Shi Mu stood with the ring still outstretched, but Cheng didn't move to take it.
His gaze wasn't fixed on her.
It was on the empty space beside her.
"She was going to leave," he said quietly."She just hadn't figured out how to tell me."
Shi Mu lowered the ring slightly.
"But she gave it to you."
"She did," he nodded. "But not the way people think."
He paused.
"She gave it to me like someone gives away a memory they're afraid they won't be allowed to keep."
He stood up slowly, his form flickering with movement, though his presence remained solid.
"I wasn't angry," he said. "Not even when she disappeared."
He looked down at his hands.
"I just kept telling myself: if she wanted to forget me, she would have taken the ring back."
Shi Mu said nothing.She simply held the silence like a space he could step into.
He glanced toward the window.Dust drifted in the beam of the Archive's golden light.
"She never promised anything," Cheng repeated."But I did."
"What did you promise?"
He smiled, faint and hollow.
"That I'd still be here when she remembered."
[System Notification]
Emotional Thread Strengthened – Oath Witnessed from Spirit Side
Spirit Cheng – Anchor Stability Increased (63%)
Brotherhood Value +190 (Memory Confirmed + Silent Devotion Preserved)
Current Total: 7,675 / 1,000,000
Shi Mu turned the ring over in her palm again.The ribbon had fully unraveled.Its ends brushed against her wrist like a reminder:
This was never about grand declarations.It was about waiting.
And sometimes, that was louder than love.
She took a step forward.
"If I find her," Shi Mu said gently, "would you want me to tell her?"
Cheng didn't answer right away.
Then finally, with quiet finality:
"No."
She blinked. "No?"
"She left that ring," he said. "She left me.She made her choice."
He met Shi Mu's gaze.
And smiled—not bitterly. Just tired.
"But someone needed to remember that I chose her anyway.""Even if she never looked back."
The light around him began to dim.His form softened.
No unfinished business.No anger.
Just a boy who had waited long enough.
Shi Mu placed the ring and the ribbon gently back on the desk.
She bowed her head—not in apology.But in respect.
[System Notification]
Spirit Cheng: Released Peacefully
Emotional Anchor Closed – No Restoration Required
Thread Archived with Full Dignity
Brotherhood Value +200 (Witnessed Goodbye Without Reunion)
Current Total: 7,875 / 1,000,000
Shi Mu stood alone again.
But the room didn't feel empty.
It felt remembered.