After a long time, Zhu Shi finally came to her senses.

Her face was flushed with embarrassment, and for a moment she dared not meet the eyes of everyone present. Then, as if recalling our earlier conversation, she revealed a very complex expression.

To let Zhu Jiu return, Little Bowl must disappear. If Zhu Shi were like me, she wouldn't hesitate much. But in reality, she can't think the way I do. She can't accept such logic with peace of mind, even if it's based on Little Bowl's voluntary premise.

If fulfilling her mission is Little Bowl's decision, even if it means she'll eventually disappear, I will respect Little Bowl's will. However, I have no intention of simply resigning myself to fate. Ultimately, Little Bowl's obsession is merely to complete the mission; disappearance is an inevitable phenomenon, not her purpose.

So, I am pondering whether there's a way for Little Bowl to complete the mission of the Dream Avatar without disappearing.

Mazao seems to be thinking about something too.

"Um... I have a question." Zhu Shi raised her hand.

"What's the question?" Little Bowl asked.

"Mom... uh, when Little Bowl said I should enter the hall of marriage with someone I like and live a happy life... does this 'someone I like' refer to Senior Brother Zhuang?" Zhu Shi asked.

"Of course it does." Little Bowl replied matter-of-factly, "Aren't you Zhuang Cheng's fiancée? Aren't you going to marry him? Although you have no romantic feelings, at present, when we talk about 'someone you like,' aside from Zhuang Cheng, there's no other option, right?"

Zhu Shi opened her mouth and then couldn't help but cover her face, letting out a painful groan, "My goodness, I actually call a girl who looks about ten years old 'mom,' and she calls my fiancé 'brother'..."

Mr. Zhu's expression was also very conflicted, and after several failed attempts to speak, he chose to retreat to the door of the bedroom, muttering unclearly, "Well, I'll go downstairs to the living room and watch some TV. You young people talk it over, just let me know the outcome later..."

"Wait, Grandpa!" Zhu Shi shouted, "You're leaving me? Leaving your cute granddaughter behind?"

"Good luck. Goodbye."

Mr. Zhu closed the door with a snap, and the sound of hurried footsteps fleeing all the way towards the downstairs living room could be heard.

Zhu Shi reached out towards the tightly closed door, her hand grasping at the air powerlessly as if trying to hold onto something nonexistent, finally letting go in despair.

I also didn't know what to say in this situation and could only keep quiet, remaining a silent observer.

Little Bowl coughed lightly.

Zhu Shi's shoulder twitched, and she turned her head to meet Little Bowl's smile.

"Then... let me continue." Little Bowl said, "Jiuxing... no, I'll temporarily continue calling you Zhu Shi.

"Alright, stop looking at me with such pitiful eyes. When we're alone together, I'll continue calling you Jiuxing, but for now, you intend to remain 'Zhu Shi,' right?

"The point now is, do you think I have a problem with wanting you and Zhuang Cheng to achieve a happy future together?"

"...Yes." Zhu Shi nodded, "Senior Brother Zhuang likes Mazao, and Mazao also likes Senior Brother Zhuang. They have mutual feelings. For me to be with Senior Brother Zhuang is akin to snatching love away.

"Of course, I had originally planned to marry Senior Brother Zhuang, and from this perspective, it's already intervening. But we had an agreement that even if we got married, it would only involve a pure physical relationship... uh, bleh bleh, anyway, the one Senior Brother Zhuang truly loves should be Mazao, not me.

"If it really turns out that way, wouldn't Mazao also hate it?"

Little Bowl turned to ask, "What does Sister Mazao think?"

Seeing Little Bowl calling Mazao, whom she regarded as a sister, "sister," made Zhu Shi's facial muscles twitch again.

"I've always known Zhuang Cheng has good feelings for Zhu Shi. Even if Zhuang Cheng really likes Zhu Shi, I wouldn't dislike it. As long as Zhuang Cheng is happy, I'm happy." Mazao spoke the innocent words.

"But a large part of my engagement with Zhuang Cheng was initially based on the assumption that Little Bowl was our daughter. Now her true identity is clear, and we've lost that reason. Do you still really think those things are okay?" Zhu Shi said, "Also, Mazao, you might be young now and don't quite understand the true taste of love, so you say such absurd things, but that might not be the case in the future?"

"Why do you assume I don't understand?" Mazao retorted, "I don't know what my future self will be like. I just want to seize the present. And..."

"And?" Zhu Shi asked.

"I don't want to be separated from you either," Mazao said softly. "Zhu Shi, stay with us forever."

