Chapter 599 Personally Congratulating Shi

I feel it's about time I made a statement.

“I understand everything now. May I share some of my thoughts?” I asked.

“Of course. Brother Zhuang Cheng, what do you want to say?” Xiao Wan asked.

"Personally, I don't think love is like objective matter, subject to the law of conservation of matter. Rather, it's like magic, free and unrestrained. Even if you like someone more, your original liking won't be split in half," I said. "To put it another way, it's like someone who likes Coke might also like Sprite, but their liking for Coke won't be halved. So, theoretically, it's not impossible for me to love Ma Zao while also loving Zhu Shi."

"Theoretically?" Xiao Wan seemed to be thinking.

Zhu Shi immediately pointed out: "But even if your feelings don't diminish, your time and energy are limited. If you devote more attention to one person, you'll have less attention to the other. The time you spend with one person alone will be taken up, and if you spend time with two people at the same time, the person you're spending time with will also have complaints."

"I have no objection," Ma Zao said.

“I have no objection,” I said.

"You should at least say something, Ma Zao! And this isn't something Senior Brother Zhuang should be saying, is it?" Zhu Shi complained.

“However, Zhu Shi has a point. If I were to be two-timing, things would become unequal between us. Actually, this has been the case before. I have a possessive streak towards Asao, but Asao only wants to dedicate herself to me. Putting myself in her shoes, if Asao had a man other than me, I absolutely couldn't tolerate it. And yet, I'm doing something that's 'do not do to others what you would not have them do to you,'” I said.

“Yes. Even if Senior Brother Zhuang doesn’t plan to fall in love with me as Xiao Wan said, just marrying me and having children according to the original plan is already a physical affair… Although it’s problematic from my perspective as the ‘affair partner,’ isn’t this a double standard?” Zhu Shi said.

“Even if I knew I had double standards, I wouldn’t change. I’d just admit to everyone that I have double standards. It’s not the first time I’ve done things that I wouldn’t want done to others, and I never hold a grudge,” I said.

"No, you should at least take this to heart!" Zhu Shi shouted.

Xiao Wan asked, "So... what exactly is Brother Zhuang Cheng trying to say? It seems to me that you've been agreeing with my plan, but there also seems to be some unspoken objection?"

“It’s not that I’m against it. In fact, I also think that the three of us being together is logical. Ma Zao also wants me to love Zhu Shi, and as for Zhu Shi, I feel that she’s saying the negative thing more out of common sense than because she’s truly against the relationship…” I said, glancing at Zhu Shi.

Zhu Shiwei paused slightly, then nodded and said, "I don't dislike being with Senior Brother Zhuang and Ma Zao, I just hope that Senior Brother Zhuang can give all his love to Ma Zao, instead of giving it to a woman like me who can't reciprocate the same love..."

Xiao Wan corrected, "After I complete my mission, just as Zhu Jiu's soul will return, your lost romantic feelings will also return. So, you don't need to worry about that."

"...Is that so?" Zhu Shi seemed to be able to only accept it in a perfunctory manner.

Most importantly, she must have understood perfectly well that if she couldn't cooperate with Xiaowan to complete the mission, Zhu Jiu would never be able to return.

Zhu Shi could only do as Xiao Wan said.

I continued, "What I really want to say is that I might not be able to do it."

"Can't do what?" Xiao Wan was taken aback.

"Asahisa gave me all her feelings, so it's hard for me not to give all my feelings back to Asahisa," I said.

Xiao Wan asked in confusion, "But Brother Zhuang Cheng, didn't you say before that even if you fell in love with Zhu Shi, your feelings for Sister Ma Zao wouldn't diminish? Why do you feel here that once you give all your feelings to Sister Ma Zao, it's not good to give any more to Zhu Shi? Isn't that illogical?"

"It really doesn't make sense. So, actually, I'm not very good at explaining it myself. I'm not saying this because it's not conservation or equivalence or anything like that, I just feel... that's how it should be." I said sincerely.

Could it be because I still harbor romantic fantasies about beautiful love? Or is it that while I say I want to be an upright person with double standards, I'm actually unconsciously yearning to become a virtuous person who can be recognized by everyone?

Or perhaps this is simply the mindset one should have when truly falling in love with someone?

Xiao Wan lowered his head in thought, as if he was slowly understanding something, and his furrowed brows relaxed again.

“I understand,” she said. “In short, it’s not that Brother Zhuang Cheng doesn’t want to do it, or feels he shouldn’t do it; he simply feels he can’t do it, right?”

"That's right," I said.

“Then things are simple!” Xiao Wan smiled. “If Brother Zhuang Cheng can’t directly develop feelings for Zhu Shi, then we just need to cultivate those feelings through ‘some methods’.”

Zhu Shi seemed to have a bad feeling, or perhaps he was uneasy because of the previous conversations that defied common sense. His voice trembled as he asked, "Um... what do you mean by 'some methods'?"

I am also very curious about what kind of answer Xiaowan, with his extraordinary wisdom, could come up with.

