……
The two children Shen Yi spent the most time with were Shen Zhizhao and Shen Ruxu.
Compared with Shen Zhizhao’s obedience, Shen Ruxu had never been well-behaved. When he was in his teens, he had already been preparing to leave home and wander the world alone.
Shen Yi quietly came to the side of this rebellious runaway and suddenly asked, “Why did you run away from home? Your mother will be worried.”
When Shen Ruxu noticed her, he smiled carelessly. “I already told Mom. Do you want to come with me?”
“I’ve always been alone. It’s boring.” The boy’s voice was so light and airy that it hardly sounded like an invitation, merely a casual remark spoken with a grin.
Yet Shen Yi was the only person who, after hearing such an absurd statement, neither called him crazy nor turned him down.
Instead, she went along with it and asked, “Then where do you want to go?”
“Anywhere. Wherever.” Shen Ruxu was caught off guard by her reaction. The smile at the corners of his lips faded for a moment, then returned as a genuine, unguarded smile, filled with childlike innocence. “We can drift from place to place. We can go anywhere.”
And so, Shen Yi agreed.
She truly did accompany Shen Ruxu through a long stretch of aimless wandering, traveling from place to place with no destination in mind.
……
Shen Yi thought her third brother would grow into the most melancholy man in the world.
When her eldest brother was sad, he would cry and tell her what was bothering him. When the Black-and-White Cat was unhappy, he would run away and go wreak havoc on other people. But when he was depressed, he would simply stare blankly—standing by a window or going up to the rooftop to prop up his chin and stare into space.
Shen Yi sat down beside him on the railing. Her legs dangled over the edge, swaying dozens of stories above the ground, as she turned her head to look at him.
“Why do you keep staring into space?”
Shen Wenta suddenly noticed her. He tilted his head slightly and stared at her expressionlessly, his pupils as black as the mouth of a bottomless well.
“What are you?”
“A wandering ghost.”
Shen Wenta let out a cold laugh, turned around, and walked away, the hem of his clothes stirring up a breeze.
Shen Yi followed him into the piano room. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the moon shone brightly, its silvery-white light spreading across the floor.
Shen Wenta sat down in front of the piano. His fingers rested on the keys, but he did not press them. He merely propped up his chin with an expressionless face and continued staring blankly.
Judging by his age, he should have been around fifteen now—the worst period of his life, when he was at his most cruel and inhuman.
Shen Yi picked up the violin that had been discarded in the corner and drew the bow across the strings a few times.
Over the course of that journey, she had learned to play all sorts of instruments—the piano, guitar, harmonica, and accordion.
Most of it had simply been to pass the endless stretches of time.
“That sounds terrible.” Shen Wenta finally acknowledged her, though he did not even lift his head.
Shen Yi ignored him and finished playing the piece from beginning to end.
During the performance, Shen Wenta pressed a few piano keys. Each note landed precisely where Shen Yi had played off-key, serving as a correction.
“You played that wrong.”
“Oh.”
Shen Wenta no longer had the time to brood.
He turned around, rested his elbow against the back of the piano bench, and gazed at her. “What exactly are you? How did you get in here?”
He had never seen her before. Every door in the house was secured with a security system, yet she had appeared as if out of thin air.
“Are you really a wandering ghost?” Shen Wenta pressed.
He picked up his phone.
He had casually taken a video while she was playing the violin.
When he had recorded it, her figure had clearly been visible on the screen. But when he played it back, the video showed only the empty piano room and a violin suspended in midair.
Shen Yi had vanished, as though she had never existed.
Shen Yi covered her mouth. “I can’t believe you figured it out.”
She nodded with a smile. “That’s right. I’m already dead.”
“You’re dead?”
“Something like that.”
“You’re a ghost?” He clasped his hands together, interlocking his fingers over his knees. “I can help you. So who killed you? Tell me their name. No one here would dare offend me.”
That standard entitled-rich-kid declaration made Shen Yi laugh. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I’m already dead.”
Shen Wenta frowned. “You don’t believe me?”
“That’s not it.” Shen Yi hopped onto the windowsill and sat down, swinging her legs. “It’s just that my situation is too complicated, and…”
“I’ve been accompanying all of you for this long. That isn’t why I’m here.”
……
When Shen Xun went on his first mission, Shen Yi followed him as well, retracing every step he took.
“Why are you following me?” Shen Xun tilted his head, completely baffled by her presence. “You follow me, but you don’t help me. Why?”
Shen Yi clasped her hands behind her back and spun around once. “You’re going to become an independent assassin, after all. I can keep you company and chat with you, but I absolutely will not help. You have to learn how to handle things yourself.”
Shen Xun grew a little angry.
He stopped speaking to her.
Later, Shen Xun was injured during a mission.
Shen Yi still helped him clean up the aftermath, casually stabbing to death the target who had come after them.
Shen Xun was equally confused by the help from this stranger. “I’ve never seen you before. Why did you help me?”
Shen Yi looked outside, the ends of her hair lifting in the wind. “I know you don’t know me, but I’ve been with all of you for a very long time.”
Having been alone for too long, she had developed the habit of muttering to herself. “But seriously, I’m not some all-powerful fairy godmother who appears right on time whenever you need her. I can’t clean up every mess for you. You have to learn to protect yourself.”
—She had been with them for a very long time?
Those words immediately prompted Shen Xun to ask, “Then what is your relationship with us?”
Shen Yi answered, “Family.”
“I’ve never seen you before. But Mom once told me that family are the people you protect no matter what, even if it means going against everything.” He spoke calmly, then suddenly turned to face her. “So, are you protecting us?”
“Yes.” Shen Yi admitted it without hesitation. When she looked back at him, her expression was difficult to read. She earnestly told him, “So you must never accidentally die again. It would be very difficult to bring you all back a second time.”
“I’ve been walking alone for too long.”
“I hope all of you can be happy.”
Shen Sixing abruptly shut the box.
The image went black.
His face was as pale as a sheet of paper.
He lowered his head and pressed his forehead against the cold tabletop, his shoulders trembling faintly.
