Chapter 345
Although no magical techniques were used to modify her appearance and hair color, with this outfit, a slight adjustment to her aura and atmosphere, and the use of hypnotic techniques, she could be distinguished from Chu Yuanqing.
Chu Yuanqing glanced at Luna, who unwrapped the hard candy, popped it into her mouth, and after a few sips, tasted the sweet and sour flavor of strawberries. Her indifferent expression was replaced by a satisfied smile.
For a confused sense of taste, whether candy is sweet or bitter will not affect the happiness index.
But with so many happy and joyful spectators around her, she could perceive their emotions through the Lantern Gem and thoroughly enjoy the present moment.
Because... every minute and every second spent here is a dream that was once unattainable.
Charlotte must have really enjoyed the celebration, right?
Chu Yuanqing's rose-like lips curled up, revealing an endearing and joyful smile. She was genuinely happy for the other person. Besides what she had told Charlotte, there was another, more important reason why she had killed [Calamity Wish] in one fell swoop.
Charlotte's heart was too soft, so soft that she couldn't bear to watch suffering happen.
Therefore, unless the [Calamity Wish] lurking around the world and harming people is eliminated in one fell swoop, she will not be able to immerse herself in the birthday celebration no matter how well she pretends on the surface.
It's fine as it is now.
No one will get hurt, and everyone can find happiness.
Time passed, and 35 minutes later Charlotte sang Birthday Song with the audience, then smiled and said goodbye, announcing the end of the day's performance.
Of course, this is for tourists and fans leaving.
In the past, the stage would have been joined by children's entertainment performances and various performances enthusiastically signed up by townspeople, creating a lively scene of townspeople relaxing and having fun together.
However, due to the large number of spectators attracted this time, including at least 40,000 local residents, and the stage being completely full, non-professionals certainly could not perform with the same ease as in previous celebrations.
Therefore, this part was moved to the evening after the audience had left.
Luna reluctantly joined the crowd, left the stage, and, like the other Charlotte fans, went to stroll through the festival.
Although they had already seen the biggest and luckiest idol stage, the thought of Charlotte herself being there made fans inevitably hope for a chance encounter, and most of them planned to stay until the end of the event before leaving.
On the other hand, because they attract fans by posting updates, and then ban new people from joining, it strongly suggests that they are deliberately misleading fans.
Charlotte had to pay the price for Dream Weaver Rabbit's account theft. She went live for 20 minutes in the Waiting Room, saying that the performance was over, thanking the fans who came, and singing Birthday Song.
Finally, I uploaded a live version and a multi-camera version of the stage video as compensation, and also gave away 1,000 random merchandise items in the comments section of this post.
Yes, these are mostly local specialties only available at today's town festival, including posters, document bags, soundtrack CDs, autographed photos, acrylic keychains, sailboat toys with printed signatures, and life-size models of themed boats...
Although she hasn't officially debuted yet, due to being pre-selected early on, Charlotte's derivative merchandise projects already have thousands of template designs in the Super AI's database, and these in the town are products that were taken out in advance.
Afterwards, Charlotte couldn't wait to slip out of the Waiting Room. On the lakeside street, she brushed past Liang Xiaoxiao and Lin Bao'er and precisely caught a Pure White Witch buying ice cream by the roadside.
"The vanilla sundae is pretty good."
Chu Yuanqing turned and stopped the Saintess who was trying to scare people by pretending to be a ghost. She handed her the vanilla sundae, smiled at Charlotte who took it, tasted it, and showed a happy expression. She then took Charlotte's hand and said:
"Shall we go for a walk together?"
"As the host, you should know where the most fun parts of the festival are, right?"
Charlotte melted the vanilla ice cream in her mouth, then took Qing Bao's little hand in return and walked towards the sailing competition area, a confident and adorable expression on her face. She declared with an air of self-assurance:
"I've already looked at the competition schedule, and since it's a doubles competition, I've already registered everyone. We can go and grab some merchandise with my fans!"
Chu Yuanqing was used to the Saintess's thought process; she simply found it amusing and, in the tone of an accomplice, inquired:
"And then what happens after the robbery?"
Charlotte answered without any hesitation:
"Of course, it'll be blindfolded and spinning around, randomly selecting a lucky person to receive the prize! Unpredictable peripheral rewards would definitely be a lot of fun."
The world is vast, but the God of Longevity is the greatest.
Chu Yuanqing complied with Charlotte's suggestion, concealing his identity and participating in numerous activities.
Interestingly, in order not to bully their fans, the two agreed not to use anything beyond what is possible during events, and magic was strictly prohibited.
This led to a series of setbacks. He didn't win the initial sailing competition, and his subsequent performances in shooting, eating contests, and Ludo also had mixed results.
