Chapter 103 Perfection Through Refinement (2)
Analyzing right and wrong rationally, Shu Changyan has at least not done anything to her so far.
Shu Changyan, her brother who was not related to her by blood, did more for her than anyone else in the "family".
If she didn't care, she could certainly treat him with the same indifference and gentleness she showed to her father.
"Never mind." Shu Ningmiao didn't know what kind of answer she wanted to hear, or what kind of answer Shu Changyan could give.
She slammed the jewelry box on the table shut with a click, revealing the delicate earrings inside.
Her tone gradually calmed down: "You were the one who was supposed to deal with Achini that day."
It's easy to understand if you think about it for a moment. She's been wearing the Heart Stone earrings these past few days without changing them. If Shu Changyan didn't know she had lost her earrings, there would be no need for him to choose this time to give her a new pair.
Shu Ningmiao turned around, leaned against the edge of the table, and stared at him with a slight frown, meeting his light-colored eyes.
"Um."
Shu Changyan bent down, his tall figure looming over her like a shadow. He raised his hands and cupped her face in them, his already sharp and handsome features becoming even more captivating, almost breathtaking.
Her hands had hard, rounded nails, and between her long, strong knuckles were layers of scars left from holding a sword. The roughness of her fingers rubbed against the smooth skin of her face, leaving a burning heat.
Shu Ningmiao clenched her fists, her forearm muscles tensing suddenly from the unconscious threat emanating from him.
Why aren't you saying a word?
He lowered his head and pressed his forehead against her hair, gently touching her forehead.
A stray strand of hair brushed past the corner of her eye, and his eyes suddenly curved into a smile, a hint of laughter crossing his previously serene face: "I helped you solve your troubles, and you didn't even say thank you, brother."
She could tell from his teasing tone that he was still joking around, which annoyed her. She grabbed a strand of his half-long hair by his ear and yanked it hard: "You're sick."
Shu Changyan hissed softly, and following her force, he was pulled closer. He then reached out and completely embraced her.
With his tall stature, he had to lower his shoulders very low to bury his head in her neck and hold her tightly.
His scent filled the embrace, and the pungent smell of rust grew stronger. This scent had been lingering around Shu Changyan ever since he was fifteen. Shu Ningmiao didn't understand it at first, but now she was all too familiar with it.
The stench of blood, which cannot be removed even by washing, is the sight of piled-up corpses, with carcasses strewn across the landscape and devastation everywhere.
He was first and foremost a weapon of Pinheismann, ready to be deployed, an unstoppable force, and a key component in maintaining the operation of the powerful institution.
Finally, there was her living, breathing brother standing right in front of her.
Since Shu Changyan entered the military region, Shu Ningmiao has never mentioned the topic of "executor" to him, nor has she ever been curious about his medals or his mission after leaving Pinne.
The title of "Executor" was enough for her to enjoy the privileges under his protection; she cared nothing for politics, war, or even him.
Shu Changyan's drooping eyelashes made him look particularly haggard, and his voice made her heart tighten slightly: "You are the one who... never says anything."
Shu Ningmiao's lips opened and closed silently several times before she finally uttered a sound: "What do you want me to say?"
What could she say? That she had discovered a secret enough for Pigne to assassinate her a thousand times over, and that she would choose between her and Pigne?
Fantasy.
Even if she knew the truth and could do it all over again, she wouldn't have the confidence to stand up to a country.
The interplay of light and shadow flickered in her eyes, and in the swaying afterimages, she seemed to see dust floating above Edwina's office.
It's a question that has no answer to begin with... What exactly is she struggling with?
Suddenly, everything went quiet again.
Shu Ning placed her delicate hand on his shoulder, the force gentle yet irresistibly pushing him outward little by little.
She took a deep breath and started talking nonsense: "Are you happy being a great hero? Why are you asking so many questions? Are you afraid I'll steal your credit?"
Shu Ningmiao's rambling ramblings disrupted the conversation, and the words came back to her mind again—Shu Changyan thought she was the one who did it, while Pine thought Shu Changyan was the one who did it.
The credit ultimately went to Zhao, and the title of "hero" had already been outsourced three times, so it was no longer Shu Changyan's place to investigate.
Shu Changyan grabbed her wrist and, upon hearing her twisted argument, simply laughed.
Her furrowed brows were like tiny hooks, drawing his lips upwards.
"I just want to know if you're hurt," Shu Changyan said gently.
Shu Ningmiao tilted her head back without any guilt. Weston was as good as her brain when it came to treatment, and she was certain that there were no marks on her skin.
His expression gradually relaxed, his voice clear and gentle, his slightly calloused hands holding her fingers: "Then how did you and Achini come into contact...? Is it related to what happened to you in my dream?"
Shu Ningmiao didn't know how he could be so perceptive. He clearly knew nothing and it was just a dream, yet he actually guessed seven or eight parts of it.
His intuition and insight are truly astonishing.
Shu Changyan lowered his gaze to observe her expression, and had his answer in mind. He didn't ask any further questions, but gently and softly pinched her fingers, as if he were pinching a petal that had fallen into his palm.
