Shen Yi felt that she had vaguely caught a thread of a clue, but that thought was soon erased, vanishing without a trace.
She pressed a hand to her forehead and shook her head, forcing herself not to think about so many complicated things.
The system had repeatedly reminded Shen Yi:
All choices stem from your heart. You may do whatever you want. The ending is predetermined, and your ending will be a happy one.
Keep moving forward, and you will understand the truth behind every story.
Shen Yi pressed her forehead and looked at Shen Ruxu before asking the system softly, “Can I stay in this world a little longer?”
The system replied: [Of course. You can stay for as long as you like.]
After receiving its answer, Shen Yi finally relaxed.
If the future storyline was destined to unfold, then in this time and space, she wanted to take on the role of a protector and help remove every obstacle in their path.
Sensing her thoughts, the system could not help saying quietly: [Xiao Yi, being alone will get boring. Being forgotten isn’t a good thing.]
As the embodiment of the world’s consciousness, it understood better than anyone that humans were social creatures.
Loneliness often drove people mad.
Shen Yi said, “It’s not as if I’ll be completely forgotten. We can still chat for a while. Don’t worry, System. Don’t I still have you?”
The system immediately fell silent.
After a long pause, it muttered: [You really are the strangest person I’ve ever met. Perhaps this is only a parallel universe. What’s so special about it that you’re willing to stay behind and guard them? They’ve only ever been a little kind to you.]
Shen Yi did not agree. “They’ve always loved me. From the time I was little, I’ve been the one receiving their care. So to me, this isn’t a big deal. All I have to do is endure a little loneliness.”
In life, some things came down to who had the courage to stake everything on the line.
Shen Yi’s basic principle was simple: whoever treated her well, she would risk everything for.
It was only a little loneliness.
It didn’t matter.
In this time and space, she would protect them.
……
Perhaps because the future Shen Yi was only fifteen years old, her appearance and height had also been fixed at the age she was in this time and space.
And as someone forgotten by the entire world, Shen Yi came to understand what it meant for Earth Online to be one enormous open-world game.
When she was hungry, she would randomly pick a lucky restaurant and eat her fill. When she was tired, she would brazenly find an unoccupied home and sleep there.
After all, every trace she left behind would be wiped away by time, eventually returning everything to peace and stillness.
……
After Shen Ruxu was born, the Shen family became much livelier.
The two brothers were a little over two years apart. Normally, one would expect the older brother to bully the younger one.
But the reality was—
Shen Zhizhao was the one getting bullied by Shen Ruxu.
The first time Shen Yi witnessed this, she was utterly incredulous.
Shen Ruxu didn’t know whether he was simply being fed too well, but he was extremely chubby.
His little arms and legs were plump and pudgy, and when he ran, he looked like a rolling ball.
When the two of them fought, the thin and frail Shen Zhizhao was no match for the big, chubby Shen Ruxu.
Sometimes, Shen Yi felt anxious just watching from the sidelines.
What a wimp, Dahei!
Why does he have exactly the same spineless streak as his old man?!
Shen Yi was deeply disappointed in her little brother.
She was also deeply disappointed in Shen Ruxu, that Black-and-White Cat. He really was that fat, and he had been sly and mean-spirited since childhood, bullying her poor, helpless Dahei!
From time to time, Shen Yi would also help the two new parents look after the children.
For example, when Shen Sixing was hammering away at code in front of his computer until he was practically unconscious, and Shen Zhizhao began crying in the crib next door, Shen Yi would pick up the baby, whose face had turned red from crying.
By the time Shen Sixing came rushing into the nursery, the child had already stopped crying.
The young man tilted his head, pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, and mumbled sleepily, “Has the Baby God shown up?”
Then he buried his head in his work and went back to typing code.
Shen Yi: “……”
To Shen Yi, not being remembered meant absolute freedom.
She helped her parents solve all kinds of problems at work and in their daily lives. When the two of them were short on money, Shen Yi could even scrape together a pile of lottery tickets and leave the winning tickets on their table.
Even the most easygoing person would realize that something was wrong after that.
So one evening, Shen Sixing sat at the dining table with his chin propped in his hand and suddenly said, “Honey, don’t you think our luck has been ridiculously good lately?”
Wen Ya was folding clothes. At his words, she looked up and nodded.
“I’ve noticed it too.”
She pondered for a moment. “Who do you think is helping us?”
“Could it be something like—” Shen Sixing gestured, drawing a circle in the air with his finger. “A kind stray cat trying to repay a debt of gratitude, bringing us all the unwanted mice it catches?”
Wen Ya smacked him on the head. “It’s not some stray cat bringing us unwanted mice. Someone gave us a winning lottery ticket today. We should be grateful.”
Shen Sixing covered his forehead. His eyes curved as he smiled and nodded. “I know. I really do suspect that someone’s been secretly helping us. Whenever I’m so tired I can barely stay awake, our baby cries twice and then somehow falls asleep on his own. He’s incredibly well-behaved.”
He cupped both hands beside his face, spreading his fingers in the sort of adoring pose commonly seen in shoujo manga.
Raising his voice in exaggerated, dramatic fashion, Shen Sixing cried, “Oh, great Baby God, are you the one secretly helping us?”
Wen Ya burst out laughing at his antics and punched him lightly.
“Cut it out.”
Hidden behind the curtains, Shen Yi had heard the entire conversation.
She was still clutching the teething stick she used to soothe Shen Ruxu to sleep.
“……”
The hell with this Baby God!
She was the one who had been helping them all along!
……
Shen Yi had only helped her parents care for those two children.
Not long after Wen Ya and Shen Sixing’s third child was born, he was taken away by the old, deeply traditional couple in the Shen family because of his health.
Shen Yi secretly followed them back to the Shen household.
When she saw Shen Wenta, she couldn’t help feeling her heart tighten.
He had been so weak as a baby.
He was even thinner than Shen Zhizhao had been at birth. His skin was so delicate that the bluish veins beneath it were visible, and his breathing was so faint that the rise and fall of his chest was almost imperceptible.
Shen Yi didn’t even dare touch him. The moment she heard someone approaching, she immediately turned and left.
Qin Ruolan’s voice drifted faintly from inside the room.
“Turn the temperature up a little.”
“The doctor said he can’t be exposed to drafts.”
“Has the bottle been sterilized?”
Grandmother really was as responsible as ever.
There was no need for an ordinary person like Shen Yi to worry about the life of the future Ruler of Earth.
So after watching for a while, she left.
