I was approached by a cat-eared girl.

He didn't seem to be afraid of death.

I remember asking him back then, "Where in the world can one find an elixir that can grant immortality?"

I've seen this kind of thing in books, and in my heart he knows everything, so I think this question is naturally no problem for him either. As long as he tells me a place, I will fetch it for him no matter where it is.

But he told me that such a thing doesn't exist.

No?

I was stunned.

"Of course not. If there were, the Qin Dynasty would be in power today. In the past, both the First Emperor and Emperor Wu of Han sought the way to immortality, but they searched the whole world without success. This shows that there is absolutely no elixir in the world that can make people live forever."

"Perhaps they just haven't found it."

"If even the emperor of a nation couldn't find him despite the entire country's efforts, what difference does it make whether he exists or not?"

At this point, he suddenly laughed and advised me, "Read less of those storybooks and miscellaneous notes in the future, as they contain many inaccuracies."

I didn't answer. I only remember standing there by his bedside, feeling a huge sense of panic.

No?

I know that mortals die, and he will die too, but I have never been afraid before. I only thought that as long as I could find the elixir of immortality before he died, that would be enough. But now he says that he doesn't have it.

At the time, I thought he probably didn't know where the elixir was, but didn't want to lose face, so he used that excuse to brush me off.

Yes, that must be it.

That's the only way.

After that, I read those storybooks every day, searching for the so-called elixir of immortality according to the records in them, but in the end I found nothing.

During my search, I also learned of his death.

I don't believe it, or rather, I don't want to believe it. I think... it seems pointless to keep searching?

But I didn't give up, almost as if I was sulking with him or trying to prove him wrong.

It may have been decades, or it may have been centuries. I searched every corner, but I still couldn't find it.

He is right.

There is indeed no such thing.

He's always right, it seems like he's never made a mistake, but why can't he make a mistake just once in this matter?

Even if he made a mistake, it won't help now that I've found it. The elixir of immortality can't bring people back to life, at least not in any books.

What about the medicine that can bring the dead back to life?

There probably aren't any.

Over the years, I have never heard of anyone coming back to life; even if someone did, it would only be a case of feigned death.

Much later, I saw on an object called a television that the dead came back to life only because they were in a state of suspended animation. This is why the body is kept for seven days to prevent such a situation from happening.

So is it still useful to think about these things now?

So what exactly are my feelings towards that guy surnamed Nie?

He is just a mortal, unlike me. I am a demon, and I have a long lifespan ahead of me. Why would I like him?

How could I possibly like him?

But deep down, a voice inside me was saying, "Maybe I should try it, try what it feels like to like someone."

Perhaps I've already tried it.

Back then, I knew very little. I just felt comfortable when I was with that person. Looking back now, I think that was love.

After he was discharged from the hospital, I would always visit him, but I didn't know what to say to him, so I would ask him some questions, the answers of which I might know, or I might not know.

No matter what the answer was, he would answer it for me very seriously. I just listened quietly, and suddenly, it felt like I was back in those days, and I saw him again.

Then I started to feel confused again. Did I like him, or did I like that he looked like him?

If it's the latter, wouldn't that be very unfair to him?

So later, whenever he brought up the topic of me liking him, I would always angrily retort, "It's clearly you who likes me!"

Because I haven't figured out the answer to that question yet, I can't admit it for the time being.

take it easy.

I'll figure it out someday.

But even when we became a couple, I still couldn't figure it out. I couldn't help but tell him, "I might just be using you as a substitute for someone else."

After saying those words, I felt inexplicably relieved.

“I know,” he said.

"Then...aren't you angry?"

To be honest, I don't understand. There was no anger on his face. If it were me, I would definitely be very angry and would beat him up again.

“I’m angry, but what can I do? I can’t beat you.” He smiled and said, “Besides, the chances of two people liking each other are very small, so small that they can be ignored. I’m also hard to be sure if I like you or if I just think that since we have to get married and live our lives eventually, it doesn’t matter who I live with.”

So, when it comes to liking something, we might not be entirely pure, so what right do I have to be angry?

Is that so?

I was a little stunned at the time, but my heart was filled with complicated emotions, a mix of feelings, but I wasn't angry at all. Just like he said, we might not be pure in our liking for this thing, so we have no right to be angry.

"Take your time."

Nie Xi spoke up, "I hope that one day we can all become pure, just like them."

I know who he's talking about: a pure human and a cat...demon that's anything but pure?

Is it a demon?

I'm not sure.

More likely, it's a human, or perhaps a cat-human?

But their affection for each other was pure.

But we are not pure.

I suddenly felt very envious of them.

But gradually I stopped envying them, because we seemed to have become more pure ourselves.

Getting married and having children—I never imagined I would experience these things one day, things that only ordinary people go through.

Newborn babies are very noisy and always need us to hold and soothe them, but I have never been impatient. Every time I look at this little baby, I feel very happy.

Whenever I look at him again, I rarely think of that person anymore, and I inexplicably feel that they don't seem to resemble each other anymore.

He is who he is, and he is simply himself.

What's the same is that I feel comfortable and at ease when I'm with him, and I also feel joy in my heart. I think this must be what it means to become pure.

As for him...

Although I never asked, I know he felt the same way; my gut feeling wouldn't be wrong.

........

I won't write these things anymore because I've discovered he's secretly reading them.

Oh, one more thing.

Does your leg not hurt anymore?

Creak...

There was a soft thud on the door. Nie Xi quickly closed the notebook and put it in the drawer before turning around to look.

"Spying again?" The door was half open, and Su Yu poked her head in with a playful look on her face.

"No." Nie Xi denied it without thinking, her hand unconsciously touching her leg. To be honest, seeing those words made her leg inexplicably hurt a little.

"Alright, hurry up and come out, that kid is here again."

"Which kid?"

"Who else could it be?"

"Chen Qi'an?"

"Yes, and I always felt that this kid had ulterior motives towards our Qingqiu."

Upon hearing this, Nie Xi's expression turned serious, and after a pause, she asked, "Is that so?"

"Anyway, you can try to probe him in a bit and see what he thinks."

I don't know what kids these days eat to grow up, they're all growing taller than each other in their teens.

Chen Qi'an, in particular, is perhaps because he has been fond of eating since he was a child. He is eighteen years old this year and has just finished the college entrance examination. He is nearly 1.9 meters tall and has developed too much.

"Hello, Uncle Nie!"

Upon seeing Nie Xi emerge, Chen Qi'an quickly greeted her, for this was his future father-in-law, and he had to maintain a good relationship with him.

"Ah."

Nie Xi responded, glanced at his daughter sitting next to him, and frowned involuntarily. Weren't these two sitting a little too close?

I always felt that this kid had ulterior motives towards our Qingqiu.

This sentence inexplicably popped into my mind again.

Although he had this feeling before, the two children were still young, and their parents had a long history together, so it was normal for the two children to play together.

But now he's eighteen. If we go back a hundred years or so, he would have had several children by now, and this kid is such a big one.

He is taller than many adults.

Looking at her daughter, who had grown into a beautiful young woman, Nie Xi suddenly felt wary and uneasy.

"What brings you here this time? Are you here to ask for advice again? Didn't you all finish the college entrance exam?"

He immediately launched into a three-question barrage.

"Oh, my dad said that we can't slack off after the college entrance exam. We still have to study. We can't have the idea that studying is just for getting into college and that we can relax after the exam. The pressure of studying in college might be even greater, so we can't let our guard down."