Chapter 320

Chapter 320: The Proposal, Birthday Gift

In the afternoon.

Warm and pleasant light fell upon the open audience, sparkling with cartoon instruments that sang and danced on stage.

Unlike the closed feeling of indoors, the sky was a clear, bright blue. The unpredictable sunlight changed its angle and intensity with time, while the cool or hot breeze added a wonderful depth to the stage.

The singing that filled the air was so beautiful it felt like a dream. Even just a few notes seemed to hold the essence of an opera, rich with natural storytelling, as if art and nature were deeply understanding each other.

This was the "Lighthouse" chosen by the Holy Republic.

Although the shock left by the five-layered [Heart Flow] raised the audience’s expectations very high, like having enjoyed a grand feast, even after a month, they could still savor and remember the taste of that moment.

But this person only needed to step onto the stage and smile at the audience to rekindle the atmosphere to its previous peak. The song that flowed from her lips made the enchanting scene even more magical, wrapping the entire small town in a soft, fairytale-like ambiance.

If Xie Qingxuan squeezed emotions and made the audience enjoy a great experience on stage at the cost of Sage’s time,

Then Charlotte’s [Heart Flow] awakened deep memories of joy and offered a spiritual cleansing, directly granting a higher level of empathy and the ability to feel happiness, which allowed her to create a greater enjoyment for the audience.

This was closely related to their personalities.

Xie Qingxuan was a person who lacked love and was obsessive, while Charlotte was someone who, even in a loveless environment, could seek love, discover love, receive love, and was happy to share love.

Therefore, in terms of idol power, the latter was the most classic type, and the five-layered [Heart Flow] could not overshadow her stage presence.

In fact, without the dazzling support provided by Chu Yuanqing, the recent performance on stage still wouldn’t qualify as world-class.

Currently, among the active magical girls, there was no team that could overshadow Charlotte’s stage presence; her confidence and ease were to be expected.

Luna shook her little head, her bright eyes sparkling as she looked at her idol on stage. Her sweet and lovely face was filled with happiness, and she had a pure innocence that had not been tainted by knowledge.

The little girl had no idea that she had just escaped a life-and-death situation. She happily watched Charlotte’s figure, sometimes recording with her camera and other times giving a big "Yay!" with her hands, smiling as she took selfies for herself and her idol on stage.

The Pure White Witch just happened to be sitting behind this child and got caught in the picture.

When Luna raised her phone to take a selfie, she blocked the view of the people behind her, but after she finished taking the picture, she realized the problem. She hurriedly turned around and handed out some fruit candies to the audience in the back row.

However, when apologizing, the little girl couldn’t help but steal a few glances at the pretty older sister behind her, feeling a bit dazed.

The young girl’s delicate face was calm. Her white hair, styled in a low ponytail, flowed gently down her slender back. The graceful curves were dressed in a white shirt, and her black pants wrapped around her long legs, giving her a neat and sharp appearance, exuding confidence.

Luna gasped in her heart:

"White hair? This sister’s hair color is just like Honey Qing’s!"

This was Chu Yuanqing’s first time wearing clothes from the past after transforming into a witch.

Although she didn’t use any magic to change her appearance and hair color, with this outfit, adjusting her aura and atmosphere a little, and using techniques similar to hypnosis, she could make people distinguish her from Chu Yuanqing.

Chu Yuanqing looked up and glanced at Luna, who was unwrapping a hard candy and putting it in her mouth. After tasting it a few times, she sensed the sweet and sour taste of strawberry, and her indifferent expression turned into a satisfied smile.

For a chaotic sense of taste, whether candy was sweet or bitter did not affect happiness.

But there were too many happy and joyful people around her; with the help of the Lantern Gem, she could sense everyone’s emotions and truly enjoy the surrounding atmosphere.

Because… every moment spent here was a dream that was once impossible to reach.

Charlotte must be enjoying this celebration too, right?

Chu Yuanqing’s lips curled up like rose petals, showing a lovely smile filled with joy. She genuinely felt happy for her friend. Although she had her reasons to defeat the "Disaster Relief," there was an even more important reason besides what she said to Charlotte.

Charlotte’s heart was very soft, soft enough that she could not stand by and watch suffering happen.

So, if she didn’t eliminate the "Disaster Relief," which harms people all over the world, at once, even if she pretended well on the outside, she could not immerse herself in the birthday celebration.

Now everything is good.

No one will be hurt, and everyone can find happiness.

Time passed, and after 35 minutes Charlotte sang a birthday song while interacting with the audience, then smiled and said goodbye to everyone, announcing that the show was coming to an end.

Of course, this ending is for the tourists and fans.

In the past, there would be children’s performances on stage and various shows eagerly signed up by the townspeople, creating a lively scene of everyone relaxing and having fun together.

But because this time there were too many spectators, with at least 40,000 local residents set aside, the stage was completely filled, and non-professional performers certainly couldn’t perform as casually as in previous celebrations.

So, this part was moved to the evening after the audience left.

Luna reluctantly joined the crowd, leaving the stage, and just like the other fans of Charlotte, she went to enjoy the festival.

Even though they had already seen the biggest and luckiest idol stage, just the thought of Charlotte being right there made the fans hold on to the hope of a chance encounter, so they were basically prepared to stay until the event was over.

On the other side, because of summoning fans through social media, new people were not allowed in, which raised serious doubts about the bad behavior of chasing fans.

Charlotte had to take responsibility for the Dream Weaver Rabbit’s account theft. She went live in the waiting room for 20 minutes, saying the show was over, thanked the fans who came, and sang a birthday song.

Finally, she uploaded a live stage video and a multi-camera version as a compensation, and in the comments of this post, she gave away a thousand random merchandise items.

Well, most of the items were special products that were only available during the town’s celebration today, including posters, folders, a soundtrack CD, signed photos, acrylic keychains, toy sailboats with printed signatures, and scale models of airboats.

Although she hasn’t debuted yet, because she was chosen early, Charlotte’s merchandise planning already exists in thousands of template designs in the super AI’s database. The items in the town were products taken out early.

After finishing, Charlotte couldn’t wait to sneak out of the waiting room. She passed by Liang Xiaoxiao and Lin Baor on the street by the lake and spotted a Pure White Witch buying ice cream by the roadside.

"The vanilla sundae isn’t bad."

Chu Yuanqing turned back to make a silly face at Miss Saintess, handed over her vanilla sundae, and smiled at Charlotte, who took a bite and looked happy, then took her hand and said:

"Shall we go for a walk together?"

"As the host, you should know where the celebration is the most fun, right?"

Charlotte sipped her vanilla ice cream, held Honey Qing’s little hand, and walked towards the sailing race, showing a beautifully confident smile, and said proudly:

"I already looked at the race schedule ahead of time, and it’s a doubles competition now. I signed us up earlier, so we can go and grab some goodies with my fans!"

Chu Yuanqing was accustomed to Miss Saintess’s way of thinking; she found it interesting and asked in a conspiratorial tone:

"What happens after we grab them?"

Charlotte answered immediately, without any hesitation:

"Of course, we cover our eyes and spin around, then randomly point to a lucky person to give it to! The unexpected prizes will definitely be fun."

The world is big, but the birthday star is the biggest.

Chu Yuanqing followed Charlotte’s suggestion, hiding her identity, and participated in many activities along the way.

But interestingly, in order not to bully Fan too much, the two agreed not to use extraordinary skills during the activities, and magic was strictly forbidden.

This led to repeated failures; they did not win the sailing competition they initially joined, and their later games of shooting, eating contests, and Ludo had both wins and losses.

Charlotte quietly won first place in the singing competition that imitated her, but the victory felt very empty and gave her no sense of achievement. When giving out prizes, she even seemed shy, clearly feeling embarrassed.

Chu Yuanqing thought it was cute to see her friend struggling, so she rigidly followed the rules in the next competitions while seriously observing Miss Saintess as she puffed out her cheeks, finding chances to take many pictures.

After spending a whole afternoon wandering around as tourists, the time to leave was getting closer, and some audience members had already started to leave the town, causing the celebration activities to gradually decrease.

So, the two returned to the little church to enjoy the sunshine with Sister Ellie, admired the shimmering Lake Wolfgangsee for a while, and each took care of three or four kids, leading them to wander around.

Time passed slowly.

The blue sky gradually mixed with darkness, the sun hung like boiling iron, letting the fiery clouds roll and spread, like the evening glow decorated with fine threads, splitting vibrant colors in the retina.

Charlotte sat on the lawn, reaching out to smooth her skirt. The loose strands of hair in front of her danced in the wind, and under the frost-blue lashes, her eyes shone with a colorful gradient like a crystal displaying all its spectra.

The children were playing and having fun not far away.

Chu Yuanqing sat next to Charlotte; they could hear each other’s breathing and feel each other’s warmth, close enough to hug anytime, unlike many years ago when they had to stay apart.

"Do you remember? I used to climb to very high places and pull you up to see the sunset."

"Back then, Final City had many problems, but it was surrounded by a sea of pure white clouds. From the height of this city, the colorful sunset really looked beautiful."

Charlotte lay on the soft grass, her expression gentle as she softly said:

"But, for some reason, I felt those sunsets were so lonely."

"Even though there were many colors, so wide that I couldn’t take it all in as I grew up, when they gathered, it always made that city feel more like an island, as if… only we could see it."

"It wasn’t until the blessing of awakening that I realized those clouds and sunsets were hidden parts of the city, and the real sky no longer had such weather. The blue sky and white clouds, as well as the sunset, were treasures from a past era."

Chu Yuanqing still remembered the other person’s lonely and lost expression back then; she softly said:

"Well, during our first journey of exploration, we climbed down the sky ladder and had to pass through the thick fog created by the soul remains and disaster aura."

"I heard from our team leader that only a small amount of sunlight could break through this barrier and reach the surface, so the conditions below were very harsh, and resources were scarcer than in the city. Eventually, it would turn into a frozen land where no one could survive."

