Her parents failed to keep their promise to her grandmother—that was betrayal.
And she failed to keep her promise to protect them—that was betrayal too.
Only science… would not betray.
Yu Qingtu listened to that line, brows knitting.
She couldn't judge this "love"—reviving dead parents by one's own hand.
But she also wouldn't claim the right to judge without living it.
"What exactly did Qi Zhimu say and do back then?"
She didn't call him "little one" anymore. She said his full name—her seriousness obvious.
"He deleted my research data without permission, and four times tried to persuade me to stop," Ruan Mei said, as calmly as if describing a trivial matter.
She raised a hand. A screen appeared.
On it, Qi Zhimu's brows were drawn tight.
"Teacher, this is taboo research that desecrates life—and desecrates your parents as well!"
"Even if you succeed, you could lose yourself and lose many things!"
"Some Pandora's boxes… must never be opened."
Ruan Mei tapped the screen and froze it on his expression.
She looked at Yu Qingtu and blinked once, face blank—the meaning clear.
"Ruan, short-lived and long-lived species think differently," Yu Qingtu said. She could understand why Qi Zhimu did it.
And she admitted he wasn't wrong.
As a genius, she understood one truth better than anyone—
When you gain something, you also lose something important.
"What you call love for your family—what does that mean to you?" Yu Qingtu asked quickly, before Ruan Mei could speak.
Ruan Mei's gaze remained on the frozen face, mind drifting far away.
When she was small, she could already sense that love had different shapes—and different scents.
Her grandmother, hair silver, loved the lilting, ancient operas.
Her father loved thick, furry boots.
Her mother and father loved each other—though they often argued.
And she had loved, above all, the delicious pastries her mother rewarded her with after each successful field exam.
Aunt Arliss felt closer to her than most elders; she bought her extra sweets. Aunt Arliss's love was the best.
So everyone's love differed. There were layers.
For Ruan Mei, keeping promises—doing what you said you'd do—was the least betraying form of love.
But her parents broke their promise. Her grandmother vanished.
She broke her promise too—she couldn't protect them.
Her parents were trapped in desperation during an expedition, never returning.
She could only watch everything she loved slip through her fingers, powerless.
Reaching out, she could grasp nothing.
Yu Qingtu, seeing her silence, sighed inwardly and didn't force it.
A person's past reshaped them deeply.
Without living it, no one had the right to judge.
Qi Zhimu's intention was good—but he had stepped into precisely that taboo.
His idea of love and Ruan Mei's idea of love were fundamentally different.
"Forget I asked. But wasn't your punishment… too harsh?" Yu Qingtu changed the subject.
"With your mind, even without backups, your data should be engraved in memory. Deleting it wouldn't truly harm your work."
"Sending him away wasn't punishment," Ruan Mei said evenly.
"A-Mu's illness was cured. As his teacher, I taught him everything I needed to. I owe him nothing."
"Before his illness was cured, he never complained about being my experiment subject. After it was cured, for decades he cared for my daily life without change. He owes me nothing."
"Our principles differ. Separating is better for both. Neither of us is dependent on the other. From then on, we're even."
"Even? Then what is that?"
Yu Qingtu pointed toward the thing walking over with a plate of pastries.
It looked like Qi Zhimu—his build, his clothes, even his face.
But no matter how perfect the mimicry, it was a soulless substitute.
Now Yu Qingtu understood why one of Ruan Mei's earlier lines had felt strange.
"Fresh pastries in ten minutes," she'd said.
No wonder she could leisurely soak in a bath—she had built a "stand-in" to handle everything.
And that stand-in clearly possessed Qi Zhimu's skills, or Ruan Mei would never tolerate it.
"You drove the real one away, and then you built a replacement based on him. And you call that 'neither of us needs the other'?"
"I need to finish my research sooner. This saves unnecessary time."
Ruan Mei's explanation was soft—and she didn't deny Qi Zhimu's value.
"I admit A-Mu is an excellent student. But I only need the rule-abiding version of him."
"You…" Yu Qingtu paused, then waved it off.
Instinct told her Ruan Mei was stubbornly refusing to name her own feelings.
If this were truly only about "saving time," why make the tool look like Qi Zhimu at all?
It was her subconscious choosing that form.
Unless Ruan Mei genuinely didn't realize what she felt—if she felt anything at all.
"If sending him away wasn't punishment, then what was? You said you punished him. There has to be a reason."
Yu Qingtu's words landed.
She caught it immediately—Ruan Mei's emotion shifted, just barely.
So slight it would be missed by anyone less sharp.
For someone as stone-faced as Ruan Mei to show that change meant the matter was heavier than the research dispute.
Ruan Mei stayed silent longer than ever.
"Not convenient to tell me?" Yu Qingtu refused to let it go.
With her friend clearly determined, Ruan Mei answered, expression blank.
"A-Mu went too far."
"How far?"
"When A-Mu was eighteen—on my birthday—he touched my foot."
At the time, she had never imagined he would do such a thing. Her mind had stalled.
Her first reaction wasn't anger, but… that it was improper.
"…Touching a foot is—wait—"
Yu Qingtu started to dismiss it, then widened her eyes.
"Don't tell me you still rigidly follow that ancient, outdated 'only a lover may touch a woman's feet' feudal nonsense?"
"No."
Ruan Mei denied it at once.
"A reward follows what is done right. A punishment follows what is done wrong."
"I am A-Mu's teacher. His behavior crossed the teacher-student boundary. It was wrong and needed correction."
"Considering I never taught him about male-female physiology, or proper etiquette between teacher and student, I punished him, and then the matter was settled."
"How did you punish him?" Yu Qingtu pressed.
"Five days of confinement. Medication supply cut off during that time."
"So that's it…" Yu Qingtu sank into thought.
Yet something still felt strange.
In matters of attraction, most men learned without being taught—especially with so many ways to acquire such knowledge.
Even if Ruan Mei never taught him, understanding boundaries wasn't difficult.
And with that kid's temperament… he didn't seem like the sort to get bold with lust and overstep.
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