He's broken
An atomic bomb exploded in Zhuang Yu'an's brain, and all that was left in his consciousness was a blank white.
Luffy saw that his eyes were out of focus and he looked like he had lost his soul, so he immediately stopped smiling.
"Hey, are you serious?" He narrowed his eyes slightly, "Are you interested in her?"
"Luffy!" Zhuang Yu'an clenched his fists, his eyes like knives, revealing a cold and chilling look. "I don't like being joked about like this."
Luffy suddenly got goosebumps. In all the years they had known each other, he could only recall Zhuang Yu'an issuing a stern warning like this once.
That was two years ago. He took Zhuang Jinghao, then a senior in college, to a nightclub for an internship. At midnight, Zhuang Yu'an came to pick her up, glaring at him like a lion and warning, "Don't do this again."
"Alright, alright, enough kidding. I know you can't afford it..." Luffy waved his hand and said lightly, "Let's get back to the point. Zuo Xiao has already joined the company and is performing excellently. Why don't you stop harping on me and just give me some face, okay?"
Zhuang Yu'an stared at him silently, his eyes piercing and deep, making him nervous. After a while, the domineering man spoke with undeniable authority, "If something is wrong from the beginning, we should correct it, not make the same mistake over and over again."
"What's wrong?" Luffy was a little annoyed by him. He thought that although he was easygoing and good-tempered, he couldn't let him push him around. "I told you we went through the normal recruitment process, and Zuo Xiao's professional ability is also fine. You can find faults as much as you want. If you find any, I lose!"
Zhuang Yu'an took a deep breath and suppressed his anger, saying, "Stop trying to cover up your mistake. You know there are already bad rumors within the company about you and Zuo Xiao."
"Oh? What rumor?"
"That you had an improper relationship."
"Improper relationship?" Luffy's eyes widened, then he laughed again, "The man and the woman are not married, how can there be an improper relationship?"
Zhuang Yu'an's eyes flashed coldly: "You mean, you are indeed in love with her...?"
"Not really." Luffy's lips curled up, "But I'm going to pursue her."
Zhuang Yu'an frowned and asked, "You want to have an office romance?"
Luffy smiled and said, "As far as I know, there doesn't seem to be any rule in the company's rules and regulations that forbids office romances. So, you want to add one just to stop me and Zuo Xiao from dating?"
Seeing Zhuang Yu'an's eyes twitching with anger, veins bulging on his forehead, Luffy suddenly found it amusing. This man had always been extremely self-disciplined and emotionally stable, like an AI hidden beneath a human skin. The more he acted like this, the more he wanted to prod him, test his limits, and see just how intense his outbursts could be.
"Ah..." Luffy sighed and continued to tease him, "Don't you feel that as you get older, your personality becomes more and more repressed and inhumane? I think this may be related to your long-term singleness and excessive sexual repression. As Freud said, if libido cannot be released, people are prone to perversion."
Zhuang Yu'an had enough! This Luffy, usually teasing him about being single, was fine, but right now, when they were clearly discussing business, he was bringing up Freud's extreme theories to frame and mock him. It was simply nonsense and a personal attack!
But he immediately thought: If I lose my temper and continue to talk to him about this and that, wouldn't that be fulfilling his wish and letting him lead me by the nose?
"Don't change the subject," Zhuang Yu'an said in a deep voice. "You and Jinghao's favoritism has already caused negative impacts within the company. Now, this mistake must be corrected immediately."
"Oh? How do I fix it?"
"Fire her."
As expected. Luffy smiled and threw out his trump card: "Have you forgotten how Jinghao got in? The whole company knows her identity. Will there be any negative impact?"
Zhuang Yu'an was not surprised at all and said bluntly, "I know what you mean, but I must fire her. I can provide her with some compensation. If you feel that the company's compensation is not enough to make up for her losses, then I will personally contribute additional funds."
"Damn! Are you acting like a boss today?" Luffy was genuinely angry. "The company has no right to fire an employee unless they can prove she doesn't meet the requirements. Mr. Zhuang, have you forgotten about labor law? Wasn't law your minor in college?"
