Far away in a foreign country, the room Shen Sixing was staying in had very little sunlight. Because he hadn't adjusted to the time difference, he looked exhausted, without a trace of a smile on his face.
"So, a new question arises: where did his biological daughter go?"
Yes,
where did she go?
...So hard to guess.
So hard to guess...
Wen Ya suddenly stood up, unable to stop herself from screaming, "I knew I should just kill him!"
"Calm down, calm down." Compared to his wife's agitation, Shen Sixing appeared unusually composed. "A long time ago, I asked you if you wanted to adopt that orphaned girl. Your reason for refusing was simply that I was the one who killed her parents."
"Whether Xiao Yi has feelings for him or not, he cannot die by our hands," the man's voice softened with every word.
Wen Ya calmed down for a moment. "I understand."
She murmured, "Of course I understand that."
It wasn't that Wen Ya didn't understand this, but... but she was still so anxious.
A biological father was the kind of creature that should just stay dead!
He hadn't been found for so many years, yet he just had to pop up right now. It made her feel completely sick.
...
Mom had been busy making phone calls, so dinner was ordered in by Shen Wenta.
After dinner, Shen Yi casually mentioned being followed.
Then she noticed her third brother's expression completely change.
Shen Wenta's mental state had always been rather concerning.
Friends at school were just a bunch of unimportant NPCs to him.
The only thing he cared about was his family.
"Is it Second Brother's people?" Shen Wenta lowered his eyes, deep in thought. "Probably not, that psycho..."
He shouldn't have the time right now.
The bounty I put out on him alone is enough to keep him busy dealing with an endless stream of assassins.
Shen Yi took a bite of the crispy crust of her cherry mousse. Because of her sharp hearing, she faintly heard him muttering something about 'Second Brother.'
"Is your Second Brother coming?" she asked, her words slightly muffled.
"What kind of person is your Second Brother anyway? I rarely hear you guys mention him."
To this question, the two brothers gave completely different answers.
Shen Xun: "He's a sunny, cheerful person with a great temper who loves life."
Shen Wenta: "He's a psycho with split personalities and skin hunger."
Such wildly different evaluations.
It made Shen Yi unsure of who to believe for a moment.
In the end, of course, she chose to believe her best Fourth Brother.
Shen Wenta was instantly so angry he almost twisted out of shape. He sprawled across the table, glaring at Shen Yi indignantly. "Why don't you believe me? I'm your brother, aren't I?"
Shen Yi sprawled onto the table as well, showing no sign of weakness, closing the distance of their staring contest. "But Shen Xun is my brother too! And he never lies!"
"So I like to lie, then? You're just biased against me, Shen Yi."
He bit his lip, looking even more furious.
Shen Xun didn't quite understand why these two were suddenly sprawling on the table for no good reason.
Was this some sort of profound performance art?
Although he didn't understand, adhering to the logic of blending in with group behavior, he hesitantly and slowly... laid his upper body onto the table as well.
The three siblings looked at each other for a few moments. Shen Yi decisively chose to abandon this sick behavior, lifting her head from the table first:
"Our family is so weird. Were First Brother and Second Brother exiled? There's no news from them at all, and you're the same, barely coming home once every few days."
It felt like she and Fourth Brother were the only kids in the house.
Shen Wenta froze for two seconds, drawing out his words: "I'm very busy."
"I have to learn to take over some of the family's affairs. There are lots of meetings, lots of people to see... I simply don't have the time to come back often."
Moreover, he would only get busier in the future.
When Shen Wenta wasn't acting crazy, his expression was cold. The lively aura of a teenager faded away, making him look very much like a mature adult.
Shen Yi couldn't help but mutter, "Why are you so precocious at fourteen?"
"Also, you obviously have an older brother, so why isn't First Brother in charge of all this?"
"First Brother has no interest in it..." Shen Wenta simply said. "Besides, I'm the most suitable candidate right now."
In their family, children were groomed from a young age.
The winner takes all, and the loser gets nothing.
"I rarely saw Mom and Dad when I was growing up. There were always a lot of strangers around to teach me."
Shen Wenta couldn't even remember how many batches of people had been rotated out around him. After all, only the most excellent individuals were allowed to be by his side.
"Occasionally..." He twitched the corners of his mouth into a smile that held no warmth. "That psycho Second Brother would sneak over to see me. I usually just used him as a moving target to practice my marksmanship."
Shen Yi: "..."
"Are you okay, then?" Shen Yi imagined his environment and sincerely felt that even though he was a bit unhinged, his heart was at least quite strong.
Shen Wenta: "Okay? It was just a bit boring."
Because the emotional feedback he received from beginning to end was so sparse, he later developed a morbid curiosity about this thing called "feelings."
In the end, he found that it was still very boring.
At the very least, it couldn't fill the void in his heart as much as he had imagined.
"Since you are so bored, let's spend your money together, brother." Shen Yi felt this was a great opportunity, and she did not hesitate to play the freeloader. "I have my eye on a limited edition doll!"
She could not wait to grab the tablet at home, opened the page for the doll, and excitedly showed it to him.
"Can you buy this for me, brother?"
Shen Wenta really could not understand her hobbies, but she looked like she truly wanted it.
The girl's amber eyes were round, and her earnest look was somewhat like a little puppy.
He looked at her, and for once, he did not make any sarcastic remarks. He just gave a soft "oh."
Then, after two seconds of silence, he actually took an unlimited credit card out of his pocket and handed it to her.
"The family does not allow me to give money to Dad and the others."
It could not be helped; Shen Sixing belonged to the exiled faction within the family.
"So my card is only for you to spend."
Shen Yi looked at the card made of a special material, completely stunned for a couple of seconds. "I was just joking."
"But I am not joking with you, Shen Yi." He stared straight at her, his expression turning cold and puzzled. "Why are you always rejecting me?"
Out of nowhere, he was triggered again.
Shen Yi scratched her head, really wanting to ask.
What is it now, my young master?!!
"Do you think my attitude towards you was too poor before? Is that why you have been keeping your distance from me?" Shen Wenta said expressionlessly, "I am sorry, but I really hated you back then."
He hated that a random person had intruded into the family he had yearned for for so long.
"Yeah, the things you said back then were really mean." Shen Yi, having had the card forcefully stuffed into her hands, looked up and stared at him honestly.
"I know," Shen Wenta naturally knew how he acted back then, but he still would not change even now.
"...Because I said mean things, you really liked to hit me."
It really hurt.
Aside from being thrown onto an isolated island at the age of eight, he had never experienced being bullied at all as he grew older.
At that time, his first reaction to being hit was naturally anger, and striking back with the most biting words possible.
But now, he still liked the way Shen Yi would pounce on him to fight.
Although it was hard to admit, Shen Wenta really loved that vibrant vitality in her.
Like a wild weed, able to survive anywhere.
The young man blinked softly, using an almost pleading, vulnerable tone for the very first time:
"Do not reject me anymore, please."
