Chapter 66: Heartwrenching Event
It's often said that people will be forever trapped by what they couldn't have in their youth. Without Xanthia, he might have been just that—perpetually trapped.
But with her appearance, the more he spent time with her, the more he felt that everyone else paled in comparison.
No one captured his heart like Xanthia did.
Yet, he dared not reveal his true feelings. He could only express them through words—
Only you can call my name in pain.
Only you, even when our hands do not touch, our souls have already met.
You are the only one among everyone whom I want to love. You cannot measure what this means; it's an oasis in the desert, a flower in the wilderness.
Because of you, my heart does not wither. There's a place in my soul waiting for an oracle.
For this, I thank you.
I thought love could fill the voids in life, but ironically, it often creates more voids itself.
Later, I realized those weren't my flowers; I merely passed through your bloom.
As Dematero watched Xanthia, genuinely happy for his success, bitterness brewed within him. He had made another self-righteous decision, one that he would regret for the rest of his life.
In an effort to push Xanthia away and ensure she found someone better, he deliberately pretended to be infatuated with another girl, engaging in flirtation. He relished in the increasing admiration he received, especially from girls who were both beautiful and eloquent.
Xanthia was always the quiet type, and he remembered vividly how annoyed he had been when their teacher assigned her as his desk mate during his chatty phase.
She did so much, said so little, that her efforts seemed taken for granted.
Intentionally exposing his "change of heart" to Xanthia, even chatting with another girl during the 30 seconds she was making a wish on her birthday, was part of his plan.
The girl in question was a lively and adorable university student who sent him a message: "The library has a power outage. I'm so scared."
During Xanthia's birthday, within the short 30 seconds she spent making a wish, Dematero didn't give that time to Xanthia; instead, he gave it to another girl.
Of course, he also "accidentally" let Xanthia know about it, playing his little game of cleverness.
As expected, Xanthia seemed thoroughly disappointed in him. Finally, she smiled with resignation. "I understand now. You don't need a troublesome friend like me anymore. It's okay, as long as you're happy."
After all, she didn't have much time left.
Xanthia finally left his world, exactly as he had hoped. Everything had gone according to his plan.
Dematero remained silent, unleashing a wave of pain points once more.
But he knew, in this world, every embrace ends in letting go, just as every meeting ends in farewell.
When he met her, he already knew the outcome.
What he didn't know was that the "beautiful ending" he wanted for her was completely different from reality!
After leaving Dematero, Xanthia seemed to lose interest in music. By then, she was already considered a "little diva" in the music industry.
At her farewell concert, the last song she sang was "Goodbye," a song she composed after leaving him. She sang with tears streaming down her face, her voice etching into everyone's soul, leaving the entire audience thoroughly emotional—
"I can see the pain living in your eyes
And I know how hard you try
You deserve to have so much more
I can feel your heart and I sympathize
And I'll never criticize all you've ever meant to my life
I don't want to let you down
I don't want to lead you on
I don't want to hold you back
From where you might belong
You would never ask me why
My heart is so disguised
I just can't live a lie anymore
I would rather hurt myself
Than to ever make you cry
There's nothing left to say but goodbye~"
...
At that time, Dematero, who had long stopped paying attention to Xanthia, didn't hear this song. He was fully immersed in the creation of his new work, "Gods," which was already serialized in magazines and gaining immense popularity!
He believed that with this work, he could sustain himself for a lifetime. For a writer to create such a retirement-level masterpiece was truly a rare achievement!
Later, a trending topic exploded on Synomilia, crashing the servers—
#XanthiaPassedAway# [Breaking]
In addition to this trending topic, other hashtags like #XanthiaIdentity#, #HeiressOfTheConglomerate#, #DeceasedSingerXanthia#, etc., also dominated the trending list, occupying all the top spots on Synomilia Social!