Chapter 46: The Cherry Blossom Tree Has......

Classes have started once more, and Mo Aini is deeply contemplating on something as he chewed on a cinnamon stick.

When you merge three different Hu Chuntian..... Won't you get an entirely new person?

A Hu Chuntian that is mischievous, arrogant, and violent all in one. Would you say that he is still the same as the other three versions from before?

After all, the mischievous Hu Chuntian is shameless, while the violent one has child-like innocence. The arrogant one is often cold and a man of few words, but the others talk a lot, and are very inquisitive. Mixing versions 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 together, what will be the result?

Would he act like the 1.0, the original, but still have the memory of the other two? That seems to be what happened when Hu Chuntian 1.0 and Hu Chuntian 2.0 merged from the cherry blossom tree.

But in the end, do they really differ a lot? And does it matter? Hu Chuntian is Hu Chuntian, it's not like one would not exhibit the same traits that are prominent to the other ones completely. They all share the same four core personalities, it's just that one is just higher than the rest.

Hu Chuntian 1.0 can be violent and arrogant too, as what happened on the night he first slept over at his house. Hu Chuntian 2.0 can get into some mischief and also has that same childlike interest of Hu Chuntian 3.0 in the things that Mo Aini likes, for example, when they watched Kimi no Nawa together.

And Hu Chuntian 3.0... He is like the perfect balance of traits that Mo Aini prefers. He is only playful from time to time, but he knows his limits to not irritate Mo Aini. He sometimes brags but he's not even aware that he is bragging, and thinks he is just being honest about his skill.

(Though his hunger for constant brawling and violence that could result in his own self-destruction needs some fixing, he is a chill guy overall.)

So, considering all this..... is it worth it to converge all their souls together?

[That is what we have been telling you since the start. Not to mention that they both love you and have been hurt by you. Are you willing to face your guilt about them again? Or just stick with the Hu Chuntian you haven't hurt as much yet and have no liability to?]

(The way you worded it, you make it sound like I am scared of the first two because they happen to love me. I care for all of them equally.)

Mo Aini finally got his resolve, making the cinnamon stick crack in half. (I made them wait for a long time in their universe. Running away from them is like cowardice. Perhaps.... it is fate that they must be joined together.)

( What if I have been thinking about this wrong? What if I have been treating them as separate, when in truth, they are actually sliced parts of a whole? A person is not just one archetype all the time. Through merging.... maybe I can uncover the real Hu Chuntian.)

The system went quiet again, not answering. If there's something Mo Aini learned whenever the system gets quiet, it means he hit the nail in the head and they cannot make up lies to refute it.

(Your explanation about parallel universes.... I still think it is a trick. Or at least, you are still hiding something from me. There is something much deeper going on, many things still don't make sense.) Mo Aini openly admitted his distrust to further provoke the system.

(And I believe a complete Hu Chuntian is the answer.)

Mo Aini ran quickly towards the garden to reach the cherry blossom tree. Hu Chuntian, who was merely observing him quietly by the side with a bit of melancholy in his blue eyes, followed after him. He also seems to be lost in thought, and wanted to pull Mo Aini's sleeves again to say something, but his Da Ge had already slipped from his grasp so he can only chase after him.

"Da Ge,... Huff.... Where are we going?" He asked when Mo Aini suddenly came to a halt.

"No, no, no, no....." Mo Aini said with wide, crazed eyes. "No way..... Are you kidding me!?"

Hu Chuntian looked ahead and saw a tractor cutting and dragging a large cherry blossom tree that once stood in that spot!

He remembered this is where he and his Da Ge first met, when he was hauling the Shenling thugs to his van. This is his hanging-out spot too.

So he was understandably devastated, but he can't understand why it would affect Mo Aini so much.

"Hey, stop! No! Give that fucking tree back!!!!!" Mo Aini chased after the tractor, waving his hands back and forth and even blocking it.

Hu Chuntian had to push him aside. "Da Ge, it's too late! Don't block the way, you're going to get hit!"

"No, you need to touch the tree! The tree! Hu Chuntian!" Mo Aini's shouting got the attention of many passersby but he was relentless. It was like that tree was some important loved one that was taken away from him.

"Da Ge, what are you saying? What's gotten into you all of a sudden? It's just a cherry blossom tree. I know it sucks because I quite like that tree, but the school cuts them down every year and plants a new one in spring." Hu Chuntian explained.

(Then.... This is already meant to happen and I just wasn't aware of it!? Why the hell didn't you tell me, system!?)

