I raised stunning young ladies, but they all wanted to possess me.

Shen Youwei came out.

But she didn't change people; it was still the same body, the same voice, and the same face.

Only his tone changed, his eyes changed, and his entire aura changed.

From a timid rabbit to a lazy leopard, from a cup of warm water to a pot of strong liquor.

She leaned against the door, her bloodshot eyes staring at the ceiling, a faint, cold smile on her lips, like the glint of a blade.

"Sister, do you feel it? That pink-haired bitch has something very dangerous inside her."

Her voice was soft, but every word was spoken clearly, like hail hitting glass, crisp and cold.

"I sensed it; her bloodline is wrong. She's not an ordinary person."

"It felt like something was sealed away, or like something was asleep."

"Like a wild beast locked in a cage, like a knife hidden in its sheath."

"Once he wakes up and is drawn, it will be very troublesome."

She paused, and the light in her completely red eyes flickered, like two inextinguishable red lamps shining in the night.

"Moreover, this is the imperial capital, and there are too many experts here."

"Those old fogies, each one of them is more resilient than the last, and each one is a better fighter than the last."

"Even if we take Gu Yan as our own, we won't be able to get out or escape."

She stretched out her hand and looked at her palm. The lines on her fair palm were clear, and her fingers were long and strong.

"So, little sister, you need to become stronger too. It's not enough for me to be strong alone."

"No matter how strong an individual is, he can't defeat a group of people; no matter how sharp a knife is, it can't cut through an iron chain."

"You must cultivate martial arts; you must become stronger with me."

"When you become strong, when I become strong, we will become one."

"By then, no one will be our match."

"No one can take Gu Yan away from us."

"None of his women—Pei Yuran, Lin Jinyu, Cecilia, Fu Wanqing—are acceptable."

"Kill one if one comes, kill two if two come."

Her tone was calm, as if she were saying that the weather was nice today, but the murderous intent in her words was as thick as ink that could not be dissolved.

Shen Youyao's consciousness responded in the same brain, the sound was very small and weak but very clear, like an echo coming from the bottom of a very deep well.

"Sister, can I...can I do it? Can I become stronger?"

Shen Youwei smiled, her completely red eyes filled with a resolute light—not a comforting light, but a calmness that came from having seen through the outcome.

"You can do it. You have me, you have Brother Gu Yan, and you have a reason to become stronger."

"And you're much stronger than you think, you just don't know it."

"You're just used to being bullied and insulted by those people, so you think you're useless."

"But you are not. You are Shen Youyao. You are my sister. I live inside your body."

"Starting tomorrow, I will teach you. You will practice every night and attend classes as usual during the day."

"Let's train our bodies to their strongest and our superpowers to their strongest."

"If Gu Yan wants to go to South Africa, we'll go with him."

"He wanted to take his grandfather with him, so we helped him take his grandfather with him."

"We'll give him everything he wants, and we'll protect him from what he doesn't want."

"If he wants to fight someone, we'll fight them for him; if he wants to run, we'll cover his retreat."

Shen Youyao remained silent for several seconds before speaking, her voice trembling slightly, like the wind blowing through the strings of a musical instrument.

"Sister, why are you so good to me?"

Shen Youwei leaned against the door, her bloodshot eyes staring at the ceiling. She remained silent for a long time, so long that Shen Youyao thought she wouldn't answer.

Then she spoke, her voice very soft, so soft it was as if she were talking to herself, as soft as if she were afraid of waking something.

"Because you are my sister, you are the only person in the world who doesn't treat me like a monster."

"Gu Yan doesn't treat me like a monster, but he's too far removed from us."

"He has too many people around him: Pei Yuran, Lin Jinyu, Cecilia, and Fu Wanqing."

"He can't just watch over us, he can't just stay with us."

"But you're different. You're inside me, you're with me, and you'll never leave me."

"Whether I am Shen Youyao or Shen Youwei, whether I am good or bad, you are always there."

Shen Youyao didn't speak again, but a warm feeling came from the depths of her consciousness.

The feeling was like a hug, and also like crying, as if saying, "Sister, I will never leave you."

The feeling was like charcoal fire in winter, ice water in summer, or a lamp in the dark.

Shen Youwei closed her eyes, her completely red pupils hidden under her eyelids, her eyeballs moving slightly beneath them.

A smile lingered on her lips, a warm smile, not a cold one, like a hot spring seeping from beneath the ice, like green shoots sprouting from frozen soil.

She stood for a while, then walked over to the sofa and sat down, sinking into the soft cushions.

There were three cups of coffee on the coffee table; two had been drunk and one remained untouched.

She picked up the untouched glass and took a sip. It was cold, bitter and astringent, like Chinese medicine, like Coptis chinensis.

But she drank it all down, sip by sip, very slowly, as if savoring something precious. She placed the cup on the coffee table, leaving a ring of coffee stains at the bottom.

Then she lay down on the sofa, holding the plush bunny in her arms, its belly pressed against her chest, and she could feel its heartbeat.

The rabbit's ears were washed until they were white, and the fur on them was all worn down, but they really did smell like Gu Yan.

It was very faint, so faint that most people couldn't smell it at all, but she could. It smelled like a quilt that had been sun-dried, or like grass after the rain, with a hint of soapberry fragrance.

She hugged the rabbit even tighter, so tight that its body was deformed. The rabbit closed its eyes, and its bright red eyes moved slightly under its eyelids, as if it was thinking about something.

Maybe he was thinking about Gu Yan, maybe he was thinking about tomorrow, maybe he was thinking about that pink-haired woman, or maybe he wasn't thinking about anything at all.

The living room lights were still on, casting a warm yellow glow on her and projecting her shadow onto the wall.

Her long pink hair was spread out on the sofa, like a soft cloud, or a flower blooming in the night, its petals unfurling to reveal its stamen.

Her breathing gradually became even and long, and the rise and fall of her chest became smaller and slower.

She was asleep, a smile still on her lips, her fingers still clutching the rabbit's ears tightly, as if afraid someone would snatch them away.

That smile was different from when she was awake; it wasn't cold, nor was it warm; it was quiet and gentle.

Like a child having a beautiful dream, unwilling to wake up and return to reality.

Moonlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, falling on her face and her long pink hair.

Her eyelashes were long, casting a small shadow on her face, and trembled slightly with her breath.

In that instant, she didn't seem like a ruthless killer, nor a powerful figure in control of everything.

She was just a girl, a girl who slept while hugging a rabbit, a girl waiting for someone to come back.