Fang Yue held her tightly, greedily inhaling her scent, wishing he could meld her into his very bones. "Feng Guang... you're back by my side..."

Feng Guang reached out and hugged him, sniffing, "All these years... what have you done to yourself? Why... why have you become so haggard and weak... and what about those dolls?"

"I'm sorry... Fengguang, I miss you so much..." Fang Yue lifted her chin with his hand, showering her with delicate kisses on her brow, the corners of her eyes, and her lips. He was still afraid, afraid that this was just a beautiful dream...

Just like the beautiful dreams he had always had, when he held her in his arms, the dream ended, and there was nothing in his arms.

Feng Guang's hand touched his cold face, forcing him to look directly at her. She asked forcefully, "Tell me, what did you do to yourself to make those dolls?"

He didn't answer, but instead lowered his head and kissed her lips.

Their lips and tongues entwined fiercely as he relentlessly stole the air from her mouth, until he forced her to moan softly, as if to prove with her voice that she truly existed.

Feng Guang wasn't just passively accepting it; she responded to him, which excited him even more. He lengthened the passionate, wet kiss that would make anyone blush, and at the same time, he picked her up and pulled her onto the bed.

"Wait... Fang Yue." She grabbed his fidgeting hand and saw the look in his eyes, like that of a wounded cub. Feng Guang felt a pang of heartache. She rolled over and pinned him beneath her, gently kissing his lips. "Tell me, what has happened to you lately? I'm worried... have you done something terrible to yourself?"

Fang Yue's Adam's apple bobbed. He gently stroked her cheek, finally conceding under her earnest gaze. "I missed you so much... I thought about you all the time, so... so I started making dolls. Ordinary doll-making techniques couldn't create dolls that resembled you. Later... I read in a book that only by using a part of the body of the person you long for could you create the most lifelike doll..."

"So...you really did it..."

“Hmm…” Fang Yue’s pale face showed a hint of unease, because he was afraid of upsetting her. “I took out my own ribs to make a doll that looks a lot like you. Although it looks like you… it’s just a doll that can’t move or laugh. So… I extracted my consciousness and gradually integrated it into the dolls… They really are just like you in my memory, they can talk and laugh.”

He should have felt satisfied, but he felt disgusted. They were not glamorous, even if they acted like ordinary people.

Fang Yue dislikes having bright lights on in the room because they illuminate the entire room and then the dolls, showing him how dissimilar the dolls are to the scenery.

This was a deliberate reminder, a mockery of him, that he was merely deceiving himself...

But he didn't admit he was deceiving himself. He thought maybe his efforts weren't enough. So, he made a second, a third, and so on, after initially making just one puppet. As his consciousness gradually emptied, his memories of Fengguang and his normal awareness were gradually transferred to the puppets. He didn't become an empty-headed fool because... his inner persistence remained. His persistence for Fengguang was something no one could take away.