Music and Emotions, Reality and Imagination

"Lao Xia, Lao Xia, I know how to use all these devices. Just tell me what you want to do, and I'll help you!"

"Lao Xia, Lao Xia, you don't need to look at the manual, I know how to use it! I'm an expert at these devices! I'll show you!"

"Lao Xia, Lao Xia, Dr. Fang and Lao Zhao are trying to get information from the passengers on your flight. They're currently talking to passengers on 17B and 17C! Is there anything I can do for you? Should I play you a recording of their conversation?"

Xia Libing stopped what she was doing and looked at the open space a meter away from her.

The next second, Alice appeared, looking up at her expectantly with her little face.

Xia Libing stared at her for a second and said, "You're nervous."

"No, I'm super relaxed! No, I'm super excited!" Alice said, jumping up and down as if to prove she was relaxed.

Xia Libing ignored her explanation, reached out and pressed her head down to prevent her from jumping up, and asked directly:

Do you think Xiang Kun's plan is dangerous? Or... that it might fail?

The "plan" refers to the change in Xiang Kun's original pace after the plane he was on was attacked by a flock of birds yesterday. He has adopted a more aggressive approach to the plan to deal with the "Ultimate Predator" in the short term. Last night's task of dealing with the "mutated giant bird" is also a step in this plan, and Xiang Kun is currently busy with this matter.

Xia Libing only knew the general outline of the specific plan and steps, as Xiang Kun was constantly making modifications based on the information he received. However, she knew that Alice had been providing Xiang Kun with timely assistance, so she had a clear understanding of the plan's progress.

"No!" Alice immediately exclaimed. "With Alice here, the boss can't be in danger! Impossible!"

"Okay, I understand." Xia Libing quickly realized that Alice was right. She was indeed not worried about Xiang Kun's plan. She was confident in both Xiang Kun and herself.

If that's the case, then her current unconventional and slightly outrageous behavior must have other reasons.

But if it's something "serious," Alice will say it directly without deliberately keeping you in suspense or trying to grab your attention first; she knows what's important.

So perhaps Alice simply wanted to get her attention, simply wanted to chat with her?

For other reasons, Alice now has a strong desire to communicate and wants to connect with others.

Yes, among the people Alice can openly communicate with now, Xiang Kun is busy focusing on the plan for "Ultimate Predator," Little Apple seems to be having dinner with her father, her uncle, and her future aunt, Little Bell is at school, and Tang Baona is doing serious business in Tongshi Town. It seems that only Alice can "bother" them.

Moreover, she is one of only two people who know everything about Alice. She can chat with her completely, without any pretense, and directly, and can even bring Alice to life for a "real conversation".

So Xia Libing didn't say anything more, but instead reached out and pressed Alice's cheeks with both hands, making her pout her little mouth, and then rubbed and rubbed them.

After finishing the massage, Xia Libing continued with her work, but Alice suddenly quieted down. Her body didn't collapse; instead, she leaned against Lao Xia and stayed by her side.

After working for a while, Xia Libing suddenly said, "Play the song that Sister Nana composed yesterday."

"Okay!"

Alice happily agreed, and the song that Tang Baona had composed yesterday based on her perception of Yang the Third's emotions was immediately played through Xia Libing's phone speaker.

Xia Libing narrowed her eyes, seemingly trying to savor the emotions in the song. Although it was just a "dudu lulu" sound and didn't contain any substantial lyrics, the melody already contained a lot.

Tang Baona finished humming the song quickly, Alice immediately said, "Nana secretly sang it several times, and I recorded them all. Do you want to hear it? Or should we loop the version we just sang again?"

Xia Libing shook her head. "No need."

She knew this song came from Tang Baona's analysis of Yang Zhen'er's emotions. Last night, when she listened to it, she tried to grasp the emotional points in the song, but unfortunately, she couldn't. Listening to it again today, she still felt nothing at all.

Alice has already confirmed with her that Nana's song still has the function of "immediate-micro- Emotional Assimilation".

Clearly, she doesn't possess the kind of emotion that Nana gleaned from the third brother, so she can't achieve assimilation and resonance—unless that emotion originated from Xiang Kun.

Xia Libing had previously communicated with Xiang Kun and knew that songs were an excellent way to evoke emotions, or to recall, mobilize, store, and awaken emotions, whether for others or for Xiang Kun.

