Suppressing the excitement in her heart, Chu Lian first went to the bathroom to wash up and tidy her clothes before coming out again.
"Ah, the floor in there is really slippery, haha…" Chu Lian scratched her head, showing an embarrassed smile. She brushed off the noise from her earlier fall without giving any real explanation.
"Are you all right?" Inori's gaze swept from her hands down to her knees, and she asked softly, "You didn't hurt yourself, did you?"
"As expected, I can't hide anything from Inori~" Chu Lian smiled awkwardly, nodding. "Mm, I was a little too excited and didn't notice the floor."
Inori only chuckled lightly, saying nothing more. She knew that if she kept pressing, Chu Lian would probably die of embarrassment. Although she often acted unconcerned about certain things, whenever it came to the people she wanted to rely on, her shy little side would show itself. After these days together, Inori already understood this well, so she didn't push further.
Back in the room, Chu Chu and Li Xiu'er were still asleep. From the way they had already shifted positions once, it looked like they were sleeping quite soundly. Seeing this, Chu Lian silently resolved to make sure they went to bed earlier from now on.
Sitting on her own bed, Chu Lian opened her "black-tech" laptop. The moment it powered on, it automatically connected to a satellite super-network, giving her a connection many times faster than others at all times.
Inori curiously sat beside her to watch. The functions of Chu Lian's laptop were beyond comprehension, even for someone from her own technologically advanced world. After all, what kind of computer came with such bizarre capabilities?
Automatic satellite network connection. Intelligent message classification. Blocking unwanted information while filtering useful ones for the user. Most importantly, it completely concealed the user's location while simultaneously exposing the IP address of anyone interacting with its signals. On top of that, it could perfectly simulate any regional IP, providing a flawlessly convincing false trail for anyone attempting to track it.
No hacker methods could touch it. It could silently break into any known network in the world—whether the White House in America or Zhongnanhai in China. No defense could stop it, no trace could be found. Even knowing about it was useless, because its existence could not be erased.
Its strangest ability was that it could automatically transform into any required operating platform while patching all vulnerabilities, offering even more advanced functions. If someone familiar with such platforms saw it, they might exclaim in shock: "Damn, is this Windows 20?" Something like that.
The functions alone were dazzling, to say nothing of the hardware that supported it.
Its storage capacity was based on infinite particle information technology, so there was no such thing as running out of space. With infinite memory, speed loss became meaningless—no data could ever slow it down.
As for power and operation, they too were non-issues. For a computer that could draw in energy from its surrounding space to replenish itself, power was as meaningless as memory. And as for operation—unless one was brain-dead, blind, mute, and with crippled limbs, anyone could at least manage the most basic functions (the kind a normal computer had).
As for what exactly infinite particle information technology was, in Chu Lian's words: "Even if I explained it, you wouldn't get it. Just figure it out yourself. If you understand, it means you have my brilliance. If you don't, then you're just too dumb."
Of course, such a powerful computer didn't come cheap. It had cost her 12,000 of the over 15,000 Dream Points she had painstakingly saved. Still, she felt it was worth it.
So far, she could only use it for things any normal computer could do. The other 99% of its functions were completely beyond her. But hey, if you've got the money, why not be willful? Hmph…
As soon as she opened her private email, an encrypted envelope popped up. Chu Lian glanced at it, and without thinking, typed in the password—"Ayase." Instantly, the envelope unfolded before her eyes.
Inside were only seven photos, all of the same figure. But the contents made Chu Lian cover her mouth in shock, tears suddenly streaming down her face.
From behind, a warm body wrapped its arms around her waist, pulling her tightly into an embrace. Inori's soft voice whispered in her ear, "Lian, you're crying. I don't know why you're crying, but I can feel you're both happy and hurting."
Chu Lian said nothing. She only pressed her lips shut to stifle the sound of her sobs, but no matter what, the tears would not stop. The impact of these photos was too great—whether she was crying from joy or from pain, she herself could not tell. Perhaps both.
"Hey, Lian, if you try to cry without a sound, it'll only hurt more…" Inori gently pressed her head against her chest, letting the tears soak into her nightdress. Her face was filled with tenderness.
Silently nodding, Chu Lian's suppressed sobs finally broke through. In Inori's embrace, she cried softly, "Inori, I'm so happy, so happy, so happy…"
"I know, I know, I know…" Matching her words with gentle murmurs, Inori lifted one hand to stroke the back of her head, covered in smooth hair. "It must be because Ayase did something for you—that's why you're so happy, right…?"
