The words from A'Mu's mouth completely broke her.
The girl collapsed among the ruins, her eyes unfocused, yet she sent out a signal pleading for him to leave quickly instead of a cry for help...
In that world of violent rainstorms thousands of years ago, she and A'Mu met for the first time.
He had given up, but because of a single question from her, he regained the desire to live.
Just a few decades later, because of a few words from her, he fell into irreversible shadows of nothingness, completely losing all reason to live.
Why...
Why are they so similar?
The vanishing shadows once again covered half of Ms. Ruan Mei's face.
In the next instant, she slumped on the ground, clutching her head with both hands, feeling as if countless ants were gnawing inside.
Even though they both adopted children, A'Mu did a better job than she did as a teacher.
Countless times better...
He didn't destroy that child; instead, he gave her a wonderful future.
Now that Yelena has grown up, her heart belongs only to A'Mu.
When A'Mu grew up back then, his heart belonged to her as well.
But, but...
She had personally crushed that heart into fine powder.
"Hehehe... Hehehahahaha..."
Ruan Mei laughed softly at first, then louder and louder, appearing like a madwoman; no one had ever seen her like this.
As she laughed, tears welled up and overflowed, continuously dripping onto the floor.
Even when she learned of Qi Zhimu's death back then and discovered the truth of the past, she had never lost her composure like this.
Ruan Mei didn't hear a single word of what Qi Zhimu said afterward, or what Yelena said; she was trapped in the memories of the past, unable to pull herself away.
The regret, longing, and guilt accumulated over thousands of years shattered her rationality into pieces.
Suddenly, she drew a sharp blade and sliced a long, bloody gash across her wrist.
Fresh blood flowed freely.
Not enough... still not enough!
This bit of pain couldn't compare to a billionth of the pain A'Mu felt when his entire heart shattered back then!
Yelena bid farewell to Qi Zhimu and left, but Ruan Mei remained as if she hadn't heard, the bloody gashes on her forearm increasing.
It wasn't until the blood stained the hem of her clothes and the floor that the sharp blade finally fell weakly from her hand.
I want to be ravaged by A'Mu, I want it so, so, so, so, so much—!
I really want it...
Only by being treated in the crudest, least merciful way by A'Mu did she feel her heart could find a shred of comfort.
...
The next morning.
Ms. Herta lifted the hem of her formal dress and spun around in front of Qi Zhimu.
"How is it?"
Ms. Herta's eyes were shining, and the look of expectation on her face was so obvious.
Qi Zhimu immediately acted like a puppet that had activated its autonomous thinking mode and showered Ms. Herta with praise.
Though she usually found such sweet talk tiring, Ms. Herta found it so pleasant to the ear.
As expected, hearing a million words from those one doesn't care about isn't as good as hearing a single sentence from a lover.
"Dear, come here."
Ms. Herta wrapped her arms around Qi Zhimu's neck, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed his lips.
Two minutes passed before she let go, still wanting more, and brushed back a strand of hair.
"This genius is very satisfied with the farewell kiss. See you in three days."
"I'll wait for you to come back." Qi Zhimu smoothed out the wrinkles in her dress that had been pressed in during their intimacy.
Soon, Ms. Herta boarded the IPC ship and quickly disappeared into the sky.
Watching her leave, Qi Zhimu went to work as usual.
A few days ago, after reading the letter Topaz brought, Ms. Herta reached a cooperation agreement with the IPC.
This time, she was invited to visit their Technology Research and Development Department to exchange some technical knowledge.
Of course, 'exchange' was the polite term used for the IPC; in reality, 'guidance' would be more accurate.
When Qi Zhimu arrived at the Space Station, people could be heard discussing this everywhere; clearly, the news had spread early on.
Since Ms. Herta had reached a cooperation with the IPC, the entire interstellar civilization had heard of it. The staff members weren't surprised by Ms. Herta being invited out, treating it as casual conversation.
