Shen Yi was speechless.
Silence spread between the two of them.
"I didn't exchange anything," Shen Yi curled her body back a little. "It's just that as a punishment, I might go to another time and space. This punishment really isn't a big deal, so stop looking at me like that."
The girl couldn't help but reach out and hug her arms tightly. This was a typical instinctive defensive movement she had used since childhood.
Shen Zhizhao didn't want to interrogate her; he just wanted to confirm her safety.
He let out a soft "oh" and gently asked in return, "Is it really no big deal? Xiaoyi?"
Compared to his cowardice as a child, the most intuitive impression Shen Zhizhao gave as an adult was actually one of composure.
He was always able to hide all his emotions perfectly, and his way of speaking gave people a slow, methodical sense of pressure.
"Then let's go back to the previous question."
Shen Zhizhao said slowly, "White Sparrow. You killed him."
Shen Yi felt her scalp tingle the moment she heard him speak.
Here it comes again, that tone of trying to peel back the layers to get to the truth.
She tilted her head up and couldn't help but talk nonsense, trying to interrupt his deduction. "So what?"
"I'm a murderer, are you going to make me rot in jail?"
Was she going to become a legendary prison inmate like her second brother???
Shen Zhizhao didn't take the bait.
Because this wasn't the topic he wanted to discuss right now.
Shen Zhizhao leaned back slightly, his gaze moving away from Shen Yi's face to land on some non-existent point in the void.
His habit of talking to himself returned.
"Let's go through it from the beginning."
His voice was light. "First, White Sparrow is dead, killed by you. I read the autopsy report. There was only one fatal wound, clean and neat. At the same time, multiple non-fatal injuries were found on the body. The time span was very short, all concentrated within half an hour before his death."
Shen Yi's eyelashes trembled.
"What does this mean?" Shen Zhizhao's expression was heavy. "It means this wasn't an accidental encounter. You fought for a long time. He was injured in multiple places by you first, and was finally killed with a single blow."
He held up two fingers.
"Second, you don't have any injuries. An assassin of White Sparrow's caliber, even if injured, would be more than capable of taking someone down with him before dying. Yet, you don't have a single scratch."
Shen Yi's hands unconsciously gripped the fabric on her knees.
He held up a third finger.
"Third, White Sparrow has been off the grid for over a decade with no public combat records. He was in the dark, and you were in the open. It is impossible for you to have learned his moves, habits, and weaknesses through any conventional channels."
"But you clearly knew them very well."
"You didn't just know his profile; it's more like you knew his habits."
Shen Zhizhao paused. "For someone like White Sparrow, there are only two kinds of people in the world who could grasp these habits. One is someone who has fought him countless times and survived, and the other is—"
The other is someone who has died many times and tested him countless times.
So which one did Shen Yi belong to?
"You repeated it many times, didn't you?" His tone didn't change; it could even be called gentle.
Meeting his almost stifling gaze, Shen Yi unconsciously clenched her palms and smiled, pretending that nothing was wrong. She instinctively picked up her childhood nickname for him, trying to change the subject:
"Dahei, you are really smart."
Shen Zhizhao remained unmoved by her attempt at banter.
He looked at Shen Yi's unnatural expression. In his eyes, something welled up from the depths, carrying a silent pain that made one afraid to look directly at it.
Shen Yi couldn't stand it when people looked at her like that.
She stood up abruptly, reached out to rub his face to mess up his expression, and complained, "Don't look at me like that."
"Actually, I'm not that miserable."
"Cheer up." Shen Yi tried to force the corners of his mouth up. "Whether you are happy or not, anyway, I am very happy to see Shen Xun again."
After reloading her save file back then, the joy of seeing Shen Xun again was enough to overwhelm all her fear of death.
Honestly speaking.
She didn't even have the mood to complain at that time.
Under the weight of destiny, people could only be manipulated. They might not want it, but there was no other way.
Shen Yi absurdly found that she was actually grateful for her own do-overs.
Grateful that she could still stand here, that she could still see him.
"You know what?" Shen Yi started to ramble, wanting to dispel the heavy atmosphere. "If we compare this world to a story, then as everyone knows, the bad guys can never get a good ending."
"Even if there really is a good ending, it's very difficult to achieve, so it's completely normal to have to pay something as a price."
She believed that anyone.
Even herself.
Dying hundreds of times was nothing to regret. Before becoming an executioner, one must also have the resolve to die.
She didn't feel that fate had deceived or mistreated her.
Being able to meet them was already a blessing.
"Let's not talk about this anymore." Shen Yi showed a smiling face, almost wanting to sigh, and said in a low voice, "Talking about this kind of thing is actually useless."
It will only cause unnecessary trouble for people.
With his guess confirmed, Shen Zhizhao could instantly taste a hint of blood in his mouth.
He had bitten the tip of his tongue, using the pain to suppress his surging emotions.
