Chapter 16 Crimson "You shouldn't have begged me."
Shen Wangchen raised his hand to cover the half of his face that Shen Xi had slapped. He did not fly into a rage, but instead gave a very faint smile.
This was the first time anyone had dared to hit him; even his parents had never laid a hand on him before.
"Shen Xi, you're awesome."
"Brother, you flatter me." Shen Xi met his gaze and pushed the caged bird back in front of him. "If you want to play the role of a good brother, why don't you go find Shen Wan? She will be happy to see this gift. Why bother wasting your time and energy on me?"
From childhood to adulthood, he always did bad things behind her back, putting her in trouble, and then jumped out to play the role of his good brother to solve her problems.
Time and time again, I never tire of it.
There have been far too many such incidents, and Shen Xi has long since grown tired of them.
But he himself was completely oblivious, thinking he was manipulating everyone and reaping the benefits. It's better to tell him now, so he won't repeat the same trick in the future.
Shen Wangchen didn't remember how he got back to his room. He only felt a burning pain on his face, but Shen Xi's words were even harder for him to accept than the slap.
Actually, that pair of pinkies happened a long time ago.
At that time, Aunt Lin was still alive, and he himself was still a child who hadn't even grown all his teeth yet.
Aunt Lin and Shen Xi are indeed mother and daughter; they are equally tolerant, equally good at pretending, and equally repulsive.
He had never seen his father before she entered the mansion, and after she entered, his father never looked at his mother properly, so naturally, he couldn't possibly like him.
Father would smile and pamper Aunt Lin, and would send little sparrows to Shen Xi. He would always think of them whenever he went out. But Mother didn't have these things, Shen Wan didn't have them, and he didn't have them either. Father never cared about them.
When her father returned that time, he brought Shen Xi a pair of rosy sparrows as a gift. The little sparrows were so cute that Shen Wan secretly saw them and liked them very much. She wanted to ask Shen Xi for one to raise and play with, but Shen Xi couldn't bear to do it at this time.
She stubbornly refused, and no amount of persuasion could dissuade her: "My magenta jewelry is a pair, it can't be separated!"
Shen Wangchen coldly watched as Shen Wan and her sister had a big argument and parted on bad terms. His incompetent sister only knew how to cry. That night, she clung to her mother and cried until midnight without stopping.
The crying was bothering him.
So the next day, when no one was around, he secretly took away a little sparrow.
The little sparrow was so small that it trembled and chirped incessantly in his hand, sounding like a mournful cry, which was both disgusting and irritating.
Without a second thought, Shen Wangchen slowly tightened his palm, squeezing it as he felt it writhing in his hand, unable to escape.
Later, the sound became too loud, so he casually poured it into a water tank next to him, the cold water reflecting his calm, almost indifferent face.
Why?
She clearly had a pair, but she was so stingy that she wouldn't even give up one.
Just like her and Aunt Lin, they had already taken away so much of their father's attention, so why, why couldn't they give up even a tiny bit for him and for their mother?
With his warm body immersed in the icy water, Shen Wangchen felt the difference between the palm and the back of his hand, and these questions kept swirling in his mind until the sparrow stopped struggling.
In the instant life slipped through his fingers, Shen Wangchen suddenly understood.
Why beg for charity from others?
If ownership doesn't exist, then wouldn't there be no injustice?
For example, if a bird has never existed, there is no distinction between more or less of them.
Looking at the limp, no-longer-flapping body in his hands, he coldly scooped the little sparrow out and casually tossed it aside, discarding it like trash.
But Shen Wangchen didn't notice at the time that there was a pair of terrified eyes behind him, and the owner of those eyes was the very person he least wanted to see this scene.
Suddenly, the chirping of birds pulled Shen Wangchen out of his memory. The caged bird was still on the table. It wasn't a magenta, but it was still quite pleasing to the eye.
Unaware of what was happening outside, they kept circling in their cage, chirping occasionally.
As always, it's annoying.
Shen Wangchen opened the cage door expressionlessly and took one out.
Now his hands are much larger than a child's, and the sparrow looks so small and fragile in his hands.
As his palms gradually closed in as before, the life in his hands went from fierce struggle to finally falling silent, and only then did Shen Wangchen reveal a smile.
He didn't even use much force.
She's really grown up; she's much more agile than she was when she was a child.
*
Shen Wangchen went too far, and red marks inevitably reappeared on Shen Xi's fair neck. Fortunately, the medicine Xie Chengyan had given her last time was not yet used up.
Qingqiu carefully applied the ointment to Shen Xi's neck, gradually reducing her pressure: "Miss, does it still hurt?"
Shen Xi didn't react much, but her throat hurt and her voice was a little hoarse: "It's not the first time."
"Actually, the eldest young master..."
Qingqiu hesitated, wanting to say something, but Chenxi couldn't bear to hear that name again.
"There's no need to talk about him anymore."
She knew Shen Wangchen all too well; he was best at putting on a show and was adept at deceiving others.
When she was young, she was deceived for a time by his facade and thought he was a wonderful older brother.
Until she witnessed Shen Wangchen drown the roe deer, she didn't even have time to stop him. She only saw him chuckle coldly, throw the body aside, and then casually wipe the water off his hands with a handkerchief.
Shen Xi was young at the time. Terrified, she covered her mouth and hid in a corner, not daring to breathe. She fell ill as soon as she got home that day and had a high fever for several days.
