From the end of the world

Chapter 408 Ma Zao's True Heart

Zhu Shi became my fiancée.

Mr. Zhu's original goal was to marry Zhu Shi to me. Although he failed to achieve his original goal, it seemed to have satisfied him temporarily. After the preliminary finalization of this matter, he left the mansion. Lu Chan also had work to do, so he left after saying goodbye. Only me, Zhu Shi, and Ma Zao were left.

For a moment, I was a little unsure of how to look at Zhu Shi. She was a good friend an hour ago, and an hour later, she became my fiancée.

Fiancée... I used to think this was a far-away word, but now it has suddenly become very real, catching me off guard.

Zhu Shi seemed unsure of the distance between himself and me, and his eyes looked a little helpless.

Maybe she agreed to the marriage proposal under pressure, so just in case and also to break the awkward atmosphere, I asked her what she really thought.

"...After all, I don't really want to marry other men." Zhu Shi replied, "I'm not really opposed to getting married and having children, but I'm sure I'll still feel a little uneasy. And if the target is you, Senior Brother Zhuang, I think I can accept it. Although there are many things about you, Senior Brother Zhuang, that make me uneasy."

"So... Zhu Shi, when exactly do you plan to marry Zhuang Cheng?" Ma Zao asked with concern.

Although the engagement has been made, the specific date of marriage has not been determined. This involves many things, such as the Zhu family's schedule for cultivating the believers, and my future plans, etc. In addition, I am only 19 years old, and Zhu Shi is 18 years old, not yet of marriageable age.

It’s not that we care about the legal age of marriage, but in this era, getting married at the age of 18 or 19 does give people a strange feeling. Even if I don’t care about the eyes of people around me, I think it’s too hasty. Zhu Shi’s feelings are also important. She doesn’t seem to be planning to give up her studies at the university. Even if we want to get married, shouldn’t we at least wait until Zhu Shi graduates from university?

As I thought about it, I found myself thinking seriously about the practical details of marriage. Is this really okay? I first glanced at Ma Zao's expression, then at Zhu Shi. Lu Chan's worries about the future surfaced in my mind.

What happened to the three of us was so unique that it was hard to find a reference case. It seemed that many problems could only be discovered and solved by ourselves.

This feeling of the unknown and the sense of crisis of not knowing what will happen in the future gave me a sense of déjà vu. It was like an adventure, but it also had a strange and strange atmosphere.

The only thing I knew for sure was that buried in our relationship was the possibility that something routine and stable might go haywire. On the one hand, I wanted to rejoice in the possibility, but on the other hand, it was so foreign to the adventures I knew that I couldn't help but wonder, "Is this right?"

Maybe the reason why I agreed to this marriage proposal was because I wanted to go deeper into the unknown.

"When exactly are you going to get married? At least wait until you and Senior Brother Zhuang have established a relationship." Zhu Shi answered without any ambiguity.

"Me?" Ma Zao was puzzled.

"Although I think you two are already in a substantial relationship, this agreement of 'waiting until we grow up to officially date' is somewhat ambiguous, but one thing is one thing, since you think you are not really dating Zhuang Cheng yet, then I, a latecomer, should not rush ahead." Zhu Shi said, "Marriage is something with special significance. Getting married when you and Zhuang Cheng are dating is problematic in itself. If I marry Zhuang Cheng when you think you are not officially dating, I will feel even more sorry for you."

"I don't care." Ma Zao said seriously.

"I am the one who cares." Zhu Shi touched Ma Zao's face, "And what Lu Chan said is right, we should spend more time to examine our relationship. If it doesn't work out, we can cancel the engagement."

Then, she said in a teasing tone: "Then I can become the heroine of the Broken Engagement style. Maybe my power growth rate will be rapid from then on, and I can cultivate to become the Great Impermanence without forging the Yama Sword."

"Break off the engagement?" Ma Zao showed an expression as if he couldn't receive any radio waves.

"Of course, even if we really get married, as long as you say you don't want to, I will immediately divorce Senior Brother Zhuang." Zhu Shi said seriously, "You can rest assured that even if we divorce, I will not take away half of his power."

Ma Zao's eyes lit up and he said, "Ah, I can understand this..."

Zhu Shi smiled and chatted with Ma Zao for a while. At the end of the conversation, Ma Zao seemed a little tired and yawned.

It was still daytime, but Ma Zao seemed to be drowsy. No wonder, she had been concentrating on healing and repairing Chang'an's soul for the past week, which must have consumed her mental energy. Although it was not impossible to recover with the power of return, the healthiest way to recover was still to rest and sleep normally.

