Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 436: The possibility of getting married to Zhu Shi is 3 out of 406

Chapter 436: The possibility of getting married to Zhu Shi is 3 out of 406

Zhu Shi was completely dumbfounded.

"What on earth is all this mess..." she said.

I was also blown away by this sudden turn of events—should I call it a sudden turn?—to the point where I didn’t know how to respond to Mazao at all.

Although I knew Mazao had a strong protective instinct towards Little Bowl, I didn’t expect her to transfer this protective instinct to Zhu Shi at such a critical moment, becoming a staunch supporter of the marriage between Zhu Shi and me.

Meanwhile, Lu Chan appeared to be deep in thought. He seemed to have left his "spectator" mode, and his expression turned serious as he spoke, "Excuse me, may I say something?"

"Lu Chan, this is a matter between Zhuang Cheng and the Zhu family. You shouldn’t interfere, should you?" Mr. Zhu said.

However, I wanted to buy some time in this chaotic situation to digest and think, so even though I didn’t know what Lu Chan wanted to say in this setting, I still offered my support first: "It’s okay, Lu Chan, go ahead. You can speak your mind directly."

"Thank you." Lu Chan looked at everyone. "As Mr. Zhu mentioned, this is not a matter for me to interfere with, but I still want to say that the marriage between Zhuang Cheng and Zhu Shi should be considered carefully.

"It is foolish for a group to have internal division due to matters between men and women. Zhuang Cheng and Mazao are fond of each other, yet they are to marry Zhu Shi, which will inevitably lead to conflicts in the future. It may seem fine now, but there are hidden dangers. If they can’t be removed, rushing things is inadvisable."

"Hidden dangers—such as?" I asked.

"One point is that I’ve heard Mazao is from the Doomsday Era," Lu Chan said. "Although I cannot verify this personally, since you are discussing based on this premise, I will assume it is true.

"She obviously lacks understanding of many aspects of modern society or has only a partial understanding; marriage is one of them. As she gains more life experience in modern society, she might develop a new understanding of marriage, and by then, she might not be able to view the marriage between Zhuang Cheng and Zhu Shi with her current mindset.

"Furthermore, she herself is still young, merely a thirteen-year-old child, and shouldn’t be formally exposed to romantic relationships yet... Apologies, I didn’t mean to criticize Zhuang Cheng on this matter. Objectively speaking, at different stages of growth, people’s understanding of love is likely to change significantly.

"Just as she lacks understanding of marriage, at this age of thirteen, does she still lack understanding of love, or does she only have a partial understanding? When she enters a new phase of life and her understanding of love changes, can she still accept Zhuang Cheng and Zhu Shi’s marriage calmly?"

Even though Lu Chan sometimes gets off track, the reasoning he presented at this moment was very mature and correct, and I had to admit it.

Indeed, Mazao has lived through countless years in the Doomsday Era, but due to its peculiar nature, a human’s spirit cannot grow normally under the relentless erosion of forgetfulness, so Mazao’s spirit hasn’t fully matured. At least from my observation, it’s more accurate to describe Mazao as a wounded child than as a spiritual adult.

Precisely because Mazao is still growing, both physically and spiritually, she and I made a pact to delay forming a formal relationship until she matures.

"Up until now, it’s only Mazao’s issue. Next is the problem between Zhuang Cheng and Zhu Shi." Lu Chan looked at both of us, "No matter what, you are also young men and women at your prime. Judging by the standard of an ideal couple, you should be quite attracted to each other, and once there’s the bond of marriage, can you assure that you won’t fail each other?

"Let’s put aside the matter of physical consummation. In order to have children, of course, you will have to copulate multiple times before having a child. One child may not be enough; I feel having two or three won’t be too much either... With this premise, can you ensure that you will adhere to the original agreement and not connect with each other spiritually?

"Of course, in the case of Impermanence having several wives is not excessive, but since this important promise has now been made, it is necessary to honor it. Otherwise, potential backlash may arise later, and I would not want my workplace to be undermined by such hidden risks."

Hearing this, Zhu Shi nodded solemnly and said, "I trust that Zhuang Cheng won’t fall in love with me, and I can also assure you that I won’t mix personal feelings into the matter of marriage..."

Lu Chan asked, "Are you saying that because you lack romantic emotions?"

"Hmm?" Zhu Shi’s expression changed.

We hadn’t disclosed Zhu Shi’s situation in this regard to Lu Chan before.

