But Shen Ke discovered that no one paid her any attention at all. Instead of scolding her first, those people surrounded Feng Jian, asking with concern if Feng Jian was hurt.
Shen Mother helped Feng Jian up, her gaze filled with some pity. “Xiao Jian, you’re not hurt, are you?”
She then turned to Shen Ke, frowning as she questioned, “Little Ke, why did you bully Xiao Jian?”
Shen Mother’s gaze was somewhat cold. Shen Ke shrank back into the bed under that stare. “Mama, I didn’t.”
Shen Mother’s expression was stern. “Shen Ke, do you think I’m too old to see clearly?” She already seemed a bit angry.
Shen Ke gripped her hands tightly. She didn’t know how to argue back. The more she argued, the angrier Shen Mother would get.
At that moment, Feng Jian spoke up. “J-just now, it was m-me, I f-fell down by m-myself. It h-has n-nothing to do w-with Shen Ke.” She stammered through the sentence.
Shen Mother’s gaze immediately shifted back to Feng Jian.
Meanwhile, Feng Jian’s eyes stayed fixed on Shen Ke, catching every emotion in her eyes.
Shen Ke… was angry.
She didn’t want Shen Ke to be angry or misunderstood. She had only lost her footing and gotten kicked over. It wasn’t Shen Ke’s fault.
Shen Ke clenched her fists tightly, staring at Feng Jian in the center of the crowd. The hatred in her eyes couldn’t be hidden.
Damn mute! Such a green tea bitch!
Shen Mother patted Feng Jian’s shoulder. “You should go to your own room first. The servants have already prepared it.”
Feng Jian stood still. She wanted to stay with Shen Ke.
Shen Mother frowned. She didn’t like anyone disobeying her orders, not even her newly returned biological daughter.
At that point, Shen Yu smiled and reached out to drape an arm over Feng Jian’s shoulder. “Xiao Jian, it’s best if you listen to Mama. Come on, I’ll walk you to your room.”
“It’ll be a good chance for us sisters to get acquainted.”
Feng Jian tilted her head slightly to look at the hand on her shoulder. It gripped hard, making her shoulder ache.
Feng Jian lowered her head and followed Shen Yu out the door this time.
Once outside, Shen Yu immediately let go of Feng Jian. She led Feng Jian down the long corridor and chuckled softly. “I saw it.”
Feng Jian slowly raised her head, looking toward Shen Yu’s tall back. Just then, Shen Yu turned her head, her eyes full of teasing. “It seems you really like Shen Ke. Otherwise, why would you kiss her foot?”
“This is… truly disgusting.” Shen Yu had been the one to open the door. Shen Ke’s room door hadn’t been fully closed. With a gentle turn of the handle, the door cracked open. The first thing she saw was Feng Jian with her head bowed, which stunned her for a moment. She didn’t fully open the door right away. It was only when Shen Ke pulled her foot back and kicked Feng Jian to the ground that she pushed the door wide.
It hadn’t been hard for Shen Yu to guess what had just happened.
Feng Jian stopped in her tracks, gazing at Shen Yu’s back. She said softly, “Not disgusting.”
Shen Yu shrugged and halted too, pointing to a door not far away. “That room will be yours from now on.”
Feng Jian walked to the door and placed her fingers on the handle. She turned her head to Shen Yu, her mouth opening and closing. “The one I kissed—”
“—is my goddess.” How could it be disgusting?
Shen Yu narrowed her eyes, her dark red lips curling into an exaggerated smile. “How surprising. Xiao Jian, do you want her? I can help you—as a welcome gift for my long-lost little sister. What do you say?” This was too amusing. She hadn’t expected things to take this turn.
Feng Jian was silent for a moment before twisting the doorknob open. She said slowly, “No need.”
“I won’t be with her.”
“Like that.” She was just a dark rat from the sewers. Her filthy feelings couldn’t see the light of day.
The door closed, leaving Shen Yu standing there alone. She twirled her wine-red long hair around her finger and narrowed her slender eyes, her tone ambiguous. “What an impolite little sister.”
Meanwhile, in Shen Ke’s room, Shen Mother’s furrowed brows never relaxed.
She had already investigated Feng Jian’s background thoroughly.
Five years ago, everyone in the Feng Family had perished in a massive fire. Feng Jian, who had miraculously survived, suffered irreversible damage to her throat from inhaling heavy smoke. She hadn’t spoken for a long time afterward, and when she did speak again, she couldn’t form long sentences without stuttering.
At just thirteen, Feng Jian had survived on sporadic government aid and school scholarships until now.