[It doesn't help the Cupid program whatsoever. As we said, we will not interfere with you trying to converge the three Hu Chuntians, but that doesn't mean we will support you either.]

"You son of a....!" Mo Aini raised his fist in the air. "Give me back that tree!"

"Da Ge, if you like cherry blossoms trees so much, I'll take you to a cherry blossom park on the weekends. Just calm down!" Hu Chuntian comforted him as Mo Aini knelt on the ground.

Mo Aini pushed his hand away on reflex because of how angry he was. "You don't understand!"

This finally made Hu Chuntian snap, making him punch a huge hole into the ground!

"Then make me understand! Tell me what's so important about it, Da Ge!"

Mo Aini blinked, slightly coming to his senses like he had been splashed by cold water.

"You're always like this! You make me feel like I know yet at the same time, I feel like I don't know anything about you at all! You pull me in then push me away! I don't understand how you can do that without sympathy for me! Even on Valentine's Day, I don't understand why you would—"

Hu Chuntian realized what he had been saying in the heat of the moment, and controlled himself before he can say something he would regret. He had been careful all this time. He bit his lip hard enough to draw blood.

"What about Valentine's Day? Was it when I hit you?" Mo Aini took Hu Chuntian's clenched fist and brush the dirt from it. "I already apologized, didn't I? It was an accident, and I already explained my reasons—"

"Nevermind." Hu Chuntian brushed his hand off and stood up. "You'll be late for class. You're a Class A student, right? So you have to be careful not to get into any trouble as a 'genius' student. Just go."

"Wait, what... Seriously, you're the one who I don't understand here! What were you saying?" Mo Aini chased after him but Hu Chuntian is already walking in huge strides towards the gate. "We were fine just now, what do you mean with Valentine's Day? What did I do wrong?"

Hu Chuntian ignored him, eyes on the ground.

"A-Tian, where are you going!? You also have classes— A-Tian!" Mo Aini yelled out.

"Just leave me alone for a bit, Da Ge." Hu Chuntian said without turning around. There was a slight hint of pain in his voice.

Mo Aini has no idea how he made Hu Chuntian upset. He may have gotten a little overdramatic about the cherry blossom tree to an outsider's eye, but they just didn't know the reason, man! They don't know how important that tree is and how devastating it is to lose it.

But would his temper affect Hu Chuntian just like that? It can't be that just because he had a hothead, Hu Chuntian would be mad for no reason too. But he just went off just like that when he asked him to explain, it's so confusing!

Everything had gone wrong at the start of the next semester.

Mo Aini cursed and kicked a pebble. He have no other choice but to go to class as Hu Chuntian told him.

In class, the teacher greeted them as always, but Mo Aini's mind is elsewhere. The voices of others came to his ear then got out the other, like passing bees buzzing about. When she asked them to take all their cameras out, he just got it from his bag mindlessly.

The camera. It was a foreign model, costing almost 700 yuan.

This cleared his mind somewhat, and made him feel heavy in his heart. This wasn't how they were supposed to start the next semester. Just yesterday....

"Da Ge, let's take photos of each other together as we start the new semester! That way, we can practice for the projects and club activities and whatnot!" Hu Chuntian opened the box of deliveries and started popping the bubble wrap one by one.

Mo Aini examined his own. "Don't bother taking a picture of me, the lens might break from my horrifying face."

"It's not like this lens would give you bad luck if it breaks." Hu Chuntian wrapped his arms around his neck again. "C'mon, don't be a killjoy, Da Ge!"

Mo Aini sighed. One of these days, his back is going to crack from the constant piggybacking of this kid. "I'm not saying I'm against the idea of taking pictures of you. If you really insist, I can take as many pictures as you want."

"Ah, so I'll be Da Ge's model then! That's good, you better take good shots of me, okay? Then I'll save all of it in an album and send it to you as a graduation gift."

Mo Aini raised an eyebrow. "Why would I want an album of you? You're such a narcissist, Di Di."

But deep inside, he really does want to keep an album of Hu Chuntian and bring it with him once he leaves his world again. A proof that he was real, and their friendship and joys together were real.

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Ok, I'm getting desperate and pathetic so now I'm willing to accept bribes. I get jealous easily of other books that have a huge following and get sad everytime, thinking what's the point of writing if I feel like no one's reading/appreciate it.

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CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Aries_Monx

Author's Question for the readers: Oh no! The cherry blossom tree is cut off, what do you think would be the next object that will return the little tiger's memories? First one to guess gets 1 million dollars (just kidding, I'm too poor to even afford Webnovel coins).

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