But why hadn’t it ended yet? Liang Sheng stood in place, frozen and unmoving.
He Wennuo noticed the girl behind him wasn’t keeping up. He turned back and called out to her. “Hurry up. I’ll walk you home.”
Liang Sheng frowned and waved him off, her mood faintly irritated. “You guys go on ahead. I still have something to take care of.”
So what had she overlooked? Was there some crucial task she’d ignored?
“Liang Sheng…”
A call interrupted her thoughts.
Standing before the green-haired girl was Ling Dang—Lan Yueying—with a gentle smile on her face.
“Thank you. Now, I’m here to take Da Hai away.”
The weather was chilly today, yet Lan Yueying still wore a white dress. She looked… well, she just looked so pure.
She had come into this world pure, and she wanted to leave it that way too.
But the dark gray splatters of mud on her skirt were stains that could never be scrubbed clean—no matter how hard she tried, they’d leave deep marks behind.
“Am I pretty today?” A faint flush of color rose on Lan Yueying’s pale face.
Liang Sheng didn’t have an Adam’s apple, but the motion of her swallowing was plain to see. Her throat felt parched, painfully so.
“You look good. Beautiful, really beautiful.”
Liang Sheng emphasized it three times over.
Lan Yueying smiled. “That’s good, then.”
She circled around Liang Sheng, and the faint scent she carried hit Liang Sheng like a wave, stunning her. She stood there rooted to the spot, unable to move.
Lan Yueying took two more steps, then suddenly turned back, her gaze fixed on Liang Sheng’s back.
“Do you want to come with us?”
The green-haired girl turned her head and saw that sea of long blue hair, along with a pale, tender little hand extended toward her.
All at once, Liang Sheng felt a sting in her nose and a burn in her eyes. Her body seemed to sense what was coming next.
Liang Sheng bit her lower lip and raised her arm, offering her hand.
Lan Yueying gripped it tightly.
This time, the frail Lan Yueying ran with light, nimble steps, as if she’d shed every last shackle. Liang Sheng knew she was no longer an empty shell without a soul.
“Will you be happy?” Liang Sheng whispered the question.
Lan Yueying didn’t look back, but her answer was firm. “This is the happiest moment of the past few decades for me.”
Liang Sheng followed Lan Yueying upstairs and saw Su Ze sitting dejectedly on the floor, his back to them.
Lan Yueying let go of Liang Sheng’s hand.
She walked to Su Ze’s side and tucked his bangs behind his ear. Liang Sheng couldn’t see her face, but she knew Lan Yueying must be smiling. She bent down, gently lifting Su Ze’s chin and caressing it.
“Da Hai, let’s go. To the place we belong.”
Liang Sheng’s body trembled.
The place they belonged…
She knew exactly where that was.
“I don’t want you to die. I don’t want to die either… I want to stay with you forever.” Tears streamed down Su Ze’s face as he clutched desperately at Lan Yueying’s waist.
Lan Yueying shook her head. “We’ve committed too many sins already. We can’t keep making the same mistakes.”
“Come on, let’s go.”
Lan Yueying coaxed Su Ze to his feet. “Let’s go home.”
The moment Su Ze dazedly rose with his beloved, Akino Wakako appeared, screaming hysterically. “Useless! You’re utterly useless!”
Akino Kazuko and Akino Hoshiko appeared right after her, along with Ni Sihan, who came running up, panting for breath.
“Goodbye, Third Sis.” Akino Kazuko wasn’t smiling. Tears filled her eyes.
“You think I’ll just let this go? I—”
“Third Sis!” Akino Kazuko cut her off. “After you leave, I’ll follow right behind you.”
Akino Wakako’s pupils contracted sharply. “You! What do you mean…?!”
“One life for one life. It’s worth it.” Akino Kazuko forced a smile.
Akino Hoshiko smiled too. “I’ll be right on your heels.”
“This is probably… our fate.”
“From the moment the Main System developed a spark of kindness and split its good and evil thoughts apart, this outcome has been waiting for us.”
“We’re the ones most responsible for this tragedy.”
Silence stretched on among them for a long while.
Akino Wakako said nothing. Or perhaps she knew that nothing she said or did now would make a difference.
Lan Yueying led Su Ze to the bridge from the very beginning—the one right beside the hotel, as if it had all been planned that way.
“This was where we first met, remember?” Lan Yueying pushed the limp, mud-like Su Ze up onto the railing. The two of them straddled it, hands clasped tightly together.
Su Ze felt the sea wind at his back. He turned slowly and saw the massive waves behind him, ready to swallow him whole.
In that moment, fear gripped him.
