Shi Mu sat beside the journal for a long time.
The ring rested quietly in her palm. The ribbon had come undone completely, falling in a soft coil near her knee.
There was no wind.
No flickering lights.
Just a stillness that ached.
She didn't force the spirit to appear.
Some memories need time.
Some ghosts need gentleness.
Instead, she opened the journal again—carefully this time—and began reading from the back, tracing the entries in reverse.
The handwriting was steady. Deliberate. Each word chosen like it mattered. Because it did.
Day 198-She still hasn't returned. They say she's been reassigned. That she's forgotten. But I know she wouldn't leave the ring behind.
Day 152-Her ribbon came undone yesterday. I retied it. It felt wrong without her hands doing it.
Day 117-I caught her watching me during training again. She won't say anything. Neither will I. But I think we both know.
Shi Mu's throat tightened.
She recognized the pattern—
Love never spoken. Hope never confirmed. Loss never acknowledged.
Day 4-She gave me the ring. Said it didn't mean anything. I think she lied. I think I wanted her to.
By the time she closed the journal, the room felt heavier.
Not oppressive.
Just full.
Like someone else was breathing with her.
She looked up.
And saw him.
Faint.
Outline only.
A boy—older than her. Dressed in standard academy uniform from a decade ago. Sitting in the chair by the window.
He wasn't crying.
He looked like someone who had finished crying long ago.
Shi Mu stood slowly.
He didn't move.
She took a breath. "You're Cheng?"
His head tilted slightly.
"You found the journal," he said. His voice was low. Gentle.
"And the ring," she replied.
He looked at it. Didn't reach for it.
Just said:
"I never gave it back."
"I wanted to believe she'd come back for it."
"But she never did."
Shi Mu stepped closer.
"Do you remember her name?"
He smiled faintly.
"No. The system erased it when they reassigned her."
His hands clenched slightly.
"But I remember her voice. I remember the way she tied her ribbon three times instead of two. And I remember that she never promised me anything."
Shi Mu whispered, "But you still waited."
"I didn't know how to leave," he said.
[System Notification]
Spirit 'Cheng': Contact Confirmed
Memory Anchor: Dormant Bond – Romantic, Incomplete
Recovery Progress: 44% (Verbal Witness Achieved)
Brotherhood Value +195 (First Dialogue Initiated + Unreturned Love Witnessed)
Current Total: 7,485 / 1,000,000
Shi Mu gently offered the ring forward.
Cheng looked at it, then slowly shook his head.
"It's not for me," he said. "It never was."