Chapter 19: The Quantum Conundrum of an Arranged Marriage

Once the commotion had settled, Mu Wanqing clung to the windowsill, her gaze darting left and right as she spoke:

“Liyue! The Jerry you mentioned seems to have vanished! Could that… that Tom have finally caught it?”

A sudden realization seemed to strike her, and she clapped a hand over her mouth in alarm,

“Could it be… it truly was mocking us all along!”

“Pfft—” Su Liyue, by now, had completely submerged herself in the soft, comfortable bed, casually activating the frost rune embedded in the corner of the wall.

A wave of coolness instantly permeated the entire room. Having done so, she lazily waved a dismissive hand and declared:

“If Tom could ever actually catch Jerry…”

“Then ‘Tom and Jerry’ would have significantly fewer episodes.”

Mu Wanqing: “[???]”

“So, there’s only one truth: it was more likely apprehended by Police Chief Black Cat~”

Su Liyue suddenly rolled over, leaning in conspiratorially and lowering her voice:

“And… when I was a child, I distinctly remember seeing a black cat, complete with a police hat, chasing a mouse with a pistol!”

“A pol-police hat?! And… a black cat can wield a gun?!”

“Far more than that!” Su Liyue declared, demonstrating with a shooting gesture.

“That gun was specifically designed to take down One-Ear!”

“A one-eared mouse? And… what exactly is this police chief? Liyue… why do your childhood stories sound utterly different from anything we’ve ever heard?”

“A police chief… well, they’re a type of law enforcement mage in uniform! The kind who specializes in apprehending villains!” Su Liyue quickly improvised, her mind racing.

No sooner had Su Liyue finished speaking than a vivid scene unfolded in Mu Wanqing’s mind:

She pictured a black cat, adorned with a pointed wizard’s hat, brandishing a glowing spear as it frantically pursued a one-eared mouse, bellowing, “Stop right there!”

The image was so absurdly delightful that she couldn’t help but let out a burst of laughter.

“Qingqing,” Su Liyue whispered, suddenly leaning closer with an air of profound secrecy.

“Do you think it’s possible… that I’m actually… a transmigrator?”

“A transmigrator? What in the world is that?” Mu Wanqing asked, blinking in confusion.

“Uh… it means I’m an alien!”

Mu Wanqing reached out to pinch Su Liyue’s cheek, then gave a playful tug on her long, silvery-white hair:

“But your human ears, your snow-white skin, your Aetherland Empire identification, your bloodline certificate… by all accounts, you’re a bona fide local!”

“Uh… I suppose I am a local now, aren’t I?” Su Liyue offered a dry laugh, deftly steering the conversation away.

‘After all, who could have ever imagined that my soul would inexplicably split and transmigrate, only to coincidentally differentiate into my own childhood friend?!’

“Liyue~” Mu Wanqing suddenly leaned in, her eyes sparkling with an alarming intensity. “You still haven’t been honest with me… what exactly is your relationship with that academic slacker, Ye Xingchen?”

“Actually…” Seeing her best friend’s relentless pursuit, and sensing that there was no real point in concealing it further, Su Liyue took a deep breath and confessed,

“He is my husband.”

“Hus-husband?!”

“It’s an arranged marriage! The kind where we get married right after graduation!”

Upon hearing the explanation, Mu Wanqing fell into a sudden silence, then spoke in a hushed, almost spectral tone:

“…So you’re saying you like that alchemy slacker who once created a mushroom cloud in the lab?”

As fate would have it, Ye Xingchen, currently serving his punishment by standing in the corridor, suddenly let out three consecutive sneezes.

‘What’s wrong with being a slacker? Can a slacker not be admired by a beautiful woman? Besides, he’s a cultivation slacker, which is a different kind of slacker entirely!’

“He’s… he’s alright, I suppose… I can’t really… explain it…”

“If you can’t explain it, then you don’t like him! I’ll help you elope the moment we graduate!” Mu Wanqing declared, slamming her hand onto the bed frame.

“Pfft—!”

Su Liyue nearly choked on her own saliva.

‘Me, running away from my own marriage?! Should I then add, “Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river! Never bully a maiden for her poverty!” and then follow it up with a decree of divorce?!’

‘Leaving aside the damage to both families’ reputations if an elopement actually occurred, the mere thought of her own Madam Su wielding the family cane sent an invisible surge of ancestral pressure through Su Liyue, causing her legs to involuntarily soften and tremble.’

“Actually, this is quite good! Look, Ye Xingchen isn’t just handsome and well-dressed; he’s also skilled in alchemy…”

Mu Wanqing suddenly cupped Su Liyue’s face in her hands. “Liyue.”

