Chapter 324
Xie Qingxuan licked the sugar frosting off her lips as she ate the croissant. Her expression was calm and resolute. She looked at the Little Cotton-padded Jacket's face with a puzzled expression and said seriously:
"No, why would Xiao Shu think that? Does she not trust us?"
Charlotte feigned sadness, her eyes lowered in dejection, and she sighed:
"It seems that in Xiao Shu's mind, we are not like seniors at all; she already subconsciously feels that we will not keep our promise."
Kiriwake Yayoi was initially feeling guilty.
But then she thought about it again, and realized that she really hadn't messed around in front of Liang Xiaoxiao's team.
Little Sakura immediately became assertive, her expression calm, a confident smile on her face. After taking a sip of her coffee with three sugar cubes, she said:
"It's reasonable for Xiao Shu to suspect Xiao Xuan and Charlotte, but I won't cause any trouble for the team in this regard. Everyone really didn't do anything bad yesterday, so Xiao Shu can rest assured."
What's wrong with sharing a bed with your girlfriend?
Even if there are a few more of Qing Bao's concubines in the bed, it's Qing Bao's fault that she's involved, not hers.
Well, without realizing it, even the most innocent Yayoi has started to get used to group sex.
Of course, this has a lot to do with the fact that she has only used her mouth so far.
Chu Wangshu suffered a triple blow, and her disciplinary committee demeanor quickly crumbled. Her serious and adorable face wavered, showing a hint of apology. She began to reflect on herself and said earnestly:
"Yayoi- neechan is right. Even if everyone has countless criminal records, we can't judge people with prejudice. That in itself affects discipline and fairness."
The girl, halfway through her reflection, noticed the empty seat and asked curiously:
"Speaking of which, where's Liuli? We're leaving after we finish eating."
Chu Yuanqing glanced at the WeChat interface and explained:
"It seems like Liuli treats the hotel like her old home. She doesn't keep many things in her room, but habitually leaves them scattered around. She's still unpacking her luggage now."
Chu Wangshu complained:
"Liuli is really like the Young Lady in TV dramas, although you don't really see it in her daily life."
Charlotte joined the discussion with great interest. She poked the Golden Haired Doggy's cheek with her slender finger and said earnestly:
"Xiao Xuan is also Young Lady, but they all come from wealthy families and don't have such strong family backgrounds. In comparison, the red-haired girl next door really has the air of Young Lady."
Xie Qingxuan glanced at someone at the next table, who nodded slightly in realization, appearing completely indifferent, and began to analyze the situation seriously:
"Chen Yining? Because she seems more proud, more vibrant, and more free."
Tang Liuli entered the entertainment industry at a young age, with a full schedule of classes. The wealth she enjoyed and the education she received were vastly different from those of typical wealthy families.
Xie Qingxuan is the same. She is very similar to Tang Liuli in this respect. Their future paths are inherently constrained and limited, and they can only follow the few paths decided by their parents.
Therefore, neither of them was free, and both received extremely different educations, resulting in their own psychological flaws.
Chen Yining is different. She is a top-tier third-generation rich kid in Great Xia. She has older brothers and sisters, and her parents love her normally without any distorted expectations. She is a true pampered and wealthy flower raised in a sweet environment.
In a sense, this person's entry into the realm of "Flow State" will be slower than theirs, firstly because of their aptitude, and secondly because their environment is too good. It is only because Ji Shuzhu can make the other person have an obsession and a desire.
Xie Qingxuan looked up at the Pure White Witch and posed a very dramatic question:
"Does Xiao Qing like this type?"
Chu Yuanqing's eyes narrowed slightly. She touched Xie Qingxuan's hair and said earnestly:
"I don't dislike her, because only a peaceful environment can nurture a child like her, right? But I like Xiao Xuan more, without a doubt."
Chu Wangshu watched Sister Xie, who was being stroked, warily, afraid that she might suddenly kiss her.
After listening, Little Sakura added some milk to her coffee. After waiting for a while, seeing that Qing Bao didn't react, she finally couldn't help but cough, successfully getting a pat and affirmation from him.
Charlotte condemned it righteously and sternly:
"Qing Bao, this is player behavior! I won't forgive you unless you give me a kiss."
Chu Wangshu immediately objected, preventing her own parents from kissing in public.
Charlotte had just revealed her true intentions when her daughter interrupted her, puffing out her cheeks indignantly and calling it a case of "black-hearted cotton" (a derogatory term for a woman who sells counterfeit goods).
