Chapter 321

Chapter 321: I Am Willing, the Stage of Night

The breeze bent the green grass, and the glow of dusk spread over the lake.

Time suddenly became calm again, all the noise around disappeared, and everything was silent.

Charlotte’s mind went blank; she wanted to keep smiling, control her expression, and create a brighter, more beautiful appearance to accept this once-in-a-lifetime gift.

But tears still flowed from her eyes; they dripped down, floating like tiny stars in the shimmering waves of the wedding ring.

The cartoon instruments played happily again, notes and lights gathered together like fireflies in the mountains, as Ayumi Hamasaki’s "MY ALL" echoed back, singing memorable lyrics.

"I want to show you where dreams are."

"There is no end, there is no disappearance."

She said she wanted to show you where dreams are, there is no end, there is no disappearance.

The Last Diva gazed into her lover’s lake-like eyes, as if she saw many years ago, in the embers of a prison, a brave soul who had shouldered billions of wishes and had forgotten how to smile by the time they stood before her.

From beginning to end, no matter how low they fell, neither ever gave up on realizing their dreams from the past.

This truth alone was enough to outweigh a thousand sweet words.

And this wedding ring on her ring finger was an impact beyond her heart’s expectations.

Charlotte was free; she always knew how to maintain a mysterious distance while keeping her calm attitude. Her emotions were open but sincere, giving off a charming blend of being hard to understand yet closely relatable.

But this gift still made her shed tears, leaving her unsure of what to do.

The young girl adjusted her breathing as she admired the wedding ring on her finger, wiped away her tears, and smiled through her sorrow.

"I do."

Even though they had once been separated by life and death and time, this longing eventually received a satisfying answer.

Charlotte shouted her answer with a smile. She lifted her skirt as if she were wearing a bride’s wedding dress and jumped into Chu Yuanqing’s arms, completely ignoring that Chu Yuanqing was still kneeling on the ground, causing both of them to fall onto the lawn.

Miss Saintess, unaware of doing anything wrong, looked like a fairy playing in the woods. She embraced her lover’s soft waist. After a moment of closeness, she reached out her palm to the sky, looking at the wedding ring while smiling and saying:

"This is so sneaky, Little Qing must have forgotten many things."

"Yet she surprisingly remembers this; I never expected this to happen."

Charlotte knew Chu Yuanqing well. She understood that Chu Yuanqing was the type who would be straightforward when necessary, sometimes as straightforward as Honey Xuan.

But perhaps due to her habitual thinking, she truly didn’t expect that Chu Yuanqing would prepare a wedding ring as a birthday gift shortly after making a promise.

Chu Yuanqing felt relieved in her heart. While preparing the gift, she worried that the materials from Disaster Debris might have problems, that the final product wouldn’t be beautiful enough, the chosen style wouldn’t be liked, and how to decide on the crafting technique.

Even though she knew Charlotte would be happy upon receiving the wedding ring, her mind was still filled with doubts, fearing she overlooked some details and missed doing something perfectly.

However, after seeing Charlotte’s smile, all those worries faded away, replaced by genuine joy and a few memories of the past.

If she hadn’t participated in "Dazzling Stage," perhaps she still wouldn’t have mended her relationship with her daughter, wouldn’t have met her teammates for the first playthrough, and wouldn’t have known that the Calamity God was not dead and that the crisis was still present.

As for the reunion with Charlotte and the act of giving the wedding ring at that moment, it would naturally turn into a mere illusion, no longer existing.

It was truly wonderful; just a moment’s thought, and her fate, as well as that of the whole world, seemed to turn upside down and change.

Chu Yuanqing collected her thoughts, looked at the person lying beside her, smiled, and answered seriously:

"Even if I forget, it will only affect the formula and technique for crafting, but it won’t change my wish to give you a wedding ring."

"Because this is not about promises or anything else; it would surely be a regret for both of us to lack such proof, right?"

A blush touched the delicate face of the Pure White Witch as she spoke with a hint of shyness, quickly suppressing her emotions and pretending to be unaffected; she explained earnestly:

"Moreover, Little Shu has grown up so much; it would be stranger not to have this. We must be proper and responsible parents and set a good example in this regard."

