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

Chapter 124: Morning Exercises

However... this development did prove beneficial to the current situation.

Thus, Shi Meng shared the plan that Liu Zhenshan had prepared for her son with the others.

Surprisingly, the two approaches aligned perfectly.

Jian Zhu and the others were surprised to learn that their mother had come up with such an idea, but they also felt reassured. This essentially amounted to parental approval.

Shi Meng also stated that she would continue to play the role of a younger sister and wouldn’t compete with them for their positions, which earned unanimous praise from the group.

Finally—

This also explained why Jian Sichun and Shi Meng were still in the bath while Zhu Lingjie had already come out.

Moreover, due to the seating arrangements, Zhu Lingjie didn’t get to enjoy the full treatment, so Shi Meng and Jian Sichun felt a little guilty about it. That’s why they decided to give her the opportunity in the morning.

Besides, they were indeed out of energy—they were practically exhausted.

The three of them understood Shi Hai’s personality well. As long as something was explained to him logically, no matter how absurd it might seem, he could accept it.

Although Shi Hai disliked troubling others and didn’t enjoy feeling indebted, as long as they emphasized that the nature of their relationship had changed, he was willing to be cared for.

For instance, in her previous life, after Zhu Lingjie married Shi Hai, he was willing to accept her care—after all, that was a wife's loving gesture.

This was why Zhu Lingjie dared to have designs on Shi Hai’s last line of modesty.

Now that Shi Hai had agreed, Zhu Lingjie could have her way.

Before long, Jian Sichun and Shi Meng finally emerged from the bathroom, wrapped only in towels.

In the past, Shi Hai would have nagged them, but now he was trying to get used to it.

Seeing Shi Hai awake, they greeted him.

“Morning, you’re up!”

“Good morning, brother.”

“Morning. It’s my turn to wash now.”

Shi Hai headed into the bathroom. Meanwhile, Jian Sichun picked up her phone and asked in the group chat titled “Sisters Bonding” how Zhu Lingjie’s endeavor had gone.

Zhu Lingjie sent a blushing emoji and replied, “He agreed to let me wash it.”

Shi Meng responded with a thumbs-up emoji and typed, “I assume you want to keep the original, right? Then remember to buy an identical replacement later.”

Zhu Lingjie quickly sent an exclamation mark and typed back, “Can I keep it for myself?”

Shi Meng replied, “As long as Brother doesn’t find out, it’s fine. He doesn’t care about small things like that.”

Zhu Lingjie was overjoyed at heart.

Now, not only could it serve as equipment and a consumable, but it could also become an important collectible.

Shi Hai would never imagine that his underwear would be so coveted—or that it could serve three purposes in one.

Jian Sichun commented, “That’s great. I want one too…”

Kind-hearted Zhu Lingjie generously suggested, “Let’s share it together.”

Jian Sichun, however, stood firm. “No, this is compensation for you, and you earned it yourself. I’ll go for another one next time.”

It seemed even the next pair had already been reserved.

Because Shi Hai wasn’t in the group to correct their wayward thoughts, the three discussed these matters without anyone finding it odd.

Apparently, they no longer considered such behavior to be unusual.

On the other side, Shi Hai finished his bath and felt refreshed.

Perhaps he’d dreamed something pleasant last night because he felt as though some internal tension had completely dissipated. His body and mind felt light.

He placed his underwear in the laundry basin prepared for him, changed into a fresh outfit, and came out of the bathroom.

Jian Sichun and Shi Meng had already changed into their clothes. Shi Meng was wearing her familiar school uniform.

It was then that Shi Hai remembered it was Monday, and his sister had to go to school. But it was already 7:40!

From Shi Hai’s house to her school, it would take at least until 8:30, by which time the first class would have already started.

Shi Hai hurriedly dried his hair while asking, “Oh no, Mengmeng, will you make it if you leave now? I’ll take you there.”

However, Shi Meng remained calm and replied, “It’s fine. I’ve already asked my homeroom teacher for leave. I told her I was busy moving over the weekend and overslept today. She said I just need to arrive before morning exercises.”

Jian Sichun was surprised. “Wow, Mengmeng, is your homeroom teacher always this easygoing?”

“Because I have good grades. I’ve already mastered most of the high school material.”

“Good grades really do let you get away with anything... Speaking of which, Mengmeng, you’re a reborn person. How can you still remember high school knowledge? It’s been nine years.”

Shi Meng tilted her head in confusion. “Why would I forget something I’ve already learned?”

Shi Hai agreed. “True. As long as you’ve learned something seriously, you won’t forget it easily. I could tutor high school students right now if I had to.”

“Ah—!”

Faced with the siblings’ incredulous looks, Jian Sichun’s pride was wounded, and she ran to Zhu Lingjie for reassurance.

"Lingling, tell me, I'm not the weird one here, am I?"