He wanted to ask, why didn't you tell me?
Or, why don't you believe me?
Or rather, aren't you afraid?
Shu Changyan didn't say a word of these words, because he knew the answer to every question clearly in his heart.
"What is it about me that you can't see clearly?" Shu Changyan held her in his arms, and when he looked down, he could see her soft, black hair on her head. She looked so beautiful and spirited. He couldn't help but loosen his grip and, as if in revenge, pressed his head against hers: "When I stood in front of you, I had already signed countless contracts with the Shu family. Every page of them was filled with the promise of obedience and submission. I am your brother, your servant, your hunting dog."
He caught up with her fingers, grasped her ten fingers and slowly squeezed them together, teasing her casually, his tone perfectly natural: "Would you rather have the chain in your hand, or would you be satisfied if you had a bell attached to it? Fine."
Only then could one detect a hint of suppressed anger in his gentle tone.
Shu Ningmiao was pressed down on her head by his weight, unwilling to lower her head. She stubbornly used her neck to push against his chin. He chuckled, and his chest resonated with the laughter.
She turned her head away and suddenly grabbed his hand, her grip so tight it hurt, but compared to the estrangement and suffocation, this pain brought him an indescribable sense of relief.
She stabbed him, "Is this your true feeling?"
When Shu Changyan arrived at the Shu family, he was already a teenager. His father brought him back, only giving him enough to eat and a proper identity, waiting to send him to the military, treating him like a domestic dog.
At first, she never treated this inexplicably appearing brother as family, ordering him around at will. Shu Changyan had a very good temper and was very obedient to her, which earned him a glance from her.
Shu Ningmiao knew very well that after he became the agent, the Shu family was a malignant tumor clinging to him and sucking his blood. He had many opportunities to get rid of the Shu family completely, but he did not.
She always manages to say something hurtful during arguments, and she never comes out on top.
"The year I was promoted," the person beside her paused for a moment, then raised a hand to cover her eyes: "Father proposed destroying the contract."
Shu's father wanted him to bring honor to the Shu family, but he inadvertently let him go too far.
He was the adopted son of the Shu family, a fact that was no secret in Pinne. Many families, eager to curry favor, were happy to solve his problems. Shu's father valued money and reputation, but even more so, his own life.
"I want to be your brother forever," he said quietly. "I'll stay with you no matter what."
Shu Ningmiao felt she couldn't argue with him anymore and declared, "Whatever."
She said coldly, "Get out."
He remained motionless, his voice hoarse: "I was born in the New World and lived until I was ten years old."
“My mother was the director of the Pandora Institute of the research center, and my father was a member of parliament who promoted the Pandora import and export bill. They were both top-notch superhumans at the time.” Shu Changyan gently closed his eyes and stroked her head. “More than 20 years ago, my mother was diagnosed with Manra disease after she became pregnant. This is the same disease that your teacher suffered from. Soon after, my father also began to show the same symptoms.”
Her eyelids trembled slightly as he successfully diverted her attention—how could two top-tier superhumans, who were also high-ranking figures who almost never left the center of Pinne, both fall ill at the same time?
“They were religious and believed it was a divine retribution, a kind of punishment.” Shu Changyan’s voice was low. “So they donated all their family savings to the Yangsong Church, stayed in the new place under assumed names, and continued to work as volunteers to ‘atone’ for their sins and take care of the other patients in the shelter.”
“After I was born, their illness worsened, but they had no attachment to the world and went back and forth between church and home every day, and were indifferent to everything else.”
But he was different. Like all boys his age, he often dreamed of being a hero.
He was born amidst the ever-burning ruins, his every breath shrouded in thick gray smoke. The walls of the old, dilapidated house were covered in burn marks, and piles of garbage outside formed high mounds, with a pungent smell of burning wafting in.
Plastic leaves from outside were blown in along with the leaves and hung on the screen. The leaves were covered with black grime, as if they had once floated in the waste.
He lay in bed and found that the once spacious room was getting smaller and smaller, the distant ceiling was getting lower and lower, his joints were stretching out, and the room was becoming increasingly cramped for his hands and feet.
He wanted to do something that others couldn't, to be remembered and called a hero.
Like countless other workers with the same fate, the parents reached the end of their lives, blindly believing in the church and relying on holy water to alleviate their physical pain.
But they are still willing to support his choice.
Driven by this simple dream, and with the support of the Shu family, he moved to the center of the world, becoming an enforcer of the Pinhian order.
His dream, however, had long since vanished in the face of this colossal lie of the world.
Shu Changyan held her tightly, as if he would never let go again.
A year after leaving the new land, my parents passed away in a church of the Church of Praise.
He developed a strange sense of detachment from reality, making it impossible for him to continue to integrate.
Sometimes, standing silently in the garden, he would recall the murky puddles in front of the old building, the stifling heat in the air of the new place, the low ceilings, and the piles of garbage burning fiercely in the fire outside the window. The black smoke that shot into the sky churned up with the fumes and viruses that had caused the people of the new place a lifetime of suffering. The flames were often a scorching red, with a few strange blue streaks mixed in occasionally. Everything was so hazy that it was almost unreal.
