“Scope of knowledge?” I chuckled dryly. “This has nothing to do with ‘knowledge,’ does it?”
“Yan Zhichun… I’ve told you I grew up alone and destitute. If there were someone who could become the sole focus of my thoughts, I wouldn’t need to say such a thing.”
This was a rather rare situation. I wanted to ask directly but feared it might be too intrusive. After some hesitation, I figured White Goat wasn’t an ordinary person—asking outright probably wouldn’t be an issue.
“So… you don’t even have family?” I asked.
“That’s right,” White Goat nodded. “My family died when I was a child. Since middle school, the only person in this world connected to me… has been myself.”
Suddenly, I began to understand where the “divinity” in White Goat’s demeanor came from. To him, the people in this place were closer to family than those in the real world.
Even if they were strangers, the existence of the “interview room” forced them together. For White Goat, this dynamic made the people inside feel like some kind of oddly connected family.
He seemed to have no sense of self, yet at the same time, he was deeply entrenched in it.
“Brother Goat… is there really no one in this world you’ve known—no one you’d want to go back and see again?”
White Goat narrowed his eyes, lost in thought for a long time, before finally uttering two words:
“No.”
Hearing that, I felt a pang of sorrow… Perhaps White Goat’s circumstances weren’t so different from mine.
But while I was the one isolated by others, he might have isolated himself.
If that were truly the case, what reason did White Goat even have to leave?
He had no family, no attachments. His mind operated like a strong man’s, his spiritual values profound. In fact, I almost felt that this “Land of the End” was where his talents could truly flourish.
But if he was determined to leave, all I could say was—
“Then I don’t have a way.”
“No… there has to be a way.” White Goat frowned. “If we have an idea, we can try it. You suggested something I’ve never considered before.”
“Really…?”
“Yan Zhichun, can someone really carry the weight of an eternal drive just to see another person?”
“I just think it’s worth a shot,” I sighed. “Since you can’t leave for your own sake, you’ll have to do it for someone else.”
“But why…?” White Goat looked at me, puzzled. “Why would that person be so important?”
“The reason is ‘love,'” I replied. “It’s the one thing in this world that transcends everything—logic, reason, even societal norms.”
At my words, White Goat slowly lowered his head, his gaze distant.
It seemed even the strongest people had their blind spots.
“Brother Goat… have you never met someone like that in your life?” I pressed. “A moment where, while spending time with her, you suddenly thought—’If I could spend the rest of my life with her, that wouldn’t be so bad.'”
White Goat’s eyes grew even emptier at that. I might have truly struck a chord in his blind spot.
The unfortunate truth was, for someone as sharp as White Goat, the gap between him and others always felt vast.
The average person’s IQ is around 100, while a border collie’s is about 70. A difference of 30 points is enough to clearly distinguish human intelligence from that of a clever dog.
If White Goat’s IQ was 130… would ordinary people seem like intelligent dogs to him?
Honestly, if it were me, I wouldn’t know how to fall in love with a dog either. At our core, we couldn’t empathize with them.
“Tell me…” White Goat said. “Have you ever felt that way? Falling for someone… or wanting to spend the rest of your life with them… that sort of thing.”
I felt a twinge of shame at the question, instinctively moving my left hand behind my back to hide the tattoo there.
If I had someone to be with, why would I have inked those three letters?
“Interesting. I noticed that tattoo the first time we met. Hiding it now won’t change anything,” White Goat remarked bluntly.
“I…”
I knew that in White Goat’s eyes, I was just a clever dog.
“What do those three letters mean?” he pressed.
I swallowed hard. *You’re Not Alone* felt like my last shred of dignity—if that was torn away, I’d have nothing left.
“It’s… my surname,” I lied.
White Goat gave me a weary look. “Are you seriously telling me the letters on your fingers aren’t ‘YNA’ but ‘YAN’?”
When defending ourselves instinctively, lies slip out effortlessly—even in front of someone like White Goat.
The funny thing about lies is that they’re like Pandora’s box. Once you tell the first, you can never stop.
“Y-Yes. I was a student… didn’t have much money,” I stammered. “Went to a cheap tattoo artist, and they messed it up.”
White Goat clearly saw through it but, perhaps to spare me further humiliation, didn’t call me out. He just sighed softly. “So… is tattooing your name on your fingers some kind of trend?”
“Maybe. I’ve seen girls do it,” I said. “Fancy script of their surname, or initials of their name.”
White Goat seemed oddly intrigued—whether out of curiosity or a thirst for knowledge, I couldn’t tell.
“What do two people in love even do together?” he asked. “Spending a lifetime with someone… wouldn’t that get boring?”
“Real love is probably mundane in the end.”
Truthfully, I had no real experience with love. All I could do was share my own understanding, even if it was skewed compared to normal people’s.
“How mundane?”
“Maybe she wakes you up after your nap, and when you step out of the bedroom, she’s already made two of your favorite dishes.” I thought for a moment before adding, “You won’t have some grand love story, but you’ll be each other’s only anchor in the world. You’ll sit together and talk—about everything. After meals, you’ll sit on the balcony, watching the sunset and reminiscing.”
Silence stretched between us for a good ten seconds as White Goat processed this.
“So love… is two people spending time doing meaningless things together?” he asked solemnly.
“Yes,” I nodded. “Love is doing things that serve no purpose but make each other happy—things you’ll remember forever.”
“I see…” White Goat sighed, his expression conflicted.
“So… have you thought of anyone?” I asked. “Has there really never been someone like that in your life?”
“I’ll think of someone soon,” he said. “Can you bring me a mirror tomorrow?”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage