“Wi-wife?” He repeated, his voice cracking, the final syllable rising into an incredulous arc: “Say that again?”
The expression on the young man's face was a riot of emotion—absurdity, and a hint of being mildly offended. It finally settled into a twisted grin that screamed, “Are you kidding me?”
He let go of her hand and took half a step back.
“Do you even know what ‘wife’ means?” He bent down to meet her eyes, his tone carrying the kind of patience you’d use to correct a child’s misunderstanding. “That’s something you only call someone after you’re married. I’m only eighteen.”
“I’m not married. I can’t have a wife.”
“And there’s no way your mom is my—”
He stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing how absurd it was to seriously discuss the concept of “wife” with an eight-year-old.
Shen Sixing straightened up and rubbed his face with his hand.
“Alright,” he said, his tone reverting to its earlier coldness. “Whether what you said is true or not, I’m not raising you. Go.”
He reached out his hand again to take hers.
Shen Yi shrank back a step.
“Hey, don’t you want to know what your wife looks like?” She persisted, trying to make him understand: “My mom—she’s super gorgeous!”
Shen Sixing crossed his arms and watched her gesture wildly, his face expressionless.
“Even if your mom were a celestial being, I wouldn’t like her.” He tilted his head, suddenly amused, and started rambling nonsense: “My ideal lover is a heroic figure—one day she’ll save me from trouble in front of everyone.”
“I’m not that shallow guy who only cares about looks. Even if your mom is beautiful, can she come rescue me riding on a cloud?”
He said it with an utterly straight face, his eyes even carrying a hint of longing.
An unconscious “Wow” escaped Shen Yi’s lips.
She tilted her head and looked at him with an indescribable expression. “That’s so cringey.”
Shen Sixing’s face went blank.
“Are you done?” He stated coldly, his tone colder than before. “I’m sending you away.”
He thought he’d been pretty gentle with her.
If it were any of his subordinates or business associates daring to pester him like this, he’d make them understand—the price for hounding him would be getting shot on the spot.
Seeing how determined he was to dump her at an orphanage, Shen Yi sidestepped, nimbly dodging the hand he extended. She grabbed the stair railing, flipped over, and used the momentum to swing herself down lightly.
Her landing was clean and precise.
Standing two steps below, the girl looked up at him, the corner of her mouth lifting: “Shen Sixing, you can’t catch me.”
The hallway was dimly lit, and from below, her expression was hard to read—whether it was challenge or triumph.
Shen Sixing leaned against the stairwell wall, looking down at her.
He had to admit it.
She was right.
Kids really were more agile than adults.
Plus, she was unbelievably strong.
Normal eight-year-old girls, when grabbed by the wrist, might just twist their arms a bit. But she broke free entirely.
Shen Sixing narrowed his eyes, thinking. What normal kid would dare grab a stair railing and swing down like that?
That was a three-story staircase; the gaps between steps were enough for her to fall through.
Yet this girl didn’t even blink when jumping, and she controlled her center of gravity perfectly on the landing.
So strange.
Everything about her was strange.
Shen Sixing pushed off from the wall, walked down two steps, and stopped above her.
“How do you know my name?” he asked.
And she said it so naturally, as if she’d called it a thousand times.
Shen Yi blinked.
“Guess.”
Shen Sixing stared at her, his pupils cold in the hallway’s dim light.
Suddenly, he wasn’t in a hurry to send her to the orphanage.
Originally, it was simple. A mysterious kid shows up—just drop her off at a welfare agency.
But not anymore.
She had things about her that couldn’t be explained.
Why would a child know how to disassemble a gun? How could she swing down from three flights of stairs unharmed?
For someone this unique, Shen Sixing could only think of one old profession: an assassin.
If this kid were an assassin, then her parents wouldn’t be ordinary either.
Earlier, Shen Yi had babble nonsense about her mom being his wife.
Shen Sixing never believed that for a second.
An eighteen-year-old broke kid who couldn’t even support himself—how could he have a wife?
As for her mom, if she was still alive, she probably wasn’t simple either.
Now here’s where it got interesting.
Before, he could just dismiss Shen Yi’s words as gibberish.
But at just eight years old, why did she act so familiar with him?
He looked at Shen Yi, paused for two seconds, and said, “Come on up.”
Shen Yi was stunned. “You’re not sending me away?”
“No,” Shen Sixing said without turning back, his voice drifting down from the corner of the stairs. “I’ve changed my mind now.”
Shen Yi caught up in three quick steps, following behind him.
She was so much shorter than him that she had to crane her neck to see the back of his head.
“I won’t send you away for now.”
“But,” he bent down to meet her eyes again.
The young man’s face up close was noticeably leaner, his gaze calm and focused, without any malice or strong emotion.
“One, who are you.”
“Two, where do you come from.”
“Three, why do you know me.”
“Four—” He paused to choose his words, biting his lower lip until it flushed with a slightly unhealthy color, then quickly said, “What’s your mother’s name.”
Shen Yi burst into a smile.
Even covering her ears, she could hear the damned curiosity in Shen Sixing’s voice.
Curiosity was good.
Curiosity would make him keep her around.
“I can answer you,” Shen Yi said, mimicking his tone. “But you have to promise me one thing too.”
Shen Sixing tilted his head. “Go ahead.”
Shen Yi stepped forward half a pace, stood in front of him, and looked up.
“Promise me that until you find the answers, you won’t throw me away.”
Her eyes were big, her pupils dark, with his reflection shimmering inside them.
Shen Sixing thought to himself.
This wasn’t a great deal.
He had never planned to raise a kid long-term.
But then again, Shen Sixing couldn’t resist the urge to dig into the mystery she represented.
So he nodded. “Fine.”
Shen Yi hopped up in front of him. “Nice working with you, Shen Sixing.”
Shen Sixing lowered his eyes, looking tired and uninterested.
He had a feeling.
His dull, predictable life was about to fall completely into chaos.
Shen Sixing gestured for Shen Yi to move aside.
Then the young man crouched down, turned sideways, grabbed the edge of the door panel, and muttered, “I’ve got to fix the door. Move away.”
Honestly, he didn’t care much about the door being broken—but in winter, if it didn’t close, the wind would blow in.
And the wind would make it freezing cold.
Shen Sixing didn’t want to freeze in winter, so he had to do it himself to get by.
