Chapter 187
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Chapter 187: New Hope, Unraveled Mystery
Chu Yuanqing snapped back to reality, barely holding back her joy at restoring magic. She pried open the little hand of the green-eyed cat at her waist, her watery eyes trying to "warn" the eager golden retriever while pursing her pink lips like she was refusing to take bitter medicine, signaling the sakura girl to stop forcing it.
But unfortunately,
The Pure White Witch looked very unwell. Even though her face and the corners of her eyes were flushed with coral pink, she still couldn’t hide her illness and tiredness. Even in shallow breaths, one could taste the mingled scent of flowers and blood, and her clear eyes were often hazy and unfocused, resembling a stubborn patient.
So, even the pure-hearted Little Sakura firmly followed the plan of taking turns as the main doctor. During the rotations, she couldn’t help but compete with others, enduring her shyness. When she closed her eyes, she focused more and more with each time.
It was the same at that moment.
Kirimi Miyuki barely moved, and the Pure White Witch, surrounded by many buffs, lost her strength. Because she was in denial, keeping her eyes shut, she completely ignored Chu Yuanqing’s resistance and continued to treat without paying attention to others.
Xie Qingxuan was in charge of pressing down the tires.
Tang Liuli cheered loudly from the side.
Chu Yuanqing decided to give up on worrying about what was happening to her real body. She fought against the distractions caused by her magic recovery and focused all her attention on controlling the Magic Clone, pretending everything was fine to ease her daughter’s confusion.
"No, I’m just a bit tired from work lately."
Chu Wang Shu listened and didn’t doubt anything; she just felt a little worried.
Dad used to be like this; he had no hobbies for entertainment. He never smoked or drank at home, often staring off into the distance alone, giving off the impression of a dormant, silent volcano that had gone cold and quiet long ago.
Volcanoes are always like this; no matter how many sparks they throw out, they cannot make the ground bloom with rose-like lava again. It is too empty here, and when you speak, you often just hear your own echo. The ashes that rise when you walk seem to hold untold stories, and everything feels so dull and lonely.
The lovely daughter raised her eyes, seriously observing Chu Yuanying’s color and expression, and asked:
"Did Daddy get enough rest?"
"Shouldn’t there be at least 7 hours of sleep in a day?"
As the girl spoke, she gathered her courage and said:
"I can touch the fish a little longer; even if I get fired, it’s okay. I… even if I get eliminated, there should be many entertainment companies that want me. Then I can take care of Daddy."
Chu Yuanying felt like laughing, yet his heart ached.
Recently, endorsement fees have started coming in, and the family no longer lacks money. They just need to find a chance to transfer it to her name. But seeing his daughter, so young and already worrying about daily necessities, filled him with guilt for not being able to take care of her properly.
If only there were a little more time.
The man lowered his gaze to his increasingly mature daughter, who had not seen him smile for a long time. His face, which seemed hard and cold, suddenly softened like sunlight breaking through the clouds, and he gently said, "
"Hmm, I believe in you."
Chu Wang Shu couldn’t remember the last time she had seen her father smile. Her heart felt like fireworks bursting open, filled with a sense of calm from being acknowledged and needed, like mist refreshing her limbs and spreading warmth and joy.
The little girl was so happy that she hugged her father’s arm. She felt the warmth of his big hand on her hair. She turned her head, feeling a bit embarrassed as if she were being treated like a little child and wanted to say something.
But then, she wrinkled her nose in curiosity, realizing she didn’t smell the familiar scent of laundry detergent at home. Instead, only a refreshing aroma, as if washed by well water, filled her nose, mixed with a hint of something vague that seemed a bit… like the scent of Little Qing?
The lovely daughter became alert at once. She raised her eyes, looked around, and quietly asked,
"Dad, did you find me a stepmother?"
Pure White Witch was shocked by the words. She opened her eyes in the changing room, realizing she was holding a little star with red-stained eyes and a hot tear spot, like a kitten leaning against her; on her left was a gentle person, with delicate features like an angel; on her right was a pure, innocent girl with a confused expression, holding onto her arm.
