Bengtie: My death fueled their madness.

This is not a punishment.

It was a one-sided abuse, an inhumane torture.

Body, mind, and even soul.

None of them were missed.

He should have resented her, even hated her...

But he didn't.

Qi Zhimu attributed all the blame to himself, and used the cruelest method to strip away his memories, sealing them into the untouchable depths of the sea.

In that way, he can become the teacher's favorite and most satisfied student again.

Ruan Mei couldn't help but think: Did Qi Zhimu live out his life like this, only remembering everything at the very last moment...?

Or perhaps... he never remembered this past until his death...?

An unprecedented surge of emotion welled up from the depths of my heart, violently pounding against my chest and heart.

pain.

However, it might not even be one ten-thousandth of what Amu endured.

There was another emotion she didn't know about, which kept causing the same impulse to keep popping into her mind.

—I want to go back to the past, back to several Amber Ages ago.

To stop the boy from losing his memories.

To stop himself from punishing the teenager.

But she couldn't do it.

She cannot reverse time, cannot go back to the past, and cannot change the cause and effect that are already set in stone.

"Amu...do you hate me...?"

Ruan Mei murmured to herself, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes.

She wanted to know, and the thought nearly drove her mad.

She hoped that Qi Zhimu would remember everything before he left, and feel even a trace of hatred towards her.

That would make her feel much better.

Holding onto her conviction, Ruan Mei delved deeper and deeper into her past memories.

"From now on, you can use this ruan."

Thank you, teacher!

The boy hugged the zhongruan she had given him, his face beaming with joy.

"And this white lab coat, it's a bit too big for me, you can take it."

She did not say that it was made specifically for her own students.

……

"Teacher, watch out!"

An unexpected incident occurred during the experiment; contact with highly hazardous substances triggered an energy chain reaction, resulting in a violent explosion.

At the critical moment, a student who was taller than her stepped in front of her, taking the brunt of the massive impact of the explosion.

The young man's upper body was horribly mangled from the explosion, his chest was covered in blood, his organs were visible, and half of his face was so badly rotten that the bone was exposed.

……

"Amu, why haven't I seen you making that soybean cake?"

"That soybean cake?"

The young man scratched his head, frowned, and thought carefully before suppressing his doubts.

"I wonder which one the teacher is referring to—plain paper, peach blossom, or cold moon?"

"...If you can't remember, then forget it," Ruan Mei said calmly.

It's just about satisfying one's appetite.

Although the taste of that pastry left a deep impression on her, it was not indispensable.

……

"Drink it, Amu."

"OK."

Qi Zhimu had no idea what the medicine in the teacher's hand was for, and drank it without thinking.

He firmly believed that his teacher would not harm him.

Ruan Mei did not explain that the medicine could suppress the aftereffects of his loss of consciousness.

It will not fail as long as the body does not enter a state of old age and decline.

……

"Teacher, I have successfully cultivated the genetically mutated species you requested."

"Good job. Now you can place it in the designated petri dish and move on to another topic."

"OK."

……

"You haven't slept a day in a week, teacher. Go to sleep. I'll take care of you during the observation period."

"Okay, write the notes on a sticky note."

"We guarantee that there will be no mistakes."

……

"Happy birthday, teacher. I have prepared a dinner. Please stop your research for now and continue after dinner."

"There's no need."

"We have plum blossom wine."

"Oh? Where did the plum blossoms come from? In recent years, the ecological environment has become too harsh, and plum trees should not be able to survive."

"I took some time to cultivate and harvest these plum blossoms from other worlds. Although this jar of plum blossom wine is only two years old and not at its best, it's still quite good."

"If you're so inclined, then so be it."

……

Countless fragments of memories replayed before her eyes, and Ruan Mei gradually lost her senses.

Over the decades, there have been unexpected events, mundane moments, and small surprises.

In life, Qi Zhimu's shadow is everywhere.

Looking back from a third-person perspective, I suddenly realized that I had long since gotten used to having him in my life.

Until that day...

"Those data seem to be related to the teacher's parents...?"

"What's wrong?"

"...It's nothing."

……

Why was that data deleted without authorization?

That was her most important thing, and her unwavering determination to move forward.

Although the data was already imprinted in her mind, deleting it or not made no difference, so she wasn't angry.

But—this ultimately broke the rules.

She wanted to know what reason the student had for daring to overstep the bounds again after decades.

The young man frowned deeply, his tone serious:

"Teacher, this is a taboo study that desecrates life and, more importantly, parents!"

Even if you eventually succeed, you may easily lose sight of your true self and lose many things!

"Some Pandora's boxes... must never be opened."

"Is that your reason?" she asked.

"Teacher, I..."

Qi Zhimu hesitated for a moment before finishing his sentence, then sighed inwardly.

"Yes."

"Starting tomorrow, you'll be officially a master." She said this without warning.

Although Qi Zhimu had long been prepared to be punished, his face was still instantly filled with astonishment upon hearing these words.

"You want to send me away? Teacher... you can punish me however you want, just don't send me away, okay? I don't want this kind of punishment..."

"This is not a punishment."

Ruan Mei turned away calmly, uttering her last two sentences.

"I've taught you everything you can learn. Staying here is just a waste of time; it's pointless."

"teacher--!"

The young man grabbed her sleeve, his eyes pleading.

"I'll say it again: you've completed your apprenticeship, leave now. I won't see you again until the research is finished."

Ruan Mei pulled back her sleeve and added one last sentence:

"If I don't contact you a hundred years from now, just forget about me. I don't owe you anything, and you don't owe me anything either."

Qi Zhimu stood there blankly for a long time, his expression blank, before finally lowering his head and bending down.

"Yes... teacher..."

Her image in the students' memories will forever be frozen at this moment.

She ignored Qi Zhimu's departure back then.

Now, however, I watch him until he disappears.

From that figure's retreating back, Ruan Mei sensed a deep sense of loss and desolation.

Qi Zhimu left alone and returned to the planet where he had lived when he was receiving treatment. He went back to that mountainous area and built a bamboo house not far from her home.

"How were your last 111 years...?"

Qi Zhimu's life was generally uneventful.

He planted plum trees all over the mountain, so that he had an endless supply of plum blossoms to pick and brew plum wine of perfect quality. This was the most important thing for him every year.

He would regularly clean the house, which was covered in dust but looked brand new, and regularly trim the mountain path that led to the house.

He sent out plum blossom wine without receiving a single letter of interruption until he passed away silently, leaving behind a doll, remaining unchanged.

The rest of the time, he stayed in the bamboo house and didn't go anywhere else.

My good friend Yu Qingtu would occasionally come over and I would enjoy his warm hospitality.

Apart from that, his life consisted only of patients who came to him from time to time.

This has been the case for a century.

until--

A purple-haired girl named Clarice appears.