ASFTB 43: From Now On, You Must Love Madam More 2

After returning from the military, it was already very late.

Jian Chengxi had a short rest in the lounge but an afternoon was simply not enough. After returning, he collapsed into bed and slept for a long time.

After waking up, he heard the system’s voice:【You have successfully helped the protagonist overcome a crisis. The safety value has increased to 30%.】

Jian Chengxi was stunned for a moment. “It increased?”

The system responded:【It has finally increased and that wasn’t easy. Congratulations host, your points exchange mall is now open. You can now exchange for goods!】

In Jian Chengxi’s mind, an image of a mall immediately appeared..

In the mall, there were many things that could be exchanged.

It is divided into: snack area, household items area, and even a prop area. Every product requires points to exchange, and he currently only has 10 points.

Jian Chengxi’s gaze was unconsciously drawn, and he asked, “What is the prop area?”

The system opened the prop area for him.

Jian Chengxi originally wanted to exchange for some seasonings and food, but he froze for a moment when the prop area was opened. Surprisingly, the prop area had protagonist fragments!

The system kindly continued to explain to him:【The protagonist fragments are random blind box items. After opening, you can obtain a part of the protagonist’s biography and information.】

Jian Chengxi saw that beneath the fragment, it was a written name of the owner: Alice Jian.

She is the natural mortal enemy of her own daughter, the protagonist.

Jian Chengxi said without hesitation, “Exchange hers.”

The system said:【The fragment has been released, please check.】

Jian Chengxi opened the protagonist’s memory fragment, and in front of him appeared a line of text:【Alice Jian’s mother came from the Underground City. Alice, who was forced to separate from her mother at a young age, had a not-so-happy childhood.】

The protagonist’s fragment only had a short sentence.

However, Jian Chengxi felt that the amount of information was large.

He recalled the innocent child he saw at the school gate that day. The beast woman who came to pick her up from school was Alice’s biological mother.

The system didn’t say exactly how old this so-called childhood was.

But her mother was not separated from her yet.

Jian Chengxi sighed. “What I wanted to see were the materials related to Alice and Suisui, but I didn’t expect it to be about her mother.”

The system reminded him:【Anything, whether related to the character themselves or not, could change the course of the world.】

Jian Chengxi said, “But I don’t know Alice’s mother. Even if I know this information, it’s useless.”

The system said to him:【Why not just go with the flow?】

Jian Chengxi felt that it made sense.

When a problem can’t be solved, just lie flat. This is the consistent way he handles life as a salted fish.

When he got up from the bed, the sky outside had already brightened.

Jian Chengxi sat up. There was no one beside him on the bed anymore. He tried moving his wrist and found that the soreness had actually disappeared quite a bit.

Someone entered from outside.

It was Li Lingfeng, who was already fully dressed.

Li Lingfeng’s military uniform was sharp and imposing. The man glanced at him. “Awake?”

Jian Chengxi nodded and said, “I feel my hand’s much better now.”

Li Lingfeng said, “Last night, I asked the doctor for some medicine. I applied it on you while you were asleep.”

Jian Chengxi’s eyes widened. “What?! Then she… doesn’t she know n–now?”

How is he supposed to face people in the future?

Li Lingfeng lifted his eyelid and glanced at him. “Hmm, she also prescribed some extra medicine, and said you should use it later. Want to see it?”

“…”

Where did she even get so many strange medicines?

Jian Chengxi suppressed the complaint in his heart, but in the end, he still got up.

He stretched lazily, and took a glance at the weather outside. Today’s weather was very clear, and looking at the sunlight, it was bright and radiant.

After Jian Chengxi got out of bed, he went to the wardrobe to pick out clothes.

Li Lingfeng noticed that he wasn’t wearing shoes and was barefoot. He frowned and said, “Wear shoes.”

Jian Chengxi muttered to himself,”It’s not cold.”

He wanted to wear a thin jacket, but he couldn’t find it. When he turned around, it was right next to Li Lingfeng, so he naturally said, “Give me that white jacket.”

He ordered so naturally.

Li Lingfeng was somewhat surprised and raised an eyebrow.

Jian Chengxi was stunned for a moment after he finished speaking, and took a moment to remember who the person in front of him was. After some intimate matters, things were probably a little different now.

The iron-blooded, ruthless warrior on the battlefield, the general with cruel methods, who made enemies tremble in fear.

His hands were stained with so much blood.

Jian Chengxi hesitated for a moment and gave a forced smile. “I’ll take it myself.”

But Li Lingfeng got ahead of him, took the jacket, and handed it to him.

Jian Chengxi didn’t expect that he would really be willing to be ordered around by him, “You…”

“No worries,” Li Lingfeng seemed to see through his hesitation. His dark, deep gaze fell upon him. “It’s just to get you a jacket.”

Jian Chengxi let out a sigh of relief.

It seems that he overthought it. The marshal is still very approachable.

Little did he know—

A deep, elegant voice came from behind, “After all, I’ve also taken off your clothes.”

Jian Chengxi: “…?!”

Be careful, I’ll sue you for acting like a pervert!

