Chapter 29: A Test?
After locking the door, An Baili let out a soft moan and pounced on Lu Li, pushing him onto the bed. Her small face rubbed against his chest repeatedly. “You’re finally back~” Lu Li pinched An Baili’s soft cheeks and recalled that since they got married in his past life, they had rarely been apart for more than a month.
“Let’s talk about business first.” Lu Li patted her head gently, but An Baili just pouted and said, “I want a kiss.” Lu Li chuckled. He realized that what he used to consider An Baili’s flaws were actually her strengths. Even after being together for almost twenty years in his past life, she could still greet each new day with enthusiasm and passion, always treating their love like a honeymoon. An Baili could act cute like this, asking for kisses, seven or eight times a day. It was him who had lost that youthful vigor and enthusiasm in the day-to-day grind of reality.
Lu Li kissed the girl’s sweet lips, their tongues intertwined in a long and passionate battle. An Baili’s eyes were already glazed over. When they finally parted, she even stuck out her tongue and licked his Adam’s apple. “Take me…” Lu Li’s breathing also quickened, but he was obviously more concerned about the “big secret.” He pecked the girl’s delicate nose, making her whine. “Did you forget your promise with the Class Monitor?”
An Baili snuggled against Lu Li unhappily. “Why does Jingyi tell you everything? How can she tell you about our girl talk?”
Lu Li had many questions in his mind. Moreover, his sister was next door and could barge in at any moment, so he wasn’t in the mood for that kind of activity now. “Baili, what’s gotten into you? You’re willing to compromise with Jingyi? I remember you used to make a fuss if I even talked to the Class Monitor for a bit.”
An Baili avoided his gaze. “Isn’t it all for your benefit? Hmph, Jingyi is so naive, willing to be strung along by you. To be honest, I was shocked when she came to me and talked about this.”
“What did she say?”
“She was so silly and clueless, asking me in front of everyone in the classroom if constantly thinking about someone meant liking them.”
Very Chu Jingyi style. “What did you say?”
“I’m not telling you.” An Baili licked Lu Li’s neck again. “Li, you haven’t showered, you stink…”
“So you’re not jealous of her?”
“I am.” An Baili’s eyes dimmed a little. “But what can I do? I’m just a helpless little girl. If you dislike me too, what am I supposed to do? I’ve been through despair twice already, I can’t handle it a third time…”
Her words were filled with helplessness and sorrow. Lu Li felt guilty and hugged An Baili tightly. Anything he said now would be hypocritical. What made a person human was that every decision they made, besides affecting themselves, also profoundly affected others. He could boldly decide to be a carefree playboy, but he couldn’t forget the girls who silently bore the heartache because of it.
As if sensing Lu Li’s guilt, An Baili continued, “Actually, the main reason isn’t that I’m afraid of you disliking me. I thought about it carefully, and I think there might be something wrong with my body. I can’t have children for you, but Chu Jingyi can. She’s from a good family and has always been healthy. She can definitely give you a healthy baby. And Jingyi is a truly kind girl, much better than… that kind… It’s easier for me to accept giving her to you.” She deliberately slurred her words, but Lu Li could tell she was probably talking about Chen Jianing.
Was that really the reason? His intuition told him that An Baili was hiding something.
Seeing Lu Li’s suspicious look, An Baili quickly changed the subject. “I didn’t actually say much to Jingyi. I just told her a story. I said I knew a girl who liked a boy but refused to admit it. She kept lying to herself, saying that she would never fall in love with anyone. Then, when the boy got married, she could only watch him walk down the aisle with another woman, crying her heart out. Even after he got married, she couldn’t let go of her feelings for him. So she pretended to be his business partner, using all sorts of seductive tricks to try and seduce someone else’s husband.”
Lu Li frowned as he listened. “Who is this girl? That’s too much. No matter what, she shouldn’t try to break up someone’s family.”
“Right? Jingyi also thought it was wrong.” An Baili said excitedly. “This kind of woman, since she’s not willing to be honest, deserves to live with regret for the rest of her life. Honey, don’t you think so?”
Lu Li tilted his head. He felt like An Baili was implying something. Was she talking about someone close to him? Was there anyone like that around him? It didn’t seem like it. He, Lu Li, was a man of integrity. If he encountered such a situation, he would definitely criticize it! Not only the girl, but the boy too! He would criticize them severely!
Seeing Lu Li nodding repeatedly, An Baili laughed, clutching her stomach. “Li, you’re so cute.”
There were two situations where a boy would be called “cute” by a girl. One was when he was being childlike, and the other was when he was being foolish. Lu Li felt like he was being foolish, so he wisely stopped nodding and deliberately put on a serious face. “Let’s not talk about that. You said Wen Hupo is reborn too. What’s that about?”
An Baili let out a sigh of relief, barely noticeable. “It’s like this. That day, when I was walking in the botanical garden with Wen Hupo, she suddenly asked me a very strange question. She asked if the botanical garden would still be the same botanical garden if all the plants were replaced.”
The classic Ship of Theseus* problem. It was normal for Wen Hupo to think about such questions.
“Li, don’t you think it’s strange?” An Baili leaned against Lu Li. “She didn’t ask me earlier, she didn’t ask me later, she asked me at that specific moment when we were together. And this question is similar to our situation with rebirth… And the way she asked, it was like she already knew the answer… Wen Hupo must, must be reborn too! She was testing me!”
Lu Li found it a bit far-fetched. Wen Hupo was the kind of person who could associate flowers and plants with gears and stars. Moreover, to put it bluntly, Wen Hupo didn’t need to test An Baili. In front of Wen Hupo, An Baili was like a mouse facing a cat, completely exposed. Ahem, An Baili herself might not even realize this.
Even Lu Li himself sometimes had the feeling that Wen Hupo could see right through him.
“I think you’re being too sensitive.” Lu Li said. “If she’s reborn too, she wouldn’t need to test you like this. This isn’t some third-rate harem novel serialized on Bobobook.”
“I still think she’s suspicious!” An Baili bit Lu Li’s shirt button. “Li, how about we test her?”
“How do we test her?”
“Like this… like this…”
“…Why does this sound a bit stupid?”
***
T/N: The Ship of Theseus, also known as Theseus’ paradox, is a classic thought experiment that poses a fundamental question about identity and change: if an object has all of its original components replaced, one by one, over time, does it remain essentially the same object, or does it become something entirely new?
Leave a Reply