Chapter 218
The curve of the Pure White Witch's lips stiffened, and a hint of embarrassment and annoyance flashed in her eyes. Slightly uncomfortable, she hugged Liuli tighter, as if trying to suppress the sulking lantern in this way, or simply to relieve the itch.
The Green Eyed Cat's social anxiety was successfully cured by the fragrant embrace. As her cute face was buried in that full, soft embrace, the scene of roller coaster flashing through her mind was instantly overwhelmed by the excitement of yesterday's kiss, and she began to rub against it restlessly.
Chu Yuanqing felt a bit caught in the middle, her long legs rubbing together a few times before she couldn't help but push the Liuli Cat Cat in her arms back to its original seat.
Chu Yuanqing ignored the other person's lingering expression. She suppressed the strange feeling in her body, tried her best to regain her composure, and earnestly began to lecture:
"Liuli is no longer allowed to drink alcohol, and she can't drink any beverages containing even a trace of alcohol."
Tang Liuli was a little disappointed upon hearing this. She was planning to secretly drink some wine and have a big time with Qing Bao on the next Magic Replenishment Day, but now she's been banned ahead of time.
But soon, the clever cat realized there was a new way to bypass Qing Bao's request. She pretended to be super obedient and nodded in assurance:
"I'll be very obedient and I definitely won't drink anymore. Alcohol isn't even as good as cola."
Chu Yuanqing found Liuli's obedient appearance adorable. She couldn't resist patting the other's head, her fingertips brushing against the smooth, cool hair, and then pinching the slightly chubby cheeks, saying:
"But Liuli was really amazing yesterday. She looked so beautiful and confident while rollerblading. I really like that side of Liuli. It's just... I wish she wasn't so mischievous."
Tang Liuli was overjoyed after being touched and praised. She felt that she had indeed won too much yesterday. Qing Bao's favorability towards her was soaring, and she was no longer afraid of that Sakura Girl who was secretly plotting against her!
Tang Liuli made up her mind to try her best to return to the sunny and cheerful person she was as a child, so that she could gain more favor from Qing Bao. Besides, she had just realized a universal truth.
That is, with his extraordinary talent—referring to his ridiculously low alcohol tolerance—he doesn't need to drink alcohol at all; he can simply eat a bowl of sweet fermented rice balls or even high-purity liqueur-filled chocolates to break the seal and "invite the gods to possess him"!
The Green Eyed Cat completely ignored Chu Yuanqing's words, "It would be good if he wasn't so naughty." Feeling confident of victory, it happily snuggled back into the other's large, soft bosom, becoming a clingy little thing.
Unfortunately, this "misdeed" was keenly discovered by Little Sakura.
With Kiriwake Yayoi grabbed Tang Liuli by the back of her collar, making her feel like a cat being lifted by the scruff of her neck.
The girl turned around to look at the other person unhappily, but dared not lash out. She took a roundabout approach, hiding next to the Little Cotton-padded Jacket, and giving the hateful Sakura Girl an accusing look.
Kiriwake Yayoi felt a breath on her, and for a moment she felt guilty for bullying a small animal. Helpless, she simply ignored Liuli, took a sip of coffee, and continued eating.
--People shouldn't stoop to the level of cats!
The breakfast farce is over.
The Little Idol begin their schedule for the day.
It's 7 a. m. now. According to everyone's agreement, the sightseeing time will be from now until 2 p. m., a total of 7 hours, which is quite luxurious and enough to visit both attractions.
As for the rest of the time, we'll go back to the dance studio for training. If all goes well, we'll train for four hours until 6 p. m. before resting and then going out for dinner together.
Chu Yuanqing thought this arrangement was reasonable, but he figured that after leaving Vienna, completing a few tasks, and accumulating enough points, everyone would no longer be able to relax like this.
After all, although Dream Weaver Rabbit did not explicitly state how many stages there would be in the Third Performance, the fact that three dance tracks were prepared for each team means that it is necessary for them to practice them until they are proficient.
On average, 45 days means learning a new dance every two weeks. For Little Idol who are used to striving for perfection, 3 to 4 hours of training per day is far from enough. They will have to continue to work hard to make up for it.
We visited the Hofburg Palace in the morning.
This architectural complex holds special significance for Vienna and even Austria.
Yesterday, Chu Yuanqing visited Schönbrunn Palace, the summer palace of the Habsburg rulers, while the Hofburg Palace was the winter palace. The two palaces together cover an area of two to three hundred thousand square meters and have 19 courtyards, making them a true city within a city.
