Chapter 7: Changed Wishes
Soon, it was mealtime.
Goku began eating with astonishing appetite.
Watching him enjoy his food as if it were rare delicacies, Bulma felt particularly happy.
She rested her chin in her hand and stared at him blankly.
This life of abundant supplies reminded her of her previous life.
Just yesterday, she had been struggling in a post-apocalyptic world.
In her previous life, after Black Goku arrived, the world faced apocalypse,
Supplies were scarce, food was insufficient,
Humans survived like rats hiding in the shadows.
Fortunately, she had sent Trunks away.
Thinking of her son from her previous life, Bulma murmured to herself, "I wonder how Trunks is doing after going back..."
"I hope he stays in the past timeline and lives well with them,"
"Please don't ever return to that world..."
Just as Bulma was reminiscing,
A voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Hey Bulma, aren't you going to eat?"
Bulma snapped out of it and looked up at Goku.
Almost all the food on the table had been wiped clean.
Only a plate of stewed meat and a bowl of rice remained in front of her.
Hah!
So fast, he almost finished everything!
But little Goku, despite eating so much, actually knew to leave some food for her.
This considerate side of him felt somewhat unfamiliar to Bulma.
She usually just had light bread and lettuce for dinner, all this meat was actually prepared for Goku.
So she said: "I don't want to eat anymore, you can have it all!"
After speaking, Bulma pushed the last portion of food toward Goku.
Goku was taken aback.
"Aren't you hungry? Why aren't you eating anything?"
Bulma smiled sweetly: "You eat it, I don't like eating greasy food at night—watching my weight!"
As she spoke, Bulma took out bread, spread some sauce, added lettuce, and began eating in small bites.
Goku seemed to remember something.
In the original story, Goku would hunt for food outside while Bulma ate bread and such.
Free from psychological burden, he picked up the last portion of food and devoured it eagerly.
Even while busy eating, he didn't forget to say thank you.
...
Late at night, rain began falling outside the window, Goku, who had been running around almost all day and was exhausted.
After bathing and eating his fill, he was now fast asleep.
Bulma sat on the bed, watching Goku sleeping peacefully like a well-behaved child.
She leaned down and gently kissed Goku on the cheek.
Goku rubbed his face, turned over, and continued sleeping.
Bulma showed an affectionate smile, then turned to look at the rain outside.
Boundless thoughts flooded her mind again, and Bulma began to overthink.
In her previous life, after Goku was gone, the entire Earth suffered countless disasters.
Those over 20 years of apocalyptic times were truly worse than death.
If she hadn't needed to raise Trunks, she probably wouldn't have been able to endure it.
She didn't know how much time had passed.
Bulma's thoughts returned to the present, and she remembered tomorrow's itinerary.
In this life, she hadn't changed anything yet.
If nothing unexpected happened, when Goku trains tomorrow, he would encounter the Turtle.
Then Goku would kindly help the Turtle return home.
By coincidence, Goku would receive the Flying Nimbus from Master Roshi.
She could still obtain the Dragon Ball in Master Roshi's possession.
Right now, without any other wishes, the Dragon Balls were practically useless to her.
The Dragon Balls had limited power; it was impossible to wish for a perfect boyfriend.
Moreover, this lifetime's Bulma had already matured.
The dreams of her childhood were long forgotten, and those impractical dreams of her girlhood had also vanished like smoke.
In this peaceful world, she had no wishes.
She just wanted to wait for Goku to grow up, and then marry him.
Let him do what he loved—train every day, protect the Earth, and protect their family.
As for herself, she would be busy with work every day, earning money to support his training.
If she and Goku could be together, it seemed they could both live the lives they wanted, until they grew old together.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration crossed Bulma's mind.
She had almost forgotten—in the future, Goku would die from a sudden viral heart disease.
There was no specific cure at that time, and Senzu Beans were ineffective.
Before the Dragon Balls could be gathered, Goku died. (Pilaf and his gang used the Dragon Balls to turn into babies, making the Dragon Balls unusable for a year.
Later, when Piccolo died, the Dragon Balls were gone for good.)
Shenron couldn't revive those who died from illness.
But in this lifetime, she could prepare in advance.
For example, she could have her parents invest in pharmaceuticals now and develop a specific cure for viral heart disease.
Developing a specific cure wasn't particularly difficult for the science of this world.
It could definitely be developed before they set off for Namek.
However, Bulma remembered something else.
Although Goku was strong and loved fighting, he was actually afraid of injections.
Even Saiyans couldn't avoid headaches, fevers, or colds.
A better idea came to mind.
"How about, after gathering the Dragon Balls this time, we wish for Goku to never get sick?"
Bulma immediately beamed—this idea was truly brilliant.
Currently, she already had three Dragon Balls; just four more were needed.
Solving this permanently now would be even simpler than developing medicine.
Bulma still remembered the locations of the Dragon Balls.
One with Master Roshi, one in Oolong's village, one in Ox-King's castle...
Thinking of Ox-King, Bulma's pupils contracted.
She couldn't help but think of Chi-Chi.
She thought of that bride promise, thought of how the grown-up Goku was whisked away by Chi-Chi at the martial arts tournament.
This couldn't really be blamed on Chi-Chi.
The blame lay with Goku's naivety.
That silly Goku from her previous life, who had just learned that boys and girls were different, actually tried to tell them apart by patting their private areas.
That's how he ended up promised to Chi-Chi.
But, looking at this Goku, Bulma seemed relieved.
In this lifetime, he had Gohan to teach him as he grew up, no different from a normal person.
He probably wouldn't do something like that.
So, there was no need to interfere too much.
"Alright then, tomorrow I'll take Turtle to Master Roshi's place!"
"If he dares to make any unreasonable demands, I'll beat him up!"
After saying this, Bulma tucked Goku in with the blanket, turned off the light, and lay down on the bed to sleep...
Sleeping beside Goku, even out in the wilderness, Bulma wasn't worried about any dangers.
That night, she slept exceptionally soundly...