Zhu Lingjie smiled and reassured her.

"Hehe... Indeed, normally, knowledge that isn’t used for a long time does fade."

"Right? Right! So I’m not the stupid one; you guys are just geniuses!"

"Not really geniuses, just better memory retention."

"That’s a lie! Not everyone can do what you guys do, okay?"

Shi Hai rubbed his chin thoughtfully and asked, "I’m guessing you’re the type who gets distracted by other things easily, right?"

"That sounds about right..."

"So during class, your efficiency in absorbing the material is relatively low. As for me, I can stay very focused and rarely zone out in class. Mengmeng’s probably the same, right?"

Shi Meng nodded.

"Yep. When you’re in class, you have to pay attention. After all, not everyone gets the chance to go to school."

Before being adopted, Shi Meng had been an orphan, and her tuition was funded by Liu Zhenshan. She cherished the opportunity to study and never slacked off in her learning.

"Because we built a solid foundation just by paying attention in class, we didn’t have to spend much time later reviewing. That’s why my senior year of high school was relatively easy."

"You two are what they call study gods! Studying isn’t that simple!"

Zhu Lingjie chuckled wryly.

"It really isn’t that simple... I had to repeatedly review after class to remember everything fully."

"Lingling, that’s what makes you a study master!"

Jian Sichun clutched her head and wailed.

"Ugh— So I’m the only study slacker here!"

"Aren’t you an art student? You’re a creative, inspiration-driven talent. People like us might be better suited for research, but you’re more suited for artistic creation."

Hearing Shi Hai’s comforting words, Jian Sichun felt better. She walked over with a smile and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Now that’s more like it..."

The shift in their relationship allowed her interactions with Shi Hai to gradually return to what they were like before her rebirth.

Before, she might have restrained herself to avoid coming off as overly familiar, fearing Shi Hai might see her as too forward. But now that they were officially together, there was no need to hold back.

"Still, I owe Mengmeng an apology. Sorry about this. If it weren’t for me forcing you to stay, you wouldn’t have had to take a leave of absence, right?"

Actually, it wasn’t related to that at all.

It was just that the morning “exercise” had left them so exhausted that they needed time to recover.

"It’s fine, Brother. Don’t feel guilty. Honestly, I think it’s a good thing..."

For Shi Meng, even in her previous life, she had never experienced something like this.

This time, it allowed her to truly understand what it felt like—not as a sister, but as a woman—to be treated by her brother in this way.

It was a little frightening, but also exciting. Then she completely lost herself in it...

A brand-new experience she had never had before.

Although she still insisted on her identity as his sister, such a wonderful experience...

Was something she wouldn’t mind having again in the future.

"Oh, right, I saw that the washing machine in the bathroom was stuffed with bedding. That should be the bedding you guys used last night, right?"

Bringing up exactly what shouldn’t be mentioned.

Shi Hai's question made all three people present tense up.

If he saw the state of their bedding and blankets, he would surely figure out what had happened last night.

That absolutely couldn’t happen! If Shi Hai found out, he would become even more cautious!

And once the thought of "I absolutely must not do this" formed in his mind, then even if his body retained some memories, he wouldn’t fall into their "reflex trap" anymore.

Clearly, the three of them were already planning to buy some sleeping pills and regularly hold pajama parties.

They couldn't let it end after just one time.

So, they had to get through this perfectly.

Zhu Lingjie nodded, forcing herself to stay calm as she answered,

"Yeah, we need to wash them…"

"But you only used them once yesterday, right? And they look brand new?"

Yesterday, in order to sleep in the living room, Zhu Lingjie had taken out bedding that her parents had recently bought.

"Because… well, I have a cleanliness obsession…"

Shi Meng and Jian Sichun cast grateful looks at Zhu Lingjie.

Thanks to her, they didn’t have to expose their embarrassing secret, and they could still have a chance to continue in the future.

Shi Hai thought about it and found nothing wrong with the explanation, so he bent down to pick up the bedding he had slept on.

"Then I should wash mine too—"

Before he could even finish his sentence, he felt an overwhelming pressure from the three of them.

Their expressions combined seemed to say, I advise you not to meddle in this.

Theirs needed to be washed, but the one Shi Hai used absolutely could not be touched.

Shi Hai's danger radar went off like crazy, so he quickly stopped and changed his words.

"Uh… I'll just leave it to you guys."

Zhu Lingjie smiled and said,

"Mm-hmm, leave it to us. You don’t need to worry about housework from now on."

Lacking the most crucial memory, Shi Hai couldn’t quite understand why they only washed the two sets of bedding they used…

He could only assume that Zhu Lingjie's cleanliness obsession just didn’t apply to him.

By 8:00 AM, Shi Hai’s family started having breakfast.

