Yu Qingtu decided not to dwell on it for now.
Ruan Mei only stated facts and never spoke about details—fine. Next time, she could just go ask Qi Zhimu.
As for right now…
"Have that thing leave. Standing there makes me uncomfortable."
Yu Qingtu didn't bother hiding the disgust in her eyes toward the counterfeit Qi Zhimu Ruan Mei had made.
So what if the face was identical? It was a thing without a soul.
"It isn't alive. It's a doll," Ruan Mei said.
"If the kid himself were here, I wouldn't chase him off. Let's be blunt: making this kind of thing is an insult to your own student."
Yu Qingtu's delicate brows knitted; her expression darkened.
"Think about it—if the kid made a doll that looked exactly like you, programmed it with the behavior logic he likes most, and kept it by his side all day, how would you feel?"
"That wouldn't be me," Ruan Mei replied evenly. "So I wouldn't feel anything."
She said that, yet after taking the pastries from the doll's hands, she still dismissed it.
Yu Qingtu stared at her for a long while, trying to find even a trace of saying one thing while meaning another—or stubborn pride.
She found nothing.
Fine.
Qi Zhimu had said not long ago that he had never felt any romantic affection toward Ruan Mei—not even for a moment.
He'd answered without hesitation, without a hint of fabrication.
And yet Yu Qingtu's genius intuition insisted: something was off.
She just couldn't put her finger on what, not yet.
What Ruan Mei was saying right now felt exactly the same as what Qi Zhimu had said back then.
A maddening teacher and student pair.
In those old-fashioned tragic romance novels, they'd be a "doomed lovers" archetype, guaranteed.
"Then I'll tell the kid you made a stand-in for him, okay?"
"Suit yourself," Ruan Mei said, utterly indifferent.
"You're hopeless."
Yu Qingtu rolled her eyes. Her chest rose and fell slightly as she snatched the entire plate of pastries away.
She grabbed a piece, bit into it—and after barely chewing twice, spat it out to the side.
She didn't explain. She just stared at Ruan Mei.
Ruan Mei looked baffled. Thinking there must be something wrong with the pastry, she took one and tried it herself.
It seemed fine.
Then why had Yu Qingtu spat hers out?
"If you're dissatisfied, you can say so directly, Qingtu."
"Ruan… you've got a real problem right now. I don't even know what word fits you anymore, do you understand?"
"What problem?"
"That thing has the kid's technique, sure—but I didn't expect it to be at a level from who knows how long ago!"
Yu Qingtu's usual classical composure was gone; her tone carried rare disbelief.
"Eighty years? Ninety? A hundred? Did you make this counterfeit only days after you drove him away?"
Yu Qingtu remembered that visit to Ruan Mei decades ago—Ruan Mei had been stepping out of her lab just like she did today.
The difference was that Yu Qingtu had been pressed for time then. She'd dropped off rare research materials and left.
So she hadn't known Ruan Mei had made a counterfeit Qi Zhimu.
And now—
Over a century ago, Qi Zhimu had still been a shy, sunny big boy, the type who would work for years just because someone casually said something in passing.
He'd respectfully presented her with a tray of pastries—beautiful, fragrant, meticulously arranged—his face carrying a mix of anticipation and nervousness, asking her to taste and comment.
To be honest, the pastries he made that year hadn't been enough to truly satisfy her picky palate.
But the boy's smile, and his earnestness that never wavered for years… those moved her far more than the pastries did.
So she forced a pleased expression and promised that one day, she would unconditionally help him accomplish one thing.
From that year on, Qi Zhimu's skill never regressed. It only improved, until he completely conquered even her demanding taste.
Whether long-lived or short-lived, all humans have limits—and people differ wildly.
There are many things that remain futile no matter how hard you try; you can spend your whole life chasing them and never see the end.
But if you don't even possess the courage to step onto the road, then the future loses all possibility.
Knowing something seems impossible, yet still doing it—acting anyway, improving day by day, and eventually turning the impossible into the possible.
That was why Qi Zhimu, despite being an ordinary short-lived type with nothing especially remarkable about him, pleased her so much.
Over these years, the pastries he made had kept getting better.
Why?
Because the kid's teacher liked them.
So he never stopped refining his craft.
Even if it annoyed her, Yu Qingtu had to admit it: tailoring the flavor to her tastes was only a byproduct.
People change. Palates change too.
After years of being spoiled by the kid, the trash served by the counterfeit was an insult to her taste buds.
Compared to the pastries the kid had served her recently, the gap couldn't be described even as fireflies versus the moon.
And Ruan Mei had been eating this stuff—
For over a hundred years?
In an instant, Yu Qingtu both envied her friend's place in Qi Zhimu's heart, and pitied her friend.
And she also felt it wasn't worth it for Qi Zhimu.
So this is the teacher you respect as a second set of parents, kid…
Thinking that far, Yu Qingtu could only sigh inwardly. There was nothing she could do.
Cause and effect. No matter what Ruan Mei had become, she was still the one who had saved Qi Zhimu.
Yu Qingtu had no right—and no qualification—to condemn her. The current situation was the teacher and student's own choice.
When she saw Ruan Mei lower her gaze, as if silently admitting it, Yu Qingtu lost the desire to stay here and relax.
She took out a small cloth pouch and tossed it to Ruan Mei.
"All the experimental materials you wanted are inside. And the ten jars of plum blossom brew Qi Zhimu sends you every year are in there too—I brought them along."
"For the next while, I'm going to pick a fight with Genius Society #64. Don't contact me until I'm done."
"Thank you. Safe travels," Ruan Mei said with a faint nod, making no perfunctory attempt to keep her.
Yu Qingtu left the bath pool. Her clothes automatically manifested, covering her alluring silhouette.
At the doorway, she paused and added—without turning back:
"Remember to keep a regular schedule. Sleep properly. Eat on time."
"That idiot begged me to tell you. Might as well say it now. All those times I reminded you before—it was only because he asked."
"Ruan—as a friend, one extra piece of advice: don't keep doing things that might make the future you regret."
"That's all. See you next time."
Ruan Mei stayed silent for a long moment, staring at the petals floating on the water.
A gentle, jade-like face—wearing a soft, warm smile—slowly formed on the surface, woven from water itself.
Her awareness wavered for only an instant, and the face vanished without a trace.
"…"
She rose from the water, droplets sliding down her skin and splashing faint ripples.
"I didn't do anything wrong," she murmured softly, wrapping herself in a white towel and walking toward the lab. "So how could I regret it?"
When she achieved her research results, she would consider meeting her student once.
For now, time remained better spent on research.
After all, she had promised Ah Mu—
No meeting until the research was finished.
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
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