[Host, why didn't you choose to stay with him?]

System couldn't understand why his host would leave so soon after completing his mission. After all, System thought that his host would've been swayed by the love the male lead showed.

(Even if I stay, what's the point? It's not like the person he loved is truly me, the one he fell in love with was Bai Mengxiang, not Fei Qianchi. Plus, it's not like I loved him anyways, it would be better to just leave now when Wuhui doesn't know who I am, that way, he won't be hurt when I fake my death after he gets old enough to remember me.)

Fei Qianchi wasn't swayed by the love Xu Yongheng had showed, no, not even one bit. In fact, Fei Qianchi had purposely died as a way to punish Xu Yongheng for what he had done to Bai Mengxiang. Xu Yongheng had caused Bai Mengxiang to suffer until his death, losing his love and even losing his baby due to Shilian's scheming. A scum like Xu Yongheng needed to suffer for his actions. For Bai Mengxiang to fall in love with such a man was already something Fei Qianchi was surprised about.

No matter how real Xu Yongheng's love was, if it weren't for Fei Qianchi, he would've betrayed Bai Mengxiang once more and cause him to suffer again. To let Xu Yongheng suffer for a lifetime, though the punishment seemed a bit brutal, Fei Qianchi thought that it was definitely appropriate.

Xu Yongheng betrayed his childhood love and instead, fell in love with a black-hearted man. He went against every promise he had made to Bai Mengxiang and tossed away the person who truly loved him as if he was worthless. To make matters worse, he didn't even try to help Bai Mengxiang when he had lost his child, the only hope Bai Mengxiang had left after Xu Yongheng had tossed him aside, and protected Shilian. 

Sure, Bai Mengxiang did cause Shilian to lose his child too, but it was only because Shilian had done so first. After all, from the chain of events that had happened to Bai Mengxiang, it wasn't wrong to say that he went mad after everything that had happened. 

But Xu Yongheng was still ruthless and sentenced Bai Mengxiang to death, not even thinking about their past relationship. In the end, Bai Mengxiang died, and he died by killing himself in front of the man he loved and the person who had caused everything. Even when he died, he was still hurting, yet he never tried to explain himself. For someone like Xu Yongheng, Bai Mengxiang had lost everything in his life.

So as a way to cause Xu Yongheng to go through endless pain, Fei Qianchi chose not to heal himself and instead died. Like this, Xu Yongheng would suffer in pain silently.

But, Fei Qianchi also would admit that a big part of why he chose to take these actions was because he was not going to spend a lifetime with someone he couldn't love. Then again, that was also wrong too since he couldn't love anyone.

(Someone like Xu Yongheng, it isn't wrong to say that he is a scum. The fact that he had betrayed Bai Mengxiang is enough to prove that his heart is fickle, especially since Shilian was able to seduce him so easily. I can't believe that Shilian and Xu Yongheng were the main character and male lead in this world. Someone like Bai Mengxiang, if he had loved someone else, he would've been given the whole world.)

[Host, you say that but didn't your heart also flutter?]

(True, but I feel like a big part of that was because of Bai Mengxiang's feelings, plus, acting as Bai Mengxiang, I truly had to take in his character and his feelings. System, you should know that I don't what the meaning of loving is. Didn't you go through the memories of my life?)

To Fei Qianchi's questions, System didn't say anything. He couldn't say anything, because it was true that he had gone through Fei Qianchi's memories, and System understood why he spoke words like this. Fei Qianchi knew himself better than anyone, and even System understood why Fei Qianchi would say that he couldn't love. That was what Fei Qianchi had told System earlier on. That Fei Qianchi didn't know what it meant to love.

[Understood, Host. Then I will immediately transfer you to your next world. Congratulations on completing your first world and successfully stealing the male lead.]

In the silence, under the bright and shining moon, the back of a man stood still, staring at the peach blossom tree that fluttered from the gentle wind, it's petals falling and scattering under the star-lit sky.

His face remained calm yet his eyes were filled with pain. Though his features remained the same, his mind had aged far beyond his years. 

