"Wuwu~" At this, Kiana finally broke into tears of joy and said excitedly, "I was worried, worried that Mother would never wake up again."
"How could that be." That person said, "A tiny little problem like this won't keep me from waking up."
"Mm." Kiana rubbed her eyes, nodded, and said, "The Principal said that Mother is very strong."
"I was just a little scared..."
She was just a little scared.
Li Pu looked at Kiana, feeling a subtle sense of melancholy in her heart. She could understand—understand Kiana's thoughts. She had already lost her mother for fourteen years.
Having finally reunited, Kiana would try her hardest to grasp all of this and not let her disappear again.
"Thank you, Kiana." Li Pu smiled slightly and said, "Thank you for your concern."
"Hehehe~" Kiana rubbed the back of her head and chuckled foolishly, "What is Mother saying?"
"Mother..." Li Pu scratched her cheek.
"This..."
She had to admit that although she was somewhat prepared, hearing this word still made Li Pu feel a great deal of awkwardness.
"Um..." Li Pu felt a bit embarrassed, put on a silly expression, and said, "Kiana, could you temporarily stop using that title to address me?"
"You can probably just call me Li Pu."
"Why?" Kiana widened her eyes and asked with some confusion, "Why use that strange name?"
"There are many reasons." Li Pu said, "It's not very easy to explain. If I really have to explain something, it's probably that I owe you way too much."
"I really don't deserve this title. If it's all right, let's just start as ordinary friends."
Although through this mock battle she had gained a much deeper understanding of what the system called "comprehending," some things could not be achieved overnight.
Maternal love and all that—comprehending it was one thing, but truly integrating into the role and further understanding that love was quite another.
For the time being, Li Pu really couldn't act like a mother.
So, let's start with being friends for now.
Let's also start by learning how to care for someone, step by step.
"Mm..." Kiana crossed her arms, not really understanding Li Pu's suggestion, yet not completely failing to understand it either.
"Why use the name 'Li Pu'?"
Kiana still couldn't fathom why she should use that name. Although she knew this person was her mother in disguise, she still couldn't fully comprehend this approach.
Likewise, she didn't particularly care for her mother's pretty-boy persona.
"There are many reasons." Li Pu couldn't explain it either. Seeing that Kiana seemed somewhat dissatisfied, she took a step back and said, "Then you can call me by my name, Cecilia."
"Of course, if I use the 'Li Pu' persona again, you'll still have to call me 'Li Pu'."
"Right now, you can call me 'Cecilia'."
"I get it, Mother~" Kiana giggled foolishly and said, "I'll do that."
She really still doesn't get it at all...
Li Pu sighed, feeling that some problems were already too difficult for her to explain.
No, even harder-to-explain problems were waiting ahead! Kiana was only the beginning! Li Pu was about to face this very same problem.
This problem was standing right at the door of the infirmary.
A middle-aged man with white hair stood there, holding a rose in his hand. His face showed a rare trace of anxiety and tension, and he seemed hesitant to move forward, separated from her by just a thin wooden door.
In the old days, he probably would have kicked it open with one sleep-addled stride and walked right in.
Of course, back then he was always drunk, holding a glass in one hand and a rum bottle in the other, slovenly dressed and reeking of alcohol!
Ever since that day when she sacrificed herself,
he had spent countless days just like that, muddle-headed, no different from an ordinary drunkard, often drinking himself into a stupor.
Only on days when he occasionally sobered up would he briefly coach his "daughter" and let her learn the family's secret arts of Gun Fu.
He had originally thought the rest of his life would pass this way.
Muddle-headed, self-abandoning, and utterly depraved.
Yet fate perhaps didn't want him to degenerate like that. After going through more nights than he could count, he finally heard news he scarcely dared to believe.
For the sake of this news, he had rushed over in the shortest possible time, changing into his finest outfit.
He had even sprayed himself with cologne to chase away the smell of alcohol.
Feeling that everything was fully prepared, he had even brought a bouquet of roses to pave the way for the romance of this reunion. Yet now, truly standing before this door,
he found himself growing somewhat timid. He had pushed open countless doors in his life.
Why didn't he dare push open this one today?!
You can do it! Just do it!
Siegfried Kaslana!
Chapter 41: The Wrong Way to Open a Door
When God closes a door for you, He will definitely close a window for you as well.
And this door wasn't being closed very amicably.
It almost smashed Siegfried right in the nose.
"It doesn't seem to be going as smoothly as I imagined." Siegfried instinctively touched his nose, which had almost been hit, and said, "She feels a lot less gentle than before."
"But then again, who would approve of a drunk?"
"Let's try again." Siegfried took a deep breath and said, "Let's try again."
"Knock on the door first~ Knock on the door~"
Inside the room.
Li Pu lowered her head, her eyes wide and blank, looking exceptionally terrified.
