"You..." Yasmin glared at him. "How could he act like I'm giving him a massage?" she thought angrily. "This old man sure knows how to take liberties with me!"

Dominic stared at her and laughed. "You're the one who wants me to treat you. You should obey me instead."

She glared again, recognizing his mimicry of her tone.

"I told you your problem is psychological. If you don't learn to let go, no one can save you. But things will be different if you do." Dominic pointed at his heart. "Once it's full of troubles, nothing good will happen."

Yasmin slowly turned toward him, listening intently. 'Nothing good will happen once my heart is full of troubles?' she mused. She considered her life over the past few years. Her people loved her, and she seemed to have aged well; however, she had suffered tremendously. She constantly worried about the country's future after her death. There were many things she hadn't yet done; she didn't want to die.

"I'd have no more troubles if I could live forever," Yasmin said weakly, sighing.

Dominic sighed. "You're still thinking about that, huh?"

"I have to." Yasmin stared at the ceiling. She had previously motivated herself with the idea of achieving immortality through the experiment, but her recent brush with death deepened her helplessness. She had imagined death countless times, but could not accept any of those scenarios. She loved the world and couldn't bear to leave it.

"Do you think you won't feel troubled if you live forever?" Dominic asked. "Won't you have even more troubles living hundreds or thousands of years?"

"You don't understand. I can't die. My country needs me. My people need—"

Dominic interrupted. "Oh, please! You think too highly of yourself. Your closest kin and friends are probably the only ones who need you, and they can live without you. Do you think you're as important as oxygen? The sun will still rise even if you die today. The rain will continue to fall, and people will still go to work after throwing you a grand funeral."

Yasmin was exasperated but had to agree.

"I know it might not sound pleasant, but I made sense, right?" he continued. "You're younger than me. How come you're even more obsessed with immortality? Anyway, can I be honest?"

Curious, Yasmin said, "Go ahead."