Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 437 - 407 Mazao’s True Heart

Chapter 437: 407 Mazao’s True Heart

Zhu Shi became my fiancée.

Mr. Zhu’s initial goal was to marry Zhu Shi to me. Although it hasn’t reached his original goal, he seems temporarily satisfied. After we preliminarily settled this matter, he left the mansion. Lu Chan also had work to do, so he left after saying goodbye. Only Zhu Shi, Mazao, and I were left.

For a moment, I didn’t know how to look at Zhu Shi. One hour ago, she was still a good friend; an hour later, she suddenly became my fiancée.

Fiancée... I used to think this was a distant term, but now it suddenly feels very real and catches me off guard.

Zhu Shi also seemed uncertain about the sense of distance between us, her gaze a bit at a loss.

Perhaps she agreed to the engagement under pressure. To be sure, and also to break the awkward atmosphere, I decided to ask about her true thoughts first.

"... After all, I don’t really want to marry other men," Zhu Shi replied, "I don’t particularly resist the idea of marriage and childbirth, but I would definitely feel a bit uneasy. And if the person is you, Senior Brother Zhuang, I think I can accept it. Though there are many parts of you that make me uneasy."

"So... Zhu Shi, when do you plan to marry Zhuang Cheng specifically?" Mazao asked with concern.

Despite having set an engagement, the specific marriage time hasn’t been determined. There are many factors involved, such as the Zhu family’s cultivation plan for their believers and my future arrangements, among others. Besides, I’m currently only nineteen, and Zhu Shi is eighteen, not yet at the legal age for marriage.

It’s not that we’re overly concerned with the legal marriage age, just that in this era, marrying at eighteen or nineteen does seem a bit strange. Even if we disregard others’ opinions, even I feel like it might be rushing things. Zhu Shi’s feelings are also very important; she doesn’t seem ready to completely abandon her university studies. Maybe we should wait until Zhu Shi graduates from university if we’re to marry?

As I kept thinking, I realized that I was seriously considering the practical details of getting married. Is this really okay? I first glanced at Mazao’s expression, then looked at Zhu Shi. Lu Chan’s worries about the future floated to my mind.

The things happening among the three of us are so unique that it’s hard to find reference cases. Many issues seem only discoverable and solvable by ourselves.

This unknown feeling, and the crisis of not knowing what will happen in the future, gave me a sense of déjà vu. It’s almost like an adventure, yet it also carries a vague and unfamiliar atmosphere.

The only thing that can be certain is that within our relationship lies a potential that might derail and lose control over some ordinary yet stable aspects. On one hand, I want to be happy for the emergence of this possibility; on the other, because it is too unfamiliar compared to the adventures I know, I can’t help but think, "Is this right?"

It might be that my agreement to this engagement also has a motive to delve deeper into the unknown.

"When specifically to get married? At least wait until you’ve established a relationship with Senior Brother Zhuang," Zhu Shi answered without hesitation.

"Me?" Mazao was confused.

"Although I feel like you’re already in a substantial relationship, this "wait until you grow up to officially date" arrangement seems quite meaningless. However, since you, Mazao, feel that you haven’t truly been in a relationship with Zhuang Cheng, I, as a latecomer, shouldn’t jump the gun," Zhu Shi said. "Marriage carries special significance, and getting married while you’re in a relationship is already troublesome. If I marry Zhuang Cheng when you feel you haven’t officially dated, that would feel even more unfair to you."

"I don’t mind," Mazao said seriously.

"But I do," Zhu Shi gently touched Mazao’s face. "And Lu Chan is right; we should take more time to examine our relationships, and if it doesn’t work, we can still back out of the engagement."

With these words, she teasingly said, "Then I can become a ’canceled engagement’ heroine, and maybe my cultivation speed will suddenly surge, reaching a level where I can become Impermanence without the Yama Sword."

"Canceled engagement?" Mazao showed a puzzled expression.

"Of course, even if we really got married, as long as you say you don’t want it, I would immediately divorce Senior Brother Zhuang," Zhu Shi said earnestly. "You can rest assured, even if I divorced, I wouldn’t take half of his power away."

Mazao’s eyes lit up, saying, "Ah, that I can understand..."

Zhu Shi smiled and continued to chat with Mazao for a while. As the conversation went on, Mazao seemed a bit tired and even yawned.

Even though it’s still broad daylight, Mazao seemed already drowsy. It’s understandable since she had been highly concentrating and treating Changan’s soul for a whole week before, so her mental exhaustion must be great. Although the Power of Return could restore her, the healthiest way to recover her spirit is always through regular rest and sleep.

