Bengtie: My death fueled their madness.

Yu Qingtu had countless questions for Qi Zhimu.

But the sight of Ruan Mei's back that she had just seen, and the discrepancy in Qi Zhimu's memory, made her feel as if a bottle of mixed emotions had been spilled in her heart.

After recovering from the joy of the reunion and the sudden change in her identity, she had an indescribable feeling or emotion.

Without a doubt, Qi Zhimu's complete forgetting of Ruan Mei must be related to what the latter said back then.

—Make Qi Zhimu forget her.

What else could this be but reaping what you sow?

No wonder Ruan Mei's communication three days ago contained both good and bad news.

The good news is that Qi Zhimu has been found, but the bad news...

Yu Qingtu quickly pieced together the truth, which was close to, or even completely accurate.

Perhaps the so-called bad news is just Ruan Mei's personal perspective, assuming that Qi Zhimu has forgotten all his past.

But you can't blame her for that.

Qi Zhimu had the opportunity to verify this in his second life on the Immortal Ship, but everyone was too late and watched him vanish into thin air.

Since their sudden fall from grace, they have been searching for Qi Zhimu day after day, clinging to the belief that he will forget the past.

Now it seems...that's not the case.

Yu Qingtu turned her head to glance at the man beside her.

From the moment Qi Zhimu saw him, his eyes began to surge with intense emotions, shifting in many ways.

Clearly, he will slowly remember the past when they finally meet again.

But he didn't remember Ruan Mei, and forgot everything about her completely.

Those traces linked to important life experiences are then repaired by the brain's automatic memory-filling function, which corrects any inconsistencies in the memory until they are reasonable.

She and Ruan Mei have overlapping areas of expertise, and like Ruan Mei, she taught him knowledge.

In addition, during Qi Zhimu's previous life, only a handful of people in the entire world had ever entered his heart.

The person who holds the largest share is undoubtedly Nguyen Mai.

When Ruan Mei disappears from his world, a huge gap inevitably appears in his memory.

Based on this premise, when the brain automatically repairs memories, it seeks out those with the closest identity, experience, personality, and other factors to replace the life trajectory.

Let's assume that Ruan Mei occupies 70% of Qi Zhimu's most important memories.

Seventy percent disappeared, and among the remaining thirty percent, there can only be one other person—it has to be her.

Yu Qingtu, also a member of the Genius Club #55, shares similar interests with Ruan Mei, including a background in biology, expertise in pharmacology, bartending, and even hobbies.

If we compare the memory of this life experience to a game save file.

The current situation is that Qi Zhimu's archives related to Ruan Mei were not directly deleted from the storage system. Instead, the main character was removed, and the remaining part was integrated into the archives related to her.

The person who saved him became Yu Qingtu.

The person who taught him knowledge became Yu Qingtu.

I'm afraid... those who are close to him have also become Yu Qingtu.

The memories of Qi Zhimu before his death were well preserved in Black Swan's possession, and it was clear that he never hated Ruan Mei.

That is to say-

Now, if Yu Qingtu wanted to, getting everything Ruan Mei wanted to mend would be a piece of cake.

but……

Yu Qingtu's brows furrowed with confusion and frustration.

Let's just assume it's her pointless pride acting up.

She can do this, she can get what she wants so easily, but is that really her?

No, it's not.

She was merely a substitute whose memories were automatically pieced together by Qi Zhimu after he forgot Ruan Mei.

By voluntarily becoming that substitute, he was admitting that he was inferior to Ruan Mei in every way, and thus lived in Ruan Mei's shadow for the rest of his life, gradually losing himself.

Anyone in the Genius Club possesses the ability to shake the entire universe.

She became a genius earlier than Ruan Mei, so why did she have to be reduced to becoming her substitute?

Putting aside the fact that Ruan Mei saved Qi Zhimu, objectively speaking, even if she is not completely superior to Ruan Mei in every aspect, they are at least each with their own merits.

What Ruan Mei excels at, she can't do.

What she excelled at, Ruan Mei was also not good at.

No one is superior to anyone else.

She liked Qi Zhimu, that earnest little guy.

That emotion, after thousands of years since his passing, has become more and more mellow, like plum blossom wine, and it is no exaggeration to call it love now.

She gave her heart to Qi Zhimu, not wanting to receive a false relationship in return, a relationship that made her a substitute for someone else.

Thinking of this, Yu Qingtu clarified his mind.

It wasn't until Qi Zhimu left silently without any lingering attachments that Ruan Mei finally saw what her heart truly was, what her most important things were, and what she truly wanted.

She is not Ruan Mei.

It cannot be denied that, due to certain reasons, I failed to recognize my true feelings in time.

At least, she won't end up like Ruan Mei.

Before Ruan Mei urged her to come, she must have tried various methods to help Qi Zhimu regain his memory.

Given that guy's abilities, he's unlikely to think of me unless he's completely out of options.

The words Ruan Mei had said to her and the Black Swan some time ago involuntarily floated into Yu Qingtu's mind. At the same time, she felt a little amused and sorry for the former.

They had just declared their sovereignty with great conviction.

The results of it?

It's true that she found Qi Zhimu first, but Qi Zhimu had forgotten her.

Up to this point, nothing much has happened yet. It's highly likely that Ruan Mei has subtly inquired about the others, including herself, Black Swan, and even Jing Liu, with Qi Zhimu.

The answer is likely to be the same.

However, Ruan Mei never expected, or rather, no one expected, that Qi Zhimu would recognize her and remember her.

Even if Ruan Mei is replaced, it at least means that Qi Zhimu will not completely sever ties with his past life.

The reason he didn't actively seek it out must be due to certain preconditions.

It's not hard to guess the condition now; there's a 99% chance they'll want to see the person in person or have a direct portrait.

Unfortunately, these women were either famous but low-key, with their portraits never circulating, or they were completely unknown.

The universe is boundless; without fate, the desire to meet again is nothing short of a pipe dream.

This is probably why Qi Zhimu appears randomly in new worlds and new civilizations in each reincarnation, but never actively seeks to reclaim the ties of his past lives.

"Xiao Mu, are you now a staff member at the Black Tower Space Station?"

Yu Qingtu asked.

"I guess so, I have a job certificate." Qi Zhimu nodded.

"People from the Azure Star?"

"...That doesn't count. Isn't the teacher curious about why I suddenly reappeared after being dead for so many years? Didn't the teacher ever consider that I might be an imposter?"

Yu Qingtu hesitated for a moment, but still chose to tell the truth.

"Actually, this is the second time I've found you..."

She did not correct Qi Zhimu's mistake of referring to her as his teacher.

It's not the right time yet.

Before finding a suitable opportunity, it's best not to make things difficult for Qi Zhimu.

Human cognition is always influenced by preconceived notions.

Judging from Ruan Mei's appearance, she must have been reunited with Qi Zhimu for quite some time, and their way of getting along is different from before.

Once Qi Zhimu learns about his past with Ruan Mei but has no corresponding memories, the clash between the unfamiliar past and the familiar present may not be a good thing for Ruan Mei.

Ruan Mei may have brought this upon herself, but she was still her friend.

The causes and consequences of that incident back then were not complicated, but they were deeply intertwined, making it difficult to easily separate them out and clarify who should bear more responsibility.

"A second time?" Qi Zhimu was stunned.

"Yes, but... when I found you that time, you were already dead."

Yu Qingtu temporarily skipped over Ruan Mei and the Black Swan, without mentioning the word "we".