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

Chapter 101: Enjoyment

Shi Hai’s first reaction to this revelation wasn’t to wonder, “Who is this person?”
In fact, knowing that wouldn’t be particularly useful.

This was because the senior sister was most likely referring to a “stranger” Shi Hai didn’t know at this stage.

What intrigued him more was the peculiar prefix: “First.”

“The first… Does that mean there’s an order among reborn individuals?”

“Of course,” Tian Shui replied.

“But if every reborn individual comes from a different parallel world, wouldn’t they all simply be returning to a certain point in the past?”

He provided an analogy to make his point clearer.

It was like a tree that had already grown many branches reversing its growth and returning to its original trunk.

Each reborn individual, before being reborn, existed on different branches of the tree. After their rebirth, they all returned to the trunk.

To compare it to playing a visual novel, it’s like reaching a particular ending and then loading a save file from before the branching choices.

The only difference was that multiple people were loading saves simultaneously.

Objectively speaking, since they were all going “back to the past,” there shouldn’t be a chronological order to it.

From a macro perspective, this was simply a tree diagram of parallel worlds reverting to the primary timeline.

“If we had to determine an order, it could only be based on the point in time they arrived at—some may have returned to September, others to July. Is that what you mean by ‘order’?”

Tian Shui wagged her finger and said, “Nope. Although arriving earlier does give an advantage, everyone’s rebirth points shouldn’t differ by much, and determining order based on that seems pointless.”

“Indeed… I also think it’s meaningless. So what exactly do you mean by ‘first’?”

Without understanding this concept, Shi Hai couldn’t continue his train of thought.

He had always preferred digging into the principles behind things.

For example, before using a mathematical formula, Shi Hai liked to understand where it came from.

If “first” really referred to “who was reborn first,” it could only mean they all came from the same future—then there would be an order.

But it was already clear that the reborn individuals came from different parallel worlds.

Unless all the reborn individuals who had confided in him were lying.

But starting from that suspicion would mean questioning why Jian Sichun and Shi Meng would lie…

Or perhaps Senior Sister Tian Shui was making things up...

This line of questioning led to no answers.

Shi Hai wasn’t a mind-reader; there was no way for him to know what was in other people’s heads.

Thus, his continued reasoning hinged on trusting what they said.

But this approach left the current contradiction unresolved...

The more Shi Hai thought, the more confused he became. It felt as though some critical piece of the puzzle was wrong.

Tian Shui, hearing his remarks, realized he had fallen into a “thought trap.”

Not that it was surprising—he wasn’t a reborn individual himself, so reaching this level of reasoning was already impressive.

But his “fundamental logic” was flawed from the start.

“Hm… I’ll need to explain it starting from the basics,” Tian Shui mused.

She decided it wouldn’t hurt to tell him, since Shi Hai would eventually learn about it anyway.

However, the matter was somewhat complicated, and she needed to organize her thoughts first.

“Let me ask you a question. Who was the first reborn individual you encountered recently?”

“That would be you, Senior.”

Though at their first meeting, Shi Hai hadn’t yet known Tian Shui was a reborn individual.

Tian Shui fidgeted, moving her small feet.

“Oh? It’s really me?”

Her mildly surprised reaction was odd, as if she had thought, “It might not necessarily be me.”

“So that means your ‘first time’ was with me, huh?”

“Can you please avoid phrasing it in a way that’s so easily misunderstood? Aren’t we discussing something serious?”

“Well, what you’re doing right now doesn’t exactly seem serious,” she teased.

“I think giving someone a foot bath is quite serious,” Shi Hai retorted.

Though, calling it a foot bath did make it feel somewhat less proper.

Tian Shui didn’t argue further. Instead, she acted.

“Is that so… Well then, what about this? Can you still stay serious now?”

She pinched the edge of her robe with her fingertips, slowly lifting it higher as her posture grew increasingly less ladylike.

Because Shi Hai was crouching on the ground, his line of sight was level with Tian Shui’s knees.

And since her bathrobe barely reached her knees, looking up meant directly facing the abyss.

This was why Shi Hai had kept his head bowed, determined to uphold the principle of averting one’s gaze.

But now, as Tian Shui seemed ready to discard her final layer of modesty, Shi Hai couldn’t avoid looking even if he wanted to.

Under normal circumstances, Shi Hai would’ve immediately backed away.

But they had just touched on a critical topic—leaving now wasn’t an option.

Tian Shui seized this moment, pressing forward boldly, using her physical presence to escalate the situation. She knew that Shi Hai, trapped by his curiosity, couldn’t escape.

However, while Shi Hai appeared utterly passive, there was still an opportunity to turn the tables.

Shi Hai had held back earlier, sparing Tian Shui’s dignity.

But now, patience was a luxury he could no longer afford. He issued a final warning.

“Senior if you keep this up, I won’t hold back.”

Uh-oh, he seemed genuinely angry.

Tian Shui sensed the danger.

Whenever Shi Hai showed that expression, it meant he believed talking things out was no longer an option.

And every time this happened, she’d end up facing some severe punishment.

Tian Shui felt scared and a little regretful. But then she reminded herself that this Shi Hai wasn’t the fearsome Master she remembered. Stubbornly, she retorted,

“Hmph! What could you possibly do to me? I’ve already done that, and you didn’t react at all. I don’t believe you’ll do anything to me!”

Shi Hai narrowed his eyes and calmly said,

“Don’t worry, Senior. I guarantee you’ll be happy soon enough.”

“What?”

Before she could process his words, a tickling sensation spread across the soles of her feet.

“Wait—wait! Ah! This…! Ahahaha! Stop—please stop… don’t tickle my feet! Ahahahaha!”

“...”

Silently, he continued tickling.

“Wait! No, no more… hahaha… please, I beg you! Ahahahaha!”

“...”

He ignored her pleas and persisted.

“Hahaha… oh no… it hurts… my stomach… hah… ah…”

“...”

Still, he didn’t stop. Resolving the surface issue wasn’t enough—he needed to address the root cause.

“Hah… hah… hah…”

By the end, it was no longer laughter but desperate gasps for air.

“..........................”

When Tian Shui finally went completely quiet, Shi Hai stopped.

Since the beginning, he had noticed her body trembling uncontrollably—likely spasms caused by excessive laughter.

At last, Shi Hai stood up to check on her condition.

The “punished” Tian Shui lay collapsed on the chair in an undignified posture. Her face was a mess.

Specifically, her nose was running, saliva and tears were streaming, her mouth hung half-open, and her tongue lolled out.

It was a pitiful sight…

Her appearance screamed “mind broken.”

All semblance of her usual grace was gone.

But it was understandable. After all, in ancient times, this method was an actual form of torture.

They’d smear honey or sugar on the soles of a person’s feet and have a goat lick them. It could literally make someone laugh to death.

Feeling he might have gone too far, Shi Hai fetched a wet towel to wipe Tian Shui’s face.

Once her pretty face was restored to its former state, Tian Shui could finally speak.

Grabbing Shi Hai’s sleeve, she tearfully complained in a sweet voice,

“Wah… you meanie… I almost couldn’t breathe!”

“And whose fault is it for teasing me so shamelessly? Now, will you behave and answer my question?”

“Mm… I’ll do whatever you say…”

“…?”

What was with that dazed yet delighted smile?

Just moments ago, she had been laughing so hard she couldn’t breathe, teetering on the brink of collapse.

But now, not a single word of complaint or resentment came from her. In fact, she seemed unusually obedient.

This was… odd.

Could it be…

She actually enjoyed it?