Shen Ruxu tilted his head with a hint of curiosity.
Was he going to wear women's clothing?
"No, no, no, I meant the two of you, of course."
Shen Yi rummaged through her closet with great enthusiasm, pulling out several little dresses their mother had bought, her voice stretching out with playful twists and turns:
"Big brother~~"
Catching onto her intention, Shen Xun's face instantly fell.
"No."
He refused.
He turned to leave.
He would rather go to the trouble of killing a few more people and sneaking in than be someone's female companion.
To him, rivers of blood were far more acceptable than wearing a dress.
A river of blood didn't involve his own blood, but a dress was something he had to personally experience.
"Don't go!"
Shen Yi reached out to grab him.
Shen Xun immediately pulled back, his steps shifting as he dodged with keen agility.
Noticing the flicker of excitement in Shen Yi's expression, his brow twitched.
He was being cornered.
"Even though the wanted criminal Shen Ruxu's face isn't a secret, if you two become girls, no one would ever guess your real identities are assassin and wanted fugitive."
Shen Yi kept pushing relentlessly, her logic clear. "I think it's a great idea."
"Not only would they not think of it, we never would have either," Shen Ruxu laughed, tilting his head with interest. "It actually sounds kind of fun."
Shen Yi knew her second brother would back her up. Brimming with joy, she said, "Right? Right?"
"And you?" Shen Zhizhao raised an eyebrow at the unreliable suggestion, looking at her. "If they're wearing dresses, what role are you playing?"
Shen Yi answered with confidence, quickly replying, "I can be a waitress!"
With that, she bowed to the three of them, her movements perfectly practiced.
"Pleasure to serve you ladies."
"How about that?"
Her voice was deliberately sweet and syrupy.
The three of them stared at her with dead fish eyes in unison: "..."
Caught off guard by their lifeless gazes, Shen Yi bit her lip and muttered, "No? Then I could be Big Brother's female companion, so you'd have three female companions."
Shen Zhizhao slowly dismissed her idea. "You barely count as a girl, let alone fit the standards of a female companion."
He had brought many female companions before, and the minimum requirement was always someone over eighteen.
Shen Yi felt he was just looking down on her. Couldn't a minor be a female companion?
Wasn't Sui Ning the first to invite her at the start of the banquet?
Shen Ruxu suddenly leaned in, closing the distance to Shen Yi.
He cleared his throat and bent down, his clear, youthful voice shifting slightly, becoming melodious and beautiful, like pearls falling on a jade plate. "Xiao Yi."
His crisp female voice made Shen Yi shiver all over.
She spun her head abruptly, visibly stunned. "Second, Second Brother?"
"You can do that?"
"Hm? Surprised?" He raised his pitch a little, then switched back to his natural voice, meeting his sister's wide, shocked eyes with a teasing grin. "I'm an intelligence broker. It's a little trick for stealing information."
He had no scruples. Back when his subordinates couldn't get useful intel, he'd take matters into his own hands, catfishing various political and military bigwigs online to con them out of secret intelligence.
After hearing this, Shen Yi was utterly in awe.
"Second Brother, with skills like that, you'd succeed in any criminal enterprise."
"I didn't want this either, Xiao Yi, but raising those useless subordinates is exhausting. They're too dumb," Shen Ruxu said, hugging a pillow, squishing himself against Shen Yi. He rambled on about how many people he'd killed this month and how he'd executed a few traitors who leaked intel.
His tone was light and cheerful, but the content was basically a murderer's confession memoir.
So disturbing.
Shen Yi even pictured him working with cold efficiency on an assembly line—endless scams, endless intelligence, endless kills.
Truly a living hell.
And from what she heard, Shen Ruxu's life was indeed incredibly dull.
No wonder no matter how brightly he smiled, a dark, gloomy aura clung to him.
Hesitantly, Shen Yi reached out and ruffled his messy hair, trying to comfort him.
Suddenly, a thought struck her. She asked:
"Second Brother, your hair isn't curly, is it?"