From childhood to adulthood, Shen Zhizhao had always hated fate, yet fate had been quite merciful to him, allowing him to meet Shen Yi twice.
But was Shen Yi's ability to rewind time a mercy granted by fate, or a punishment?
That was hard to say.
Shen Yi didn't actually think she was miserable; at most, grinding the same dungeon for so long just made a person numb. She tried to make him happier. "How about I peel a bunny apple for you?"
She picked up the apple, took a dagger, and gestured at the apple to make a cut.
Shen Zhizhao found her behavior somewhat both funny and exasperating. He fixed his gaze on her and took the apple from her hand.
"Don't change the subject, Xiaoyi." He put the apple back and said softly, "I know you are a very formidable person, and I know you have always been strong, but before playing the savior, can you please consider putting yourself first?"
"..."
In the end, he was still trying to lecture her.
Shen Yi silently let out a breath. "I know, I will, I promise."
"Dahei," she turned her face away, her voice muffled and carrying a hint of complaint. "...You talk a bit too much. I'm not even sad, so there's no need for you to feel unhappy for me."
"Sorry." Shen Zhizhao didn't want her to wrack her brains trying to comfort him anymore, so he switched to a lighter topic.
He murmured, "Even though I'm the older brother, it seems like I'm always the one being comforted by you."
"Because once a little brother, always a little brother," Shen Yi chuckled. "I've met you twice, and both times I've been the one protecting you. Shen Zhizhao, calling me older sister is the best deal you'll ever make in your life."
The man curled the corners of his lips, his emotions buried deep.
"...You're right."
Then he called out, his voice brisk, just like when they were kids.
"Sister."
Shen Yi's expression cracked.
She clearly hadn't expected this. Her eyes widened slightly, her lips moved, but she couldn't utter a single word.
"Sister," he said, imitating the sincere tone of his childhood, her reflection shining in his eyes.
"Actually, I've wanted to say this for a long time. In my eyes, you are the one who is omnipotent and truly unique."
Little Shen Zhizhao had always worshiped her.
Later, as he grew up, he met all kinds of people—smart, beautiful, dazzling—but none were as vivid as her.
Yet Shen Yi always felt that she was good for nothing.
Shen Zhizhao sighed in his heart.
She really loved to belittle herself.
Even though, whether in their childhood or after they grew up, she had always been shining brightly in his eyes.
Now it was Shen Yi's turn to subconsciously cover her face with a pillow.
"Not really."
She stammered, but the joy was almost written in her eyes.
Shen Zhizhao patted her head. "Yes, really. Back then, I was even guessing whether you were an elf or a fairy."
"..."
"I didn't expect you to be a kid who liked fairy tales." Shen Yi's eyes widened.
So childish.
Shen Zhizhao remained noncommittal.
Actually, back then, he had also seriously wondered if she might be a female ghost, a spirit, or something like that.
But there was no need to tell Xiaoyi that.
When Shen Yi and Shen Zhizhao came out of the guest room, the other two subconsciously peeked over.
"What were you talking about?"
Shen Wenta asked bluntly.
Shen Yi: "Not telling you."
"I always feel like the rest of you have a secret." His tone was obscure.
Shen Yi was a bit surprised now; she hadn't expected him to be so sharp.
With a slightly wicked smile, she maliciously told him:
"Yes, we all have secrets between us, and you're the only one who doesn't know."
Shen Wenta: "..."
Every single word of that sentence accurately stabbed right into Shen Wenta's sore spot.
Shen Yi smiled, stood on her tiptoes, reached out, and unceremoniously ruffled his hair.
He didn't dodge, letting her mess it up, and said coldly, "Shen Yi—"
"Goodbye, Third Brother, I'm going to sleep."
Shen Wenta grabbed at empty air, his expression terrible, and turned to look at Shen Xun and Shen Zhizhao. "What exactly is going on between you guys?"
It couldn't possibly be that his sister had gone mad.
And started dating... one of these two?
Shen Wenta trembled all over at the thought of this possibility, unable to control the mad urge to take a gun and shoot the two men in front of him.
Shen Xun and Shen Zhizhao exchanged a glance.
They were the first to know the secret regarding Shen Yi.
In that single glance, the two brothers simultaneously realized something: the other party seemed to know something as well.
Shen Zhizhao replied coldly, "Can't tell you."
"Third Brother," Shen Xun said kindly, "You can guess for yourself."
Shen Wenta: "..."
"What on earth are you hiding from me?" He tossed out the absurd idea of his sister dating one of them and tried hard to calm down.
Where did Shen Xun and Shen Zhizhao get this tacit understanding? They actually looked as if they perfectly understood each other.
Shen Wenta felt an inexplicable sense of being excluded.
However, the good thing was that the stupid pig Shen Ruxu didn't seem to know anything either.
For this, he actually felt a slight, pathetic sense of comfort...