At this moment, the Little Idol at the next table was unaware of the farce unfolding here.
Chen Yining was considering the suggestion from the other side when she said:
What do you all think of Chu Yuanqing's proposal?
Lin Bao'er thought for a moment and replied:
"There's no reason to object; we were going to Saint Wolfgang anyway."
"Looking at it from another perspective, having another chance to perform on stage is also a real benefit for us."
Ji Shuzhu took a sip of her bitter coffee, her expression indifferent. A sun-protective scarf was tied around her neck. She casually suggested:
"Just like Bao'er said, it's a good thing."
"Everyone in the team desperately needs a chance to perform on stage."
"We need to recognize a reality: every stage performance from now on will determine our fate. This has nothing to do with screen time or popularity, nor with passion or ideals, but with the Calamity Beasts."
Ruan Wutong thought for a while and then said:
"Indeed, becoming Magical Girl would make things much safer."
Liang Xiaoxiao patted the Little Idol's purple hair and earnestly reminded him:
"On the contrary, becoming a [Witch] is dangerous."
"If it's considered bad luck for ordinary people who have nothing to do with these Calamity Beasts to encounter them, then the [Witch] is a profession that will fight against these Calamity Beasts whether it's passive or active."
"A skilled rider falls from his horse; a skilled swimmer drowns."
"Xiaozhu means that if we can't seize opportunities and create higher limits and more miraculous brilliance on every stage, we are not strong enough to be exempt from those risks."
A proud smile graced Chen Yining's bright and beautiful face. She clapped her hands and encouraged him with the air of a team leader:
"No matter what, we must bring the same spirit we had at the martial arts gym and give it our all."
"Although we're far behind in the Magical Girl genre, the outcome in the idol genre is still far from decided, isn't it?"
"Let's test how much they've improved this time. If they slack off in training, they can't blame others for dominating their commercial performances."
Ji Shuzhu looked at her childhood sweetheart, a cute smile curving her lips. Having witnessed the brilliance of Xie Qingxuan and Chu Yuanqing yesterday, and knowing that they had also undergone a transformation, she didn't think she had much of a chance of winning.
But at the same time, she didn't think she was 100% sure she would lose.
Moreover...
The girl felt a flutter in her heart; she simply loved his indomitable spirit and unbridled pride.
"Yes, let's all work hard together, and we can't let training fall behind."
Hearing the choreographer's rare encouragement, everyone was already thinking about where in Saint Wolfgang they could practice dancing.
On the other side, the atmosphere was quite different from the joyful one of the two teams.
Second-floor bedroom, balcony.
Tang Liuli stood in the mountain breeze, her white Roman dress swaying gently, the soft light casting golden folds. When her expression calmed down, her features were harmonious, exuding a sense of lonely melancholy.
"Tell Charlotte, this is my problem, I'll handle it myself."
After the words were spoken, the blue tit, which had been quietly lurking on the third-floor railing, looked somewhat bewildered.
The little guy blinked its round, dark eyes, tried to move its paws, and pretended to fly for a while.
Then, like a snowball, it suddenly rolled to the ground in a very tactical manner, even holding its breath, pretending to have already left, which was quite cute.
It seems that during the week spent with Violet, this Lantern Fairy, who was as clueless as a baby, has indeed become much smarter, and is getting closer and closer to becoming a worker who helps Charlotte fulfill her duties Saintess.
The girl's eyes held a deep, emerald green. She silently glanced at the text message on her phone, exposing the foolish fairy's feigned death:
"Forget-me-not, pretending to leave won't help. The essence of the Lantern Fairy is soul and magic, as clear to me as a lamp in the darkness."
After listening, the blue tit tried several more times, but unfortunately, it failed to Hide-and-Seek each time and was perfectly countered, so it had to fly away dejectedly.
Tang Liuli scrolled through the text messages, which were all in Gloriana's language. They were from her Dad, whom she had hung up on a few days ago.
"The art exhibition was canceled due to various unforeseen circumstances. Did all the money you got from Mom and me go to waste? It sounds like Charlotte's sister got rid of Dreamweave."
"But..."
The girl pursed her lips and stared blankly at the second half of the text message.
[Liuli, my daughter.]
I know you hate me, and I don't expect your forgiveness, but before I leave, I want to tell you some secrets buried in the past, secrets related to the true cause of your mother's death.
