After getting into two fights in a single day, the sheer amount of physical exertion helped Shen Yi get a rare, good night's sleep.
After washing up the next day, the only ones at the dining table were the two brothers, Shen Xun and Shen Wenta.
Meanwhile, their mother was tidying up the other rooms. She poked her head out and called, "Little Xun, Little Yi, can the two of you walk to school together this morning?"
Shen Xun: "Of course."
Shen Yi, no longer a child herself, quickly chimed in, "No problem, Mom!"
The school was very close to their apartment, and her son never needed her to worry. With Shen Sixing away, looking after three kids alone was inevitably overwhelming. Hearing both children agree, Wen Ya finally felt relieved enough to continue her deep cleaning.
Shen Yi pulled out a chair, sat down next to Shen Xun, picked up a fried dough stick, and slowly began to eat.
For once, Shen Wenta didn't open his mouth to curse at anyone.
The young man's pale, handsome face had taken two severe beatings in a row. After a night of brewing, it had successfully turned a mottled black and blue. Coupled with his currently gloomy expression, he looked exceptionally comical.
"Haha," Shen Yi glanced up and laughed unkindly.
Shen Wenta's fingertips turned white from gripping his chopsticks so tightly. Adhering to the principle of not speaking while eating, he forced down his anger and continued his breakfast.
It was obvious that even though Shen Wenta was a jerk, it didn't change the fact that he was very well put together.
Every movement of his demonstrated perfectly trained dining etiquette. His posture was elegant, his eyes cast downward, giving him an unexpectedly bizarre sense of docility.
Shen Yi quickly finished her breakfast and got up to head to school.
No sooner had she finished than Shen Xun also put down his bread and hurried after her.
The two of them walked to school together. Yili wasn't too far from their home.
On the way, Shen Yi took the opportunity to ask her fourth brother about the exact background of that madman, Shen Wenta.
That spoiled demeanor, acting as if he was the supreme ruler of the universe, clearly wasn't normal.
"Did Shen Wenta live at your grandfather's house?" she asked, recalling what Shen Xun had said earlier. "I roughly recognize his clothes. He wears brands worth hundreds of thousands. Isn't he afraid of getting robbed when he goes out?"
"Yes, he stayed by Grandfather's side," Shen Xun told her, his gaze somewhat vacant. "And our family isn't just simply rich."
"Growing up in that kind of environment, Shen Wenta probably really thinks of himself as some sort of emperor, or the ruler of the Earth."
Shen Xun never would have thought that his third brother, whom he hadn't seen in years, would turn into something like this.
The price of Shen Wenta's clothes couldn't be faked, so Shen Yi didn't doubt his words, though she was still somewhat surprised.
After all, to her knowledge, her father ran a pig farm and her mother was a full-time housewife—they were very ordinary people.
Now she was being told that their grandfather's side of the family had a complicated background, and she had a hard time wrapping her head around it.
She subconsciously asked, "Then why does Dad always look half-dead from working all day?"
If his own father was so rich, why did he work so hard?
The way Shen Sixing worked, it felt like he could drop dead from exhaustion at any moment.
"Grandfather's money all went to our uncle," he replied. "Dad started his own business, which is very tiring."
Alright, as expected, the youngest sons in large families have always been the most favored since ancient times.
Dad's unmotivated corporate slave appearance didn't exactly look like someone capable of inheriting a family business either.
But the favoritism was way too obvious!!
"So Dad is basically... exiled by the family?"
Shen Xun nodded affirmatively.
"Dad hasn't been back home in over a decade."
In other words, no matter how rich their grandfather was, it had absolutely nothing to do with them. The only one close to their grandfather was Shen Wenta, who was raised by his side.
Shen Yi finally understood completely.
"He's mentally unstable. Stay away from him," Shen Xun said. If he hadn't found his brother's gun in advance last night and secretly unloaded the bullets, she probably really would have been shot dead.
Shen Yi covered her face in agony. "It's not that I don't want to stay away from him; it's that he won't let me go."
Looking at how Shen Wenta acted, she knew he wouldn't let things go easily.
She was really getting a firsthand taste of those dramatic, bitter-enemies-out-for-blood tropes from novels.
Shen Xun hesitated for two seconds before giving her an awkward hug to comfort her. "I will help you."
"Brother, you are my one and only brother." Shen Yi couldn't help but let out a soft whimper.
Looking as helpless as a puppy.JPG
...
In the afternoon, Mom still came to pick them up after school. The happy hours spent at school allowed her to briefly forget about Shen Wenta.
The girl, carrying her backpack, dashed into the house. After changing her shoes, she rushed to her room to drop off her bag.
However, the moment she pushed open her bedroom door, the sight inside made Shen Yi freeze completely.
Her room wasn't small, but the wardrobe alone took up a fifth of the space.