Charlotte couldn’t help but want to laugh after hearing this; she tried to maintain a serious demeanor like her companion, coughed a few times, and said:

"So, you want Little Dream to help us fake a marriage certificate from 17 years ago and take all the wedding photos too? That’s like covering your ears while the bell rings."

Chu Yuanqing was speechless and said:

"If it’s covering my ears while the bell rings, so be it. We’re just finishing a process we didn’t have time to do, after all, getting married in Final City isn’t that complicated."

Charlotte smiled brightly and, considering the wedding ring, stopped teasing Honey Qing. Instead, she raised her pink lips to give a big hug and happily said:

"It’s okay; covering my ears while the bell rings is great too. I want a marriage certificate with Little Qing and wedding photos, even if it’s in an imaginary way. I want to become your wife sooner."

"So, let’s find a chance to take wedding photos in the next few days? Hmm~ It would be best to bring Little Xuan, Liuli, and Miyuki along, and we can take separate photos with Little Shu too, so we even have family pictures!"

After Charlotte finished speaking, she eagerly opened a phone app, called out the program of Dream Weaver, and requested the right wedding dresses for the five of them to be flown to Sankt Wolfgang overnight.

Chu Yuanqing felt a little guilty; she had just given Charlotte a wedding ring, and now they were about to take wedding photos with the other little idols. This operation seemed too unfair no matter how you looked at it.

—Even though it was Charlotte who asked for it.

But on the other hand, after using the high-grade Disaster Debris from the Countermeasures Bureau to forge the wedding ring for Charlotte, there wasn’t much left. It was too late to give each remaining little idol a ring.

At this moment, asking Charlotte to mention such flirty photos, in case she noticed the ring on the other person’s ring finger, would only make things worse, like the prelude to a chaotic scene.

However, concerns aside,

Chu Yuanqing still didn’t want to spoil Charlotte’s mood; she had little time left, and it might be better to go along with the other person’s pace rather than her own.

After finishing her request with the hardworking super AI, Charlotte continued to caress the wedding ring on her ring finger. It was not only a token of love but also had practical uses.

These uses included but were not limited to randomly adjusting fragrance buffs every day, blessings that could refresh her state, thorny shields that reflected damage, time anchoring, and recordings of moments that made her happy from a first-person perspective.

When combined, these various functions displayed great creativity.

If it weren’t for the incomplete memories of the Pure White Witch, her forging skills being less than before, and the inability to use the powers and blessings to assist in forging, she could have forged this wedding ring into an unusual Mythical Armament.

After all, the love and experiences shared between the two were enough to support the concept of a myth, worthy of being integrated into the ring, elevating it to rival the magical rings and divine rings from memory.

As for now,

Chu Yuanqing could perfectly blend this high-level Disaster Debris, leaving room for the ring’s future upgrades, all thanks to borrowing Little Sakura’s "Tempering of the Heart."

Charlotte stood up, took Honey Qing’s hand, and ran towards Sister Ellie in the glow of the setting sun, smiling at the children as she said:

"What does everyone want for dinner?"

"I am in a great mood today, and I will cook with Sister Ellie."

"Sign up right now and get a special heartwarming dish made by your sister!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the children, who were eager to gossip, raised their little hands eagerly to shout out their favorite dishes.

Of course, there were also some "disharmonious" voices.

"I want to eat the Daxia dish made by Sister Chu!"

"Braised pork, lion’s head meatballs, sweet and sour ribs, stir-fried bullfrog!"

Charlotte puffed up her cheeks. She caught Emma and Nia talking and felt her motherly instincts and femininity losing out to Honey Qing. She crouched down to look at the two little ones and said stubbornly,

"So you like Little Qing’s cooking more than mine? What a bad choice, you naughty kids! Sister will really be sad."

Nia said confidently,

"Even though Sister Charlotte is amazing, today is your birthday! How can we let you cook? We should be cooking for you with Sister Chu."

After she said this, the other children agreed and sheepishly put their raised hands down, starting to realize they had only thought about eating and hadn’t considered this.