"Sorry, earlier I descended as the ’one specialized in exploring and restoring souls’, and since I have experienced a soul-state transformation of ’letting go of dreams’, I can easily discern the changes and current state of your soul," Lu Chan said.

"Right... I don’t have a compelling reason to hide it anyway. You’re correct. What’s next?" Zhu Shi asked.

"Even if you lack romantic emotions now, what if you recover them in the future?" Lu Chan said, "Perhaps you’ll say you don’t plan to retrieve them, but fate is unpredictable. Back when I offered services over at Ming Zhuo, I never imagined I’d revert, yet I did.

"It’s not only that people have bonds with each other, but also with themselves. Maybe in the future, you’ll feel drawn to your lost ’dream’ and make contact. The result, no one can foresee."

In fact, not long ago, Zhu Shi had plans to restore her former self to regain the Right Positioning Heavenly Phenomena power, and she even took some steps, though ultimately she failed. What will happen in the future is something no one can predict, not even Gua Tianshi dares claim absolute foresight.

Additionally, I once promised Zhu Shi that I would help her recover her romantic feelings. Although that intention faded after understanding her true situation, the lack of emotions is ultimately an abnormal state. Deep down, I haven’t completely dismissed the hope that my friend could become complete again.

"But marrying Zhu Shi is good for Zhuang Cheng," Mazao suddenly spoke. "Although I was a bit hesitant when I first heard about Zhu Shi having children with Zhuang Cheng, I can still accept it. Besides, Little Bowl... Zhu Shi is my best friend, and Zhuang Cheng is the person I trust and like the most.

"I don’t want Little Bowl to marry and have children with a man I’m not familiar with. I want my best friend and the person I like and trust the most to be together... Wouldn’t it be great for us all to stay together? If I oppose it now, I know I’ll regret it later."

That was indeed a beautiful thought, but would things really go so smoothly? I pondered.

"Mazao..." Zhu Shi looked at her speechlessly.

Lu Chan quickly said, "I understand, but anyway, marriage is a very significant matter; surely everyone agrees on this point? Precisely because it’s significant, a decision shouldn’t be made hastily after a rushed proposal.

"Furthermore, Mr. Zhu’s organization of the believers’ forces is still in its infancy, and the Zhu family’s efforts within the believers’ group have only just begun. Such an important matter as a divine wedding should wait until the believers’ forces expand and stabilize. At present, having the status of Zhuang Cheng’s God proxy is more than enough. According to the law of diminishing returns, adding another halo to the Zhu family would not significantly improve efficiency."

Mr. Zhu frowned and asked, "Then... are you suggesting to delay this matter? Or are we to pretend like nothing ever happened today?"

"I have a compromise in mind," Lu Chan said. "Immediate marriage is inadvisable, but they could first engage themselves."

"You’re saying you want me to become Senior Brother Zhuang’s fiancée?" Zhu Shi asked tentatively.

"Exactly." Lu Chan nodded. "Having this status should lend a bit more reality to the notion of future marriage and assist you in reassessing your relationship with each other. For fate as well, an engagement with the Zhu family can have effects somewhat similar to marriage, enabling the Zhu family to better bridge Zhuang Cheng and the believers.

"If any conflicts arise in the future and you decide to annul the engagement, that’s possible too. However, doing so would very likely damage the Zhu family’s status within the believers’ forces. In that event, Mazao could become Mr. Zhu’s or Zhu Shi’s adopted daughter, and only then have Zhuang Cheng marry Mazao."

"Hmm?" Zhu Shi seemed to pinpoint a flaw, "In that case, it seems unnecessary for me to be with Senior Brother Zhuang..."

Mr. Zhu hurriedly said, "That approach is obvious to be a workaround; it would still leave loopholes and imperfections in fate, wouldn’t it, my silly granddaughter? The suggestion for you to marry Zhuang Cheng was to fill these loopholes and imperfections!"

"Is it really just that...?" Zhu Shi said suspiciously.

"Anyway... that’s all I have to say. Ultimately, the decision rests with Zhuang Cheng." Lu Chan looked at me, "Zhuang Cheng, what do you think?"

Mazao tightly hugged my arm.

I don’t want to see Mazao’s disappointed face.

"I think it’s possible," I said. "Zhu Shi, what do you think? If you can’t accept it, I will respect your opinion."

Everyone’s eyes turned to Zhu Shi, who then looked at Mazao.

Mazao gazed at Zhu Shi with hopeful eyes.

Zhu Shi then raised her head to look at me, and I looked back at her. After a brief moment of eye contact, she nodded.

"I want to be Senior Brother Zhuang’s fiancée," she said.