But Feng Jian shouldn’t have lived such a hard life. She was her biological daughter.
Now her biological daughter was back, but on the very first day, this had happened.
Shen Mother came before Shen Ke and pressed her temples. “Shen Ke, I don’t want to see something like this happen again.”
“She was only in your room because she wanted to take care of you.”
“She’s very kind.”
Shen Father chimed in from the side. “Little Ke, Xiao Jian had a tough life before. Now that she’s finally back, don’t resent her. You’re both our children. As parents, we certainly don’t want to see our kids fighting.”
Shen Ke widened her eyes and looked at Shen Father.
Unlike the stern and sharp-tongued Shen Mother, Shen Father seemed more easygoing, but that was just surface level. A closer look at his eyes revealed they were exactly like Shen Mother’s.
Not a single person in the Shen Family had a conscience.
She had sensed it from a young age. Everyone thought she was the most pampered child in the Shen Family, but that wasn’t true. She always felt like a little pet. As long as she stayed within their acceptable bounds, anything she did was just minor mischief to them.
But if they couldn’t accept it, they could withdraw that false affection in an instant—like with her coming out.
Shen Ke blinked, unsure how to respond. In the end, she simply burrowed entirely under the covers, like a silkworm chrysalis.
Seeing this, Shen Mother felt a headache coming on. She rubbed her forehead. She didn’t really want to deal with Shen Ke. Her time wasn’t that free. These past few days, because of Feng Jian, she had already canceled many appointments. She couldn’t waste more time on Shen Ke now.
Shen Mother’s tone softened a bit. “Alright, she looks fine like this. Let’s go.” They’d already wasted a lot of time.
Shen Father nodded and turned to Shen Yi standing nearby. “A Yi, let’s go.”
Shen Yi nodded. “Mm.”
Shen Ke heard the footsteps fade away one by one, followed by the sound of the door closing. She stayed covered for a while longer before slowly peeking out, staring at the ceiling and cursing viciously. “Damn Feng Jian, she actually dared to kiss my foot. Disgusting.”
“Kiss what?”
A magnetic voice suddenly came from beside her, exploding like thunder in her ear. Shen Ke jolted in fright, nearly jumping up.
She stiffly turned her head and saw Shen Yi sitting on the single sofa in the room.
What was the difference between this and seeing a ghost? With a pale face, Shen Ke sat up and asked Shen Yi shakily, “Big Sis, d-didn’t you leave?” She had clearly heard Shen Yi’s response.
Shen Yi stood up, walked from the sofa to the bedside, and stopped, looking down at Shen Ke from above.
Even at home, she wore a fitted white shirt with a tailored vest over it. Her black hair was neatly combed straight, giving her an exceptionally rigorous and prim appearance.
The Shen Family’s eyes were very similar—long, with black pupils and mostly white below. Shen Yi was no exception. When she looked at someone, it always gave a cold, detached feeling.
Shen Ke nervously wiggled her toes. She felt that the person most like Shen Mother was Shen Yi—always expressionless, always so intimidating.
Shen Yi didn’t speak. Instead, she slowly bent down at the waist.
The pupils behind her glasses were pitch-black and deep, letting in no light. They simply stared quietly at Shen Ke.
Shen Ke tilted her face up, her black curls spilling behind her. Her red lips parted and closed, wanting to say something but not knowing how. As Shen Yi leaned closer, her heart raced faster. She was really afraid of Shen Yi.
Shen Yi’s gaze slid from Shen Ke’s eyebrows down to her lips. Her own lips were thin and sharp, looking cold and aloof, while Shen Ke’s seemed plush, with full, rosy petals.
Under that intense gaze, Shen Ke felt her body go rigid. Nervously, she licked her dry lips with her tongue. But in the next second, someone pinched her cheek, forcing her mouth open.
Startled by the sudden move, Shen Ke trembled all over and didn’t dare move. With her cheeks pinched, she could only mumble unclearly, “B-Big Sis, wh-what’s wrong?” Her eyes widened in shock, the upturned corners especially prominent, even tinged red. Her mouth was forced open, revealing her white teeth and pink tongue tip.
Shen Yi leaned in closer.
Shen Ke’s fingers gripped the bedsheet tightly. She was about to cry. So scary—Shen Yi had never pinched her face like this before. It felt like she wanted to crush it.
Shen Yi said flatly, “I heard what you just said.”
“Feng Jian kissed your foot.”
“Little Ke, you’re being naughty. Why did you let my little sister kiss your foot?”
