"Who is Anya?" Watts voiced everyone's question.
"I don't know. Open the visual interface, I have some questions for him," Rosaline replied.
The next instant, Rosaline appeared.
"...Who are you?"
Old John was a bit surprised by Rosaline's sudden appearance.
"My name is Eva, I'm just passing by."
Rosaline: "Is she your wife?"
"Yes, her name is Xiaoxi."
"That's a rather unique name."
Old John's voice was filled with regret, "She wasn't supposed to rest here forever."
"Hmm?"
"She... didn't need to do that."
"But she did... You wouldn't understand, I can't even understand her,"
"Who is this Anya you're talking about?" Rosaline asked.
Old John shook his head and looked towards the distant sky.
Mo Zhi remembered this conversation very clearly, her intuition told her there were many foreshadowings within it.
After bidding farewell to Old John, Rosaline obtained a new note in the lighthouse: [Anya].
What "ta" is, is not yet clear.
From the lighthouse, she collected five memory chains and synthesized a complete memory fragment – the [Platypus Doll]. She had seen this thing more than four times, even more than the two-colored rabbit.
She figured it must be very useful.
Indeed!
The third time!
The scene flashed, and the perspective, following the platypus, leaped through time to a new scene.
This place looked like a bedroom.
A woman lay on the bed, John stood quietly beside her, the platypus doll placed by her bedside, and the floor was still covered with paper rabbits.
It should have jumped back to two years ago, when John's wife, Xiaoxi, was still alive.
The woman lying on the bed was Xiaoxi.
"It's still enough."
John looked at the woman and said softly, "Even after paying the handling fees, there's still more than enough money left... So, don't worry."
"...A white lie."
Xiaoxi whispered, "That's what people call it, right?"
"It's really enough—"
John wanted to explain, but Xiaoxi interrupted him, "Stop talking... I don't like you lying."
"I've calculated our assets, I understand the current situation clearly. Why do you want me to go against my own beliefs?"
Knock, knock, knock—
The slightly melancholic BGM, "Born As a Stranger," was mixed with the sound of a chaotic heartbeat.
Clearly, this memory had stimulated the dying Old John on the sickbed.
In the memory scene,
John struggled with grief, "We need that money to pay for your medical treatment, Xiaoxi!"
"I know Anya is very important to you, but you... you've gone too far."
He explained, "I mean she—... she isn't even—"
"Do you know what would make me happy, Johnny?" Xiaoxi calmly interrupted him.
"I... I know." John's face turned red.
"Yes, you know. I won't sign the treatment plan when it's sent over."
Xiaoxi's attitude was firm, "As for what our money should be used for, you decide."
"But if you recognize my ideals, I hope you can use it to build that house."
She looked at Old John hopefully, "...And then, I hope, as long as you live there, you will take good care of her."
"Spend more time with her, talk to her often, and let her live well."
"I hope she's no longer lonely."
Mo Zhi and the audience were bewildered. Who was Anya?
Why did Xiaoxi refuse life-saving surgery to have John build a house?
More mysteries arose, and they could only continue exploring.
John retorted, "What about you?"
"...Happiness."
After a long pause, Xiaoxi said quietly, "This is where my happiness lies."
Xiaoxi looked at John again, "Johnny?"
"What is it?"
"I made this."
Xiaoxi took out the colorful paper rabbit and handed it to Old John, "Tell me, what is this?"
"What is it?"
Her voice was filled with deep expectation, "You have to tell me, what is it?"
"It's a rabbit, just like the other rabbits you made."
"What else?"
"Well... it's made of paper."
"What else?"
"Its body is yellow, and the other parts are blue."
"Exactly, anything else?"
"..." John was clearly being pestered too much and no longer wanted to answer. He changed the subject:
"By the way, I composed a piece of music for you, Xiaoxi. Would you like to hear it?"
"Okay, what's it called?" Xiaoxi asked with a hint of disappointment.
"To Xiaoxi."
"How cheesy..."
John said nothing and went to the piano to play.
As the soothing piano music began, the audience's emotions were stirred.
'Always listen, always new. Every time I hear 'To Xiaoxi,' I feel something different.'
'So beautiful!'
'The lyrics and music feel a layer of sadness this time.'
'There's a detail, the two kids downstairs can also play this tune. How many times have they listened?'
......
"Guys, my head is full of question marks right now."
Mo Zhi was a bit exasperated, "It's all over the place. All the conversations sound like encrypted calls."
She continued to operate Watts to search the room for items leading to the next memory node: "Let's keep going, I refuse to believe we can't figure this out!"
The next memory fragment was [A Bunch of Wildflowers] from the room.
The fourth time—
Mo Zhi activated it, and time leaped forward again. That bunch of flowers was still growing on the edge of a cliff.
She walked down the mountain path and saw a house whose foundation was just being laid. John sat by the construction site, looking rather sad.
"Nicholas called and said I should come over."
At this moment, a woman of the same age as John walked towards him and greeted him.
"I brought you pickled olives, your favorite, right?"
John looked at the olives but didn't reply.
Isabelle sat beside John and comforted him softly, "I heard about Xiaoxi."
"Her illness is very serious. Fortunately, there's still hope for a cure, but the medical fees... We can't afford to build this house, Isabelle."
John sighed, "The money is just enough for medical treatment, but... you don't know what this house means to her. She'll be heartbroken."
"I'll come to help, but Nicholas and I have only been getting by since the stock market crash... What are you planning to do now?"
"I... I have to tell her we still have surplus funds. I don't want to see her do anything impulsive."
"You shouldn't lie."
John explained, "You don't understand. If she knows the money isn't enough, I don't know what she'll choose."
"So what? If she chooses to sacrifice herself for this house, then let it be her wish. That's what she truly wants," Isabelle said.
John became somewhat agitated, "What about me? After so many years, can't I be selfish for once?... I don't want to be alone."
After speaking, John stood up.
"Where are you going?"
"To pick a bouquet of fresh flowers for her by the cliff. Maybe it will make her feel better."
......
"Good heavens, I understand the reason behind Xiaoxi and John's conversation in the previous scene."
Mo Zhi sighed, "Not bad, one problem is solved."
"From the outcome, John ultimately spent the money on the house."
"Why was he persuaded by Xiaoxi?"
"Why did Xiaoxi desperately want John to tell her what he saw from the two-colored rabbit?"
"What important meaning does the two-colored rabbit hold?"
"Who is Anya?"
"Why did the platypus appear so many times?"
"......"
"Great!"
Mo Zhi rolled her eyes: She felt like dying. "Another ten questions have appeared!!"