Zhuang Yu'an remained silent, but his eyes were determined. Lu Fei steeled himself and said, "If you insist on having your own way, then let's be fair: fire Zuo Xiao and Zhuang Jinghao together."
Zhuang Yu'an hadn't expected him to be so threatening and glared at him. Luffy was no better, spreading his arms across the back of the sofa and staring at him defiantly like an eagle spreading its wings.
Neither of them gave in. After a long pause, Zhuang Yu'an said calmly, "If Zuo Xiao is proven not to meet the hiring criteria, he can be fired, right?"
After asking this question which was obviously not a question, he stood up and walked towards the door.
Luffy didn't expect him to be so stubborn, and quickly stood up to dissuade him: "Hey, don't do anything stupid! What deep hatred do you have to kill everyone... " Before he finished speaking, Zhuang Yu'an's back had disappeared at the door.
"Damn it!" He slumped back onto the sofa. "I must have taken the wrong medicine!"
Coming out of Luffy's office, Zhuang Yu'an glanced towards the brand department's office area. Brand director Mao Jiadong was still there, and several people were also sitting at the workstations next to him.
It was obvious that the department was busy and everyone was working overtime, but a certain newcomer had already left work. Was she so confident that she didn't even bother to pretend?
When they got home, the brother and sister had a big fight as expected. The sister even said things like "You are simply overbearing and unreasonable."
Late at night, Zhuang Yu'an found it difficult to fall asleep. Saddened, he had a strong premonition that if they continued arguing like this, an unbridgeable rift would form between them.
This panicked him, and at the same time, he wavered: destroying their brotherly unity for Zuo Xiao wasn't worth it. Should he give in and stop preventing his sister from being close to him? Perhaps tolerating Zuo Xiao's presence would be less destructive than their constant bickering.
However, when he thought of those deliberately provocative eyes, the evil intentions she harbored, and the fact that she had acted recklessly under his nose time and time again, he felt resentful and unwilling... He had no answer for the moment and was extremely conflicted.
The next morning, Zhuang Yu'an prepared breakfast as usual and knocked on his sister's door, but no one answered for a long time.
"Jinghao, are you there?" He waited for a moment, "I'm coming in."
He pushed the door open and found that the room was empty. Zhuang Yu'an frowned: He got up at six in the morning, could she have left home earlier?
That shouldn't be the case... Even if she wanted to be angry with him, she couldn't get up so early.
He walked slowly towards the closet. His sister had a large dressing room, but she also had a large wardrobe in her bedroom, cream-colored and European-style. Once, she had a tantrum and hid herself in the closet, refusing to come out until he apologized.
Thinking of the scene at that time, Zhuang Yu'an curled the corners of his mouth and reached out for the brass handle on the cabinet door.
Suddenly, a sweet, pink fragrance filled my nose. Hanging in the closet were my sister's pajamas, home clothes, and a messy pile of small items, but no one was there.
Suddenly, my eyes passed by a gift box.
The black box was printed with a gold rose pattern and tied with a beautiful golden ribbon. He suddenly remembered the square object that supported the bag in his sister's arms the night before his birthday. It seemed to be the same size as the box.
I reached out and scooped it up. The object in my hand was unexpectedly light, disproportionate to its size, as if the contents had already been taken away.
Zhuang Yu'an thought to himself, his sister treasured this gift so much that she even tied the gift knot intact. There was only one explanation: she treasured this gift very much.
What could it be? Who sent it?
With a series of questions in his mind, he untied the ribbon.
A sheet of white matte paper lay on the surface, its texture soft and delicate. Atop it lay a light pink cotton paper card, printed with a delicate pastel rose, faintly scented with roses.
It seems that the person who gave the gift is not only very thoughtful, but also has good aesthetic taste. He is most likely not a reckless young man.
He picked up the card and turned it to the back. The white cotton paper had a natural texture, and there were a few lines of handwritten words on it, in a wild and vigorous handwriting:
A coming-of-age gift for Jinghao.
Just enjoy it ！
P.S. If you don’t understand something, ask, don’t try blindly.
