Chapter 783: Chapter 783. Liu Shu’s Tangled Heart.

Looking at their surprised expression, Liu Shu laughed and smiled. It has already been almost 9 years since they got to know each other, and while they had not interacted daily, they had been lingering around.

They had come by from time to time to invite her out on a date, and they also interacted with her family without showing any hostility. On the contrary, when they were interacting with her children, they were both enthusiastic and patient. Liu Shu, of course, could tell that they were very envious each time she interacted with Verdantia and the others, but she honestly didn’t care much.

It was they who were trying to approach her with a clearly romantic interest, so if they couldn’t bear to see her with her current wives, she would just wave her hand and forget about them.

The thing was... ’Why am I so lenient toward them?’

Liu Shu was, by no means, someone new to relationships. Still, as a World Tree and not a human, there was no sense of "getting accustomed" to being loved. Each time Verdantia and the others praised her beauty, each time they gave her treasures, each time they took care of her... Liu Shu felt fluttery.

In bed, it was the same; the pleasure they brought her never got tiring. Even if they only had sex normally every day, she always felt incredibly satisfied.

However... ’I’ve been feeling strangely attached to them.’

"Liu Shu?"

Hearing Obsidianis’s voice, Liu Shu snapped out of her daze and looked up at her charming, dark eyes. Obsidianis asked, worried. "Are you okay? You spaced out."

"Ah. Yes." Liu Shu pushed down the feelings that appeared in her heart for a moment. She smiled, her smile slightly polite. "I was just thinking about some things."

’Right... Why are my thoughts always so... not me when interacting with them?’

For a moment, Liu Shu imagined herself being courted like them by any other person, and a sense of both disgust and annoyance welled up. There was a sense deep inside her that screamed, ’I am my wives’! Who are you to try to court me?’

Yet, when that random face changed to Seraphina or Obsidianis, those feelings of disgust or resistance vanished as if they were a lie.

Liu Shu couldn’t help but ponder. ’...Do I like them? Did I fall for them at first sight?’

Honestly, other than that, she couldn’t think of anything else. Why else would she not feel any resistance toward their courting?

Reaching this conclusion, a pang of guilt touched her heart. She didn’t consider herself someone loose in terms of relationships. Basically, she was a World Tree that was constantly interacting with the entire population of the Golden Sap Empire. If she were someone who coveted either beauty or love, she would’ve met hundreds, if not thousands, of people across the few billion spread out throughout Ceperet, Nualis, Vorathen, and the Moon.

To put it simply, Liu Shu’s dating pool was... everyone. Moreover, she was constantly soaking in it. So, were she someone who fell in love easily, forget four wives. Liu Shu might’ve filled one or two Lignified Houses with wives or husbands.

’...So, what’s so special about them?’

Seraphina and Obsidianis were looking at her with confused looks. ’Ah. Now that I think about it, I’ve been silent for a bit, haven’t I?’

She was not thinking with her main brain, as that was currently occupied with the Eternity Of Stars and other important matters. So, her thinking speed was as fast as that of a human.

"Ahem. Sorry, I spaced out again."

Seraphina couldn’t help but laugh, her heroic features gaining a bright beauty that made Liu Shu’s cheeks redden. "What are you mulling so hard about, Liu Shu? You can tell us and trust in us, we promise."

Liu Shu’s eyes shone strangely for a moment. Looking at the two very tall Sylvans flanking her left and right, Liu Shu was honestly unsure of how to speak.

If Cinderielle and the others were in front of the Petal Door, they would have noticed the completion percentage fluctuate wildly between 20% and 35%. This fluctuation was occurring because Liu Shu was trying to resist the natural feelings blooming within her soul.

The fact that she could even resist this point in front of her Fated Lovers already spoke volumes on how seriously she took loyalty.

After pondering, Liu Shu decided to finally be honest with them. After all, they’ve been courting her for over eight years, and Liu Shu felt that she would be doing a disservice if she didn’t speak her feelings honestly.

"...Lately, I’ve been feeling strange."

Obsidianis and Seraphina didn’t rush her, allowing Liu Shu to gather her thoughts. Liu Shu felt both grateful and slightly guilty. After all, what she was about to say was not something pretty.

"You see... I, not as a World Tree but as myself, considered myself quite loyal. Having Verdantia, Cinderielle, Tempestria, and Harmonixia always felt more than enough." Liu Shu looked down past her prominent breasts and fiddled with her own fingers. "I’ve never regretted it, as they’ve given me more than 200 children and we’ve built a large, happy family together."

As she spoke, Liu Shu honestly felt nervous. The heartbeat of the Avatar was currently pumping, her skin coated with a thin layer of sweat. Even she didn’t realize how nervous she currently looked.

"But lately... With you two... I’ve been feeling things that I both love and hate."

She was honestly a bit lost.

"Each time I see you smile at me, my heart flutters."

Why did that happen?

"But each time I feel my heart flutter, my stomach sinks with guilt."

She honestly felt as if two personalities were living within her body.

"So... um... What I wanted to say is..." Liu Shu stopped here because she didn’t know what she wanted to say.

Did she want to ask them to leave her alone? She didn’t. The second she even thought of speaking those words, her entire body felt wrong.

