Song Guanyan had always known that one must eventually take responsibility for their actions; it was a truth he had understood since childhood.
But the inherent vice of human nature is that the more unattainable something is, the more desperately one desires it.
The word "if" always provides people with endless hypotheses and fantasies.
If he had not chosen Song Yi, would their family be perfectly happy together right now?
This realization plunged him into an endless cycle of what-ifs and self-doubt, making it impossible for him to let go.
After Shen Yi rejected him, the Shen family, in order to sever his hopes completely, ruthlessly blocked every attempt he made to reach out to her.
Even though he had no way to get close to Shen Yi, Song Guanyan still stubbornly investigated her whereabouts over the years.
Being a father inevitably meant considering certain things. Song Guanyan recognized the reality that Shen Yi would not come back, but even now, he still felt that she might not adapt to life with the Shen family.
The Shen family's involvement in the underworld was an indisputable fact.
With military and political backgrounds, underground forces, and a deeply entrenched network of interests, not a single one of them was someone to be trifled with.
But Shen Yi was not like them.
She was a normal girl.
She deserved a normal life—studying, making friends, falling in love, working, and doing the right things at the right age.
Instead of choosing to get tangled up with the Shen family and facing the darkness and danger she was never meant to face.
In Song Guanyan's eyes, or rather, in the eyes of a father, she had always been a timid child who needed to be protected.
"Come home with me, okay?" Song Guanyan finally managed to see her, desperately wanting to say something to make her stay.
His voice carried an urgent, almost pleading tone. "I've been asking around for news about you, but I could never manage to see you."
"Xiaoyi, Yiyi," he called her, switching affectionate nicknames. "Dad isn't asking you to change your name back or live with us, but you can come back. Just treat it as a place to stay."
Shen Yi stopped in her tracks and looked back at him.
"Sir." She sighed, feeling that communicating with him was impossible.
"Why do you keep assuming that I'm living a miserable life?"
She was actually doing quite well for herself now.
Song Guanyan seemed very anxious as well, rubbing his face.
His fingers pressed against his eye sockets, his knuckles turning white, and his complexion looked rather poor.
"Yiyi."
"Don't call me that." Shen Yi felt a bit nauseous. A physiological discomfort churned in her stomach, causing her to frown. "You can call me by my name, my full name."
"..."
Acting as if he couldn't understand human speech, Song Guanyan stubbornly stuck to his previous address. "Yiyi, they are not like you."
Shen Yi was curious. "How are they different?"
She wasn't exactly a good person herself, after all.
Song Guanyan smiled bitterly. "I know what the Shen family does. Yiyi, you are not suited to be with them."
He felt that those people would only eat her alive.
Over the years, Song Guanyan had been piecing together his daughter's personality from the things she did at school.
She was somewhat stubborn and liked to see things through to the bitter end, no matter how dark the path.
She was exactly like her mother.
She would be torn to pieces in that world, utilized, and consumed until nothing was left.
It shouldn't have been like this.
She was fragile and needed protection. She was only fifteen years old. She deserved a normal life, not to be dealing with the devilish Shen family.
Shen Yi took a deep breath.
"You are really annoying," she said. "You keep talking to yourself, defining my current life based on your own imagination."
"I don't really like looking back. Even if I crash and bleed, I won't turn my head around."
In her past life, she had no choice.
In this life, she chose it herself.
Whatever the ending might be, she would not regret it.
Song Guanyan still wanted to speak, perhaps to express the belated remorse of a father.
But Shen Yi no longer wanted to listen. She walked briskly toward the center of the ball.
...
The music of the ball began to play.
The first piece was a waltz, a classic tune.
Warm-toned lights illuminated the dance floor in the center of the banquet hall, casting a glow from above.
Pairs of men and women began to step onto the dance floor. The hemlines of the dresses bloomed like flowers as they spun, then closed like buds, resembling some kind of exotic flora that only bloomed at night.
The scene was incredibly romantic.
To Shen Wenta, however, this sight was particularly grating. He found balls annoying the moment he saw them, recalling that Shen Yi had told him earlier she would be dancing the opening dance with someone.
During this time, he had sent countless messages to Shen Yi. His tone had shifted from initial inquiries to questioning, and then from questioning to something bordering on a threat.
[Are you dancing with some ugly guy right now?]
[Reply to me!!]
[Are you sure you're not going to reply?]
Every single message sank like a stone in the ocean.
Beside his ear, a few partners were talking animatedly. Because they were from the same country, it was inevitable that they would discuss the prominent families invited to the event.
Someone nearby mentioned, "The heir of the Sui family is here too. This guy is quite bold, daring to attend a formal occasion. Isn't he afraid that the people in his family might try to assassinate him?"
Shen Wenta actually had a pretty good impression of Sui Ning.
He felt that they might make good partners in the future.
The factional struggles within the Sui family had never ceased.
Anyone who could survive in such an environment and reach his current position could not possibly be a simple character.
Shen Wenta looked down at his phone.
He absentmindedly urged Shen Yi to reply, his expression visibly darkening.
As luck would have it, a male member of the Visconti family standing next to him completely failed to read the room.
He chattered on endlessly, first praising Shen Wenta, and then asking if he had any sisters at home.
Shen Wenta's expression was grim, but he still tried to maintain a polite, social fake smile. "What are you trying to do?"
The man smiled and said, "Mr. Shen is so handsome; I imagine your family members must be quite stunning as well."
The slight curve that Shen Wenta had managed to force onto his lips completely vanished.
The man continued, "Marriage is the best way to unite two families, isn't it? If we could become a family—"
"What kind of inferior trash are you?"
Shen Wenta rudely interrupted him, the fake smile finally disappearing from his face, replaced by unadulterated disgust.
"Why don't you look in the mirror and see for yourself?"
He spoke in Chinese, so the Italian man didn't understand.
The translator standing nearby heard it but didn't dare to translate.
Shen Wenta sneered.
"Translator," he said, his smile brief and mocking. "Why don't you translate that for him to hear?"
Translator: "..."
He was playing dead.
Seeing that the translator made no move, the Italian man asked, "What did he say?"
"He told you to look in the mirror," the translator could only offer a heavily edited response.
The Italian man didn't realize he had been insulted and laughed. "Oh, I have certainly looked in the mirror today, and I am as radiant as ever."
Shen Wenta was speechless at this foreigner who couldn't understand human speech.
His gaze was currently wandering over the ball, trying to catch a glimpse of Shen Yi's silhouette.
Upon catching sight of Shen Yi standing next to a man, Shen Wenta's expression grew visibly dark.
He quickly stepped forward to approach them.
...
