A New Reply

Chen Miemie returned to No. 19 Fairy Tale Road.

When he reached the entrance of the shop, he stopped in his tracks.

The barrier on the Five-Lights Mailbox that prevented deliveries had disappeared. This meant the mailbox could be used again.

Chen Miemie was a little puzzled. “Why does the cooldown seem shorter this time?”

Unable to think of a reason, he set the question aside. As long as it worked, he did not care about the details.

He entered the shop, sat alone at his desk, and began writing a letter.

Dear friend,

At the end of your last letter, you said you wanted to hear my story.

Until now, I have always been the one answering others. This time, as the one opening up, I’m having a rather strange experience.

This way of writing without meeting face-to-face or even knowing each other’s names—something like anonymous letters—seems to make it easy for people to open up and share what is in their hearts. Honestly, it feels quite nice.

Let me tell you a little about my story.

I’m still young, and I haven’t had much experience in the world. I should have been a very ordinary person.

But by a twist of fate, I became the head of a large family.

Everyone in the family has their own personality, and they are all very capable. Yet they listen to me and are willing to support me.

Often, when I face family members whose intelligence and abilities far surpass my own, I feel pressure. On the surface, I seem to laugh and fool around all day, as though nothing frightens me, but in truth, with my state of mind, I may not be able to bear the power and responsibility I now hold.

My family sees everything I do. They have never criticized me or pressured me. Instead, they indulge my antics and play along with me. For that, I am deeply grateful.

Unlike your family, which needs to fight over houses, mine needs to seize something far greater than houses.

Once we begin, blood will flow like rivers, hatred will breed more hatred, and conflict will never end.

I have actually been avoiding a problem that must be faced one day. I keep putting it off with excuses like, “There aren’t many members in the family yet, so there’s no need to rush.”

From that perspective, I am actually behind you. You have already taken action.

Of course, it’s not as though I have done nothing. I made one attempt to bring my new family and my original family together, so that the two could coexist in harmony.

I only started this experiment recently, so no major problems have emerged yet. Everything seems to be progressing quietly and subtly, and so far, the results have been fairly good.

The smooth progress makes me happy, but I understand that if something this important goes entirely without setbacks, there must be a problem. Secretly, I worry about the lack of obstacles. But I cannot go looking for trouble for no reason. Only time can put it to the test.

Recently, I accepted a task and temporarily became someone who helps others with their troubles.

Helping other people has given me some insights.

These seemingly ordinary people we pass by every day all have stories of their own. Each person has become who they are through countless choices made in the past.

In them, I see my former self in those lost and confused days. I was not as good or as brave as they are. Perhaps I did not even cry out for help. If time could turn back, I would reach out a hand to help my younger self—or punch him, make him hurt enough to cry for help.

That is enough about me for now.

How are the worries you mentioned in your last letter?

I think we have something in common. When things are going well, we both tend to worry about hidden dangers. There is probably some needless anxiety and fear of loss in that. I hope that this time, we are both simply overthinking things.

Finally, you mentioned that many people in your family have grown dissatisfied with you because of your cautious stance.

I have some thoughts on that which may not be entirely noble.

I think that once a family grows large enough, differences in closeness are inevitable.

If people only disagree about matters, then we can seek common ground while accepting our differences. But if it ultimately becomes personal, then we must accept that calmly as well. Tolerance is not appropriate in every situation.

Some people in life are like rivers: they merely flow past us; they do not flow toward us. It is better to reserve our limited sincerity for the limited number of people who truly matter.

I hope to hear good news from your side.

Chen Miemie folded the letter, affixed a colorful stamp, and dropped it into the Five-Lights Mailbox.

The person on the other end replied instantly as always.

Two minutes later, Chen Miemie received a reply written on apricot-colored paper.

Mysterious friend,

I can’t wait to tell you what has happened on my side recently.

We really did take the second house, though we paid a terrible price.

But it turned out to be a sweet trap, like a cake.

A friend of the house’s former owner came to see us. Can you believe he asked whether we wanted to form an alliance?

We had just attacked his friend and left everyone battered and bloodied, and then he came to ask for an alliance. He is even stronger than we are.

Do you know how terrifying his bait was?

He said he was willing to open every house on their side, allowing us to enter and use them as we pleased. No need to attack them—we could simply share them directly!

The family is arguing itself hoarse now.

The aggressive faction, who once clamored for us to attack the other rooms, has completely changed its tune. They say this is a conspiracy, a scheme to lure us in and destroy us.

Meanwhile, I, who used to advocate caution, felt genuine sincerity during my negotiations with him.

Of course, my words do not carry that much weight. I cannot speak for everyone. But this time, Sister Orange actually stood on my side.

This choice is unimaginably dangerous. It concerns our future and our lives. Even Sister Orange cannot force everyone to submit.

Besides, neither Sister Orange nor I can be one hundred percent certain that our decision is correct. We are full of doubts ourselves, yet we are trying to make a choice firm enough that we will never regret it in the future.

All right, I got a little too excited and poured out everything that has happened here in one breath.

I read about your situation.

Hehe, it seems we really are alike. Whether it is our personalities, our thoughts, or our experiences, we have much in common. That is good—I can filter out the terrible parts of my own experiences and perhaps find something useful to share with you.

First, after reading about your attempt, I am certain that you are not procrastinating. You are simply considering things more carefully.

An attempt at integration—this is absolutely wonderful. So someone really is doing this. It gives me great encouragement, and I look forward to hearing more about your progress.

Second, congratulations on having such dependable family members who support you so much.

As for the pressure you feel from having clever family members?

I’m guessing your family has not been together for very long, right? That feeling was only an illusion from the beginning. Trust me: as time passes, you will realize that acceptance is an unspoken foundation of being family. Some expectations from others exist only in your own imagination.

Lastly, thank you for your not-so-“noble” thoughts.

What I have done seems to align with what you said. Last time, I swung my fists and gave a few arrogant people a good beating.

Naturally, we did not laugh it off and let bygones be bygones. Instead, it led to a long-lasting conflict.

I had always tried to avoid falling out with them. But once we truly became enemies, I actually felt relieved. Even within a family, there are idiots who will not listen until I spank them—and who will keep badmouthing me afterward.

Sister Orange is calling for me. We need to make a decision.

At this critical moment, being able to talk to you gives me an inexplicable sense of reassurance.

I hope the news on my end will be good. I’ll tell you the details next time.