Did she want to ask them to become just friends? Again, she didn’t. If she built that wall, Liu Shu felt as if she would regret it dearly.

Perhaps ask them to ask her lovers for permission? If she said that, Liu Shu would feel crushing guilt.

As her eyes swam, her hands feeling wet with sweat, she saw two hands reaching and being placed on top of her fidgeting hands. Her body stiffened.

"Liu Shu."

Liu Shu continued looking down. Not really knowing what to do. Eight years together had clearly told her that she was falling for them. In each conversation, she felt her feelings bloom like a flower under the sunlight. With each loving gaze from them, she felt like rain trickling down her leaves. Yet, there was a sense of her roots being suffocated at the same time.

"Look at me, Liu Shu."

It was a gentle voice, but full of power. Liu Shu looked up, and when Seraphina looked at her eyes, her heart clenched. While Liu Shu was not crying, her eyes were misty, and her face was pale. There was even a single droplet of sweat at the tip of her beautiful nose, showing just how much Liu Shu was struggling.

Seraphina recalled her conversation with Cinderielle a few weeks ago.

***

"Seraphina, I am telling you this because I know how Liu Shu feels, and how you feel." Cinderielle, leaning on a door’s frame with her arms crossed, looked at her coolly. "I know you want to approach her. I know you want to make her fall in love. However, if you push too much, it will one day backfire."

Seraphina glanced at Cinderielle with neither resentment nor caution. Her gaze was clear and thoughtful. "I know... I can see that Liu Shu has feelings for me. However, from time to time, she goes into a daze, and any expression she had previously would disappear."

Cinderielle was about to speak, but Seraphina glanced at her with a slightly sharpened expression. "I would not really care if Liu Shu was not interested. However, she is feeling burdened because you four have not given any clear signal."

Cinderielle paused, her orange eyes glancing at Seraphina curiously. "That’s... bold of you. You are speaking to Liu Shu’s current wife, you know? You can’t just tell me that it’s my problem that I don’t allow you two to flirt with my wife. That’s quite ridiculous, don’t you think?"

"Usually, you’d be right," Seraphina spoke, her silver eyes clear. "But the fact that you four are not interrupting our attempts tells me that there is something else. You four are like me. You are not someone who would calmly allow someone to approach the one you love. You are obsessive, petty, possessive, and cruel towards those with any wrong ideas."

Seraphina added. "I know because I am like that."

Cinderielle hummed and smiled. "You caught up."

"That’s why I am asking, why are you making Liu Shu suffer?"

Cinderielle sighed, leaning back and looking up at the gargantuan World Tree whose top was now almost impossible to see. "Seraphina, even if we gave permission, things wouldn’t change. On the contrary, Liu Shu might even feel more guilty."

"Huh?"

The unexpected answer caught Seraphina by surprise. Cinderielle looked at her and sighed with a smile. "I know how you are feeling. I felt the same when I was younger. It’s like an impulse, an instinct deeply engraved within us, isn’t it?"

Seraphina hesitated before nodding.

Cinderielle spoke patiently, her elegant voice mature. "If Liu Shu were a normal humanoid, things would not be that difficult. However, you must remember that she is not, Seraphina. You are not looking at Liu Shu yet."

Seraphina pondered over those words. Unlike the Cinderielle of the past, Seraphina was much older, so she more or less caught the meaning almost immediately. "Are you saying that I am not looking at her World Tree self?"

"Have you?" Cinderielle asked with a smile. "Still, I can’t blame you. Your situation is much more complicated than mine back then. When I first met Liu Shu, she was barely over 20 meters tall. Just a slightly bigger tree that I could hug with my body. Now..."

Cinderielle looked up again. At some point, Liu Shu had already surpassed the 1,000,000 mark and was steadily approaching the 2,000,000-meter height.

"We are now less than a mote of dust in comparison, aren’t we? She is basically becoming over 10 times taller than the Golden Sap City is wide."

Seraphina asked with a sigh, her mind a touch confused. "What do you mean?"

Cinderielle shook her head. "Tempestria is speaking with Obsidianis, but neither she nor I knows. If I were in your situation, I would also be lost. At first, we wanted to ostracize you two before you reached a certain level of intimacy. However... It’s selfish of us. We are blocking a natural development."

Seraphina felt a touch embarrassed. "It’s not selfish to not want your lover to look elsewhere."

"No. In our situation, it is." Cinderielle spoke with a small smile. "So, I ask you, as Tempestria will be asking Obsidianis.... Please approach more aggressively, but without forgetting gentleness. Please, look at her as a World Tree, not as a humanoid. Please, make her fall in love with you, as I don’t want her to continue suffering as she is."

Seraphina saw Cinderielle approach and pat her shoulder. "We won’t interfere at all, but we also cannot help you, because we are as lost as you. Just... do your best, yeah? We’ll keep Liu Shu’s mood stable until she finally opens up to you."

Seraphina and Obsidianis, who heard similar words, couldn’t help but stiffen.

***

Now, looking at Liu Shu’s current face, Seraphina couldn’t help but somewhat understand what Cinderielle meant back then. ’I... no, we really need to snap out of it.’

Seraphina and Obsidianis exchanged looks for a moment and nodded.