For parents to fail to keep their promise with Grandmother that was a betrayal.
And for her to fail to fulfill her vow to protect her parents that too was a betrayal.
Only science…
would never betray.
Yu Qingtu listened to Ruan Mei’s words, her slender brows furrowed imperceptibly.
This kind of love — wanting to resurrect her deceased parents in her own way — she found difficult to judge.
“What did Qi Zhimu say at the time, and what did he do?” Not even calling him “little one” anymore, but addressing him by full name — it showed just how serious Yu Qingtu was.
“He deleted my research data without permission and advised me four times to stop my research.” Ruan Mei lowered her gaze slightly, her tone as steady as if she were narrating a trivial matter.
She raised her pale hand and swept it before her, pulling up a holographic screen out of thin air.
“Teacher, this is forbidden research — a desecration of life itself, and a desecration of your parents as well!” “Even if you ultimately succeed, it would be easy to lose your true self because of it, and to lose many things!” “Some Pandora’s boxes…
must never be opened.” Ruan Mei lightly tapped the screen with her slender finger, freezing the frame on Qi Zhimu’s deeply furrowed brow.
She looked at Yu Qingtu and blinked her eyes indifferently — the meaning self-evident.
“Ah Ruan, short-lived species and long-lived species don’t think the same way.” Yu Qingtu could somewhat understand why Qi Zhimu had done what he did.
She also admitted that his advice was not without merit.
As a genius, no one understood better than her a certain truth — When you gain certain things, you also lose some things of equal importance.
“The love for family that you understand — what is it like?” Without waiting for Ruan Mei to speak, Yu Qingtu quickly posed another question.
Ruan Mei gazed at the face frozen on the screen, her thoughts drifting far away.
When she was very young, she could already perceive the subtle differences in love, as well as its various scents.
Grandmother had silver-white hair and loved listening to that singing opera.
Father loved wearing his fuzzy, large leather boots.
Mother and Father loved each other, even though they often argued.
And as for herself, she cherished the delicious pastries Mother would reward her with whenever she returned home from an expedition.
Aunt Arliss was even closer to her than an elder should be — she would buy her extra treats.
Auntie’s love was the best kind.
Thus, every person’s love was different, with different levels.
For her, to keep a promise — to do what one said one would do — was the kind of love that would never betray.
But her parents had broken their promise.
Grandmother had vanished without a trace.
And she too had broken her promise, failing to protect her parents.
Her parents had fallen into a desperate situation during an expedition and never returned.
She could only watch helplessly as everything she loved slipped through her fingers, powerless to stop it.
She reached out to grasp it, but could hold onto nothing.
Seeing Ruan Mei remained silent, Yu Qingtu sighed inwardly and did not press the matter to the end.
A person’s experiences profoundly shape who they become.
Without having lived through it alone, one has no right to judge.
Qi Zhimu’s intentions were good, but that was precisely the taboo he had violated.
The love as he understood it and the love as Ruan Mei understood it were fundamentally different.
“Pretend I never asked.
But…
is your punishment of him too severe?” Yu Qingtu changed the subject.
“With your intellect, even without a backup of the data, it should be deeply imprinted in your memory.
His deletion had no practical effect.” “Making him leave was not the punishment.” Ruan Mei’s tone remained flat, very calm.
“A Mu’s illness was already cured.
As his teacher, I taught him everything I needed to teach.
I owe him nothing.” “Before his illness was cured, he never complained about being my experimental subject.
After he recovered, he tended to my daily needs for decades without fail.
He owes me nothing either.” “Different philosophies, so parting ways is best for both of us.
Neither of us is indispensable to the other.
From then on, we are even.” “Even?
Then what is that?” Yu Qingtu straightened her arm and pointed at the…
thing walking toward them carrying pastries.
Very familiar — bearing Qi Zhimu’s build, his clothing, even his face.
But no matter how lifelike, it was a soulless counterfeit.
Yu Qingtu had already realized something.
Now she understood why one of Ruan Mei’s earlier remarks had been so puzzling.
“Fresh pastries will be out in ten minutes.” She hadn’t thought much of it at the time.
Only now did she understand — no wonder Ruan Mei had been so leisurely accompanying her in the hot spring.
She had created a “replica” to handle everything.
If her guess was correct, this replica possessed the same skills as the original Qi Zhimu.
Otherwise, given Ruan Mei’s pickiness, she would not have created it.
“You drive the little one away, yet turn around and make a stand-in modeled after him.
This is what you call ‘neither of us is indispensable to the other’?” “I need to complete my research sooner.
Doing this saves a great deal of unnecessary time.” Ruan Mei explained softly, yet she did not deny Qi Zhimu’s value either.
“I admit, A Mu was a very good student.
But I only need him when he follows the rules.” “You…
forget it.” Instinct told Yu Qingtu that Ruan Mei was stubbornly refusing to admit the truth.
If it was merely about saving time, why make the “tool” responsible for daily chores look like Qi Zhimu?
Clearly, her subconscious was driving her to do so.
But on second thought, this was simply Ruan Mei’s nature.
It was entirely possible she hadn’t even realized her true feelings for Qi Zhimu.
— If those true feelings even existed.
“If making the little one leave wasn’t the punishment, then what was?
You mentioned earlier that you punished him.
There must have been a reason.” …Hmm?
The moment her words fell, Yu Qingtu keenly noticed — for the first time, Ruan Mei’s emotions showed a fluctuation.
Very subtle, easy to overlook if one wasn’t paying attention.
For someone who usually kept such a straight face to show that expression — it wasn’t easy.
It seemed this matter was more serious than stopping her research.
Ruan Mei’s silence stretched on longer than ever.
“Not convenient to tell me?” Yu Qingtu had no intention of letting her off this time.
Sensing that her friend was determined to press the matter to the end, Ruan Mei spoke without expression.
“A Mu was too disrespectful.” “Disrespectful how?” “The year A Mu turned eighteen, on my birthday, he touched my foot.” At the time, she had never imagined Qi Zhimu would suddenly do such a thing.
Her consciousness had briefly short-circuited.
When she came back to her senses, her first reaction was not anger, but that it was inappropriate.
“…Touched a foot?
Wait —” Yu Qingtu initially thought nothing of it, but soon her eyes widened.
“Please don’t tell me you rigidly follow that outdated, archaic, tens-of-thousands-of-years-old feudal mindset that a woman’s lotus feet can only be touched by her partner?” “No.” Ruan Mei denied it immediately.
“Doing things well earns rewards.
Doing wrong naturally earns punishment.” “I am A Mu’s teacher.
His actions overstepped the teacher-student relationship.
It was wrong and needed correction.” “Considering that I had never taught him anything about male-female physiology or the proper etiquette between teacher and student, after the punishment was carried out, the matter was done.” “How did you punish him?” Yu Qingtu pressed.
“Five days of confinement, during which his medication supply was cut off.” “I see…” Yu Qingtu fell into thought.
But she still found it somewhat strange.
When it came to matters between men and women, most men could figure things out on their own — and there were so many ways to acquire relevant knowledge.
Even if Ruan Mei didn’t teach, understanding that men and women were different wasn’t difficult.
Moreover, given that little one’s temperament, he really didn’t seem like someone who would have the audacity to disrespect his superior.