Shen Yi didn't know what the list above meant. She looked at it again and again but couldn't find anything special about these future collaborators.
Finally, she pointed at a person at random, "Then him."
Shen Sixing wrapped his arms around her and sat up straight. He stared at the screen for two seconds, calculating the amount the employer could offer. Meeting the girl's sparkling eyes, he gave a meaningful smile and praised, "Good eye."
She picked a big order right off the bat.
After completing this order, he could probably rest for about half a year.
Seeing her father so happy, Shen Yi also felt that her taste might really be quite good, and she became happy all by herself.
As for whether the 'big order' himself was happy, that was unknown.
...
On the weekend, the sun was shining just right, and the breeze was mild. Many families would choose to go out at this time.
Wen Ya couldn't wait to put on her makeup early in the morning, getting ready to go out shopping.
The entertainment options at home were pitifully scarce. Shen Yi was already so bored that she was lying on her stomach on the sofa watching Nailong to pass the time.
Soon, her mother came out carrying a shopping bag and called her, "Xiao Yi, we are going shopping today. Do you want to go with Mommy?"
Shen Yi immediately stopped watching the yellow Nailong. She rolled over, sat up, and became excited. "Okay, Mommy! I'll go call Daddy and Brother to come along."
She headed straight for the study, shaking her old father who was lying on the rocking chair sunbathing. She grabbed his cuff and said loudly, "Daddy, let's go out today."
Shen Sixing closed his eyes, gave a vague "Mhm," and his body remained perfectly still.
Shen Yi didn't give up and tugged hard again. "Let's go to the supermarket. Mommy said we can buy snacks today."
So noisy.
This time, Shen Sixing finally reacted.
He slowly raised a hand, bent his index finger, and flicked her forehead neither lightly nor heavily.
"Ouch!" Shen Yi covered her forehead.
Seeing Shen Sixing's indifferent expression, she didn't waste any time and immediately switched targets. She ran over to Shen Xun, pretending to cry, "Brother, let's go out."
Shen Xun's attention was currently captivated by a complex integral transformation problem.
Being interrupted made him not even lift his head. He reached out his other hand, accurately pressed it against Shen Yi's approaching forehead, pushed her away a little, and spoke with the impatience of being disturbed, "Stay away and play by yourself."
Shen Yi successfully earned forehead flick x2.
Ms. Wen Ya obviously no longer held any expectations for this father and son.
She had changed into her outdoor clothes in advance, slung her bag over her shoulder, and took her daughter's hand.
The mother and daughter went out to the streets to shop together.
The commercial street on the weekend was slightly crowded.
This world was filled with absurdity and danger.
Gun control was lax, trades of various contrabands festered in the shadows, and smuggling was everywhere.
Shen Yi had witnessed the chaos of the bottom rung of society in the orphanage, and the most deeply ingrained memory was the scene of someone being shot dead in the street.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but grip her mother's hand tighter.
In such a place, street robberies were everywhere. Watching a chase related to a robbery unfold right on the street, pedestrians panicked and scrambled to get out of the way. Only Wen Ya appeared unusually calm.
The woman walked leisurely, completely immersed in muttering her shopping list for the day:
"Need to buy more carrots. I can make fried rice, and they're also good for stewing soup."
"It seems we're a bit late today. I wonder if there are still any fresh ribs left..."
She mumbled, "Oh right, Xiao Yi, Mommy will take you to buy a cotton candy."
Wen Ya caught sight of the snow-white cotton candy by the roadside and remembered that children generally loved sweets.
Hearing that there was candy to eat, Shen Yi couldn't wait and pulled her mother into a trot toward the cotton candy stall.
Where did she have such privileges in her previous life?
Snacks like cotton candy were all classified as junk food by her scumbag father.
She loved eating junk food; junk food made her happy! The girl immediately pointed excitedly at a large cloud of cotton candy, "I want this rabbit-shaped one, Mommy."
The stall owner was a man in his thirties, who was boredly spinning the machine. Hearing the voice, he looked over.
Shen Yi's features had a sweet, mixed-race charm. With her little black curls and amber eyes, her appearance was particularly outstanding.
Who wouldn't want to take the opportunity to squish a cute cub?
"Oh, this little girl is so cute, just like a little doll!" the man said with a chuckle, reaching out and giving Shen Yi's soft cheek a pinch.
Wen Ya was looking down to pay. Noticing the movement, she glanced up, and her expression faded imperceptibly for a moment.
Every mother possessed a radar-like vigilance toward any man approaching her daughter.
