They shared a tacit understanding, neither of them daring to pierce the thin veil between them. They simply accompanied one another as they always did, occasionally buying a novel little trinket or pausing when they encountered a beautiful view, letting the tranquil evening breeze steady their hearts.
"Yuzu." Tang Xin set down her brush and held up the painted pottery doll, giving it a little shake.
The doll had golden hair and golden eyes, its round face set in a stern expression on an oversized head. Compared to the blonde girl standing before the stall, it was quite an accurate depiction, even down to the clear eyes peeking out from beneath its short limbs.
"Look at this. Doesn't it look just like you?"
Xu Xiaoyou also handed her painted pottery doll to Tang Xin. Her skill was just as impressive; if the doll didn't look exactly like the blue-haired girl, it was at least a ninety-percent match.
The two exchanged dolls and moved through the bustling crowd. Having spent so much time together, it was inevitable that they would eventually bring up the past.
"Yuzu, do you remember the first time I saw you? The way you styled your long hair back then... thinking back on it now, you were trying to imitate Xiao Mo, weren't you?" Tang Xin asked, turning her head.
Xu Xiaoyou knew she was referring to the incident at the Amazon restaurant. Xiao Mo was a famous stylist and talent scout for Rongsen Media on the Star of Art. He frequented high-end venues, his work graced the covers of fashion magazines, and he was a regular guest on mainstream media interviews.
But all of that was in the past.
"Thinking back, you were full of holes and barely prepared. Most of what you said was completely half-hearted," Tang Xin said, pursing her lips.
"I was so naive back then too. I can't believe I actually let you pull one over on me. If I had been a bit more firm, would I have seen you slinking away in the snow, looking all pitiful and miserable?"
"Did you really not see through anything?" Xu Xiaoyou asked in return.
A soft curve appeared at the corners of Tang Xin's lips.
"Of course not. But your eyes were so determined. You swore such heavy oaths under the starlight, yet you were so afraid, as if you'd turn and run the moment I got serious. You were like a little squirrel watching its winter hoard being emptied—absolutely pathetic."
"In the end, I thought about it and my heart softened. I figured that no matter how bad your conditions were, they couldn't be that bad, so I agreed."
"As it turns out, my intuition was pretty good. Although things weren't great at the start, we still made it through together. Thinking back on those days now, I actually feel a bit nostalgic. It was surprisingly fulfilling."
"Though there were times when I was working myself to death on stage, being insulted and given the cold shoulder, only to come home and see you smiling while counting money. There were several times I thought about strangling you." The resentment in Tang Xin's eyes vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
"But then I'd see you rushing around for investments, publicity, and resources until you had no time to rest, falling asleep at your desk. I started thinking... if I wasn't just a tool to you, and we were working toward the same goal together, that would be quite nice."
Listening to Tang Xin's monologue, Xu Xiaoyou's throat tightened. An apology was on the tip of her tongue, yet she found herself unable to speak.
During their final days together on the Star of Art, their relationship had become incredibly strained. Misunderstandings had created a rift between them.
That rift had never been healed, right up until the moment of their separation at the Grand Theater.
For both of them, it had become a source of regret. Even if no one mentioned it, and even though they were both more mature than they had been back then, they both knew that the past was the past.
Yet that regret still pricked her heart like a thorn, troubling her deeply.
Later, when Xu Xiaoyou returned to the Star of Art and visited the Iris Orphanage, she knew Tang Xin had recognized her. She had countless opportunities to be honest, yet she hadn't seized a single one.
When Tang Xin had handed her that bouquet of irises, her soft gaze had been trembling. The girl must have been filled with just as much disappointment and regret.
They were clearly walking within the mortal world, yet they were so far removed from its warmth.
Neither of them said where they were going, yet with a shared intuition, they walked until they reached the abandoned church. Just as Xu Xiaoyou hesitated to push the door open again, Tang Xin reached out and made the choice for her.
Creak—
The rotting wood and rusted iron let out a tooth-aching groan as the doors opened, shaking loose a cloud of dust.
