Chapter 401: One Chance, the Final Ending

Chu Yuanqing’s simple values did not allow her to accept such a fancy possibility. Her delicate and lovely face showed a serious expression as she said carefully,

“A phone costs at least a few hundred, who would give such an expensive gift?”

Shrine Maiden: “?”

Sometimes, she really felt that after Little Qing became a girl, her personal safety became more and more precarious.

With such pure and simple values, it was very easy to be deceived. Using her original self (Little Sakura), whose mind had been deeply influenced by Dongliu, it was easy to imagine all kinds of strange developments.

Chu Yuanqing did not know that the cold and handsome Shrine Maiden had already been influenced by Little Sakura’s knowledge. She observed the gifts in front of her; most had been sent by express delivery, so opening them was quite troublesome.

But out of respect, she did not tear them open roughly. She carefully used a small knife to cut them open, took out the gifts intact, examined them, and then carefully placed them aside.

Half an hour passed, and the gifts were still not all opened.

It was clear that the fans wanted to show their support, so half of the gifts were expensive and attractive snacks, such as St.Eriks chips, Italian wafers, cupcakes, and fruit hard candies, filling the space under the desk almost completely.

Fortunately, everyone knew Chu Yuanqing would be filming on Dazzling Stage for a long time and could not return home anytime soon, so none of the snacks had expired.

However, due to the hot weather, some food had spoiled and could not be eaten. They had to be placed in a garbage bag to be disposed of later.

It is worth mentioning that Chu Yuanqing’s favorite snack was instant noodles.

They were fast to prepare, convenient, not easily spoiling, and most importantly, cheap, which eased her psychological burden of accepting gifts.

The shrine maiden was especially pleased. Looking at how bare Little Qing’s home was, these snacks came just in time.

This wave of fan gifts was a success; the idol was well fed and happy, truly a mutual exchange.

“Hair dryer.”

“Small fan.”

“High heels.”

“Blanket.”

The shrine maiden continued to sort through the dazzling array of gifts, quickly picking out useful items. Eventually, she found a brand-new foldable phone among them.

Very good, Qingchu still had strength.

The shrine maiden marvelled at the wonders of fate and thought to herself,

In the past, even if Little Qing did not return it, she would never use electronic products sent by fans. This was the most basic precaution for an idol or public figure.

But now, since the Void had swallowed all traces of her, there was no need to consider this issue anymore.

Moreover, these gifts had been sent just after Honey Qing’s “background” was exposed online, at a time when a group of Little Yuanxiao had imagined her life to be very hard and materially deprived. This aroused their sympathy and led them to send so many items all at once.

And those coins the fans spent inadvertently found a use now.

The shrine maiden sighed and said,

“Now the equipment problem is solved, but having no internet at home is a bit troublesome.”

Pure White Witch looked at the rose gold foldable phone in her hand with bewilderment. She still found it hard to believe she could easily get such a high-end and expensive phone. After a moment, she replied,

“Let’s find a place to use some wifi.”

Chu Yuanqing sifted through the fragmented memories connected by cause and effect and said:

“I remember I used to work at a nearby milk tea shop, and I still remembered the wifi password.”

After saying that, while her phone was charging, she finished unpacking the remaining gifts, sorted them carefully, put on an apron to keep off the dust, and began a thorough cleaning.

Time passed, and dusk gradually fell.

The floor inside was smooth and shiny; the little house looked brand new. The delivery boxes and trash had all been packed up and thrown away. The narrow bathroom was filled with steam, accompanied by the sound of dripping water.

Chu Yuanqing shook her head like a wet cat, her pure white hair swaying gently. Some strands clung close to her waist, covering the curves of her hips and the line of her spine. The water washed over her body, which was damaged yet alluring, like a goddess statue with a broken arm.

The girl lowered her eyes to the mountain that blocked her toes. She closed her eyes, ignoring the snowy mountain scene. Her hand, not yet swallowed by the Void, squeezed a cheap bottle of shower gel, spreading soft bubbles over her skin.

The cracks across her waist, face, arms, and back looked like some strange illusion. Flesh and blood could not touch the cracks, yet her fingertips felt either softness or a supple texture.

Splash, splash.

After a long while, she turned off the shower.

Chu Yuanqing walked out of the bathroom, drying her hair with a thick towel, thinking that if she couldn’t use a spell to dry it, and it took half an hour to dry it by blowing, she might as well cut it to shoulder length or ear length.