Charlotte secretly won first place in the Charlotte singing imitation contest, but the victory felt empty and she felt no sense of accomplishment. She even seemed guilty when giving away merchandise, as if she felt ashamed.
Chu Yuanqing found the other party's frustrated expression adorable, so in the subsequent competition, he strictly followed the rules, earnestly and secretly observing the Saintess's puffed-up cheeks, and taking many photos when he had the chance.
After spending an afternoon wandering around as tourists, and with the designated departure time drawing near, some spectators began to leave the town, and the activities at the festival gradually decreased.
So the two returned to the chapel, spent some time with Sister Ellie basking in the sun and admiring the shimmering Lake Wolfgang for a while, and then each took charge of three or four children, leading them on a leisurely stroll around.
Time passed slowly.
The azure sky gradually mingled with gloom, the sun like molten iron boiling, causing the fiery clouds to roll and spread, like threads of sunset embellishing the retina, splitting out incomparably vivid and complex colors.
Charlotte sat on the lawn, smoothing her skirt with her hand. The wisps of hair on her forehead danced in the wind, and beneath her frosty blue eyelashes, her pupils, with their gradient colors, resembled crystals displaying the full spectrum of light.
Children were playing and frolicking not far away.
Chu Yuanqing sat next to Charlotte. They could hear each other's breathing and feel each other's warmth. They were close enough to embrace each other at any moment, unlike many years ago when they had to keep their distance.
"Remember? I used to climb to a very high place and pull you along to look at the sunset on the horizon."
"Back then, the City of Doomsday had a thousand and one flaws, but it was situated amidst a vast, pure white sea of clouds. From the city's heights, the sunset glow, with its myriad hues, was truly beautiful."
Charlotte lay on the soft lawn, her expression gentle, and whispered:
"But, for some reason, I felt those sunsets were so lonely back then."
"Although there are many colors and the area is so vast that even I, now grown up, can't take it all in, when they come together, they always make that city seem more like an isolated island, as if... only we can see it."
"It wasn't until after I awakened and received the blessing that I realized those seas of clouds and sunsets were all hidden mechanisms of the city. There are no longer such phenomena in the real heavens. Blue skies and white clouds, as well as sunsets, are treasures belonging to the old era."
Chu Yuanqing still remembered the lonely and lost expression on the other person's face at that time, and she said softly:
"Yes, the first time we went out to explore and train, we climbed down the Heavenly Ladder and had to pass through a thick fog constructed of soul remains and calamity energy."
"According to the experienced leader, only a small portion of sunlight can penetrate this barrier to reach the surface, making the conditions below extremely harsh. Resources are even scarcer than in the city, and it will eventually become a frozen wasteland where no one can survive."
"The mission of the exploration team dispatched by the City of Doomsday is to bring back precious resources, explore the current state of the world, analyze the concentration of disaster gas, redraw maps, communicate with the remaining settlements of their people, and research methods to save the world."
"For this purpose, we need to bring back more scholars, scientists, and awakened, blessed warriors."
Charlotte smiled upon hearing this, and said softly:
"So, you completed the mission very well and brought back Liuli, Yayoi, Xiao Xuan."
Chu Yuanqing looked up at the sky. These should have been precious memories, but her mind was blank. She could only retrieve fragments and useless pieces of information. She murmured dejectedly:
"Is that so? I forgot."
Charlotte blinked and smiled, saying:
"Not entirely, we discovered the Liuli together."
"As for Xiao Xuan... I remember you told me that when you first met, she was imprisoned at the headquarters of the [Herdi] cult. Later, she was rescued by chance, but because the calamity energy on her body was too severely corrupted, she couldn't be brought back to the City of Doomsday."
"So, you took her on a journey for a while, found a main city worthy of your trust, and then released Xiao Xuan. Back then, no one could have imagined that she would later become Demon King crowned by the Planet Consciousness, right?"
Chu Yuanqing listened quietly. Even though her memories were fading in an instant, she still enjoyed listening to these strange yet familiar stories from the past.
It's like many years later, when you and your loved ones are old and gray, there are still people around who know your story and are willing to patiently tell it as they turn the pages of a book, just like the seeds left in spring sprout, overcome obstacles, and grow stronger in the wind.
Charlotte and the Pure White Witch, having forgotten all that, acted as if nothing had happened, their smiles still evident. They gazed at the fiery clouds on the horizon, thus returning to their previous topic:
"Xiao Qing, do you still remember?"
"Back then, we traversed together through the thick black tide. It was dark and noisy all around, and the chemical reaction between the lingering remains and the calamity amplified the fear and sorrow in our hearts."
"I was so sad that I couldn't help but grab your hand and say that I wanted everyone in the world to see the sunset in the sky."
"You said you would do it, that day would come sooner or later."
