"It wasn't intentional," Feng Qishi smiled, "it was inadvertent."
"You are forbidden to enter my room again," Zhang Yan pointed at Feng Qishi.
Feng Qishi gave Zhang Yan a fake smile, then his eyes drifted to Mu Anxiao and the old friend.
The old friend hesitated for a long time on this matter before saying, "I saw it, I just didn't expect," he gave a bitter smile, "that I would leave so soon."
"Everyone has that day. That," Mu Anxiao hesitated for a moment and said, "Your good friend Zhang Yan also went yesterday, did you know?"
"Yes, of course I knew. That old fellow is my best friend. Whenever I have any trouble, he shows up. Yesterday, I even spoke a few words to him, but," the old friend said, "I don't know if he heard clearly."
"Why do you say that?" Mu Anxiao asked.
"Yesterday, I had no strength left. Even I couldn't hear clearly what I said, so I care a lot. Also," the old friend's tone was dejected, "he doesn't seem to have come today."
"He came," Mu Anxiao said affirmatively.
"Why didn't I see him?" the old friend asked.
Mu Anxiao rolled his eyes and said, "Since you've already left, of course you can't see him."
"That's true. I really wish I could see him one last time before leaving. He never had children in his life, and now he's alone. It's pitiful," the old friend said faintly.
"Are you worrying about him?" Mu Anxiao asked, glancing cautiously at Zhang Yan.
The old friend grunted and said, "That old fellow doesn't have many friends. Now that I'm gone, he won't have anyone to talk to. Also, that old fellow has a very eccentric personality. I think only I can tolerate it. However, I don't know if he heard me clearly yesterday."
"Did you ask him to look after your two granddaughters for you?" Mu Anxiao probed.
"Eh?" The old friend was stunned and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Yesterday, when you were halfway through speaking, you glanced at your two granddaughters. Didn't you mean for him to protect your granddaughters?" Mu Anxiao asked cautiously.
The old friend smiled broadly, "That old fellow is already pitiful. How could I burden him with this? Besides, my two granddaughters, one gentle and one stubborn, are also a headache for me. But that's not something I, an old man, can manage. I just hope they get along well. I don't ask for anything else."
"Then what did you say to Zhang Yan?" Mu Anxiao was curious.
"I told him to take care of himself, and that he should talk more with his subordinates when he has nothing to do, instead of keeping his words bottled up inside all day. Over time, it can lead to illness," the old friend said faintly.
Mu Anxiao nodded, "So that's how it is."
"I can't even manage my two granddaughters, how could he?" the old friend said with a laugh.
"You are right," Mu Anxiao agreed.
Zhang Yan looked at the old friend with an awkward expression, his eyes sinking. He turned to Feng Qishi, who was openly mocking him, and said, "What are you laughing at?"
"The person involved said no, yet you've misunderstood for so many years. You're truly narcissistic," Feng Qishi said with a laugh.
Zhang Yan scoffed and turned his face away.
Mu Anxiao glanced cautiously at Zhang Yan and said, "I've finished what I had to say."
"If you happen to see my friend, I hope you can convey this message," the old friend said.
Mu Anxiao nodded, then looked at the appearing modern grim reaper and said, "Thank you."
"You're welcome," the modern grim reaper said, then turned to the old friend, "Alright, let's go."
The old friend nodded, turned with the modern grim reaper, and gradually walked into the darkness.
Mu Anxiao sighed.
Zhang Yan sniffled and said, "Farewell, old friend."
"Now, you don't have to interfere anymore," Mu Anxiao turned to Zhang Yan and said.
"Yes, that girl needs to be taught a lesson," Zhang Yan said, reaching out to hold Feng Qishi's arm.
Mu Anxiao's lips curved as he simultaneously took Zhang Yan's arm, then cast a spell and they vanished.
Passing through the clouds, they landed steadily on a hospital pavilion without cameras.
"Are we back?" Feng Qishi held Zhang Yan's arm tightly and asked with his eyes closed.
Zhang Yan turned to look at Feng Qishi, who was frightened by the dense clouds, and said, "Open your eyes, we're here."
Hearing this, Feng Qishi slowly opened his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief the moment he saw his surroundings.
"It was just a bit of cloud, look at you, so cowardly," Mu Anxiao said, scanning Feng Qishi with a look of disdain.
Feng Qishi widened his eyes and said, "As if you're any better."
"What about me?" Mu Anxiao raised his chin.
"I don't know who used to yell all the time, yelling about everything they did," Feng Qishi said casually.
Mu Anxiao was stunned. "How do you know about my past?"
Feng Qishi's eyes flickered, "I guessed. Who else would they call Mu the Fool?"
Mu Anxiao looked at Feng Qishi's annoyingly smug expression, then thought of Shen Yan's usually steady demeanor, and shook his head slightly, thinking: Impossible. Looking at that cowardly appearance, how could he have memories of his past life? Hu Yuan was just an exception.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Feng Qishi asked.
Mu Anxiao deliberately ignored Feng Qishi and turned to Zhang Yan, asking, "You're not an ordinary person. How could you not have understood your old friend's words that day?"
"Sister," Zhang Yan said, "The moment I heard he was failing, I fell apart. Especially when I saw him like that, my heart couldn't stop aching. All I could hear was a buzzing in my ears, and I couldn't understand anything anyone said. Of course, I wanted to hear my old friend's words, but seeing him like that, I really couldn't control my emotions. And I couldn't cry in front of him. I don't even want to describe how I felt that day."
Listening to Zhang Yan's clear explanation, Mu Anxiao couldn't help but think of Shen Yan's aging process. She lowered her head slightly, recalling that on the day Shen Yan was buried, her own condition wasn't much better than Zhang Yan's. She then thought that if she hadn't met Feng Qishi, she would probably still be immersed in grief, unable to escape.
"Feeling the same empathy?" Feng Qishi suddenly asked.
Mu Anxiao looked up at Feng Qishi's face, which was identical to Shen Yan's, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Feng Qishi looked at Mu Anxiao's tear-filled eyes under the streetlamp and smiled, "You want to cry as soon as you see me. Speaking of which, are you remembering me from your past life?"
"No," Mu Anxiao denied.
Feng Qishi laughed, "Since you don't, then don't have that expression every time you see me. It makes me feel... " he pursed his lips, "a bit creeped out."
"Oh," Mu Anxiao responded perfunctorily, then looked at Zhang Yan and said, "You'd better remember what I said."
"I know," Zhang Yan grinned, "I don't want to become enemies with you."
"If there wasn't money standing in the way, you wouldn't think that way," Mu Anxiao said deliberately.