The scene was too chaotic, almost like royal treatment. Combined with her daughter’s question, it truly made it hard to keep a straight face.
On the other side, Magic Clone’s expression tightened as she suppressed her feelings of guilt and shame and said:
"No, why do you think that?"
This shouldn’t count as lying, right? She really didn’t intend to develop that kind of relationship with Liuli, Miyuki, and Qingxuan!
Chu Yuanqing couldn’t bear to imagine what would happen to their team’s relationship if such a thing really occurred; it would be more chaotic than the appearance of a nightmare, and once exposed, it would challenge her sweet daughter’s ability to cope.
The little girl wrinkled her nose and asked doubtfully:
"Because today, Dad smells different, it feels like a girl’s scent."
Chu Yuanqing’s feelings were mixed.
Magic Clone hasn’t evolved to the point where it can mimic scents; normally, it shouldn’t be able to smell anything.
But Little Shu did smell a fragrance, which meant she was either lying or, due to her great talent, instinctively manifested her magical aura in the scent that filled her nose.
So, if my Magic Clone evolves more slowly than my lovely daughter grows, one day she will be able to see through the true nature of the Magic Clone and uncover everything about Chu Yuanqing.
Chu Yuanqing felt a mix of emotions, but strangely she also felt a bit comforted and proud.
This talent shows that even if her daughter will soon face the dark side of the world, she can go far in the world of magical girls and have the strength to protect herself.
As for revealing her identity? She probably has about four months left to live, so perhaps before her daughter even learns about magical girls, she will return to dust, making it unnecessary to worry about such things.
Chu Yuanqing pinched her lovely daughter’s cheek and explained:
"It’s probably because the place we talked business today was a company’s perfume room."
"But enough about that, I saw you on stage, you danced wonderfully! Will your team perform again soon?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Wang Shu exclaimed as if waking from a dream:
"Oh right, I forgot to pay attention to how many votes our team got!"
Because of the nightmare, the lovely daughter’s state of mind was quite foggy, and only now has she regained her original thinking skills, quickly looking at the virtual screen in the room.
The other team on stage has finished their performance, and the audience below has started to vote, while the mentors are also judging and giving scores.
It is worth mentioning that the much-discussed and eagerly awaited flying guest from the internet—Xie Qing Yu—has returned to the empty seat next to the mentor, having the right to give comments and scores, which sparked a lot of discussion and excitement among the audience below.
But unfortunately, when Chu Wang Shu noticed this, the voting stage was already nearing the end, and even the mentors had given their comments.
The little girl stared for a moment at the national idol who was said to be Sister Xie’s enemy, a bit surprised that the person appeared, and couldn’t help but say:
"That sister has blue eyes."
Chu Yuanqing was somewhat dazed; she remembered what the person looked like soaring through the sky, their magical quality was a level above her own now, so they should be a fully powered magical girl.
So, that is Qingxuan’s sister?
Both sisters have the talent to be magical girls; I don’t know if it’s luck or misfortune.
On the other side, the golden retriever was still playing multiplayer games in the dressing room, completely unaware that her sister was on stage, worried about how many votes to give her.
Chu Wang Shu watched nervously.
The four mentors and Xie Qing Yu, a total of five people, each held the power of 200 votes, adding up to 1000 votes altogether.
It is important to know that winning the PK only grants 2000 group tickets, so 1000 votes are quite significant.
Moreover, the key point is that the mentors’ votes are counted during the PK round and can definitely influence the outcome of this match to some degree.
But clearly, the four mentors had the bad luck of encountering a nightmare and were purified by [Pure White Ode], which greatly increased their favor for Chu Yuanqing. They had 800 votes, with 300 votes going to Chu Yuanqing.
Another 200 votes were distributed evenly among Chu Yuanqing’s four teammates, and finally, with a mindset of fairness, the remaining votes were given to another team.
Xie Qing Yu’s actions were very straightforward; she gave Chu Yuanqing 100 votes and Xie Qingxuan 100 votes, showing no intention of being fair.