Mazao understood this point. After a little persuasion from me, she obediently nodded. I escorted her to the bedroom and let her lie down.

Zhu Shi seemed to want to discuss something with me privately, avoiding Mazao, so I walked with her to the corridor outside.

After moving a distance away, Zhu Shi looked back in the direction of Mazao’s room, and then said, "Actually, there’s another reason why I don’t want to get married so soon."

"What reason?" I asked.

"Mazao is very happy to see me marry you because she sees me as her best friend, Little Bowl," Zhu Shi said. "But am I really that Little Bowl?"

"Do you think you’re not? Have you found any clues?" I asked.

"I don’t have any clues that prove I’m not Little Bowl, nor have I felt a premonition that I’m not," Zhu Shi said. "However, I still lack a sense of reality in my heart. Would I really, due to certain factors in the future, become a little girl and then meet Mazao? Or maybe, it’s not me who becomes a little girl, but a dream I abandoned in the past... just like Lu Chan’s dream became a girl’s figure in an independent reality space in the past?"

"Anyway, although all current clues support the reasoning that ’Little Bowl is another me’, reasoning is just reasoning. Before fully verifying, one shouldn’t trust it as an ironclad fact."

"Moreover, we do have the conditions for verification. So before officially starting the verification, there’s no need to rush to conclusions."

Her perspective was quite rational, and I also agreed that she was right.

The method of verifying whether Zhu Shi is Little Bowl is very straightforward; next time entering the Void Realm, we just need to tell Little Bowl, "You are Zhu Shi," and observe her reaction.

I had mentioned the name Zhu Shi in front of Little Bowl before. Although I hadn’t said the name belonged to her, she had an intriguing reaction. She even commented that the name sounded familiar.

The reason she hadn’t realized the name Zhu Shi belonged to her could be due to a preconceived notion that Zhu Shi should be someone else’s name and not associate it with herself. However, I lean more towards another possibility: that Little Bowl lacks a sense of identification with the name Zhu Shi.

Little Bowl is about ten years old. When Zhu Shi was around ten, she wasn’t called Zhu Shi but Zhu Jiuxing. So even if Little Bowl really is Zhu Shi, the name she identifies with might not be Zhu Shi but Zhu Jiuxing.

The next time we validate Little Bowl, I must pay attention to this.

After separating from Zhu Shi, I went to check on Mazao in her room. Although she seemed sleepy, she hadn’t fallen asleep yet. She appeared curious about what Zhu Shi and I discussed but didn’t ask directly, just kept it to herself.

Actually, there was no particular reason to hide those words from Mazao earlier, and Zhu Shi didn’t ask me to keep it a secret, so I sat down beside the bed and told Mazao honestly.

"If Zhu Shi isn’t Little Bowl..." Mazao mumbled from the bed.

"You can rest assured, if that’s the case, I would break off the engagement with Zhu Shi. Zhu Shi has the same thoughts as I do," I said.

Mazao paused for a while, then shook her head, saying, "Even so... I hope you and Zhu Shi get married."

"Why?"

I was surprised at first, then I thought about her recent interactions with Zhu Shi and asked, "Is it because you’ve grown close to Zhu Shi recently?"

"It’s because it would be very beneficial for you. You, Zhuang Cheng, also seem not to want Zhu Shi to marry other men."

Mazao seemed really sleepy as her eyes grew heavy, but she still forced herself to speak, "And... I still think you marrying Zhu Shi wouldn’t affect us being together. Though I initially felt unhappy at the thought of Zhu Shi having children with you, after thinking it through, there’s absolutely no reason to be unhappy. I can give you children as well when I grow up."

Is that how it is? Why do I feel something’s off? At least people who grow up in modern society wouldn’t have such thoughts, would they? Mazao in the past, having wandered long through the Doomsday era without civilization and order, seems rather wild in many aspects. It might be more complimentary to say she’s carefree, or more bluntly, out of touch.

"Don’t you want to have me to yourself?"

When I asked this, I felt embarrassed myself.

Mazao blinked with confusion and then countered, "Zhuang Cheng, do you want to have me to yourself?"

"Of course. I want you all to myself, not even willing to share a strand of hair with others." I replied without hesitation.

Slowly extending her hand from under the blanket, Mazao grasped mine and placed it over her heart.

"Just hearing that you want to possess me makes me so happy," she said, "I want to give every drop of my blood to you, gather all the good things in the world for you, and make you as happy as I am now."

Her voice grew softer, and by the time she finished, she was clutching my hand tightly, gradually closing her eyes, and drifted asleep.

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