Seeing Qin Siyang still staring at the screen in gloomy silence, the corner of Qian Wendao's mouth twitched slightly.
It looked like a smile, but also like a sigh.
"Xiao Qin, it genuinely warms my heart that you're worrying over my life. It means I wasn't wrong about you. But..." Qian Wendao's tone was as bland as plain water. "The truth is, being alive stopped holding much flavor for me a long time ago."
Qin Siyang looked at Qian Wendao, waiting for him to continue.
Qian Wendao leaned back in his chair, his posture somewhat relaxed. "It's not that I don't cherish the chance to live. It's that this mind, this body of mine, forgot what 'cherish' meant long ago."
"As you know, this is my third time entering the Origin Sequence. Counting my previous attempts to pluck [Primordial Starshine], I've died about five hundred times. On top of that, I've suffered two devastating failures."
At this point, Qian Wendao's gaze slowly lost focus.
The brilliance befitting the Secretary-General faded from his eyes, leaving nothing but grayness.
"Thirty-eight years."
Qian Wendao tilted his head back, his gaze wandering across the ceiling as his voice grew softer. "I've spent thirty-eight whole years in this mire. Xiao Qin, tell me, how many thirty-eight-year stretches does a person get in a lifetime?"
Qin Siyang pressed his lips tightly together.
In all the time he had known Qian Wendao, this was the first time-and the most unmistakable time-he had sensed exhaustion in this man who always had everything under control.
The first time, and perhaps the last.
"This damned brain of a Sequence Ability User remembers every little trivial thing after seeing it just once." Qian Wendao gave a self-mocking smile and raised a hand to point at his temple. "Do you know what