These green plants grew between cracks in the stones, in the soil, on top of walls, beside dry bones.
In another blink, these greens blossomed with golden flowers.
After the golden flowers faded, more silver seeds grew.
Although this world was made of mental imagery, his breathing gradually became rapid.
The dandelions had spread all over the land.
Ren Zhong knew what this meant.
These dandelions were memories of himself.
For on Source Star, dandelions had blue leaves, only the dandelions in his own heart had green leaves.
This place was a "dreamscape" created from Sun Ai's memories.
But now, Sun Ai's memories had fused with his own.
The dandelion had always been an obsession he could never shake from his heart.
That girl was someone he betrayed his principles for at the start of his revolutionary path, clearly able to save but ultimately choosing to stand by and watch her die.
At the time, Ren Zhong still feared death, and could not ascertain how many times he could be resurrected.
Back then, he came up with a myriad of reasons to convince himself.
He told himself that he couldn't give up a life every time he faced death.
He said, what if my resurrection count reaches its limit, what if this death is the final one, what then?
She was pitiful, but there were others even more pitiful in this world.
For the bigger picture, he had to let go of the trivial.
Various factors drove him to make that decision.
But as time passed and he restarted his resurrection again and again, in front of others, he was mostly at peace, but only with that girl did his guilt deepen.
He regretted his decision.
Sometimes, he wondered if he had been as decisive then as he was now, would her fate have been different?
Could he have rewritten her life?
Could she have become like Zheng Tian, Chen Hanyu, or Chen Qiao?
But he missed his chance.
This feeling of regret did not dissipate with each resurrection; instead, it grew stronger each time he died and awakened.
Occasionally, he wondered, "Now that I've gotten so used to dying, now that I can be resurrected limitless times, yet back then..."
But Ren Zhong couldn't wallow in self-reproach and had to move forward.
Thus, he always regarded the dandelion as a secret buried deep within his heart, unspeakable to others.
Yet he never expected that this secret would reappear in Sun Ai's memory this way.
Is this the girl telling me her unwillingness?
Or is it her criticizing my then-selfishness and stupidity in my subconscious?
I once told Ma Xiaoling that I am always at peace with myself, yet I was deceiving myself.
"Uncle, don't be sad. If Sister Dandelion knew that her death has always spurred you to bravely move forward, fighting for the liberation of everyone, she certainly wouldn't be sad but proud. Because her death was likely the most meaningful among all the desolate people of Source Star. I also know the biggest difference between you and us, the people of the Nameless City, you genuinely recognize the life of every individual from your heart. We couldn't do it. That's why you have become who you are today, deserving of carrying everyone's expectations and earning everyone's loyalty."
Suddenly, Ren Zhong heard a crisp child's voice.
He snapped back to reality, focusing his eyes forward.
Sun Ai, like a porcelain doll, stood smilingly in front of him, speaking while gently lifting her hand to grab the hem of his pants at the knee.
As Ren Zhong lowered his head, he finally saw the clothes he was wearing.
The same loose white patient uniform he wore when he first woke up.
Ren Zhong nodded, "Hmm."