A new year, and the whole family had gathered together in perfect harmony, sharing how much they had missed one another… Not quite.
Qin Ruolan and Wen Ya were busy berating the useless men in the family.
The living room was bathed in warm yellow light, which fell across the untouched plate of fruit on the coffee table.
The television was on, but no one was watching. The rebroadcast of the Spring Festival Gala played merrily in the background, doing its best to liven up the room.
The real excitement was taking place on the sofa.
Qin Ruolan and Wen Ya sat side by side, each more graceful than the other in posture, and each more vicious than the other in firepower. The two of them were going on and on about the useless men in the family.
“Our trash can is overflowing,” Wen Ya said, her brows tightly knitted as she jabbed the air twice with her index finger. “Shen Sixing actually used his foot to push the garbage down and told me it wasn’t completely full yet.”
“The trash was already piled up over the rim like a little mountain. How did he manage to survive all these years before meeting me?”
Shen Sixing: “…But I thought that was just common sense?”
“Common sense?”
“Yes. You can press the garbage down to save space,” Shen Sixing explained solemnly. “Press it down once, and you can fit another two days’ worth of trash.”
“Get lost.”
Shen Sixing immediately got lost—to the kitchen, wisely fleeing the scene of the crime.
Qin Ruolan had long since grown accustomed to this sort of thing. She covered her mouth and chuckled twice before speaking in a pointed tone. “His father is exactly the same. Whenever something falls over, he can’t even be bothered to move. He tells me that things don’t need to be picked up when they fall over—they’ll stand up by themselves.”
Wen Ya raised an eyebrow. “They only stand up because the housekeeper or servants happen to pass by and kindly put them back. It’s not because the objects can walk independently.”
Qin Ruolan nodded emphatically and took a sip of tea.
Then she changed the subject, her expression suddenly turning worried. “And there’s Shen Sigui. He’s grown so old and still hasn’t found a partner. What’s he going to do in the future?”
Her main purpose in coming over today was to pressure him into getting married.
It was probably a common affliction among parents. Even assassins weren’t exempt.
Shen Sigui had originally been curled up in a single armchair, scrolling through his phone. He had never expected the conversation to turn to him.
When he heard that Qin Ruolan seemed intent on introducing him to a blind date, he immediately felt a chill run through his entire body. Without stopping for even a moment, he sprinted to the kitchen to join Shen Sixing.
“Why did he run too?” Qin Ruolan asked, puzzled. “I haven’t even said anything yet. Neither of them is normal. Do you think there’s something wrong with the Shen family’s ancestral grave?”
“Sounds like it,” Wen Ya said, nodding with great seriousness. “Otherwise, how could not one of them have attended school properly?”
Shen Shu had been quietly drinking tea nearby. At that, he nearly choked on it.
These two women were being completely unreasonable.
“Shen Shu, say something,” Qin Ruolan demanded. “What do you think about the fact that none of these children are normal?”
Shen Shu set down his teacup, fell silent for two seconds, then stood up. “I’ll go see how things are going in the kitchen.”
Clearly, he had no intention of becoming the ultimate target of these two female assassins’ complaints. He quickened his pace toward the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Shen Sixing was preparing ingredients, getting an early start on breakfast for the following morning.
Shen Sigui leaned against the counter and watched coldly, his arms folded across his chest like a supervisor.
The two men occupied opposite sides of the kitchen and ignored each other completely. The only sound in the air was the steady thock, thock of a knife striking the chopping board.
Then Shen Shu slipped inside with a speed utterly at odds with his usual dignified image.
The three men suddenly made the kitchen feel rather cramped.
Without turning around, Shen Sixing asked, “What are you doing here?”
“Seeking peace and quiet.”
“The kitchen is our territory,” Shen Sigui couldn’t help saying.
Shen Shu replied, “It’s mine now.”
“…”
The kitchen was occupied by the men of the Shen family.
The sofa had been claimed by the two women.
And the center of the living room had been forcefully occupied by Shen Yi and several of her brothers.
It was New Year’s Eve. Fireworks occasionally boomed outside, while the television played in the background, the Spring Festival Gala hosts delivering their opening lines in bright, festive voices. But no one in the family was actually watching.
The coffee table had been pushed to the middle of the room. Five siblings sat around it, a Monopoly board spread across the tabletop.
Shen Yi clutched the dice in her hand and called out eagerly to the others, “Who wants to play?”
“Me!” Shen Ruxu immediately squeezed into the seat beside Shen Yi, his eyes shining. “You want to play a game? Then, Xiao Yi, why don’t you sit after me? I’ll feed you cards.”
Shen Yi said, “This is Monopoly. There’s no such thing as feeding someone cards.”
“Oh.”
He sprawled over the table, resting his chin on the back of his hand as he tilted his head to look at the dice in her hand. “Then I’ll try first.”
As he reached out to snatch the dice, Shen Wenta slapped his hand away. “Do you even know how to play?”
“You can learn if you don’t know.”
“Read the instructions first.” Shen Wenta pulled the sheet of paper from the box and tossed it in front of Shen Ruxu.
Shen Ruxu didn’t even look at it. He simply pushed it aside. “Who reads instructions before playing a game? You’re so boring.”
