Chapter 136
In an instant, thoughts surged wildly in the quiet environment, countless suspicions arose, and all the repressed issues of the past surged and flew up at this moment.
The girl pursed her lips, jealousy and suspicion mixed with inexplicable anger, all intertwined into a twisted emotion. She tried her best to swallow her grievances and sadness, but she still couldn't help but clench the bath towel in her hand. In her lowered eyes, a deep-seated obsession burned like fire.
Why is this happening?
Whether it's teaming up with Xiao Qing or taking a bath together, it should be a very happy experience.
Whether it was Xie Qingxuan's words or Tang Liuli's secret meeting with Chu Yuanqing, they were like sharp knives slicing into her heart, causing a searing pain that felt like flesh was being torn apart. A strong possessiveness followed, turning her emotions into a complete mess and causing her recently calmed state of mind to collapse again.
If...
If they can do it, why can't I?
The brilliant cherry blossom pink in Kiriwake Yayoi's eyes, like a snowstorm at its peak in the light, reveals a fierce edge in an instant, but in the powerlessness of being swallowed up by the tide, the color is stripped away bit by bit, disappearing into a weak softness.
The hand that had been gripping the bath towel slowly released its grip.
Little Sakura silently folded it up, placed it back on the bench, and lowered her eyes without saying a word.
Tang Liuli was right. That was their relationship all along. After Chu Yuanqing was brought back to the team, the fragile alliance naturally collapsed, and they returned to a state of complete competition.
No matter what progress the other party has made with Chu Yuanqing, there is no need to report it to me. Getting angry and questioning them here would only make me lose my integrity and composure, turning me into a beast twisted by emotions and desires.
Idols can have personal desires.
But the premise is that this personal desire will not shatter the fans' illusions about him.
Kiriwake Yayoi is in love with Chu Yuanqing.
This affection is a precious treasure, allowing her to develop emotions that are unique to her age—both innocent and pure. If she regards it as a valuable lesson in life, she can even use it to create an even more Shining Stage.
Such pure and innocent feelings, as bright as gemstones, overflowing with hope and longing, should not be mixed with impurities called "possessiveness" and "jealousy".
Kiriwake Yayoi's expression was serious as she whispered:
Liking someone is inherently a personal matter.
No one is perfect.
Perhaps she can never completely eradicate those ugly possessiveness, jealousy, and anger in her heart.
But as long as she remains herself, the pure and persistent Kiriwake Yayoi who hasn't lost her original intentions, she will never vent similar emotions on Chu Yuanqing himself or her "rivals".
Kiriwake Yayoi closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and sighed to herself:
"Perhaps I should re-examine myself."
Since embarking on her dream-chasing journey at the age of 12, her life has consisted only of working, going to school, training, and the arduous Idol Activities.
Seven years have passed since then.
Over the past seven years, she has maintained her idealized idol state through her obsession with her idol and her yearning for her dreams. She has even created a method of self-suggestion called the "Perfect Performance Method" specifically for regulating her inner self.
Ultimately, no matter how strong one's personality is, or how much one loves the stage, there is a limit to how much one can go. She has no friends to confide in, and no hobbies to relieve stress. Suppressing herself for a long time and focusing all her attention on being an idol is bound to cause some problems.
In fact, after being forced to disband her group and experiencing a series of ups and downs, including being rejected from the audition by Tokyo Flashdance, she could clearly sense the changes that had occurred within herself.
The most obvious signs are emotionality and well-hidden paranoia.
In the Idol Domain, these qualities can be tempered by a love for the stage and strong self-control.
Especially after joining Sea Capital's "Flash Dance", she achieved one success after another, stepping onto increasingly larger stages and gaining far more attention and popularity than in the previous 7 years. Her psychological problems have gradually ceased to be an issue.
After all, nothing heals the heart more than the bittersweet experience of overcoming hardship.
Logically, during this stage, she should have become a complete career woman, focusing all her energy on debuting on Flash Dance, reaching National Level and world-class stages, and becoming an idol watched by countless people.
While this was indeed the case, her attention was still partly drawn to Chu Yuanqing, who was theoretically her rival, and she even interfered with the crucial process of choosing teammates because of this.
Kiriwake Yayoi began to examine herself. She wasn't superficial, nor was she love-struck, and she had never had any romantic tendencies in the past. What was her reason for easily overcoming her past perceptions and falling for Chu Yuanqing?
Was it the person who helped me up before I fell awkwardly?
Is it that same belief, so similar to my own, that places such an emphasis on the stage that it seems foolish?
Is it the other person's warm and approachable aura, their unexpectedly attractive appearance, or their gentle and kind nature that comes from experience but isn't cynical?
Or perhaps, Chu Yuanqing, radiant in her wedding dress, glowing in the sea breeze and sunshine, is like a deity descending to earth, her fleeting glance a timeless beauty that lasts a millennium?