She's not someone who's completely devoid of emotions anymore. Through Xiang Kun's Emotional Assimilation, she's already sensed emotions several times. But she doesn't understand how to connect those emotions with the songs, or how to imbue the songs with those emotions.

Alice seemed to have guessed what Xia Libing was thinking. She sat close to her legs, tilted her head up, and said, "Lao Xia, Lao Xia, shall I play a few songs for you? Hey? Your playlist is full of Nana's songs. Should I play them all? It's a pity I wasn't born when the boss sang before, otherwise I would have definitely recorded it!"

Xia Libing did not answer immediately, but continued to think. Her gaze suddenly fell on the backpack on an empty table next to the laboratory door. It was the big backpack she had always carried, which she had obtained from Xiang Kun. A thought suddenly struck her.

"There's a lyric, 'Your backpack, I've been carrying it for so long and it's still not worn out,' play that song," Xia Libing said. She had heard the song before, but she didn't listen to music often and didn't know the title.

"Okay!"

As Alice finished speaking, Eason Chan's "Your Backpack" was already playing on Xia Libing's phone.

Xia Libing tilted her head slightly, listening carefully to the song.

She wasn't actually in a rush to do this, but since she had noticed Alice's slight unusual behavior, she wanted to use this opportunity to communicate with her, give her something to "do," and then analyze her reaction.

After listening to it twice, Xia Libing suddenly started singing softly. "Your backpack, still intact after all this time, has become another half of my body..."

The music suddenly stopped, Alice's crisp voice rang out. "Lao Xia, Lao Xia, you're off-key! Come on, listen to my instructions, it's 'Your backpack~', come on~"

Xia Libing didn't get up again, and Alice's cheeks were cupped and squeezed together once more.

Tang Baona, who was in Tongshi Town with Yang Zhen'er choosing a new office location, spent the entire morning in a daze.

After arriving in Tongshi Town, her ability to perceive other people's emotions dropped to almost zero. She felt that Xiang Kun was like a network interface for emotional perception; if she was too far away, she would immediately disconnect, losing the emotional connection.

This made Tang Baona, who had just "learned a new skill," feel a little uncomfortable. Then, she subconsciously kept trying to sense her surroundings, hoping to find that special sensory ability she had yesterday.

Unfortunately, that perception seems to have been blocked out; it's gone.

So she unconsciously began to revisit the song she had created yesterday based on Yang Zhen'er's emotional analysis, trying to add lyrics with some of her own understanding. At the same time, she was thinking about her second perception of Yang the Third's emotions while eating breakfast this morning— Yang the Third's mood today was slightly different from last night's, especially in the dream he had, where the rich changes in emotions were very fluctuating.

Tang Baona kept getting distracted and spacing out. Yang Zhen'er, who usually just stood by and watched, had to take matters into her own hands after two unsuccessful attempts to remind her. Fortunately, Chu Xiuwen was with her. He had a great deal of influence in Tongshi Town, especially since he was very familiar with the developers and managers of various commercial properties. Therefore, they had a wide selection and could get the lowest prices directly.

In fact, Chu Xiuwen in. All the business offices in Tongshi Town were very enthusiastic when they heard that it was "Universe Technology," the developer of "Voice Genesis," and they proactively offered various conveniences and discounts.

Tang Baona was distracted. After Yang Zhen'er took over the decision-making power, she only spent half an hour confirming the location, then signed the contract with a wave of her hand, and then went to have lunch with Chu Xiuwen and the others.

During lunch, Chu Xiuwen received a call from Xia Tianhuo and got up to talk to her. Yang Zhen'er then whispered to Tang Baona, who was still lost in thought, "Nana, is there a problem with 'Little Sprite'?"

"Huh?" Tang Baona was stunned for a moment, then turned around and looked at Yang Zhen'er with a puzzled expression.

"Is there something wrong with the 'Little Sprite'? Or... have you already fused with the 'Little Sprite'?" Yang Zhen'er asked mysteriously, her voice barely audible.

Tang Baona was even more confused. "What do you mean by 'complete fusion'? Yang the Third, what are you talking about?"

Yang Zhen'er gave Nana a look that said, "I understand you, there's no need to hide it," then held up her "Lucky Coin" and said, "Nana, do you think I should name my Coin too? How about 'Fairy Coin'? Hmm, not quite right, not imposing enough, not cute enough, doesn't reflect my personality. How about... 'Holy Emblem'? Ugh, 'Fairy Emblem'! No, that's not good, an emblem is an object, then I won't feel connected to it when I talk to it..."

