Yuanxin Matchmaking Agency (5)

Early the next morning, Bai Ci woke up right on time, thanks to her internal clock.

The first thing she did upon waking was open her Rain's Message panel to check the situation.

Oh?

The panel was completely blank, having reverted to its initial state when she first entered the instance.

【Rain's Message NPC: Unmatched

(Due to special circumstances in this instance, the binding mechanism is disabled, and the special mechanism is active)】

Before going to sleep last night, she had checked it on purpose. At that time, Si Diyi's information was still displayed on the panel, and the curse [What is Love] was still active in plain sight.

Rather than believing the panel had automatically unbound itself because Cheng Yin said she would rematch her...

Bai Ci believed that the panel had reverted to its initial state because Si Diyi had, true to his name, become the first to die.

She let out a soft breath, her emotions barely stirred.

For someone like Si Diyi, whose hands were stained with blood, such an end was less a curse taking effect and more of a well-deserved retribution.

Bai Ci got up and changed. When she walked out of her bedroom, rustling sounds were already coming from the living room.

Mother Bai was standing on the balcony, clothes hanger in hand, hanging up the washed laundry.

Bai Ci walked over, took the hanger from Mother Bai's hand, and said in a flat tone, “Mom, let me help you.”

“Alright. I'll put the hangers in, and you can hang them up,” Mother Bai said, stepping aside slightly.

After hanging up a few pieces of clothing to ease into it, Bai Ci spoke up with feigned hesitation. “Mom, I didn't sleep very well last night. I kept thinking about the curse.”

“How long has that curse existed? And where did it come from? My head was so full of these questions that I couldn't fall asleep for half the night.”

At the mention of the curse, the smile on Mother Bai's face instantly faded, and her movements slowed.

“I don't know how long it has existed either,” she said softly, a trace of hard-to-detect bitterness in her voice. “My mother—your grandmother—told me about it when I was a child.”

“She said it's an innate curse passed down through the women of our Bai family. It has existed since her mother's generation—your great-grandmother.”

“Did Grandma say how this curse came about?” Bai Ci pressed further.

Mother Bai shook her head. “No. Your grandmother only told me that this curse cannot be defied. The daughters of our Bai family will definitely die if they reach the age of thirty and are still unmarried. There are no exceptions.”

As she spoke, she seemed to recall something. Her tone became incredibly solemn, even carrying a hint of fear.

“When I was young, I saw your aunt and your cousin with my own eyes. They both died on the exact day they turned thirty.”

“They were perfectly fine the day before, but the next day, they drew their last breath. The red line on their arms had crawled up to their necks. Other than that, there were no wounds on their bodies.”

“Has the deadline always been thirty?” Bai Ci asked. She felt a sense of incongruity about this age limit.

Mother Bai suddenly reached out and grabbed Bai Ci's hand, her grip so tight it felt as if Bai Ci would disappear the moment she let go.

“A'ci, Mom really isn't lying to you. This isn't some lie I made up just to rush you into marriage. It's real. I saw it with my own eyes. I can't lose you, I really can't.”

At this point, her voice choked up slightly, and her eyes turned red.

Bai Ci could clearly feel the trembling of Mother Bai's hand, and she could see the worry and despair in her eyes. It was a genuine fear from the bottom of her heart, not an act.

She gently squeezed Mother Bai's hand back, softening her tone to comfort her. “Mom, I know. Of course I believe you. I didn't doubt you.”

Pausing, she shifted the conversation and voiced her doubts. “I'm just thinking that this curse is a bit strange.”

“Think about it. In ancient times, women married early, usually around fourteen or fifteen. If the curse had existed since way back then, the deadline should have been around twenty. Why is it thirty?”

Mother Bai froze, clearly having never considered this question. “This... I don't know either. That's just what your grandmother told me.”

“There are two possibilities for this,” Bai Ci analyzed, striking while the iron was hot. “Either this curse is very new and only appeared in modern times, or the curse is evolving with the times, and the deadline is being pushed back accordingly.”

“Whichever it is, it proves that this curse is not an unbreakable knot. If we can find the source of the curse, maybe we can find a way to break it.”

“That way, not only will you not have to worry so much, but future generations won't have to be bound by this anymore either.”

Upon hearing about breaking the curse, a glimmer of light flashed in Mother Bai's eyes, but it quickly dimmed, and she shook her head.

“It's useless, A'ci. Over the years, your grandmother, your aunt, and I have all tried to break it. We've visited every temple and Daoist monastery, and met all kinds of spiritualists and masters, but no one has ever succeeded.”

“All we can do is obey the rules of the curse and get married properly to save our lives.”

“How do we know it won't work if we don't try?” Bai Ci insisted, wanting to solve this from the root.

“Grandma should know more about the curse, right? I want to go back and visit her to have a proper chat. Maybe we can find some clues.”

Bai Ci had long noticed that there was no sign of a third person living or having lived in this home.

Moreover, there were no contact details for her grandmother on her phone, nor were there any photos in her album that looked like her.

This indicated that her grandmother was either not local or there was some other special circumstance. Talking face-to-face was undoubtedly the most direct and easiest way to find clues.

“No, I don't agree!” Mother Bai objected resolutely.

But it wasn't because Bai Ci mentioned visiting her grandmother. It was because of Bai Ci's intention to solve the curse itself.

“A'ci, be good. Don't go taking risks. Getting married is much safer. Even if you don't like the other person, we can just get married first. Once you pass thirty, we'll get a divorce. I won't force you to stay with him, okay?”

“I only ask that you remain safe and sound. I don't ask for anything else.”

Looking at Mother Bai's urgent and pleading eyes, Bai Ci thought of her own mother. Her heart softened slightly, but she did not back down.

She knew Mother Bai's intentions were good, but marriage was never the way to break the curse.

Compared to how heartbroken this mother would be if she failed, she had her own selfish motives.

This was an Anomalous Infection instance. Resolving various bizarre situations at their source carried a high probability of earning an S-rank evaluation.

Her previous instance had proven this.

If she wanted to go back, she had to seize every opportunity to collect ten S-ranks.

Compared to the potential heartbreak of this mother in the instance, she was far more unwilling to make her real parents sad.

“Mom, I know you mean well, but I don't want to just compromise like this,” Bai Ci said, her tone firm.

“Marriage is a lifelong matter. Even if it's only temporary, I don't want to force myself. Besides, I really want to try and see if I can find a way to break the curse.”