Chapter 6

Shen Xiao calmly lit a cigarette for himself. Turning to find Shen Yu completely stunned, he gave her a reassuring smile and said gently, "Don't be afraid. Just pretend you're watching a movie."
Watching a movie? How could she? She wasn't a lunatic like him!! If this were really a movie, it would undoubtedly be a disaster film!
Shen Yu felt her heart aching with each passing moment.
That table, those chairs, that lamp, those decorations, she had personally picked them out from the furniture market over the past few days. Each one was a cherished favorite, and before she could even enjoy them for long, they were all destroyed!
How could anyone endure this?!
Her mood was just like the shattered items before her, broken into scattered debris.
All the beautiful prospects she had envisioned earlier now turned into invisible slaps, striking her face with stinging force.
And the instigator of this tragedy was still leisurely commenting on the scene beside her. "This vase is no good. The sound of it breaking isn't crisp enough, definitely a cheap street stall find, worth no more than 20 yuan. Next time, I'll let you hear the sound of a genuine antique porcelain shattering. That is truly heavenly music." After saying this, he squinted his eyes in delight, as if savoring the memory of that sound. "There are two Tang tri-colored glazed ceramics in the study at home. Want to try smashing them later?"
His tone made it sound as if the Tang tri-colored ceramics were only ten yuan more expensive than the street stall junk.
Shen Yu: “…”
Just moments ago, she had been thinking of mustering the courage to confront Shen Xiao. After all, she had painstakingly decorated this apartment, and he had reduced it to rubble in under ten minutes. Wasn't it normal for her to throw a tantrum? But after hearing his description of the sound of antique shattering, Shen Yu swallowed her anger.
She felt that no matter how hysterical she became, she could never out-crazy him!
The bodyguards worked quickly. In just over ten minutes, the two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment was left with nothing intact except for the four walls.
Shen Xiao had almost finished his cigarette. He tossed the remaining stub to the ground and crushed it under his foot before saying to Shen Yu, "Alright, let's go."
Shen Yu looked up at him, suppressing her fear, her expression stubborn. "Where to?"
Shen Xiao raised an eyebrow. "This place is completely wrecked. Do you still want to live here?"
So, he had gone through all this trouble, bringing people to smash the apartment, just to take her back?! If that was the case, why hadn’t he stopped her from moving out in the first place? Ah, that’s right. Back then, he had only said "noted" to Uncle Li, without explicitly agreeing.
Shen Yu suddenly understood: his "noted" should have been interpreted as "I know she has this idea." Then, after letting her joyfully move out and enjoy a few days of freedom, he would deliver the most devastating blow, forcing her to face reality in the cruelest way.
"I..." She lowered her head, staring at her pink slippers, and bit her lower lip. "I’m not going back." As she spoke these words, her heart began to race violently, and her fingers trembled uncontrollably. Shen Yu became increasingly convinced that these reactions were purely the original host’s instincts, not her own. The original host must have been utterly terrified of this brother.
Shen Xiao’s sharp brows furrowed slightly. He tilted his head, looking puzzled, as if he couldn’t believe she dared to defy him.
"Not going back?" he repeated with a cold laugh, rising from his chair and crouching in front of her to examine her up close.
Shen Yu was already looking down, and his crouching posture brought their faces extremely close. His deep, icy gaze felt like the stare of a demon, aggressive and inescapable. Then, in a voice as cold as his expression, he said word by word, "Then don’t expect to have a place to live. Any place like this you set up, I’ll smash it. If you don’t believe me, just try."
Shen Yu: “…”
Is this man a devil?
Struggling to hold back, she mustered her courage and retorted defiantly, "What right do you have to treat me like this?!"
Although the original owner's body resisted approaching Shen Xiao, Shen Yu felt that he wouldn't actually harm her. Having read the original novel, she knew the story never mentioned Shen Xiao doing anything excessive to his sister.
Shen Xiao was momentarily stunned by her question, his gaze growing sharper as he glared at her with an expression that clearly said, "Are you asking for death? How dare you question me?!" He replied, "Because you're what Mom and Dad left to me. Unless I agree, no one can take you away, not even you. Understand?"
Shen Yu: “…”
Understand my foot! What did he mean by "left to him"? She wasn't some pet, a plaything, or part of an inheritance! Why should she belong to him?!
Though she was screaming internally, Shen Yu chose not to argue back. From Shen Xiao's words, she could vaguely glimpse a bit of his twisted mindset, perhaps he saw his sister as part of the family, someone who should obediently stay at home and remain under his control.
Since that was how the lunatic thought, he definitely wouldn't tolerate any rebuttals or easily change because of others' criticism. Otherwise, he wouldn't be called a lunatic!
Seeing her fall silent, Shen Xiao finally stood up satisfied, shaking out his long legs that had grown stiff from squatting. Looking down at her, he said, "Let's go."
After realizing Shen Xiao's perspective, Shen Yu felt a bit resigned to her fate, but she was still unwilling. She had narrowly escaped death and survived in a different way, why did she have to run into such a lunatic?! The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she became, so she stubbornly refused to get up from the chair.
Shen Xiao frowned, suddenly noticing that Shen Yu was being unusually difficult today. Had staying out for a week made her bolder?
But her rare display of defiance, in his eyes, was like a minor itch, it only made him want to mess with her more. He signaled to the bodyguard with a glance, "Carry her away."
Shen Yu: “…”
One of the bodyguards, hearing his boss's order, immediately strode forward without a word, ready to hoist her over his shoulder.
Shen Yu instinctively shrank back. Shen Xiao, standing beside her, narrowed his eyes and then raised a hand to stop the bodyguard. He elegantly took off his suit jacket and tossed it to someone nearby, stretched his arms, stepped forward, grabbed her arm with one hand and supported her leg with the other. With a clever twist of force, he effortlessly lifted her horizontally onto his shoulder.
Shen Yu felt herself flung upward by the momentum, then plummeted downward due to gravity until her soft stomach landed precisely on his shoulder, nearly making her vomit from the impact!
"Mmm..." She was dazed for a few seconds before realizing he was walking away and remembered to struggle. "Let go... I'm not going!"
However, no one paid her any attention.
The group filed out of the room one by one, and the last person carefully closed the door tightly. From the outside, no one would guess that the interior looked like a bomb had gone off, a complete mess.
Although Shen Yu had started dieting, the results weren't very noticeable yet. Her weight was still substantial, yet Shen Xiao effortlessly carried her all the way. Forced to hang upside down, Shen Yu struggled with her hands and feet for a long time without any success. Frustration welled up inside her, her nose tingled, and she burst into loud, unrestrained sobs, not quiet crying, but a full-throated, dramatic wail, completely abandoning her idol image.
Since she had already lost face, she might as well lose it thoroughly!
The sudden outburst of crying startled everyone, except Shen Xiao, who seemed to have a heart of stone and had never been moved by anyone. Carrying the tear-drenched Shen Yu, he strode resolutely toward the parking lot.
Shen Yu had initially cried out of self-pity, hoping to vent her emotions, but seeing his cold-blooded demeanor only fueled her anger. She cried even louder and more vigorously. Even after Shen Xiao tossed her into the car, she continued to sob with undiminished fervor.
Once her bottom hit the seat, Shen Yu cranked up the volume again, wailing, "Waaahhhh..."
Shen Xiao's temple twitched: ...