Other than family members, if anyone touched her child, Wen Ya could go crazy on the spot.
Suppressing her displeasure, she spoke softly, enunciating every word, "Sir, please stay away from my daughter."
Suddenly warned by a woman like this, he instantly felt he was losing face.
Coupled with the fact that Shen Yi's little face felt nice to the touch, the man reached out with both hands, wanting to pinch the other side of Shen Yi's cheek, muttering:
"Tsk, what's wrong with a little touch? Kids have soft cheeks, I'm just playing with her..."
Shen Yi instinctively wanted to turn her head to dodge.
She didn't like being pinched back and forth by strangers like this. In her previous life, such behavior was often accompanied by malicious teasing.
Seeing this, the smile on Wen Ya's face disappeared, and her eyes instantly turned cold. She accurately grabbed the man's extended right wrist, and then...
"Crack." It was accompanied by an exceptionally clear, crisp sound.
Instantly, the man opened his mouth wide, but due to the extreme pain, he only let out a short gasp.
Wen Ya still maintained her gentle smile. Leaning in, she said softly and slowly at a volume only the two of them could hear, "If you ever casually touch someone else's child again, I'll kill you~"
Her tone was soft, but the words she spoke terrified the man so much that he didn't dare utter a single sound.
Watching Wen Ya expressionlessly take the largest cotton candy and lead her daughter away, all the pedestrians on the commercial street tacitly stepped aside, trying their best to avoid this dangerous mother and daughter.
Shen Yi's face was a bit red from being pinched. She covered her face, feeling that it did hurt a little.
But seeing her mother's actions, she only felt as if she was wrapped in a cloud of happy cotton.
So happy.
On the way, Wen Ya secretly bit the corner of her mouth in annoyance, feeling a bit apprehensive about whether she had frightened Xiao Yi.
Xiao Yi was a very timid child...
It was said that children from orphanages were all very sensitive and fragile. Was she too fierce just now?
If she had known, she would have held back a little first.
She could have easily waited until she dropped Xiao Yi off at home, and then turned back to chop off that man's hand.
Just as Wen Ya's mind was a battlefield of frantic conflict, Shen Yi, who had been silent all along, suddenly let out a silly giggle.
"Mommy, Mommy." The little girl bounced and excitedly grabbed her hand. "You were so amazing just now."
"You are so strong!"
"Mommy, did you specially train in the past?"
Breaking someone's bones required a certain knack, but Wen Ya did it effortlessly.
It was simply too cool.
Shen Yi looked up with a stiffly cute expression that seemed to say, 'This lowly underling worships you.'
Wen Ya: "..."
This twist was something she absolutely never expected.
"Ah?" The woman instinctively covered her mouth and let out two dry laughs. "...Haha, really?"
"Because Mom used to..." She racked her brains to think of an answer, and suddenly thought of the 'Qi Bacao (Seven Handfuls of Grass) is right now' plot she had seen in a TV drama before.
Promptly, Wen Ya had a stroke of genius and smiled. "Because Mom used to be a Taekwondo instructor. So I know some close-combat techniques."
Shen Yi's brainwaves bizarrely synced with her mother's.
"Then Mom..." She pursed her lips, asking with a bit of anticipation, "Can I learn Taekwondo with you?"
What had she been bullied into in her past life by that group of OP male leads, yanderes, and two-faced psychos around Song Yi?
She was already thin and small, lacking strength; her little struggles of resistance were nothing but a joke in their eyes.
Having her head forcibly shoved into a sink, getting wine splashed all over her face—recalling all these past events made her tremble uncontrollably.
If she had her mother's strength to fight back, upon meeting that group of people again, Shen Yi would have long wanted to stomp their heads into the ground and kick them like balls.
Wen Ya: "...Ah, this."
Faced with her daughter's request, her smile suddenly froze.
After all...
Wen Ya didn't actually know any Taekwondo. Sniping from a hundred meters away, killing a target with a single shot, and dispatching an opponent with a knife in close combat were what she was truly good at.
Was she really supposed to teach her daughter how to pierce a classmate's throat with a fountain pen, or how to strangle a teacher who crossed her with a schoolbag strap?
Suddenly picturing the little girl cackling wickedly and going on a killing spree...
She shuddered violently and shook her head frantically.
No, no, no! Her adorable daughter absolutely could not learn these things!
Seeing Wen Ya's expression shift from conflicted to frantically shaking her head, Shen Yi, who wasn't truly a child at heart, immediately said sensibly, "It's okay, Mom, I was just saying it casually."
