The three of them looked toward the sound, only to see a figure of graceful temperament, as elegant as a painting, standing quietly behind them at some unknown moment.
"Ms. ... Ms. Ruan Mei..."
Upon seeing the newcomer's face, even Stelle and Asta, who were also women, could not hide the look of amazement in their eyes.
Today, Ruan Mei was wearing an improved, form-fitting cheongsam, with a shoulder-baring blouse on top, the neckline and edges trimmed with delicate hollow lace, revealing skin as delicate as porcelain.
The sleeves and front were adorned with dots of pink and white plum blossoms, while from the waist down was a lake-blue satin skirt, forming a sharp visual contrast with the upper body.
The curves of her waist rose to meet the heavy, protruding fullness above, creating a stunning sight.
Her long, dark brown hair was loosely tied into a half-bun, with a few strands of teal-dyed hair hanging by her neck, echoing her deep eye color.
Below the perfect waist-to-hip ratio were a pair of flawless, rounded long legs, decorated only by a single pearl leg garter.
A temperament as gentle as water rushed toward them; as her beautiful eyes glanced around, she was incredibly captivating.
Asta was somewhat stunned, never expecting this reclusive genius to appear here.
Since appearing, Ruan Mei's gaze had been falling vaguely on Qi Zhimu, observing his every subtle reaction.
Seeing that his expression remained normal and calm, a trace of disappointment flashed in her heart, but it vanished in an instant.
Her elaborate dressing only earned the amazement of the two young women and failed to stir any ripples in the man's eyes, yet Ruan Mei was not discouraged, her tone remaining as usual.
"May I sit here?"
Qi Zhimu and the other two had chosen a four-person square table, with Stelle and Asta sitting opposite each other; the position Ruan Mei pointed to was self-evident.
"Of course you can." Asta stood up politely and gestured for her to sit.
"Thank you."
Ruan Mei sat gracefully opposite Qi Zhimu, her full curves fitting snugly against the chair, pressing out an alluring arc.
Asta respectfully handed over the menu, but the former politely declined.
"There is no need to worry about my tastes. I had originally invited the other two geniuses to come, but as I neared this place, they happened to have important matters to attend to."
Ruan Mei said this seamless lie with a calm expression.
Invite Screwllum and Stephen?
It was all fabricated.
It was merely to lower Qi Zhimu's guard, using the pretext of coincidence to approach him in a justified manner.
"I had originally prepared these pastries, but I cannot finish them alone. Let me share them with you; I hope they are to your taste."
Ruan Mei brushed her hand lightly across the table, and several plates of exquisitely shaped pastries, emitting a refreshing fragrance, were neatly arranged.
"This is Steamed Sugar Cream Cheese, with a soft texture, a light fragrance, and a rich taste."
"Lotus Root Starch and Osmanthus Sugar Cake. Old lotus roots are sliced, soaked in water for three days, crushed to extract the juice, then filtered, poured into water, and heated over a steady stove to obtain lotus root starch."
Speaking to this point, Ruan Mei deliberately glanced at the three of them, her gaze finally fixing on Qi Zhimu's face.
"Then, mix the lotus root starch with flour, white sugar, osmanthus, and 'Lover's Whisper,' then let it solidify. If you don't have 'Lover's Whisper,' you can use white sugar instead."
"I often ate this when I was young, but authentic versions are rare now. I once taught a student how to make it, but unfortunately, I have to do it myself now."
Seeing that Qi Zhimu was still completely unresponsive, Ruan Mei bit her lower lip slightly, a flash of sadness crossing her eyes.
She did not hide it, and everyone present could feel the emotions she was releasing.
Asta lowered her voice unconsciously.
"Ms. Ruan Mei, when mentioning that student, your tone seems very sorrowful. May I ask, what happened?"
"Because of an experiment, I lost him."
Ruan Mei answered softly, then closed her eyes and shook her head slightly, changing the subject calmly.
"Let's not talk about the past for now. Try them; if the pastries get cold, the flavor will be greatly diminished."
She introduced the names and methods of the remaining pastries one by one, but unfortunately, she still did not see what she wanted to see.
The reason she did this intentionally was that these pastries were all things she had taught Qi Zhimu personally back then.
The student had lived up to expectations, not only mastering the essence in a very short time but even surpassing the master.
Since these pastries, identical in appearance and preparation to those from the past, could not trigger Qi Zhimu's memories, only two hopes remained.
The first was the expectation that the familiar taste might touch the memories deep in his soul.
Second... she had referred to the Past-Life Dream-Returning Needle used by the Xianzhou Alliance on the Vidyadhara.
After improvements and hundreds of clinical trials, she had injected a drug capable of inducing memory tracing into these pastries.
Furthermore, the drug's effect was only targeted at Qi Zhimu and did not affect women, so there was no need to worry about Asta or Stelle having any issues.
Whether it was the first or the second, she hoped he would remember the past.
For this, Ruan Mei had thought deeply and struggled for a long time.
Not long ago, she felt happy because of Qi Zhimu's forgetting, but as time passed, that happiness evolved into endless internal conflict and guilt.
She was escaping, escaping the harm she had once inflicted on A'Mu.
This is not fair to A'Mu!
Even if Yu Qingtu and Black Swan were reunited with him, and even if they wanted the best for A'Mu and would not tell him about that cruel past.
But if one day, what if that day came, and A'Mu suddenly remembered everything?
At that time, how would he view her as his teacher?
The result would most likely be this—
The teacher is a selfish and cowardly person who only knows how to bury her head in the sand like an ostrich, pretending not to see the past, and is simply not worth loving.
Absolutely not!
She did not want to, nor did she dare to, face such a future.
She could not continue to be selfish.
If she had to choose between A'Mu remembering the beautiful past or experiencing heartache, she would rather it be heartache!
She wanted A'Mu to forgive his teacher, regardless of the price she had to pay or the punishment she had to endure to obtain that forgiveness.
Whether it was being beaten, scolded, or even being used as a plaything to be destroyed, pouring his darkest desires inside her, it didn't matter.
She would accept it all.
Since she had once pushed him into the darkness, then it was only right for her to bear his darkness.
As long as A'Mu was still willing to acknowledge her as his teacher, as long as A'Mu forgave her, as long as that was the case, it would be enough...
The name Black Swan served as a deep warning to her.
Events that were considered extremely low probability or even impossible often arrived at unexpected times.
Thousands of years ago, she had suffered this loss and completely lost her student.
Now that she had reunited with A'Mu, she must never forget the lesson and repeat the same mistake.
The above was the true reason for making these pastries and heading straight to Qi Zhimu today.
She had to face her own faults.
It wasn't that Ruan Mei hadn't thought about directly returning the memories of that lifetime to Qi Zhimu.
No need for implantation; just watching it like a movie would suffice.
But this method would never be as profound as having the person remember it on their own.
According to her judgment, Qi Zhimu's state of forgetting the past could not be recalled just by looking at memories.
The biggest... culprit was right in front of him; if he could remember, he would have done so long ago. What need was there for those memories?
She had to start from his previous life.
But in reality, Ruan Mei was not entirely certain.
The Vidyadhara could recall their past lives after being injected with the Past-Life Dream-Returning Needle because they used the same body for their molting reincarnation.
But Qi Zhimu was human. After he died, Black Swan had personally cremated his remains and buried them under the old plum tree.
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