Without a doubt, choosing between Dad and Mom had been a dilemma for centuries.
The two of them argued back and forth until Shen Yi's head began to ache.
“Stop arguing already!” the girl shouted, tugging at the hair beside her ear. “I want half of Dad and half of Mom!”
“…”
As soon as she said that, Wen Ya and Shen Sixing both turned to stare at Shen Yi, their eyes filled with speculation.
Half of Dad and half of Mom?
Did the child want them sliced horizontally or vertically?
The top half of Dad paired with the bottom half of Mom, or Dad on the left and Mom on the right?
Were they supposed to piece together a whole person?
From a practical standpoint, Shen Yi's answer posed enormous difficulties.
With two pairs of eyes fixed on her, Shen Yi felt the hair rise on the back of her neck. She buried her face a little deeper in her cup of instant noodles, clearly unwilling to answer the question of whom she would go with.
Shen Sixing was the first to come back to his senses. Clearing his throat, he said, “Of course she'll choose me.”
The corners of Wen Ya's mouth lifted. The sarcasm on her face was impossible to conceal as she looked him up and down. “Choose you, you penniless loser? Living with you, she'd drink northwest wind until it gave her diarrhea.”
For the first time, Shen Sixing discovered that he was completely outmatched by her when it came to words.
“I won't be poor forever…” he muttered. “My surname is Shen.”
Wen Ya narrowed her eyes.
“I do know of a family with the surname Shen,” Wen Ya said. “They're a prominent old-money clan with quite a reputation. A lot of wealthy families prefer to bypass us professional assassins and instead choose companies under the Shen family's umbrella.”
She leaned closer and lightly hooked a finger beneath his chin.
Shen Sixing looked so wretched, head lowered and expression unreadable. Wen Ya wanted him to lift his head, but she was still skeptical. “You really are a Shen? Then what happened to your backbone? Stand a little taller.”
“Shen Sixing, how did you manage to turn yourself into this pathetic, half-dead wreck? You look like you've been dead for almost three years.”
Shen Sixing was ticklish. He flinched and tried to dodge, but failed. His whole body instinctively pressed backward, looking weak and helpless.
This isn't good, Wen Ya thought.
Why did he look so easy to bully?
He was nearly a head taller than her. Just now, he had still been glaring coldly and threatening people. But now that her fingertip was lifting his chin, he looked as if she had him by the scruff of the neck—soft and limp, as though one poke would send him toppling over.
Even Wen Ya's voice softened. “Why are you acting like this? I haven't even hit you.”
“I'm sorry.” Shen Sixing had also realized that Wen Ya was the sort who softened in the face of weakness rather than responding to force—and he just happened to be very easy to bully.
Whenever Shen Sixing went out, he allowed anyone to bully him.
So he immediately showed her his vulnerable side. “I wasn't deliberately spying on you.”
He gave in so quickly that Wen Ya hadn't even had time to continue berating him. He had already drawn himself into a little ball, speaking in a sticky, clinging tone that seemed to burrow straight into her ears.
It sounded half like he was acting spoiled and half like he was begging for mercy.
Wen Ya froze.
“Forgive me, miss.” He took half a step back and bumped into the table behind him, his waist curving slightly as he leaned against its edge.
His face was clean-cut and full of youthful innocence. His voice was soft. With his chin lightly tilted up and his lashes trembling as they drooped halfway, he looked—
From Wen Ya's angle, that raised face seemed almost like he was asking for a kiss.
Nearby, Shen Yi suddenly covered her eyes. Her fingers were spread wide, and both eyes peered through the gaps, sparkling as she stared in their direction.
She couldn't help letting out a tiny squeal, her voice high and excited.
This is so thrilling.
I want to see more.
The internet-addicted teenage boys watching from the side were also exclaiming over the excitement. “Kid, what kind of family do you come from? Are your parents even speaking human language? What on earth are they mumbling about?”
Shen Yi's mind was completely occupied with other thoughts.
Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!
Her parents were far too innocent. How could they still not kiss when things had already gone this far?
Wen Ya really couldn't stand seeing him look so pitiful, so she let go.
Shen Sixing's chin dropped into empty space. He blinked faintly, then lifted his eyelids to look at her.
Wen Ya raised her head.
Their breaths were close enough to mingle.
Wen Ya asked, “You're an assassin?”
Shen Sixing silently let out a breath of relief. Instead of answering, he asked, “You're an assassin too?”
“It's not the same,” Wen Ya said. “It's my profession. It's my job.”
“I'm part of a family business. My mother used to be an assassin.”
Wen Ya fell silent.
…Was it hereditary?
“You lied to me and told me you were working odd jobs outside, and that you were a police officer who fought crime,” she said.
Shen Sixing smiled. “As you can see, I really am working odd jobs outside. I need to raise a child. And I have always been doing police work.”
Just not the kind of police work she meant.
Wen Ya's vision went dark. She couldn't help reaching out and pinching his cheek.
At eighteen, he was at the most fresh-faced age of his life. His eyes widened, and with a hint of baby fat on his face, he looked exceptionally well-behaved.
Wen Ya asked, “In other words, have you killed a lot of people?”
“And is your identity so complicated that being with you would bring a great deal of trouble?”
Shen Sixing's pupils shifted slightly. He gave a soft hum.
“So you ran away like a spineless coward?” Wen Ya asked.
“Yes.” His voice rolled up from his throat, his face expressionless. “I like things to stay the same.”
“I never wanted to be a child's father.”
Shen Yi blinked.
That answer was more or less what she had expected from Shen Sixing.
Seeing both of them staring at him, Shen Sixing decided he might as well go all the way. His voice grew lower and lower as he continued.
“I don't really like being in close contact with people. It's disgusting.”
“I don't think I'll ever be able to take on any role in this life, whether it's being a father or a husband.”
Wen Ya folded her arms without interrupting him.
Shen Sixing lifted his eyes and looked at Shen Yi, who was leaning over the back of a chair. His tone suddenly softened.
“I have no expectations for the future either.”
“Then one day, Shen Yi suddenly appeared and told me that the future was wonderful, and that I was wonderful too.”
The words “wonderful” and “me” did not belong together in Shen Sixing's mind.
His first reaction was that she had been deceived.
His second was that the future version of him must have been good at pretending—good enough to fool even his own daughter.
“I’m trouble, and my family is trouble too. Yet Shen Yi says I'm a perfect ten in her heart.”
“But she doesn't know me.”
“I'm a terrible person. I hate most of the people in this world, and I've done many bad things in the past.”
“I'm sorry. Whenever I run into a problem, my instinct is always to avoid responsibility. But this time, I'm going to stop running.” Shen Sixing's gaze went unfocused. “I'll try to negotiate with them.”
Shen Sixing wasn't actually sure whether the future Shen Yi described truly existed.
But before he left that night, he had already decided to try negotiating with his family.
It was almost laughable.
He was someone who had never once resisted any of his elders, someone who had spent his days drifting aimlessly. Yet one day, for the sake of an uncertain, far-off future, he found himself learning how to become a proper husband and father.
“…Can you accept me as I am—with my terrible personality and my shameful past?”
He anxiously awaited their answer, as if waiting for the sword hanging over his head to fall.
Shen Sixing waited for that sword to descend, to pass judgment on him.
Or pardon him.
“Ah,” Shen Yi said, growing increasingly puzzled. “Dad, have you really always thought that, in my eyes, you were actually a really good person?”