Eighteen years of living together hadn’t made her develop much affection for Shen Ke. She was a full ten years older than Shen Ke. When Shen Ke was eight, she had already turned eighteen and gone abroad for her studies.
Looking back, she hadn’t spent much time with Shen Ke.
Shen Yi’s eyes darkened. Staring at those slightly parted red lips, she increased the pressure. “Little Ke, don’t do these things. People will hate you for it.”
Shen Ke was terrified. For the first time, she deeply realized that she was an outsider with no blood ties to the Shen Family—a cuckoo in the nest for eighteen years.
Shen Yi had no feelings for her at all!
Shen Ke’s lips moved slightly, but her throat felt sour. She couldn’t speak. She wasn’t bold.
Being treated like this by Shen Yi, she already wanted to cry.
Shen Yi didn’t notice. Her gaze remained fixed on those full, rosy lips.
So different… They looked… so soft.
“Little Ke, does your girlfriend kiss you?”
Shen Ke didn’t understand the sudden topic shift, but she answered timidly, “N-no, I haven’t kissed anyone yet.”
Shen Yi reached out with her other hand and pressed it against Shen Ke’s red lips, applying slight pressure.
“Then why did you think of letting Xiao Jian kiss your foot?” Her tone instantly grew heavier.
The foreign sensation on her lips was too much. Shen Ke’s body began to tremble faintly. She was scared.
“Sis, i-it hurts a little.” Her voice was thin, like a kitten’s mew. As she spoke, her upper and lower lips came together and parted, naturally squeezing Shen Yi’s fingers on her lips several times with those soft petals.
A numbing tingle shot from her fingers straight to her heart.
Shen Yi lifted her eyelids and met Shen Ke’s eyes.
Dark emotions spread through her black eyes, ones Shen Ke couldn’t comprehend, but they terrified her.
In an instant, Shen Ke couldn’t hold back her tears anymore. They gushed from her eyes.
The tear-soaked pupils became even more crystalline and translucent, shining like two brilliant black obsidians.
Shen Yi wasn’t startled by Shen Ke’s tears, but she released her hand. Her indifferent expression revealed no emotions.
Shen Ke thought she was free. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and complained softly, “I already said it hurt.” Her tearful voice sounded even sweeter.
Shen Yi straightened up and looked at Shen Ke’s current state, her eyes full of contemplation.
Crying, Shen Ke was even prettier. Her brows furrowed, lips pouted, tears occasionally trailing from the corners of her eyes. Her eye tails, nose tip, and even chin were flushed pink.
She looked entirely like a ripe water peach, all pink everywhere.
And on her cheeks were deeper red marks from Shen Yi’s own hand.
Shen Yi didn’t like seeing others cry—it usually annoyed her. But Shen Ke didn’t provoke that feeling. Instead, she wanted to see Shen Ke cry even harder.
The thought crossed her mind, and Shen Yi’s lashes fluttered faintly. She asked, “Which foot did she kiss?”
Tears still streaming, Shen Ke said pitifully, “The l-left one.” Was Shen Yi going to chop her leg off for asking? She felt like Shen Yi really might.
“Lift it up.”
Shen Ke’s eyes flew wide. “Wh-what?”
Shen Yi’s tone was flat. She repeated, “Lift it up. Don’t make me say it a third time.”
Shen Ke understood what she meant. She felt she should resist, refuse. But seeing those narrow eyes, she could only shakily lift her leg, exposing it under Shen Yi’s gaze.
Shen Yi’s eyes slid over Shen Ke’s calf to her foot.
The look behind her glasses was inscrutable. She rarely paid attention to others’ feet, but she knew Shen Ke’s were beautiful. No wonder someone wanted to kiss them.
Shen Ke uncomfortably curled up her toes. She felt a damp, cold gaze lingering on her feet.
That was definitely Shen Yi’s gaze. So scary.
Shen Ke’s tears hadn’t stopped since they first surged out, but she only pursed her lips tightly to keep any crying sounds from escaping.
Shen Yi’s fingers twitched slightly. She bent down and grasped Shen Ke’s foot.
Shen Yi’s fingers were ice-cold. The moment they gripped it, the chill spread from the sole of her foot straight to her heart, and goosebumps erupted all over Shen Ke.
“N-No, don’t.” Don’t chop off my foot.
Shen Ke cried even harder. She was so scared. She didn’t want to become a crippled waste without feet.
“I won’t dare to do it again from now on.”
The soft crying sounds rang in her ears, growing louder and louder until they spiraled completely out of control.
Shen Yi lifted her head and gazed at Shen Ke’s miserable, tear-streaked face. She lightly curved the corner of her lips.