Just like that, five years had passed by. Five years, five springs, and five seasons of the peach blossoms blooming had passed by.

Five years since Bai Mengxiang had passed, leaving Xu Yongheng behind to heal his broken heart. For others, those five years may not seem like much, but for Xu Yongheng, those five years were the longest for him. 

In all honesty, he had never imagined a life without Bai Mengxiang by his side, and now that he was experiencing it, he wished that it could all just be a terrible dream. Five years without him, it was the most painful period of Xu Yongheng's life. In fact, the damage dealt by Bai Mengxiang's death was so fatal, Xu Yongheng had truly changed.

When Bai Mengxiang was by him, no matter what, Xu Yongheng was able to smile, able to laugh as he stared at the love of his life, wishing to be with him for an eternity. With Bai Mengxiang gone, a part of Xu Yongheng was gone too now. If it weren't because of his son, Xu Wuhui, he would've chose to follow after Bai Mengxiang. But Xu Yongheng didn't. Because Bai Mengxiang had told him to take care of their son, and Xu Yongheng wanted to fulfill his last wish no matter what.

With his sudden thoughts, Bai Mengxiang's image appeared within his mind, still beautiful, still the same as before, making Xu Yongheng chuckle with sorrow as the calm expression on his face cracked, as his eyes turned red with tears that didn't fall.

"Mengxiang, you once told me that no matter what happened in the future, no matter how hard our road was, you would still love me forever. Thinking back upon it now, I wish I knew just how important you were to me then. For someone like me, you silently suffered, not once voicing out your feelings, only thinking about letting me go even if it meant breaking your own heart. After your death, I realized just how selfish I was, to love you once then let you go only to return once more." Xu Yongheng stopped as his emotions got to him, he stared at the peach blossom tree, stretching his hand to catch the falling petal.

"You said that the peach blossoms were your favorite flowers, and at that time, I didn't understand why. Now I realize just why you love them so much. I remember that we met for the first time under the scattering petals of the peach blossoms when we were still so young, and that under the peach blossom trees years later when we had grown, I had asked you to married me. Yet it was also under the peach blossom that you spoke those words, and maybe you didn't realize it yourself just how heartbreaking your expression was, or how your tears wouldn't fall yet your eyes were tinted red at the edges, but my heart broke then. I realized just what my actions had done to you, who had only wanted me to be happy even if it meant hurting you."

"I knew I couldn't fix my mistake, but I also knew that I couldn't let you continue getting hurt. Who would've known that you would reveal to me that you were pregnant? How much suffering you went through, I would never be able to understand, yet you still accepted me after everything I had done. After that, I wanted to make you happy, to see you smile and laugh was my goal, for seeing you like that made me content. I guess the heavens wanted to punish me for my cruel actions, because you were poisoned. In the end, even though you gave birth to our child, you were gone just like that. The heavens took you away from me because they wanted me to suffer, so year after year, I watched as the peach blossoms continue to bloom before they wilted away."

"Day by day, night by night, the image of you was still imprinted within my heart. I guess what pains me most was that as the person you loved, I was also the one who had hurt you the most. To stick by someone like me, to love me, Mengxiang, were you a fool? But then again, I will never get an answer to this question," Xu Yongheng leaned himself against the tree.

"After your death, Shilian killed himself in the cold palace. Since he killed himself, I retracted the order to kill three generations of his family. Yu Zhuang, his fingers were broken after his punishment, but he has changed for the better. And Consort Ran, even though she had done so much to rise in the harem, it was all for naught. After some time, I was able to successfully get rid of the harem, and compensated them all after sending them away. Mei Lin is the only one who remains, as she is still the Empress. If you were here, the throne of the Empresses' would've been given to you."

"Throughout these five years, Wuhui had grown up to look almost like you, even his personality is like yours, gentle and calm. Even though he is still young, I know that he will become like you sooner or later. I couldn't protect you, so to atone for my actions, I will protect Wuhui until the day I die. Mengxiang, if there is another chance and we meet in another life, I promise then to love you my whole life. The time we spent was too little, not enough for me to fix my mistake." Xu Yongheng didn't say anything after that, and instead he let the silence explain his pain, his yearning for the man who could never come back.

