Honkai Star Rail: My Death Feeds Their Madness — Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Kagashi, Help Me to the Bathroom

‘…Could it be…’ Ruan Mei’s pupils trembled slightly, the serene surface of her composure finally cracking.

Was it because of those fleeting words that he had returned to his old home after completing his studies, anchoring himself there until the very day he died?

This fragment of the past—she was only just remembering it now. No… recovered would be a more accurate term.

What twisted her heart into an agonizing knot was the sheer weight of his devotion. Until his final breath, his body failing from old age, Kagashi had never forgotten the words that she herself had discarded to the back of her mind.

After finishing his education under her, he had returned to the world of his birth and remained there for one hundred and eleven years. He never took a single step away. Even as death claimed him, he had painstakingly left behind a puppet creation, a hollow shell tasked with keeping that forgotten promise in his stead.

For a fleeting moment, Ruan Mei felt a suffocating tightness seize her chest. An alien, nameless emotion she had never experienced before clawed its way up her throat.

It shouldn’t be like this… it was never supposed to be like this… A student’s affection for his teacher shouldn’t run this deep, this obsessively. Why did he have to be this way?

Six months after they had moved.

“Teacher, plum blossoms can be used as ingredients for pastries. Does that mean they can also be used to brew wine? I noticed you like to have a drink occasionally…”

“Brewing plum blossom wine requires exceptionally high-quality ingredients,” she had replied, her eyes not leaving her research notes. “I do not have the time to spare for such trivialities.”

“Anything Teacher doesn’t have time for, you can leave to me. If I don’t know how to do it, I’ll work hard to learn.”

She had merely nodded, a casual gesture of dismissal, not taking the boy’s earnest vow to heart.

But the youth learned. He learned an astonishing amount, and he learned with terrifying speed.

Gradually, outside the demanding world of her biological research, she found herself completely unburdened by the mundane world. Her daily life, down to the smallest detail, was entirely managed by Kagashi.

The pastries he baked grew increasingly exquisite, melting on the tongue, and he absorbed the complex scientific knowledge she fed him like a sponge. During this time, he also took up several musical instruments, dedicating himself fiercely to the ruan.

Whenever a spare moment presented itself, she would find the youth sitting quietly, cradling her instrument in his arms, his fingers plucking the strings until they bled.

Eventually, his mind could keep pace with her own, and their music intertwined in perfect harmony. Pleased, she gifted him a traditional ruan of his own, allowing him to officially hold an instrument that belonged solely to him.

Those days were incredibly fulfilling. In a mere three years, Kagashi had absorbed an education equivalent to what an ordinary human would spend from elementary school through university trying to grasp.

Naturally, he lacked a formal, written diploma. If he wanted one, he would have to apply to a proper academy and endure the tedious bureaucratic process.

But he didn’t care. He simply smiled and told her that staying by his teacher’s side didn’t require a piece of paper.

Since Kagashi never brought up the topic of graduation again, she temporarily tossed those casually spoken words into the recesses of her mind.

When Kagashi turned fifteen, she crossed paths with Member 55 of the Genius Society, Yu Qingtu.

During the genius’s visit, the cocktail master was remarkably cold toward her student, offering him not a shred of friendliness. Yet later, at some imperceptible point, Yu Qingtu’s icy demeanor thawed.

As Ruan Mei carefully sifted through the Remembrance of this era, the truth behind those dusty, trivial matters finally surfaced.

It turned out… Yu Qingtu had made a secret wager with Kagashi.

The terms? To bake a pastry that would actually satisfy her.

Truthfully, even the confections Ruan Mei made herself were relentlessly picked apart by Yu Qingtu. That woman’s palate was notoriously picky, bordering on absolute fastidiousness. The final outcome of that bet remained unknown, but it was highly unlikely that the Kagashi of that time could have met such an impossible standard.

Another year slipped by. Kagashi was now sixteen.

More than five years had passed since the day he first bowed his head and became her student.

On the night of her birthday, the youth—whose height had shot up to nearly match her own—appeared in the doorway, carefully cradling a sealed jar of wine against his chest.

“Happy birthday, Teacher. Would you like to try some Plum Blossom Wine? It has been aged for exactly five years. The records say this is the precise moment its flavor reaches perfection.”

She had been genuinely surprised. The tender, determined voice of the little boy from years ago echoed in her ears.

It turned out he hadn’t been joking at all. When he gave his word, he bound his life to it.

“Teacher?” Seeing her dazed expression, the youth tilted his head slightly, his soft hair falling over his eyes.

“…Mhm. I simply thought you were speaking casually back then.”

