Chapter Twenty-Four: Relationship Progress

“Kathleen! Shut up! What are you talking about?” Mary hastily interrupted Kathleen’s question. Wei Hua flushed deeply; he hadn’t expected that the body he’d strengthened and altered with the biotech computer would prove so formidable even in this regard. His current body wasn’t even fully matured or developed yet—if things were already like this, what would it be like when he finally came of age? Wouldn’t he be even more ‘blessed’? The thought alone made Wei Hua nearly break into delighted laughter.

Noticing the mischievous smile on Wei Hua’s face, the three women quickly realized he was definitely not thinking anything pure, so, unable to hold back, they rushed at him, showering him with playful punches. The awkwardness among the four eased considerably as a result. After obediently enduring this flurry, Wei Hua turned to the three women and said, “Sisters, I’d like to hear your thoughts. I’ll make it up to you as best I can, all right?”

“Wei Hua, honestly, the three of us aren’t all that troubled by what happened. We’re just worried that you’d mind. We’ve always seen you as our little brother, since you’re so much younger than us. That’s why we never really watched ourselves around you—but it turns out that was only on the surface. Still, now that it’s happened, don’t let it weigh on your mind. The three of us have all had boyfriends before, and we have our own needs. To be frank, being with you was really enjoyable. You’re much better than any of my boyfriends, truly!” Kathleen was the one who said this.

“That’s right, Wei Hua,” Mary chimed in. “We Westerners see these things differently from you Easterners. I hope this won’t trouble you. None of us are upset about it at all. Kathleen is telling the truth—I’ve had several boyfriends too, so I’m not inexperienced. Being with you was delightful. There’s no reason we can’t go back to how things were before.”

“Exactly! We used to have so much fun together, and now things feel awkward. If we can’t return to how we were, what’s the point?” Jessie added, with the other two nodding in agreement.

Seeing how open the three women were, Wei Hua felt his worries melt away, and he said cheerfully, “I’m fine with it! As long as you’re not bothered, we don’t have to avoid each other anymore!” The relationships among the four of them seemed to have been straightened out.

A dozen nights later, Kathleen, dressed in her nightgown, quietly knocked on Wei Hua’s door after he’d gone to bed. Everything that followed unfolded naturally. This was Wei Hua’s first truly conscious experience, at least after crossing over. Kathleen’s passion and wildness left him utterly entranced. When it was over, Kathleen rested for a short while before quietly slipping out of his room. Wei Hua felt no regret about what had happened between him and Kathleen; to be honest, all three women were like goddesses of sensuality, exactly his type before he’d crossed over. His body was maturing, and he needed intimacy.

After that night, Kathleen began visiting Wei Hua’s room more and more frequently, until her nightly presence became routine. Eventually, the other two women noticed Kathleen’s behavior, and one day, Jessie and Mary sought her out to ask what she intended.

“Kathleen, Mary and I know you’ve been sneaking into Wei Hua’s room at night. What are you planning? Do you really want Wei Hua to be your boyfriend? But do you think that’s suitable? Wei Hua is much younger than us,” Mary asked.

“I don’t have a boyfriend right now, and as far as I know, Wei Hua doesn’t have a girlfriend either. It’s unlikely he’ll find someone suitable at our college; normally he’d look for a girlfriend in high school. But he’s a genius, and not just intellectually—physically as well. I’ll be honest, I really enjoy being with Wei Hua, and yes, I do want him to be my boyfriend.”

“But will Wei Hua agree?” Jessie questioned.

“You don’t understand Chinese culture. I’ve learned some things from Father James. Easterners, especially Chinese, view intimacy as something very important and sacred. They don’t take it lightly. From what I know of Wei Hua, if he wasn’t willing to be my boyfriend, he wouldn’t be with me in that way. If you don’t believe me, we can ask him. Also, Father James told me that Chinese men are traditionally quite masculine—in the past, a man could have several wives, and having a wife a few years older was nothing unusual. That’s perfectly normal in China,” Kathleen explained.

“What? Not only do you want to be Wei Hua’s girlfriend, you want to be his wife?” Mary exclaimed.

“Yes! Wei Hua is so outstanding—he can give me a good life. Most importantly, I can see kindness and innocence deep in his heart. I like him, maybe even love him. So I’ll marry him one day. He hasn’t fully revealed his talents yet, but once he succeeds, there will be all sorts of women after him. I need to seize my chance now and tie him to my side. I hope you two will help me.” After hearing Kathleen’s words, Jessie and Mary fell silent, lost in thought.

That night, Wei Hua’s door was pushed open once again. Ever since Kathleen began frequenting his room, he’d stopped locking his door at night. Someone climbed into his bed in the darkness, and Wei Hua instinctively wrapped his arms around her. But the moment he did, he sensed something was different—this wasn’t Kathleen. The bio-computer’s enhancements had made Wei Hua’s senses extraordinarily keen; the subtle differences in the body in his arms immediately gave it away. He let go at once and turned on the bedside lamp. Under the light, Mary sat on his bed in a seductive nightgown, looking at him and asking, “Wei Hua, what are you doing? Why did you turn on the light?”