Manipulative Harem God

[A/N: For this specific chapter, I would include the extra explanation for any psychology-oriented technique.

Keep in mind, I am only doing this once and won't do it for any other chapter in this novel.

If you want to read a novel like this chapter, which contains the explanation of all these things, refer to my other novel, The Psychopath's Harem.]

...............

He is the God of Manipulation!

"Why...?"

When Zhang Wei was thinking of a plan to deal with Yu Lei, she suddenly started murmuring things to herself.

It was a calm before the storm.

Soon her grief would turn into anger...

"Why did you do this with me, Zhang Wei?..."

She spoke weekly tears falling from her eyes.

"What haven't I done for you already?"

"I even give you my half of the salary every month to enjoy?"

"I never restricted you to do anything..."

"I never..."

"So, why?"

"Why did you do this with me?"

The tear-stained beautiful face stared at him for an answer.

Seeing him still silent and neither accepting nor denying her accusations, Yu Lei felt frustrated.

"Why are you silent!"

"Speak to me!"

"Zhang Wei! She was the maid of our house, how can you lay your hands on her!"

"She is pregnant with your child now!!! Just why!!"

Before long Yu Lei was holding onto Zhang Wei's shoulders for support.

"Why did you do this to me ... Zhang *sob* Wei..."

Zhang Wei sighed and caught her shoulders, at the same time Yu Lei rubbed her eyes and stared at him in anticipation and fear.

"I-I D-Don't *sob* want you to leave me..."

His silence felt suffocating to Yu Lei, she did not want to leave Zhang Wei, but as a woman even though she had her pride, she was his legal wife... It was unacceptable to her...

She put her head on his chest and spoke weakly.

"J-Just accept everything Zhang Wei, and apologize, w-we can start this again!"

"I-I *sob* don't want to lose you..."

Zhang Wei stood there emotionlessly like a rock.

To be frank, Zhang Wei felt Yu Lei's demands were lucrative.

She was ready to forgive him even after this...

But Zhang Wei had already come up with a plan.

A plan that can not only save him from this situation but also make her apologize...

He is going to reverse the situation.

"I did not do it," spoke Zhang Wei.

Yu Lei, "Don't lie to me!"

If earlier she was feeling angry, now she was feeling hatred, not only he cheated on her but is also lying.

Just how far he can go?

She wasn't even looking at his face and can tell he was lying.

Don't ask how, she can!

Zhang Wei had already started playing his game.

One of the best ways to catch a liar is to look at his wording while he is pleading for his innocence.

Generally, a liar never says the sentence as 'I didn't do it!'

Rather the lier will say it as 'I did not do it!'

He will speak like some kind of robot, and use long forms like 'Do not' instead of using 'Don't'.

He will use non-contracting statements to defend himself.

Our mind can process these small cues even before we become aware of them.

This is why, sometimes we can tell a person is sad or angry, just by seeing his aura.

Naturally, Zhang Wei was purposely doing it.

Yu Lei can only blame the gods, that she had to be married to a hidden monster like him.

"Why are you lying to m-!!!"

She lifted her face to speak, but the moment she saw him, her words were stuck in her throat.

Zhang Wei was angrily staring at her.

She did not recognize that man at all, he looked foreign.

The anger in his eyes was too much for her to bear.

"D-Don't come near me!"

She was naturally frightened.

Yue Lie stumbled backward as Zhang Wei stepped toward her, his face twisted with anger and madness, his sharp piercing gaze made her soul tremble.

She tried to speak, to plead with him, but he just kept coming, his fists clenched at his sides.

Finally, he forced back her into the corner of the wall, pressing his body close to hers until she could feel the heat of his breath on her face.

She tried to push him away, but he was too strong, too determined to make her suffer.

She could see the anger in his eyes, and the pain that was mirrored there, too.

This was not the Zhang Wei she had known, this was a stranger, consumed by rage and hatred.

What Zhang Wei was doing is called minimization.

Yu Lei might have not noticed, but she was already speaking less than what she doing earlier.

In fact, she wasn't speaking at all.

Zhang Wei was using his body to intimidate her, he spread his body as wide as possible and stared at her without blinking.

Human beings have an instinctual fear of large animals...

