Chapter 9: Maternal Love

"..." x3

Silence stretched on as the three of them pondered the message.

Shi Hai turned the letter over, examining it thoroughly, even checking the envelope for any hidden notes.

But there was nothing more.

Just this one sentence.

And this sentence could only refer to the two people present.

Receiving the letter in the morning, encountering Senior Tian Shui at noon, and running into Jian Sichun in the afternoon.

Shi Hai, not completely devoid of EQ, could sense that both women harbored feelings for him.

Their attitudes towards him were vastly different from other girls.

So, to call all of this a coincidence seemed too far-fetched.

Both women, sensing this, quietly withdrew their hands from Shi Hai's shoulders.

Shi Hai shrugged his shoulders, pretending nonchalance as he asked, "So, what do you two think?"

Tian Shui was the first to recover, smirking disdainfully.

"Heh, Junior, you're not seriously considering following the letter's advice, are you?"

"Before that, I'd like to know if this letter was 'intentionally' sent to me by someone you know."

"Oh, I see. Your mind works fast. Let me think..."

Tian Shui squinted her eyes, quickly grasping Shi Hai's meaning.

The letter's content had accurately predicted Tian Shui and Jian Sichun's actions.

It seemed the letter wasn't addressed to Shi Hai at all, but rather to those close to him.

The writer had even calculated Tian Shui's reaction, making the envelope look like a love letter, ensuring she would want to verify its contents.

But to avoid upsetting Shi Hai, she hadn't checked it beforehand, resulting in all three of them seeing the letter's contents together.

For Tian Shui, this was the worst possible timing.

Realizing this, her face darkened, eyes filled with brewing anger.

If she had known the letter contained such alarming words, she would never have returned it to Shi Hai.

She should have opened it to check, even if it displeased him...

But now it was too late.

This sentence was like a warning bell for Shi Hai.

From now on, whenever she approached Shi Hai, he would instinctively wonder, "Does Senior Tian Shui have an ulterior motive?"

His wariness towards her and Jian Sichun would be maxed out.

The person who planned this must be well-acquainted with both her and Shi Hai.

Tian Shui began mentally eliminating potential suspects.

Anger didn't cloud her judgment, but even with her confidence in her memory, she couldn't immediately identify anyone.

Not only because she didn't have strong impressions of people from this time, but also because another possibility came to mind.

The sender of this letter could be another person who, like her, had returned from the future.

Considering this, the range of suspects became too broad.

"Well, Senior, any ideas?"

Tian Shui frowned deeply. To be thwarted by a single letter, unable to even guess the opponent's identity...

This humiliation made her bite her lip hard, nearly drawing blood.

Seeing Tian Shui's frustrated expression, Shi Hai figured the usually omnipotent Senior had no clues.

She likely had made too many enemies in school due to her flamboyant behavior, making everyone a suspect.

But there was still someone else to ask.

Shi Hai turned to Jian Sichun.

"Jian Sichun, do you have any ideas?"

"..."

Jian Sichun still hadn't recovered, standing there pale-faced.

Upon seeing the letter's contents, her pupils had contracted, grasping the true meaning of the words.

She likely had been so overwhelmed by the joy of seeing Shi Hai upon returning to the past that she hadn't thought through what her return meant.

Or maybe she had subconsciously avoided considering 'that possibility.'

This was a warning, not for Shi Hai, but for herself, a reborn person.

In the future, Shi Hai had died saving Jian Sichun.

In this reset world, would he die again saving her?

Jian Sichun couldn't be sure, nor did she dare to be.

For this miraculous second chance at life...

She absolutely didn't want to witness the tragedy happening again.

If she lost him again, seeing him die for her...

Jian Sichun felt she would completely break.

The excitement and joy of seeing Shi Hai had been washed away, replaced by the despair and pain that once plunged her into darkness.

Even with a second life, she couldn't escape the fear and darkness of losing someone dear.

Maybe if she stayed with him, the same event wouldn't happen again; the future was unpredictable.

But if that thing called 'fate' truly existed...

If he died saving her again...

The mere thought of this possibility made Jian Sichun lose all courage.

If it were just her life at stake, she wouldn't care.

But to gamble with Shi Hai's life...

She didn't dare.

She couldn't.

However, there was still a chance to change the future.

But... perhaps she had already lost the right to be with him.

She could no longer be the most important person to him because she couldn't let him risk his life for her.

Thinking this, Jian Sichun felt a deep grievance and wanted to cry on the spot.

But she held back.

Crying here would surely make Shi Hai worry about her.

She couldn't let him worry or develop sympathy for her, and she needed to cut off her own feelings.

From now on, Jian Sichun decided to completely seal off her feelings for him to prevent herself from doing anything reckless.

Although the best solution might be to stay away from him and become strangers...

Jian Sichun knew she couldn't completely ignore Shi Hai.

She wasn't the strong-willed type and had a severe emotional dependency.

This dependency was so severe that she needed to see him first thing in the morning and last thing before bed, holding his hand to sleep soundly.

If she didn't see him for even an hour, she would call to ask where he was, waiting anxiously until he returned.

Calling it 'inseparable' sounded nice, but it was more like a 'parasitic love.'

So when she lost him, Jian Sichun felt like it was the 'end of the world.'

Since she couldn't stop caring about him... she needed a 'reasonable' reason to stay by his side.

It was like trying to quit smoking but keeping the cigarettes in sight.

A completely self-deceptive mindset.

That's it! If she couldn't be with him, he would probably be with another woman...

But what if he met someone who toyed with his feelings? What if the woman he liked cheated on him? What if he became a backup for some gold-digger? What if he became a victim of a manipulative girl? What if he realized he was gay? What if he stayed single forever? No!

Absolutely not!

I swore to make you happy this life!

At the very least, he needed to find someone similar to herself—cute, docile, with a good figure and looks, who would love him unconditionally, never deceive him, who could cook, clean, sew, share his hobbies, play games, go to conventions, understand and care for him, and in private, boldly seduce him, open to any playstyle, sweet and devoted, and could role-play to make him happy!

As his 'ex-girlfriend,' it was her 'duty' to seriously vet his potential partners!

In the end, Jian Sichun found a 'reasonable' and 'legitimate' reason for herself.

And her standards for Shi Hai's future girlfriend were absurdly high.

Shi Hai, completely unaware of Jian Sichun's thoughts, assumed she was pondering the sender of the letter.

But when he saw the maternal look Jian Sichun gave him, he felt something similar to what he felt from his mom...

A gaze full of maternal love.

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