When she groggily woke up again, she learned that the other bird had also died from touching the cage, leaving her only an empty, blood-stained cage.
Shen Xi stood frozen in place, staring blankly at the dried blood on the cage, her mind going blank.
But did it really die by itself?
She dared not think about it too much; the scene from that day kept replaying in her mind, and she subconsciously felt nauseous.
Similarly, he also hid from Shen Wangchen.
Unfortunately, Shen Wangchen heard that she was heartbroken because she had lost her beloved pet, so he specially painted a flower and bird painting for her to comfort her.
The painting depicted her pair of little sparrows.
As a child, Shen Xi didn't know how to hide her temper. She only knew that she hated him so much that she immediately lost her temper, ran barefoot off the bed, found scissors, and destroyed the painting in a fit of rage.
But her parents were furious about it, scolding her for being unreasonable and praising Shen Wangchen for being sensible and considerate, truly a good brother.
Oh, good brother?
Shen Wangchen used this method to deceive himself and act as her good brother for more than ten years.
Shen Xi's eyes gradually turned cold.
In the days that followed, Shen Wangchen did not contact her again.
Shen Xi knew that he was extremely concerned about his image and would not even do evil openly. Now that his carefully crafted facade of pretense had been exposed on the spot, he naturally would not go out of his way to cause trouble.
But Shen Xi herself wasn't having an easy time either. Memories that had been suppressed were revived and were surging excitedly in her mind. She didn't even dare to close her eyes.
As soon as she closed her eyes, a glaring red appeared, sometimes as dried blood, sometimes as a covering cloth, and no matter which one it was, it made her heart pound.
Fortunately, she could still manage to get a good night's sleep, because her dreams only included Xie Chengyan, not these messy and sordid things.
The next meeting with Xie Chengyan didn't take as long as before; only two or three days had passed.
Shen Xi got up early in the morning to look at herself carefully in the mirror. Fortunately, the injury on her neck had healed. She checked it several times before she felt at ease.
When she arrived at Wangxian Tower, the luxurious private room was filled with fragrant smoke, and everything was just as it had always been, but Xie Chengyan was nowhere to be seen.
Shen Xi was puzzled, but assumed it was because he had arrived early, so he found a seat and sat down.
Not long after, footsteps came from outside the door. Shen Xi smiled unconsciously, but the next moment a knock sounded, and it was Liang Tuo, Xie Chengyan's deputy general, who walked in.
She was somewhat surprised: "Are we going to the horse farm again today?"
Liang Tuo respectfully handed over a letter: "Miss Shen, the general instructed me to tell you that he is currently very busy with military affairs and cannot leave his post. I will handle all matters concerning the Second Young Master and Miss Shen. If you have any instructions, please feel free to ask."
Shen Xi stared at the letter for a long time before reaching out to take it, but did not rush to open it. She nodded slightly and said, "The general is in a high position, so it is indeed not appropriate to keep troubling him."
Liang Tuo thought Shen Xi would ask some questions, but she accepted them calmly. He wasn't one for sweet talk, so he didn't know how to respond.
She had no choice but to continue as Xie Chengyan had instructed: "The general has ordered Wangxian Tower to prepare a meal. If you are not in a hurry, please stay and have your meal here."
As soon as he finished speaking, Liang Tuo called the waiters at Wangxianlou to serve the dishes.
Shen Xi's eyes flickered, and sure enough, she spotted the Jade Pearl Cloud Silk Soup among them. Without any hesitation, she readily agreed.
But for some reason, this soup had an inexplicable bitterness as it slid down my throat, making the whole meal tasteless.
She left the letter unopened, but Liang Tuo stopped her as she was leaving, saying, "Miss Shen, please leave through the back door."
The request came suddenly, and Shen Xi felt strange for some reason, but in the end she didn't say anything more.
She happened to pass by the window of that private room on the way, the place where she had watched Xie Chengyan leave last time. When she got there, she subconsciously stopped and looked up from that angle.
Liang Tuo also stopped, mistakenly thinking something had happened: "Miss Chen? What's wrong?"
Shen Xi withdrew her gaze and shook her head: "If there's nothing wrong, let's continue."
She just subconsciously felt that something was wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.
As she stepped out of Wangxian Tower, she inadvertently heard a voice coming from a narrow alleyway beside her. It was low, cold, and strangely familiar, carried on the wind.
You shouldn't have begged me.
Shen Xi's heart skipped a beat. He took two steps and peeked out. He saw a tall figure standing there, holding a sword in one hand, exuding a chilling murderous aura. A person was kneeling in front of him, but his face was obscured by the figure.
Before Shen Xi could react, in the next instant, he swung his sword without hesitation and slashed. Suddenly, with a thud, a head fell to the ground, blood splattering everywhere, specks of crimson spraying onto the wall.
Upon seeing this, Qingqiu beside him exclaimed in surprise.
The people in the narrow alley were startled and slowly turned around. Only then did Shen Xi see clearly that his clothes had been splashed and were covered in blood, like a whole patch of red plum blossoms blooming in the snow in the backyard of the Xue family mansion. It was truly shocking.
And that face.
The face that appeared in her dreams countless times, so familiar to her, was now stained with a glaring red, and beads of blood slid down his sharp jawline and into his shirt.
This was a Xie Chengyan she had never seen before.
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