Kiriwake Yayoi originally wanted to use the review to clear her mind and think about whether she really liked Chu Yuanqing.
What made her feel both gratified and ashamed was that the more she reflected on it, the clearer her budding love became, like ink spreading across her mind, revealing the other person's smiling face, which grew tender and irrevocably affectionate.
The girl suppressed a smile and continued to think.
She felt that there were still some elements that she hadn't figured out or couldn't understand. It was precisely those mysterious and elusive things that gave her a sense of certainty, like a revelation of fate or a saint's prayer.
After a moment's thought, Kiriwake Yayoi confidently arrived at her answer:
It's love.
When you fall in love with someone, there are always reasons that you can't explain yourself. The fact that she realizes there are more reasons than just these proves that this feeling is love as defined by the world.
At the moment she arrived at this answer, she suddenly remembered an old movie called "Zhong Wuyan," and her emotions surged, as if she had suddenly realized something.
The girl seemed dazed and somewhat lost in thought.
It was a romance movie. The story was simple: Zhong Wuyan and King Qi Xuan fell in love, but just as their destined union was about to be fulfilled, a Little Fox who liked Zhong Wuyan appeared out of nowhere.
The Little Fox's love was pure yet savage. She used Love Curse to make Zhong Wuyan ugly, forcing her to fall in love with her or she would be ugly for life, but Zhong Wuyan resolutely refused.
Enraged, the Little Fox transformed into a beautiful woman named Xia Yingchun and personally seduced King Qi Xuan. She was sometimes male and sometimes female, and mysteriously fell in love with King Qi Xuan and Zhong Wuyan at the same time, leading to a series of events that followed.
What she remembered was a conversation between Zhong Wuyan and the Little Fox.
--"What exactly is love?"
--"Love is about giving unconditionally to the one you love, sacrificing everything, and only wanting them to be happy."
"Wrong. Love is about possession, destruction, and ruin. It's about using any means necessary to get the other person, even at the cost of hurting them, and if necessary, breaking up completely and destroying everything."
The Little Fox answered that way because she saw Zhong Wuyan's love.
After Love Curse, Zhong Wuyan was repeatedly rejected by King Qi Xuan for her ugly appearance. She was even taken advantage of and thrown into prison. In the end, she was used as a gambling chip and lost because of his gambling addiction.
Even so, heartbroken, she still harbored feelings for him after proposing a divorce; her love was sincere yet foolish.
Zhong Wuyan's answer was a straightforward explanation of the Little Fox's love. Her use of Love Curse to threaten and force him to have her domineering, destructive, ruinous, and ruthless.
When Kiriwake Yayoi watched it, she didn't understand, but now she understands a little. Her previous overly emotional self was like a hesitant Little Fox; if she took a few more steps, she would hurt the person she liked.
If this love will hurt Xiao Qing, can it really be considered love?
Love can certainly encompass desire, but love that cannot control desire is nothing more than a raging fire that destroys everything.
The Kiriwake Yayoi a mixture of shame and enlightenment, realizing that she had transcended those filthy and narrow desires and made a far-reaching decision in her heart.
Chu Yuanqing is wonderful.
But if the price of this beauty is to drag a god down to the mortal realm, fall into a filthy swamp, and turn into a clay sculpture that can be embraced, then she would rather never get close to him.
The gloom and weariness faded from the girl's pure and beautiful face, revealing a sincere and cheerful smile. She murmured to herself:
"I... don't want to become the kind of person I used to despise."
"The perfect and dazzling idol I've always admired, who deserves to be loved by the world, would definitely maintain his principles even when dealing with people he likes."
Therefore, no matter how painful or difficult things are, you must never let your selfish desires override your own will and harm others.
What's amazing is that in the instant this will became firm, the "Cocoon of the Heart" deep within the soul shone brightly, and the turbulent Heart Tide within became even purer, like a gentle radiance cleansing the self. Even the Rose Covenant that was picked and placed in the bag was imbued with splendor.
Splash, splash.
An invisible wave of sound swept over my ears.
On that platinum earring, the blooming rosebud seemed to vanish for a fleeting moment, as if forging a deeper connection with her soul.
Kiriwake Yayoi thought she was hallucinating. After regaining her energy and rousing herself, as if she had undergone a baptism, she didn't pay much attention to this detail and decisively walked out of the changing room, deciding to go find Chu Yuanqing.
At the same time, in the central control room, a large amount of unexpected data calculations caused the Super AI named Dream Weaver to open its eyes. It looked at the status interface of the six artificial lanterns with surprise.
The Mobius Ring, in particular, indicates a disconnection, signifying complete fusion with the host's soul.
Secondly, in the 3D image, the Goddess Skirt represented by Xie Qingxuan is wrapped and entangled by colorful black lines of varying colors, seemingly forcibly accelerating the fusion process by plundering the brilliance, and taking the lead with a domineering [Flow State].
