Love, Gun, Cupid

But we, these quick-fixers, handled this matter terribly, and we also had our own thoughts: if Kapok returns soon, will our father and mother take away the love they gave us and give it to Kapok instead?

So even if we find Kapok, we can only drive her further away, further and further away from the Hart family's traditional sphere of influence... But in Fuxing City, those good days are over.

Chapter 89 Recalling the Past (4)

"That fool thought he had escaped his family's pursuers by his own skill, and actually lingered in an ordinary people's community, playing house with ordinary teenagers.

At first, we thought she had a backup plan, so we kept things quiet at home while carefully observing Kapok to see if she would make any moves.

Di Tao was the most impatient of us, and after a few days, she finally couldn't hold back any longer. To prove that she was the most beloved child of her parents, she appeared before you.

She first pretended to be Kapok, approaching you from behind, seemingly checking your homework, but in reality, she was using you as a hostage to threaten Kapok. Then the two of them fought, and Kapok defeated the sister who had the same appearance as her.

She failed, but so did Kapok. This successful attack proves you are important to Kapok.

Lin Jiade's memory of that summer was chaotic, but now his confusion has an explanation: at the time, he simply couldn't distinguish who was Kapok and mistook all the female offspring of the Hart family for Kapok.

But why didn't Kapok tell him about this?

Hibiscus continued, "Since Kapok considers you a special person, and you have no other skills besides playing football well, you have become Kapok's obvious weakness."

It would be easy for us to kill you, but Di Tao, who was broken by Mu Mian, harbors a grudge. She wants to use you to torture Mu Mian properly, so every time, we will ambush you to lure Mu Mian into a fight with her.

Kapok told you not to come looking for her anymore, and you were a little sad. But soon, another Kapok disguised as one of us will spend a happy afternoon with you, making you think that Kapok is just in a bad mood.

Once, when I was disguised as Kapok, I received a gift from you—a pack of sanitary napkins. You blushed and made me accept it because you thought Kapok was in a bad mood because of her period, and you learned this in your physiology class: girls are prone to mood swings during menstruation.

“I have no such memory,” Lin Jiade said.

"Of course you don't have it, because Kapok's jealousy reached its peak, and our battle affected you, causing you to lose this part of your memory. If you're interested, go back and ask Kapok, say keywords like 'sanitary napkin' and 'hibiscus,' and I think Kapok's expression will be quite interesting."

Lin Jiade released the spoon, which he had squeezed until it was deformed. Mu Jin smiled and said, "You had a happy summer. Every day, a beautiful older sister who was sometimes cool, sometimes gentle, and sometimes crazy played with you. For a teenage boy, this couldn't be better."

However, the kapok tree in your memory is actually a collective impression constructed by a group of bad women who are curious about the lives of ordinary people, yet harbor arrogance and malice. They are just looking for fun in your place to provoke the kapok tree and pass the time.

Where is Kapok? Kapok is in a place where she can see you but you can't see her. This is the cruelest part of the Earth Peach Plan. She wants Kapok to watch what she desires be deceived, plundered, and manipulated. Kapok's impotent and furious expression will be the best consolation for Earth Peach.

Of course, we are still young, and the time we've been reformed hasn't been long, so some of our good nature still remains. Mallow takes you to a fast food restaurant to get a free hamburger, okra teaches you how to do your homework, wild hibiscus takes you to catch fireflies, hollyhock plays soccer with you, and even succulent gets jealous of your excessive obsession with soccer, and gets so angry that she breaks down.

We laughed about this for a long time. If we have the chance to see her, we can ask her about it; she'll most likely be furious.

"..."

"However, we are not friends, because we have never looked at you as equals. You are just a toy in our hands. And at the end of summer, when everything was coming to an end, Momo had an idea: she would take you back, reform you, and make you a public toy for all of us to enjoy..."

"enough!"

Lin Jiade put down his cutlery, stood up, and said, "This story is well-written, but I'm tired of hearing it."

"I'm sorry, this may be an insult to your self-esteem, but I feel it's necessary for you to know the truth. After all, the kapok cunningly stole the image of the kapok that we collectively constructed, the image that appeared in summer, and made you work for her wholeheartedly. That's just too unfair."

"I've finished eating. If there's nothing else, I'll head back now."

He walked towards the door without waiting for Mu Jin's reply. Mu Jin said, "Do you know why I said Kapok is the most like Hart's Hart? Because at the end of summer, she did something that surprised all of us—"

To prevent us from having you, to make you give up that damned football dream, to make you a sword in her hand, to make you the swordsman who wields her sword, when you were happily going to the youth training institution to report, Kapok used a stolen car to cause a traffic accident.

