I just wanted to cultivate immortality, but I was forced to open a harem

"Friend card." Mai was relieved, "Turns out he's also a loser."

Chapter 149: Miss Kaguya Wants to Change

"Loser? You're exaggerating." Lin Hezhen was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

"Isn't it? Both me and Yukinoshita-san are 'losing women'." Mai said with a half-smile.

"Mai, you can't underestimate yourself. You are a big star in the island country, a beautiful girl and a rich woman worth over 100 million. If you show your identity to others, I don't know how many people will envy you. You are a successful person, how can you fail?"

"But, senior brother rejected my confession. In the field of love, isn't he a loser?" Mai pouted.

Lin Hezhen shook his head: "Junior sister, as cultivators, we seek immortality. Romance is nothing to us."

Mai Yi said stubbornly, "But it was you who told me that cultivating immortals is to be free and at ease, and to have clear thoughts. If you can't see through your heart and see your nature, how can you comprehend the world and realize immortality?"

"Love between young men and women may be just a common sight on the roadside for you, but for me it is the most precious thing in life."

Lin Hezhen sighed, "Junior sister, you are obsessed with appearances. In human terms, you are obsessed with appearances and deviate from the essence."

Mai Yi smiled and said, "You are in my eyes, like a flower reflected in water, but it is no longer a flower. I have you in my heart, so how can I pretend that I have nothing in my heart?"

"If practicing Taoism means forgetting oneself, letting go of obsessions, and reaching a free and unfettered selfless state, then does becoming an immortal mean giving up all emotions, desires, and ideals, and becoming a statue without a soul?"

"When I give up these things, I will not feel pain, and I will be free and detached. But the question is, after giving up these things, what will I have left?"

"Cultivating immortals, does that mean turning a living, flesh-and-blood person into a machine that only knows how to cultivate? Brother, the one who is really obsessed with appearances is not me, but you."

"Junior sister, it seems that you have been studying Taoist scriptures very hard recently." Lin Hezhen also laughed.

"Of course," Mai put her hands on her hips, "I have made up my mind to correct my brother's wrong ideas about cultivation. Then, one day, I will make you confess to me!"

"Then you dumped me in public to get your revenge? What kind of stupid move is this from 'Childhood Sweethearts Will Never Lose'?" Lin Hezhen curled his lips.

"Are you going to make me do a weird dance in front of the whole school? Good junior sister, please spare me."

"Ah, Senior Brother, you think too badly of me. At most, I would ask you to confess to me in front of all the teachers and students in the school during the final exam. Besides, I will definitely agree."

Lin Hezhen complained: "What did you prepare for me, the script of Tokyo handsome guy Watanabe, or the script of Shengtian Banzi Qi Tongwei?"

"what is that?"

"Two men confessed their love to their girlfriends in front of the whole school. The former gave up revenge, became a bootlicker, and married into a wealthy family; the latter rose to prominence by relying on his wife's family connections, used his power to take bribes, and eventually committed suicide."

"It's all pretty bad, so you'd better not confess to me in front of the whole school."

"The first one is also bad? He got what he wanted and ended up with the evil lady."

Mai shook her head slowly: "What I want is an equal love, not to make my man a licker and force him to bow down to me."

Hearing this, Lin Hezhen's heartbeat slowed down.

"Mai, how can I let go of you if you're like this?"

"Then hold my hand tightly and don't let go, ever." Mai smiled cunningly.

I will hold your hand and grow old with you. We will be together through life and death.

Just sixteen words express the heartfelt feeling.

Looking at Mai's flawless white and delicate hand, Lin Hezhen knew that as long as he held it, he would get a perfect lover who loved him deeply, and in the future he would have a happy family, lovely children, love and be loved...

The happy life that ordinary people dream of all their lives is within his reach.

But is he really ready to take root in this world?

Is he willing to give up the immortality and live a life together with Mai?

Has he given up his obsession with returning to his original world?

……

It's still too early for him to give up everything and make a decision without hesitation.

"Sorry, Mai, I'm not ready yet." He could only lower his head and said with infinite apology.

He didn't dare to look at the girl in front of him, didn't dare to look at her disappointed expression, the light gradually disappearing in her eyes, and the hidden tears.

