He Qian-shan didn't give up searching for Wu Peng-peng.
Every day, he would visit all the places they had been to before, and then walk back home alone, sitting in her room for the whole night.
Sometimes when he was extremely sleepy, he would just lie on her bedside for a short nap.
He slept restlessly and was often awakened suddenly. Staring at the direction where she used to be, his misty eyes were filled with deep attachment and tenderness.
Wu Peng-peng stared back at him through the void. Just as she was about to step forward and hug him, the tenderness in his eyes instantly turned into desolate ashes. He looked so miserable and pitiful.
Wu Peng-peng was suddenly engulfed by the familiar pain. She subconsciously covered her chest with her hands.
She had chosen to say goodbye at Wangchuan Villa because she was afraid that too many memories at home would make him sad.
Unexpectedly, he still stayed in the castle, missing her day after day.
Aunt Tang should have believed that Wu Peng-peng had really gone abroad. She followed Wu Peng-peng's advice and spent her leisure time shopping and dancing with her old friends. Her life was fulfilling and happy.
Everyone in the castle lived their happy lives as usual. Only He Qian-shan was tortured by the news of Wu Peng-peng's disappearance. He lived in a daze every day.
As days passed by, three whole months had gone by like this.
One night, he miraculously returned to his own room, washed up early and went to bed.
Early the next morning, he woke up, tidied himself up neatly, and put on a handsome suit. He seemed to be in a good mood.
Wu Peng-peng followed him to a coffee shop. She saw He Qian-shan pause at the door for a moment, then took a deep breath, pushed open the door and strode in.
Judging from his nervous look, he should be going to meet someone important.
Wu Peng-peng couldn't go into a crowded and enclosed space now, nor could she stay too far away from He Qian-shan. So she could only wait at the door.
He Qian-shan was indeed here for an important appointment. When he found the table number, Wu Jun-chen was already waiting for him.
"I don't know what you like to drink, so I ordered a cup of Blue Mountain for you." Seeing him coming, Wu Jun-chen pointed to the chair opposite him, signaling him to sit down.
"Thank you." He Qian-shan pulled out the chair and sat down.
The two of them silently drank half a cup of coffee. Then Wu Jun-chen said calmly, "I asked you to come here today because I have something for you."
He took out a ring from his pocket and pushed it in front of He Qian-shan. "She left this at home when she left... Keep it as a souvenir!"
He Qian-shan recognized it at a glance. It was the engagement ring.
He picked up the ring tremblingly and rubbed the letters on the inner wall again and again. After a long time, he asked hoarsely, "Where is she buried?"
Wu Jun-chen's hand holding the cup paused. It took him a long time to put the cup back. He moved his lips, but finally gave up struggling. "You still found out."
He Qian-shan just responded with a soft "hmm" and carefully put the ring into the breast pocket of his suit.
From the moment Wu Peng-peng disappeared, he had a vague premonition in his heart. But he had always been deceiving himself and didn't want to believe it.
He had spent three months searching all the places they had been to and checking all the entry and exit records, but he couldn't find the slightest trace of her.
A living person couldn't just disappear from the world out of thin air, unless she had left forever.
"She... is in the garden on the top of the castle." Wu Jun-chen thought the wound in his heart had already healed. But when he mentioned this matter again, he suddenly found that all his efforts were in vain.
The wound he had carefully covered up burst open again at this moment, bleeding profusely.
Looking at the man with red eyes opposite him, he felt a sense of empathy for the first time in his life.
He hesitated for a long time, then took out something from his pocket and put it in front of him. "Keep this!"
He Qian-shan looked down and saw a small glass bottle in front of him, filled with grayish-white powder.
He didn't need to think to know what it was.
He Qian-shan stared at the small bottle for a long time before reaching out to pick it up. He pressed the glass bottle against his chest, as if he wished he could rub it into his heart.
This was the last thing she left for him.
Wu Peng-peng and the Heavenly Dao Cub had been waiting at the door of the coffee shop for more than ten minutes, but He Qian-shan still didn't come out.
She felt inexplicably irritated. Her eyebrows were almost knitted into a frown.
Just now, she had been wrapped in a contradictory mood. She hoped that He Qian-shan could quickly get out of the pain and live a normal life, but at the same time, she didn't want him to forget her so soon and start a new life without her.
She was so annoyed by these two emotions that she wanted to find something to distract herself. She reached out and poked the Heavenly Dao Cub's arm. "I heard that after people die, they will turn into stars in the sky, watching the people they are attached to in the mortal world."
The Heavenly Dao Cub gave her a look that seemed to say "Who told you such nonsense" and didn't bother to answer her.
Wu Peng-peng didn't mind. She just kept chattering on her own. "When I disappear after a while, I will also turn into a star."
"Do you think which star Jiang He will turn into? Will I be closer to him then? I was too willful last time and didn't even thank him properly."
As she kept talking, she used her finger to poke the calves of passers-by. Every time she poked, a circle of ripples would appear.
She found it very interesting and had a great time playing.
"How on earth did you become the Heavenly Dao?" This was the 250th time Wu Peng-peng had asked this question.
She thought she would be ignored as usual. But unexpectedly, the Heavenly Dao Cub answered her this time.
"Only those who have been abandoned are qualified to become the Heavenly Dao." He looked at her, as if deliberately exposing something ugly. "Filled with resentment and heartless, they are most suitable to be the Heavenly Dao."