Wen Ya had a strong desire to dress her up. The entire family's clothing combined wasn't even half of Shen Yi's, and the wardrobe was filled with all sorts of dresses.
But, today of all days.
All her dresses were scattered across the floor, shredded to pieces.
And that wasn't even the most terrifying part.
With the blanket pulled back, there was a bloody, mangled, skinned mass of flesh on her bed. The metallic smell of rust filled the entire room.
It looked exactly like a horror movie set.
You wouldn't even need half a brain to figure out who the culprit behind all this was.
Shen Yi took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to scream, and repeatedly warned herself.
Stay calm, stay calm.
Even if she told Mom right now, the only result would be Shen Wenta getting a painless, superficial scolding.
Rather than tattling, taking immediate revenge was the best solution.
Having dealt with jerks for years, Shen Yi was now well-versed in this approach.
Just as Shen Yi was thinking about how to strike back, the bedroom door opened. Shen Wenta was leaning against the doorway, a smug smile on his pale face. With his chin slightly raised, he drawled contemptuously, "Broke loser."
"You probably never even saw clothes like the ones Mom bought for you back in the orphanage, did you?"
To his very core, he looked down on this sister who came from an orphanage.
Why should an orphan like her get all of this so easily?
Even his favorite younger brother protected her.
The corners of the young man's mouth curled up. Slowing his tone and drawing out the final syllable, he asked, "Do you like my gift, sister?"
Right now, seeing Shen Yi in pain was his only source of amusement.
Shen Yi, subjected to yet another round of mockery: "..."
She was absolutely going to clash head-on with this vile guy today.
Ignoring his childish remarks, Shen Yi turned sideways and shoved past him with such force that Shen Wenta stumbled.
With a clear goal in mind, Shen Yi went straight downstairs to find Shen Xun.
First, she needed an ally.
Fourth Brother was the best brother.
Shen Yi grabbed her fourth brother—who was still doing her homework for her with a robotic expression—and her eyes instantly turned red. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Brother, all my clothes were cut to pieces by Shen Wenta."
"And he put a skinned animal on my bed."
Shen Xun's gaze paused for two seconds on the tears swirling in her eyes. "Don't cry."
Every time she cried, he felt extremely irritable.
But this time, Shen Yi was genuinely a little sad—not for herself, but for her parents.
Wen Ya had spent a long time carefully picking out those dresses.
Shen Sixing also worked exhaustingly hard to earn money, looking miserable every day as if going to work was like heading to his grave.
Just because Shen Wenta didn't get along with her, all those clothes had been shredded just like that.
Shen Yi was visibly upset.
Shen Xun grabbed her, pursed his lips, and muttered, "Stop crying. It's annoying."
Without looking back, he led her upstairs by the hand and told her, "Come to my room first. If a lot of blood has seeped into your bed, it will be hard to clean up quickly. Even if the sheets are changed, the smell of blood will linger. You are sleeping with me tonight."
He was genuinely worried that Shen Wenta, that psycho, would cause more trouble in the middle of the night.
"Remember? I said I would help you."
Compared to his sister's heartbreak, Shen Xun's voice was surprisingly calm.
Shen Yi gave a muffled "mm."
The two little ones ran upstairs hand in hand in a flash, as if they were plotting some grand scheme.
Wen Ya looked up and saw this scene. She could not help but cover her mouth and smile, muttering to herself, "Ah, so cute, my two babies."
As expected, daughters are the absolute best.
...
This was Shen Yi's first time entering Shen Xun's room.
Unlike the stereotypical messy boy's room, Shen Xun's room was just like him: clean and tidy.
On the desk were neatly arranged books of all kinds, along with unknown experimental slides.
He opened a huge box filled with various mechanical parts.
Soon, Shen Xun pulled a baton out of a box. "We can use this to greet him. I charged it up ahead of time."
Shen Yi: "...Wait, is that a stun baton?"
Shen Xun tilted his head calmly, like an NPC, "Is that not okay?"
He felt that using this to heavily strike their older brother would be absolutely perfect.
Shen Yi gave her fourth brother a thumbs-up. "You are amazing, brother."
"But let's not resort to murdering our own family for the greater good."
Shen Wenta was such a weakling; he would probably die from a single shock, right?
"Then what do you want to do?" Shen Xun shrugged. "I can help you drug him. How about sleeping pills? I have some in my room."
Shen Yi: "...No."
"Well, I also have anesthetic needles in my room. What do you think?"
"No."
"Ta-da, a cutting saw," he deadpanned, mimicking the dramatic sound effect of a grand entrance with zero emotion as he revealed an object. "Didn't expect this, did you? I have this in my room too."
"!!!"
I really did not expect that.
He even has a cutting saw. His dismemberment toolkit is way too complete.