Not many people came for a consultation today.
During the lunch break, Qi Zhimu rarely didn't stay in the clinic to eat the standard meal, preparing to go home and make something better for himself.
Unexpectedly, he ran into Asta and Stelle on the way.
"What a coincidence, Lord Zhimu. Asta and I were just about to go eat. Want to join us?"
"Is it your treat?" Qi Zhimu smiled.
"It can be my treat today, and I'll let Asta treat me another day."
Stelle indicated it was no problem.
"Sigh, Ms. Herta is away on business. Testing the simulated universe today without her nagging feels a bit unusual."
"Aren't there still Screwllum, Stephen, and Ruan Mei?"
"...Allow me to correct you, only Mr. Screwllum is there." Stelle waved her hand.
Stephen?
He's even harder to find than Ruan Mei. At least finding Ruan Mei isn't difficult; you can occasionally encounter her slices in the simulated universe.
There's truly no information on Stephen at all. I've only heard Ms. Herta say that the kid really doesn't want to see people and likes to hide away to slack off.
Only Screwllum is diligent, testing the simulated universe every day, 100% present.
Stelle finally understood why many people say there aren't many normal people in the Genius Society.
The most normal one isn't a person, but an inorganic lifeform.
She believed that if she said this in front of Ms. Herta, Ms. Herta wouldn't have the slightest objection and would actually quite agree.
"Not surprising."
"Not surprising."
Qi Zhimu and Asta spoke in unison, smiling with deep mutual understanding.
"Oh, by the way, Lord Zhimu, didn't you have a key hanging from your waist? Why do I only see the jade pendant and sachet now?"
"The key is hanging here." Qi Zhimu lifted the necklace hidden under his collar.
"Doesn't it feel uncomfortable?"
"It's a minor issue." Qi Zhimu laughed.
Amidst their lighthearted conversation, the three arrived at the restaurant.
Stelle said it was her treat, but when they arrived, she realized this place was specifically for distinguished guests. Ordinary staff members couldn't set foot here; usually, only Asta came.
Pulling up the menu screen, Stelle scrolled down for several minutes without reaching the bottom, unable to help but comment on how rich Asta was.
As expected of someone who could casually say she'd give away a Star Destroyer.
The price of those things didn't even need thinking about; it definitely started in the hundreds of millions.
None of the various delicacies had prices listed, but just looking at the names of many dishes, one knew the ingredients were absolutely precious.
"Order whatever you want. Anyway, usually only I come here," Asta smiled.
"And when it's not 'usually'?"
"Ms. Herta, but her original body has only been here three times."
"...Three times a year?" Stelle asked again.
"Since I became the Space Station's station master, only three times total."
"My bad, I forgot she doesn't care much about the Space Station."
Speaking of this, Stelle suddenly looked at Qi Zhimu and couldn't help but tease him.
"If Lord Zhimu weren't here, her original body probably would have left the Azure Star long ago."
"Agreed."
Asta nodded.
Although she didn't know how good their relationship was, judging from Qi Zhimu's expression and aura, they must be incredibly in love.
She didn't dwell on this topic; as an employee, she shouldn't casually gossip about her boss's family.
"Stelle, have you encountered anything interesting while testing the simulated universe lately?"
"Killing everything in sight in there is pretty fun, especially after meeting Ruan Mei's slices. It's just a pity that the real me doesn't have such powerful strength at all."
Stelle felt a bit regretful.
"Ms. Ruan Mei's slices?" Asta was startled.
Stelle: "Yeah, I don't know how the slices were implanted into the simulated universe, I just know she gives me rewards and raises my limits within the simulated universe."
"Once I encountered that wretched Aha, who directly drained my health bar. Fortunately, Ruan Mei gave me a blessing, so I could take down that massive swarm of bugs."
"As long as the testing is pleasant."
Suddenly, Ruan Mei's familiar voice rang out.
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