After finishing breakfast and heading out, he would arrive at school just around 9:00 AM—perfect timing for him.

Surprisingly, breakfast was even more luxurious today, almost feeling extravagant.

Zhu Lingjie, of course, wanted Shi Hai to enjoy the highest level of treatment.

If she weren’t afraid that Shi Hai would say she was being wasteful, she would have even bought some premium ingredients to help him nourish his body.

Of course, she hadn’t forgotten about a certain someone who had turned into an "empty-nest parent" last night.

When she was called to breakfast, Liu Zhenshan was already fully dressed and ready to leave. Seeing that Shi Hai and the others actually came to call her, she was a bit surprised.

"Huh? You guys are up so early? Why not sleep in a little longer? You probably didn’t get much sleep last night, right?"

"No, Mom, nothing happened last night…"

Shi Hai sighed helplessly—he knew his mom would definitely misunderstand.

While he was feeling exasperated over the misunderstanding, the three people behind him were feeling guilty.

"…"

"…"

"…"

The three of them averted their gazes at the same time.

Zhu Lingjie lowered her head, while Jian Sichun and Shi Meng looked away to the left and right, respectively.

Liu Zhenshan looked at their reactions, then at Shi Hai’s. Neither side seemed to be lying.

Which meant that, while Shi Hai might not have done anything, these girls had probably taken advantage of him while he was asleep and done something… "shady."

Tsk tsk tsk, girls these days sure are proactive.

Despite her silent judgment, Liu Zhenshan was actually quite pleased—judging from the situation, her son securing a harem was pretty much guaranteed.

Of course, even though she thought this way in her heart, on the surface, she still had to play along with their act.

She exaggeratedly opened her mouth and said,

"Huh? No way?! Nothing really happened?"

Then, with a concerned and loving gaze, she added,

"Shi Hai, let's find a time next week—I’ll go with you to see a urologist…"

"Is that really necessary…"

"Don't worry, you're my son. Even if you really are… incapable, I wouldn't despise you."

"You damn old woman, hurry up and go to work already."

"Don't call me an old woman! 'Mom' is already the absolute limit of what I can tolerate!"

Liu Zhenshan flipped him off and said viciously.

"Can't you be a little nicer to your mother? Boohoo, my son is always so mean to me… Can't you pamper me a little?"

"…"

Shi Hai wanted to be gentler, but his mom was just too out of line. Even for someone as mild-mannered as him, it was really hard to take.

Maybe, for him, this was what being spoiled by his mom looked like.

After all, Shi Hai only ever spoke this bluntly to Liu Zhenshan.

"Mom, I'll pamper you!"

"Aww~ Daughters really are the best~"

Liu Zhenshan immediately went over to hug Jian Sichun—mother-in-law and daughter-in-law bonding moment.

"…"

Shi Hai was speechless.

That’s not your daughter… At least, not yet.

Though, in fairness, Liu Zhenshan and Jian Sichun did have similar personalities. Compared to him and his mom, those two actually seemed more like real mother and daughter.

As she ate the breakfast her daughter-in-law had carefully prepared, Liu Zhenshan gave yet another round of praise.

"Amazing! I know I’ve already said this many times, but I just have to ask—how do you guys make food this good? Why can't I do it?"

"You being able to cook would be the real surprise… If you could, I wouldn’t have had to learn it myself."

Being roasted by her son for her terrible cooking was nothing new, but she still puffed up her cheeks and defended herself.

"What can I do?! I’ve read tons of recipes, but they always say things like 'season to taste' or 'heat oil to medium-hot'… How am I supposed to know what 'medium-hot' even is?!"

Zhu Lingjie chuckled and said,

"Haha~~ Yeah, when you're just starting out, it's hard to know exactly how much seasoning to use. It really takes experience."

Shi Hai rolled his eyes and continued roasting her.

"You’ve been cooking for how long now? And you still haven’t figured it out—that’s the real issue."

"Hey, at least my food is edible, right? It’s not like it’s bad enough to kill people! Remember that anime we watched? The girl who couldn’t cook made some black, writhing, nightmare fuel— What was it called again?"

Otaku Jian Sichun raised her hand.

"That’s called 'cursed cuisine'! If it doesn’t straight-up kill you, you’re already lucky!"

"Exactly! Cursed cuisine! I haven’t reached that level, so give me some credit!"

Shi Hai shuddered. So you really were trying to poison your own son…

Jian Sichun crossed her arms and nodded repeatedly.

"True, 'cursed cuisine' is only something you see in anime. In real life, the worst it gets is just being too gross to eat. Unless…"

"Unless?"

"Unless you start with really weird ingredients!"

Like fermented herring, for example—something most people wouldn't dare touch.

At that moment, Jian Sichun’s eyes lit up with excitement.

"Oh! Let’s do a 'cursed hotpot' this weekend!"