Okay so a character does die. Basically Yan Jiang is the rich eldest son of a wealthy family with a chronic heart disease. He has a younger brother named Yan Chi and a lover- Pei Qinghe. Yan Chi is actually Yan Jiang's half brother and the result of his father's affair. Their mother couldn't give birth to another child and Yan Jiang was sick so she brought in an illegitimate kid to raise. Obviously she abused him so Yan Chi grew up a bit twisted and has a brother complex (kinda) as he cares deeply for Yan Jiang while still (kinda) hating him because he has everything and is ignorant. Pei Qinghe's parents divorced and he lives with his mother and eventually gets a half brother who develops leukemia. His stepfather hates him and his mother prefers her new son. To get the money for his brother's treatment, his family basically sells him to the Yan family with a contract where he'll give his heart (since they have some rare blood and only he can donate) to Yan Jiang the moment he needs it. Until then, they'll give Pei Qinghe everything he and his family needs. Pei Qinghe decides to study abroad where Yan Jiang is (keep in mind Yan Jiang knows nothing about any of this) and gets close to him with the goal of hurting him. However, he falls in love instead and eventually their relationship is exposed when Pei Qinghe calls Yan Chi for help when Yan Jiang's condition gets worse. From there, the couple is separated and Yan Jiang's heart weakens as his brother is forcibly keeping him from his lover while Pei Qinghe and Yan Chi have a business war to fight for Yan Jiang. In the end, something happens and there is a car crash where Yan Chi is injured and Yan Jiang needs a new heart (I think all three were involved in the crash). While they're all on the brink of death, they're symbolized as a cat (YJ), wolf (PQH), and lion (YC) on planets. The planets tell Yan Jiang the true past of his brother and lover (as he didn't know anything before) and he forgives his brother and is forced to part from Pei Qinghe as when he wakes up, it's after the heart surgery. So yeah, Pei Qinghe died giving his heart to Yan Jiang and Yan Chi pulls through too (lmao didn't really care about the brother- he's pitiful but he separated love).

his heart will always be with the kitty, figuratively and literally. I still cry everytime I read that part in the story where he realized how weak and powerless he was when MC collapsed in the real world and knew that the heart was needed. It wasn't even anyone's heart, it was his heart. He had no choice and was forced by his own family to sell his own heart in exchange for a good life as long as he can live. And his hatred for the MC bloomed unknowingly into deep love and now here they were. ML died, MC lived. Just as how the fates always decreed it so. It's so bittersweet that ML said he had nothing of his own to give to MC except for his heart and he gave it up both times when he chose to fall in love with him and let go of his hatred as well as when he gave up his heart to save MC. It was the one thing in his life he had control of and he gave it willingly. But the pain hits you even more when you realize that in the end, the MC will have to live with the fact that his lover died to save him and he can't even die on his own terms because he owes his life to the person he loves the most and he doesn't want to taint it by dying.

ML prepared an AI sort of that was modelled in his image that will grow as more conversations is learned by it. It was like having ML alive but also not because you know it will never be real and never be enough. The fact that ML had been preparing for his eventual death and made sure to cover for everything and anything he could still hurts so bad. ML will forever live on in that computer program growing as MC also grows older, as if it was the last piece of comfort he could offer to help reduce the weight of it all.