Shen Yi corrected him, "It is me and Iris. Oh, and there is Song Yi too, we are all her servants."
From this point of view, everyone was equal.
"..."
Shen Sigui did not say anything.
He leaned back in his chair, re-evaluating the side effects of this mission.
He had sent his niece to protect a client, only for her to be recruited as a servant by an unimportant client...
Why on earth?
"She asked you to be one and you just agreed?" he asked. There was no obvious fluctuation in his tone, but the downward turn of his mouth showed his displeasure.
"I didn't," Shen Yi retorted. "Slavery has long been abolished in modern society."
This was merely Sophia's unilateral definition of the relationship between a young lady and her vassals.
She and Iris just could not be bothered to argue.
Shen Sigui glanced at her. Seeing that she was not repulsed by it, he did not press the matter further.
However, there was one thing he had to tell her: "Do not tell your grandfather."
The man then carefully added, "Oh, and do not tell your third and second brothers either."
Given the personalities of those two nephews, if they found out, they would explode on the spot and might even try to slaughter that young lady.
If Sophia were unfortunately slaughtered, they would have to pay compensation.
That would make this business deal a huge loss.
"I know."
Having finished discussing business with her uncle, Shen Yi's attention began to drift to her surroundings.
She stood up and looked around the office. The more she looked, the more she felt that Iris had a point.
Heavy blackout curtains, pale ceiling lights, mountains of documents—it looked exactly like the lair of some green-faced, sharp-fanged monster.
Taking advantage of the lull in conversation, Shen Yi walked over to the window, grabbed a corner of the curtain, and without hesitation...
Swish. She pulled it open.
The midday sun poured in.
It illuminated the desk piled high with documents, the few empty coffee cups on the coffee table, and Shen Sigui's face, which instantly scrunched up as the light hit it.
"Uncle, why does your office look like the lair of a creature of the dark?" Shen Yi turned back to look at him.
Why did Shen Sigui's office look like it belonged to a cartoon villain who could not stand the light?!
Shen Sigui raised a hand to cover his eyes. The light leaking through his fingers made him shrink half an inch back into his chair.
His black shirt made his skin look almost transparently pale. His classically romantic features were scrunched up in the harsh light. He narrowed his eyes and replied, "Because... having been a creature of the dark for so long, I don't really want to be seen."
The number of people out there who wanted to kill him was by no means fewer than those who wanted to kill Sophia.
"You will get moldy if you don't get some sun." Shen Yi used to like keeping her curtains tightly drawn too.
But when she came home, she would always find that her mother had pulled them all wide open again.
Under the guise of letting her bed get some sun.
"I smell nice," Shen Sigui denied the accusation, a faint trace of stubbornness in his tone.
Shen Yi did not pick up on that thread.
She remembered something else and changed the subject:
"Oh right, you dealt with a few of our colleagues earlier. Everyone is discussing why."
Shen Sigui's expression shifted for a moment, a glint of coldness flashing through his eyes before being swiftly swallowed by exhaustion.
"Useless subordinates, bothering me all day with this crap."
He grumbled for a while, his fingers pressing irritably against his temples. His voice dropped, as if he were talking to himself, "Earlier, the armory got burned down. After investigating, we found out someone inside took a bribe. It took two whole weeks just to root out the mole."
"And then there was an idiot who sent out the organization's internal data as a resume, saying he wanted to change jobs." Shen Sigui was genuinely laughing out of anger. He leaned back, his expression turning chillingly dark. "Wanting to job-hop from an assassin organization, and using classified documents to apply..."
Such astronomically stupid idiots.
No wonder they ended up as assassins.
But think about it.
People with normal brains could not be assassins.
Shen Sigui was so overwhelmed by their stupidity that he could not even muster the energy to be angry anymore.
At the time, he had even smiled gently and nodded.
And as for the resignation paperwork the guy submitted...
Shen Sigui mercifully processed it for him personally.
And right after it was processed, he gave him a direct burial.
Shen Sigui clutched his head, his movements revealing an overwhelming sense of frustration.
Anyone would go a little crazy after working for too long.
Shen Sigui was truly annoyed to death by that bunch of idiots.
The desire for them all to just die was exceptionally strong.
Shen Sigui used to be one of the few normal people in the family who could actually hold a normal conversation.
He liked to play with the kids, had sympathy for others, loved gathering friends around, and carried a bit of innocence.
But now, Shen Sigui could go a whole day without saying a single word.
Occasionally chatting with his niece was one of his very few social activities.
After a few seconds of silence, he looked up, his tone returning to normal. "Did I scare you?"
"No." Shen Yi shook her head. "I am not a coward."
"By the way, Uncle. Can you make up this month's perfect attendance bonus for me and Iris?" Shen Yi pressed her palms together in a textbook prayer gesture, her eyes wide. "Please, please, be a little gentler to underage assassins like us who are still in school."
Looking at her shameless behavior, Shen Sigui did not know whether to be mad or to laugh. "Why do you always bother me with this kind of thing, Shen Yi? Doesn't your brother give you money?"
"The two cannot be compared. This is my salary, this is what I have earned," Shen Yi said. "You must respect the fruits of the people's labor."
"After all, I am just a regular civilian, a passerby, an ordinary person..."
"Alright, alright." Shen Sigui interrupted her chanting, whatever lingering gloom he had completely dissipating. "I will add it for you."
He raised a hand and casually ruffled her hair, completely flattening Shen Yi's airy bangs. "Now, go play."
This gesture was the universal move the adult men in their family used on kids.
Shen Yi tugged at her flattened bangs and let out an oh.
Speaking of which, the heads of all her direct male relatives were her hunting grounds.
With the sole exception of Shen Sigui.
For years, this uncle had stayed on the fringes of the family as a somewhat distant elder. He had a stable temperament and a moderate presence, and she had never included him on her list of people she could casually roughhouse with.
As she fixed her bangs, she watched him for a couple of seconds. Shen Sigui was leaning back in his chair, his gaze already drifting toward the documents on his desk. His bangs hung quietly over his forehead, and looking from the side, his hair quality was surprisingly good.
As if triggering some underlying code, or perhaps just a conditioned reflex...
Shen Yi reached out, unable to hold back...
With absolute audacity, she ruffled her uncle's hair.