“How could that be?” The youth’s smile was blindingly bright, warm enough to melt frost. “Teacher taught me that if you say you will do something, you must see it through. Otherwise, it is better to never speak at all.”

“…Kagashi is very good. You have done exceptionally well.” She softened her gaze. “What reward do you want?”

“I want to develop a universal seasoning, but two of the core materials… the Interastral Peace Corporation’s listed price and the delivery fees are incredibly high…”

“Whatever you need, just log into this account and purchase it. The cost does not matter.”

To her, Credits were nothing more than a meaningless string of digits on a screen. If her balance ever ran low, she could simply auction off a few minor patents from her discarded research projects.

“Thank you, Teacher! I’ll pour the Plum Blossom Wine for you right now.”

Having secured his prize, the youth couldn’t hide the pure joy radiating from his face. He stepped forward respectfully, unsealing the jar and filling her delicate cup with the fragrant liquid.

Watching the Remembrance unfold up to this exact moment, Ruan Mei’s eyes flickered with a complex light.

She remembered that night.

The Plum Blossom Wine crafted by her student had left a remarkably deep imprint on her soul. From that night onward, whenever her biological research hit a dead end or her mood soured, she would pour herself a small glass of that very wine.

The moment the liquid touched her lips, the heavy frustration and gloom in her heart would instantly evaporate. On rare, precious occasions, it even sparked a sudden surge of brilliant inspiration.

Ruan Mei continued to watch the memory play out.

Taking a small sip, the past version of herself couldn’t help but lose focus for a moment, captivated by the taste.

“How is it, Teacher? Is it to your liking?” The youth stood off to the side, his hands nervously gripping the edge of his apron.

“Not bad.” She tilted her head back, exposing the elegant curve of her neck, and drained the cup in one fluid gulp. “Pour me another.”

One cup.

Two cups.

Three cups…

Gradually, as the quiet birthday banquet drew to a close, more than half the jar of plum blossom wine had vanished. Kagashi was still far too young to drink, so every single drop had gone straight into Ruan Mei’s stomach.

By this point, her usually pale and pristine face was flushed with a deep, alluring redness. Feeling an uncharacteristic heat rising beneath her skin, she unbuttoned her coat and let it slide off her shoulders.

“Kagashi, I want more…”

“…Teacher, you look a bit drunk. Let’s stop here for tonight, alright?”

“I am not drunk.”

Kagashi immediately deflated, a helpless smile tugging at his lips. People who were truly drunk always claimed they weren’t.

“…” The present Ruan Mei furrowed her brows, a cold spike of confusion piercing her thoughts.

Why didn’t she remember this scene?

Searching her mind carefully, she realized she truly had no recollection of these events. There was an actual, glaring gap in her Remembrance.

Her only memory was of sleeping heavily until the late morning after the banquet, waking up feeling entirely refreshed, and immediately diving back into her laboratory.

In the memory, a few more cups were downed.

“Teacher, you really can’t drink anymore!”

“A drunk person wouldn’t be able to speak this clearly. Keep pouring.”

“Sigh…”

Watching the youth’s helpless sigh, Ruan Mei’s eyes clouded with even deeper bewilderment.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t tried consuming vast quantities of alcohol in a short time before, but her unique physiology meant she had never been drunk. From childhood to adulthood, the sensation of true intoxication was entirely foreign to her.

What exactly had happened that night?

In the end, the entire jar of Plum Blossom Wine was drained dry. Not a single drop remained.

At this very moment in the memory, Ruan Mei’s snow-white neck was painted with a layer of rosy clouds. Her eyes were hazy, her posture relaxed—anyone could see she was thoroughly and completely intoxicated.

“Kagashi, help me to the bathroom.”

“Teacher… bathing in this state isn’t very conveni—alright…”

Pinned down by his teacher’s half-lidded, dangerously heavy gaze, the youth had no choice but to swallow his protests. He gently supported her weight, guiding her unsteady steps into the bathroom.

He thoughtfully adjusted the temperature and filled the bathtub with steaming water before turning on his heel to leave.

Unexpectedly, just as he lifted his foot to step through the doorway, his arm was suddenly caught in a firm grip.

“Why are you leaving so fast?” Her voice was low, laced with a husky, uncharacteristic warmth. “While I’m soaking later, help me massage my shoulders.”

Kagashi instinctively shook his head, a wave of sheer panic washing over his youthful features.

“I can’t, Teacher. There is a strict boundary between teacher and student, and between a man and a woman. How can you let me—”

“Be good. Be obedient.” She tugged him closer, the intoxicating scent of plum blossoms and warm skin enveloping him. “There will be a reward if you do it well.”