“I don’t want to die yet! I want to live and be happy with you!” He even tried to climb back down.
Liang Sheng couldn’t help sighing inwardly. A dog can’t change its habit of scarfing Oreos.
“But I’m not happy. Not happy at all.” Lan Yueying suddenly pulled Su Ze into a tight embrace.
“I…” Su Ze tried to say more, making one last futile struggle.
Lan Yueying planted one foot on the railing and kicked off the ground hard with the other.
“Da Hai, I love you.”
Her flowing blue hair danced like waves on the sea, surging and leaping through the air in a romantic whirl before returning to the ocean, merging with it as one.
“Hey!” Liang Sheng couldn’t hold herself back. Even knowing the ending, she ran forward, grabbed the railing, and peered into the unfathomable depths below.
All she saw were the waves crashing with their mocking smiles.
For some reason, a dull ache throbbed in her chest. Even knowing this was their due punishment, watching two living souls vanish before her eyes still brought tears streaming down her face.
In the distance, the clueless Ni Sihan had collapsed to the ground in shock.
“W-What… happened?”
Akino Hoshiko patted Ni Sihan’s forehead. “Sorry. I used you.”
Ni Sihan might have been a gold-digger who’d hurt classmates, nearly caused a death, ruined several futures, and shown no remorse—but an apology was still in order.
“You, what did you…!” Ni Sihan trailed off and fainted.
It was Akino Hoshiko’s Canon Law at work. She didn’t want to waste her final moments on someone irrelevant.
“Liang Sheng, is there anything else you want to ask?” Akino Kazuko wept alongside her host.
“You… can’t you stay? Please don’t leave…” Liang Sheng had long come to see Akino Kazuko as family.
Akino Kazuko shook her head. “I’m sorry. Only if we all vanish can this truly end.”
“I was the one who erased your memories in this life, so you could focus on pursuing those girls. The first few times… you always got lost in your own recollections. I’m sorry.”
Liang Sheng shook her head. “I don’t care about those truths anymore. What I care about is… only…”
“I’m sorry.”
Liang Sheng’s heart felt like it had been slammed to the ground and pounded again and again, each blow landing solid and true.
Akino Hoshiko stepped forward and gently embraced her beloved little sister.
“Second Sis, this time it’s real death.”
Akino Hoshiko nodded. “Yeah.”
“Will the world after we systems die be all dark? Or… will there be no world at all? Will we just cease to exist?” Akino Kazuko finally burst into loud sobs.
“It won’t be. It won’t…”
Akino Hoshiko patted her back. “Big Sis and the others are waiting for us over there. Don’t be scared.”
With that, she waved to Akino Wakako in the distance. “Come here, Wakako. Don’t you want one last hug?”
The proud Akino Wakako, who scorned everything, threw herself into her sisters’ arms like a child.
“I don’t want to! I don’t want to vanish! I want to win… It’s all your fault, you idiots! Even in death, you have to drag me down!” She cried hysterically, all her former arrogance gone.
Liang Sheng could only shed tears beside them, hating her own powerlessness.
Time was almost up. Akino Kazuko stopped crying. She hadn’t forgotten her promise to Liang Sheng.
“Liang Sheng, I’m going now. Take this.” Somehow, Kazuko produced a sheet of paper and a pen, tossing them into her host’s arms.
“Write down the name of the one you ultimately choose. Once you do, everyone else will forget you ever existed. Hurry and write it down—otherwise, after midnight tonight, the paper will vanish, and no one’s memories will be altered.” Akino Kazuko’s body began to fade bit by bit.
Liang Sheng reached out to grasp her system’s hand, but Akino Kazuko was already floating into the air.
“It’s a shame we never got that hug in the end.” Kazuko’s tears fell onto Liang Sheng’s fingertips, carrying that familiar warmth.
In the sky, the three girls vanished beneath the intoxicating sunset, burning away with the sunlight in a blaze of gorgeous evening clouds. In the end, they became just a fleeting streak of red at dusk—as if they’d never existed in this world at all.
In the end, Liang Sheng was the only one left who would remember them.
Tears poured endlessly from Liang Sheng’s eyes. She clutched her chest, sobbing uncontrollably.
Ni Sihan, lying on the ground, had already vanished without a trace along with the systems.
After who knew how long, as the sun neared the horizon, Liang Sheng slowly pulled the white paper and black pen from her pocket that Akino Kazuko had given her.
Memories of the girls flashed rapidly before her eyes—every moment, every detail.
In her mind, the girls stood before Liang Sheng, each extending a hand toward her.
“Liang Sheng, who will you choose?”
Liang Sheng uncapped the pen.
“I choose…”
