Bengtie: My death fueled their madness.

With everything in place, Qi Zhimu officially began the clinical trial.

While checking that his memory was intact and making a digital backup, he discovered an unexpected fact.

"My memories...are partially incomplete?"

Furthermore, from a digital perspective, the traces of the artificially sealed section are still quite obvious.

Who has tampered with his memories?

Qi Zhimu paused his actions, frowning in deep thought.

The one who remembers in the Flowing Light Memories Court, or the incinerator?

Unable to find many clues, Qi Zhimu didn't dwell on it too much and took the opportunity to try to recover the part of his sealed memories.

The whole process went more smoothly than expected.

As he recalled everything, a shadow fell over Qi Zhimu's face.

……

The next morning.

Qi Zhimu slowly opened his eyes.

A sharp pain shot through the depths of my brain, quickly dispelling my sleepiness.

My gaze swept across my surroundings, and I sensed something strange.

What happened yesterday...?

On the way to Peiyong in the back mountain, it suddenly started raining. Clarice came with an umbrella, and then...

After Ms. Durand's treatment was completed, she left her medical instructions and then personally conducted the clinical trial.

Yes, that's right.

But why... does the subconscious mind feel like something is missing?

What were the experimental results, and why did my head hurt?

When did I get to the window?

His gaze was lowered, and there were several wine jars containing plum blossom wine beside him.

The wine jars are now empty, scattered haphazardly on the floor.

The familiar zhongruan lay beside me; it had originally hung on the wall.

Qi Zhimu grabbed the empty wine jars one by one and sniffed them.

…They're all from the highest vintages; drinking so much of that, you'll definitely get completely drunk.

That's not quite right.

He has always been self-disciplined, and even if the clinical trial results were unsatisfactory, he would never resort to drinking.

"Um?"

Qi Zhimu moved his wrist and realized that he was holding a piece of paper in his other hand, the handwriting of which looked very familiar.

Written by myself.

"The clinical trial has been successfully completed and can completely cure Ms. Durand's amnesia."

Qi Zhimu was certain that this was indeed his handwriting, but why did he write it down, and why did he have no recollection of writing it?

I don't know why I would use this method to remind myself.

Staring at the line of text, Qi Zhimu discovered that there was more content behind it.

With a flick of the wrist, he took in every single word of the content.

"This is……"

It was still his handwriting, but the content seemed to be... unfinished lyrics?

He stared at the lyrics for a moment, then suddenly picked up the zhongruan (a traditional Chinese stringed instrument), played a melody he had composed in the past, and hummed it softly.

The lyrics and music blend together seamlessly.

"As expected, this was written by me too..."

Qi Zhimu tried to recall when the melody was created, but a sharp pain suddenly shot through his mind.

The exact date is rather vague.

"A long time ago, before I had even completed my apprenticeship...?"

Qi Zhimu continued to play and sing, his mind and body gradually sinking into the lingering sorrow in the music.

Until the chorus reached its incomplete part, a line that was uttered without thinking brought the melody to an abrupt halt.

"..."

He was stunned.

How could you fill in the missing sentence so naturally without having thought about it carefully?

Looking at the last few lines of lyrics, Qi Zhimu realized that three lines were still missing.

Try again.

The melody begins again.

"Having drunkenly ruled the world, do you know this, my lord?"

The lyrics should have ended here, but Qi Zhimu did not hesitate for a moment and filled in the rest of the missing parts in one go.

Looking back on this life, after waiting through life and death, are you willing to stay by my side...?

"Alas, our deep affection is known; our love has finally blossomed into a life together..."

The music ended.

Qi Zhimu stared at the musical instrument in his hand, remaining silent and savoring the moment for a long time.

The teacher is proficient in many musical instruments, including the xiao, flute, qin, se, zheng, ruan, and pipa, but has a particular fondness for the ruan.

Under the influence of his teacher's influence and through his diligence in his spare time outside of his studies, Qi Zhimu was able to perform with his teacher without holding him back.

Over the years, whether playing masterpieces by predecessors or original compositions, it has always been the style that my teacher likes.

But the song I'm playing and singing now...

It is filled with heartbreaking regrets, and it is inseparable from the word "love".

"The last three lines of lyrics, though completely different from the preceding meaning and slightly deviating from the central theme, still..."

"...Surprisingly suitable?"

How could I have created such a song without even realizing it?

This is not the style that Ruan Mei likes.

The strange feelings that kept crashing into his heart made Qi Zhimu increasingly confused.

Why do memories fade?

Knowing you'll forget, why leave yourself a reminder?

Or perhaps, some faction of destiny has taken action against him?

Qi Zhimu hung up the zhongruan and walked back to the treatment room to look for any possible clues.

Unexpectedly, on the control panel of the instrument used to treat amnesia, there were words written in black and white on white paper.

"The advice I leave to myself is not to seek out forgotten memories, for when the day comes that all memories will return as scheduled."

Qi Zhimu tore off the paper and checked the rest of the facilities, finding nothing unusual.

Checking the clinical trial records from last night, everything was normal, consistent with the conclusions found in the brain.

Currently, it is sufficient to cure Durand's amnesia, with a success rate of 90%.

The remaining ten percent is reserved for risks that have not yet been overcome.

This risk will surely be eliminated before the day Clarisse is promised.

Thinking of this, Qi Zhimu chose to listen to his past self and stop searching for the temporarily forgotten memories.

Just wait.

"Cough, cough..."

Waves of weakness swept through my body.

Qi Zhimu's appearance aged rapidly, his once black hair turned gray, and he coughed heavily, spitting out some blood.

In older, short-lived species, the body's organs will deteriorate and age simultaneously.

The closer one gets to the end of life, the weaker their bodily functions become.

"It seems... I'll need to take the medication twice a day to maintain this."

Dragging his weakened body, he went to the encrypted safe, took out two pills, and swallowed them.

"In the last thirty days of life, the dosage will likely increase from four pills daily to six pills daily..."

Qi Zhimu sighed inwardly, hesitated for a moment, and this time did not put the medicine back in the safe.

It has finally reached the stage where it needs to be carried with you at all times to prevent emergencies.

Yu Qingtu could see him whenever she wanted, and come and go as she pleased.

Once they learn the truth, even if they don't take any action, they'll probably inform Ruan Mei.

Qi Zhimu did not want his corpse to become one of the fuels that led his mentor into the abyss after his death.

He couldn't stop the teacher, but at least... he could choose not to fuel the fire.

As the medication took effect, he returned to his youthful appearance.

……

Days passed by, and Qi Zhimu's life continued at the same pace.

Clarice's visits have become more frequent, and we can see her every few days.

What's more noticeable is that sometimes when he plays the zhongruan, he'll unconsciously switch to the melody of that song and start singing it without even realizing it.

Three days before Durand's follow-up appointment, just as dawn was breaking, Qi Zhimu woke up from a light sleep.

I gently lifted the sleeping little orange cub, who was nestled above my chest, and placed it into the warm blankets.

After getting out of bed and quickly washing up, I took the medication to maintain my youthful appearance and glanced out the window.

Snowflakes drifted in silently through the night, adorning all living things with a silvery glow.

"Arrived a few days earlier than in previous years."