My Notoriety Spreads Throughout the World-Chapter 500 - 434: Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
They had a tacit understanding, neither breaking the fragile peace, just accompanying each other as usual. When they came across interesting little trinkets, they bought them; when they encountered a beautiful view, they stopped, allowing the gentle evening breeze to calm their hearts.
"You." Tang Xin put down the pen in her hand, and swung the clay doll she had painted in her palm.
The clay doll had golden hair, golden eyes, and a round face on a large head, with a stern expression. Compared to the blonde girl standing in front of the stand, it was quite a vivid likeness, with clear eyes peeking out from its short and thick limbs.
"Look at this. Does it look like you?"
Xu Xiaoyou also handed her painted clay doll to Tang Xin. Her painting skills were just as good, and although it may not look exactly like the blue-haired girl, the resemblance was at least eighty or ninety percent.
The two exchanged each other’s clay dolls, wove through the bustling crowd, and after spending so much time together, couldn’t help but bring up the past.
"You, do you remember the first time I saw you, when you brushed your long hair to the side? Now that I think about it, were you imitating Xiaomo?" Tang Xin turned her head and said.
Xu Xiaoyou knew she was referring to the time at the Amazon restaurant, and that Xiaomo was a well-known stylist at the Star of Art, who was also a talent scout for Rongsen Media. Xiaomo had frequented many high-end venues, appeared on various fashion magazine covers, and was a regular guest on mainstream media interviews.
But that was all in the past.
"Now that I think about it, you were so unprepared back then. So many things you said were careless." Tang Xin pursed her lips.
"I can’t believe I was so naive at the time, really fooled by you. If I had been more firm, would I have seen you miserably slinking away in the snow?"
"Didn’t you notice anything?" Xu Xiaoyou retorted.
Tang Xin’s lips curled into a gentle curve.
"Of course not, but your gaze was so determined back then. Under the starry sky, you made promises so resolute yet scared. It seemed as if if I took it seriously, you would immediately turn and flee, just like a pitiful squirrel watching its winter hoard being emptied out."
"In the end, I pondered and softened my heart, thinking your conditions couldn’t be that bad, and agreed."
"As it turns out, my judgment wasn’t too bad. Even if the starting conditions weren’t ideal, we made it through. Thinking back on those days, there’s a sense of nostalgia, unexpectedly fulfilling."
"Although sometimes, I was struggling on stage, getting scolded, and giving cold stares. When I came home and saw you happily counting money, I often thought about whether to strangle you." The resentment in Tang Xin’s eyes quickly dissipated.
"But seeing you sometimes running around seeking investment, promoting, and gathering resources, busy to the point of sleeping on your desk, makes me think, as long as I’m not just a tool to you, working toward the same goal isn’t so bad."
Listening to Tang Xin’s monologue, Xu Xiaoyou’s throat rolled, the words of apology obvious on her lips, yet they refused to come out.
In their final days together at the Star of Art, their relationship turned tense due to misunderstandings, a chasm until the separation at the grand theater.
For them both, it became a regretful memory, even if no one mentioned it. Over time, they matured and understood the past was past.
Yet the regret lingered like a thorn in her heart, deeply disturbing her.
After returning to the Star of Art at the Iris Foster Home, Xu Xiaoyou knew that Tang Xin had recognized her. Despite countless chances to be honest, she never seized a single one.
On that day when Tang Xin handed her the bouquet of irises, her soft eyes trembled. Surely the girl’s heart was equally filled with disappointment and regret.
They moved through the world, yet were so distant from its bustle.
Neither spoke of their destination, yet with mutual understanding, they arrived in front of the abandoned church. As Xu Xiaoyou hesitated to push the doors open again, Tang Xin had made the choice for her.
Creaaaak—
The door swung open with a sound of decaying wood and rusty iron, and dust fell in a stream.
Moonlight fell through the church’s staggered windows, illuminating the desolate cloister.
Under the pale moonlight, a slender girl knelt before a black piano, her dark hair falling over her shoulders. Her body was covered in cracks, skin as dim as a faded sculpture. She cradled "Popeya’s Coronation," her forehead gently resting on the cello’s pegbox, quiet as a withered flower, yet poignantly beautiful like broken porcelain.
Blue irises withered beneath her, no light in the girl’s eyes, as if with a breeze, the cracks would consume her, scattering into the air.
"Am I dead?" Tang Xin teased.
Xu Xiaoyou remained silent.
Tang Xin stood right next to her,
This dying girl certainly wasn’t the real Tang Xin but Sevia.
It was Oasis’s projection of the original ’Sevia’ based on reality.
After reaching out for a hug, the figure died alone in the church. When playing "Hamelin’s Piper" on the ramparts, the second ’Sevia’ was a newly projected version after changes owing to impending discoveries between Xu Xiaoyou and Tang Xin.
If not for reuniting with Tang Xin, giving her a hug and exchanging promises, the girl would meet a tragic, fading end. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
Where did my path diverge to bring about this different outcome?
Tang Xin wondered.
When their gazes met on the figure, she was carried away by the wind, dispersing into thin air.
Xu Xiaoyou took a few steps forward, seated herself at the piano, inviting the girl beside her. Tang Xin smiled subtly, clasps her hand, and settled on the bench.
Black and white gloved hands tentatively rested on the black and white keys, playing a plaintive melody. They looked up, seeing themselves in each other’s eyes, reading deeper words.
This piano bore the weight of time, its wooden body covered with thick dust, the action less nimble than before. Even pressing the soft pedal, its notes were still a bit low, perhaps due to an internal misalignment of its pins.
But as long as the audience was just the two of them, this piano was still playable.
Tonight, they said little. While seeming to wander aimlessly, they never strayed from their heart’s direction, connecting by unspoken understanding. Now, they would play the same score by such connection.
The piano’s melodies were long and sorrowful, springing from their world, resounding over the church, floating through the streets, on and on.
The white moon wrapped the world in a gentle veil, its exquisite music fostering beauty instead of disrupting the night’s silence.
They played as usual, performing a piece meant for the new year’s bell, a melody held by promises meant to be fulfilled sooner, notes of honesty they should’ve shared much earlier.
Xu Xiaoyou interlaced her fingers with the blue-haired girl beside her, their fingertips weaving between the keys and the melancholy melody, bodies swaying lightly, sometimes bowing low with the rhythm.
She gazed at Tang Xin’s profile, seeing the girl’s clear blue eyes, who turned to meet her gaze, strands of hair cascading over her cheek, lips curving into a captivating smile.
Everything was just like old times, yet unmistakably different.
This piano’s notes were deeper,
The unkept promises now heavier than ever.
This piano’s internal pins had shifted,
Two hearts laid bare, yet forever unable to convey their feelings to each other again.
This piano was still playing,
A melody once so familiar, Tang Xin would practice repeatedly at night to avoid being laughed at by Xu Xiaoyou, but now played awkwardly with many wrong notes.
This piano was still playing,
Xu Xiaoyou said, "Sorry for before, I used Miss Furen."
But Tang Xin responded, "You, of course I guessed it was you long ago. It’s been so long, I let it go, why only apologize now?"
This piano was still playing,
They remained as connected as ever.
Regretful silence, like seawater,
Submerged the white moonlight.
