Max Level Return—I'll Protect That Fragile One

She picked up the bouquet, lowered her head to sniff, and said, "These flowers are nice, genuine wild lilies. Only orchids in a secluded valley can emit such a serene fragrance." She happily took out a vase and put them in.

Xiahou Shang crossed his arms and leaned against the antique shelf in the living room, watching Zhang Zhiyi focused on arranging the flowers. He suddenly said, "In a couple of days, it will be the memorial day of your parents. We’ve been married for so many years, and we have never gone back to pay respects to them."

Xiahou Shang said, "Recently, work hasn’t been too busy. I want to accompany you back to pay respects to them. If we don’t go soon, I’m afraid they might be angry."

Zhang Zhiyi looked over in surprise and said, "Why did you suddenly think of going to my hometown?"

"Someone from the City Lord Mansion is getting married, and I overheard them talking about going to the bride’s home to pay respects before the wedding. It was only then that I realized I seem to have never accompanied you to pay respects to your parents."

"Zhiyi, are you free?"

Zhang Zhiyi neither refused nor agreed.

She merely looked at Xiahou Shang calmly, as if she was pondering something.

Xiahou Shang, who was in his thirties and three years older than Zhang Zhiyi, had been navigating the officialdom for over a decade and theoretically had an unyielding aura.

But as Zhang Zhiyi stared at him quietly, he felt as if she had seen through him entirely, leaving him with a sense of panic.

Just as Xiahou Shang decided to change the topic, Zhang Zhiyi suddenly said, "You know?"

Xiahou Shang was momentarily stunned.

"Know what?" Xiahou Shang did not directly reveal his discovery to Zhang Zhiyi.

Zhang Zhiyi said, "You know the real Zhang Zhiyi is already dead, and I’m merely a fake." Zhang Zhiyi’s tone was very calm, but the information she revealed sent chills down Xiahou Shang’s spine.

"You..." Xiahou Shang was utterly shocked.

He had many assumptions, but never expected Zhang Zhiyi to frankly admit her impersonation.

"Why did you do it?" Xiahou Shang had too many questions in his mind, but he was most concerned about Zhang Zhiyi’s motivation.

Zhang Zhiyi said, "Why?"

She gracefully sat at the dining table, continued placing lilies into the vase, and cheerfully adjusted the petals’ direction. Suddenly, she said, "Because only by becoming Zhang Zhiyi do I have a chance to approach Ying Ziyao through Mo Yinshu."

"Ying Ziyao?" Xiahou Shang initially found the name unfamiliar. "Who is he?"

The name sounded like a man, and Xiahou Shang’s thoughts deviated. He said with a sullen face, "A man? The one you love?"

Shaking her head, Zhang Zhiyi said, "You’re the man I love."

After realizing Zhang Zhiyi’s identity was questionable, Xiahou Shang dared not easily believe her words anymore. Hearing Zhang Zhiyi say she loved him, he found it amusing, "Even your identity is fake—can I trust your affection?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhiyi held a lily root, her deep eyes lingered on Xiahou Shang for several more seconds before saying, "In fact, apart from loving you, everything else about me is fake."

Hearing this, unease filled Xiahou Shang’s heart.

"Everything is fake?" He asked, "What do you mean?"

"Background, origins, personality, hobbies..." Zhang Zhiyi chuckled and told Xiahou Shang, "Brother Shang, everything you’ve seen and learned about me is fake."

Xiahou Shang’s pupils narrowed in disbelief.

"You..." Xiahou Shang stumbled as he walked towards the dining table and sat on the chair opposite Zhang Zhiyi.

Studying the eerie smile on her face, Xiahou Shang felt his wife was suddenly so unfamiliar. "Zhiyi, after all the efforts you’ve put in, what exactly is your goal?"

"Goal?" The vase was already full, yet there were still two or three stems of lilies by Zhang Zhiyi’s side without a place.

She pointed at the vase’s mouth and said, "The world is only this big, and these beautiful lilies have found a home." She pointed at the two or three relatively inferior lilies on the table and asked Xiahou Shang, "What should be done with these?"

Xiahou Shang intuitively said, "Just find another vase to place them in, isn’t it?"

"I’ve said." Zhang Zhiyi emphasized coldly and seriously: "This world only has this one vase."

Xiahou Shang frowned, staring at the vase filled with lilies, realizing Zhang Zhiyi was asking far more than the shallow question of vases. He asked Zhang Zhiyi, "What do you think should be done?"

Zhang Zhiyi picked up the inferior bouquet with her left hand and took the golden scissors with her right hand, cutting the lilies in half with a snap.