Death, for Chen Qianqing, was sweet.

Before leaving this world, the thing he regretted the most was meeting Lu Zhengfei.

Young Chen Qianqing played the piano beautifully, would voluntarily help girls carry heavy items, would intervene to stop a thief, and would help anyone in need to the best of his ability.

He was proud enough, but this pride didn’t separate him from the world; instead, it attracted people around him even more.

The encounter between Chen Qianqing and Lu Zhengfei was a mistake. If they had never met, perhaps Chen Qianqing would have found a wife, had a few children, and lived a simple, peaceful life.

Unfortunately, in this world, there’s no such thing as “what if.”

Lu Zhengfei met Chen Qianqing and completely destroyed him.

For a long time, Chen Qianqing didn’t believe that Lu Zhengfei loved him. Or rather, this belief was slowly worn down into dust by the facts.

When Chen Qianqing saw the lipstick mark on Lu Zhengfei’s collar, he couldn’t ask about it. His relationship with Lu Zhengfei had always been strange, and if Lu Zhengfei had given him a little more patience, perhaps things wouldn’t have turned out this way.

Chen Qianqing didn’t react the way Lu Zhengfei did after his rebirth, by accepting Ruan Wenhong’s instigation and tests. But for the real twenty-year-old him, even a seemingly insignificant thing could break him.

When Chen Qianqing’s classmates called him a kept man, when Lu Yiqin insulted him behind Lu Zhengfei’s back, Chen Qianqing found himself unable to even offer an excuse to refute them.

Because, after all, they were speaking the truth.

From a young age, Chen Qianqing had been taught that a boy shouldn’t accept food from others without earning it, and that the world was worth loving.

But Chen Qianqing had been tightly bound by the circle drawn by Lu Zhengfei.

Did Lu Zhengfei love Chen Qianqing? Of course, he did. He would have given him everything he had, but what he gave was never what Chen Qianqing wanted.

It was like a person who was parched, wanting a drink of water, but the one offering only gave him gold, saying, “See how much I love you, I’m giving you all these precious things. Why won’t you give me a smile?”

Gold couldn’t quench thirst, so Chen Qianqing died of thirst.

They were from two completely different worlds.

Lu Zhengfei lived in a desert full of thorns. He knew the dangers around him and how to protect himself. But Chen Qianqing had always lived in an oasis. Although he might encounter malicious people, more often, the world showed him its sunny side.

When Lu Zhengfei forcibly transplanted Chen Qianqing to the desert, it was doomed that this relationship would have no good outcome.

During the years when Lu Zhengfei was confined at home, Chen Qianqing lived a good life. He thought this was the life he wanted—living simply, making a few friends, marrying a girl he loved, and having two cute children.

But this happy life was destined to be short-lived.

When Lu Zhengfei was reborn and saw Chen Qianqing again, he destroyed the life Chen Qianqing had built.

Faced with Chen Qianqing’s struggles, Lu Zhengfei became angry and bluntly said, “You’ll never leave me in this lifetime.”

Lu Zhengfei made good on his word. Until his death, Chen Qianqing never managed to leave Lu Zhengfei.

The deaths of Liu Huamei and Chen Qingyang were an accident, but this accident was tied to Lu Zhengfei. After learning about Chen Qianqing and Lu Zhengfei’s relationship, they hurried to the city to talk to Lu Zhengfei. On the way from the airport to the highway, they were involved in a serious car crash.

Chen Qianqing was almost crushed by this event. It was hard for him not to place the blame on Lu Zhengfei because, if not for Lu Zhengfei, his parents would never have flown to this city and thus wouldn’t have been in the car accident.

In the face of Chen Qianqing’s resentment, Lu Zhengfei said nothing, silently bearing it all.

In the following days, their relationship gradually eased until Chen Qianqing went blind.

Lu Yiqin was the mastermind behind this. She used the fact that someone wanted to harm Lu Zhengfei, passed on false information to that person, and then used fire to completely ruin Chen Qianqing.

Lu Yiqin succeeded because, after losing his sight, Chen Qianqing and Lu Zhengfei were left with no chance of reconciliation.

Once again, it was the innocent who suffered. The one who should have faced all this was Lu Zhengfei, but by a twist of fate, it was all taken on by Chen Qianqing.

Did Lu Zhengfei feel guilty? Of course, he did. After finding out the truth, he ignored Huang Yuping and Lu Chongqian, directly locking Lu Yiqin up.

But by then, it seemed everything was too late.

Lu Yiqin dealt Lu Zhengfei a heavy blow, one that nearly cost him his life. Chen Qianqing was Lu Zhengfei’s life.

After Chen Qianqing went blind, his mood became very bad. He even started to try to kill Lu Zhengfei. No matter what Lu Zhengfei did, it was all in vain.