This is why, when a person wants to dominate someone and show his aggressiveness, he would often tries to make his figure as big and wide as possible.

Zhang Wei was doing exactly the same, using his huge body to intimidate her.

At the same time, Yu Lei shanked herself in fear.

This was also a natural response of the body to protect its main organs, like the heart, etc.

Whenever we feel fear, we shrink and shield ourselves like a turtle.

"I did not do it," once again he said the same line.

"Y-You are Li-"

*Slap*

Before Yu Lei was able to finish her sentence, a crisp slap landed on her face.

Due to the intensity of the slap, Yu Lei's head was slanted to the left side.

For a moment she did not respond and a deathly silence filled the whole place.

"Y-you slapped me....?"

Yu Lei's eyes were dead, as she was unable to believe the reality.

The whole world felt dead to her.

The Zhang Wei in her eyes can never raise his hand on her, let alone slap her.

Yue Lie felt a lump rise in her throat as she realized what had happened.

Finally, she slumped down against the wall, her body wracked with sobs. Zhang Wei stood over her, his face twisted in anger and shame. He knew what he had done was wrong, but he couldn't bring himself to stop here.

He suddenly faked a look of crisis and squatted down near her.

His hands wrapped around the crying Yu Lei, comforting her.

"Uuu*sob*Don't come near me"

"You are not my Zhang Wei."

"You hit me...*sob*"

She tried to push him always, but compared to his physical strength she was lacking.

In the end, she continued to cry while his hands were wrapped around her.

"Leave m-me!"

"I-I don't ... want to live... with you anymore..."

Her words were ignored by him, she kept on complaining and complaining until she had no breath to speak anymore.

"Leave ... Me..."

Her voice became as quiet as a mosquito.

"SHUT UP!"

Suddenly a thunderous voice roared making the air tremble.

Zhang Wei screamed with all his might, to the point Yu Lei flinched in fear, and her voice was instantly silenced.

Her body got as still as a rock and she stopped breathing in fear.

"Why are you forcing me again and again?"

It was Zhang Wei who spoke.

He had silently wiped off the lipstick mark on her face.

"Y-You ... beat ...me..."

Yu Lei said in a mosquito-like voice.

Zhang Wei, "I didn't! You forced me to!"

!!

"I-I forced you..."

She spoke in disbelief.

Zhang Wei inwardly sighed, at least this woman was ready to listen.

During their two years of marriage, he indeed has never used violence against her.

But right now, it was important.

Since Yu Lei was behaving completely emotionally earlier, reasoning her will be idiotic.

The best way to first make her snake out of her daze.

Now, Yu Lei was focused on why he hit her, rather than why he cheated on her...

The topics have been switched...

At least she was ready to listen now...

Zhang Wei can begin the next stage, blaming...

He will shift all the blame to her.

"Yes, you forced me! You were not listening to me at all."

"I-I"

Yu Lei was out of words, she indeed was not listening to him at all.

"B-But y-you..."

"I didn't! I don't have any relations with Huo Yue!"

Before she can finish her words, Zhang Wei interrupted.

Zhang Wei very cleverly used the word 'Didn't', instead of 'do not' to some more assuring and genuine.

Not only that, but he also used the word 'relations' instead of the word 'Affair.'

The latter was a clever example of psychological distancing.

It is often used by criminal lawyers in courtrooms to defend their clients.

Where we substitute the harsher-sounding words with softer-sounding words.

Like, For using the word 'sex', instead of 'ra*e'.

Using the word 'touch', instead of 'molest'.

Not to forget he completely coordinated her words with his body movement.

Spotting a liar can sometimes be easy, they might say they didn't do it, while their body is saying otherwise.

Like, he might be nodding his head in the affirmative, while he is saying, he didn't do it.

Actions like this are easily picked by the next party's brain and give them a hunch that we are lying.

Catching a liar who can sync their body language with their words is very hard.

Unfortunately, Zhang Wei was one of those liars.

So for a normal person to catch Zhang Wei lying only by his body language is impossible, he even has a consistent blinking rate.

His actions were very effective since Yu Lei's mind had already started to waver.

"You didn't, then those photos...?"

