...
Sunlight poured directly into the living room. Shen Yi took small bites of her bear-shaped cookies, squeezing on the sofa with her mother. One was staring intently at the TV, while the other had her head bowed, playing with her phone.
Watching cartoons brought a kind of mindless joy! She loved watching cartoons.
Wen Ya was scrolling through her phone.
Faced with the wicked mother-in-law in a short video, her brows shot up in righteous indignation as she kept muttering, "This is too much!"
Shen Yi leaned over to take a look. Seeing that her mother was genuinely angry, she quickly said, "Mom, these are all just acted out."
Wen Ya replied, "But it still makes me so mad."
The protagonist in the video was too frustratingly passive. If it were her, she would go to the kitchen, grab a knife, and chop them to pieces!
Not wanting to watch any more of those infuriating plots, Wen Ya scrolled to the next video for peace of mind.
It was a social news report.
The anchor was delivering a serious news report.
[Breaking news: A well-known billionaire has died tragically in his home, suspected of being murdered. His children have rushed home overnight, and it is reported that they will face the division of an estate worth tens of billions.]
A photo of the deceased while he was alive was also displayed on the screen.
The comment section was filled with flower emojis and condolences.
Shen Yi's ears twitched. She leaned over to take a look and suddenly spoke up, "I've seen this person before."
Wen Ya's casual expression stiffened slightly. "Ah? How could that be?"
How could Xiao Yi know a dead person?
"Dad showed me a lot of photos before. He seemed to be looking for a business partner, and I pointed at him." Shen Yi said with envy, "His net worth is actually that high? That's amazing."
Her dad could actually deal with that kind of big shot?
Could it be thanks to the connections of that grandfather she had never met?
Thinking of Shen Sixing's wicked sense of humor, Shen Yi somewhat suspected that his previous talk about discussing business was actually just him finding photos of successful people online to tease her.
How truly boring.
Wen Ya let out a dry laugh, realizing that it was actually that son of a bitch's fault. The woman feigned surprise, "Eh, Xiao Yi, is your memory really that good?"
Shen Yi pouted slightly. "Yes, I have a very good memory."
She had always had a pretty good memory.
Just as Wen Ya was trying to figure out how to explain things so that this wouldn't seem like such a coincidence, the doorbell rang.
Feeling as if she had been granted a pardon, she quickly ran to open the door. "Coming!"
Immediately after, the woman standing in the entryway hugged the man who had just walked in with extreme delight, giving him a hard kiss. "Ah, Hubby, you're back!"
While at it, she gave him a hard pinch.
Shen Sixing stepped through the door without changing his expression.
Hearing that her dad was back, Shen Yi stopped dwelling on the big shot who had died unexpectedly and quickly ran over. "Dad."
Shen Sixing waved at her.
The man had a standard homeless look. His hair was frizzy and unkempt, he sported two dark circles under his eyes, and his complexion was pale. His thin, frail body was wrapped in an old jacket, making him look even more...
miserable than before he left home.
Shen Yi immediately stepped forward and opened her arms. Shen Sixing cooperatively squatted down and scooped her up into his arms.
The little girl's body was warm and still carried the scent of the cookies she had just eaten, making Shen Sixing's heart soften along with it.
Shen Yi kissed him. "You've worked hard."
Being kissed made Shen Sixing feel a little sweet inside.
The chill the man carried with him was largely dispelled by the warmth.
Shen Sixing lowered his eyes, just about to have a good chat with the daughter he hadn't seen in a month, when Shen Yi suddenly started sniffing him all over like a little puppy.
"The smell of blood," Shen Yi said suddenly. "Dad, what did you go do?"
To actually end up reeking of blood.
Of course, what she didn't say was that she also smelled a faint trace of gunpowder.
"I hunted down a sow that tried to attack me earlier." His expression remained unchanged as he explained with a calm gaze, "Generally, a sow that has just given birth can be very aggressive."
After speaking, the man asked a rhetorical question in a guilty attempt to cover it up, "You know about this, right, Xiao Yi?"
Shen Yi: "..."
His guilty conscience was way too obvious.
"The smell of pig blood and human blood is different." Shen Yi ruthlessly exposed him. "I can tell the difference."
Shen Yi's sense of smell was extremely sensitive, and coupled with some past self-harming behaviors, she was very familiar with the difference between the smell of human blood and other blood.
"... You must have a dog's nose, Xiao Yi." Shen Sixing sighed, feeling a bit helpless.
Immediately after, he pinched her nose and gave her a soft, straightforward warning, "No more sniffing."
Shen Sixing didn't feel guilty about letting Xiao Yi know what his job was.
It wasn't like he was some homicidal maniac.
To him, killing people was very boring.
It was just a task, as mundane and ordinary as an average person eating or going to work.
But...
But Wen Ya was right; Shen Yi was a timid child, and she would be scared away.
In order not to lose his sweet little daughter, he could only try his best to cover up this lie.
If Shen Yi were just a babbling, idiotic child, fooling her would be simple, and he could ensure she would never know the truth for the rest of her life.
Unfortunately, his daughter was not.
She was very smart.
In this family, being too smart was not a good thing.
Just as Shen Sixing was pondering how to cover up the lie about the scent of human blood on him, Wen Ya beside him had a flash of wit and quickly found an excuse.
The woman covered her mouth and let out a scream.
Shen Sixing and Shen Yi were both startled by her at the same time and looked over.
"Hubby!" Wen Ya's face was full of surprise. "I told you long ago to be careful and take care of your health, but you just wouldn't listen. Did you sit for too long handling work again?"
She looked at the bewildered Shen Sixing with heartache and raised her voice:
"Hubby, your hemorrhoids ruptured again! You're bleeding! I told you to go to the hospital, but you refused and insisted on toughing it out. Now Xiao Yi has smelled it!"
Shen Sixing: "...?"