She didn't know what had happened between Chu Lian and Ayase outside the public eye, but from those photos, she could guess a little.
"She really is an amazing sister…"
Hearing those words, Chu Lian cried even harder. If not for Chu Chu and Xiu'er still sleeping nearby, she might have wailed loudly. How long had it been since she last felt this kind of all-encompassing love?
It felt like the first time. This woman, hiding so many things from her, had still given everything when Chu Lian was about to face danger—just to protect her in Chang'an. Even if it meant suffering terrifying punishment, she had never regretted it.
How could that not make Chu Lian happy? How could that not make her heart ache? If she could choose now, she would never, ever let Ayase do such things. Even if it meant putting herself in danger instead.
She cried for a long, long time, until Inori's nightdress was soaked at the chest. Only then did she gradually stop sobbing, returning to quiet tears instead.
All the while, Inori said nothing. She only smiled gently, stroking her hair, giving her comfort and warmth—just like when she had first arrived in this world, and Chu Lian had protected and guarded her without hesitation.
This was what it meant to give and to receive—only those with true hearts could understand.
When her tears finally stopped, Chu Lian broke the silence at last. "She's amazing. She really is amazing… but what she did hurt her so much, especially the punishment she suffered… If I could, Inori, do you know? Right now, I'd give anything to be by her side—or even take her place…"
"I don't know what this feeling is. But I think… if one day Lian were like that, I'd do everything I could to be with you too." Inori gently wiped away the tears on her face as she smiled.
"Mm!" That warmth calmed the storm of emotions Ayase had stirred in her heart. Silently she vowed: "No matter who it is—if I care for them, I'll always do the same."
After resting a little longer, Chu Lian finally left Inori's embrace and sat back in front of her laptop. Stroking Ayase's face on the screen, she sent a reply to Zhao Ziming: "I know you still have more photos. Send them all to me. Name your conditions—if I can do it, I will."
Not long after, Zhao Ziming's reply arrived. Clearly, he had been waiting at his computer for her response.
Opening the envelope and unlocking it, she found the contents fewer this time—only three photos, and a single line of text.
She stared at the three images for a long time, looking back and forth more than ten times before finally reading the line: "Three months from now is my grandfather's birthday. At that time, there will be the grandest celebration banquet. I hope you, Ayase, Inori, and your sister and friends will attend—and perform on stage."
Inori leaned closer to read the line, then nodded toward Chu Lian, who was waiting for her reaction. So she replied, "I accept."
After that, she paid Zhao Ziming no further attention. Instead, she carefully stored the most precious photo into the most secure archive within the "Dimensional Gate."
Next, she logged into Weibo and posted a message: "Here I am in Tai'an, yet my heart is with Cangyun. Looking down at the world, I feel so small. If I don't fight for myself now, perhaps my life will quietly fade away. So, I think—forget about so-called retirement. Why not do what I truly want to do? Would you welcome me appearing often before your eyes? Actually, even if you oppose it, it doesn't matter. Because this time, I won't run away again. This time, I'll let the whole world know of my existence—Chu Lian's existence…"
It was a post both artistic and chuunibyou, but it made her fans cheer wildly. BlackNeko wasn't retiring anymore. That meant they could once again watch her dazzling performances live, not just through videos.
Only, they were still too young to understand Chu Lian's true intention…
"Lian, you really won't retire anymore?" Inori asked curiously, wanting to know why.
Chu Lian kept her eyes on the computer screen as she answered, "Mm, yes, I'm not retiring. Though maybe, in the future, they'll feel I tricked them. But that doesn't matter. I said what I said—how they interpret it is up to them."
"Eh?" Inori still had memories of her time as an idol, and she couldn't imagine playing word games with fans like that.
"Of course, ahem…" Well, expecting her to keep her integrity was like asking Reimu: 'Reimu, here's a hundred thousand, could you try having integrity for one day?' She might actually agree and try her best. But Chu Lian? She'd find every way to dodge it—or worse, scam you to death…
Glancing at the Weibo reply count skyrocketing, Chu Lian shook her head, closed the laptop, and gently set it down on the desk.
Soon after, with her spirits lifted, she went to "gently" wake Chu Chu and Xiu'er…
"Today might turn out to be quite the pleasant journey…" Chu Lian looked out at the bright sunlight streaming through the window, her lips curved in a soft smile.