I raised stunning young ladies, but they all wanted to possess me.

The envelope of the first letter was already a bit yellowed, and it bore Pei Youyi's handwriting.

Her handwriting is very delicate, each stroke seemingly written over many late nights.

Gu Yan opened the envelope and unfolded the letter.

Xiao Yan:

If you are reading this letter, it means I am no longer here.

Don't be sad.

I'm saying this first because I know you'll be sad.

You've always been like this since you were little.

When someone else is in pain, you feel even more pain than they do.

But this time, I won't let you suffer for too long.

Because when I leave, I will certainly not leave with regrets.

I have spent most of my life as the matriarch of the Pei family.

Keeping a facade, hiding it, afraid to love, afraid to speak.

Until I met you.

You are the biggest surprise of my life.

I never imagined that I would be like a little girl, so infatuated with someone that I couldn't sleep all night.

My fingers were trembling the whole time I was kissing you in the private room in Kyoto.

I actually cried when I leaned on your shoulder under the lighthouse.

You probably haven't noticed.

Because I wiped it too quickly.

I have three wishes.

The first is watching Yu Ran marry you.

The second is to spend a few lively New Years with you all.

The third is to ask you to come with me to see the crabapple blossoms in Jinghai.

If none of these three wishes can be fulfilled, that's okay too.

Because my greatest wish was fulfilled the day I met you.

Xiao Yan, please take good care of Yu Ran for me.

She has a cold personality, but a warm heart.

She is braver than me.

She dared to say she loved you, dared to give you the sword tassel, and dared to search for you alone for three years.

I can't compare to her.

As an elder, I ultimately failed to set a good example for her.

But please tell her for me that I love her very much.

and also.

Take good care of yourself.

You should eat on time and not always push yourself too hard.

You've done very well.

You are the best person I have ever met.

If there is a next life, I still want to meet you.

By then, I won't want to be the matriarch of the Pei family anymore.

I'll just be an ordinary woman, waiting for you to come home at the alley entrance.

Youyi

Gu Yan's tears fell onto the letter.

He didn't wipe it.

He carefully folded the letter and put it back in the envelope.

Then he picked up the second letter.

The envelope of the letter was very clean, with a very faint gold tinge around the edges, as if it had been bathed in holy light.

The handwriting above is Elena's.

Her handwriting was strange, like that of a child who had just learned to write. Every stroke was written with great force, and some parts had been corrected.

Gu Yan:

If this letter has reached you, it means I have done what I had to do.

Don't hate me.

Do not hate my people.

We are just two lost civilizations that have collided in the wrong sea of ​​stars.

You guard your home, I will protect my tribe.

Neither of us is wrong.

The universe is wrong.

It is so vast that even two people who want to be together are separated by an entire Milky Way.

I have lived for many, many years.

There are so many that I can't even remember which star I came from.

I have read many books by you humans.

The book says that love is a human weakness.

I never believed it.

Later I believed it.

Because the night I surrendered myself to you in the void, I found myself weakened.

I've become someone who can cry, laugh, and crave a hug.

These emotions slowed my gun down.

But I don't regret it at all.

Because they made me feel, for the first time, that I was alive.

Instead of floating.

I was planning to bake you lots and lots of cookies.

It's shaped like a cat's paw.

I also want you to come with me to play on the swing.

My heart was racing when you pushed me.

At that time, I thought it was fear.

Later I realized that it was love.

It's the kind of liking that you humans talk about, the kind that makes people stupid.

I was pregnant with a child once.

It's yours.

It's mine too.

It never had the chance to come into this world.

I'm very sorry.

I haven't even thought of a name for it yet.

If you have other children in the future, please tell them for me that in a very, very far place, there once lived an angel aunt who loved their father very much.

Gu Yan.

My reign is over.

But you still have a long way to go.

You said you would protect this planet.

Then let's continue to protect them.

Lead everyone forward.

Go to higher places.

The strongest civilization I've ever seen is a level 7 civilization.

You can too.

Human lifespan is very short. On a cosmic scale, it's as short as a single breath.

You will get sick, grow old, and fight each other over a few pieces of land and a few lies.

Your civilization is very young, so young that you haven't even fully understood the planet beneath your feet.

In terms of power, you are no match for calamity.

In terms of lifespan, you are not as long as the angels.

Yet this very race did not kneel when calamity struck, nor did it make way when the gods knocked on its door.

You filled the trenches with corpses, dyed the river red with blood, and used your last bullet and your last breath to give those behind you one more minute to live.

I have seen many civilizations. Powerful, ancient, magnificent. Most of them are dead.

They died from arrogance, from internal strife, and from miscalculating the cost in the face of disaster.

Courage is the hymn of humanity.

I believe in you.

When you reach that point, life will no longer be the end.

We will meet again at that time.

On the other side of the starry sea.

艾琳娜

By the time Gu Yan finished reading the letter, the snow outside the window had already piled up quite thick.