When Chen Qianqing died, he was only in his thirties, still quite young. But just by looking at his face, one would feel that this person had already lost all vitality.

Lu Zhengfei hired the best doctors and used the best medicines, but he still couldn’t save Chen Qianqing.

Before leaving this world, Chen Qianqing suddenly had an epiphany and realized that Lu Zhengfei seemed to love him. Because if Lu Zhengfei didn’t love him, he would never have been so indulgent with him.

But can love really justify reckless harm? Isn’t love supposed to be something tolerant, gentle, and beautiful?

When Chen Qianqing understood Lu Zhengfei’s feelings, he suddenly felt happy—not because Lu Zhengfei loved him, but because he could use Lu Zhengfei’s love to take revenge.

Chen Qianqing died peacefully. It seemed that he had already suffered too much in his life. After losing his parents and his sight, he had long lost any attachment to this world.

Before his death, Chen Qianqing had always thought that death was like a lamp going out. But after he died, he found that he still had consciousness. Not only that, but he even saw a black shadow.

The shadow, backlit, stretched out its hand towards him, speaking gently: “I will grant you three wishes.”

Chen Qianqing stared blankly at the shadow. After a long time, he hoarsely asked, “Who are you?”

The shadow didn’t answer. It simply repeated its earlier words: “I will grant you three wishes.”

Three wishes? Chen Qianqing slowly said, “My first wish is…”

In the end, two of Chen Qianqing’s three wishes were related to Lu Zhengfei.

After he made the first two wishes, the shadow began to tremble violently, as if the light source was unstable. After a while, it calmed down.

Chen Qianqing asked, “Who are you?”

The shadow didn’t answer but slowly stepped forward. When it reached Chen Qianqing’s face, he finally saw that it was truly just a standing shadow.

It was dark and broken, like an empty void.

“Who am I?” The shadow suddenly began to change. A face that looked like Lu Zhengfei’s appeared in front of Chen Qianqing. Before Chen Qianqing could react, the shadow spoke again: “Who am I?” And then, Lu Zhengfei’s face transformed into Chen Qianqing’s own face.

Chen Qianqing stared at the person who looked exactly like him, and involuntarily reached out to touch his cheek. It felt like skin—slightly cool, but otherwise very real.

The shadow spoke: “I can be anyone you want.”

The confused expression on Chen Qianqing’s face seemed to show that he didn’t quite understand the shadow’s meaning.

The shadow waved its hand, and a light screen appeared before Chen Qianqing. On it was Lu Zhengfei, lying on a bed, looking bewildered. He turned to Chen Qianqing and said, “As you wish.”

Chen Qianqing followed the shadow’s gaze and saw himself. He asked, “Is this me?”

The shadow laughed and replied, “This is Lu Zhengfei.”

What happened next confirmed the shadow’s words. In the dark, endless tunnel, Chen Qianqing sat down, watching together with the shadow.

The shadow asked, “Are you happy?”

Chen Qianqing didn’t respond, remaining silent.

The shadow asked again, “Aren’t you happy? What would make you happy?”

Chen Qianqing couldn’t answer the shadow’s question. He was only in his thirties, yet he had already lost all expectations of this world.

The shadow asked, “Would you be willing to go to another world?”

Chen Qianqing asked, “Another world?”

The shadow replied, “In that world, your parents are still alive, you aren’t blind, and you haven’t met Lu Zhengfei. Everything can start anew.”

Chen Qianqing asked, “What about you?”

The shadow paused, seemingly surprised by Chen Qianqing’s question. Then, his eyes narrowed, and a gentle smile appeared on the face that looked exactly like Chen Qianqing’s. He said, “Wherever you are, I will be.” — He was just a shadow, after all.

Chen Qianqing finally agreed to the shadow’s proposal and began anew.

However, this new beginning came with some side effects from his life before death. For example, he could see what happened to Lu Zhengfei in that world, such as when Lu Zhengfei was stabbed to death by Lu Yiqin. His shadow would occasionally leap out from beneath him, transforming into his own form.

Time could heal many things. When Chen Qianqing saw Lu Zhengfei in that world, after being stabbed by Lu Yiqin, he told the shadow, “I feel like I don’t hate him anymore.”

The shadow was gnawing on a duck’s foot, listening to Chen Qianqing’s words, and turned his head: “You don’t hate him anymore?”

Chen Qianqing nodded in confirmation. He thought that hate took more energy than love, and that his current life was already good.

The shadow asked, “Do you still want to see him one more time?”

Chen Qianqing thought for a moment before agreeing.

In the end, Chen Qianqing gave his remaining wish to Lu Zhengfei. He felt content and didn’t think there was anything impossible left to achieve.

Moreover, it seemed that Lu Zhengfei had already paid a heavy price.

When the shadow kissed Chen Qianqing, Chen Qianqing thought to himself that he was living well and was happy. And that, in itself, was enough.