Even if Yu Lei was madly in love with him, she knew her eyes weren't lying.

She wasn't an idiot.

The moment she said those words, Zhang Wei's eyes lit up. "Did you see me awake in any of those photos? In all the pictures either I was asleep or I wasn't paying attention!"

His words made Yu Lei frown.

She had indeed not seen a single picture like that...

If that wasn't enough evidence already, Zhang Wei had something else.

"Don't you notice it already, Yu Lei? Huo Yue purposely left her phone behind, not only that she even made sure to use a password, that you can easily guess... Isn't it too much of a coincidence?"

As if Yu Lei's light bulb had been turned on, she indeed realized there were too many flaws here.

Zhang Wei, "Whom do you trust more Yu Lei, me or her?"

'Whom do I trust more...?'

There was no way Yu Lei needed to think about it, clearly, she trusted Zhang Wei far more than Huo Yue.

At this point, even if Yu Lei was suspicious, her speaking future was akin to not trusting Zhang Wei, this is how you force someone and close their choices.

Zhang Wei was simply outright denying everything.

He was working on a three-stage strategy, minimizing, denying, and blaming.

As for the password being easily guessed by Yu Lei, it was all just a coincidence.

Hao Yue did not plan anything at all.

She indeed forgets her phone by mistake.

No normal person keeps a complicated password on his phone until he/she is dating someone.

So it was normal for Hao Yue to have a simple password.

She wasn't some rich millionaire like Yu Lei, who needed to have a secure phone.

===============

Mission!!

A happy wife is equal to a happy life.

Deal with Yu Lei's anger and calm her down, at the same the host has to deal with his problems with Hao Yue.

Depending on the methods used by the host, an appropriate system will be assigned!

Progress: 20℅

===============

Yu Lei was already convinced that Huo Yue was planning everything.

Here also there was a small trick.

When we are physically or mentally in pain, we either agree or excessively disagree with someone.

So right now, Yu Lei was excessively in support of Zhang Wei.

While all her anger was channeled to Huo Yue.

Huo Yue was her school rival, so it wasn't strange for her to do something like this, Yu Lei had many experiences with women who tried to steal Zhang Wei from her.

Thinking of all these Yu Lei felt immense anger toward Huo Yue.

She wanted that woman to pay.

Here she provided him with a job out of pity and helped her and that vixen wanted to destroy her own house?

It wasn't just Yu Lei, even Zhang Wei wanted to crush that Huo Lei.

That woman nearly destroyed his lavish life.

After so many years, he has the urge to kill someone more than anything in his life.

He never had truly killed anymore.

Only once, did he push his abusive father back in anger when he was small, then somehow his father ended up slamming his head and dying.

At that time he was only eight years old...

He did not kill his father intentionally, but he indeed has the urge to kill him...

'The lipstick mark?'

Yu Lei remembered the lipstick mark on his face, and her expression turned sour again.

Zhang Wei had loosened the hug, so she easily separated herself from him.

However, when she saw her face she was astonished. "No mark? Was I hallucinating?"

There was no mark anymore on Zhang Wei's face.

It was gone...

Her words were naturally heard by Zhang Wei.

He can't help but pretend to look sad being doubted again and again by her.

"What mark Yu Lei? Are you doubting me again?"

"N-No that's not it..."

Yu Lei felt ashamed because she was indeed doubting him.

Zhang Wei pretended to be hurt.

He shook his head in rejection and laughed at himself.

"After so many years, was such a small thing enough to doubt me, Yu Lei?"

"Is that how you gonna pay for my love and kindness?"

"I saved you so many times during our time in University and this is how you trust me, huh?"

"Even after doing all of the things for you, are still going to doubt me?"

"Who is to blame for all of this...?"

One by one, questions rained on her, and the tears that were dried out started to appear again.

"I-I"

Yu Lei felt an immeasurable amount of guilt.

She indeed directly started accusing him without asking anything...

She unconsciously raised her hands to touch his face, but it was slapped away.

!!

"Why do I feel you trusted Hao Yue more than me, Ye Lei..."

The last bomb he dropped did severe damage to Yu Lei.

The questions like, 'whom do you trust more me or her' are often used by women against men.

