The door was closed.
Shen Yi leaned against the door and took a deep breath.
The room was very quiet.
Only the dim yellow light of the wall lamp illuminated the silent figure with his head bowed.
She stared at him intently.
"Song Sijun."
She spoke word by word, "Are you still planning to pretend you don't know me?"
The other party visibly stiffened.
He froze. His previously bowed head lifted slightly, and then, he couldn't help but take a step back. Song Sijun's first reaction was somewhat bewildered; a daily life that required constant acting made him instinctively put on a bewildered expression first.
"I don't know what you're talking about..."
"You didn't have this kind of personality in your past life. What exactly are you pretending to be?" Shen Yi spoke again, unable to bear it any longer.
The sudden, straightforward confrontation almost made him dizzy.
In an instant, Song Sijun completely froze. He couldn't cry, nor could he laugh. He just looked straight at her, staring blankly.
Like the instinctive sluggishness after receiving a massive shock, his eyes widened, his pupils trembled slightly, and in the end, he couldn't say a single word.
Shen Yi didn't want to give him a chance to react, either.
She didn't like hesitation. After closing the door, her sole purpose was to get everything out in the open in one breath.
"I don't want to dwell on the past. It's meaningless, really."
"I won't ask why you left me behind, and I don't want to hold it against you for hiding from me."
"Anyway, everyone always has their own reasons, and besides, I hadn't thought of coming to find you before either."
"I always thought that after you didn't have me, you would live very happily."
She paused.
"The only thing I never expected was that you actually have memories of your past life."
"Now—have you figured out how to talk to me properly? Song Sijun."
The last three words were his full name.
In a flash, it reminded him of the fear of being dominated by his older sister in the past.
"..."
"I... I also thought..."
Song Sijun's mind seemed rusted, unable to turn. After a long while, the boy's voice came out intermittently, as if he were struggling to piece together a complete sentence:
"Not seeing each other is for the best for both of us."
The only thing he never expected.
Was that she actually had memories too.
Then all the unreasonable things made perfect sense at this moment. Song Sijun stared at her blankly.
Shen Yi could observe the slight trembling of his fingertips.
"Then... then in your past life," the boy opened his mouth gently, his voice so dry it almost changed its tune, "did you live well?"
Shen Yi sensed his fear; he seemed to feel a trace of dread regarding her answer. She was stunned for a few seconds before reacting.
Opening her mouth, she instinctively wanted to comfort him:
"Of course, I lived very well."
He looked at her.
The corners of his mouth pulled into a gentle curve.
"That's really great."
The boy said in a low voice, his tone soft, as obedient as a little sheep.
—Liar.
He said in his heart.
He understood her better than anyone else.
Shen Yi also felt that her comforting words were too fake.
After all, in that kind of environment, living well in her past life would be the real lie. Silence spread between the two of them.
She simply reached out her hand, her voice soft. "Alright, alright, I didn't come here to interrogate you. The things from before are actually just matters of a past life to us now."
"Don't think too much. I never look back."
"Do you want a hug?"
Song Sijun didn't hesitate and hugged her tightly in return.
His whole being was still in a state of confusion, his heart twisted into a knot as he suppressed the urge to tremble.
He subconsciously wanted to say something.
Or rather, saying anything in this situation would be good.
"Then the people who bullied us in our past life..."
He seemed to have calmed down a bit, his voice steadier than before. "Do you still hate them?"
If she really had to tell the truth, it would definitely be...
"I hate them."
Shen Yi didn't hesitate.
She had hated most people.
There was once a period of time when she had no love for anyone, just pure hatred.
The first glance at a person was to see if they were a threat.
For a long time, socializing wasn't about building connections for her; it was about assessing risks.
She used to be annoyed by the vast majority of people, including this cheap younger brother.
If someone wanted her to give, they had to let her gain something first.
Otherwise, they would be abandoned by her without hesitation.
She truly rarely thought about the past.
No matter who it was, good or bad, starting over again, to her, they were nothing but things left behind.
"I hate them too." Song Sijun's thoughts seemed to finally settle as he said, "But you have a new life now. Hate is meaningless and will only bring pain, so leave these things to me."
Shen Yi reached out and pinched his face.
There wasn't much flesh.
Dry and thin.
All bones.
What a pity.
That little bit of soft baby fat from childhood was all gone.
Shen Yi said, "You are absolutely right. Hate is meaningless."
"But if I run into those people, I don't plan on letting them off." Her personality was still somewhat vindictive.
"But these are my affairs. Can you confirm right now that you yourself are doing well?" Shen Yi looked at him calmly.
She had a feeling that this cheap younger brother was completely broken.
"Of course." He answered rapidly, so fast it seemed like a prepared answer.
Shen Yi didn't quite believe it.
"I am really doing well," Song Sijun assured her repeatedly.
Before this, he had indeed considered the possibility of killing all those people who liked to bully others in their past life and then perishing together with them.
After all, in this world where the law was zero, wealth and power ruled, and all rules were ignored, only acting a little crazy would yield immediate results.
Actually, relying on the experience from his past life, it wouldn't be difficult for him to get close to them and trick them out.
But now—
He didn't want to act so extremely anymore.
If Shen Yi didn't know him, she naturally wouldn't be sad over the death of a stranger.
But she had her memories, and she also had a new life.
He couldn't let her be sad again.
Then he would just have to plan things out over the long term.
"Seeing you happy is really so wonderful."
Song Sijun hugged her tightly, his voice light and incredibly joyous, finally carrying a bit of the lively breath a child should have.
Shen Yi also couldn't help but curve her eyes into a smile. Changing the subject, she talked to him about something else, "Sijun, have you considered living with me?"
"It might be difficult to communicate with Mom and Dad about it. If it really doesn't work out, I can think of other ways."
In any case, she couldn't let him stay with Song Guanyan any longer.
"What?" He was stunned at first, and then realizing what she meant, he quickly shook his head. "No. I don't need to. I'm not like you, Sister. I don't long for a family."
Compared to Shen Yi, at the very least, he had once enjoyed the love of his parents.
So there was absolutely no way he could completely throw himself into another family.