Hearing this, Wu Peng-peng stopped what she was doing and turned to look at him. "Abandoned by whom?"
The Heavenly Dao Cub withdrew his gaze and stared silently at a patch of light in front of him.
Just when Wu Peng-peng thought he wouldn't say anything else and was about to continue playing with the passers-by, she heard him say very softly, "My mother."
He had been aborted before he was even born. Born with resentment, he was selected as the Heavenly Dao. After strict training and day after day of purification, he had finally managed to suppress the chaotic negative energy.
Wu Peng-peng was stunned. "You were aborted just after you took shape in your mother's womb?"
The Heavenly Dao Cub nodded indifferently and didn't say a word.
Wu Peng-peng asked carefully, "Was it because you were not healthy?"
She had heard that many fetuses had developmental deformities, and their parents would terminate the pregnancy in advance because they were worried that the children would suffer after birth.
"... No. It was because if she gave birth to me, she wouldn't be able to get a promotion."
That was his own mother, but for the sake of her bright future, she had deprived him of the chance to come into this world.
Wu Peng-peng felt extremely heartache. "I'm sorry."
The Heavenly Dao Cub turned to look at her strangely. "What does it have to do with you? Why are you apologizing?"
"You've been wronged. Someone has to apologize to you!" Wu Peng-peng reached out and stroked his head, just like comforting a child. "I'm an adult. I'll apologize to you on behalf of that可恶的adult. You don't have to forgive her, but don't punish yourself because of her mistakes. Even if you're the Heavenly Dao, you should be happy."
The Heavenly Dao Cub raised his hand in disgust, wanting to swat away the hand on his head. But he froze after hearing her last words.
He had never been a human being, and he hadn't been the Heavenly Dao for a long time. He had always been told to be loyal to his duty and that the Great Dao was heartless. He must never indulge in petty emotions.
No one had ever told him that he could be happy even as the Heavenly Dao.
Wu Peng-peng saw the tears welling up in the child's eyes. Just as she was about to say a few more words of comfort, the Heavenly Dao Cub suddenly stood up and frowned slightly. "Something's wrong with him."
Wu Peng-peng turned around and saw He Qian-shan walking out dejectedly.
She quickly stood up and rushed towards him, smiling and acting coquettishly. "Yan Shen, you're finally out. I've missed you so much."
He Qian-shan walked forward with a blank look in his eyes. He gritted his teeth tightly, but he still couldn't resist the sharp pain that felt like a thousand arrows piercing his heart.
He tightly clutched the small glass bottle in his hand. The burning temperature of his palm clearly and cruelly told him that it was all over.
The beautiful dream he had woven for himself, in which Wu Peng-peng was still alive, had finally been torn to pieces by his own hands.
Wu Peng-peng was gone.
The person who had promised to spend the rest of her life with him had completely left his life ahead of time.
For the rest of his life, even if he searched high and low, he would never be able to...
Wait!
A thought suddenly flashed through He Qian-shan's mind. The last time he was hit by a car, his soul had gone to her world.
If he experienced the same thing again, would he be able to go to her world again?
He had to give it a try. Even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, he was willing to take the risk.
If he won, he would grow old with her.
If he lost, then so be it!
He Qian-shan curled his lips slightly, almost imperceptibly, and rushed straight into the middle of the road.
Wu Peng-peng was just about to remind him that the light was red. Suddenly, she seemed to understand his intention. "He Qian-shan, you can't do this!"
She tried desperately to stop him, but he passed through her body and walked towards the oncoming traffic.
Wu Peng-peng was extremely shocked. Before she could even shout for help, she heard the harsh sound of tires rubbing against the ground. An SUV stopped just in front of He Qian-shan.
The driver poked his head out and cursed. "Are you fucking crazy? If you want to die, go somewhere else. Don't cause trouble here!"
He Qian-shan seemed not to hear. He just stood there stupidly.
Wu Peng-peng thought he was scared. She quickly ran over. Just as she was about to say something to comfort him, she saw him staring blankly at the glass bottle in his hand.
Wu Peng-peng suddenly froze. Her eyes burned with pain.
He still found out.
"Yan Shen." She reached out to touch his red eyes, wanting to tell him not to be sad, but tears streamed down her face.
She had wanted him to be happy, but instead, she had brought him the greatest misfortune.
"What should I do?" She placed her hand over He Qian-shan's eyes. Her transparent palm couldn't cover the sadness in his eyes at all. "What will you do in the future?"
She wailed and asked him what he would do in the future. The only answer she got was the sudden rain.
The sunny day suddenly turned into a downpour. The heavy rain seemed to be about to submerge the whole city.
He Qian-shan just stood there dejectedly in the heavy rain, repeatedly saying "I'm sorry" to the glass bottle in his hand.
Wu Peng-peng "held" his palm and repeatedly said "It's okay".
The sound of car horns and curses came one after another. Cars zoomed past them, splashing sewage all over him.
Wu Peng-peng was worried that the road would be slippery in the rain. If a car couldn't brake in time, it might hurt He Qian-shan. She wanted him to go to the side of the road, but she couldn't hold him.
She was so anxious that she didn't know what to do. She leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Yan Shen, it's okay. You will always have the privilege of being forgiven with me."
He Qian-shan stopped as if waking up from a dream. He stiffly raised his head and looked into her eyes. Finally, tears fell from his eyes.