He was afraid that he would be soft-hearted, afraid that he would waver, and even more afraid that he would not be able to bear it all at once.

"No, you don't have to apologize to me," the girl said with a slight sob, stroking his head.

"I know, there is nothing more disgusting than being confessed to by someone you hate."

"No, that's not the case!" Lin Hezhen suddenly raised his head.

"I have never thought of hating Mai! In my heart, my affection for you will only increase with every passing minute. However, I have a goal that I must accomplish no matter what. Before I accomplish it, I cannot respond to your feelings, so I'm sorry..."

"Is that so?" Mai wiped her eyes and smiled through her tears. "That means there is still hope for me, right?"

"Whatever you want to do, just do it, and I will wait for you, no matter how long it takes, I will never look back."

"You don't have to do this." Lin Hezhen said reluctantly.

"I do this voluntarily," the girl insisted.

How far is the distance between one heart and another? Is it within reach? Or is it far away?

And I will wait silently, waiting for the moment when you and I will watch the stars on the balcony together.

In this regard, Lin Hezhen could only sigh.

Meeting the right person at the wrong time is probably fate's trick.

He passed through the mortal world with no intention of being involved in cause and effect, but his fate was beyond his control, and he was always entangled with various beautiful girls.

Sakurajima Mai and Yukinoshita Yukino are both excellent girls, but I am not from this world after all, and there is no destiny between them.

Unfortunately, fate was unwilling to let him go and wantonly entangled the red thread around him.

So in the future, will there be other girls who will have intersections with him?

Thinking of this, Lin Hezhen couldn't help but shudder.

……

As night falls, mottled lights are dotted among the scattered buildings, and a crescent moon hangs lonely in the sky.

It was late at night, but there was still noise outside the window.

The city will not lose its glitz with the coming of night; the whole city is bathed in flashing neon lights.

Shinagawa District.

In a mansion that covers a vast area and is as magnificent as a palace, it is extremely quiet as if it is isolated from the world.

Shinomiya Kaguya was lying on the wide, soft bed, complaining to Hayasaka Ai who was standing beside the bed in a professional maid outfit.

"Listen to me, Fujiwara-san went too far today. Not only did he leave all the cleaning work to me alone, he also stole the Japanese sweets used as offerings and the offerings from the shrine!"

"Although they are all imitations, don't you think what she did today was a bit over the line? That's a shrine in the imperial palace!"

Hayasaka Ai calmly replied: "In fact, all of Ms. Fujiwara's pranks were within the permitted range. Ms. Fujiwara has been to the Imperial Shrine many times as a witch, so she should have known what she can and cannot do. The managers should have turned a blind eye to her actions."

"Hey, if I had known that, I would have been more relaxed," Kaguya pouted.

"I worked diligently as a witch for the entire day. I even did cleaning, a job I had never done before, meticulously."

"Good girl, so good. Miss Kaguya is the best." Hayasaka Ai said, stroking her head.

"That's not the tone you use to coax a child." Kaguya said dissatisfiedly.

"This is Ms. Kaguya's first time as a witch at the Imperial Shrine. Once you have experience, it will be much easier. Besides, didn't Ms. Fujiwara specifically change her shift to the same day as you because she was worried that you would be overwhelmed if you went alone?"

"Hmph, I think she just wants to play." Kaguya curled her lips.

However, a smile appeared on her originally cold face. In her heart, Kaguya still cherished her friend Fujiwara Chika very much.

"Ah, I have to go to school again tomorrow." She lay on her back on the big bed.

"If Miss Kaguya doesn't want to go, you can ask for leave from school," Hayasaka Ai suggested.

Kaguya refused without a second thought: "I don't want to. Staying at home is not as fun as school. At least school is not so depressing and boring. Besides, if I ask for leave casually, God knows what my father and brothers will think."

As a top chaebol that controls the economic lifeline of the island nation, the Shinomiya family naturally has complicated family relationships.

Kaguya's father is very old and has three adult sons, the eldest of whom is old enough to be Kaguya's father.

Kaguya was the child of a concubine. Her mother died shortly after she was born, and her father was indifferent to her, which resulted in Kaguya not feeling much warmth in the family.