In the lower right corner of the card, the giver also hand-painted a picture of a volcanic eruption with a red water-based pen. The brushstrokes are light and casual, and full of childlike fun.
Zhuang Yu'an's gaze fixed on the words "Coming of Age Ceremony," which struck him as glaring. He inserted the card into the gap at the edge of the gift box and peeled back the white frosted paper.
The sudden sight of the product packaging made his hand tremble, nearly dropping the box. A surge of shame shot through his head, triggering a massive emotional earthquake in his mind.
Coming of Age Ceremony...
Fuck the coming-of-age ceremony!
With trembling fingers, he lifted the lid of the box. Inside was nothing. Only the concave shape showed that a long, thick object had once been embedded there, and had been taken away by someone.
Suddenly, the sound I'd heard outside my sister's door the night before resonated in my mind, matching the image before me like a key and a keyhole. Then, the mysterious door swung open, and the image of my sister using that thing to pleasure me, accompanied by the sounds of last night, came vividly into my mind.
Because the impact on his brain and heart was too severe, he trembled all over and could not calm down for a long time.
After a long time, he put everything back in place and walked out of the room.
He sat at the dining table blankly, looking at the cold breakfast without any appetite.
For a moment, he couldn't process the entire incident, let alone the chaotic images that suddenly appeared in his mind. He felt that his entire cognition, spirit, and emotions had been bombarded. All he saw was scorched earth and broken walls, and he didn't know how to rebuild.
Perhaps he should find someone to talk to, to seek enlightenment and guidance. But who could he find?
He quickly realized he should make an appointment with a psychiatrist. However, even if he could describe what he saw, he certainly couldn't describe what he thought. A brother actually fantasizing about his sister using sex toys to pleasure himself—what else could that be but perversion?
No, no, he shouldn't make such rash judgments...
Human imagination relies on cognition but is not entirely controlled by subjective will. Just because someone imagines a certain scene doesn't mean they subjectively want that scene to happen. For example, seeing a car wrecked beyond recognition on the road might naturally conjure up images of people covered in blood, or even worse. However, this doesn't necessarily mean the person imagining it is a bloodthirsty person.
That's right, he was just triggered by what he saw and heard, and his brain made uncontrollable associations. It doesn't mean that he is a pervert who has improper feelings and thoughts about his sister.
Moreover, last night, he had accidentally heard the sounds of his sister masturbating. Although he felt deeply ashamed, he hadn't had any delusional thoughts. It was only just now, when he witnessed the existence of that hideous toy with his own eyes, and the sound combined with the props, that he conjured a concrete scene in his mind.
That's right... He shouldn't deny himself without permission, but should always focus on the real goal: protecting his sister.
In his view, his sister's journey from girlhood to womanhood should be a natural, beautiful, and gradual one; she should start with a carefully selected partner, starting with mutual attraction, holding hands, hugging, kissing, and then exploring sexual desire. His sister shouldn't rush into using toys to please herself when she's still immature and ignorant of relationships. She shouldn't become a slave to her physical desires! If she becomes accustomed to sexual pleasure too early, will she be led astray by her physical desires and make choices she'll regret for the rest of her life? Will a moment of lust ruin her life?
It was too terrifying, he couldn't continue to deduce...
He must nip his sister's bad tendencies in the bud and find out the mastermind behind this extremely ugly "coming-of-age ceremony". He must not allow him to continue to harm his sister's body and mind!
When he thought of the mastermind behind the incident, the first name that popped into Zhuang Yu'an's mind was Zuo Xiao.
First, judging by the timing of the gift, last Friday was the day she and her sister were at their most intimate. Second, as an online romance novelist and a source of mental pollution, she was perfectly capable of such a sinister act as providing sex toys to an ignorant girl. Finally, Zuo Xiao had clearly made it clear that she was playing with her sister and fighting him to the bitter end, leading his naive sister astray. She had every intention of doing so.
She is the siren who lures sailors to their doom, the Jinhua cat who transforms its appearance to captivate hearts, and the Pied Piper who takes away innocent children. Ever since she entered his sister's life, she has strayed further and further from him...
He must stop it!
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