That mean and despicable man, who used her as a tool and showed no warmth since her mother's death, did not show the slightest sign of despair after his lifelong pursuit was shattered. Instead, he described his past stories with a sense of relief.
Tang Liuli suddenly remembered what the other person looked like.
The man had deep-set eyes and pupils the color of pure jade. He always wore an elegant suit and always smelled of paint and art. Until that nightmare, his smile was warm and had a noble air about him.
"Mom, what was the real cause of death?"
Tang Liuli forced a smile, suppressing the bitterness in her chest, and continued reading the text message with a sneer. She was eager to see what plausible reason the other party could come up with to scam money.
Ai Huasi recounted that before meeting his mother, he didn't have much interest in art. Selling paintings on the street or wandering around were all acts of rebellion against his family. It wasn't until he met his mother that he had the idea of leaving the country.
Tang Liuli had some recollection of this.
Gloriana is a country with a retro and contradictory system. Titles and nobles still exist here, and there is a naked hierarchy. She had never met her grandparents, but she remembered that they did have titles and were nobles of considerable rank.
However, Ai Huasi rarely mentioned these things, and even rarely took her to Gloriana.
Given how money-obsessed her husband was after her mother's death, she found it hard to imagine that Ai Huasi could also be someone who, for the sake of his ideals, refused to inherit a noble title and treated money and power as worthless.
[But now, it's probably the decision I regret the most.]
[Because, shortly after your birth, I intended to use this to mend relations with my family, but upon returning to Gloriana, the entire family castle was reduced to ruins.]
[No one knows what happened back then—a fire? An earthquake? A typhoon? But the result is that my parents, sister, and elders are all buried there.]
Ai Huasi's subsequent text messages became increasingly disjointed, his focus shifting to childhood, occasionally mentioning her early years like an old man with Alzheimer's, and then talking about his love affair with his wife and the past.
He said his wife is a gentle woman who yearns for freedom, loves traveling the world, and is strong and full of curiosity.
He said that what truly made him fall in love with painting was not when he was making a living by selling paintings in Gloriana, but when he traveled with his wife, saw the vastness and beauty of the world, and picked up his brush to express that feeling.
He said that the paintings displayed in the exhibition were mostly painted during his travels in his early years, and he could only fall asleep peacefully surrounded by them.
Finally, after skipping over a few incomprehensible sentences, he returned to the main point, mentioning that after that day, all three members of his family developed high fevers.
Ai Huasi believed that the power that destroyed the family castle originated from a ghostly, yet undeniably real, spirit.
The man suspected that his daughter's innate talent, his wife's growing delusions, and even his own unyielding pursuit of art all stemmed from this.
This sounds like a complete attempt to shift blame for one's own despicable behavior onto gods and ghosts.
The text message was followed by a photo containing his and his wife's premarital medical reports. At the time, technology was advanced enough to detect whether someone had inherited a mental illness through genetic testing.
Ai Huasi had his reasons for doing this; although he was unconventional, he was unwilling to marry a partner who was destined to have a mental illness and completely sever ties with his parents.
The report concluded that there was no heir, which is why they got married later.
Tang Liuli looked at the report in the photo and fell silent.
Verifying the authenticity of this information is simple; just have Dream Weaver Rabbit scan it.
Given Qing Bao and Charlotte's personalities, they might have already allowed this Super AI to monitor her phone. If it weren't for their respect for each other, she might not have even seen Ai Huasi's text message.
Therefore, assuming the report is false, it will be blocked during the Dreamweave review process, preventing her from being deceived by Ai Huasi.
In other words, this is most likely a genuine report.
Can...
If Mom didn't inherit the family's mental illness, why did she end up like that? Was it really because of that high fever, as Ai Huasi said?
Tang Liuli's thoughts were in turmoil, her eyes were lifeless, and she whispered:
"Corrosion by calamity."
The destruction of the family castle, the inexplicable high fever, and the subsequent tragedy can all be explained by it.
This was all too common in my first playthrough. Being corroded by trace amounts of calamity energy wouldn't kill you, but it would slowly cause your bodily functions to fail, and gradually distort your mind, alienate yourself, and make you extremely paranoid.
But if that's the truth, then what about her disgust, her dissatisfaction, her anger, her loneliness, her hatred—all those emotions that piled up inside her, swelled and condensed, forming a mental block?
[The doctor said my organs were failing and I had at most two months left. I returned to Gloriana, rented a room by the sea, and filled it with paintings that couldn't be displayed at exhibitions.]