At that, Shen Yi immediately stuffed the dice into his hand. “You roll first.”
Shen Ruxu rubbed his hands together, summoning the enthusiasm he usually brought to gambling. With solemn reverence, he tossed the dice.
They rolled across the table with a clatter before coming to a stop on six.
He let out a cheer, grabbed his token, and moved it six spaces, landing on an Opportunity square.
Excitedly, the young man flipped over the card and read it aloud. “Pay five hundred dollars to the player on your left as a passing fee—wait, who’s on my left?”
Shen Yi raised her hand with a bright smile. “Me.”
The smile on Shen Ruxu’s face froze.
He lowered his head and counted the pitiful amount of starting money in his hand. Then he looked at the thick stack of bills in front of Shen Yi, which she hadn’t touched yet. After struggling for two seconds, he pulled out a five-hundred-dollar bill and handed it over, muttering, “This game is poorly designed.”
Shen Wenta delivered a chilly retort. “You started playing without even reading the rules, and now you’re saying they’re unreasonable?”
Shen Ruxu turned and bared his teeth at him.
Shen Wenta immediately grinned. “You look like a dog.”
Shen Ruxu replied coldly, “Believe me, I’ll beat you to death.”
Shen Xun ignored them. He rolled the dice with practiced composure, moved three spaces, bought a property, and carefully put away the deed without saying a word.
Then it was Shen Zhizhao’s turn.
He leisurely picked up the dice, rolled them between his fingers for a moment, and let them fall.
The dice rolled five spaces and stopped on a Fate square.
He flipped over the card and glanced at it, the corners of his lips curving slightly.
“Acquire one property belonging to another player. The price is to be negotiated by both parties.”
He lifted his head and swept his gaze over the three others before finally settling on Shen Xun.
“Xiao Xun, will you sell me that property?”
Shen Xun shook his head. “No.”
Shen Zhizhao wasn’t in a hurry. He smiled. “What about the other one?”
“Not selling that one either.”
“In that case, I’ll just acquire Shen Ruxu’s.” He turned to Shen Ruxu, smiling warmly. “The property you just bought—I’ll pay double.”
Shen Ruxu covered his deed and regarded him warily. “Why do you want to buy mine? Wouldn’t it be better to keep your money?”
“Keeping it would be boring,” Shen Zhizhao said. “It’s more fun to buy everything.”
Shen Wenta drawled from the side, “Big brother, you’re playing Monopoly, not orchestrating a real estate merger.”
Shen Zhizhao merely smiled.
After a few rounds, the situation on the board gradually became clear.
Shen Zhizhao’s properties formed a connected stretch, and he kept collecting rent from anyone who passed through.
Shen Wenta didn’t own many properties, but every one of them was in a prime location, and he managed them without a single flaw.
Shen Xun kept all his money clutched in his hand without spending any of it, like a miserly landlord.
Shen Ruxu, meanwhile, bought properties as he went, growing poorer with every purchase. He had so little cash left that light could practically pass through it.
“I’m bankrupt!”
Shen Ruxu made the announcement loudly, then handed his last bill to Shen Zhizhao and collapsed face-first onto the table, like a cat whose bones had been removed. “Boring. I’m not playing anymore.”
Shen Yi was speechless.
He had clearly been the most enthusiastic player earlier, yet the moment he lost, he started calling the game boring.
“You’ve lost three rounds in a row,” Shen Yi said, counting the money piled up in front of her.
“I know,” Shen Ruxu muttered, his voice muffled by his arms. “This game isn’t suited for me.”
Shen Wenta twisted the knife. “You’re not suited for any game that requires brainpower.”
Shen Ruxu abruptly raised his head, grabbed a game piece, and threw it at him.
Shen Wenta tilted his head to dodge. The piece skimmed past his ear, landed on the sofa, and bounced once.
Shen Xun silently stacked the money he had won, placing it in neat piles in front of him and arranging them by denomination, with every edge perfectly aligned.
Shen Yi glanced at his stacks, then at the chaotic heap of bills in front of her. She quietly gathered her own money and tried to align it as well. When she found she could never get it straight, she gave up.
Shen Wenta had been lucky at the start, buying two high-priced properties in a row and even building a house on one of them.
Shen Xun, after precise calculations, invested all his funds in the two most expensive properties.
Then he discovered he had no money left to pay rent.
“Fourth brother, you’re bankrupt,” Shen Yi happily announced, pointing at his ledger.
Shen Xun stared at the numbers, his expression calm. “From a mathematical perspective, my decision was sound. I was simply unlucky.”
“Luck is part of strength too.”
Shen Xun said, “That statement has no scientific basis.”
Shen Yi replied, “No, no, everything anyone says has some truth to it.”
Then she turned on him with an aggravated tone. “And third brother, you landed on my property just now. Why didn’t you pay me?”
Shen Wenta frowned and argued, “That was a strategic delay in payment. I’ll give it to you later.”
“That’s not a delay. That’s refusing to pay. Family may be family, but we still settle our accounts clearly,” she retorted calmly, completely rejecting his excuse. “Pay me back! Pay me back! Pay me back!”
