Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Willing to Be Disciplined by the Contractor

He grew up in Light City and had seen too many Contractors mistreated by their Contractors since childhood. Those vivid examples left deep psychological scars.

He longed for freedom, studied hard to get into the First Military Academy, and joined the First Legion after graduation. He fought constantly, earning promotions and increasing his strength, all because he didn’t want to become a Contractor trapped by the side of a future Contractor!

After all, only a Contractor who was powerful enough to earn a great deal of resources for their Contractor could possibly obtain more freedom.

However, when problems arose in his Spiritual Sea, the legion demanded he leave the battlefield to rest and recuperate. They notified his family of this request. After returning to Light City, his father paraded him around to countless banquets like a puppet on a string, where he was sized up like a piece of merchandise. He could still remember how they unabashedly critiqued him to his face:

"He’s good-looking enough, but he’s stiff as a board. No charm at all!"

"I’ve seen his files from the Advanced Academy and the First Military Academy. Other than his combat classes, he failed everything—cooking, domestic duties, singing and dancing, you name it!"

"He serves in the First Legion, so he must earn a lot!"

"What kind of merit is earning money? Are we short on cash? Oh, wait, if he earns enough, that’s still acceptable. But how much can you possibly make in the legion, really?"

"He does have his merits. He’s built solidly. Should be able to take a beating!"

"Speaking of which, he hit a female classmate when he was at the Advanced Academy. The only reason it’s not in his file is because his father paid a hefty sum to make it go away!"

"Something like that happened?"

"No wonder. Look at his eyes. He’s defiant and untamable. Not the obedient type!"

"Sigh, some people are into that type. Look, isn’t that someone approaching him now?"

"The Second Miss Bai. She has blood on her hands, you know!"

"She’s Dean Bai’s only heir. If she sets her sights on him, that little pretty boy is in for a miserable future!"

Chen Nan clenched his fists as he recalled their wanton gossip, accidentally pulling at his wounds. He hissed in pain.

When his father had told him he was to form a Contract with the Second Miss Bai, he had already been secretly planning his escape. He would rather die from a spiritual power outburst than be controlled by anyone.

But he never expected to suddenly receive a matching notification from the master brain. His father, who was right beside him at the time, saw the message and immediately hid it, ordering him to go and take care of this sudden "problem" himself.

"You’ve ’chosen’ me? You chose me because you decided my strength was low and I had no family backing, so I’d be easy for you to control, is that it?" Ning Xuan sneered.

Ning Xuan thought about it now. Chen Nan had formed a Contract with her at first just to escape the arranged union with his family’s choice! Later, when Ning Xuan helped him soothe his agitated spiritual power and purge the spiritual toxins, it was an unexpected bonus for him.

He knew full well how his family felt about Ning Xuan, yet he still formed a Contract with her regardless of the potential risks to her. He must have already decided to take her with him when he left, without ever considering whether she was willing or not.

"Ah Nan wouldn’t dare. Ah Nan wouldn’t dare show any disrespect to you, Lord Contract Master. I acted impulsively this time and did wrong. I am willing to accept your discipline. I beg you to give me a chance to repent!" Chen Nan knelt on the floor, his head bowed obediently. If Chen Hui could see this, he would never believe this was his defiant, rebellious little brother.

"Impulsive, and willing to accept discipline. Very good. So what you mean is, as your Contractor, I have a responsibility to discipline and teach you, so when you do something wrong, it’s because I didn’t discipline you well enough. Is that it?" Ning Xuan pinched Chen Nan’s chin, forcing his head up. His once handsome, clean-cut face was now red, swollen, and bruised. Not a pretty sight at all.

"It’s because Ah Nan didn’t learn the rules properly before, which led me to be so reckless. I can only trouble you to discipline me more thoroughly!" Chen Nan looked up at Ning Xuan, who was leaning over him, and noticed she seemed to have grown much taller than a month ago.

Ning Xuan studied him seriously, then nodded. "I glanced at the family rules the Bai Family sent you. They’re quite... unique. You will kneel here and copy them by hand ten times. I’ll check your work tomorrow."

As soon as Ning Xuan finished speaking, a look of resistance crossed Chen Nan’s face. "Lord Contract Master, those are another family’s..."

"Can you do it or not?" Ning Xuan’s expression was laced with mockery.

"I can!" Chen Nan resignedly called up his Light Computer and found the message.

Although there was no Star Network coverage here and the Light Computer couldn’t connect to the outside world, the information stored on it was still accessible.

Once Ning Xuan confirmed that Chen Nan was, for the moment, under control, she took a tour of the house and yard. The yard was bare and unremarkable. The buildings on either side were connected to the main house. One was filled with piles of ore, the other with Exotic Plants. The main house was spacious. Besides the front hall connected to the main entrance, there were three square living rooms, a study, two small, dark rooms of unknown purpose, and three bedrooms that offered excellent privacy. There was also a kitchen with pots, pans, and a refrigerator. Ning Xuan pulled open the refrigerator door; it was spotless inside. There was one bathroom with a bathtub and two separate washrooms. The entire house was immaculate, not looking like it had been uninhabited for a long time, but rather as if someone cleaned it constantly. However, she didn’t see any housekeeping robots. ’Who’s been cleaning the house, then?’

After making a full circuit, Ning Xuan returned to the front hall. Chen Nan was kneeling upright, diligently copying the family rules. Ning Xuan took a bottle of Blue Flame Grass Potion from her Space Button. The healing Blue Flame Grass Potion could be applied externally or taken orally. She took out a piece of gauze, dipped it in the medicine, and began dabbing it on his face. This 100% pure Blue Flame Grass Potion worked fast. The swelling on his face began to subside almost immediately where she applied it.

Chen Nan felt a cool sensation spread over the areas Ning Xuan touched. The burning pain faded, and his eyes, which had been swollen nearly shut, could now open. He looked up at Ning Xuan and thanked her in a low voice, "Thank you, Contractor."

His face was much easier on the eyes when it was clean. Ning Xuan patted his cheek, satisfied.

"Since this was all premeditated, you brought everything you needed, right? Besides the study materials you mentioned for me, there’s also food..." Ning Xuan pointed toward the study and the kitchen, then to the side rooms. "...and my lab!"

Chen Nan reached into his pocket and pulled out four Space Buttons, handing them to Ning Xuan. "Contractor, the yellow one contains..."

"Go put everything in its proper place for me." Ning Xuan shot him a glare.

"Yes!" Chen Nan struggled to his feet and limped toward the kitchen.

Ning Xuan had always been picky about food, so he hadn’t dared to be careless when preparing the ingredients. But Extreme Cold City, if nothing else, had a much wider variety of food than D618 Star. The taste and quality were on par with any A-level Star. He was sure that if Ning Xuan was willing to stay here for a while, she would definitely grow to like it.