Oh, Brahma even secretly went to see you and came back to tell us that you've become a walking corpse with your dreams shattered. Now, even the wicked Momo couldn't bear it and didn't want to continue harming you.

So, I'm saying, the ground peach is crazy, but the kapok tree is no less so. You need to think carefully about which side you want to help and whether you want to continue getting involved in this matter.

Lin Jiade had already stepped into the elevator, but unfortunately, until the elevator doors closed, Mu Jin's words reached his ears without missing a single one.

He went down to the next floor to tell his companions to leave. Wei Ying wiped her fingers with a napkin, then jogged to catch up with him, saying, "Your face looks like it's covered by rain clouds. What happened?"

"Sorry, I don't want to talk about it."

Wei Ying's figure vanished from Lin Jiade's side in an instant and appeared on the floor above where Mu Jin was about to make a phone call. Mu Jin was startled, and the next second, she was pressed against the wall by an invisible force.

“I’m curious about your conversation. Could you tell me the key points?” said the reed warbler.

"You belong to Lin Jiade..."

“No, I am me, and he is him. I am not under his jurisdiction,” said Reed Warbler. “However, you have some information that interests me. You have plenty of time to think before I break all your fingers, pull out all your teeth, and remove all your ribs.”

"Those who are connected with kapok trees are indeed not simple people."

The reed warbler looked completely bewildered: "What the hell? What does the kapok have to do with me? My time is precious, you'd better hurry up."

The warbler broke off Hibiscus's left thumb. Hibiscus endured the pain and asked, "Who are you?"

Her left index finger was broken as a result, and Hibiscus decided to lie, so she lost her left middle finger instead. Faced with the overwhelming power disparity between herself and the Reed Warbler, Hibiscus yielded and told her everything she knew.

Chapter Ninety: The End of Memories (22→21)

Lin Jiade sat in the waiting room of the bus station. He took out his phone and put it back in several times, which attracted the attention of the people next to him. Seeing the gloomy look on his face and the dangerous atmosphere, they all moved away.

Not long after, Wei Ying sat down next to him and said, "I've figured things out. Mu Jin had already sided with Di Tao."

"Ah."

"She used the most crucial ingredient in your potion to lure you here, creating an opportunity to drive a wedge between you and Kapok."

"Ah."

"However, what she said is true. Kapok told you a lot of lies, including about your leg..."

"I will ask her to confirm this."

"and then?"

Lin Jiade closed his eyes in agony. He didn't know what he had done wrong to deserve such torment: his beautiful memories were torn apart, deconstructed, and pieced together into a real shape. It turned out that he was just a fool who had been deceived by a group of bad women, and the worst one of them had ended his dream and was now claiming to be his lover.

"So, the memories are my imagination, and love doesn't exist, right?" he muttered.

"Love certainly exists, but it can also disappear."

The warbler leaned close affectionately, pointed her finger like a sword, and stabbed it into Lin Jiade's body. To outsiders, it looked like a girl putting her hand into her boyfriend's pocket.

"What are you doing?"

"To prevent a situation where you make a scene in the car and embarrass me, so I'm telling you to calm down."

Lin Jiade calmed down, but he wasn't happy. He returned home that afternoon, but Jasmine and Jianlan hadn't come back yet. Mian called, but Lin Jiade felt agitated just seeing that name, so he hung up.

Not long after, Kapok called again, and he hung up again. But Kapok persisted, which became increasingly bothersome for Lin Jiade, so he temporarily turned off his phone. At that moment, the image of Azalea appeared on the phone screen.

“It’s no use running away, Lin Jiade. Kapok will come here and question you about your unusual behavior,” she said.

Lin Jiade looked up at her. She was sitting next to him, and gently pressed her palm against the back of his hand: "Wei Ying told me what happened."

"Let me calm down. My mind is in turmoil right now. I... Mu Mian tried so hard to hide the past, and her explanations were so vague. Now I know all the reasons!"

Du Juan's long hair stretched out gently, clinging to him and turning him to face her. She cupped Lin Jiade's face in her hands and asked, "No, you must settle things today."

"How should I end this?"

"Listen to your inner voice, don't consider other factors, and do what you truly want to do. I assure you, nothing can hinder your actions, not even your contract with the kapok tree."

Du Juan pressed her hand against Lin Jiade's chest: "I promise."