Unfortunately, this attempt to gain her sister’s favor was completely unnoticed by her sister.
The father and daughter both noticed this detail and almost simultaneously remembered Xie Qingxuan’s harsh words, leaving them with mixed feelings.
"The results are almost here!"
Seeing this now, Chu Wang Shu felt relaxed. Although saying this was not very polite to the other team, she believed that even with just Little Qing’s charm, their chances of winning this challenge were 100%, with no possibility of losing.
Sure enough, when the data from both teams was revealed, the bright golden WIN lit up on their side, announcing their victory.
—Chu Yuanqing: 4799 votes.
—Kirimi Miyuki: 2081 votes.
—Tang Liuli: 1879 votes.
—Xie Qingxuan: 1887 votes.
—Chu Wang Shu: 1598 votes.
This is an extremely exaggerated number; the total votes for the whole team reached 12,235, with Chu Yuanqing taking up one third. It shows how much the combination of [Pure White Ode] and the special impact of her white hair and golden eyes set her apart from the other little idols.
Chu Wang Shu’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she tugged on her father’s sleeve, cheering happily.
"Dad, our team won!"
This was not just winning a contest; it also meant that almost everyone in the team was safely in the top 50%, far away from the risk of elimination.
As for the reason, among the 5,000 audience members, each person could only cast 3 votes in a group. This means that the total number of votes two teams could compete for was only 15,000, plus the 1,000 from the Tutor Group, totaling 16,000 votes.
This means the other team received less than 4,000 votes. Divided among all members, that would be fewer than 800 votes each, which is quite tragic.
In this case, only the team with the higher number of votes, Carry Center, still had a chance to advance; the others were almost guaranteed to be eliminated.
Compared to their opponent’s dismal outcome, the winning team was thriving. With the extra 2,000 group tickets from winning, even the team member with the fewest votes had more than the votes from the enemy Carry Center.
Chu Yuanqing was not very surprised by the result; she quietly listened to her daughter’s joy.
Chu Wang Shu was happy, but then a little worried. She looked up and asked:
"Dad, do you have time to watch me on stage? I won’t be up there for at least 90 minutes."
Chu Yuanqing had no hesitation in answering this question. She could easily afford to keep up the magic for her other self, and it was nice to spend more time with her daughter. She replied:
"It’s okay, I took the afternoon off. Little Shu, don’t you need to practice a bit more?"
Chu Wang Shu felt relieved and happy in her heart. The second act was her dance as the Carry Center. Knowing that her dad could see her from the audience would make her feel a little calmer and less nervous. She said:
"No need! I already told my teammates that I would come back in an hour. For now, let’s find a place to sit for a while."
After that, the father and daughter found a spot to sit and began talking about various things.
Chu Wang Shu mainly talked about everything that had happened since her first performance over a month ago.
Chu Yuanqing mostly knew about it, but still listened with great interest. Compared to her usually reserved daughter, the cute Chu Wang Shu now chatted away like a little lark, which was very lovely.
Chu Yuanqing guessed that this was probably because, after more than a month apart, her daughter missed her a little. Since the last time they met they had made up, this meeting naturally felt more comfortable and cheerful.
Time passed, and 60 minutes flew by like scattered flowers.
Because she had to change into another dance costume and redo her makeup, Chu Wang Shu had to end this brief meeting.
The lovely daughter said goodbye with reluctance.
Chu Yuanqing watched her daughter’s figure gradually disappear from view and felt a bit sad.
This feeling did not last long; she controlled the Magic Clone to walk into the bathroom, disappearing like magic, and shifted her attention back to her body in the changing room.
At that moment, the little idol’s support team was still working diligently.
When Pure White Witch opened her eyes, Xie Qingxuan, who had been replaced several times, was innocently wiping her mouth. She cautiously covered her slightly swollen lips with her little hand, successfully overcoming the tingling sensation with her willpower, stood up as if nothing was wrong, and said seriously:
"Little Shu is coming back!"
