Love, Gun, Cupid

"So now she's wearing contrasting tops and bottoms, fitted and waist-cinching, emphasizing her strengths, and she's started wearing makeup again. Does that mean her family's situation has improved?"

No, not at all.

Jealousy made Ms. Yang's mind race: "If that's the case, why is she in a better mood? Even if she's come to terms with things, she can't be this optimistic when her family issues haven't been resolved."

"But she didn't mean it that way. There was no intimate physical contact, and she didn't make any excessive demands. When I looked at her, her expression and eyes were very innocent."

Teacher Yang said with exasperation, "Lin Jiade, your three girlfriends were just freebies when you topped up your phone credit. I don't know what the ethics and morality are like in your circle, but you have three girlfriends and you still believe that adult girls are innocent?"

You've made me laugh. There are only three possibilities for an adult girl to still appear innocent: she has congenital intellectual disability, she has a mental illness, or she's pretending to be innocent to please you.

Women's desires are no different from men's; the kind of purity you're hoping for can only be found in girls under 12... Considering the current internet penetration, you'll probably only find it in girls under 9.

Teacher Yang was also puzzled as to why she talked so much and so fluently. Perhaps it was because she had been holding these words in her heart for a long time.

Without giving Lin Jiade a chance to speak, she continued, "Of course, she is well-developed and mentally normal. The only possibility is that she wants to please you, but she is a young lady from a wealthy family. She can lower her body, but not her mind. She is also afraid that you will look down on her, so she is very reserved and meticulous invading your life."

"So, Senior Sister Hehuan likes me?" Lin Jiade said.

"I think she hopes you think that way, but that's not the case. If she simply loved you, then she would have used more seduction and physical contact. When a girl likes someone, who doesn't want the boy to only look at her?"

She didn't. She simply integrated you into her life, gently and kindly building a friendly impression and a harmless persona, and cultivating good relationships with each of your family members.

So, she doesn't love you; she loves what your family represents—something you can't give her, but your family can. If my observation is correct, your ridiculously tall girlfriend must be quite powerful.

Her family is in trouble, and someone in your family can help her, so she tries to please you in order to please your family. Her methods aren't very elegant, but it's human nature. If my family were in trouble, I would also go to great lengths to please you.

I could tell, because she resembled the academics I'd seen asking my parents for favors—arrogant yet humble, desperately trying to suppress her pride, full of insincerity…

Teacher Yang's actions were somewhat ungrateful, but women in love never reason. She freely vented her dark thoughts, and in her eyes, Hehuan was clearly a vixen.

She no longer cared what Lin Jiade thought of her. At this moment, she felt pain in her heart, but also a perverse pleasure, as if she had reopened her wounds and made them bleed again.

She felt ugly, like a monster, but being a monster was better than Lin Jiade ignoring her.

Laugh, Yang Xuemeng! Look, the boy you like is listening to you. It's just the two of you now, no other women in the way. Why aren't you laughing? Is it because you imagine yourself as a beautiful princess, but in reality, you're an ugly monster in the eyes of a hero?

Ms. Yang wanted to laugh, but when she opened her mouth, she revealed an incredibly ugly crying face. Lin Jiade panicked a little and hurriedly pulled out a napkin to wipe her tears, but she let the napkin rub against her face.

"I'm not reconciled. Everyone... So when people encounter misfortune, they can find ways to get out of their predicament, no matter how good or bad the methods are, at least they have something to do, instead of living a muddled life like me."

That black cat is draining my life force every day, and my life is getting closer to its end every day. Since no one has told me any good news, it means that things are not over yet. How can I feel at ease with the sword of Damocles hanging over my head?

Lin Jiade, can you grant me incredible power? I want to resolve my own troubles and help you too. Has the monster I made a contract with caused you any problems? If I have power, perhaps I can find it, and we can kill it together. I'm elsewhere…”

She fell silent, and Lin Jiade's evasive gaze told her that she was just indulging in wishful thinking.

After a long pause, Teacher Yang said in a tired voice, "Can you tell me if I'm too old to be a superhuman? Tell the truth, Lin Jiade."

"No."

Is it because I have no value to you?

"No."

"Is it because this violates procedure?"

“It violates the rules, but…”

"I understand, that's not the whole reason," Teacher Yang asked. "One last question, is it because of my talent?"

Lin Jiade nodded. Teacher Yang shook herself and lay down on the bed. Lin Jiade looked at her nervously. She said wearily, "You have two choices: take advantage of her vulnerability. I will not resist because I don't want to go to the underworld with zero sexual experience. That would be too shameful."

Second, leave, pretend nothing happened, and then we'll go back to how things were before... Lin Jiade, please don't choose the second one.

"I don't want to hurt you, Teacher Yang. The passion of a superhuman will bring you the risk of injury, because I can easily crush your bones and tear your flesh with just a little force... So wait for me, I will take care of everything."