Miss Saintess was perfectly convinced. She ruffled Emma’s hair and gave Nia a piece of candy, smiling as she said,

"Well said! Then I’ll cook for everyone tomorrow. For today, let’s look forward to your cooking!"

This left the children, who knew very little about cooking, looking eagerly at Sister Ellie, hoping she would be their kitchen savior.

Unfortunately, after Charlotte finished speaking, she joyfully linked arms with Sister Ellie, while on her other side, she took Chu Yuanqing’s hand, leading the children toward the little church without giving anyone a chance to interject.

After returning to the church, dusk was slowly fading, and the sailboat race by the lake was coming to an end, with only the final round left before the event would be completely over.

The town’s celebration was in its closing stages, with many nearby shops and activities gradually shutting down, while food stalls began to pack up, and tourists flowed out like a winding dragon, slowly leaving as time moved on.

Once most of the visitors had left town, the little idols sleeping in the White Horse Hotel finally shook off the drowsiness that felt like a spider’s web, slowly waking up from their soft beds.

Although they couldn’t completely recover from the effects of the overexertion from the "Cocoon of the Heart" through sleep, after a nap, everyone’s spirits had finally returned to a state where they could think and act normally.

It is worth mentioning that the first to wake up was Xie Qingxuan, and the last to wake up was a certain green-eyed cat who loved to stay in bed.

As this group of little idols stepped out of the hotel and headed toward the birthday party, the sky had turned completely dark, and the road ahead was decorated by moonlight and starlight, with distant singing occasionally reaching their ears.

Since the celebration was held for Charlotte, the birthday dinner couldn’t possibly fit in the little church.

The place that could host thousands, or even more townspeople, was the stage that had gathered many audience members during the day.

The nearby seats were removable, and they looked a bit like a school performance area. When taken away, a large open space was created. After setting up the dining tables and with the lighting, the inner circle could hold hundreds of people.

Although moving the tables and chairs was a big job, the townspeople were used to it. With a little help from Sparkling Blessings, the process was surprisingly easy.

When Xie Qingxuan walked over, the children from the orphanage were performing a musical on stage, and she recognized the song and the story.

The Threepenny Opera.

This was based on John Gay’s play "The Beggar’s Opera," which told the story of a bandit leader and the daughter of the beggar king in 1920s London, showcasing their twists and turns before they became a couple, and it was praised as a fairy-tale-like operetta.

If they were to perform the whole thing, it would take about two hours, but since a group of small children was performing, they had chosen just one scene.

In the six-minute excerpt, there were many mistakes, such as misreading lines and laughing inappropriately, causing the story to get quite messy. For the audience who knew the original work, it was, in a sense, an unpredictable stage performance.

Even so, the townspeople sitting in the audience did not hesitate to give them applause and cheers.

The little idols initially thought it was the adults’ kind encouragement, but when a group of middle-aged men came on stage, embracing each other and bringing out the Viking spirit, they started singing "The Conqueror’s March" like a battle cry, and things began to get complicated.

Tang Liuli sat at the children’s table, sipping milk with lots of fruit bits through a straw. She suddenly heard something that made her nearly jump in surprise.

The girl’s bright green eyes were filled with shock and alertness. She quietly used her magic to cover her ears, feeling that listening to this song required a lot of courage and strength.

Chu Wang Shu exclaimed,

"Wow, if those uncles could join [Heart Flow], it would be really impressive."

Xie Qingxuan pondered. The battle roar was indeed a technique worth learning from. Just like Little Shu said, paired with [Heart Flow], it might intimidate the enemies with its power, and if combined with [The Power of the Titan], it would be even better.

Kirimi Miyuki looked to the next table where Chen Yining’s team sat, along with seven or eight children from the church. Their setup was similar, but they had an extra Sister Ellie.

Little Sakura curiously asked,

"Aren’t Little Qing and Charlotte here?"

Hearing this, Xie Qingxuan raised her gaze toward the small woods in the distance. She hadn’t shared her thoughts yet when the green-eyed cat beside her anticipated it and covered her mouth.

Sister Ellie smiled softly, her lips curling up as she said,

"They should be in the waiting room now."

"Charlotte seems excited to perform on stage with Little Qing. Do you want to go with them too?"