"..."

"Do you remember my teaching? You can't spoil Kapok. For every mistake she makes, you must retaliate violently."

Du Juan looked out the door, her figure disappeared from the spot, and she went into the room. A few seconds later, Jasmine arrived with Kapok.

"Lin Jiade," Jasmine hesitated, "what happened to you?"

"Jasmine, give me some private space."

Jasmine glanced at him with some concern, but she obeyed her boyfriend and returned to her bedroom. Mian, however, hesitated, turning back every few steps, hoping that someone could help her. Unfortunately, only she and Lin Jiade were there.

Lin Jiade suppressed his anger and said in a trembling voice, "Mu Jin told me some things, and I feel that she is lying to me, so I want to come back to verify them."

"In that summer, was the kapok tree I remembered always you?"

The kapok tree froze.

I want to hear the truth.

“No…” Mu Mian’s voice trembled as well, “I was at the beginning, I was at the end, and I was in the middle… but I had no choice, there were just too many of them.”

"Yes, I can understand. Mu Jin said that Di Tao and the others treated you this way to torture you. So why did you lie when we reviewed this matter?"

"Because you are so fascinated by the kapok in your memory... If I admit it, it will make you love me even more," the kapok whispered.

Lin Jiade looked at her sadly: "If you love me, why did you break my leg with a stolen car?"

Kapok broke down emotionally, saying in despair, "This is something I regret. On the day before summer ended, I finally found you. I tricked you, who was ignorant and naive, into signing a contract with me, making me your sword and you my sword. But after you calmed down, you started talking about football again. Damn football!"

I could hear my sisters' sneers in the darkness. So this is why they were so unguarded: this is the ultimate humiliation. After spending time with you, they understand that even if I give you my all, you will still choose football instead of me.

My hopes were shattered. I not only hate them, I hate you too. Why did you choose football even when there were girls around… I can't destroy football, but I can destroy your football. This is the end of that summer.”

Lin Jiade's chest heaved violently, a tearing pain shooting through him. He felt a throbbing in his temples and his head spinning. He said, "Then why did you come back to me as if nothing had happened?"

"Because after the assault, I immediately realized I had done something stupid. I... went crazy. Why did I hurt you? I should take revenge on the sisters who drove me to this situation."

I was taken back while I was in a state of mental confusion. Once I regained my senses, I worked desperately hard to catch up with everyone, and then I broke their legs. I broke Di Tao's legs twice.

I've always thought about you, and I've always wondered what I should do to make it up to you. While you're still an ordinary person, I wanted to find you a good job after you graduate, and then introduce you to an excellent girl so you can start a happy family.

But I never expected you to become a superhuman. That's fine, it makes it easier for me to make it up to you and ease my guilt. But I never imagined that the mutual attraction between us would take us beyond friendship and develop to this point.

I loved you. I lied, I hid this landmine in our relationship. At the time, I clung to the hope that if I could keep it a secret, we could live together.

Kapok removed the confusion spell, her eyes filled with emptiness and despair. Lin Jiade hesitated for a moment, but remembering Du Juan's words, he immediately made up his mind.

"I can understand that all your past mistakes were the result of external stimuli."

A glimmer of hope ignited in Kapok's eyes, but Lin Jiade's even colder actions quickly extinguished it, as if she had destroyed him with her own hands.

The desire to end this relationship arose in Lin Jiade's heart. Lin Jiade reached for his stomach, and without him having to think about what to do, the pink chains had already penetrated his skin, digging out the contract between him and Kapok, and visually presenting the shape of a short sword.

Before the cotton tree, Lin Jiade swung his arm and smashed the short sword that symbolized their contract. Fragments flew everywhere, each one carrying Lin Jiade's furious aura.

“We’re over,” he said.

Chapter Ninety-One Venting

Upon realizing the contract had disappeared, Mu Mian staggered, her face turning deathly pale. She barely managed to hold onto the sofa to avoid falling. She bit her lip until it bled, drawing strength from the pain to calm herself down.

She shook her head and said, "Even so, our interests are already deeply intertwined... Never mind, let's talk again when you've calmed down."

She left, and Jasmine, worried, grabbed Lin Jiade's hand, only to find it so cold. She reached out and touched Lin Jiade's cheek; there were no tears on it.

In the instant he shattered the contract, Lin Jiade saw the pain on Mu Mian's face, and he felt a great sense of pleasure, releasing a large part of the anger within him. However, soon, emptiness and weariness took over his mind.