Bengtie: My death fueled their madness.

[Remaining lifespan: 1 hour 11 minutes 41 seconds]

Qi Zhimu finished recounting his life story.

Clarice felt as if something was stuck in her chest, and she felt uncomfortable all over, unable to find relief.

After being redeemed, Mr. Mingming lived a peaceful life until the end of his life, without encountering any misfortune.

But she felt sad for Mr. Qi's life.

Why is this happening...?

She searched for answers, but remained perpetually lost.

Isn't it good to live an ordinary life?

"Mr. Qi, don't you have any things you want to do, any dreams you want to realize...?"

"Yes, it's all done. I just told you."

Upon hearing this, Clarice finally understood the source of her distress.

Mr. Qi... never lived for himself at all!

He spent his entire life going with the flow.

The teacher imparted knowledge, and he studied diligently, absorbing everything with great effort and fervor.

When the teacher assigned a topic, he worked diligently, solving difficult problems and striving for a perfect conclusion.

He did whatever the teacher asked him to do.

His teacher told him to leave, so he left.

He lived in seclusion here for a hundred years, never leaving until his death.

Even in death, he guarded the way home for his teacher.

He was like a wireless puppet who willingly lived for others and willingly depended on them.

They seem free, but they have never been truly free.

You shouldn't have done this... Mr. Qi...

Even if she is the only light in your life, you should still have your own ideals and self, instead of willingly being bound by invisible threads.

Clarice really, really wanted to be jealous of Mr. Qi's teacher.

He is not the one who can bring him salvation, so what right does he have to be jealous?

On the contrary—she was the one who was saved by Mr. Qi.

If my mother forgets everything due to amnesia, I will also lose everything, completely!

Why does a heart feel sorrow and grief?

Clarice sorted everything out.

Because I have no right to comment, because everything is beyond repair, because... I can only keep these words to myself.

How could she bear to say these things to Mr. Qi?

Was he wrong? No, he wasn't.

Was his teacher wrong? No, he wasn't wrong either.

If we must find a culprit, then blame Mr. Qi's world, which has long since turned to cosmic dust but left him with a lifelong scar.

Are these the only reasons?

Clarisse closed her eyes, unable to move.

no……

Perhaps the main reason, and the reason she was jealous, was a factor that even Mr. Qi hadn't realized.

…Mr. Qi may have deeply loved his teacher.

But he was unaware of, or even aware of, the emotions in his heart, and did not understand what love was.

He simply took love for granted as a matter of course, as a sign of respect for his teacher.

Clarice recalled a song she had happened to hear Mr. Qi sing during one of her recent visits.

"...Mr. Qi, I'd like to hear you sing that song."

Which one?

"I don't know the name, but it's... the saddest one."

Qi Zhimu would grant the girl's reasonable request, so he got up, took the zhongruan (a type of Chinese lute), and began to play familiarly.

The melody begins, the verse begins, then the chorus, the interlude, the ending...

From the moment Clarice heard the melody a few seconds ago, she had already reached a conclusion.

Mr. Qi is slow-witted and lacks a proper understanding of emotions; he doesn't even recognize that it is love.

My life has been mostly occupied by teachers, so I don't understand anything.

But... his songs don't lie.

What you think about during the day, you dream about at night.

Similarly, how can one create lyrics and music that evoke sorrow in listeners if one has never been in that state of mind?

A sigh for their deep affection, for their love has finally blossomed into a life together...

The last line of the song may well be Mr. Qi's most genuine subconscious wish!

But apart from the last few words, the rest of the poem is all about loneliness and unrequited love, all revolving around the word "love".

Mr. Qi composed this song, which is about himself.

What made it even harder for Clarice to breathe was... wasn't this song also about her?

We are all going deeper and deeper into a path that is destined to be missed and destined to have no result, leaving our hearts riddled with holes.

But I know it, you don't...

The cruelest thing was that she couldn't say anything.

There is nothing more regrettable in the world than this.

The divination I performed for Mr. Qi that time was not ineffective; on the contrary, everything came true perfectly.

Three of Swords, Ten of Swords, Reversed Star.

A profound heartbreak leads to the end of a relationship and brings with it a deep-seated despair.

Ultimately, they completely lost hope in the bright future they had envisioned.

However… Mr. Qi knew nothing about it, that's all…

He was unaware of his heartbreak, unaware of his own aspirations, or perhaps; he simply dared not even dream of them…

Little did he know that his subconscious had already fallen into despair.

He lived for his teacher, and waited patiently for his teacher's last words until his death.

She willingly allowed herself to be bound by the teacher's past memories, never thinking of breaking free.

How pathetic...

The zhongruan in his hand and the white coat inside the bamboo house are irrefutable evidence of this conjecture.

So many years have passed... yet it remains as fresh as ever.

No wonder Mr. Qi took off his white coat on the day he went to Peiyong in the back mountain, even though the weather had already turned cool.

It's because I don't want it to get even a speck of dust on it...

Mr. Qi, you don't have to be so humble...

At this point, Clarice could no longer hold back. She got up, hugged Qi Zhimu's head, and pulled him into her arms.

"Clarice?"

"...Let me hug you, just for a little while..."

Perhaps, no one has ever truly cared for you or offered you a loving embrace.

Then let me give it to you.

Before Mr. Qi passes away, I will bring him the last warmth to his already cold and unaware body.

Even a trace, even just a moment.

Qi Zhimu was stunned.

A strange feeling welled up inside me.

He felt relaxed as his body was enveloped in a familiar warmth.