When Ms. Yang saw that Lin Jiade had a physical reaction, she grabbed his hand. Lin Jiade showed a hint of reluctance, but he still pulled his hand away and took his leave. Now, his seeds had a new use. Even though he loved Ms. Yang, he couldn't possibly sow the seeds on ordinary people; that would be utterly worthless.

Yang Xuemeng stared blankly at Lin Jiade as he left. Until he disappeared, she hoped he would change his mind. But as night fell and her fantasy vanished with the setting sun, her confused expression gradually hardened.

“If the price of power is becoming a monster,” she said softly, “then what’s wrong with becoming a monster?”

Manchester City won, so here's an extra chapter.

Chapter Seventy Heart-to-Heart Talk

Teacher Yang wasn't the only one who noticed that Hehuan was flattering Lin Jiade; Mumian, who knew Hehuan best, naturally noticed the change in Hehuan after returning.

At that time, they were in a rented room. It used to be Kapok's residence, but now it was where they kept ground peach and bellflower. These two people were the ones who opposed Kapok the most, and now they were being retaliated against the most cruelly.

Hehuan, after all, had lived in high society. The emptiness of the spirit, the wealth of the material and the existence of power developed people's imaginations, so that the seemingly glamorous circle had many novel ways of playing.

Having been exposed to this kind of thing from a young age, Hehuan was very accepting of it. She enthusiastically took a snack to tease Ditao, who seemed to have completely turned into a dog and wagged its tail at her.

Hehuan crushed the food in her palm, while Ditao grabbed her wrist, lowered her head, and stuck out her tongue to lick the snacks in her palm clean.

"Peach, your licking is making me so itchy."

Hehuan patted Ditao's head, and while washing her hands, she looked at Xuanling on the other side and said, "With cat ears and a tail, plus a bodysuit, I wonder where your Batman is."

"..."

“I allow you to speak, Suspended Bell. We even danced together.”

A mixture of joy and sorrow crossed Xuanling's face. Her lips moved, but she remained silent. Her demeanor became respectful, and she clearly said, "My lord..."

Hehuan paused for a moment, then smiled wryly, "Yes, it's not like it was back in Brilliant City. Now you're Catwoman, and I'm a caged bird. The biggest change is still Kapok."

She turned to her friend and said, "You're ten centimeters shorter than me and have a smaller frame, yet we're the same size... You have such an amazing figure, yet you wear men's clothes. Don't you think that's a waste?"

Mu Mian shook her head: "Men's clothes suit me."

"How about I get a short haircut, the kind that shows my neck?" Hehuan asked.

“If I could, I would have breast reduction surgery at the same time. Lin Jiade… he’s a pervert, using orders I can’t refuse to prevent me from making any attempts at androgynous changes.”

"Although, I still think you're more beautiful now. Hmm, what's the situation between you and Lin Jiade now?"

"Let's find a balance between love and hate, interests and personal feelings," Mu Mian said. "If we filmed our relationship, it would probably be a mashup of a crime documentary, a mixed martial arts film, and a romance film."

If Lin Jiade wanted to do *that* to me, I would be forced to comply, and I would use handcuffs on him halfway through, biting him with my teeth. We probably used more gauze to bandage our wounds than condoms during our relationship.

"How... twisted." Hehuan sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Can't you all just be normal?"

“When I hurt him and then lied to cover it up, we were destined to become like this,” Mu Mian said. “Lin Jiade’s other shortcomings are not so bad, but he is extremely sensitive to lies because he lacks a sense of security and because he always blindly trusts others.”

Hehuan analyzed, "A man lacks a sense of security because..."

“Hehuan, I don’t mean to do a psychoanalysis of Lin Jiade with you.” Mumian stared into Hehuan’s eyes. “You know what I want to say.”

Hehuan avoided Kapok's gaze: "I don't understand what you're talking about."

"What I mean is, you're now trying to seduce Lin Jiade so that you can get him into bed, and then use him to find Jianlan, Dujuan, and Dujuan's gullible sister, using Lin Jiade as a bargaining chip to get them to help your family."

Hehuan paused for a moment, then covered her slightly open mouth: "Why do you have such a vivid imagination? Are you jealous of my relationship with Lin Jiade?"

Kapok looked at her coldly, and Hehuan lowered her head and said, "I am bisexual. Jasmine is very cute, and Kapok is also my prince. But you are already married to other men. In order to get closer to you, I have no choice but to take a roundabout approach."

"Things aren't that bad yet, Hehuan. If you marry someone without love, it will be a tragedy for both of you."

"In the families of extraordinary individuals, there is probably a 99% chance that there is no love."

"But you've already decided not to be a superhuman; your dream is to become a music superstar."

"People are fickle. When we were young, we all had lofty ambitions and wanted to make great contributions to society, but what happens when we grow up?"

