Upon entering, Tang Lici stood by the table with his back turned, still writing with a brush in his left hand as if he hadn’t been the one to open the door. Fu Zhumei, carrying medicine, froze awkwardly, staring dumbly as Tang Lici wrote. He stood there for nearly two hours until Tang Lici finished densely covering the rice paper with his delicate calligraphy. Only then did Fu Zhumei muster the courage to murmur, "A-Li, the medicine’s gone cold."
Tang Lici rose, turning with a gentle smile. "Fool. If I close the door, you don’t dare enter. If I’m writing, you don’t dare speak. After all these years, you’re still so easily bullied." His demeanor was elegant, his tone tender, yet it was unclear whether his words were affectionate or a reminder of how easily he could manipulate Fu Zhumei. Struck speechless, Fu Zhumei stammered, "A-Li… you don’t hate me anymore?" Tang Lici’s expression darkened. "Of course I do!" The sudden shift left Fu Zhumei too terrified to utter another word, shrinking like a cicada in winter. But just as quickly, Tang Lici softened, his smile blooming like a flower. "I’m glad you came to see me." Fu Zhumei exhaled shakily, watching his ever-changing face. "How… how’s your injury?"
"Fine," Tang Lici replied calmly. Without thinking, Fu Zhumei blurted, "Liar!" Tang Lici’s delicate brows furrowed. "What did you say?" Setting the medicine down, Fu Zhumei muttered, "This is how you lie—sounding more convincing than the truth. When you tell the truth, it sounds like a lie." Tang Lici’s face darkened again, and Fu Zhumei immediately clamped his mouth shut, though his eyes still screamed disbelief. After a tense silence, Tang Lici set down his brush, his tone mild as if nothing had happened. "Why are you here? I searched for you endlessly with no trace. After Fang Zhou died, I thought you’d severed ties with me, resolved never to see me again." Fu Zhumei waved his hands frantically. "N-no, it’s not like that! Later, I realized Fang Zhou’s death wasn’t your fault. How could I hate you? I know… I know you cared deeply for him." Tang Lici whirled around. "You—" He laughed suddenly. "Do you know how Fang Zhou died? I carved out his heart while he was still alive. Do you know how much that hurts? I told him I was doing it to save him. He trusted me. He endured the pain as I cut into his chest, blood pooling everywhere—do you know how much blood there was? He died believing I’d revive him. He was grateful to me! Grateful!" His laughter turned wild. "Hahaha… Do you know what became of him? In the end, he was hacked into eight pieces and tossed into rotten wood to feed the ants. Maggots crawled through his eye sockets, writhing in white and black coils… Hahahaha…""A-Li!" Fu Zhumei grabbed his shoulders, shaking him hard. "A-Li! Stop thinking!" Tang Lici shoved him away with tremendous force, sending Fu Zhumei sprawling to the ground. Tang Lici staggered back several steps, bursting into wild laughter. "Hahaha... hahahaha..." He couldn't stop his manic laughter. "And Chi Yun... hahaha... I smashed his head with my flute. As he was dying, he glared at me with such hatred... Even in death, he tried to crawl toward me to strangle me with his bare hands..."
"A-Li!" Fu Zhumei leapt to his feet. Tang Lici's laughter hadn't yet subsided when his whole body trembled violently. Suddenly, he swayed and collapsed backward. Fu Zhumei hurriedly reached out to catch him. Tang Lici's faint was brief—he regained consciousness almost instantly, struggling fiercely to stand. "Get away!" he snarled. "All of you, get away!"
All of you? Fu Zhumei held his hand tightly. What exactly was he seeing in his eyes? Had A-Li been living in this state of madness day after day all this time? Pretending everything was fine, facing the deaths of two people alone, confronting the chaotic illusionary realm by himself? "Look clearly. I'm Fu Zhumei. I... I'm not someone else. There's no one else here, just me. What are you seeing?" Tang Lici gripped Fu Zhumei's hand so tightly it felt like ice—cold and damp, making it hard to tell which part of his hand was even holding on. "Stop thinking about it. You're going mad!"
Tang Lici shuddered slightly and suddenly grew still. He raised a hand to cover half his face, remaining silent for a long moment. "Tell them all to leave," he said at last. Fu Zhumei didn't know who "them" referred to. "Them? They're already gone. There's nothing here, just me." Tang Lici took a sharp breath, then slowly lowered his right hand, staring at Fu Zhumei for a long while. "You leave. I'm tired."
"A-Li..." Fu Zhumei picked up the bowl of medicine, but Tang Lici snatched it and hurled it to the ground. The bowl shattered with a loud crash, the liquid splattering and instantly scorching the floor black. Fu Zhumei froze in shock. "Get out!" Tang Lici barked. Fu Zhumei stood up, staring at the blackened floor. "I'll go, I'll go. Just... lie down and rest. Don't get up—the floor is poisoned." Tang Lici paid no heed to the "poison," leaning back against the bed. Suddenly, he seized Fu Zhumei's sleeve, yanking him close. Pressing his lips to Fu Zhumei's ear, he whispered softly, each word deliberate: "Let me tell you something. I will never forgive you, and you are never allowed to forgive me. Fang Zhou is dead—because of me. Chi Yun is dead—killed by me. No one is allowed to say it wasn't my fault. No one in this world is allowed not to hate me. Remember that time you stabbed me? Do you still remember? You hated me then, just like the day Fang Zhou died... Hahaha... Brothers, friends—it doesn't matter who. They can all die. Every last one of them should die!""I... I..." Fu Zhumei stammered, utterly overwhelmed by Tang Lici's extreme personality. "I..." Tang Lici released his grip and turned his face away. "I'm tired. If you're not leaving, do you want to sleep with me?" Fu Zhumei's eyes widened as he saw Tang Lici's soft, smiling voice and charming demeanor, yet his gaze was icy cold, brimming with lethal killing intent. "I'll go, I'll go, A-Li," he hesitated, looking at Tang Lici, unsure how to help him. After a pause, he added, "Stop dwelling on it." He stood up, wiped away the poisonous medicine spilled on the floor, and quietly retreated.
Fu Zhumei closed the door behind him. Tang Lici lay on the bed, closed his eyes, exhaled deeply, and raised his right hand to his forehead before sinking into a deep sleep.
A-Li... was just like before, carrying far too much on his shoulders. Fu Zhumei stared blankly ahead as he walked, lost in thought. Carrying so much... so much that it was unbearable, enough to break anyone long ago. But the one thing that set A-Li apart from others was that even if he broke, he would never give up. That was why he seemed so strong, so indestructible...
He had heard... that A-Li's parents were extremely wealthy. He had also heard... that A-Li wasn't biologically his mother's child, but rather the product of precision screening of genetic cells. Doctors had selected the optimal genetic combination from his parents, modified the expression of some DNA, and used a plant-based surrogate mother to bring him into the world. The reason? A-Li's father wanted a perfect child, and his mother didn’t want to endure the pain of childbirth. Fu Zhumei didn’t know whether such an origin held any special meaning for A-Li—at least on the surface, he couldn’t tell. But if it were him, he would have felt deeply disappointed.
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