"Siegfried... Kaslana..." Li Pu stammered, "Why... why is he here?! This is a girls' school! And Otto is here too, how did he get in?"
She never expected this; it felt as though the heavens simply hadn't finished toying with her.
They had to put on this little act for her as well.
Just as she was about to leave the infirmary and pulled the door open, she had caught sight of Siegfried's middle-aged mug right there.
"Mother?" Kiana said, looking slightly puzzled, "It seems Dad is standing right outside the door, why is Mother closing it?"
"And using so much force?"
"Could it be..."
Kiana suddenly developed a somewhat ominous premonition. Although the Principal had said her mother had vanished because of certain matters, she hadn't specified what those matters were. Kiana didn't know, and asking yielded no concrete answers.
So why exactly had her mother left for fourteen years and been unwilling to return?
Could it be... could it be...
"Mother and Dad's relationship broke down?!" Kiana exclaimed, covering her cheeks with both hands, "Is that why Mother wouldn't come back? Why she didn't want to see Dad?"
Kiana felt as though she had suddenly discovered the truth!
No! This couldn't be!
"Mother!" Kiana tried to put in a good word for Siegfried to salvage this relationship, saying, "Although I know Dad often drinks himself into a stupor, and he's a drunk, and he usually doesn't clean up the house or himself, and he doesn't cook, and he's especially lazy..."
"No! It's not like that." Li Pu suddenly grabbed Kiana's shoulders and said, "You've got it all wrong!"
"This isn't about a relationship breaking down!"
I... I'm a guy, dammit! Not only am I a guy, I'm also a mado-scholar! It's tragic, but it's a fact!
She was currently playing the role of Cecilia and was being treated as Cecilia. Moreover, Cecilia wasn't just Kiana's mother; she was also Siegfried's wife.
A proper, legally wedded wife!
So if Siegfried wanted to sleep with Cecilia, it was a matter of course, the kind that didn't cost money, and perhaps even the kind where she didn't even need to use protection.
Even Li Pu had heard from certain popular science facts that in this regard,
a woman's pleasure exceeded a man's.
But she wasn't willing!
She hadn't even flirted much with any girls yet, and now she was going to be slept with by a man! And it was the kind of free ride where you didn't have to pay! No, it didn't even count as soliciting.
Such a frantic and insane thing!
She, Li Pu, absolutely refused!
I have to change back, no matter what! Li Pu felt an unprecedented sense of crisis!
If she didn't change back...
I must change back!
Li Pu shook her head and said, "Kiana, I'm giving you a very important mission. Watch the door and don't let Siegfried in."
"I'm taking off first!"
For no other reason, Li Pu chose to jump out the window to escape and avoid getting plowed.
Yet this was...
"The sixth floor!!!!!D"
Siegfried, who had been knocking on the door cautiously, suddenly heard a scream from inside. He instantly knew something was amiss, and at that moment he threw all thoughts of gentlemanly demeanor to the winds!
That thin wooden door was no match for Siegfried Kaslana; with a slight push, the entire door was blasted flying with a loud bang!
Yes, it flew!
This wasn't a figure of speech describing someone's superhuman strength—it was actual reality. With a fierce shove from Siegfried, the wooden door couldn't withstand his massive force.
It clattered and splintered, flying right out of its frame and tumbling aside.
Seeing Cecilia hurl herself over and leap out the window, Siegfried didn't hesitate for a fraction of a second. Taking three steps in one, he lunged to the doorway, threw himself forward in a similar dive, and closely followed Cecilia's retreating figure.
First, diving head-first like a cliff-diver, he caught up to the free-falling Cecilia at an unscientific speed.
The next second, he gently grabbed her flailing wrist and pulled her into his embrace.
His entire body then executed a graceful, light spin, transforming the dive from head-first to landing feet-first.
He gently folded Cecilia into his arms.
It really is her.
In that very instant, Siegfried felt as though his withered, aged, utterly motionless heart had instantly been filled to the brim! That fervent heat and love surged forth like a majestic river, flooding his gradually aging heart.
His heart beat with such resounding vigor, just as it had when they first met, just as it had in their youth.
Right at this moment, Siegfried desperately wished that time would slow down, slow down even more.
He wanted to hold her a little longer, and even shout out, My youth has returned!
Yet land he did, standing firmly and securely on the ground.
Looking at the beloved in his arms whom he had lost for fourteen years—this face that seemed untouched by fourteen years of light and shadow, this face almost identical to the one from fourteen years ago.
Siegfried finally gave in to impulse and passionately kissed her down!
"Help meeeee!!!!"
Facing that ever-expanding middle-aged face, Li Pu snapped back to her senses. Flustered and howling like a ghost, she broke free from Siegfried's embrace, scrambled and crawled away, and curled up under a tree, trembling all over!
Too! Too! Too! Too terrifying!
She had almost been forcibly kissed by a man!
This was simply too insane!
She felt goosebumps breaking out all over her body!
Before you continue