In addition, as a ruthless capitalist family, the Shinomiya family's educational philosophy for their children is somewhat distorted. They are not aiming to educate people, but to educate the emperor.

Look at their family motto: Don’t rely on others, only use them; don’t accept favors from others, only rob them; don’t fall in love with others, no exceptions.

Can the people produced by this kind of education be normal people?

In short, the Shinomiya family lacks the warmth and affection that a normal family should have, but instead the struggles caused by interests are endless, like undercurrents surging beneath the calm surface of a lake.

Fortunately, because Shinomiya Kaguya is still young and overprotected by her family, even though she has received capitalist education in imperial studies, she is ignorant of the ways of the world and behaves like a kitten trying hard to play the role of a tiger, which is funny but also cute.

However, her way of thinking that is far from common sense often gives Hayasaka a headache.

In particular, Miss Kaguya has recently been particularly interested in a young man named Hayashi Kazuma, but she is unwilling to take the initiative to contact him. Instead, she sends people to follow and observe him secretly, appearing nervous.

No, she started asking again.

"Hayasaka, what is Hayashi Kazuma doing these days? Is that Chiya County Councillor's daughter still pestering him?"

Hayasaka Ai replied calmly: "He is still going to school normally recently, and Yukinoshita Yukino still lives next door to him."

"Hmph, a thieving cat." Kaguya said in a low voice, completely ignoring the basic fact that the other party knew Lin Hezhen first.

During the days when the Kamo family was causing trouble, the top families on the island nation more or less felt that a storm was about to come.

The cunning President Shigong immediately ordered a full retreat and withdrew all the outside personnel to protect the Shigong family members.

Therefore, Hayasaka Ai and Kaguya did not know that Yukino and Mai had stayed at Hayashi Kazuma's house, otherwise, it would not be something that could be resolved by simply saying "stealing fish".

"By the way, Miss, Lin Hezhen opened an account at Shinomiya Bank, and soon an insurance company transferred 200 billion yen into it. I did some research, and the other party showed that it was compensation for the commercial insurance that his parents bought when they were alive."

Shinomiya Bank is the Shinomiya family's own property, so it is not easy to investigate.

"But haven't his parents been dead for nearly two years?" Kaguya has a good memory and had already memorized Lin Hezhen's information.

Hayasaka Ai replied: "Yeah, I think it's suspicious too. But the insurance company's procedures don't seem to be a problem."

"This is a bit strange," Kaguya thought carefully.

"Normally, the insurance company would not delay for so long. Whether they pay or not, they will definitely give an explanation to the beneficiary within half a year. Besides, no insurance company will give a claim amount of 200 billion yen. Those vampires will not do business at a loss."

"After ruling out all the impossible, what remains, no matter how unbelievable it is, is a fact - someone gave Lin Hezhen money in the name of insurance."

Hayasaka Ai nodded and said, "It is indeed possible."

"But Lin Hezhen was born in an ordinary middle-class family. His parents are both dead, and he is just an ordinary high school student. Who would deliberately show kindness to him?" Kaguya touched her chin, her eyes flickering.

"Miss, I found out that more than a month ago, Kamo Ren from the Kamo family had contact with Lin Hezhen."

It seems that Hayasaka Ai really put in a lot of effort to even find out about this matter.

"The Kamo family used to be very arrogant and looked down upon ordinary people without extraordinary powers. What kind of value does this Lin Hezhen have that would make the former Kamo clan leader personally approach him?"

Recalling the great war between extraordinary people that shocked the government and the public a few days ago, an incredible thought came to Kaguya Shinomiya's mind.

Lin Hezhen, could it be related to the previous battle?

He might even have played an important role in it.

As her thoughts wandered, she became more and more suspicious. She sat on the bed blankly, lost in thought.

"Dang Dang Dang!"

The old-fashioned clock in the bedroom chimed.

Hayasaka Ai glanced at the time and urged, "Miss, it's already late. Please go to bed. It won't be too late to think about those things tomorrow."

Isn’t it too late to think about it tomorrow?

Kaguya glanced at the clock.

"Well, good night then, Hayasaka."

"Good night, Miss Kaguya." Hayasaka Ai respectfully left the bedroom.

The door closed and the room was dark.

Kaguya looked at the familiar ceiling and sighed.