Next up are Tang Liuli, who was born with the prototype of the [Cocoon of the Heart], Kiriwake Yayoi, a mainstream idol, and Chen Yining and Ji Shuzhu, a pair of childhood friends who are evenly matched.
Meanwhile, a certain idol from the mainstream idol group, in a moment of deep contemplation, unexpectedly wiped away the dust from his soul and returned to his flawless purity. The holographic image of the Rose Covenant then appeared in a dazzling display, surpassing Tang Liuli and catching up with Xie Qingxuan.
It's important to know that the fusion progress of the lantern represents the development rate of the [Witch].
It is a great thing for either side to grow faster, and it is naturally worthwhile to keep a close eye on it.
The Dream Weaver Rabbit's scarlet eyes were filled with joy. It clapped its hands in celebration and laughed with delight:
"Liang Xiaoxiao has forged a special [Cocoon of the Heart] because of you."
"Through her time with you, Tang Liuli has filled the gaps in the [Cocoon of the Heart]."
"During the time Xie Qingxuan teamed up with you, the development efficiency of [Cocoon of the Heart] increased by 679%, and after separating from you, she made up her mind to accept her true self."
"Now, even this most quintessential and pure idol trainee is shining with such brilliance on the second day after teaming up with you, greatly accelerating the fusion progress of the lantern."
Is this a coincidence, or an unpredictable twist of fate on stage?
"If this wonderful chemical reaction can continue, then perhaps... Sea Capital become one of the top three strongest regions in the global Flashdance community in the future."
9:30 PM, in the dormitory.
Tang Liuli moved her bedding to Chu Yuanqing's room with some melancholy. She slept on the soft bed, having already forgotten her quarrel with Little Sakura. After closing her eyes, all she could see in her mind was the scenery she had seen in the bath.
As the Green Eyed Cat pondered, her face flushed slightly. She turned to the side, hugged her blanket, and simply moved the pillow aside, rubbing her face against the sheets where Chu Yuanqing had slept. Her delicate nose wrinkled slightly as she sniffed the fragrance like a small animal, as if she were buried in his chest, smelling the scent of milk and flowers.
This damn imagination!
Tang Liuli felt a little regretful. She thought she should have discussed it with Xiao Qing and asked her not to take the pillow and blanket with her. That way, it would be like sleeping together with her, and she would definitely have sweet dreams at night.
And...
"Xiao Qing has such a great figure! She's big in every way, and her skin is so smooth and soft, it looks flawless. Should I ask a nutritionist to design a diet and fitness plan to help me become more mature and beautiful?"
Tang Liuli was lost in thought, filled with anxiety and uncertainty.
Today's action at the bathhouse yielded important information, but it didn't actually make any progress in my relationship with Chu Yuanqing. Even if I were to be honest with that Sakura Girl, there wouldn't be much to brag about.
Damn it, she should have risked being treated like a bad kid and stolen a kiss from Chu Yuanqing!
And thinking of this,
The Green Eyed Cat was a little discouraged. Even though it kissed Qing Mom, it didn't seem to bring them any closer. It might even get blacklisted, and from now on, even everyday petting would become a nightmare.
How should a girl pursue another girl?
"In a normal heterosexual relationship, it's about chatting, giving gifts, taking care of each other, going out together, and things naturally progressing."
"But among girls, it doesn't seem unusual to do all of these things."
"And thinking about it carefully, it was fine at the beginning, but now my daily interactions with Qing Bao are completely in the stage of being taken care of. Forget about winning her over, I'm the one being won over, right?"
Tang Liuli felt increasingly frustrated, and she decided she should ask Yue Bao.
Little Wangshu is a bright and excellent student; she might be able to offer some wise advice. Unfortunately, she won't be able to ask today, as she's currently enjoying the bedtime story her Qing Mom is reading to her.
As for why she knew so accurately...
After the initial development of [Flow State], the empathy talent has transformed into an area-of-effect skill and a domain skill. Now, even with a cricket just a wall away, it can no longer stop her from being a thief of maternal love!
Tang Liuli became increasingly smug as she thought about it, revealing a slightly smug and adorable smile. She felt that her talent was becoming more and more astonishing, and that one day she would be able to steal Qing Bao's maternal love even across half of the Great Xia.
If this mercy were to be distributed further, allowing the entire world to enjoy the blessings of this Qing God, it would be a truly great talent capable of saving the world!
Although she'll probably only sneak a taste of it to herself, that doesn't diminish the sheer power of her talent!
Can that Stupid Dog do it? Can that fierce-looking Sakura Girl do it?
Win win win! She's won so much already!
Tang Liuli rubbed the sheets contentedly, having completed her pre-sleep mental victory ritual. She closed her eyes, indulging in the illusory joy of victory, and slowly drifted off to sleep.