Moonlight spilled through the orderly windows on either side of the church, illuminating the desolate scene of the circular corridor.
In the pale moonlight, a slender girl knelt before a black piano, her dark hair falling over her shoulders. Her body was covered in cracks, and her skin was as dull as a sculpture that had lost its luster. She held The Coronation of Poppea in her arms, her forehead resting gently against the nut of the cello. She was as quiet as a withered flower, as tragically beautiful as a piece of broken porcelain.
A thicket of blue irises withered beneath her. Not a single spark of light remained in the girl's eyes; it felt as if a single gust of wind would cause her to be swallowed by the cracks on her skin and scatter into the air.
"So, I'm already dead?" Tang Xin joked.
Xu Xiaoyou remained silent.
Tang Xin was standing perfectly fine right beside her. This dead girl was obviously not the real Tang Xin, but Sevia.
It was the first projection of 'Sevia' created by Oasis based on real-world data.
After sending the message that she wanted a hug, she had died alone in the church. The 'Sevia' playing the Pied Piper of Hamelin on the Bastion was the second 'Sevia', a new projection calculated by Oasis based on the fact that she and the real Tang Xin were about to become aware of each other's existence, thus changing the predicted future.
If she hadn't reunited with Tang Xin, given her a hug, and exchanged promises, Tang Xin would have walked toward this tragically beautiful, withered end.
'So, at which fork in the road did my own ending change?' Tang Xin wondered.
The moment their gazes met the girl's body, she was swept away by the wind, scattering into the air.
Xu Xiaoyou stepped forward and sat at the piano, gesturing an invitation to the girl. Tang Xin smiled subtly, took her hand, and sat down on the piano bench.
A black glove and a white glove tentatively pressed down on the black and white keys, producing a low, humming melody. They looked up at the same time, seeing their own reflections in each other's eyes while reading deeper messages within.
The piano was quite old. The solid wood body was covered in a thick layer of dust, and the piano action was no longer as responsive as it once was. The sound produced while pressing the soft pedal was still a bit muffled, perhaps because the tuning pins had shifted.
But one thing was certain: if the only audience was each other, this piano could still be played.
Tonight, they didn't speak much. They seemed to be walking aimlessly, yet they never deviated from the direction in their hearts. They had arrived here through shared intuition, and now, they would use that same intuition to play the same piece together.
The melody of the piano was long and sorrowful, leaping out from their private world to echo through the church, drift onto the streets, and float further and further away.
The white moon draped a gentle veil over all things. The beautiful piano music did not disturb the silence of the night; rather, it added a new layer of aesthetic beauty.
They played the piano duet just as they always had, performing the melody they had planned to play when the New Year's bell rang, fulfilling a promise they should have kept long ago, and revealing hearts that should have been honest much sooner.
Xu Xiaoyou's fingers interlaced with the blue-haired girl's on the bench. Their fingertips lingered between the keys and the sorrowful melody, their bodies swaying or leaning low with the music.
She looked at Tang Xin's profile, her gaze landing on the girl's clear blue eyes. The other girl turned to look at her, hair falling against her cheek, a moving smile gracing her lips.
Everything was as it had always been, yet everything was different.
The sound of this piano was deeper.
The unfulfilled promise had become even heavier.
The tuning pins inside this piano had shifted. Two hearts that were finally honest with each other could never again truly transmit their emotions to one another.
The piano continued to play.
To ensure she played this familiar melody perfectly so Xu Xiaoyou wouldn't laugh at her, Tang Xin had practiced it time and time again over many nights. Yet this time, she clumsily missed many notes.
The piano continued to play.
Xu Xiaoyou said, "I'm sorry. Regarding what happened before... I used Miss Fren."
Tang Xin replied, "Yuzu, of course I guessed it was you long ago. That happened so long ago that I stopped caring. Why did you wait until now to apologize?"
The piano continued to play.
They were still in sync.
But the silence of regret was like seawater, drowning the white moonlight.
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