What exactly is reality?
When he first came to the Shu family, he often stared at Shu Ningmiao in a daze.
She had a lot to do every day. When he was around, she was mostly busy ordering him around. She was critical of everyone she didn't like and opposed anything that disobeyed her. She even tried to enslave him by putting bedbugs in his father's teacup.
Confrontation is a stinging force, unique to her.
Her mother was not in good mental health and spent most of her time complaining and crying. Her mother's sorrow was deeply ingrained in her, but she stood beside her mother and did not become a silent and melancholy daughter.
On the day her mother passed away, Shu Ningmiao stood silently in the small garden. In the winter sunlight, her skin looked as white as the melting sun, and she was unusually quiet.
Shu Changyan felt that she was like a bean pod that had squeezed out of a crack in the rock, trembling and bursting open with a crackling sound.
She grabbed his hand and asked, "Do you want to leave here?"
Shu Changyan slowly withdrew his fingers from her palm, with a care he himself was unaware of.
He keenly sensed the emotions that Shu Ningmiao was revealing. If she couldn't be molded into the shape others wanted her to be, she would find that the world didn't love her as much as she imagined, not even her parents.
If the world is an absurd lie.
He and Shu Ningmiao were the only reality in the midst of it all.
Pulling himself out of his reverie, Shu Changyan withdrew his momentarily lost gaze: "Do you remember the necklace I gave you?"
Shu Ningmiao subconsciously raised her hand to touch her neck, and was stunned for a moment.
On the day her mother died, she asked him to take her away. Shu Ningmiao hadn't thought about the destination. She always had a driver to pick her up and drop her off. She knew all the places but wasn't familiar with them. She just suddenly felt disgusted with her surroundings and didn't want to see her father's face. So as long as she could leave "home", she didn't care what happened.
Shu Changyan didn't seem to have considered her own situation. She said she wanted to run away from home, and the boy really did carry her step by step through the snow to Lingtian District.
She only acted like a younger sister when she was giving him orders, while he truly considered himself a older brother.
She was in a bad mood and didn't talk much. Sometimes she would lie on his back and fall asleep quietly, her still-round face pressed against his back, making his footsteps even quieter.
Awakened by the hustle and bustle of the street, she woke up and stared blankly at the pearl necklace in the glass window. She had many toys and jewelry that were much more expensive than this, but under the swirling snowflakes and in the warm yellow window, the simple necklace looked exceptionally beautiful.
Shu Changyan noticed her gaze and looked at the necklace as well.
Shu Ningmiao regained some energy, hugged his neck tightly, and leaned in close, swaying her head: "How many cin do you have?"
The Shu family had no obligation to pay him a salary or pocket money. He did some dirty work in Xindi and only earned a few hundred cents here and there.
They all had good eyesight, and the necklace was priced at 900C, which wasn't exactly cheap even in street-side shops.
Shu Ningmiao touched his pocket, disappointed, but didn't take it to heart. His back was warm and secure, and after a few minutes, she fell asleep peacefully again.
When she opened her eyes again, she vaguely raised her hand and touched a cold, foreign object around her neck. The beautiful necklace in the shop window still looked beautiful on her neck.
It took her a long time to realize: "You spent all your money on necklaces."
The boy looked at her with a smile, his tone arrogant, the exact opposite of his gentle expression: "I can still earn more."
She might have mixed feelings now, but she didn't care back then.
She only remembered that long snowy day, when he carried her away from home. She saw the sky through the gaps in his black hair hanging down his neck, and it was the same color as his eyes.
Beyond the memories, Shu Changyan's youthful naiveté has faded, his long eyelashes are dark, leaving only an impeccably serene face.
"In the past, present, and future, it will always be the same. Wealth and power are no different from mere ornaments, and I offer them to you." He lifted her hand, his forehead gently touching the back of her hand, the warmth coming from between his brows: "Don't get hurt. Apart from that, apart from you, everything else is unimportant."
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Author's Note: 'Some Random Thoughts' (Skip if you're not interested)
The prototype of the brother's longsword is an execution sword, a double-edged straight sword without a tip. It is the sword used by executioners and is basically only used as an execution tool. Sometimes it is also placed in the courtroom as a "sword of justice" to symbolize judicial power.
I once came across a chivalric culture, which was about knights who were born out of faith and loyalty. Because their hands were stained with blood, they could not go to heaven, so they would pledge allegiance to someone in order to go to heaven. Usually, this person was someone they could never have. I think that was my initial motivation.
Miao is not lacking in emotion; from the beginning until now, she has been subconsciously avoiding emotions. She is surprisingly frank with people who are truly indifferent (pointing out someone). Due to the absence of her parents, this child who has never been loved doesn't know how to express emotions, especially familial love.
I never really doubted my brother from beginning to end, but the thought of it bothered me. So my brother was the first victim, and he got used to it. My brother's status comes entirely from his dedication.
And, each character's side story will have a [cat paw] pattern.
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