It Seems I’m Not The Only One Who Reincarnated (Patreon)

Chapter 84: Preparation

After her initial burst of joy, Tian Shui suddenly sensed something was amiss. Would Shi Hai really take the bait that easily? He was, after all, Shi Hai!

That heart-manipulating devil…

Shi Hai was the kind of person who liked to “gather information first.”

But unlike regular people, his “information gathering” had no limits.

If you let him keep probing, he’d be able to see right through someone entirely.

Tian Shui remembered all too well—when she’s his pet, even the smallest tremble of her body would reveal her thoughts to him, stripping her bare down to her very core.

That feeling of being completely seen was truly terrifying.

However, the Shi Hai of today shouldn’t know her that well yet…

After thinking it through carefully, she figured that Shi Hai was responding directly this time because he didn’t see her as an enemy yet.

Yes, that was it—she was beautiful, and she kept sending him selfies. Even Shi Hai wouldn’t be able to completely resist.

Of course, Tian Shui didn’t think Shi Hai was in love with her already. She was a bit vain, but not so arrogant as to delude herself to that extent.

Or, well… she used to be that way.

But after being domesticated by Shi Hai, she’d developed some self-awareness.

She knew that even if she stood naked before him, he wouldn’t bat an eyelash. In fact, he’d probably give her a disgusted look, thinking, “Is this woman some kind of perverted exhibitionist?”

So Tian Shui estimated that Shi Hai was at most “interested” right now.

But as long as she could spark that interest, she had taken the first step.

After all, she knew just how difficult it was to even take that first step.

In fact, she had “never” succeeded in capturing his interest.

Not even in her previous life.

When Tian Shui first met Shi Hai, she noticed that he looked at her without a hint of lust in his eyes, which made her want to unravel his true nature.

At that time, Tian Shui had a rather twisted sense of humor.

She loved watching men who thought they were high and mighty reveal their true colors and fall into despair before her.

And she understood the psychology of those men all too well.

If she acted too forward, they’d lose interest because they’d seen plenty of women like that.

Instead, she would put on a cold face and act as though she didn’t want any men near her—this, paradoxically, made those men more interested in “conquering” her.

But Shi Hai was different.

Back then, Shi Hai had treated her simply as his superior.

Tian Shui had initially thought Shi Hai was just pretending to be aloof, but now she knew that he was genuinely not swayed by superficial things.

But back then, Tian Shui didn’t know this. Instead, she became intrigued by Shi Hai and tried every trick she knew to seduce him…

Until she did something so foolish that she still cringed at the memory…

She’d managed to truly anger Shi Hai.

And that led to a six-year-long battle of wits, which ended in her becoming his pet.

After reflecting upon her past following her reincarnation, Tian Shui realized that she’d taken the wrong path from the very beginning.

If she had slowly wormed her way into Shi Hai’s heart before he had started targeting her, perhaps their roles would have reversed long ago.

Unfortunately, her past self had missed that chance…

So this time, she had to seize the opportunity perfectly!

She would be like a spider, weaving traps throughout her lair for him.

First up was her response to Shi Hai’s message.

Tian Shui didn’t send any words in reply; instead, she sent him her “location.”

And after that, she didn’t send another message.

She trusted that Shi Hai would understand her meaning.

On the other end, Shi Hai looked at the location his senior had sent and found it rather intriguing.

Normally, for a meetup like this, she would have included a time as well.

But Senior Tian Shui had only sent a location.

Shi Hai didn’t think it was a matter of her forgetting either. Unlike the slightly airheaded Jian Sichun, he figured Senior Tian Shui was a smart person.

So she’d intentionally left out the time… indicating that “he could come whenever he pleased.”

Shi Hai figured he probably wasn't overthinking it; after all, communicating with Senior Tian Shui always required deeper interpretation.

He opened the location Tian Shui had sent. It turned out to be a high-end residential complex near the university, specifically a high-rise building’s top floor on the 17th floor. The location was easy to find and wasn’t too far away.

With that in mind, he decided he might as well head out to visit her place right away.

Shi Hai gently tickled his mother’s foot, and in her sleep, Liu Zhenshan giggled and retracted her leg.

With his lower body freed, he carefully lifted his sister’s head, which had been resting on his shoulder, and propped it onto a stack of three pillows in his place.

Now his upper body was free as well.

He grabbed a book, went back to his room, pulled out a backpack, and started pondering what he might need to bring.

Shi Hai went through the possible scenarios he might encounter at his senior's place.

The top priority was to avoid staying overnight.

After all, he was going to Senior Tian Shui’s house, and although this wasn’t quite a "Hongmen Banquet" (a trap-filled feast in Chinese history), it was certainly an invitation to walk into her web.

Shi Hai thought it best to stay cautious.

Who knew what kind of tricks this mischievous senior might have prepared to mess with him?

After packing everything he thought he might need, Shi Hai put on a jacket, added a face mask, and prepared to set off.

He brought out two thin blankets, ready to cover his mom and sister, but as he returned to the living room, Shi Meng woke up, rubbing her eyes.

“Hmm… Brother?”

“Sorry, did I wake you?”

“No, it’s fine… I’ve had enough sleep anyway…”

Shi Meng stretched, then looked at her brother, puzzled by his outfit.

He was wearing a jacket, a face mask, and a backpack…

This didn’t look like he was just meeting up with a friend—it looked more like he was going to some secretive, mysterious gathering.

Maybe he was meeting an online friend? But did her brother even have any online friends?

Shi Meng knew her brother didn’t have many friends at all.

Then, was he meeting… a woman?

Although she was curious, Shi Meng didn’t press him for details.

As his sister, she thought her role was to heal his mind and soul when he was tired, not to act like a stalker, monitoring his every move.

That was a girlfriend's job.

“But what about dinner…”

“Dinner…,” Shi Hai began to say he wouldn’t need a portion, but knowing his sister’s caring nature, he changed his mind.

“Can you save me a portion?”

Shi Meng smiled happily.

“Of course! I’ll wait for you to come back!”

“Yes, I’ll definitely be back.”

He patted her head, put on his shoes, and headed out.

He felt he was finally getting the hang of interacting with his sister.

As he stepped outside, Shi Hai instinctively glanced at the door across from theirs.

He was a little curious about why Jian Sichun and Zhu Lingjie had been so quiet today.

But as soon as he stepped out, he understood why.

From the other side of the door, he could hear Jian Sichun’s excited voice:

“Yes! Chase them down! Quick, quick, quick! Lingling! Attack him! Attack— Nice! Got the pentakill~!”

Huh… so they were playing games.

He was slightly surprised to find out Zhu Lingjie was into gaming too.

Shi Hai had always thought his childhood friend had little to do with “entertainment activities.”

This added one more piece of evidence supporting the idea that Zhu Lingjie was also a reincarnator.

Shi Hai shrugged and walked down the stairs.

It was time to go meet the other reincarnator.