She acted on the thought immediately.

Chu Yuanqing changed into underwear and put on a short-sleeved shirt and shorts. Holding scissors, she returned to the bathroom and looked at the mirror. Its corners were broken, dotted with rust. The reflection within was equally fragmented.

The shrine maiden glanced at her profile, tilted her head slightly, and gently suggested,

“If you’re going to cut your hair, why not record it?”

“Record it?”

The shrine maiden whispered,

“Yes. The more the world remembers you, the more anchor points you leave behind. Posting a video is like Little Qing playing music in the subway. It might even work better.”

The Void had swallowed all traces of Chu Yuanqing.

But before the entirety of her existence was devoured, she still left traces and caused consequences when walking under different names.

These traces and consequences, no matter how many, might not withstand a few breaths of the Void. Yet, she still hoped… hoped Chu Yuanqing could leave a few more footprints, like wishing a seed that wouldn’t sprout to bloom.

Chu Yuanqing thought for a moment and said,

“Cutting my hair while filming is really troublesome.”

The shrine maiden’s eyes curved upward as she smiled and said,

“I’ll help you film. Didn’t I just help Little Qing with the cleaning earlier?”

Chu Yuanqing pressed her lips together and inadvertently felt happiness.

The shrine maiden’s Nostalgia actually originated from a special function of the paper crane Amulet before it evolved.

The paper crane jar, the very first gift Miyuki had given her, had a charming effect: opening a paper crane allowed one to hear Little Sakura playing music and singing, telling bedtime stories, encouraging you, or sharing awkward jokes…

The shrine maiden before her was a wondrous creation born from the fusion of the Sakura tree and the paper crane Amulet. She not only held the memories of the shrine maiden and Little Sakura but could also slightly interfere with reality—such as taking out the trash, watering flowers, or giving a massage.

Chu Yuanqing looked at the shrine maiden, who had already picked up her phone to start recording. She turned her head slightly, lifted the corners of her mouth, and showed a bright smile as she sincerely thanked,

“Mm, thank you, Miyuki.”

“And it’s really nice to have you here with me.”

The shrine maiden looked at the bright yet broken person reflected in the mirror. Her lips moved softly as she said,

“Being with you was my good luck.”

After saying this, the shrine maiden smiled and gently urged,

“Alright, let’s cut your hair now.”

Chu Yuanqing looked into the mirror. She had cut her daughter’s hair many times before, roughly from elementary school to middle school, and her technique was fairly ordinary.

With a flick of the scissors, strands of pure white, soft hair fell like feathers from an angel, scattering into the sink. Before long, her once waist-length hair was cut to ear-length, losing some softness but gaining an air of cool sharpness.

Strangely, the hair in the sink did not need to be cleaned; under her gaze, it quietly disintegrated and reverted into silver-white magic energy particles.

“Can’t waste this.”

Chu Yuanqing stretched out her hand, and the magic energy particles drifted back, returning to the dull, withered Chain of Contracts on her hand, transforming into a delicate mark of the flower called Tumi, embedded upon it.

The Pure White Witch nodded in satisfaction. As a creature of thought, she could, whenever she wished, restore detached parts of her body back into pure magic. The magic refined from these hairs might allow her to construct a Magic Armor once.

However, having lost the support of the world’s origin and being cursed by the Sea of Truth, she found it difficult to replenish extra magic energy. Any newly grown hair, if cut again in the future, would no longer be convertible into magic energy.

Essentially, this represented a long and terrifying form of degeneration.

After tidying up, Chu Yuanqing changed into a gray sweatshirt and jeans. She took her phone, guitar, shoulder bag, and several coins hidden in a drawer. Together with the shrine maiden, she stepped out the door, facing the vibrant dusk light, walking through a city where no one recognized her anymore.

Sea City was bustling. She could easily find a mall, sit outside a restaurant, ask the waiter for the Wi-Fi password, and use the free internet.

Chu Yuanqing first downloaded Weibo. She naturally couldn’t log into her old account, but using a visitor account to check out other small idols, browse Dazzling Stage videos, and see trending topics was no problem.

During the week she had been unconscious, the teams advancing had already successively announced their group names and started various forms of promotion. Only Miyuki, Little Xuan, Liuli, and Little Shu remained inactive, causing some worry among their fans.