Hehuan looked at Mumian seriously, "When the accident happened in my family, I felt the same way Cao Xueqin did. I could understand some of the Dream of the Red Chamber that I couldn't understand before."

In my dream, I experienced my carefree past, when I was as happy as a princess. But when I woke up and looked at the whitewashed walls, all I could feel was desolation.

I used to think I could make a name for myself without my family's help, but after my family fell apart, I realized I was nothing.

The boss of the company I was supposed to sign with has disappeared, the agent who used to boast about turning me into a money-making machine has also vanished, and the uncles and aunts I used to associate with have suddenly become strangers.

I was wrong. Playing music couldn't save my family, and without my family, I couldn't play music. Kapok, I must live as a superhuman. Even if my abilities aren't outstanding, it doesn't matter; at least I have the ability to reproduce. As long as I choose a suitable husband and inject his genes into this place…”

Hehuan stroked her flat belly: "If I can give birth to a child with great talent, my family will have hope of revival."

"You're insane! You see yourself as a breeding machine? Do you really have to demean yourself to this extent?!"

Hehuan shook her head: "Degradation? No, in most people's eyes, bearing children is the duty of a wife. Otherwise, Ms. Korobochka would not have been jilted by her fiancé, and her infertility would not have become common knowledge."

To put it another way, if she weren't infertile, she wouldn't be able to be with Lin Jiade now, and the Empire wouldn't approve a romantic relationship between a top-level professional and a junior professional.

Lin Jiade is excellent in this regard. I've told you before, right? His luck is amazing, second only to those master-level magic researchers. This means that he is guaranteed to have the strength of a top-level professional title at the very least, and his potential is even greater.

Having children with someone like that would be a foolproof strategic investment for me... I haven't taken action yet because I'm considering your feelings."

“My feeling is that you are actually shirking your responsibilities,” Mu Mian said. “You want to transfer your responsibilities to Lin Jiade by developing a romantic relationship, so that he can help you make up for what you owe your parents.”

Hehuan, you've disappointed me a little.

EDG vs WE, vote! If you guess correctly, there will be an extra chapter tomorrow.

Chapter Seventy-One: The Cuckoo's Deal

The atmosphere changed. Di Tao looked up with some confusion and rubbed against He Huan's legs. He Huan squatted down, hugged her, and stroked her.

“You’re right. I’m just shirking responsibility, just like that university professor. We’re both people who suddenly fall out of our comfort zone and then try to rely on others to get back into it.”

Hehuan said, "If my family can get through this, that would be the best, but you said they can't hold on any longer and are going to make a legal deal with the prosecutors. It's unlikely they'll get away unscathed."

So, I'm willing to give up my feelings and body in exchange for the possibility of reviving my family business in the future, to make my parents' retirement life more comfortable, and perhaps even to transfer to other departments and retire from the stage in a dignified manner... I think it's a very worthwhile deal.

As for Lin Jiade being deceived, I will certainly learn from your mistake. Because my love is not enough, I can even allow him to play some tricks, such as serving him with you. If he wants to see my private performances, I will also try my best to learn.

"What about your personality and dignity?" Kapok asked.

Hehuan gave a hollow smile: "Personality? Dignity? What are those?"

Mu Mian suddenly realized that the decline of her family had dealt a devastating blow to He Huan's confidence. Now, He Huan's attitude towards life was that she would rather lie down than stand up. Even if Lin Jiade asked her to turn into a dog to serve him, she would probably struggle for a while and then really turn into a dog.

"Things haven't gotten to that point yet. Think about it, your attitude is putting pressure on Lin Jiade too. Who would want to see their acquaintance turn into this mess!"

"Can you help me, Kapok? If you can, I'll do whatever you say."

"As long as you can prove that your parents' claims about cults are fabricated and slanderous, we are looking forward to Sichuan opera face-changing, and everything you have lost will come back."

"How can you prove it? You said that it is a real cult, and the cult members are people who have dealings with my parents. The only point of contention is whether my parents did not know that the other party was a cult member and accepted benefits to give them the green light, or whether they knew that the other party was a cult member and accepted benefits to give them the green light."

The former will be prosecuted for serious dereliction of duty. The best outcome would be for my parents to divorce, with one of them going to prison to take the blame, while the other has to hold onto the remaining resources amidst the scramble for them by ambitious allies and enemies.

The latter is treason, and the lightest punishment for treason is exile to the mining planet L13, where criminals are forced to work under harsh conditions until they die... The average lifespan of criminals there is only three years, and the longest-lived one lived was only nine years.

Unless… the celestial observers can intervene in this matter. This is not without precedent; in ancient times, divine protectors held the power to formulate, interpret, and apply justice, and they were subject to the will of the celestial observers.

“If you’re referring to Azalea,” Kapok clenched her fist, “you’ll regret it, because that guy will win twice, let Lin Jiade win once, and the rest of the people will only have the question of how much they’ll lose. She’s just a snake.”