Just then, a young and youthful voice voice was heard.

"Father," Xu Wuhui was now five years old, smart and clever for his age. Just like Xu Yongheng and Bai Mengxiang, he had a stunning face and boasted with his personality, it wouldn't be wrong to say that he would attract many people when he gets older.

Xiao Lan, still looking the same as before, followed behind Xu Wuhui. With the years that passed, she still remained loyal to Bai Mengxiang and was unwilling to get married even when Xu Yongheng said that it would be better for her to find a husband. She had replied, saying that she will always be loyal to Bai Mengxiang and was unwilling to get married. Instead, she took upon the role of being Xu Wuhui's caretaker. Though she did this, Xiao Lan made it clear to Xu Wuhui that she was not his mother. Ever since Xu Wuhui could move, Xiao Lan had told him many stories about the one who gave birth to him, Bai Mengxiang, and just how great he was.

Xu Wuhui looked at Xu Yongheng before saying, "It's mother's death anniversary, isn't it?" Though it was the day he was born, it was also the same day Bai Mengxiang had died.

"Yes," Xu Yongheng walked towards the two of them, grabbing Xu Wuhui's hand as they stood, looking at the peach blossom tree.

"Mother was a great person, and even though I don't remember him, I'm glad to be able to call him my mother." Xu Wuhui's voice was quiet, but he couldn't hide the sadness in his voice. Even if he had never met Bai Mengxiang, the stories Xiao Lan told was enough for him to know that Bai Mengxiang was truly a great person.

"Yes, he was," Xu Yongheng looked down at Xu Wuhui as he said this.

Then, without words being said, they slowly walked away from the peach blossom tree, Xiao Lan followed after them.

Fifteen years later, Xu Wuhui was twenty years old when he took over the throne and became Emperor. For his years of reigning as the Emperor, he had only one Empress. He brought wealth to his nation, successfully prospering the great Xu Nation, and was hailed as a great Emperor.

One year after Xu Wuhui became Emperor, Xu Yongheng passed away. After passing away, he was buried next to Bai Mengxiang, and the nation mourned the loss of a great ruler. 

Xiao Lan did not get married and stayed within the walls of the palace, taking care of Xu Wuhui and his Empresses' children.

For years and years later, the story about Bai Mengxiang and Xu Yongheng were still told as generations passed. One of the most tragic love story about the beautiful Imperial Noble Consort and the great Emperor of Xu. Their story was told, about their great love, about their separation in life and death, a beautiful yet tragic tale.

On the day Xu Yongheng died, the nation could only hope. In the next lifetime, may these two people get another chance to love each other once more.

"Yongheng, when the peach blossoms bloom once more, I hope you will still remember me." 

This sentence was once uttered by a beautiful man, who even in the last moment of his life, still couldn't suppress his love. Later on, it was uttered once more by the soul who had took over his body.

"Even if the peach blossoms never bloom again, how can I ever forget you?"

This sentence was uttered by a man who suffered for his whole lifetime as punishment for what he had done to the man who loved him. This sentence was uttered by a man whose heart shattered completely with his beloved's death. This sentence remained on his mind even as he took his final breath.

In life and death, to continue yearning for someone, to watch as the same person you had once hurt was forever gone, to spend a lifetime without them and remain alive while they aren't, isn't that the cruelest punishment one could be given?

The answer to this question, just who would be able to answer it.......

In this tragic love, this beautiful yet heartbreaking tale, only two sentences will remain.

"When the peach blossoms bloom once more, I hope you will still remember me."

"Even if the peach blossoms never bloom again, how can I ever forget you?"

Sneak peek into the next arc:

They were born from the same parents but only one truly got their love.

"Daniel Lovensci, my name is Daniel. After this, you must remember my name, and also, try to smile more. Someone as handsome as you should always be happy."

"Our first meeting on that day, back in the past, it had always lingered within my heart and mind."