, who was trembling all over. After a long while, he said, "If you want to become a real dog, it's not impossible."

“Zhang Pengfei, don’t take my leniency for granted as a reason for your indulgence, and don’t force me to tame you down that path.”

"Chen, Jing, Yang!"

Chen Jingyang automatically blocked out the anger and humiliation in his voice, stubbed out the half-smoked cigarette, and stood up: "I promise, from today onwards, not a single penny will belong to you!"

The carpet was thick and soft, and shouldn't have made any noise when you stepped on it, but Zhang Pengfei could hear Chen Jingyang's footsteps on the carpet. They were so heavy, heavy enough to crush a promising 20-year-old!

Give me the phone!

Zhang Pengfei abruptly took a few steps back, instinctively clutching his pocket, and asked nervously, "What do you want to do?"

"Give it to me!"

Zhang Pengfei was cornered against the wall, clutching his pocket tightly: "No way!"

Whether or not he gets it is not up to him to decide. In the face of absolute power, let alone a cell phone, Zhang Pengfei himself has been forced to give it to anyone countless times!

Chen Jingyang took his phone in his hand, didn't even glance at it, walked straight to the window, turned it on, and let go.

The phone was in free fall, plummeting from the 70th floor towards the ground without hesitation!

Zhang Pengfei lay on the ground, watching helplessly as his phone was casually and easily thrown away by Chen Jingyang.

That cell phone was bought for him by his father when he was in college. It not only recorded every little thing during his three years of college, but also preserved his precious memories.

Now it's gone, just like that, casually tossed away by Chen Jingyang.

No remains were found.

Not even a scrap of trash could be found.

It was just like his life before he turned 20, which was wiped out by a single sentence from Chen Jingyang.

He said if it's a dog, it's a dog.

No one can change that.

On the way back, Chen Jingyang took Zhang Pengfei to the service center to get a replacement SIM card and then to a shopping mall to buy a new phone.

It was very expensive. Zhang Pengfei's entire summer tutoring earnings weren't enough to buy a screen, but he didn't even have the desire to pick it up and look at it.

The streetlights lit up one after another, flashing in bright colors, like a group of devils having a party.

Back home, Chen Jingyang didn't even bother to eat. He sat in front of the computer for over an hour, fiddling with the phone. No one knows what he did to it, but he was in a great mood when he handed it to Zhang Pengfei.

"Here, give it a try!"

Zhang Pengfei turned over and refused to look at him.

Chen Jingyang climbed onto the bed, turned the person over, and said, "Hurry up, try it and see if it works!"

"I won't try!"

"Tsk!" Chen Jingyang raised his hand and slapped Zhang Pengfei on the butt, his threat clear: "You want another beating, don't you?!"

Zhang Pengfei sprang up like a fish, knowing that if he didn't back down now, Chen Jingyang might really hit him.

A wise man doesn't fight a losing battle, so he reluctantly took it, went through the motions with it a few times, and threw it on the bed: "Tried it, it's pretty good."

Chen Jingyang wasn't annoyed. He lay down on his side, propped his head up with one hand, and began to soothe the man: "I've thought about it. Anyway, there aren't many days left. If you really want to take that tutor, it's not impossible."

Zhang Pengfei looked pleasantly surprised and immediately turned around, "Really?"

"However, I have one condition."

I knew it wouldn't be that simple!

Tell me about it.

Chen Jingyang: "A private tutoring session is two hours a day, right?"

Zhang Pengfei: "Mm."

Chen Jingyang: "Then I also need two hours a day, so let's make an equal exchange!"

Zhang Pengfei gasped in shock!

Chen Jingyang smiled and said, "As long as you can handle it, I have no objection."

Zhang Pengfei weighed the pros and cons. Although he might have to suffer a bit, this was a significant step forward for Chen Jingyang. If he missed this opportunity, it would be even harder to compromise in the future.

"Fine!" Zhang Pengfei gritted his teeth. "I agree!"

Chen Jingyang revealed a sly smile: "Alright, since that's the case, let's calculate how many days you've tutored and how many hours you owe me."

"What!" Zhang Pengfei sat up abruptly. "Isn't it supposed to start tomorrow?!"

Chen Jingyang's lips curled up, his handsome face particularly charming: "What are you thinking? I'm already being lenient by not charging you interest. You still want to renege on your debt? When have I, Chen Jingyang, ever made a losing deal?"

The next morning, Zhang Pengfei sent a message to his students: I have something to do recently and will be taking a three-day break.