Ma Zao could understand this, and after a little persuasion from me, she nodded obediently. I sent her to the bedroom and let her lie down.

It seemed like Zhu Shi had something to say to me so she avoided Ma Zao. Seeing this, I went to the corridor outside with her.

After walking a distance, Zhu Shi looked back in the direction of Ma Zao's room and said, "Actually, there is another reason why I don't want to get married so soon."

"What's the reason?" I asked. "The reason why Ma Zao is so happy to see me marry you is because in her eyes, I am her best friend Xiao Wan." Zhu Shi said, "But am I really that Xiao Wan?"

"Don't you think you are? Do you have any clues?" I asked.

"I don't have any clues to prove that I'm not Xiaowan, nor do I have a hunch that I'm not Xiaowan." Zhu Shi said, "But I still don't feel it's real. Will I really become a little girl due to some factors in the future, and then get to know Ma Zao? Or is it not me who becomes a little girl, but my abandoned dream in the past... just like Lu Chan's dream in the past turned into the image of a girl in an independent reality space?
"In any case, although all the clues now support the inference that 'Xiao Wan is another me', inferences are just inferences after all. Before they are fully verified, they should not be regarded as ironclad facts and trusted.

"Besides, we are not without the conditions for verification. So there is no need to rush to draw conclusions before officially starting the verification."

Her point of view is quite sensible, and I think she is right.

The method to verify whether Zhu Shi is Xiao Wan is very simple. Just tell Xiao Wan "you are Zhu Shi" the next time you enter the virtual world, and then observe Xiao Wan's reaction.

In the past, I mentioned the name Zhu Shi in front of Xiaowan. Although I didn't say that the name belonged to her, she had an intriguing reaction and said that the name sounded familiar.

The reason why she didn't realize that the name Zhu Shi belonged to her might be because she had a preconceived idea that Zhu Shi must be another person's name, and she didn't associate it with herself. However, I am more inclined to another possibility, that is, Xiaowan didn't identify with the name Zhu Shi.

Xiaowan is a little girl of about ten years old. When Zhu Shi was about ten years old, he was not called Zhu Shi, but Zhu Jiuxing. So even if Xiaowan is really Zhu Shi, the name she identifies with is probably not Zhu Shi, but Zhu Jiuxing.

I'll have to pay attention to this next time I proof the small bowl.

After parting with Zhu Shi, I went to Ma Zao's room to check on her condition. Although she was feeling sleepy, she hadn't fallen asleep yet. She seemed a little curious about what Zhu Shi and I had said, but she didn't ask, and just kept it to herself.

In fact, there was no reason to avoid Ma Zao for what I said just now, and Zhu Shi did not ask me to keep it secret, so I sat down next to the bed and told Ma Zao the truth.

"If Zhu Shi wasn't Xiaowan..." Ma Zao muttered to himself while lying on the bed.

"You can rest assured, if that's the case, I will cancel the engagement with Zhu Shi. Zhu Shi has the same idea as me," I said.

Ma Zao paused for a long time, then shook his head and said, "Even if that's the case... I still hope Zhu Shi will marry you."

"why?"

I was surprised at first, then thought of her recent relationship with Zhu Shi, and asked, "Is it because you and Zhu Shi have become very close recently?"

"Because it will be of great benefit to you. Zhuang Cheng, you also seem to not want Zhu Shi to marry another man."

Ma Zao seemed really sleepy. She became bleary-eyed, but she still forced herself to stay asleep and continued, "Besides... I still think that Zhu Shi marrying you will not affect our relationship. Although I was a little unhappy at first when I thought about Zhu Shi having a baby with you, but when I think about it carefully, there is no need to be unhappy. I can also have a baby for you when I grow up."

Is that the truth? Why do I feel something is wrong? At least people who grow up in modern society would not have such thoughts. In the past, hemp had been wandering for a long time in the doomsday era without civilization and order, and seemed to be quite wild in many ways. To put it nicely, it is careless, to put it bluntly, it is out of touch.

"Don't you want to have me all to yourself?"

I felt embarrassed when I asked this question.

Ma Zao blinked doubtfully, then asked me in return: "Zhuang Cheng, do you want to monopolize me?"

"Of course. I want you all to myself and I don't want to share even a hair of yours with anyone else." I said without hesitation.

Ma Zao slowly reached out from under the quilt, grabbed my hand, and held it against his heart.

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

Her voice became softer and softer, and at the end, she held my hand, slowly closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

(End of this chapter)