As Shi exited the room her mind was in chaos and she knew that she needed time to sort out all her feeling before she once again faced Yang and the rest of them.
As she looked around she noticed that she was unknowingly walking towards the private room that she had first entered with Xinghe when she arrived here in the evening. Walking through the dance floor which was filled with people and loud music, Shi felt silent inside herself, like no amount of music or noise could even cause a ripple inside her.
Reaching the door, she pushed it open only to find it completely dark inside. She laughed mockingly because she felt that she too felt like the room, dark and silent.
Not minding the dark and certainly not wishing to switch on the lights, Shi entered the room when she suddenly felt a shiver down her spine, as if someone was watching her. Looking around the room, the first time since she entered she saw something and if she was some ordinary young lady she would have long fainted, but not Shi, as she had long grown accustomed to it.
There in the darkness was a pair of green eyes that were looking intently at her. The reason why she was so calm about this otherwise scary occurrence was because she was able to identify those eyes and would always be able to identify them anywhere. After all, for her, they were the eyes of the person whom she respected and loved the most.
Her first brother, Li Yichen
He was the first one who had extended his hand for the little girl who was so scared of her nightmare that she was afraid of coming out of under the bed where she had hidden herself. He was the one who had always been the first one to rush into her room whenever she woke up and screeched from her nightmares. He was the one who would listen to her every whim and try to fulfill her every wish no matter how small or how big it may be.
He was her gege* who had always been there for her and always will be.
Her gege who would always take her side.
She still remembers the day when she had announced during breakfast that she would join Yifeng for training, her grandpa who would always listen to her promptly rejected her from it. At that time too it was her first brother who had taken her side and had then spent an entire day in her grandpa's office trying to change his mind and make him agree too.
In the end, her gege had stepped out of the room victorious.
Yes, she knew about the underworld and illegal dealings of her family and was involved in them too. Frankly speaking, it would have been a greater surprise if she was not involved as her whole family was in it.
Everyone had a different reason, different agenda for joining, some were in it for the power while some were for the money but for her, it was to overcome her fears and her trauma. She believed and still believes that by being stronger she would perhaps one day be able to come over her nightmares and heal from them too.
She knew it somewhere deep in her heart, that if she was even a little bit more powerful then she would not have lost her Mama who had sacrificed herself that day to save her.
This was also one of the reasons why she was hesitant to get in a relationship with Yang. She admits that she has grown closer to him and that is why it would completely shatter her to see the look of disgust on his face if he comes to know about this side of hers. Cause who in their right mind would like to share a bed or even a house with a woman who had blood on her hands and she had plentiful of it.
At that time would he listen to her and try to understand that the only reason her hands were covered in blood was to protect herself and those she loved or would he also look at her face with scorn.
This was a question whose answer Shi would never like to figure out.
But she doesn't regret picking up a gun and she will never regret it in her entire life.
If a situation arises which will require her to pick up a gun, she will do it without any hesitation and will not even think twice.
This she knew about herself and was sure of it.
Dispersing such thoughts from her mind she decided to first deal with the matter at hand.
Looking at her brother a delighted smile broke out on her face as she rushed towards him happily with a bounce in her step.
"Gege! what are you doing here? Are you here to meet me?"
She started asking as a little child, because maybe only in front of him and their grandfather was she able to act like this. Without any restraint, without any care as to how the world would see her.
Li Yichen who was sitting, now stood up as she stopped in front of him and said with a chuckle,
"No meimei* I am not here to especially meet you. I was actually in the area and so decided to catch Yanchen and take him with me so that he would not be able to escape both his punishment and his lecture which is surely awaiting him from grandfather."
Shi let out a giggle at her brother and his mind as she also knew that her third brother was most probably coming up with a plan as to how to escape.
Li Yichen who heard her voice again and found it slightly to be nasal, walked towards the switchboard and turned on the soft lights inside the room. Turning around he looked at his little sister and found out that even though there was a smile on her face, her eyes looked sad. After looking more sharply he found out that the rims of her eyes were also red. Indicating that she had just recently cried.
He walked towards the pair of comfortable sofas in the room and sat on one as he patted for Shi to sit in the one next to him.
As she sat down, he looked at her and asked her in a tender voice,
"What happened Shi''
Shi looked at her brother with a big question mark on her face as she shook her head to indicate that nothing has happened. Li Yichen looked at her again and once again asked,
"If nothing has happened then why did you cry meimei"
Shi inwardly sighed as she thought,
'Sure enough, it is very difficult to let anything pass gege's eyes.'