Bengtie: My death fueled their madness.

In previous years, there wasn't much of a problem; it was just a matter of the relationship between patients' families and doctors.

But gradually, their relationship became more like that of friends.

Even in her memories, Ruan Mei could read the changes in the girl's feelings for Qi Zhimu through her facial expressions.

Those were familiar eyes; I'd forgotten how many years had passed since I last saw them.

When I was young, many students in the same school looked at me with those kinds of eyes.

It seems to be called...like?

Ruan Mei thought about it carefully.

It should be.

She could distinguish the differences among those gazes that came together.

Some people are so pure that they leave you feeling nothing.

Some people have ulterior motives that make people uncomfortable.

And a very few, after looking them over inside and out, only two words came to mind: sincerity.

The way Clarice looked at Qi Zhimu was genuine.

But why...

She felt a little uncomfortable with the way the girl looked at Amu.

Perhaps, in the future, we should add a subject that studies different human emotions.

As for now...

Ruan Mei forcibly suppressed the strange feeling in her heart and continued to seek answers in Qi Zhimu's memories.

In the last few years of his life, his life was no different from any other year.

However, no method of increasing lifespan was used.

My bodily functions began to decline, and the aftereffects of my insomnia that I had previously recovered from returned.

"..."

Ruan Mei frowned.

Even if Qi Zhimu knew how to make that kind of medicine, its effects would be extremely limited if it didn't extend lifespan.

At the age of 172, Qi Zhimu occasionally fails to taste the right flavor.

Occasionally, one may be unable to perceive changes in the natural temperature.

Occasionally, it may lose its sense of touch or its vision.

Occasionally, one loses the sensation of pain and doesn't realize they've been injured unless they see blood or a wound.

He accepted all of this without hesitation.

They only produced medicine to keep the body in a youthful state, and left everything else to nature, ignoring everything else.

He adopted a stray cat to keep him company, and this continued until the last three months of his life.

A conversation between her friends Yu Qingtu and Qi Zhimu caught Ruan Mei's attention.

Before I leave, I'd like to ask you one more question.

"Please speak, senior."

"Do you admire... no, I should say, do you like A-Ruan, from the perspective of the opposite sex?"

In an instant, Ruan Mei stared intently at Qi Zhimu, as if trying to discern something from his face.

"Senior, please don't tease a junior like me. I have nothing but respect for my teacher, how could I harbor such absurd and disrespectful feelings?"

Looking at his expression, which was full of composure and showed no trace of lying.

In Ruan Mei's mind, the lonely image of the boy stripping away his memories, forgetting that experience, and choosing to silently bear all the bitter consequences resurfaced.

She unconsciously bit her lower lip until it bled, and an indescribable feeling of discomfort washed over her entire body.

It shouldn't be like this...

"Take care, senior. After you deliver the plum blossom wine, please remember to leave a message for your teacher, reminding her to maintain a regular schedule and eat on time."

The experience of hearing Yu Qingtu recount the story and hearing Qi Zhimu say it himself was completely different.

It wasn't until Yu Qingtu left that Ruan Mei realized she had temporarily forgotten how to breathe.

The next second, Qi Zhimu coughed violently.

He was coughing up blood.

Keeping the body young does not slow down the decline of organ function; on the contrary, it can bring side effects.

Coughing up blood is a sign.

But he didn't know that, and only thought of it as an old age ailment.

The girl named Clarice brought her mother to receive treatment for amnesia.

Ruan Mei's attention was not on the mother and daughter.

Every time I see Qi Zhimu avoiding eye contact and concealing his aging and physical discomfort, my heart aches for a moment.

His old age shouldn't be like this...

The girl performed a divination for him: Three of Swords, Ten of Swords, and the Star reversed.

Ruan Mei immediately saw through the girl's lie; the outcome represented by these three cards was bound to be the exact opposite of what she said.

Eternal love...?

no it's not...

It is pain, it is collapse, it is falling into the deepest despair.

It was her—she was the one who inflicted it all on Amu.

"Is that house not far away also yours?"

"...This is not my home."

"Then...why do you clean that house so frequently?"

"That's my teacher's house. A long time ago, she moved her house here using special means, but now she's forgotten to take it with her."

"And why are the plants trimmed along the paths...?"

"I'm afraid the teacher will forget the way home."

"..."

Ruan Mei clutched her chest, her emotions turbulent, her eyes reddening without her realizing it.

I instinctively took a few steps back and bumped into the equipment behind me. Only after I ripped off the electrodes again did I realize that all my memories had been received.

"In the process of pursuing a certain destination, the teacher lost and forgot many things... perhaps including her home."

"I firmly believe that if one day she reaches that destination as she wishes, she will remember many forgotten things and she will definitely go home."

"I can't help her, all I can do is take good care of her home."

Yes... Amu can't help her.

But it shouldn't be like this...

It was all her doing that caused this consequence, even though Amu had begged her so desperately back then.

But she remained unmoved, her eyes fixed on her obsession.

"Where is Mr. Qi's hometown?"

"Long since I've become dust in the universe, wherever my heart returns is my home."

Amu considers the world where he has been reborn as his home.

His heart is here; this is his home...and also where her home is.

But he could have left, so why...?

As they searched for answers, the boy's tender voice resonated deep within his soul.

"Home is very important. Xiao Mu no longer has a home, and the teacher cannot be like me."

"After Xiao Mu graduates, she will go back to help the teacher look after the house."

The boy's lifelong promise pierced her heart like a sharp knife, twisting it violently.

Ruan Mei completely lost her composure and could no longer remain calm and rational.

"...Amu...Amu..."

She has witnessed betrayal her entire life.

My parents let my grandmother down.

I have let my parents down.

No one kept their promise.

But... Amu did not let her down.

Even centuries after his death, Amu continues to fulfill his promise in his own way.

…That doesn’t even qualify as an agreement.

Ruan Mei has not forgotten her answer from back then: whatever you want.

That was just a boy's wishful thinking... an extremely serious wishful thinking.

He did not let her down.

But she lost her Xiao Mu, her A Mu, her students...

Now, it can't be found.

There's no going back to the past, and he won't be in the future either.

If Amu remembers everything at the last moment, will he really resent his teacher?

Ruan Mei breathed tremblingly, unable to close her eyes.

The pace of reminiscing slowed, but the journey did not stop.

A suffocating night arrived early, just as Ruan Mei had hoped.

In order to cure Durand's amnesia, Qi Zhimu personally became a clinical trial participant and found...

—All of it that I personally stripped away back then.

His facial expression was stiff, and his eyes had lost all their luster.