Meanwhile, the attack on Sea City gradually faded away. Aside from the government announcing a day of mourning for the victims, which sparked heated online discussion, subsequent public opinion focused entirely on magical girls and the stage.

In short, the previously concealed plan behind Dazzling Stage became an open secret.

Once footage of Charlotte saving Sea City with her singing was revealed, it didn’t take much imagination to realize that using a talent show to select magical girls meant that idols and the stage truly possessed incredible power.

For a time, even those uninterested in idols began to pay attention to the show, understanding that it was directly tied to the future of human civilization.

Chu Yuanqing thought that if it had been possible to keep it hidden, the Countermeasures Bureau would have definitely preferred secrecy.

After all, exposing the core plan made it vulnerable to targeted attacks, but since Charlotte had intervened that day, their methods were no longer a secret to the Disaster group.

Thus, the government decisively chose to disclose it, at least to attract more viewers to Dazzling Stage and boost enthusiasm for the magical girls.

“Charlotte…”

Chu Yuanqing murmured her lover’s name, her gilded eyes falling with sadness; she knew that Charlotte still remembered her.

This was connected both to the forget-me-not’s flower language, Charlotte’s wish, and her Patronus Magic—Decorate Phantasm.

When they first met in Vienna, she had openly told Charlotte about her circumstances and explained the curse of the Sea of Truth.

If she were swallowed by the Void, the Corrective Force of the Sea of Truth would flow unimpeded, completely erasing her causal existence.

This was a mighty power that neither the Flower Language Blessing nor the Decorate Phantasm magic could defy.

This was evident from when she awakened her trait and obtained the End of Utopia; even if only for a brief moment, Charlotte truly forgot Chu Yuanqing beneath her.

Even at Full Bloom, the overall situation could not be changed.

What Charlotte could do was exist in a Schrödinger’s state between forgetting and not forgetting.

Simply put, she had indeed forgotten Chu Yuanqing, yet those memories and feelings were wrapped together with the Flower Language Blessing and the Decorate Phantasm, hidden deep within her soul, ready to erupt at any moment.

To make her remember, a secret code was needed, a code the two had quietly set long ago.

Chu Yuanqing could use this code to make Charlotte remember her and seek help.

But after using it once, the other would be struck by a greater Void and a more terrifying Corrective Force that would backfire, causing complete and irreversible forgetfulness.

Therefore, until now, she had never considered seeking the other person.

It was not that she did not want to, but that she could not.

The shrine maiden asked softly,

“Little Qing, have you thought about where you want to use this one and only chance to awaken her?”

Chu Yuanqing looked at the phone screen showing The Last Diva’s bright smile and lively eyes. She was silent for a moment, then turned off the screen, looked up at the Dream Weaver Rabbit statue in the center of the mall, and answered clearly, word by word,

“I have decided.”

“From the moment she awakens, I know when this chance should be used.”

It would be a warm and grand moment, full of laughter; everyone would be happy, filled with expectation and joy. She and Charlotte would meet in front of all beings, and also part in front of them, drawing a period at the end of this long story.

The shrine maiden faintly sensed the scent of blooming flowers, a fragrance that foretold imminent withering. Like a ghost drifting, her lips brushed against the girl’s lips, bringing a cool touch without collision. She fixed her steady gaze on the girl’s dim yet resolute eyes, smiled, and softly said,

“Before that, why not go see more of the world?”

“Before, we always walked past broken walls and desolate ruins together. Meeting again this way, you should see the human world properly, leaving no regrets.”

Chu Yuanqing hesitated, pressing her lips together; it was the scent of cherry blossoms. She said softly,

“Okay. After I finish something and stay a few days, I will leave Sea City to see the world. Let’s start… with Hokkaido, shall we?”

The shrine maiden looked pleasantly surprised, her emotions complex, and smiled as she said,

“Although I saw it in memories, I really want to see Dongliu Island without the Calamity God with my own eyes.”

“By the way, what is the thing you need to take care of?”

Chu Yuanqing opened her phone and looked at a familiar person’s Weibo, saying softly,

“I’m going to Zhelong Town to find someone.”

“Who?”

Pure White Witch replied with a complicated look in her eyes,

“A knight who has lost the light’s protection but still supports herself with her own spine.”

“My student, Liang Xiaoxiao.”