And these are highly effective because indirectly it is not a question, but rather an answer in itself.

The guild-ridden Yu Lei was near her breaking point again.

She put her head down in shame and guilt, unable to look into his eyes anymore.

"I...am sorry."

Zhang Wei smiled faintly hearing an apology from her, "It's alright, I will forgive you for today, after all, you are my beautiful wife..."

He hugged her gently, Yu Lei who did not even realize that she was getting played by him, feel even more guilty.

Sigh, if the earlier stuff was not enough Zhang Wei did not forget to play the act of the gracious benefactor in the last sentence.

===========

Mission!

Progress: 40℅

===========

The notification was ignored by Zhang Wei, and as he continued to comfort Yu Lei, the latter felt more and more pain seeing him all smiling and acting as if nothing happened.

Zhang Wei finally reversed the situation...

He was really a monster hiding on the inside...

His strategy to first minimize, then deny afterward blame everything back on her, and strategy worked perfectly well.

He also heavily relied on the use of the psychological loan sharking method.

In this technique, one person does something small for you, and then he later holds it against you.

It is like giving a loan, whose interest is higher than the principle itself.

This is done by girlfriends mostly.

How often does your girlfriend say something like, 'I stopped wearing small clothes for you, I stopped talking with him for you, I stopped this, I stop that... All for you and you can't even do this for me?'

How often does your wife says, 'I take care of the kids, clean the home, maintain the household, etc... And you can't even do this for me?'

How often do your parents say, 'I paid for your school fees, I fed you, I nourished you to become this big, and that's how you gonna pay us after becoming an adult? Is that how you going to treat us for raising you?'

Haha, the parents one is definitely relatable to each and every Asian alive on this planet.

All of this is nothing but psychological loan sharking.

Here they will make you seem like, as if they have something significant in past, to emotionally hold it against you.

Like they will take small things and exaggerate them, 'I daily take the dog on a walk, I feed him, and wash him, and that's how are you gonna treat me?'

A parent's work is to raise his child, but if he counts it as some kind of favor he is doing to the kid, and later holds it against him then it is psychological manipulation.

Unfortunately, all Asian parents do that.

Manipulation is everywhere around you...

Some people try to use psychological distancing and hide their manipulative tactics in the name of 'Positive Influence...'

Those some peoples are governments, your parents... And many more...

At the end of the day, only we can decide what to do and what not to do...

Just like how Yu Lei decided to be dependent on Zhang Wei.

=======================

Ten minutes passed after the incident...

Now both, Zhang Wei and Yu Lei were sitting on the couch, the latter glued to the former body like a cat.

She had no intentions of leaving him any soon...

No one can tell these two people were fighting just some minutes ago.

"Hey, Zhang Wei!"

"What?"

"I need a baby!"

"Mm," Zhang Wei nodded without replying.

Dealing with women in their late twenties is a pain, they always keep whining about having a baby.

"Humph!" Yu Lei snorted softly and turned her head to the other side.

She knew he clearly denied her!

Whatever, she won't let him go easily.

She had no plans to give up any soon.

*Knock, Knock*

Just then, someone knocked on the main door.

"Who is coming this late at night?" 𝙗𝒆𝒅𝙣𝙤𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝙢

Zhang Wei frowned and looked at the time.

It was 10:30 pm, who can possibly come this late at night?

Neighbors...? Impossible!

One of the advantages of living in an expensive apartment is that it's heaven for introverts.

No neighbors disturb each other, they will live next door but probably not care about your existence for the entire year.

They mind their own business...

Nobody wants a luxury like this only to get disturbed, most people only want peace...

Imagine, coming home tired after spending a whole day at your business, and finding a random person knocking at the door, how will it feel?

So Zhang Wei knew it wasn't their neighbors.

To be frank, till now he hasn't even seen his neighbor.

However, when he turned to look at Yu Lei, the woman had subconsciously shrunk her body, as if guilty of another crime.

She even pulled her legs back probably wanting to withhold the information.

"Do you call anyone?" asked, Zhang Wei.

"...En"

Ye Lei nodded after a momentary silence.

"Whom did you call?"

"...H-Helpline."

!!

"You called police on me!?"

Zhang Wei's face twitched unable to restrain his voice.