What are you looking at? You're the female lead too!

"The truth about Rijuku...?"

Ye Wen knew this was the key to ending Shen Xuqiu's storyline, but to avoid arousing unnecessary suspicion, he still frowned slightly and asked:

"Is it really okay to tell me, an outsider, something that even Shen Xuqiu himself doesn't know?"

"Hmm~"

Shen Caichun laughed: "I don't consider someone who risked their life to protect my sister for five days to be an outsider."

"Sometimes, it doesn't take long to see a person clearly, just three days, three days is enough."

Just as reasoning often only has three options, the emperor only needs eight hundred soldiers.

"And," Shen Caichun's eyes inexplicably turned sad, "it's precisely because Xiao Qiu can't know right now that I'm telling you this."

"All right."

Ye Wen nodded: "But is there really enough time? It shouldn't take long to get food from the kitchen, right?"

"fine."

Shen Caichun nodded confidently: "I secretly put her favorite pudding in the refrigerator, and Xiao Qiu is definitely eating it right now."

"There's no need to worry about assassins attacking; this house, passed down from generation to generation by the Japanese patriarchs, is absolutely safe."

"We have plenty of time to explain."

Ye Wen: "...Okay."

"Where to begin?"

We can't start from the time Shen Xuqiu was born, can we?

"Come with me first."

Shen Caichun led Ye Wen upstairs, opened a locked room, and went inside, pointing his palm towards the wall: "Look."

The entire wall was covered with preserved group photos, ranging from old black and white to the latest high-definition color photos, with the number of people ranging from four to eight, and their clothing changing with the times.

At first glance, it looks like it's about 150 years old.

Moreover, the people in the photos look similar, especially in their eyebrows.

Ye Wen's eyes widened slightly: "This is...?"

"That's right."

Shen Caichun nodded: "This is a group photo of our ancestors from generation to generation."

Ye Wen: "..."

Okay, she didn't start from when Shen Xuqiu was born.

She started directly from her ancestors for eighteen generations.

"Looking at these group photos, Ye Wen, have you noticed any commonalities?"

"A unified phenomenon?" Ye Wen looked at the photos again with an inquisitive gaze and soon discovered something chilling.

That is, in every generation's group photo, there is always a pair of parents with several children, and it's always the same for every generation.

Each generation has only one pair of parents.

Ye Wen turned his head and looked at Shen Caichun with deep eyes: "This is a group photo of your Riju, right?"

"Yes."

"You don't distinguish between the branch family and the main family, do you?"

"Yes."

"Then..." Ye Wen pursed his lips and asked his question, "Then why?"

"In each generation, is it possible for only one child to grow up, get married, have children, and appear in the next generation's group photo?"

Yes, that's the biggest problem with these photos.

No matter how many children this generation has, whether it's three or five, in the next generation, there will always only be one grown-up child.

This is true for every generation.

In that instant, Ye Wen thought of some unpleasant things.

"As expected of you, you spotted the problem so quickly."

Shen Caichun looked up, his expression increasingly melancholy: "Yes, that's the problem."

"Ye Wen, in your opinion, what is the power of our Riju?"

She murmured to herself, "Is it the evolution of genes? A gift of blessing? Or a key to transcendence?"

"No, in my opinion, the so-called Japanese Chrysanthemum is nothing but a cruel curse."

Shen Caichun raised his hand and gently stroked the group photo on the wall: "In each generation of Riju's children, a [mother] will be produced."

"The mother's heart can produce a special substance that can give organisms power beyond their limits, and brothers and sisters who are connected to the mother by blood can directly obtain their own special abilities."

"For example, my [Formless Spring Birth] has given me the ability to freely manipulate matter."

"But this ability comes at a price."

At this point in Shen Caichun's speech, even the paramecium realized what was happening. Ye Wen's voice became slightly heavy: "The price is the brothers and sisters of the [Mother]?"

Shen Caichun nodded with a wry smile.

"That's right."

"As the 'Mother,' that is, Xiao Qiu's relatives, we are actually just offerings to Riju's original body, the heart that has been passed down to this day."

"Once the time is right, the heart will seize our life energy to strengthen itself, and then in the next birth, it will select a new mother to give the next generation of offspring even more powerful abilities."

"Even if the mother herself does not want to continue, her heart will still influence her will."

"This cycle repeats itself."

Shen Caichun raised his hand and looked at his palm: "This is why I am so powerful."

"This powerless strength."

Ye Wen was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "When do you plan to tell her?"

Shen Caichun remained silent.

She looked at the group photo on the wall and smiled easily: "I don't know, but let's at least wait until that child has become stronger."

"I don't want her to find out too early and then live with the guilt of eventually killing her loved ones. I can't bear that."

"So," she winked at Ye Wen, "could you please ask our reliable little brother Ye Wen to keep this a secret for me?"

"Never tell her the truth before something happens to me."

Ye Wen nodded calmly.

"Okay, I promise you."

He now understood why Shen Caichun always wanted him to marry into the family.

Because Shen Xuqiu, as the mother, had no special abilities other than being physically stronger than ordinary people, after Shen Caichun's death, in order to deal with other people who wanted to obtain the heart of the chrysanthemum, Shen Xuqiu needed a strong and trustworthy person by her side.

This is probably how the Japanese Chrysanthemum family has passed down its traditions from generation to generation.

In response, Ye Wen couldn't help but sigh:

"It's truly remarkable that your Japanese Chrysanthemum lineage has survived to this day without interruption..."

"Haha, I'm also curious how we've managed to survive until now."

Shen Caichun smiled and said, "Alright, you already know the truth about Riju. I don't expect you to marry into the family and stay by Xiaoqiu's side for life, but at least..."

She pleaded softly with Ye Wen, "Please protect her if necessary, okay?"

"Although I'm not dead yet, please pretend I'm about to die. This is a once-in-a-lifetime request."

After saying that, Shen Caichun remembered something and quickly added, "I'll have Xiao Qiu pay!"

This "payment" thing sounds a bit strange, it sounds like some kind of profession...

Silently cursing in his heart, Ye Wen shook his head: "There's no need for that, Sister Cai Chun. I said I would protect her until her life settles down."

The heart of this chrysanthemum is most likely the key to ending the plot. After this part of the plot ends, Shen Xuqiu will no longer be the female lead, and her life will settle down.

but……

Ye Wen couldn't help but ask, "Sister Cai Chun, do you think so highly of me? If we're only talking about a direct confrontation, I can't even beat your sister."

Shen Xuqiu carrying him while running on the rooftop was too authoritative; in terms of physical strength alone, she could take on three Ye Wens.

"You don't need to worry about that," Shen Caichun said with a confident smile. "My judgment is excellent."

"I can see that you will become stronger, definitely."

"I'm not dead yet. Before I die, you will definitely grow into someone I can entrust my life to."

"Alright." Shen Caichun stretched. "Judging by the time, Xiao Qiu should have almost finished eating the pudding."

"We should wrap this up now. By the way, do you have any questions for me?"

Ye Wen thought for a moment and then said softly, "I do have a question."

"Sister Caichun, are you really planning to continue like this, sacrificing your mother's heart so that Shen Xuqiu will find out the truth later, and then..."

"Will you, like your ancestors, continue this tragedy of watching your loved ones die because of yourselves?"

This twisted continuation.

Ye Wen's question was spot on, and even Shen Caichun was silent for several seconds.

Just as Ye Wen was about to apologize for his recklessness, Shen Caichun spoke up, saying softly in an almost sorrowful tone, "I'm sorry."

"I have no idea."