Chapter 217
Thinking about this, the Pure White Witch tried to sort out the relationship between the old and new eras.
In my memory, Charlotte had a good relationship with all the girls, and she treated the girls in the group like family.
Theoretically speaking, Xie Qingxuan was a good friend of the other party in the old days, probably falling into the latter category. But upon closer examination, wouldn't this be considered betrayal by a close friend?
That's not right either. If Charlotte had her memories, she wouldn't be angry if she knew about this.
The old era had a unique background, with less than 1% of the original global population remaining. The million inhabitants of the City of Doomsday were only a number that could be barely pieced together by survivors from all over the world gathered together through persistent search and rescue efforts.
The global population is less than ten million.
Charlotte also leans towards the idea that "good friends should stay together forever."
That is why, in the illusion of the Sea of Truth, the Doomsday Diva, who constructed her own image, deliberately played the prank of letting herself kiss Liuli.
If that's the case, Charlotte in the illusion might have already recognized who Liuli is?
Chu Yuanqing's mind was in chaos, and she couldn't figure out how to deal with the romantic entanglements around her. She mumbled blankly:
"This is really strange."
This complex emotion—neither quite a man nor quite a woman, seemingly cheating yet not truly cheating, and simultaneously extremely immoral and sinful—is a twisted vortex, far too avant-garde for a pure-hearted old-fashioned person.
Chu Yuanqing shook her head, banishing the strange thoughts, deciding to put the matter aside for the time being, and began typing a reply to Charlotte.
The girl first earnestly explained why she hadn't replied to the message—she was ashamed to have lied—and then apologized sincerely before replying to the message the other person had sent yesterday, word by word.
Charlotte's last message stirred something deep within her.
Chu Yuanqing's A-Class rating during the Second Evaluation, which sparked a wave of public opinion online, can all be attributed to his entry into the illusion of the Sea of Truth on stage, where he imitated Charlotte's idol qualities and strengths, and even synchronized with her stage presence.
In this situation, even if Charlotte in the New Era and her counterpart in the previous Worldline have completely different life trajectories, it's still inevitable that they will feel a sense of familiarity.
To this, she could only reply in a serious tone, "Perhaps it's fate."
As Chu Yuanqing typed these words, his fingertips trembled, filled with a sense of shame and despair as if he were being tortured.
Although she has gotten used to singing and dancing on stage by now, this is all based on the premise that others do not know her past identity and can choose to play dead.
But... being seen by someone you know is a completely different matter!
Not to mention Charlotte, who is practically his wife, even Little Sakura, who is used to practicing dance and performing on stage together, couldn't help but dig her toes into the ground and wish she could evaporate on the spot after realizing that the other person was an old acquaintance.
When Charlotte said she wanted to form an idol girl group, her role was clearly to be an audience member. But who would have thought that more than a decade later, she herself, who should have been an audience member, would be on stage?
Chu Yuanqing felt he couldn't bear to look back. Seeing himself dancing on stage in a little skirt was an unbearable burden for Charlotte. It wasn't just her dignity as a father that was being shattered, but also her dignity as a husband that was being brutally trampled upon.
The Pure White Witch experienced the pain of being doubly negated in just one sentence. She couldn't even imagine how terrifying it would be to make Charlotte watch her dance "Little Deer Bumping," or even dance "Dangerous Party" with Xie Qingxuan.
And...
If Charlotte knew the whole story and looked at it from the other person's perspective, wouldn't it be like watching her husband go on stage with another woman and dance a suggestive dance? And her husband even imitated her stage presence!
Most importantly, that's not the most abstract part. The most abstract part is that his own daughter was also dancing along, which was a complete shattering of his worldview.
Chu Yuanqing had been immersed in the joy of reuniting with Charlotte until now, only belatedly realizing how terrible it would be to reveal his identity and the truth to her.
The girl was furious and embarrassed. She wished that Dream Weaver Rabbit would delete all her stage videos from the internet, feeling that participating in Flash Dance was definitely the worst decision she had ever made in her life.
Unfortunately, what's done is done, and she was destined to only be a "great person" in terms of thought.
As for behavior...
The Pure White Witch was frantically typing, telling Charlotte that she danced terribly and asking her not to watch her performance.
On the other side, Bregenz.
Lake Constance shimmers in the sunlight at dawn.
The girl was like a fairy from a fairy tale appearing in a lake. Her azure hair swayed in the wind, and the patterns in her pupils were like light passing through the cracks of everything, creating a beautiful hue. She was walking with her toes touching the ripples on the water's surface, as if she had no weight.
This Saintess lady, seemingly enjoying the beautiful scenery of nature, was actually glancing back and forth on her phone, clearly secretly checking someone's reply.
Well, she had actually calmed down completely after seeing Chu Yuanqing's message, but out of girlish modesty, she was unwilling to reply immediately, until... she saw the Pure White Witch's seemingly inferior "self-deprecation".
"Where did you jump wrong? You jumped perfectly!"
Charlotte felt that Chu Yuanqing was too insecure. As her chosen future teammate, how could she lack self-confidence? She decided to give this beautiful girl, who was destined for her, a good encouragement.