"Look, now... sure enough, everyone can see the sunset."
After Charlotte finished speaking, she hummed the intro to "My All," looked at Chu Yuanqing with a bright smile, slowly sat up on the lawn, took his soft hand in hers, and extended an invitation with her eyes.
The girl's profile was gentle, her white Roman dress swaying in the wind. She sang a Japanese song with a vintage feel while holding her sweetheart's hand, as if she were having a ball in the light, and danced a spontaneous dance.
"One body no time (how much time)"
"Together we've been through this together (we've been through it together)"
"One body, one position, no distance (how many miles)"
"Let's walk together"
Dance, in essence, is the art of expressing one's emotions through bodily movements.
Chu Yuanqing understood Charlotte's joys and sorrows. Her dance steps were no longer as clumsy as before. She now followed her lover's lively and joyful rhythm, taking the steps that matched her outfit, and they danced in the twilight, their shadows intertwined.
Sister Ellie called the children from the lawn back to their homes. She stroked Nia's hair, looked towards the direction of the strongest light, and listened to Charlotte's singing. As if seeing a scene, the corners of her lips curled up into a smile of contentment.
In the afterglow of the setting sun, the couple shared their joys and sorrows.
A strong wind blew across the lawn, and the distant lake shimmered, as if every ripple spread across its surface.
"あなたにをせたい(I want you to see where your dreams are)"
"There is no end, no death."
"そんなをてdesireしい(I really want you to see that kind of dream)"
"That's my wish"
Musical notes echoed throughout the town, and cartoon instruments gathered around Charlotte, providing professional accompaniment. The two dancers bounced and sang with great joy, appearing adorably clumsy.
The children in the orphanage watched this scene from afar, their innocent eyes filled with curiosity, yet, amidst the atmosphere created by the song, they all chose to remain silent.
Sister Ellie's smile was serene. As an elder, she prayed to the ethereal God, hoping that the two of them would have countless such moments in the future.
For a long, long time.
Charlotte finished singing, stopped dancing, looked at the Pure White Witch, and suddenly fell silent, saying softly:
"The sunset is beautiful, isn't it?"
"Thank you for wanting to fulfill my wish until the very end."
Chu Yuanqing did not reply. She knelt on one knee on the lawn, looked down at the square box taken from the Mobius Ring, a bright smile on her lips, and said softly:
"Charlotte, I promised you I would forge a gift for you after I finished learning blacksmithing."
"Actually, I've had this idea and plan for a long, long time, but I just haven't had the chance to."
"The Rose Dragon's Tears, the Crown of Thorns, the Withered Poem, the Immortal Silver Bone, the Blessing of the Golden Sea... I don't know if it's done well or not, but the materials certainly capture the original concept."
The words had faded.
The Pure White Witch took Charlotte's hand, and the box in Charlotte's hand disintegrated on its own, overwhelming her vision with layers of illusions.
Black thorns intertwined, ancient poems were sung, the Golden Sea known as the Promised Land rippled and swayed, and the immortal, indestructible silver light suddenly shone brightly, finally melting into a tear made of rose petals.
The slender, long ring finger of the Doomsday Diva was entwined with energy fluctuations powerful enough to stir up atmospheric vortices, only to vanish in an instant, transforming into a crystal-clear ring with a pinkish crystalline texture and flowing poetic patterns.
Chu Yuanqing looked up and said softly:
"This is Wedding Ring."
Happy birthday, Charlotte.
Volume 1: 321. I am willing, on the stage of the night.
The wind bent the green grass, and the afterglow of dusk spilled across the lake.
Time suddenly fell silent again, all the surrounding noise disappeared, and everything became still.
Charlotte's mind went blank. She wanted to keep smiling, control her expression, and make it curve into an even brighter smile, to accept this once-in-a-lifetime gift with a more beautiful and lovely appearance.
But tears still welled up in her eyes, dripping down and being lifted by the shimmering light of the Wedding Ring, like tiny stars floating around her.
The cartoon instruments played joyfully once more, and notes and flowing light gathered together, like fireflies in the mountains. Ayumi Hamasaki's "MY ALL" was played again like an echo, singing out the memorable lyrics.
"あなたにをせたい(I want you to see where your dreams are)"
"There is no end, no death."
She said she wanted you to see where dreams lie, where there is no end, no extinction.
The Doomsday Diva looked into her lover's lake-like eyes and seemed to see many years ago, amidst the Lingering Fire of imprisonment, the hero who carried billions of wishes and walked before her, having forgotten how to smile.
From beginning to end, no matter what situation they fell into, the other party never gave up on realizing their past wishes.
This fact alone is more powerful than a thousand words of love.
And the Wedding Ring worn on her ring finger was an even greater surprise than she had imagined.