Chapter 2

Shi Xi walked in from outside with a slow, measured gait, wearing a pristine white dress and holding a teddy dog in her arms.

"Xi'er is back!"

Seeing Shi Xi enter the room, Liu Wanxin immediately stood up and walked over to greet her with a face full of smiles.

"Heh, a family gathering, and you didn't even notify me? Am I not worthy of attending?" Shi Xi said, looking dissatisfied.

"You were busy with classes and had rehearsals! It just so happens that Yi'er is back today, so come over and eat with us," Liu Wanxin explained hurriedly.

Shi Xi is three years younger than Shi Yi; she is 20 this year and attends an arts university, majoring in dance.

Ever since one of her eyes was blinded by Shi Yi with a laser pointer when they were children, her family had installed a prosthetic eye for her and pampered her like a little princess, granting her every wish, which also fostered her arrogant and domineering personality.

"Oh, who did I think it was? So my sister is back. Congratulations on your successful rehabilitation."

Shi Xi said with a sarcastic tone, crouching down to let the teddy dog loose on the floor. Upon seeing a stranger in the room, the teddy dog immediately began to bark "Woof, woof, woof" at Shi Yi.

Shi Yi stood up silently and took her schoolbag from the sofa.

"I'm full, I'm going back to my room."

"Heh, after spending a few years inside, have you forgotten how to walk?"

Watching Shi Yi's limping figure, Shi Xi curled her lips and let out a laugh.

Shi Yi ignored her, put on her backpack, and turned to walk away.

"Leaving so soon? You're not giving me any face!"

Shi Xi reached out and snatched the charm off Shi Yi's backpack; it was a small, transparent crystal glass horse.

She held the little horse in one hand, curled her lips, and then gently let go.

With a "snap," the crystal horse hit the ground and was instantly shattered into pieces, with glass shards scattering everywhere.

"Shi Xi, what are you doing?!" Shi Yi said in a rage.

Shi Yi was born in the Year of the Horse, and this crystal horse was a birthday gift given to her by Director Wang of the orphanage when she was ten; it was the only birthday gift she had ever received, and she had always treasured it as a precious possession.

"Sorry, my hand slipped."

Shi Xi looked into Shi Yi's eyes and said provocatively on purpose.

The air went quiet for a moment, and everyone waited for Shi Yi to explode—Shi Yi had always been one to repay grievances with vengeance and never went easy on Shi Xi. During those years at the orphanage, whenever Shi Yi was brought home for meals, the two sisters had often erupted into conflict.

Yet this time, Shi Yi said nothing, and her expression even returned to calm very quickly.

She crouched down and silently began to clean up the glass shards on the floor.

Sharp glass splinters pierced the skin of her hands, and bright red blood immediately flowed down from her onion-white fingertips.

Yet Shi Yi seemed not to feel the pain, expressionlessly picking up the shards one by one and carefully wrapping them in a tissue.

Drip, drip.

The blood on the floor soon pooled into a small puddle, and Shi Heng finally couldn't help but roar:

"Stop picking them up! Your hand is bleeding, don't you know it hurts? Zhang Ma, bring the medical kit!"

Shi Yi had already finished picking up all the shards on the floor. She stood up and carefully placed the bundle of shards into her pocket. "No need, my hand doesn't hurt. I'm going back to my room."

After saying this, she turned and limped downstairs, her figure disappearing in the direction of the basement.

When Zhang Ma arrived in a hurry from the kitchen carrying the medical kit, only the master, the mistress, the eldest young master, and the third young lady remained in the living room.

"Where is the second young lady? Who is injured?"

Zhang Ma said, frowning as she looked at the mess and bloodstains on the floor.

"Heh, what's with the act? She's sick!"

Shi Xi snorted coldly, straightened her back, walked to the dining table, and sat down, slowly picking up food—she had deliberately provoked Shi Yi just now, intending to give her a warning to let her know that five years in prison couldn't make up for her eye, and that the Shi family didn't welcome her back at all.

She hadn't expected Shi Yi to become so easy to bully now; it was really boring.

"Exactly, kindness treated like a donkey's liver and lungs! I think she just doesn't feel pain; if she did, she would have screamed long ago! Zhang Ma, you clean up the floor."

Shi Heng echoed her words, but in his heart, he felt an inexplicable blockage.

Shi Yi's submissive appearance just now was beyond his expectations, and it also made him feel as if his chest were stuffed with cotton—it was stifling. Shi Xi had clearly bullied her, so why didn't she fight back?

"Heh, ignore her! This child has been this stubborn since she was little. Let's continue eating." Liu Wanxin rolled her eyes and persuaded Shi Zhenyuan to return to his seat.

The family finished the meal in silence.

That night, Shi Heng lay on his luxurious bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep—Shi Yi's behavior was too abnormal. Why had she suddenly become so obedient and compliant?

Could it be that five years of prison life had truly changed his sister?

Or was it that... she had some other motive!

Shi Heng lowered his head and thought for a while, then put on his shirt, walked down the stairs, and arrived in front of the basement door.

Bang, bang, bang—

A knock sounded outside the door. Shi Yi endured the intense abdominal pain, propped herself up from the bed with her arms, walked to the door, and opened it.

She saw Shi Heng standing at the door with his hands in his pockets, wearing a condescending expression on his face.

"It's you. Is something the matter?"

"Heh, you can even call Mom and Dad, so is it that hard to call me?"

Shi Yi was already tortured by the abdominal pain caused by the allergy to the point of having no strength left; not wanting to waste any more breath, she opened her mouth and called out.

"Brother..."

Shi Heng hadn't expected her to call him brother so readily. By the dim light, he noticed that Shi Yi's complexion was not very good.

Heh, it hurt after all. Who told her to act tough? She deserved it!

"Lying in bed the moment you get home? Get up and go clean the living room for me."

"Clean the living room? Why? Doesn't Zhang Ma clean the house?"

"Zhang Ma is old, and our house is so big, how could she possibly clean it all by herself? Besides, you made the floor covered in bloodstains the moment you got back today, so if you don't clean it, who will!"

Shi Heng deliberately provoked Shi Yi, just wanting to test whether she would be obedient to him.

If it were in the past, she would definitely have refused such an excessive request.

"But..." Shi Yi spoke with some difficulty. She was currently in so much pain that she couldn't straighten her back, her whole body was weak, her head was dizzy, and her vision was flickering between black and white.

"Are you going or not?" Shi Heng urged.

Looking at the impatient and forceful expression on her own brother's face, Shi Yi gave a bitter smile in her heart. She knew that even if she said it, it would be useless.

In this family, no one would believe her.

Just like that "accident" many years ago, even though she had said countless times that she had never used a laser pointer on Shi Xi's eyes, from beginning to end, no one had believed her.

From childhood to adulthood, she had always been the unloved child.

"Fine, I'll go."

Shi Yi nodded with a pale face, then wrapped her pajamas tightly around herself and walked out of the basement.