"The goal of the exploration team sent by Final City was to bring back precious resources, explore the current state of the world, analyze the concentration of disaster aura, redraw the map, communicate with the other settlements, and research ways to save the world."

"For this, we also needed to bring back more scholars, scientists, and warriors blessed with awakening."

Charlotte smiled upon hearing this and softly said:

"So, you did very well in your task and brought back Liuli, Miyuki, and Little Xuan."

Chu Yuanqing looked up at the sky; these should have been precious memories, but her mind was blank. She could only remember scattered words and useless fragments, and she murmured sadly:

"Is that so? I forgot."

Charlotte blinked and smiled as she said:

"It’s not completely true. We discovered Liuli together."

"About Little Xuan… I remember you told me that when you first met her, she was locked up in the headquarters of the faith Helldir. Later, after a twist of fate, she was rescued, but because her disaster aura was too strong, she couldn’t be brought back to Final City."

"So, you wandered with her for a while and found a main city worth trusting, before you set Little Xuan free. At that time, no one could have guessed that she would later become the Demon King crowned by planetary consciousness."

Chu Yuanqing listened quietly. Even as her memories faded in an instant, she enjoyed hearing these unfamiliar yet familiar past stories.

It was like many years later, you and the one you loved both had gray hair, but someone still knew your story and patiently turned the pages, just like seeds from spring that sprout and overcome thorns, growing strong in the wind.

After Charlotte and the Pure White Witch forgot these things, it was as if nothing had happened; the smile on her lips was still clear. She looked at the fiery clouds in the sky and connected back to the previous topic:

"Little Qing, do you remember?"

"Back then, we crossed through the thick black tide together. It was dark and noisy all around, with the chemical reaction of soul bones and disaster aura amplifying the fear and sorrow in our hearts."

"I felt very sad and couldn’t help but grab your hand, wishing that everyone in the world could see the sunset above the sky."

"You said you would do it; there will be that day sooner or later."

"Look, now… indeed, anyone can see the evening glow."

After Charlotte said this, she hummed the opening melody of "MY ALL," smiling brightly at Chu Yuanqing. She slowly sat up on the grass, took her soft hand, and invited her with her eyes.

The girl’s profile was gentle, her white Roman dress swayed in the wind. While softly singing this nostalgic Japanese song, she held her beloved’s hand, as if hosting a dance party in the light, and began to dance freely.

"How much time has passed (some time)?"

"We have spent time together (we have shared experiences)."

"How much distance has been covered (some distance)?"

"We have walked together (we have advanced together)."

The so-called dance is the art of expressing one’s feelings through body movements.

Chu Yuanqing understood the joys and sorrows in Charlotte’s heart. Her dance steps were no longer so clumsy; she matched her partner’s lively and joyful rhythm, dancing in the shadows that crossed in the twilight.

Sister Ellie called the nearby children back to the lawn. She stroked Nia’s hair and looked towards the brightest direction of the light, listening to Charlotte’s singing. It felt like a beautiful picture, and a smile of contentment appeared on her lips.

Under the fading light of the sun, the couple exchanged their joys and sorrows.

The strong wind blew across the lawn, and the distant lake sparkled, as if each ripple was spreading with light.

"I want to show you a dream."

"It does not end. It does not disappear."

"I really want you to see that kind of dream."

"That is my wish."

The notes in the town rose and fell, and cartoon instruments gathered around Charlotte, providing a cheerful accompaniment for the dancing couple, who were happily bouncing and jumping, looking adorably silly.

The children in the orphanage watched this scene from a distance, their innocent eyes filled with curiosity, and in the atmosphere of the song, they quietly chose to be still.

Sister Ellie’s smile was peaceful; as an elder, she prayed to the unseen gods, hoping for the two to have countless moments like this in the future.

A long time, a long time.

Charlotte finished her song, stopped dancing, looked at the Pure White Witch, suddenly became quiet, and softly said:

"The sunset is very 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 grass, lowered her gaze to the small box taken from the Möbius strip, her smile bright, and softly said:

"Charlotte, I promised you that after I finished my training, I would make a gift for you."

"Actually, I had the idea and plan for a very long time, but I just never had the time to do it."

"Tears of the Rose Dragon, Thorn Crown, withered poems, immortal silver bones, the blessing of the Golden Sea… I don’t know if I did well, but the materials truly reflect my original idea."

The voice faded away.

The Pure White Witch took Charlotte’s hand, and the small box in her hand crumbled on its own, heavy illusions flooding the view.

Dark thorns intertwined, ancient songs were sung, the Golden Sea, called the Promised Land, swayed and trembled, and the everlasting silver light suddenly burst forth, eventually melting into a drop of rose-shaped tear.

The Last Diva’s long, delicate ring finger twisted with enough energy to stir the air, then in an instant turned to nothing, transforming into a clear, translucent ring with a pink crystal texture, flowing with the patterns of poetry.

Chu Yuanqing raised her eyes and softly said:

"This is a wedding ring."

"Happy Birthday, Charlotte."