“Hm?”

“Every time you lie… your right eye twitches, you know~”

A dry, strained laugh escaped Su Liyue’s lips, her mouth twitching involuntarily.

‘Being my own fiancé is one thing! But if I have to eventually bear my own child, now that would be truly fantastical, wouldn’t it?!’

She then plunged into a horrifying internal scenario.

‘Outside the delivery room, her Ye Xingchen self would anxiously pace, while inside, her Su Liyue self would be screaming obscenities.

Finally, in a joyous, Coca-Cola-worthy moment, the child would be born, only to address the same person as both ‘Dad’ and ‘Mom’…’

‘The scene was so vivid, she could almost hear the simultaneous, soul-shattering cries of collapse emanating from both ends of their soul link.’

‘This existence was simply impossible to bear!!!’

“Snap!”

The magical sachet clutched in her hand was instantly crushed into a fine powder.

Mu Wanqing flinched in fright:

“Liyue, why did you suddenly crush your sachet?”

“I’m contemplating… the parent-child relationship in quantum mechanics…” Su Liyue’s gaze grew progressively vacant.

“Quantum mechanics… parent-child relationship?”

Mu Wanqing suspiciously poked the petrified Su Liyue. “Perhaps we should still focus on how to break off this engagement…”

“No!” Su Liyue suddenly slammed her hand down and shot upright, a peculiar fighting spirit igniting in her eyes. “I will absolutely secure this position as the legitimate wife!”

Mu Wanqing: “[???]”

‘As the old adage wisely states, “Good fertilizer shouldn’t flow into outsiders’ fields!” Rather than having other worthless scoundrels covet her female body, it would be far better to find a way to internalize the situation herself!’

‘Though this logic seemed to have a few peculiar kinks, she decided to ignore them for now. As for having children…’

Su Liyue stroked her chin, pondering to herself:

‘Once I find the coordinates to return to Earth, couldn’t my male self, Ye Xingchen, simply take my female self back to Earth, and then proceed to the Spirit Realm, a dimension even higher than the cultivation world?’

“But Liyue…”

Mu Wanqing worriedly tugged at her sleeve. “Why does your expression look as if you’re preparing for battle?”

“This is called strategic-level enlightenment!” Su Liyue declared, waving a grand hand. As if on cue, the magical curtains on the balcony instantly drew themselves shut, completely obscuring the midday sun.

The hamster, ‘Three Squeaks,’ in its cage had long since splayed itself into a furry ball, sleeping belly-up beside its food bowl.

As the room plunged into complete darkness, Su Liyue experienced a fleeting moment of disorientation.

‘How many years had passed since she last adhered to a normal routine like this?’

Having spent nearly a millennium in the Spirit Realm, the vast expanse of time had long since erased any memory of what a “midday nap” even was.

Even during her three years at the academy, she had rarely indulged in a proper afternoon slumber.

“Qingqing.”

She burrowed deeper into the covers, her voice muffled against the feather pillow. “There’s still familiar outdoor class this afternoon…”

“I know~”

Mu Wanqing wiggled twice, still cocooned in the quilt, then suddenly poked her head out. “But Liyue, remember, don’t keep your worries bottled up! They’ll explode with a ‘bang,’ just like a failed potion!”

Su Liyue let out a soft, knowing laugh.

‘Keeping it all inside, perhaps. Maybe my burdens were simply too heavy before, prompting her concern…’

Yet… ever since transmigrating and encountering Su Liyue and Ye Xingchen’s parents, and meeting this guileless girl, something seemed to be subtly influencing ‘him’.

It was much like his younger sister from his previous life on Earth, who could always corner him, her academic slacker of an older brother, with a single math problem, leaving him utterly mortified.

Yet, at times, he could also sense her genuine concern for him as her sibling.

A single sliver of light happened to pierce the curtain’s seam, falling precisely upon Mu Wanqing’s sleeping profile.

The afternoon sun, filtered by the magical curtains, cast a honeyed glow. Mu Wanqing’s breathing gradually deepened and became more even, a stray strand of her long hair clinging to the slightly dewy tip of her nose.

Suddenly, reality and memory overlapped, painting a picture strikingly similar to his younger sister, who once dozed beside his textbooks.

Su Liyue instinctively reached out to brush the hair away for her, but her fingertips halted abruptly in mid-air.

‘Time was truly an unforgettable, relentless force. So many years had slipped by, yet sometimes, she still felt like a child who had never truly grown up…’

“Good afternoon, Qingqing…”