Chapter 601 The Contradiction of the Small Bowl
I turned around and saw the small bowl.
She was standing gracefully a few meters behind me, while the sounds of a picnic drifted from afar. Even if everyone else possessed superhuman hearing, they wouldn't be able to hear our conversation. The ability to prevent others from hearing what one doesn't want them to hear isn't unique to me; Little Bowl, who possesses the power of the Heavenly and Earthly Manifestations, also has it.
"Do you want to tell Mazao-neechan that you actually hope for the end of the world to come?" Xiaowan asked again.
“This is something we agreed on in the past, isn’t it? After returning to the real world, I must tell Asaho my true feelings,” I said. “Perhaps this will make Asaho choose to be my enemy… No, she will definitely choose that. She can’t choose a position other than ‘saving the world,’ and we will definitely become enemies. Even so, I will tell her my true feelings. I have made up my mind.”
"Won't you be sad about breaking up with Asahi-neechan?" Xiaowan asked.
Images of our previous dinner together flashed through my mind. Ma Zao sat in my lap, blushing as I fed her, surrounded by lively noise. That scene, perhaps, will never happen again.
At the same time, I was also envisioning a dramatic scenario of being enemies with Asahi, and I was secretly and intensely looking forward to it.
Sadness and anticipation intertwined, tearing my heart apart. To escape this vortex, I must make a decision quickly. I can't think of any reason to hesitate. Even if destruction awaits me, I must accept it willingly. This is the path I chose; there's no turning back, no room for regret. I allow myself to do anything, except regret.
"Will you still choose to stand by my side?" I asked.
“Just like Zhuang Cheng keeps his promise, I also keep my own promise. At the same time, I will not take back what I said in the past. Zhuang Cheng is the embodiment of my dream, and I will believe in Zhuang Cheng as much as I believe in myself,” Xiao Wan said.
"Even if I break ties with Asahi next, do you still believe I can bring happiness to Asahi?" I asked back.
Xiao Wan sighed and said, "Brother Zhuang Cheng, it seems you've forgotten some of the things I said."
"forget?"
I was quite surprised, and immediately searched my memories. My memories were intact, and it was impossible that I had lost anything due to madness during my adventures in the afterlife.
“It’s alright, you’ll remember soon,” Xiaowan said with a smile. “I’m catching up with you now not to dissuade you, nor to confirm your resolve. I want to thank you. Thank you for not trying to dissuade me before.”
I understood and said, "You mean the mission, right? Although you will disappear after completing the mission, since this is a decision you made with strong willpower, I will stand by your side and help you as you helped me."
Xiao Wan said happily, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Brother Zhuang Cheng."
"However, even if I were to fall in love with Zhu Shi, I wouldn't be able to do so so quickly. Besides, I'm a man who doesn't understand romance at all. Even if I did fall in love, I probably wouldn't be able to create any romantic atmosphere between us. As for Zhu Shi herself, you can see that she's completely devoid of any romantic qualities," I said.
"Well, in this regard, we'll have to rely on Brother Zhuang Cheng's initiative. Hmm, to increase your enthusiasm, let's add some incentives. For example..." Xiao Wan pretended to think for a moment before saying seriously, "If you win over Zhu Shi now, you can also get me as a bonus, how about that?"
"Zhu Shi used to call me 'Mom.' Not only can she bring the beautiful female college student swordsman into her room, but she can also win over her lovely mother. In a sense, she's got both mother and daughter!"
"You actually asked me how I am... You call me brother on one hand, and act like your mother on the other. Isn't that a bit confusing?" I complained. "Besides, you look only ten years old. You're way too young, aren't you?"
"Really? I'm a trendy 'little girl mom' these days, so how come I still can't make Brother Zhuang Cheng's heart flutter?" Xiao Wan seemed to have absorbed some strange knowledge from Zhu Shi. "Besides, when I gave Brother Zhuang Cheng a lap pillow last time, I clearly felt that he was very comfortable. Could it be that I was just imagining things?"
"You were healing me then, so of course I felt good." I changed the subject. "Besides, didn't you want me to fall for Zhu Shi? By trying to sell me your own benefits like this, the most I'll get is more affection for you, not for Zhu Shi, right?"
“That makes sense… Could a two-person, three-legged strategy actually cause problems? But if it’s just Zhu Shi alone, it’s really impossible to achieve a balance of power with Ma Zao-nee. I guess I still need to assist from the side…” Xiao Wan actually started thinking very seriously.
It was only at this point that I noticed a blind spot, a blind spot that should not have been ignored.
“Little Bowl, I have a question,” I said.
Xiao Wan looked into my eyes, paused slightly, and then asked, "What's the problem?"
I asked slowly, "Why must I fall in love with Zhu Shi to fulfill your innate mission?"
Zhu Jiu originally relinquished her existence to her daughter's dream incarnation, which led to the unfortunate birth of Xiao Wan. Although this wasn't an action Zhu Jiu took with a clear purpose, judging solely by the outcome, the goal of simply ensuring her daughter Zhu Shi's happiness in the real world could have been achieved without her relinquishing her own existence to the dream incarnation in the first place.
Zhu Shi herself didn't actually have the desire to find love; that obsession resided with Xiao Wan.
In other words—
"If I want to fulfill your childhood obsession with pursuing love and happiness, shouldn't I be the one to fall in love with you?" I asked.
Thinking about it carefully, this is a problem that should have been noticed much earlier. Why did I only realize it now? A little analysis will make it clear that it's probably because Xiaowan emphasized from the beginning that she is neither Zhu Jiu nor Zhu Shi.
It's true that Xiao Wan's self-perception doesn't lean towards either Zhu Jiu or Zhu Shi. However, facts can sometimes lead to misunderstandings. The inference that she's outside the target group because she's not Zhu Shi seems logical, but it doesn't hold up to scrutiny.
Xiao Wan is not a character completely independent of Zhu Shi's childhood. On the contrary, she acknowledges that she is an extension of Zhu Shi's childhood, the embodiment of his dream, and also acknowledges her mission as the embodiment of the dream. Even the obsession with Zhu Shi's childhood is rooted within her. Reaching this point, no matter how much she discusses self-awareness, she must admit that "she is the character symbolizing Zhu Shi's childhood," otherwise, what do those missions have to do with her?
Therefore, she certainly has the right to fulfill her childhood dream of finding love and happiness.
That's why Zhu Jiu gave up her existence.
"...Brother Zhuang Cheng, I'm such a little girl, and suddenly you're talking to me about love and being loved..."
At this moment, Xiao Wan switched sides with me and became evasive.
“But this is much more reasonable than me having a romantic relationship with Zhu Shi. Zhu Shi’s love is with you, isn’t it?” I said. “Since you are the embodiment of a dream, with only one aspect emphasized, and symbolize Zhu Shi’s lost love and dreams, then you should have corresponding aspirations.”
"This has nothing to do with whether your body is that of a little girl or not. You must have a strong urge to love and be loved even if it is."
"I'm not saying that helping Zhu Shi is insufficient to fulfill your inherent mission, but from an efficiency standpoint, it's a less than ideal choice. I hope you can be honest with me and tell me why you don't want me to fall in love with you."
(End of this chapter)
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