“Mm? Mm, yeah!” Sister Lingdang nodded vigorously, but she soon let her head droop. “I’ve had thoughts like that before, but whenever I get close to Da Hai, my memory loss gets even worse—like I’ve got Alzheimer’s or something. Still, with Da Hai by my side, the only thing I feel is… peace. I don’t even know why.”
Liang Sheng shrugged. “Maybe it’s because he’s your lover. Or perhaps… even if Su Ze’s a total jerk, he’s always been good to you, so you’re not scared of him.”
Sister Lingdang pressed her lips together and nodded again. “What’s the point of him being good to me? He hurt so many innocent people. I’ll never forgive him for that.”
Liang Sheng felt a wave of relief at hearing this. What comforted her even more was that Sister Lingdang hadn’t lost her memory this time—not for a good long while, anyway.
“Let’s go, Sister Lingdang. We’re almost to my place.” Liang Sheng took Sister Lingdang’s hand.
Sister Lingdang suddenly stopped in her tracks and grabbed the green-haired girl’s hand. “No, Liang Sheng. This is far enough!”
“Huh?” Liang Sheng turned back, frowning in confusion.
Sister Lingdang pulled her hand free, then shrugged off the jacket Liang Sheng had draped over her shoulders and held it out. “I need to head back. Otherwise, Da Hai might start suspecting something.”
Her gaze was resolute as she shoved the jacket into Liang Sheng’s hands, leaving the green-haired girl utterly dumbfounded.
Liang Sheng blinked in surprise, then asked worriedly, “Sister Lingdang, are you sure you…”
Sister Lingdang gave a helpless smile. “Getting sick is no big deal. But if something slips and puts you in danger? That’s the real problem.”
Liang Sheng understood. She didn’t try to hold her back any longer. Instead, she gave Sister Lingdang a slight bow. “Thank you, Sister Lingdang, for trusting me and helping me out.”
Sister Lingdang shook her head. She took a few steps back, out from under Liang Sheng’s umbrella. Rain pelted her head and body once more, water droplets trickling down alongside the tears at the corners of her eyes.
“No, I should be thanking you, Liang Sheng. Thank you for helping me put an end to all this.”
With that, Sister Lingdang turned and plunged into the downpour without looking back. She started off walking briskly, then broke into a jog, vanishing into the curtain of rain.
Liang Sheng stared after her, an inexplicable emptiness settling in her chest.
She held her umbrella aloft, her jacket tucked under her arm, and trudged slowly toward home.
“Kazuko,” Liang Sheng said, her brows knitting into a tight frown, “if I win… does that mean… those girls will end up suffering too?”
“Will they lose their good fortune?”
“Will they lose limbs?”
“Will their families fall apart and their futures be ruined?”
“Will they die?”
“Will they end up wishing they were dead?”
Liang Sheng fired off the questions one after another.
Yeah. If those girls still couldn’t live happily, what was the point of her winning? Just to survive herself? Without seeing smiles of happiness on everyone’s faces…
A sour ache rose in Liang Sheng’s throat.
Akino Kazuko hurried to reply. “No, no, it won’t be like that! We systems know this final stage inside and out. If you win, you’ll get to choose whose memories to wipe—everyone’s, or just a few. And after that…”
Akino Kazuko gave a bitter smile. “My sisters and I will vanish completely.”
Liang Sheng was already feeling down, and this made it worse. She kicked at the puddles on the ground, muttering curses under her breath. “Why can’t everyone just be happy? Why isn’t there a perfect, perfect, perfect happy ending in this world? Why does someone always have to suffer in the end?”
Akino Kazuko turned the tables, comforting her instead. “Think about it—I’ve been alive for about a hundred years now. If you count the time before we split, it’s closer to two hundred. I’m ready to go. What are you even worried about?”
The green-haired girl took Akino Kazuko’s hand, her expression a mix of helplessness and tenderness. “We’ve spent so much time together. You’re family to me now. Do you really think I’d be okay with you leaving?”
Those words shattered Akino Kazuko’s defenses. She turned tsundere in an instant, vanishing into thin air—but not before a single line echoed in Liang Sheng’s mind.
“Why’d you have to go and get all sentimental on me? So cheesy!”
Her sisters had turned against her one by one, then disappeared. Akino Kazuko hadn’t felt the warmth of family in ages.
She often wandered in confusion, muttering to herself, wondering why she existed in this world in such a form—neither human nor ghost.
Now, she thought she understood. Her presence in this world was a blessing. Even amidst all the malice she’d felt, it couldn’t erase the fundamental love that humans held.
She was here to feel the love around her.
That night, Akino Kazuko appeared before Akino Wakako and Akino Hoshiko in turn. Hands clasped behind her back, she stood bathed in the hazy moonlight, her face lighting up with the innocent joy she’d felt when she first arrived in this world after the split—the pure delight of seeing her sisters.
“I love you all so much. I love my sisters more than anything.”
Akino Wakako froze for a second, then flushed beet red. She shoved Akino Kazuko playfully before spinning away and vanishing into the night sky.
“Don’t think a few sappy words like that will make me back off from competing with you! I’ll be the one who wins in the end! Don’t waste your breath trying to soften me up!”
Akino Hoshiko’s eyes reddened. She tilted her head back to gaze at the stars, probably to keep her tears from falling.
“You haven’t changed a bit, Kazuko. That’s wonderful.”
“Thank you. Hearing that is enough for me.”
“I know everything I’ve done was worth it…”
Akino Kazuko gently hugged Akino Hoshiko. “Thank you, big sis… I finally understand why my memories kept fading. Thank you—and thank all my sisters.”
Liang Sheng didn’t sleep well that night either. She woke up in the middle of it and called out to Akino Kazuko a few times, but got no response. That was because Akino Kazuko was out reminiscing with Akino Hoshiko.
When Akino Kazuko finally returned, Liang Sheng lay in bed and asked coolly, “Where were you?”
Her tone was just like that of a stern mother grilling her daughter for coming home at midnight.
Akino Kazuko jolted. “I-I went to see Hoshiko…”
She didn’t dare admit she’d gone and poked the bear by visiting Akino Wakako too.
“Oh?” Liang Sheng perked up. She rolled over, propped herself up with some effort, grabbed a pillow for back support, and settled comfortably against the headboard. “What’d you talk about? Any important clues?”
“I…” Akino Kazuko hesitated. She swallowed the words “I remembered why my memories are gone.”
“Hm?” Liang Sheng arched a brow, sensing something off. “Kazuko, are you hiding something from me?”
Akino Kazuko startled again, but she forced a casual tone. “No way~”
