Qin Jiao had already suspected her, and now that Xiao Shi confirmed it, a rage burned in her heart. She wanted to tear Lin Nian to shreds right then and there!

She could let other things slide, but for Lin Nian to target Xiao Shi and actually lay a hand on her... this was far from over!

Qin Jiao asked her sister a few more questions and, after coaxing the little girl back to sleep, finally left the bedroom.

She looked up and saw Shen Yi looking at a few drawings taped to the wall. They were pictures of her, but the artist was Shen Yi.

Qin Jiao blushed and immediately rushed over to pull the sketches down, but Shen Yi reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Don’t tear them down. They look nice here. But I can help you make a wooden frame for them later. That would be even better."

Forgetting about the drawings, Qin Jiao immediately pulled her wrist back. Shen Yi felt a pang of regret but didn’t press the matter. He simply asked, "Is Xiao Shi feeling better?"

"She’s a little better. She told me what happened before falling asleep again. It turns out Lin Nian and her older cousin, Lin Xiaohua, saw Xiao Shi on the way. They were sitting up front, while my mom and my aunt were in the rows behind them. Lin Xiaohua is a kidnapper. She and Lin Nian drugged Xiao Shi, then took her off the bus and all the way to Lin Xiaohua’s house. Lin Nian should be back at school by now—the college entrance exam is tomorrow, after all. Lin Xiaohua’s plan was to sell Xiao Shi out of town, but her husband wanted Xiao Shi to be a wife for his mentally handicapped brother."

Shen Yi had always seen Xiao Shi as a little sister, and upon hearing this, a dark, vicious look flashed across his face.

In that moment, it was as if Qin Jiao was seeing the Shen Yi from her past life—the one who would fly into a rage every time he had an episode.

She subconsciously took two steps back. Although Shen Yi wouldn’t hit her when he lost his temper—objectively speaking, he had never been physically abusive to her in their past life.

But there was no stopping the young master from smashing things!

Qin Jiao suddenly felt a pang of protectiveness for her secret little den. ’If Shen Yi dares to break anything, I’ll make him pay me back double!’

Fortunately, Shen Yi closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and managed to suppress that terrifying wave of anger.

Qin Jiao understood in an instant. ’After his rebirth, Shen Yi must have found a way to keep himself from losing his temper so often.’

’It’s a lot like mania. When he gets like that, he spares no one.’

’And the more he lost his temper, the harder it became to control. In the end, even when he didn’t want to, he couldn’t stop himself.’

Shen Yi got his emotions under control and looked up to see that Qin Jiao had backed away almost into the other room. His gaze darkened. "Did I scare you?"

"I’m fine." Qin Jiao walked over, sat on the sofa, and gestured for Shen Yi to sit across from her.

Shen Yi really wanted to sit next to her, but after a moment’s thought, he obediently sat down across from her instead.

It was called a sofa, but they didn’t have the luxury for a real one. Qin Jiao had gone to an old carpenter, drawn up the plans herself, bought the wood and nails, and asked the old man to build it for her.

After it was finished, Qin Jiao had used her mom’s sewing machine to sew a few small cushions to lay on top.

It certainly couldn’t compare to a modern leather sofa, but it had a unique, rustic charm.

Qin Jiao got straight to the point. "This space... I don’t know where it came from. It just suddenly appeared one day. I can enter and leave it just by thinking about it. And... it’s been slowly getting bigger on its own."

’Speaking of the space getting bigger,’ she mused, ’every time it’s changed, it’s had something to do with Shen Yi. Whenever I get close to him, the space expands a little.’

’Last winter, when we had no choice but to squeeze together on the pedicab every day, the space grew like it was on steroids.’

’Back then, she had even speechlessly wondered if one day she slept with Shen Yi, would the space just upgrade itself into a full-blown detached house?’