"Bravo." Aliford smiled. "Courage is the anthem of humanity."
"Willingness to express one's thoughts through poetry and convey them to others... that is very meaningful."
Applause broke out in waves. Tang Xin, standing in the center, lowered her eyes slightly. Perhaps it was a childhood yearning, or perhaps she was inspired by the two original practitioners, but she had stepped forward unconsciously just now.
To these original artists, these celebratory verses were still too immature.
Vandoni smiled and placed both hands on Tang Xin's shoulders, nudging the girl out of the crowd. "Little Sevia, when you said you were leaving school to chase your dreams, I was truly surprised."
"Because your comprehensive evaluation in opera and poetry had always been quite good. It’s just... your direction of emotional expression was wrong. I actually thought highly of you. Do you remember the choral choir? That time I recommended you to the Starry Gallery as a reciter."
Tang Xin pursed her lips. "I'm sorry, Ms. Vandoni. I let your kindness down."
"No, I know your character. I should have considered your feelings. I just..."
"I couldn't bear to see you self-exiling every day, immersed in void. As your teacher, I knew very well how moving your brilliance was; it was just covered in dust. You should have shown your light much earlier."
"Perhaps it was that very missed opportunity that led me onto a completely different life path." Tang Xin held her heart, her gaze flickering. "On that other path, I met the person who is most important to me."
"She changed me, taught me many things, and pulled me back from the world's dividing line."
Vandoni was a bit surprised. "What do you mean?"
"I think her significance to me is like that of the wilderness to a bird yearning to fly. My heart found its own sky in her eyes."
"I like her," Tang Xin said softly.
"But I'm not sure if this 'liking' is love, or if it's a deep, profound, and overwhelmingly intense friendship."
"It's too hazy, like a sprout that hasn't yet broken through the soil, but it's so fervent. Even through the seed, my heart beats fiercely for it."
Vandoni nodded.
Tang Xin's eyes were peaceful. No one but her knew that her time might be running out. In these final moments, she no longer dared to hope for a reunion with the person in her heart.
What she was doing now was still far from enough.
She had to do more.
....
In the shadows, a figure watched everything. Seeing the great artists gathered to discuss deep philosophical questions, Gawain shrugged and approached Tang Xin, who stood outside the crowd.
"Yo, Sevia."
The latter looked at him warily, giving a polite smile on the surface. "Senior Gawain."
The badge on the youth's chest allowed Tang Xin to recognize him. Gawain, the Vice President of the Student Council. Since Lancelot's disappearance, he was likely the President now.
"Don't trust these sanctimonious fellows too much." Gawain glanced at the great artists. "In my eyes, they're no different from Belvedere. They strayed from the original path long ago."
Gawain tapped his forehead. "In other words, I feel like they've all got something wrong up here."
Tang Xin didn't want to interact too much with any unstable factors and turned to leave. Behind her, the youth's leisurely voice drifted over. "Think about it, Junior Sevia—why did they choose you?"
"Lancelot is missing—no, that brave and upright blonde lion was crushed to death by a meteor hammer long ago. Before his body has even gone cold, these hypocrites are scrambling to find a gap in the family ranks. They need family power; they need access to internal family intelligence."
"Why didn't they choose Ravange of the Withered-Flower family? Why did they choose you instead? Because the siren miracle broke out. Like Pandora's box, the Withered-Flower family, which relies on this miracle for prosperity, will soon wither just like its name."
"Your nominal father, Ayin Winter, is a member of the Starry Gallery's board of directors, representing the Winter family's seat. In the Star of Art, his influence is far greater than you imagine. Aside from that old fossil Belvedere, few people can restrain him. They only let you join the Tree of Eternal Life because of that connection."
"They just want to control you and make you do something suicidal like a moth to a flame."
"An idiot like Lancelot was only because he trusted his teachers too much. No one could talk him out of it. To others, it looked like he jumped into the fire pit himself."
Gawain spoke with confidence, as if he had already figured out the girl in front of him. To his surprise, Tang Xin only turned around and said with a smile, "Your collar button is misaligned, Senior Gawain."
Gawain's expression froze. He hurriedly tried to fix his collar, only to find every button was perfectly straight. Frowning, he looked back at the girl. He clearly saw a hint of mischief behind her polite smile.
"Do you really believe everything I say, Senior Gawain?"
Gawain was left speechless.
"I'm not like you."
Tang Xin turned and left, leaving Gawain standing alone, his thoughts racing. After a moment, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Interesting, Hahaha, truly interesting."
"This girl is far more dangerous than Lancelot. I hope those old fogies weren't fooled by her harmless appearance."
"Trying to control a maniac like that... Hahaha, I really look forward to seeing the looks on their faces."
"Lancelot..." Gawain swirled his red wine. "Do you see? The one who took your place is much smarter than you."
....
The scene shifted to a dark little room. A dry, cold, eerie blue mist permeated the air; it looked like a cold storage unit.
Several figures, bound hand and foot, sat in a circle around a table. Aside from their underwear, everyone was naked, shivering uncontrollably from the cold.
Footsteps echoed in the darkness. Their hoods were removed. One of them, seeing the surroundings, couldn't help but scream in terror, "Do you know who I am?! How dare you bring me to a place like this!"
"Where is this? Where is this?! I'm warning you, I'm a senior executive at Rongsen Media! If you kidnap me, I have a tracker on me. Someone will come for me soon!"
"So cold... so cold..."
A blonde figure stepped out of the darkness. Xu Xiaoyou was dressed in a flat-collar evening suit, looking like a hostess inviting guests to her domain. She placed three glasses of frosted red wine in front of the three men.
"Good afternoon, everyone."
"You're..."
As soon as the three men saw Xu Xiaoyou's face, their hearts skipped a beat. It was as if they had seen a ghost. The bluster they had earlier vanished, and they lowered their heads uneasily.
"Miss... Miss Xu... Aren't you dead...?" one of the men asked with a trembling voice.
"So, the one standing in front of you is a ghost that crawled out of hell?" Xu Xiaoyou smiled.
"It seems you know you've done something wrong, fearing a ghost's knock at the door."
Xu Xiaoyou snapped her fingers. Thick stacks of contracts and documents appeared on the table. She placed her hands on the shoulders of the two company executives and slowly leaned in.
"Now then, let's count them up—all the guilty things you did behind my back while I was gone."
Rate on N.U.