When I'm not around, they help each other. Mazao assists Zhu Shi in communicating with the Yama Sword, and Zhu Shi uses the power gained from this communication to fend off Ming Zhuo, who threatens Mazao. They've become partners sharing adversity, true companions. Perhaps during Mazao's lonely times, it is Zhu Shi who provides her with emotional warmth. When we reunited, the reason she could show such a blissful smile without any shadow was probably thanks to Zhu Shi.

For Mazao, who values companionship and fears loneliness, with countless emotional scars, Zhu Shi has become an irreplaceable presence.

Similarly, Little Bowl should also hold the same place in Mazao's heart, yet something in her thought process led Mazao to stand on the "help Little Bowl complete the mission of the Dream Avatar" side.

Mazao certainly doesn't wish for Little Bowl to simply vanish; she seems to have another plan now.

Could she have developed the same idea as mine? Even if Little Bowl would rather disappear to accomplish the mission, would she resolutely uphold Little Bowl's decision? I have this doubt, yet find it incredible. Can this emotionally fragile and scarred Mazao truly make such a decision in this matter?

"It's not... you being with Zhuang Cheng doesn't affect us being together later. 'Not wanting to be separated from me' isn't a reason, right?" Zhu Shi was stunned.

Mazao solemnly said, "Being with Zhuang Cheng, I will surely want to cling to him all day. That means I won't have time to hang out with you. If you don't come along too, won't there be distance between us?"

"What a strange reason... this kind of explanation..."

In a moment of urgency, Zhu Shi blurted out, "Then according to this logic, don't you want Little Bowl to be with Senior Brother Zhuang too? Otherwise, you won't be able to hang out with Little Bowl often anymore."

"—Hmm?"

Mazao seemed to have just realized this issue, then bowed her head in contemplation.

Meanwhile, Little Bowl also seemed to have suddenly received some kind of revelation and fell into a peculiar thought.

"Ah..." Zhu Shi seemed to realize she had just said something she shouldn't have.

She quickly shifted her focus and looked at Little Bowl, saying, "Also... you said earlier that it is not me who judges whether I am happy, but you. So, what criteria will you use?"

"To put it bluntly, you are most aware that I lack romantic feelings. Even if you see scenes of me pretending to be in deep love with Senior Brother Zhuang, you would surely realize that my heart is not immersed in the atmosphere of love. Like this, wouldn't you always be unable to resolve your obsession?"

"That's simple," Little Bowl said. "When you were a child, your image of stepping into a happy future with someone you like wasn't about how much you could give for love, but about how much the one who loves you would give for you.

"In other words, what you sought as a child was less about loving someone and more about being loved.

"Although being soaked in sweetness, you were not yet satisfied, wanting more love and pampering. It may have seemed a bit greedy and selfish, but at that time you were just a little girl spoiled in her mother's arms, wanting to be adored by a prince and pampered in every way... This is by no means an ugly fantasy but a normal desire.

"And the fact that you later bravely slashed away this part proves you have a nobler nature than this innocent greed. I am proud of you.

"So, having said that, you should understand my criteria now, right?"

Zhu Shi answered as if talking to herself, "The key is not whether I can fall in love with Senior Brother Zhuang... but whether Senior Brother Zhuang would love me?"

"Exactly," Little Bowl said.

"No... that's still really odd!" Zhu Shi said. "No matter what, the prince of my childish fantasies would never be a two-timing man, right? Ah, I don't have anything against Senior Brother Zhuang; rather, I find it hard to imagine marrying a man other than him... But that image surely wouldn't match a ten-year-old girl's ideal vision of a perfect partner, right?"

"Well, generally speaking, he'd be ruled out, but my situation is unique," Little Bowl said. "I don't just want you to be happy, that's merely my innate mission. Besides that, I also have an equally high-priority acquired mission, which is to help Sister Mazao achieve happiness.

"Sister Mazao cannot be together with any man other than Brother Zhuang Cheng, and if the third party is Sister Mazao, I can fully accept it.

"Also, considering you will soon fully harness the Power of Great Impermanence, I don't think any man other than Brother Zhuang Cheng could match you. You have a good feeling about Brother Zhuang Cheng yourself, right? Meanwhile, Sister Mazao just mentioned she doesn't wish to be separated from you...

"Taking into account various elements, having the three of you together is the optimal solution.

"Conversely, if even the path of you three being together doesn't work, then no method will resolve my obsession. From my standpoint, this is the only direction to push forward."

Being put in this position, Zhu Shi seemed finally unable to escape it. She cast a seeking glance toward me.

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