Zhuang Zi’ang opened his eyes again—it was already Saturday at noon. He had in unconscious the entire night. The air reeked of medicine, and several mysterious tubes were inserted into his body. The first face he saw was Li Huangxuan’s, etched with relief.

  “Hey, kid, you’re finally awake—you scared the hell out of this old man!” Li Huangxuan teased.

  Zhuang Zi’ang mustered a weak smile. “Rex, old man. I still haven’t given you my st words—your boy isn’t dying that soon.”

  Li Huangxuan’s hair was tousled, red veins spidering the whites of his eyes. He’d kept vigil at the bedside all through the night, not closing his eyes for a moment. A thousand questions rattled in his head, but he’d been too afraid to voice them.

  Zhuang Zi’ang realized then that even at the end of his life, he still had friendship to hold onto.

  Li Huangxuan drew a deep breath. “Alright, spill it—whatever it is, I can handle it.”

  Zhuang Zi’ang closed his eyes, then opened them again with quiet resolve. “I’m dying. I’ve only got a little over a month left.”

  At those words, Li Huangxuan’s eyes brimmed—and ughter and sobs tumbled together. He’d half?hoped for a miracle, but now the truth hit him like a wave.

  “You jerk, why didn’t you tell me sooner?” he choked out, voice cracking.

  Zhuang Zi’ang forced a wry ugh. “I didn’t want to see you—big, tough you—crying like a baby.”

  True to form, Li Huangxuan exploded into a mixture of tears and angry protests:“No way—that must be a mistake. We’ll get another check?up!”“I thought we’d be bros forever—how can you just bail on me?”“I was going to be your best man—wait till you marry Su Yudiel!”

  Lin Mushi shot Li Huangxuan a warning look; he immediately regretted dragging Su Yudiel into it.

  Zhuang Zi’ang met their eyes. “Don’t even bring her up. I think of her every single moment.”

  During his coma, Little Butterfly’s desperate voice had haunted his dreams:

  “You big dummy, I’ll hate you forever—I never want to see you again!”

  Even under such circumstances, she still called him “big dummy.” How kind of her—hating him forever was kinder than loving him forever. He whispered, “I’m sorry… truly sorry.”

  Sensing the room grow too heavy, Lin Mushi changed the subject and opened a thermal pot. “Auntie made chicken soup. Eat first—don’t think so much.”

  “Perfect,” Zhuang Zi’ang smiled. “Nothing wrong with love…and good food.”

  Li Huangxuan wiped his eyes and helped him sit up. Lin Mushi offered to feed him, but he refused—he hated feeling helpless.

  As he ate, Zhuang Zi’ang rattled off his st requests:

  “After Detective Conan’s finale, burn me a DVD set—I must know if Conan ends up with Ran or Ai.”“Around Qingming Festival (清明节, Tomb-Sweeping Day when families honor ancestors in early April), when peach blossoms bloom, bring me a branch.”“Live an extraordinary life—carry my part of life with you.”Li Huangxuan’s tears fell again. “Stop it—we’re going to fight this. There has to be hope.”

  Lin Mushi said gently, “You should get some rest, Huangxuan. I’ll come back tonight.”

  “Nah, I’m staying right here,” he insisted.

  Zhuang Zi’ang teased him, “Go on—if you colpse from exhaustion, who’ll keep me company?”

  Li Huangxuan finally relented. “Fine. I’ll bring you something tasty tonight.” He stepped into the corridor, gncing back once more before breaking into a raw, heartbreak?filled cry. That eighteen?year?old boy’s sobs echoed down the hall—he’d never imagined that “forever bros” could be so short.

  Back in the room, Lin Mushi drew the curtains to let in more sunlight. The warm glow chased away some of the sterile white gloom.

  Zhuang Zi’ang, voice trembling, asked, “Mushi… did what I said yesterday hurt her deeply?”

  “I’ve never loved anyone that much, so I can’t fully know,” she admitted softly. “But it’s painful—she must be suffering even more than you.”

  The thought of Little Butterfly’s pain made Zhuang Zi’ang’s own ache grow sharper.

  Lin Mushi hesitated: “Aren’t you going to tell her the truth? Isn’t it unfair to let her hate you?”

  Zhuang Zi’ang gazed out the window. “Letting her hate me—that’s my final kindness.” He believed cruelty’s wound would heal faster than love’s.

  Years from now, when Little Butterfly remembered him, perhaps she’d smile and call him a foolish jerk—and then move on to a happier life. If she’d known the truth, this love might have become a permanent regret, a thorn in her heart.

  At life’s end, he was grateful just to have met her and shared those moments. He couldn’t selfishly ruin her future. Better to die alone than to cling to her tenderness.

  Lin Mushi asked, “If she refuses the goldfish I bring her, what then?”

  After a moment, Zhuang Zi’ang answered, “Then take them to the river by the school and set them free.”

  As the ancients taught: “Better to forget each other than to cling in suffering.”

  Lin Mushi’s eyes glistened. “I envy her—someone loves her so deeply.”

  Zhuang Zi’ang managed a small smile. “Mushi, you’ll find someone who loves you just as truly.”

  She pressed his hand. “Thank you, Zi’ang—for teaching me how to love.”

  In their time together, she had learned Zhuang Zi’ang and Little Butterfly’s story—and her heart was forever changed. She knew now that such profound love truly exists—unfortunately, the heroine herself would never learn the truth.