"Mm," Shen Ruxu tilted his head, his amber eyes looking at her. "Mom has straight hair. Do you really like curly hair?"
His hair and Big Brother's weren't naturally curly; they were straight.
Because of that, their hair often stuck up in unruly tufts.
Combined with his lazy demeanor, he looked like an internet-addicted teenager.
"Not really. Curly hair is hard to manage; mess it up and it turns into a bird's nest."
Shen Yi just found it amusing. She'd come up with a perfect metaphor.
"You're a short-haired cat, so you're a neurotic cow cat. Big Brother's a short-haired cat too, he's a big black cat. Third Brother is a gorgeous long-haired Ragdoll, and Shen Xun is a Devon Rex."
Shen Ruxu followed her train of thought and offered a suggestion: "Wouldn't Xiao Xun be more accurately a stray cat?"
"Right! Stray cats are incredibly tough too." Shen Yi's eyes lit up.
The whole group had been turned into cats.
Shen Xun quickly searched his mind for information about the Devon Rex.
And tried to compare himself to one.
Shen Zhizhao hadn't expected her to see him that way.
A pitch-black cat?
He found her imagination somewhat amusing and couldn't help asking, "And you, Xiao Yi? What kind of cat are you?"
"I'm obviously a human," Shen Yi said smugly.
She was the noble human.
"No way—" Shen Ruxu complained. "That's unfair."
He wanted to be a human too.
Shen Yi waved her hand and promised him, "I'll be a good cat owner someday and take care of all of you."
Shen Ruxu thought for a moment, then gave in after three seconds. "Fine then."
He had no backbone at all.
Shen Zhizhao didn't dwell too long on why he was a pitch-black cat.
He pulled out a red dress and said flatly, "Xiao Xun, what do you think of this one?"
Shen Xun: "No way."
Shen Yi: "What about this pink one?"
Shen Xun: "No."
He turned and tried to slip away.
Shen Zhizhao and Shen Ruxu simultaneously blocked Shen Xun's path.
Shen Ruxu laughed. "Come on, little brother, don't be shy."
Big Brother also encouraged him. "Go ahead and show yourself."
Then, with a shifty explanation, he added, "Honestly, none of us will laugh. Sometimes assassins have to use disguises as part of their basic prep work, Xiao Xun."
Shen Xun: "..."
He struggled wildly, his calm thoughts shattered. He was almost scared into screaming.
No way.
That would be a disgrace!
The young man twisted his body, using a clever momentum to break free from the two, flipped neatly from the second floor to the first, and tried to escape this terrifying place.
Shen Ruxu grinned and exchanged a glance with Big Brother, clearly not about to let their youngest brother off so easily.
"Come on, Xiao Xun."
What's the point of having a little brother if you can't mess with him?
Shen Ruxu grabbed the carved railing of the staircase, swung himself in a half-circle using the momentum, and landed steadily about three steps behind Shen Xun.
Shen Zhizhao followed suit.
The two of them boxed Shen Xun in, one ahead and one behind.
Shen Yi stood frozen for two seconds, then watching the scene unfold, she nearly died laughing.
She quickly dropped the skirt she had been clutching and let out a cheer, eager to join the fray. Leaning half her body over the second-floor railing, she shouted twice in an exaggerated tone:
“What’s going on here?”
The young girl feigned surprise, covering her mouth, her voice dramatic enough for a prime-time soap opera: “How is it that, the moment I step away, the whole world is picking on my boy?!”
Shen Xun’s escape nearly faltered at her words; he stumbled half a step, losing his footing.
After delivering this domineering line, Shen Yi also nimbly flipped over the railing, leaping down with a sweeping arc of her skirt:
“Brother, brother, count me in, count me in!”
“I’ll help you fight off those evil black cat and spotted cow cat!”
The butler watched in shock as the children all rushed out one after another.
“…” These kids are turning the house into an extreme jumping sport arena.
