Wen Ya felt a little strange under her gaze. "This child…"
She thought for a moment, then looked up at Shen Sixing. "Is she your sister?"
Shen Sixing flashed a bright grin and nodded. "Yep."
He pulled Shen Yi over, pressed her head close to his face, and asked teasingly, "Don't we look alike?"
Wen Ya studied them seriously for two seconds.
Actually, they really didn't look much alike.
The girl had a slightly mixed-race look—amber-colored eyes, very large, with softly wavy hair. Set next to his plain, boyish face, there was no resemblance whatsoever.
The only things they had in common were that they were both very fair-skinned and both had little curls.
Wen Ya didn't want to answer that question. She handed the paper bag to Shen Yi and said softly, "These are some desserts I baked. You can try them."
Shen Yi was delighted.
Her mother had always loved cooking and would constantly make all sorts of pastries in her spare time.
She'd been in this place for a month now.
She was sick of eating fast food every single day.
Compared to the future version of her mother, if there was one major difference in the younger Wen Ya, it was that she was much more naive.
Shen Yi had no intention of interrupting her parents. She opened the paper bag, took out a dessert, and sat obediently on the other end of the sofa.
Watching the exchange between the two with great interest.
Over the course of the next conversation, Shen Sixing told Wen Ya a half-truth, half-lie story about how hard it was for the "siblings" to depend on each other.
He made up a full story: a strict father, a harsh mother, a useless younger brother, and himself—kicked out of the house at fifteen to fend for himself.
Plus a little sister he had to support.
It sounded like a very complicated and absurd family situation.
Shen Yi sat nearby, listening to him tell his sob story with great emotion while wearing that utterly fake expression. Her only thought was:
—There's no way she's buying this, right, Mom?
This nonsense was even less believable than a con man's pitch.
But Wen Ya bought it.
When she heard the part about "kicked out at fifteen," she even let out a soft gasp, her eyes full of sympathy.
Then Shen Sixing went on to add some of his "heroic deeds" in the workforce.
From being kicked out at fifteen and working odd jobs in every corner of the city, to now becoming a police officer who protects the people from harm.
He wove in all sorts of details.
Like having his wages docked by a heartless boss, squatting by the roadside eating from a lunchbox, and living in a drafty rental in the winter.
"That sounds so hard," Wen Ya said, biting her lower lip. "You've really been through a lot."
Shen Sixing knew that a man who only played the victim would inspire pity, but not attraction.
He needed to show off his resilient side.
So next, Shen Sixing's criminal associates all became material for his heroic exploits.
He told Wen Ya all about how many dangerous criminals he'd taken down in his career.
From his story, he came across as someone with unflappable decision-making under pressure, loyalty to his comrades, and a strong sense of duty.
Wen Ya clasped her hands together in admiration, her eyes shining.
"Wow, you're so brave."
After hearing it all, she was extremely impressed with him.
And internally, she pulled up her checklist for the ideal partner, matching every item against Shen Sixing.
—Brave.
Yes, he could subdue dangerous criminals with his bare hands. He was a brave man.
—Smart.
He'd memorized her number after only hearing it once, which proved he had a good head on his shoulders.
—Humorous.
You could tell from the way he randomly howled like a wolf in the middle of the night that he was a man with a sense of humor.
—He must listen to me in the future.
And in the future, he'd dare not listen to her?
Wen Ya added that one too.
He fit her ideal partner criteria perfectly.
Oh.
This was a man tailor-made for her.
After chatting for a while, Shen Sixing said he needed to use the bathroom.
The young man looked pale, with a melancholy air of "I've said too much about my painful past and need to go calm down."
His eyelashes drooped, radiating an indescribable sense of grief.
This kind of brooding, mysterious man only made Wen Ya want to marry him and take good care of him even more.
Shen Sixing, at that point, truly couldn't keep the story going. He stumbled to the bathroom, leaned against the door, and couldn't help but cover his mouth as his shoulders shook with laughter.
Wen Ya watched him leave and muttered softly, "I really can't believe your brother has had such a hard life, and yet he still keeps this little family in such good order."
"He's such a…" the young woman thought for a long moment, "tough, silly man!!"
"He won't need to be tough for much longer. His strength is coming very soon."
"…" Shen Yi was exhausted.
Tough, silly man?
During her time working as an assassin in the Archives, she'd heard many people's assessments of her father—cunning, neurotic, lazy, and all sorts of other labels.
But never once had anyone called him a tough, silly man.
"His original family was too awful. He needs my protection."
Shen Yi was stunned into silence.
"Is that what you think?"
"Yes. Don't worry, Xiao Yi." Wen Ya stood solemnly in front of the girl and grabbed her shoulders.
The young woman's eyes sparkled. "This big sister will protect you both. Even if I ever meet your parents, I won't go easy on them."
Shen Sixing had secretly left a listening device under the table.
When he heard that exchange, he nearly doubled over laughing in the bathroom.
…
Shen Yi thought blankly.
So even Shen Sixing's own parents—her mother wouldn't go easy on them either?
Shen Yi silently lit a candle for her grandparents she'd never met.
Then, she bit her lip in frustration.
Shen Yi had noticed something.
The younger version of her mother was clearly a "believer" personality.
Whatever people said, Wen Ya would believe it without doubting whether it made sense.
She'd accepted all of Shen Sixing's made-up story. So what if they told Wen Ya the truth?
With that thought, Shen Yi suddenly reached out and hugged the person in front of her.
The sudden, unexpected closeness made Wen Ya stiffen slightly.
Years of professional training gave her a reflexive reaction to sudden physical contact, and her fingers twitched upward for just a moment.
In the end, reason won out.
She didn't want to start off her first meeting with her future marriage partner by accidentally killing his little sister.
She withdrew her hand and let the soft body press into her embrace.
So soft.
What a strange, wonderful creature.
She had held weapons, held files, but she'd never really held a child before.
Wen Ya felt Shen Yi's arms wrap around her waist, the warmth seeping through the thin sweater, cozy and hot, like a little heater pressed against her.
After a moment's hesitation, she reached out and gently placed her hand on Shen Yi's back.
"Your name is Wen Ya. You're nineteen this year. Your code name is Harbinger Bird, and you work for the Sunday Organization." Shen Yi, buried in her embrace, suddenly began to speak in a rush. "Your original plan was to retire at twenty and find a man with a stable government job, a pension, and one you'd be proud to show off."
"You've loved growing flowers since you were little, but they always die on you."
"In the future, the flowers you keep will never die again—not because your gardening skills have improved, but because Dad has replaced them all with fake ones."
"Yes, every single succulent in our house is fake, but you had no idea, and you still insisted on watering those plastic plants every single day."