Tang Baona looked astonished. "Third brother, what are you talking about? I was just thinking about the song I wrote last night, trying to figure out what lyrics to use. What were you thinking about! What Holy Emblem, what Fusion, what Immersion, what Fairy Coins?"

As she was speaking, she suddenly paused, as if she had thought of something. She glanced at Chu Xiuwen, who was still on the phone, and then whispered, "Do you also know about the existence of the 'Little Sprite'?"

Yang Zhen'er asked curiously, "So 'Little Sprite' isn't a specific name, but a general term? Hmm, of course I know, I knew it on the plane yesterday."

"How do you know that the little girl outside the plane is... hers?" Tang Baona naturally understood which point in time "on the plane" meant, Yang the Third's change also occurred after the little girl in the white dress appeared on the wing.

"Of course I know! And I guarantee I knew about 'Little Sprite' much earlier than you did!" Yang Zhen'er said smugly.

"No way, how early could you have known? Don't tell me you knew that when you were a child?" Tang Baona frowned.

In her opinion, even if Yang Zhen'er knew, it couldn't have been before she first came to Chongyun Village and stayed in that house. How long could that have been?

Yang Zhen'er said, "You're absolutely right. I knew it when I was little. No, I can't say I knew it when I was little. I should say... I recognized it when I was little!"

"Yang the Third, you're coming up with some crazy ideas again, aren't you?" Tang Baona said speechlessly.

Yang Zhen'er, had a confident expression. "Nana, it seems you don't know whose 'Little Sprite' that is on the plane?"

Tang Baona was taken aback. "Whose 'Little Sprite'?" Then she laughed, "Don't tell me that's your 'Little Sprite'?"

"That's certainly not my 'Little Sprite,' but I know whose 'Little Sprite' it is!" Yang Zhen'er said with a chuckle.

"Whose is it?" Tang Baona's heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously asked, "Is it Xiang Kun's?"

"No, of course it's not Chef Xiang's. How could Chef Xiang's Little Sprite be so cute!" Yang Zhen'er answered instinctively.

Tang Baona suddenly felt that Yang Zhen'er might actually know something, because her expression now looked much calmer than when she was just daydreaming, and she really seemed to know something.

"Wait a minute, as soon as you got off the plane yesterday, you hugged Lao Xia and whispered a lot of secrets to him. When you got home last night, you immediately pulled Lao Xia upstairs. So... you mean, the pretty little girl who saved us and appeared outside the plane is Lao Xia's 'Little Sprite'?" Tang Baona immediately recalled Yang Zhen'er's series of unusual behaviors on the plane, after getting off the plane, and after returning home yesterday, and then made a deduction.

"Bingo!" Yang Zhen'er winked at Nana and didn't hide anything. "That's Lao Xia's 'Little Sprite,' but that's what you call it, Nana. My name for it is 'clone,' it's cooler! The little girl who saved us is Lao Xia's 'little clone'!"

Tang Baona immediately asked, "Did Lao Xia admit it?" Compared to Yang the Third, she still thought Lao Xia was more reliable.

"Although he didn't admit it personally, it's practically an admission, after all, the evidence is irrefutable!" Yang Zhen'er still had a smug expression.

"Ironclad evidence? What ironclad evidence?" Tang Baona asked.

Yang Zhen'er took out her phone, opened the cloud photo album, and pulled up photos of the whole family taken when Xia Libing was a child, as well as several solo photos of Xia Libing when she was a child. These were all physical photos kept in albums and frames. Then, while handing the phone over, she said mysteriously to Tang Baona, "These photos can't be shared. If the passengers who flew with us see them, Lao Xia will be exposed."

When Tang Baona saw the photos, she was quite surprised. Although the age was different from the little girl she saw on the wing, she could still see that Xia Libing in the photos was nine-tenths similar to the little girl in the white dress.

If this is the case, and considering that Yang the Third said Lao Xia agreed with her guess, then could that "Little Sprite" really be Lao Xia? Or rather, is it directly related to Lao Xia?

This seems to explain why the "Little Sprite" was so kind to her, saved her, and protected her at all times.

So, the truly special one has always been Lao Xia?

"Is it really Lao Xia? But... why does he look like he did when he was a child?" Tang Baona murmured to herself.