The Austria presidential residence is currently located here.
Chu Yuanqing was quite interested in these things. In the previous Worldline, she could only see ruins all over the world. Not to mention these ancient buildings that had been eroded by time and repaired countless times, even the concrete buildings in steel cities had collapsed into desolate ruins.
The traces of civilization were washed away by natural disasters, leaving behind a primitive and wild landscape.
Buildings of such artistic and historical significance as Schönbrunn Palace and Hofburg Palace can only be known from books or from the stories of older people.
As for returning to the New Era, due to her state of mind and the need to take care of her daughter, she didn't even have the time to visit the famous scenic spots within the Great Xia territory, so she naturally found the attractions in the Holy United States to be very novel.
Well, from this perspective, this old father, like his daughter, hasn't seen much of the world.
Chu Wangshu was in high spirits. Although she didn't study majors like traditional Chinese painting, sculpture, or art design after taking the entrance exam for Haidu Art University due to employment considerations, she was still very interested in the scenery that brought together various architectural styles and showcased medieval aesthetics.
The young girl took over Kiriwake Yayoi's job from yesterday, taking charge of shooting video footage with a camera. Judging from her serious expression, she clearly took this assigned task very seriously.
Along the way, in order to gather material for her vlog, she even took on the role of a tour guide, introducing the buildings along the route.
Whether it's Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, or the late 20th-century classical style, she can accurately recognize them all and can even derive many interesting tidbits of knowledge from them. She also includes the scenic spots she passes by in her introductions, carefully explaining the stories behind them.
For example, who do the two bronze statues in Heroes' Square commemorate, and why are they worthy of commemoration?
For example, the history of the Treasury and Chapel, and who designed the National Library.
Chu Wangshu must have done a lot of preparation last night, behaving like a travel blogger who specializes in making videos, quoting classics and speaking fluently without any stage fright.
This made Little Sakura, who was next to her, feel quite ashamed. When she was sightseeing, she could only praise how beautiful it was, showing no professional awareness whatsoever. As a result, the scenery she filmed looked very dry and was not suitable for inclusion in her vlog. At that moment, she felt a kind of melancholy from being overtaken by the academic elite.
Green Eyed Cat, on the other hand, was visibly socially anxious. When it was her turn to take the camera, would she also try to interact with the audience and explain the sights like Xiao Shu did?
Tang Liuli was very confident that she would definitely stutter and stammer, which would be extremely embarrassing!
Although the edited vlog may not actually include that segment, and even if it were included, it might not be posted or seen by anyone, just imagining that possibility makes one feel awkward, tingle-headed, and even turn into a cat-like creature dominated by fear!
Xie Qingxuan isn't afraid of the intense competition, because when she holds a camera, she only uses it as a camera stand.
As for interacting with fans who might see the video?
This option simply doesn't exist in the Golden Haired Doggy's mind; her CPU has been completely consumed by three things lately: how to get Qing Bao to spend money on her, how to get Qing Bao to spend money on her, and how to make Qing Bao like her.
Chu Yuanqing was unaware that the Golden Haired Doggy, who had performed such an astonishing feat yesterday, showed no intention of staying put and was busy preparing a new attack strategy. Following behind her daughter, she felt a surge of warmth and happiness, like an elderly woman living alone being led out for a stroll by her child.
Over the years, she has rarely taken her Little Cotton-padded Jacket out to play, and the time spent with her has mostly been during her childhood.
Looking back, although it was tough at the time, not only did I have to adapt to the way of life in peacetime, but I also had to take care of a vulnerable toddler, it was actually the happiest period of my life.
Because at that time, the Golden Law, as one of the powers of the Disaster God, had not yet fallen silent. It could perfectly integrate the chaotic powers and numerous blessings, making the wall deep in the soul as solid as a rock and indestructible.
Even the curse of the Sea of Truth could only reduce her to a mortal back then, but it could not inflict the pain, shattering her soul and erasing her memories as it does today.
This gave Chu Yuanqing enough time to use his daughter as a focal point to slowly rediscover himself, experience the joy of being alive again, and immerse himself in the healing pleasure of watching his baby grow up—a kind of rebirth in another sense.
As the curse intensified and his consciousness nearly collapsed, he stopped going out with his daughter altogether, and there were no parent-child activities to strengthen their relationship.
But after many twists and turns, things have miraculously come to a head, making up for this regret.