Xiao Wan took a deep breath and then uttered her wise words in a resounding voice: "—That's 'sexual desire'!"

"What!?" Zhu Shi was dumbfounded.

"The feelings between men and women are a mixture of friendship and desire..." Xiaowan said in a tone of stating the truth, "Since ancient times, sex and love have been sacred and inseparable. Love can give rise to desire, and desire can also give rise to love."

"Just as theory can guide practice and practice can in turn enrich theory, practice is also a very important aspect of emotional relationships."

"If you want Zhuang Cheng to fall in love with you, then you must engage in practical activities with him."

"A real, real, real practical activity!?" Zhu Shi's eyes were so confused they looked like they were about to turn into a mosquito coil.

"Don't make such a fuss," Xiaowan said earnestly. "Since you can't overtake Mazao-neechan in matters of the heart, you can only make good use of your curvaceous college student body."

"Fortunately, this is also what Sister Asaho is lacking now, and you can fill this gap. Brother Zhuangcheng is still very young. As long as you become his first practical activity subject, you will definitely leave an indelible mark on his heart, and feelings will grow from this mark like a spring."

"I know this is undoubtedly a shameful and embarrassing operation for someone as pure-hearted as you, but if you don't try it before Asaha-neechan is fully developed, there won't be a second chance. You don't want to end up like the childhood friend character in a romance manga who hasn't accomplished anything for over a decade and has become a loser, do you? The thing you should be doing right now is devouring the person you've set your sights on like a shameless beast!"

“Childhood sweetheart…loser…” Zhu Shi’s gaze unconsciously slid to Zhu Jiu lying on the bed.

Asaha seemed to remember something, "Come to think of it, I seem to have done something similar before..."

I also remembered that Zhu Shi once said on a whim that since she was going to marry me and have children with me sooner or later, she might as well practice beforehand to get rid of her fears; more importantly, it was to prevent me from taking advantage of Ma Zao's body before she grew up, so that she could release the desires she had accumulated.

Later, she became hesitant and changed her approach, starting from the initial stage and gradually adapting.

Xiaowan asked Mazao curiously, and after receiving an explanation, she murmured, "I see, last time it was intimate touching... So what's the next stage? Have you decided yet?"

Asa answered seriously, "It's a kiss."

Xiao Wan slowly looked at Zhu Shi.

Zhu Shi let out a strange sobbing sound, and said in a panic, "Wait, wait a minute... My mother—my mother who is in a vegetative state is still lying there! Isn't it too disrespectful to do that here? At least... at least in a different place...!"

Xiao Wan said seriously, "It's okay, Zhu Jiu won't care. I can give her a guarantee on her behalf, and I can also witness what is about to happen on her behalf."

"But...but..." Zhu Shi seemed to be racking her brains for an excuse, "Right! I only brushed my teeth this morning when I woke up, and it's already afternoon now. I ate breakfast and lunch in between, so my mouth should still have a taste..."

"So you were just worried about that kind of thing?" Asaha said understandingly. "Don't worry, I'll use the power of reversion to reset the state of your mouth to the time when you just brushed your teeth this morning."

Even so…

Having reached a dead end and finding no way to escape, Zhu Shi could only loudly appeal for help from the sidelines: "Grandpa, Grandpa! You can surely hear me, right? Please help your granddaughter!"

We did not take any precautions to keep our conversation private. As an elderly gentleman of high rank, since we were both in this villa, he was bound to hear everything we said.

When his granddaughter pleaded for help, Mr. Zhu, who was outside the bedroom, not only did not give any verbal response, but also took the opportunity to kick her while she was down.

Click.

The bedroom door suddenly clicked shut from the inside.

"Grandpa!?" Zhu Shi looked like he had been betrayed without warning.

I feel it's necessary to take courageous action to put an end to this increasingly chaotic situation. Besides, as a man, I believe these things always require initiative. This wasn't something decided today; it was agreed upon long ago. Anyway, I'm going to get married and have children sooner or later, so what's one more step?

So I took a step and walked towards Zhu Shi.

Seeing this, Zhu Shi hurriedly retreated to the corner of the wall. His body seemed to lose strength involuntarily, and he slowly slid down the wall and sat down on the ground.

"Um... Senior Brother Zhuang?" she said weakly, "Let's... let's talk this out..."

Little Bowl called out encouragingly from nearby, "Brother Zhuang Cheng! Tongue, remember to stick your tongue out!"

Ma Zao touched her lips, then looked at me and Zhu Shi, as if she was imagining something.

As I approached, my shadow fell upon Zhu Shi against the bedroom light. Zhu Shi's gaze gradually rose, her heart pounding as she looked up at my face. I, too, felt an indescribable tension, struggling to keep it from her seeing.

I slowly lowered one knee and braced myself against the wall. My palm rested on the wall next to Zhu Shi's cheek. Although it wasn't intentional, this way she couldn't escape. She seemed to realize this herself, her face turning red. She stopped struggling, her body completely stiffening, as if she had resigned herself to her fate, and slowly closed her eyes.

The distance between our lips gets closer and closer until it reaches zero.

(End of this chapter)