So, Miss Saintess was full of energy. She put in a lot of enthusiasm, sincerely typing praise, and at the same time searching for the other party's previous stage performances to watch, determined to praise Chu Yuanqing's stage performances in a good way, making sure to collect ninety-nine good points to boost the other party's confidence.
Chu Yuanqing knew Charlotte well enough to realize something was wrong as soon as she saw the first reply. To avoid being publicly humiliated, she quickly said she was going to brush her teeth, abruptly interrupting the Doomsday Diva's boastful prelude.
Charlotte, still somewhat unsatisfied, glanced regretfully at the enormous open-air stage in the lake. Her face, breathtakingly beautiful, held a serious expression as she muttered to herself:
"So Xiao Qing is the kind of girl who is very serious and old-fashioned, yet surprisingly shy?"
"In that case, let's wait until my commercial performance is over and then watch all of Xiao Qing's performances to prepare for encouraging her when we meet again."
Lake Constance, located at the border of Austria and several other countries, boasts what is arguably the world's largest open-air water stage. The venue is a hundred meters from the shore and can accommodate nearly 20,000 spectators. Bregenz hosts a grand music festival here every summer.
Currently, the small town has attracted many tourists who came specifically for this purpose.
Charlotte's commercial performance was for a music festival that was about to be held here.
Clearly, as a treasure designated by the Holy United States, she received extra care in this regard, and the authorities were happy to let this Saintess alone share more of the "experience points".
This is also Under-the-table Rules in the "Flash Dance" competition format.
The better the potential a contestant demonstrates, the higher the level of commercial performances they will participate in.
Charlotte alone on stage in front of 20,000 live audience members represents the highest level of performance available at this stage.
While it's not impossible to go even higher, this standard is already sufficient for the current Saintess, and even somewhat excessive.
Because she had just [Lighting Up].
Hotel restaurant.
Little Sakura rubbed her eyes sleepily, took a sip of coffee to perk herself up, happily ate a slice of sausage, looked at her teammates, and encouraged them:
"Yesterday's training went very well. Although we didn't have the facilities of a training base, I could still clearly feel that everyone's learning efficiency had improved. We need to keep up the good work today so that we can complete the outdoor performance the day after tomorrow."
The Green Eyed Cat was in a daze, still immersed in yesterday's "nightmare," shocked by her own social skills while drunk, comparable to those of her childhood. For a moment, she didn't know whether to feel proud of her past self or saddened by her present self.
But soon,
Tang Liuli's slow-witted mind raced, and she recalled the scene from yesterday when she had been dominating Xiao Qing, manipulating him at will, and stealing several kisses from him.
The girl recalled these moments that felt like a triumphant resolution, her droopy eyelids suddenly lifted, her spirits lifted, she took a big gulp of coffee, and then... burned her tongue, causing her to burst into tears and feel sad for a minute.
It's okay, though.
The Social Anxiety Cat quickly ignored these details, rallied her spirits, and became convinced that she had truly won yesterday!
Although he missed the day to Magic Replenishment, could any other wicked woman really steal a Qing Bao in public?
Haha, impossible, absolutely impossible.
In other words, from this moment on, she, Tang Liuli, is the most formidable bad woman!
Tang Liuli began to swell with confidence. Even though she was labeled as socially awkward and had to fight against her White Moonlight, her Stupid Dog, Sakura Girl all by herself, she could still suppress them all and successfully win over Qing Bao!
Xie Qingxuan's eyelashes drooped as she stirred her coffee with a spoon, seemingly savoring the feeling of stirring it with Chu Yuanqing's fingers last night. Her beautifully shaped and full legs couldn't help but rub against each other a few times, and a cute smile curved her lips, though she seemed somewhat absent-minded.
The gift-giving plan was a great success; I successfully forced Qing Bao to give me the gift yesterday.
This was a well-thought-out attack plan devised by the Golden Haired Doggy after sensing the crisis. Replacing the childish and conservative cinnamon dog with a risqué adult undergarment was merely the most superficial step.
The most crucial element lies in a strategic mindset for overcoming challenges.
Upon careful analysis, I realized that the reason I hadn't progressed to the point of intimate connection with Qing Bao was because I had proactively pointed my finger at Qing Bao, which was excessive and offensive. In extreme cases, it could be considered a harmful act, and I needed her permission.
But the opposite is true. The biggest breakthrough lies in oneself, not in Qing Bao, when one actively pulls Qing Bao's little hand to do strange things.
Based on this peculiar behavioral logic, the process of heating the red wine yesterday was incredibly smooth and successful, marking a significant milestone.
The only regret was that the red wine wasn't heated and stirred enough, resulting in only a light sip. Fortunately, the interaction of magic compensated for this shortcoming, and she still managed to happily fall into a coma.
Last night, Xie Qingxuan secretly tried to remember the feeling of that time through Meditation State. She decided to use this as a side dish to satisfy herself on days when she couldn't launch night raids.