When Chu Yuanqing had no choice but to use that blessing to transform into Magical Girl and prolong her life, she never thought she would have the chance to travel with her daughter. She looked at her daughter's figure with gentle eyes, her mind still filled with the image of her daughter as a soft, snow-white dumpling, clutching her finger.
Children always seem to grow up very quickly when adults aren't looking.
That's great. Xiao Shu can take care of herself now.
As this thought arose, the pure white of the lantern shone through, and the blooming rose in the soul trembled. Silver magic traced patterns on the petals, causing a long-gestating magic to emerge from its shell.
--[The One Forgotten by the World].
This is the last spell that the Soul Flower can weave at the [Pool] Realm stage.
Chu Yuanqing hadn't expected it to be born so quickly, and she was now somewhat expectant. The magic she had previously awakened were [Echoes of the Past], [Shattered Golden Cup], and [Killing Karma of Annihilation].
It can be said that without the means provided by these magic spells, she could at most kill the Nightmare with [Pure White Aria] during the Third Performance, but she would not be able to eliminate it completely, nor could she find a way to make Chu Yuanqing's identity appear reasonably and to put a certain degree of deterrence on the Dream Weaver Rabbit, so as to have normal communication.
Therefore, magic is of great significance to her now.
Chu Yuanqing immediately began to peruse the text, but strangely found that it was as if he had opened a book filled with blank pages. He was unable to glean any key or useful information from it. The actual text consisted of a bunch of black squares and gibberish, interspersed with words whose meaning was unknown.
"Is it because the lantern is broken that the magic is incomplete?"
"No, the other spells weren't affected. Could it be because this spell is special?"
Chu Yuanqing surmised that, judging from [Pure White Aria] and the other spells, they were all related to past experiences.
For example, [The One Forgotten by the World].
For her, this was simply a self-statement.
So, could it be that too many memories are missing, putting one on the verge of forgetting oneself, causing this technique to be inherently flawed and incomplete, or perhaps it simply fails to meet the activation conditions?
Chu Yuanqing pondered as he toured Hofburg, and even tried to activate the spell directly with magic, but he couldn't construct the spell on the Soul Flower.
Chu Yuanqing didn't dwell on it for long before deciding to put it behind her. Her soul was constantly fragmented, and she was half-dead, so it was already a miracle that she could use magic. It was normal for some magic, like her memories, to have corrupted files.
So the Little Idol spent four hours here, witnessing the glory and fall of the Habsburg dynasty.
Because the Hofburg Palace is so large, encompassing many famous attractions, they visited quite a few places, checked off several more spots, and took more group photos, bringing their check-in task to 50% in one go.
The Little Cotton-padded Jacket's favorite place is the National Library, whose main hall is 40 meters long, with books displayed on both sides of the walls, and transparent display cases filled with books in the area closer to the aisle.
There's a comprehensive guide to the medicinal uses of various plants, written around 500 AD, as well as rare ceiling frescoes unrelated to Christianity, giving it a strangely Hogwarts feel.
Chu Wangshu loved reading, but after wandering around, she was disappointed that she didn't know German. Fortunately, the Green Eyed Cat next to her, who usually seemed useless, became very proactive at this time, acting like a senior and providing her with accurate real-time translation.
Not to be outdone, Xie Qingxuan, along with Chu Yuanqing, who had a strong desire to teach her daughter, also joined in to help her learn to read.
This turned the library visit into a group learning session where Chu Wangshu was taught to read, leaving only Little Sakura, who also couldn't read German, completely bewildered.
Of course, because Chu Wangshu felt ashamed of being treated like a child, the farce didn't last long. The group walked back to the square in front of the Hofburg Palace and began exploring the city as they had the previous night.
It feels like exploring 100% of a game map, giving you a wonderful sense of accomplishment.
On the other hand, just as Kiriwake Yayoi said, strolling around is the best way to understand a city. Once you have a mental understanding of a city by connecting points into lines and then into a surface, you will have a completely different experience when you walk on the street.
The Little Idol strolled through several commercial streets in the city center, passing by the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, which was named after an Austria painter who hadn't been accepted into. Before their training, they visited the House of Music Museum to experience the staircase piano and the orchestra conductor, finding it quite novel.
Time passed, and at two o'clock in the afternoon, everyone arrived at the dance studio.
Located on the banks of the Danube River, we saw a stretch of graffiti on the way here.
Chu Yuanqing casually placed the bouquet she received today in the most striking corner of the graffiti wall. She glanced at the scene and suddenly thought the composition was quite beautiful. She took a picture with her clumsy skills, sent it to Charlotte in return, picked up the bouquet, and returned to the dance studio.