Afternoon—

Jian Chengxi was busy in the kitchen for a while.

Last night’s gathering gave him inspiration. He wanted to sell fruits in the Underground City, and make fruits that the people of the Underground City could also eat. Yet that alone wasn’t enough.

However, he no longer had time to set up a stall now.

He needed a storefront.

Nowadays, opening a store in the Underground City was not an easy thing to do.

Jian Chengxi took Wang Cai to the doctor for a follow-up on his leg.

After the check-up—

Someone came to visit the patient at the clinic just then, holding several boxes of nutrient solution with different flavors.

The doctor greeted the family and said, “You’re here to visit Grandma again?”

The young giant smiled and said, “Yes, the old man is getting older so I bought some tasty nutrient solution for him to try.”

The doctor nodded and said, “Hurry up, the old man must be missing you.”

The young man responded with a sound and went upstairs.

Jian Chengxi was watching from behind, and a sudden realization struck him—

“How about I sell some sweet fruits here?” Jian Chengxi said, “If patients come to visit their family members and want to buy some good gifts, you can sell them to them.”

The doctor said, “They might not buy them. After all, sour fruits taste bad and people mostly drink nutrient solution.”

Jian Chengxi thought for a moment and said, “These fruits I have aren’t sour, so try selling them first. If they don’t sell, I’ll think of another way.”

The doctor was a bit hesitant.

Jian Chengxi rolled his eyes, and reached out his hand, saying, “After they sell, we’ll split the money.”

The doctor smiled brightly, “I guarantee I’ll help you sell them well.”

Jian Chengxi teased her. “You’re already the wife of a deputy general, yet you’re still so money-obsessed.”

The doctor smiled. “The wife of the marshal works so hard, we’re all the same.”

“…”

So it’s a mutual business compliment, huh?

In the afternoon, Jian Chengxi returned from the Underground City and went to the school to pick up the child.

Little did he know, just as he picked up the child, the teacher called for a meeting with him.

Teacher Li, who was in charge of Li Suisui’s kindergarten class, smiled and said when facing him, “May I have a word with you?”

Jian Chengxi nodded. “Alright.”

He let the two children play on the school playground and he walked inside.

Before entering the office, he had a bad feeling, fearing that something similar to what happened with Li Chen might happen again, where he was wrongly accused.

However, Teacher Li said, “Mr. Jian, this is Suisui’s report card from the past two days.”

Jian Chengxi took it with a puzzled look.

Then he saw the grades for the potion-making class on it, and every row was filled with negative points.

Jian Chengxi was a bit surprised. “How could this happen?”

Teacher Li pushed up her glasses and said, “Mr. Jian, Suisui is very talented in potion-making and logically, she should be someone who is very suited to learning potion-making, but…”

Jian Chengxi asked, “But what?”

Teacher Li responded, “But the potions she made, almost all of them have a dark nature.”

Jian Chengxi’s eyes widened.

“The teacher in our potion-making class teaches the simplest potions to the kindergarten kids. They are all the most basic potions,” Teacher Li said. “Our potion-making class is mostly attended by angel and elf students because they have healing abilities. However, the elf tribe was nearly wiped out and only the angel tribe remains.”

Jian Chengxi said, “Then Suisui…”

“She is half-elf, so she doesn’t have natural healing abilities,” the teacher sighed. “She has great talent in potion-making, but many of the potions she makes are dark potions.”

Jian Chengxi’s heart sank, and he said, “What do you mean?”

Teacher Li pushed up her glasses and said, “So I would like to advise you to consider whether to suspend the child’s potion-making classes?”

Jian Chengxi finally heard the words he feared the most.

Teacher Li smiled and said, “This is also for the child’s good.”

She thought Jian Chengxi would agree immediately.

Yet to her surprise—

Jian Chengxi, however, clearly hesitated. He thought for a long time and finally spoke, “Teacher, this is not something I can decide. I want to go back and discuss it with my daughter, then hear her opinion.”

Teacher Li was a bit surprised. “Mr. Jian, the child is too young and she doesn’t understand. You need to make your own judgment.”

Most parents would make decisions for their children.

How is it possible that Jian Chengxi still wants to go back and discuss it with his child?

Discussing with a three-year-old child.

Isn’t that a bit ridiculous?

…

After Jian Chengxi came out of the office. He didn’t expect the children hadn’t gone far, and were playing under a tree not far away.

It was right after school dismissal.

Many parents hadn’t come to pick up their children yet, and a group of children from the same class were gathered together.

Li Sui Sui was crouching by the swing, gazing at the flowers in the flowerbed.

The other children were in groups of three or five, but only his daughter was all alone. Her small frame looked especially lonely.

Jian Chengxi took a deep breath, looked up, and greeted his daughter, “Suisui.”

Li Sui Sui, by the flowerbed, immediately looked up and ran over, a bit excited. “Daddy!”

Jian Chengxi caught her.

Li Sui Sui looked very excited and happy. She hugged Jian Chengxi and said, “Daddy, you’re back?”

Jian Chengxi nodded.

Li Sui Sui’s eyes looked at Jian Chengxi. “Did the teacher say anything to you, Daddy?”

Jian Chengxi hesitated for a moment and didn’t speak.

However, he seemed to have underestimated his little daughter’s intelligence.

Li Sui Sui’s smile slowly disappeared from her face. Her gaze quietly fixed on him, her voice soft and childlike, “Daddy, did the teacher talk about Suisui’s potion-making grades?”

Jian Chengxi didn’t expect she was that smart.

Looking at his little daughter’s face. He felt a bit heartbroken and gently rubbed the child’s head. “The teacher was just casually chatting with Daddy.”

“Suisui’s grades didn’t pass.” Li Suisui stood in front of him with a slightly downcast expression on her fair and soft face. “So the teacher called Daddy, right?”

Jian Chengxi said, “The teacher just wanted to care about Suisui. She actually likes Suisui very much.”

Li Suisui looked at Jian Chengxi.

Her eyes were big and watery yet dark and deep too. Her face was so tender and young but she seemed to understand everything.

“Daddy,” Li Suisui grabbed his hand and carefully said, “Is it that you don’t want Suisui to continue with potion-making class?”

Jian Chengxi’s heart inexplicably hurt.

He had indeed thought about it in the past.

In his dreams, Suisui was the future dark witch.

It is precisely because of this that she attracts such jealousy from others.

It is also because of her identity and her abilities that disaster comes to her.

He hopes his daughter does not take this path.

It’s not because he thinks this path is bad, nor because he looks down on this path. It’s simply because he hopes her life can be easier and that she can walk a better, easier path.

Not being excluded by classmates, not being criticized by the world.

A smoother path.

As parents, they never expect how successful their children will be.

They just hope even more that they can live happily.

Jian Chengxi’s heart felt heavy. He raised his hand and gently stroked Li Sui Sui’s face, hesitating for a long time, as if making a firm decision. “Suisui, do you want to learn?”

The air seemed to be silent for a moment.

In the distance, there was the sound of children playing and laughing.

The sunset’s twilight fell onto the ground, stretching the silhouette of a person very long.

Li Sui Sui didn’t turn around. Her voice was soft and a bit childish but very serious, “I want to learn. Suisui’s dream is to become a powerful woman like the queen.”

Jian Chengxi’s nose felt sour, but he smiled. “Is that so?”

There was no response.

Yet in her heart, she had already made a decision.

“But the teacher doesn’t really want Suisui to learn.” Li Suisui looked at Jian Chengxi, and took out her potion-making homework from her backpack. “The teacher said Suisui’s potion is bad and useless.”

That’s why everyone doesn’t like her.

Jian Chengxi looked at the potion bottle in the child’s hand. He shook his head and said, “No, it’s not.”

Li Sui Sui looked at him in confusion. Jian Chengxi took the child’s hand and said, “Every potion is useful, it’s just that the teacher hasn’t discovered it yet.”

Li Sui Sui’s little face brightened. “Really?”

Jian Chengxi nodded. “Of course, it’s true!”

They walked toward the outside of the school. 

Li Chen and Li Suisui have different classes, and their school times are different, so school hasn’t let them out yet.

The two of them had just reached outside the school when they saw people arguing not far away. The young girl being pulled had a familiar head of blue hair.

Alice struggled to break free from the butler’s hand, crying out, “No, I don’t want to go back!”

The butler said helplessly, “Miss, the sir will be angry if he knows.”

“Why isn’t mom here to pick me up?” Alice’s beautiful, fair face had tears on it. “Has something happened to mom? I need to go find her.”

The butler said, “Miss, please calm down. The madam just went on a trip.”

Alice said, somewhat agitated, “You’re lying, mom’s presence is clearly still in Sky City. I sensed it, I need to go find mom.”

The butler saw that the situation couldn’t be hidden any longer and was prepared to use force. “Miss, stop making a scene. What will happen if other students see this?”

The two continued to be at a stalemate.

Turning around, they happened to see Jian Chengxi and Li Suisui just coming out.

Alice saw her deskmate coming to check on her at this moment. Tears filled her eyes. “Suisui, don’t worry about me, just go.”

Li Suisui’s face was expressionless. “Suisui is waiting for her gege to finish school.”

“…”

However, the butler seemed to think that Li Suisui was the accomplice the young lady had brought, and gave her a glare. “Little brat! Stay out of it.”

Li Suisui glanced at the butler.

Jian Chengxi, seeing that he dared to scold his daughter, was about to speak—

When Li Suisui stepped forward first.

Alice cried as she said, “Suisui, don’t worry about me. It’s useless, you’re just a child. You can’t beat him. He won’t let me go find mom…”

“Thud!“

The butler, who had been so arrogant just moments ago, was splashed with potion water all over his face, and fell to the ground.

Li Suisui held the empty bottle in her hand, and casually kicked the butler who had just scolded her. All these actions flow smoothly and effortlessly.

Then—

The young girl seemed to react just half a beat late and turned around to look at Alice. Her voice was sharp and clear with some confusion, “What did you just say?”

Alice: “…”

Sorry to interrupt.