Chu Wangshu had no idea that Sister Xie beside her had taken the step onto the ladder of adulthood with her father last night. She yawned, looked at the Green Eyed Cat, and sighed:
"Liuli, you were amazing yesterday! You were skating incredibly fast on the track without any protective gear. We were all so worried, but you didn't fall even once! You even slid through a creviced section of the track and landed with a backflip – so cool!"
Kiriwake Yayoi praised:
"He's really handsome, and there's an unexpected bonus."
"I showed the recording footage to my assistant last night. She said that Xiao Qing and Liuli each met the completion conditions for a task, which added 10 points to the team's score. Now we're only 90 points away from the 100-point requirement for returning!"
The Little Cotton-padded Jacket blinked her eyes and said happily:
"Yesterday was our first trip to Vienna, so I guess we got off to a good start."
"By the way, what missions did Liuli and Xiao Qing complete?"
Kiriwake Yayoi scrolled through her phone and read aloud:
"Liuli's task was to use her skill to attract the attention of 50 passersby and have a commemorative photo taken on site."
"Didn't one of the ladies who lent you your roller skates yesterday not only refuse payment but also insist on giving Liuli 100 euros and asking for a photo together? There were quite a few people in the square that day, so we just managed to get it done."
"As for Xiao Qing, she was approached dozens of times yesterday, and each time she received flowers, fulfilling a very broad task requirement—to display her idol charm in any way."
Chu Yuanqing was even more heartbroken after hearing this; she had absolutely no desire for this strange and bizarre charm.
Tang Liuli's eyes were blank. Ever since she heard the word "backflip," she couldn't hear what the others were saying. Her mind kept replaying the sensations of flipping in mid-air, her vision swirling like a vortex, the rush of adrenaline, and her rapid, hot breathing.
The girl's mind went blank, and she trembled.
Whether it's skiing, ice skating, rollerblading, surfing, skydiving, flying a plane, or free fighting...
These things, which are extremely demanding on athletic ability and courage, were all learned by her using acting skills to imitate professional teachers, deceiving herself through substitution, and using the sometimes-unreliable empathy she had initially developed to force a synchronized mindset, allowing her to persevere and learn them.
In a sense, Tang Liuli's ability to learn so quickly was partly due to her genius, and partly because if she hadn't learned quickly, she would have suffered a mental breakdown long ago.
So, although she knew these skills and was highly proficient at them, she was too afraid to use them even once after leaving the training camp, and simply stayed at home reading comics and playing games.
Yesterday's drunken rollerblading stunts were purely due to a lack of social anxiety; I was just recklessly relying on muscle memory, and one wrong move could have really caused an accident.
Tang Liuli became increasingly frightened as she thought about it. She began to hallucinate that after breaking her leg, her team would disband and Withdraw from Competition, she would be mocked by Little Sakura, scorned by the Golden Haired Doggy, looked at with disappointment by Little Cotton-padded Jacket, and finally abandoned by Qing Bao. She would be left alone in the hospital, living a failed and miserable life.
The Green Eyed Cat was extremely sad. She was trembling and almost turned into an abstract cat-worm. If Chu Yuanqing hadn't grabbed her arm in time, she would probably have crawled under the table and rolled around frantically by now.
Chu Wangshu looked at this scene and hesitated before saying:
"... She's not only starting to feel scared now, is she?"
Kiriwake Yayoi took a sip of her coffee and said:
"Actually, when I saw her skating so happily yesterday, I had a feeling she would be like this when she woke up."
Xie Qingxuan poked the cat's soft flesh with his finger, looked at her half-dead appearance, thought for a moment, and commented:
"Liuli, this is so interesting."
The Little Cotton-padded Jacket said earnestly:
"Sister Xie, you can't treat Liuli like a toy."
Chu Yuanqing felt a little helpless. She affectionately pulled Tang Liuli into her arms, patted the child's head with her small hand, and looked at the child's adorable appearance that instantly calmed down and softened after being comforted. She couldn't help but think of it for a moment.
If Liuli is truly my old friend, then wouldn't she have had a similar personality in the old days?
Chu Yuanqing was silent for a moment. She couldn't even imagine how many strange and terrifying Calamity Beasts Liuli would have been frightened into cat-like creatures in that apocalyptic world, and how she would gradually embark on the journey of following her to eliminate disasters and rescue humanity.
Suddenly, a strange emotion welled up in my heart.
The Pure White Witch suppressed a strange, bittersweet feeling. She looked out the French windows at the bright, sunlit street scene and murmured to herself:
"It's all in the past."
"At least, everyone is happy now."
Volume 1: Chapter 208. Magic Awakening, Little Sakura Knocks on the Door at Night. (5K2)
The morning became gentle amidst laughter and playful antics.
Chu Yuanqing hugged the Social Anxiety Cat who was imagining things and was about to cry. Her tender face, blessed by the gods, radiated maternal warmth. Even the lantern that had been carried deep into the snow-capped mountains seemed to be tinged with pure white because of this good mood.
Unfortunately, this warm atmosphere didn't last long.
The little animal was unhappy that its territory had been invaded, and began to tremble slightly as if sulking.