"It's not your fault." Akemi forced a smile as she comforted Kōyū. "Nobody wanted this to happen."

"And I know."

"You want Ai to have a family portrait."

"It's my problem."

"I didn't control my emotions."

"Sister, you don't need to argue with me about this." Guangyou gently patted Mingmei's hand and said with some heartache.

"In this matter, you were just thinking about your parents, what's wrong with that?"

"It's my fault for not considering your feelings, which led you to see these things."

"I was wrong."

Akemi, who was being comforted, turned around and comforted Kousuke instead.

She took the tissue, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and said:

Don't say that.

"You did it for Shiho too."

“I understand, and I think your gift is very nice. You don’t need to apologize.”

"Those people are the ones who are wrong."

“That makes sense.” Guangyou nodded, and after considering for a moment, said, “Sis, let me finish what I just said.”

Upon hearing this, Akemi lowered her head slightly, but did not stop Mitsuyu.

Seeing her like this, Kwangyu opened his mouth, hesitated again, but finally spoke:

"Based on the information I currently have, there is a high probability that my uncle and aunt are dead."

"but..."

His tone suddenly changed, causing Akemi, who was listening, to look up.

He continued:

"But we cannot rule out the possibility that they are still alive."

"After all, we haven't seen their bodies yet."

"And even if they really have passed away, as long as we haven't forgotten them, they will live on in our hearts forever."

He actually wanted to tell Mingmei about Noah's Ark, and then tell her:

"Even if they really died, perhaps with the power of Noah's Ark, they could be 'brought back to life'."

But he didn't know if such scenes from science fiction movies could actually be seen in reality.

He didn't want Mingmei's hopes to be based on something that couldn't be guaranteed.

If it doesn't work out in the end, wouldn't we be disappointed?

Rather than giving her a vague and uncertain hope, it's better to prepare Mingmei for the worst possible outcome first.

Even if it doesn't come true, Akemi will only feel disappointed, not disheartened.

Besides, he never intended to tell her about it from the beginning.

...