"Please tidy up your appearance quickly."
Xie Qingxuan stood up obediently, tying her platinum blonde hair back. Her expression was so cool and calm that it seemed very serious, but the red mark at the corner of her lips betrayed her recent misdeed.
Tang Liuli sat on the ground, feeling a bit dizzy, with a dazed look in her eyes.
That talent, which she could usually control, went out of control as she slowly lost her mind, making her feel the sensations of the other three people around her, immersing her in four times the joy, and she felt overwhelmed several times.
The green-eyed cat came back to her senses, feeling extremely embarrassed.
But perhaps because she had been embarrassed too many times, or because this time she had personally participated in a wild party, she began to accept it as a kind of fun, even casually treating it as part of her mental victory.
So what if she shared feelings? In round numbers, it was like kissing Honey Qing for three hours!
If this isn’t a win-win-win, then what can we call a win-win-win?
Tang Liuli had convinced herself and started to quietly observe the Pure White Witch in front of her.
Chu Yuanqing looked very well; her tired expression was replaced by the bright spirit of spring. Her skin, delicate as milk, showed a healthy glow, but her slightly quickened breath gave a hint of soft pink, as if she had just finished exercising.
Well, besides looking a little rough, everything else seems fine. This time, she should really be healed.
Kirimi Miyuki, lost in thought, suddenly realized how long she had been "helping the villain." Feeling guilty, she shifted her gaze, unable to meet the Pure White Witch’s eyes. After a moment of silently enjoying a sweet memory, she nodded in agreement:
"Well, since Little Qing is fine, everyone should go touch up their makeup."
"We haven’t seen the results of the match yet."
After saying this, the three little idols went their separate ways.
Kirimi Miyuki went to the makeup table.
Xie Qingxuan sat on the sofa, using a cotton pad to wipe off the lipstick mark from the corner of her mouth.
Tang Liuli went alone to the bathroom, pushed open the door to the shower, and began to pay for the sins created in the past hour.
Chu Yuanqing used her magic in the changing room to smooth out the wrinkles in her clothes and, with a Magic Armor buff, cleaned her delicate and beautiful face, restoring her holy and solemn appearance, pure and innocent like before.
So, when the lovely daughter returned to her home lounge, what she saw was almost the same scene as before, except for the rich floral fragrance in the air when she walked into the changing room to put on her new performance outfit, and the faint wet marks on the floor, hinting at what had happened here.
Well, don’t get it wrong, that’s not Chu Yuanqing’s, it’s the green-eyed cat’s.
After that, the team shared the joy of victory together as if nothing had happened, engaging in endless small talk while waiting for the next round of the competition.
On the other side,
Dream Weaver Rabbit also confirmed the death of the nightmare from the data received from various countries. It glanced at all the monitors set up in the venue, where Chu Yuanying was no longer visible.
This super AI muttered to itself:
"What kind of method is this? Is it magic, the power of disaster, or is it directly related to ‘Pure White’?"
When Xie Qing Yu returned, she had already shared information about Chu Yuanying with Violet.
The conclusion is that, as a captain-level witch, she could not sense even a trace of magical power from the other person.
If the magic was not very special, it meant that the other person possessed another kind of wonderful power system.
Of course, the words spoken by this nightmare were even more worthy of attention.
— "I have found the pure white essence."
This statement, combined with the information that Chu Yuanying did not exist in the world 17 years ago, was truly thought-provoking and shockingly surprising, enough to cause a great upheaval in the entire Human Alliance.
Dream Weaver Rabbit made a decision.
Chu Yuanying is very mysterious, but since he is willing to appear here openly, it shows he wants to communicate with the authorities. Perhaps… the puzzle of the pure white that has confused humanity for 17 years will be officially solved today.
Dream Weaver Rabbit’s eyes lowered as it looked at the virtual screen showing the blue star, touching that epic and magnificent pure white wall, softly whispering:
"Chu Yuanying, will you bring new hope to humanity?"
"Or perhaps, you already are."