He sat there for a very long time.

Tears fell drop by drop onto the letter, blurring the crooked handwriting.

He remembered many things.

I remembered the kiss under the lighthouse, the book on the wicker chair, and the laughter on the swing.

I remembered the fragrance of magnolia blossoms from Sister Youyi, and every word she said.

They are all gone.

But it seems like they're all there.

In the wind, in the snow, in every flower that has bloomed.

He slowly stood up and walked to the window.

The snow is still falling.

A thin layer of ice covered the distant river, reflecting the lights of thousands of homes.

The lights stretched out in a continuous line, like a river that stretched from the human world to the horizon.

He looked up at the sky.

Snow stopped.

The clouds dispersed.

The sky was filled with countless stars, densely packed, like a boundless sea.

He remembered what Elena had said.

Level 7 civilization.

As long as there is one cell left, life can be revived.

Once you reach that point, death is no longer the end.

He opened the window and went outside.

The wind was cold, but he didn't feel it.

He walked out step by step, the snow crunching under his feet.

He walked to the riverbank, stood on the embankment, and looked up.

The starry sky was right above him, so vast it made him want to cry.

Those stars were so far away from him, yet so close.

Each one is like a pair of eyes waiting for him.

"Sister Youyi."

He said softly.

"Elena".

"Wait for me."

"I will lead Earth to a level seven civilization."

"I will bring you back."

"We'll meet again then."

His breath rose silently.

Above the god level, that barrier that no human had ever touched emitted an extremely faint cracking sound.

He did not continue upwards.

He simply stood there, feeling that power, as if sensing a path leading to the stars.

He turned around and found several women standing beside him.

They stood in the snow, wearing coats and holding their children.

No one speaks.

They just looked at him and smiled beautifully.

Gu Yan smiled back at them.

Just then, the sound of footsteps treading through the snow came from the stone steps of the river embankment.

An elderly man wrapped in a dark gray wool coat slowly walked out of the snow.

He wore an old felt hat, a scarf wrapped around his chin, round-framed glasses perched on his nose, and carried an old brass-cased camera in his arms.

The camera was polished to a shine, its lens flashing in the fireworks light.

It was Sir Anthony.

"I've been looking for you all night."

The old man was panting, his white beard covered in snowflakes.

"How can such an important night be without a single photo?"

He walked up to the crowd, looked at Gu Yan, then at the seven ladies and children beside him, his eyes behind his glasses narrowing into slits with a smile.

"Master Gu".

He patted Gu Yan on the shoulder.

"Remember? I took the first photo of you and Miss Cecilia. She was in a wheelchair then, and you were standing next to her."

"Later, I took photos of you and Miss Wanqing and Miss Shiwei as well."

"I always thought to myself that one day I would take the most complete picture of Master Gu."

He looked around. Snow, a great river, fireworks, and the lights of countless homes.

Then he turned around, set up the old camera in the snow, and slowly adjusted the focus.

His hands were as steady in the cold wind as they were in his youth.

"Come."

"Stand still, everyone."

"This is a historic moment."

"I'm going to put you all in there."

The girls looked at each other and laughed.

Lin Jinyu, holding the child, stood to Gu Yan's left, Pei Yuran stood to his right, Chiyomiya Yusheng stood quietly beside Yuran, Shen Youyao, Fu Wanqing, and Fu Shiwei lined up in a row, and Cecilia stood at the very edge, holding the youngest child in her arms.

Gu Yan stood in the middle, flanked by seven women, with several children looking up at the fireworks in front of her.

They stood in the snow, by the great river, and under a sky full of fireworks.

Sir Anthony pressed the shutter.

"Click."

That moment was captured forever.

In the photo, Gu Yan is smiling, the girls are smiling, and the children are smiling.

The snow fell on their hair and shoulders, like a blessing that was long overdue.

Fireworks bloomed in the night sky behind them, casting a warm glow over the entire photograph.

"Perfect".

The old man straightened up with satisfaction, took off his gloves, and extended his hand to Gu Yan.

"This is the best photo I've ever taken."

Gu Yan took his hand and said thank you.

Sir Anthony smiled, put away his camera, and tipped his hat to the crowd.

"Alright. I won't bother you any longer. Happy New Year to you all. Mr. Gu, remember to call me next time you take photos of the children."

He turned and walked into the snow.

After taking a few steps, he turned back and waved, his figure gradually disappearing into the smoke and snow.

Then Gu Yan raised her head and looked at the sea of ​​stars again.

"This time."

He said.

"We won't say goodbye again."

"We will meet again."

"must."

The distant bells rang.

The new year has arrived.

Fireworks rose in every corner of the city, illuminating the entire night sky as bright as day.

Gu Yan stood under the fireworks, under the starry sky, in the home he had risked his life to protect.

He took a deep breath, and the snow and wind filled his lungs, cool yet warm like spring.

[The End]