Such sensible and sweet words made Wen Ya's newly hardened resolve melt once again.
No.
She definitely couldn't be a buzzkill of a mom.
Having made up her mind, Wen Ya immediately hugged her daughter tightly, her tone turning cheerful once more. "If my baby wants to learn, of course Mom can teach you! Mom is the person who understands Taekwondo the most in the whole world."
"A ninth-degree black belt is just the minimum requirement to even meet me."
The more she spoke, the more confident she became, looking exactly like a seasoned professional.
And Shen Yi actually believed her.
The mother and daughter—one daring to brag, the other daring to believe—returned home in this heartwarming atmosphere.
And the first thing Wen Ya did upon arriving home was clap her hands, gesturing for the father and son to look over. She announced loudly, "I am going to teach Xiao Yi Taekwondo. Who is in favor, and who is against?"
Shen Xun: "?"
As a child, he had way too many things he didn't understand.
Since when did their family's assassination business expand to teaching boring sports like Taekwondo?
Shen Sixing rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to comprehend this sudden change in family plans.
He hadn't seen her for a short while, and his wife had transformed into a Taekwondo master. This development was truly beyond his expectations.
He glanced at his enthusiastic wife, then at his daughter's expectant eyes.
Finally, he turned his gaze to his son.
Shen Xun was looking back at him with a look that said, "This world has finally gone mad."
"Xiao Yi," Shen Sixing stepped forward, asking as gently as possible, "Why do you suddenly want to learn Taekwondo?"
Shen Yi answered honestly: "Because Mom said a ninth-degree black belt is just the minimum requirement to even meet her."
She couldn't even imagine just how powerful her mother was.
The point was, she really wanted to learn something to protect herself.
Shen Sixing was out of ideas.
And so, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evening at 5:30, the living room transformed into a temporary training ground.
Because of the mother and daughter's whim-of-the-moment actions, Shen Sixing had to take on the task of cooking.
Usually, he would watch the mother and daughter practice while preparing dinner.
Wen Ya's teaching wasn't exactly professional. What she had learned was assassination, and her close-combat philosophy prioritized absolute power overcoming all martial arts; only with a combination of strength, speed, and technique could one secure the upper hand.
Therefore, she focused on training her daughter's endurance and strength.
Every day after returning home from school, Shen Yi would be so exhausted and covered in sweat that she collapsed limply on the floor like a puddle of mud.
"I don't get why you chose to train with Mom," Shen Xun said lightly as he walked by, looking at his sister who couldn't get up. "You don't need to tire yourself out like this."
Acting like an idiot and babbling while playing with toys all day was what she should be concerned about at her age.
"I can't."
Shen Yi shook her head decisively.
These past few days, she had suddenly realized a problem.
No matter how much Song Guanyan didn't care about her, she was still a child of the Song family.
If they came knocking, given her parents' situation, they obviously wouldn't be able to stand against a behemoth like the Song family.
...If she was truly unfortunate enough to be reduced to returning to the Song family, at the very least, she would be able to protect herself.
Shen Xun looked at the fear that unconsciously leaked from her eyes, not understanding what exactly she was so afraid of.
In reality, as long as she spoke up, Mom would always help her clear away all obstacles.
Was there anyone worth her fearing this much?
Holding a glass of water, Shen Xun sat beside her, tilted his head to look at his sister, and suddenly promised, "I will protect you."
Shen Yi looked at him foolishly. "Huh?"
Shen Xun didn't understand human emotions, but he chose to make Shen Yi his sole target of protection.
Humans always needed some goals, some anchors.
Otherwise, it would be very boring in this world.
He didn't have anything he was passionate about, so he chose Shen Yi.
In this family.
Father and Mother relied on each other.
Eldest Brother and Second Brother had become independent early on, and Third Brother was a bona fide psycho.
Only Shen Yi—she was very weak, very pitiful, and the only one who could rely on him.
Shen Xun really liked this feeling.
"But Brother, you're also a child, and even if you were an adult, there's nothing you could do." After Shen Yi processed his words, she took the warm water from her brother's hand, took a sip, and sharply pointed out the problem.
It was true that Shen Xun was precocious.
But what could he use to fight against those immensely powerful elites?
After experiencing what she had in the past, she realized more and more that the rich really could do whatever they wanted.
"So," Shen Xun rested his chin in his hand, acutely detecting the hidden meaning in her words, "Xiao Yi. The person you are afraid of seems to be quite a formidable big shot?"
Shen Yi: "..."
She realized that sometimes, this brother of hers was truly so smart it was inhuman.
