Ruoxi stood in front of the mirror.
The girl looking back at her didn't feel entirely like her anymore.
Same eyes. Same scar on the chin from when she fell off the garden swing. But beneath that—something else stirred. Someone else.
Someone who remembered being erased.
In the early morning haze, Ruoxi quietly unlocked the study and returned to Lin Lei's journal.
She ran her fingers across the final page once more, tracing the words she now knew were written by a child torn from everything she loved.
Then she opened a hidden file tucked inside the cover.
CONFIDENTIAL: SYNAPTIC IMPRINT FILES – PATIENT ZERO: L.LEI"Subject's emotional data is non-compliant. Strong memory loops linked to sibling units Qian and Xi. Recommend suppression. Emotional attachments compromising prototype behavior."
Ruoxi's heart pounded.
This wasn't just data.
This was a verdict.
They had tried to erase Lin Lei because she felt too much.
Because she loved.
And now… Ruoxi realized why they feared her so much.
Emotion wasn't a flaw.
It was a rebellion.
Zeyan entered quietly, carrying her tea just how she liked it — two spoons of sugar, jasmine leaves at the bottom.
He placed the cup beside her.
"She left those files for a reason."
Ruoxi nodded. "To warn me. They're still trying to rewrite us."
Zeyan looked at her gently. "You think they'll come after you again?"
Ruoxi's voice was steady. "They already have. Every time I close my eyes, my memories shift. Places I should remember — missing. People I never met — appearing."
She glanced up. "They're syncing me with someone who isn't me. Again."
Zeyan sat beside her. "Then we sever the connection."
She shook her head.
"If we do… we lose her. Forever."
That afternoon, Lin Qian entered with trembling hands.
"I found this in my pillowcase," she whispered.
She held out a folded slip of paper.
Ruoxi opened it.
"Emotion is a glitch. Emotion is a crack. In the crack, she hides."
Below the message: a blood-red fingerprint.
Zeyan frowned. "It's not yours."
Ruoxi touched it. Her breath caught.
"It's Lei's."
They traced the note's texture and discovered micro-text etched under the surface.
Coordinates.
A private clinic on the outskirts of the city. Closed down four years ago.
Ruoxi's heart clenched.
"That's where I woke up after the accident. The one no one talks about."
Zeyan stood. "Then that's where they rewrote you. We need to go."
The facility was more lab than clinic — sterile, cold, white walls lined with dormant consoles and dark windows.
Ruoxi walked the halls with a chill crawling up her spine.
Every step closer to that room felt like she was walking into a forgotten nightmare.
Then she saw it.
A stasis chamber. Broken open.
Inside, the cracked imprint pod still glowed faintly with blue light.
And written across the glass in marker:
R-01: FINAL EMOTIONAL RESET COMPLETE.
Ruoxi stepped forward. Her hands trembled.
"I died here," she whispered. "Not my body. But my mind. They took everything that made me me."
She turned to Zeyan.
"This wasn't a reset. It was a murder."
On the console nearby, Zeyan recovered fragmented logs.
[Voice Log – Subject R-01]"Please… don't take Lei from me. I won't forget. I won't!""She's my sister… she's my heart…"
"Then you must forget her," a cold voice replied. "Or you'll never be perfect."
Zeyan's jaw clenched.
"They tore you apart to make you obedient."
Ruoxi pressed her hand to the glass.
"They underestimated the heart."
Back at the villa, Ruoxi couldn't sleep.
Not from fear. But because her dreams were now waking memories.
She remembered Lin Lei dancing barefoot on rainy days.
She remembered the way Lei shielded her when lightning struck the power grid in their dorm.
And she remembered her promise.
"Even if they erase me… I'll find my way back to you."
Zeyan found her on the rooftop near dawn.
"You look like someone who made a decision," he said softly.
Ruoxi turned to him. "I did."
She handed him a data chip.
"I'm going to upload Lei's entire emotional matrix into my consciousness. Willingly."
Zeyan stiffened. "It could overwrite you."
"It won't. Because I know who I am now."
She stepped closer.
"I'm the girl who survived. Who remembers. Who feels."
Her fingers brushed his hand.
"And I'm the girl who loves you."
He kissed her, slow and careful — like holding a fragile truth in his hands.
"Then I'll stay with you. No matter what version you become."
The upload began at 6:03 a.m.
Lin Qian stayed by Ruoxi's side, holding her hand as wave after wave of Lei's memories flooded in.
At one point, Ruoxi screamed — not in pain, but in pure emotional overwhelm.
Love. Loss. Sorrow. Joy.
Three childhoods. One soul.
When it was over, Ruoxi opened her eyes.
Clear. Radiant.
She looked at Lin Qian first. "Sister."
Then at Zeyan. "Home."
Zeyan breathed out shakily, stunned by the warmth and strength in her voice.
"You're still you."
Ruoxi smiled.
"I'm me. And her. And the girl they tried to erase."
She stood tall, stronger than she'd ever felt.
"They created a system that feared love."
She turned to the window, watching the sunrise break through the clouds.
"Now love will be the very thing that brings them down."