Chapter 28
Returning to the bamboo house and entering Tomomu Kanzaki's research room, Yu Qingtu took a quick look around and discovered that all the equipment's data had been completely wiped.
Her fingertip hovered over the control panel for a moment, but in the end she chose not to restore anything.
Stepping into the inner folding space and seeing some of the things inside, she felt a heavy tightness in her chest.
The Tomomu Kanzaki who had been on the verge of dying of old age must have lain on the cremation platform, waiting alone for the end of his life to arrive.
Perhaps… only that orange cat had stayed with him until the very last moment and seen him off.
Exiting the folding space, Yu Qingtu unconsciously walked into the wine cellar.
Seeing dozens of wine jars neatly arranged in the corner, she frowned in confusion. She stepped forward, opened the seal on one of them, and took a sniff.
The fragrance of wine drifted out, carrying the distinctive scent of plum blossoms.
One-year brew… it was definitely one-year plum blossom brew!
Tomomu Kanzaki's plum blossom brews came in 1- to 6-year varieties, and she had tasted every one. Each had its own distinct flavor, and she remembered them clearly.
But he had already been gone for twenty years. Where had this one-year brew come from?
Could it be…
Yu Qingtu thought of the mechanical doll Tomomu Kanzaki had created and remembered something it had said.
Powered by Tomomu Kanzaki's memories…
So the doll had been following its master's final instructions, brewing wine year after year on his behalf, and in the end…
Sending it to Ruan Mei?
Everything suddenly made sense.
A spark of jealousy flared up in Yu Qingtu's heart. Her jaw tightened unconsciously.
"You little rascal… even after you died, you were still thinking about her. But did she ever—"
She cut herself off before the rest of the words could slip out, letting out a helpless sigh instead.
Fool. Idiot.
She turned and left the bamboo house, heading toward Ruan Mei's residence.
The entire manor was spotless. Even under the trees in the courtyard, not a single fallen leaf could be seen beneath the thin layer of snow.
Yu Qingtu's brow twitched.
So this was what "powered by Tomomu Kanzaki's memories" really meant…
All the pieces fell into place. The urge to smash the mechanical doll to pieces surged up, but she quickly calmed herself.
Even if she destroyed the doll, nothing would change.
The little guy wouldn't have wanted her to do that anyway. After all, Ruan Mei was the teacher and the person he respected most.
She was also the person buried deepest in his heart, perhaps even he himself had never fully realized how deeply he had loved her.
"I want to see whether you can stay this calm once you learn the truth, Ruan…"
If her friend truly felt nothing, then so be it.
But if she did feel something, then Tomomu Kanzaki's death and everything he had left behind would be enough to drag her into the abyss and make her taste every bitter fruit she had sown.
"You've been watching for so long. It's about time you showed yourself." Yu Qingtu turned her head, her gaze landing directly on the shadow beside a corridor pillar.
"Lady Yu Qingtu, I mean you no harm…"
A figure in a deep purple long dress slowly emerged, lifting the hem of her skirt with both hands and giving an elegant curtsy.
"My name is Black Swan, a Memokeeper of the Garden of Recollection."
"What was he to you?" Yu Qingtu asked, uninterested in her background.
"Twenty-five years ago, I was a relative of one of Mr. Kanzaki's patients and his friend."
"Twenty years ago, I was the person who stayed with him until the very end, the one who loved him deeply."
"Now, I am the one who carries the majority of his memories, who has sworn to remember him till the end of time, and who will protect him."
Black Swan answered calmly and without hesitation.
Only then did Yu Qingtu narrow her eyes and truly look at the other woman.
"Lady Yu Qingtu, I believe that to Mr. Kanzaki, you were the second most important person in his heart. Therefore, there is no need for you to feel… hostility toward me."
"You can just say jealousy. No need to beat around the bush, Memokeeper."
"My apologies." Black Swan did not deny it.
"Tell me… what were his last few days like before he left this world?"
"Please see for yourself."
Black Swan lightly tapped her forehead. A glowing light formed at her fingertip and quickly condensed into a memory bubble, floating toward Yu Qingtu.
To this Genius before her, she actually had very little to say.
If she had not sensed Yu Qingtu's true feelings toward Tomomu Kanzaki, she would not have approached her on her own.
Yu Qingtu accepted the memory bubble without hesitation.
With her ability, she had no fear that Black Swan would try any tricks.
As the scenes from the memory bubble unfolded before her eyes, Yu Qingtu fell silent for a long time.
Only after a good while did she regain her composure, her expression complicated.
"No matter what, thank you for staying with him until the very end of his life, Miss Black Swan."
Learning that Tomomu Kanzaki had passed away peacefully and had not died alone brought her some small comfort amid the heavy pain.
She also acknowledged Black Swan's feelings for Tomomu Kanzaki and her right to hold onto those memories.
Black Swan shook her head gently and dropped a heavy piece of information in a soft voice.
"Within Mr. Kanzaki's memories, there are some special events concerning him and Lady Ruan Mei."
"As someone Mr. Kanzaki respected as a senior and as Lady Ruan Mei's close friend, you may have the right to know. If you have no interest, I will not force it."
"Oh?"
Yu Qingtu's gaze sharpened. Special events between Tomomu Kanzaki and Ruan Mei?
Could it be the same matter from back then... The one that had always felt off to her…?
"Give me all of his memories… No, never mind. I only want the full context of that particular event."
Yu Qingtu had originally wanted all of Tomomu Kanzaki's memories, but on second thought, what right does she have to claim them.
She might be the second most important person in his life, but that was only because she had known him for a long time.
If they were being honest, she didn't even compare to the woman standing in front of her.
In the final days of Tomomu Kanzaki's life, the things Black Swan had done for him and the way she had accompanied him which Yu Qingtu had seen all of it through the memory bubble.
If the memories had been fabricated, there was no way it could have fooled her.
Black Swan produced another temporary memory bubble but did not hand it over immediately.
"Lady Yu Qingtu, the pain contained in this memory ran through Mr. Kanzaki's entire life…"
"I had originally planned to bury it forever. The reason I am willing to show it to you is very simple—"
Black Swan's tone grew firm and serious as she added:
"In my heart, Mr. Kanzaki was perfect. In that memory, he was never the one at fault."
"You're standing up for him?" Yu Qingtu sounded surprised.
"Exactly."
With that, Black Swan released the memory bubble.
Yu Qingtu nodded silently and prepared herself.
Even so, when she learned the full truth of that past event, the shock left her speechless.
"Ruan… you will regret this."
Yu Qingtu murmured to herself as the memory bubble in her hand faded away.
When she looked at Black Swan again, there was a trace of genuine goodwill in her eyes.
If not for her, this piece of the past might have been buried forever in the river of memories along with Tomomu Kanzaki's death, never to be touched again.
"I know what you want me to do, but unfortunately, I cannot do it." Yu Qingtu sighed.
"I understand. I simply did not want the Tomomu Kanzaki in Lady Yu Qingtu's heart to be stained with anything he did not deserve."
Black Swan bowed gracefully, her figure gradually fading into the light and shadow.
"Then, farewell."
Yu Qingtu returned to the bamboo house. Looking at the empty, silent rooms, she let out a long, heavy sigh.
From this day on, she would live here.
Until the moment she personally witnessed a certain person's regret.
From this day on, Yu Qingtu never visited Ruan Mei again.
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T/N: I feel sorry for Yu Qingtu, let me comfort you~
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