While changing clothes in the lounge, the Pure White Witch took the time to turn on her newly bought phone.
This is where the old phone cards are stored; now it's used specifically to reply to messages from my Little Cotton-padded Jacket.
Chu Wangshu was clearly disappointed that she couldn't travel with her Dad. She happily told me when she arrived in Vienna and even took pictures of the sunset that day. The next day and today, she posted a lot of photos and videos of the attractions, including many group photos.
My Little Cotton-padded Jacket has a lot of rambling messages, often accompanied by photos, and every time I open her messages, there are 99+ messages.
Chu Yuanqing was quite pleased with what she saw, but also felt a little guilty for not being able to reply immediately. Fortunately, in her daughter's eyes, she was a workaholic, and any delay in replying would only be interpreted as her being at work, so it wasn't a big problem.
Chu Yuanqing, in a fatherly tone, gave his advice on things he had been holding back for the past few days. After rambling on for a while, he left with the words "I'm going to work," and reluctantly turned off his phone and put it in his bag.
Afterwards, she switched back to the phone her assistant had given her, opened WhatsApp, and within just a few minutes, Charlotte had 12 unread messages.
Although it was clear that the other person was trying to be reserved, there was still a hint of clinginess in their expression.
Chu Yuanqing was rather slow-witted and didn't notice this, but she did spot other interesting points and murmured:
"Xiao Shu is quite like her mother in this respect. I wonder what it will be like when they meet."
Chu Yuanqing felt somewhat helpless. She thought that both sides would probably find it difficult to accept this shocking truth about their parentage, so she could only put this important matter aside for the time being and carefully reply to Charlotte's message.
Five minutes later, she casually snapped a picture of the changing room, said she had to get ready to go to training, and would talk to her later, before turning off her phone.
To be honest, chatting with Charlotte on my phone is quite addictive.
Although she's clumsy with words and even more awkward at typing, she still enjoys chatting with her sweetheart across time and space.
Unfortunately, the Little Idol around Chu Yuanqing kept a close eye on him. Even though they were all very polite and didn't constantly look at their phones, Chu Yuanqing felt a strong sense of guilt as he chatted happily with Charlotte in front of these girls.
Chu Yuanqing felt like a bad woman cheating on her husband in public, which made her afraid to chat for too long each time. After chatting for a while, she would subconsciously hide her phone, which had a kind of alluring charm to it.
Time passed.
Today's training went smoothly. As usual, everyone strolled through the night market and returned to the hotel an hour earlier than yesterday. After playing board games for a while, everyone went back to sleep.
After taking a bath, Chu Yuanqing lay comfortably on the bed.
Today is Sunday, Magic Replenishment. I just disciplined my Golden Haired Doggy this morning, so there's definitely no chance of anyone attacking.
This thought didn't last long before it was extinguished by the knocking on the door. However, what reassured her was that the person who came was the safe Little Sakura.
Hmm, Yayoi so proper and well-behaved, she probably... won't cause anything strange, right?
Volume 1: 209. A pure love strategy, without any reason for blessing.
Indoor,
Kiriwake Yayoi looked at the Pure White Witch on the bed. Her Pink Diamond -like eyes blinked, and she carefully scanned the room, observing the slippers on the floor and the glass wall of the bathroom. She concluded that there were no philandering cats or lecherous dogs, and her mood became cheerful.
Chu Yuanqing then observed Little Sakura's appearance with some caution.
The girl was wearing a light apricot-colored cotton nightgown. Her skin was soft and smooth, with an alluring pink hue, as if she had just finished skincare. Her jet-black hair was casually draped down, but actually elegantly. Her hands were behind her back, as if she were hiding something.
Although the other person's pajamas were conservative, the Golden Haired Doggy was also impeccably dressed when it came in last night. However, when the buttons were undone, it revealed a hidden surprise, a stunningly beautiful sight that transformed its aloof and assertive demeanor into a deadly allure.
These past examples are still fresh in her mind. Even though Yayoi is usually innocent and unlikely to do something like voluntarily removing her equipment, she couldn't help but imagine that scene and became extremely nervous.
"Um, Yayoi, is there something you need from me?"
Kiriwake Yayoi was a little hesitant. She took a few steps closer, handed over the small jar hidden behind her waist, and watched as Chu Yuanqing took it, examined it in his arms, and then, suppressing her shyness, earnestly offered her blessings: