[Jing Liuli New Year's Eve Concert, Day 5 to Go]
[Deep Blue Metropolis · Old District, Dusk]
"Wow! Tendo, this place is so lively!"
Jing Liuli stood at the entrance of the Old District, looking at the bustling crowd with an excited expression and couldn't help but gasp.
Seeing Liuli with her baseball cap tilted and her sunglasses slipped down to the tip of her nose, her eyes wide with excitement, Tendo laughed and helped fix her hat and sunglasses.
"Let's go, it's even livelier inside."
"Oh, okay, okay!"
Jing Liuli nodded vigorously, quickly tugging on the brim of her cap.
Though she was excited now, the necessary disguise had to be maintained.
She certainly didn't want the headline of the New Federation's entertainment news tomorrow to be: Diva Jing Liuli on a Late-Night Stroll Through the Old District with a Mysterious Man.
She wasn't afraid of the gossip, she was just worried it would cause trouble for Tendo.
Led by Tendo, the two quickly reached the heart of the Old District's pedestrian street.
Coinciding with the peak hour for school and work commutes, the street was already packed with people.
Although the buildings here were old, they retained the most authentic atmosphere of daily life.
"Tendo, Tendo! I want that!"
Jing Liuli suddenly grabbed Tendo's sleeve, pointing to a nearby smoking teppanyaki squid stall, saliva ungracefully dribbling from the corner of her mouth.
Tendo said helplessly, "If you want to eat it, buy it. You don't need to ask me."
"Yay!"
With that, Jing Liuli darted away like a cheerful little butterfly, zipping to the stall and saying with great extravagance, "Boss! I'll take three skewers, extra spicy!"
The owner smiled as he flipped the squid on the hotplate, replying, "Well, little girl, you have a good appetite!"
"Hehe!"
Under Jing Liuli's expectant gaze, the owner quickly handed over three sizzling, oily grilled squid skewers.
"Here, Tendo, for you!"
Jing Liuli handed one skewer to Tendo, grabbed one in each of her own hands, and eagerly took a bite.
The crisp tenderness of the squid tentacles, mixed with the savory and spicy sauce, burst in her mouth, giving her an instantly satisfied expression. She didn't even notice the smudge of red oil on the corner of her mouth.
Seeing this, Tendo reached for a tissue to wipe it for her, but she misunderstood his intention.
"You have your own, why are you trying to steal mine? No, no!"
Tendo was speechless at the sight.
"Don't just focus on eating. I didn't bring you here just for fun."
"Huh? N-Not for fun? Th-Then what else could it be for?"
Jing Liuli's mouth was stuffed, and her words were muffled.
Seeing Jing Liuli so engrossed in food that she'd forgotten the main task, Tendo gently flicked the foodie's forehead.
Amidst her pained and wronged expression, he looked around.
"Of course, it's for you to experience what 'reality' is, and to see what the lives that most people truly care about are like."
Jing Liuli looked around, seemingly half-understanding.
Among the passing pedestrians in the Old District, there were people like: a white-collar worker in a suit rubbing his temple while taking a call, his voice tired but tender as he said, 'I'm almost home, brought you your favorite candied chestnuts.'
A schoolgirl in a uniform squatting by the roadside, patiently feeding a stray cat some freshly bought ham sausage.
And a street performer youth strumming his guitar, singing a song that was clearly a little off-key.
These people converged in the Old District, sketching a tapestry called "life."
Jing Liuli stared blankly at this 'tapestry.' Her chewing on the squid slowly stopped.
In a trance, she recalled the "bitter future" Tendo had shown her, and she remembered the unrealistic sweetness in her own songs.
The lives of most people are never made up of only pure joy or pure suffering.
Their lives are like the lights of this night market—bright and dim, cold and warm, neither black nor white.
No wonder... no wonder Tendo said the song I sang yesterday was too empty.
Because for these people, the dream I convey through my songs is indeed too far removed from their real lives.
Thinking this, Jing Liuli quickly finished the two grilled squid skewers in her hands and ran over to the street performer.
"Hello, can I borrow your guitar for a moment?"
The youth was stunned for a moment, then readily handed the guitar to her.
"Of course."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Jing Liuli held the guitar and, without worrying about her pop star image, sat directly down on a slightly cracked step by the street. Her fingers clumsily plucked the strings.
Initially, her chords were a bit shaky.
But when she saw the people heading home after work under the streetlights, the child chasing a balloon, and Tendo standing not far away, smiling as he watched her, the tune in her hands gradually became stable.
The Jing Liuli of this moment had neither the magnificent accompaniment of yesterday's Aurora Aria nor the beautiful dream butterflies fluttering around.
All she had was the simplest guitar melody and a spontaneous voice singing whatever came to mind.
What she sang now might not have been perfect; it might even have been casual enough to be slightly off-key.
But compared to yesterday, Tendo no longer frowned. Instead, he closed his eyes, his body swaying gently with Jing Liuli's song.
Because what she was singing now was no longer the 'vast starry sky' that was out of reach for ordinary people.
It was the most commonplace and real "human warmth and life."
And this was also the first time Tendo heard "authenticity" in her voice and felt a 'resonance' with it.
The song ended, and sparse applause suddenly broke out in the noisy Old District.
Seeing the good-natured smiles of the surrounding crowd, Jing Liuli happily laughed.
Just as she was about to hand the guitar back, her peripheral vision caught a couple of high school girls in the crowd exchanging glances and whispering while pointing at her light-purple hair.
"Look, do you think she looks like Jing Liuli?"
"She really does look a bit like her, doesn't she?!"
"!!!"
Hearing these words, Jing Liuli instantly sprang up from the ground and hurriedly thrust the guitar into the youth's arms.
"Oh no, Tendo, run, run! I've been recognized!"
Before Tendo could respond, Jing Liuli grabbed him and bolted down the street.
Are you kidding? If she ran any slower, she'd immediately be surrounded by her fanatical fans!
But seeing her panicky reaction, Tendo wore a strange expression.
They ran for who knows how long, only stopping after turning into a narrow alley.
Jing Liuli leaned against the wall, panting, and nervously looked back.
After confirming that the high school girls who seemingly recognized her identity weren't following, she finally patted her chest and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Phew~ That was close. Almost had a problem."
Tendo said with a half-smile, "Oh really? But I feel like the 'almost' was a billion miles away."
Hearing this, Jing Liuli immediately looked up at Tendo and remembered that he possessed 'Vast Manifestation Concealment', a method of invisibility that was no less effective than Chen Kong's Mark of the Void.
The realization instantly made her feel a bit foolish.
With Tendo here, why did she run?
As long as he was willing, no one could find them!
"Then why didn't you say so earlier?"
Looking at the slightly flushed and annoyed Jing Liuli, Tendo smiled and spread his hands.
"Well, a certain someone didn't give me a chance to speak. They just grabbed me and ran."
"..."
Jing Liuli's cheeks immediately puffed out. She instantly turned into a spiky pufferfish, glaring fiercely at Tendo.
She was one hundred percent certain that this big bad guy, Tendo, was absolutely doing this on purpose!
He just wanted to see her make a fool of herself!
And Tendo, as if reading her mind, teased, "You guessed right. I did it on purpose. What's wrong, are you going to bite me?"
"..."
Curse you!!!
Fortunately, Tendo, though 'bad,' wasn't that 'bad.'
He didn't continue to tease the angry 'purple pufferfish,' saying with a smile, "Alright, I won't tease you anymore. You should understand what I meant by 'authenticity' now, right?"
At this, Jing Liuli blushed slightly, seeming to have thought of something, and whispered, "Was my singing just now terrible?"
Tendo tilted his head in thought and said, "Terrible..."
"Ah?"
Hearing this, Jing Liuli's head immediately drooped in disappointment.
But before she could react, Tendo quickly added.
"...But it had far more soul than when you sang in the concert hall."
"After all, I'm no artist. I couldn't understand any of the things you were singing before~"
Looking at the bad guy, Tendo, shaking his head and smiling mischievously.
Jing Liuli knew this big bad guy was deliberately playing a trick on her again.
However, at this moment, she had no desire to argue with Tendo. Instead, she burst into a happy laugh.
Because the things she sang weren't meant for so-called artists anyway!
As they were talking, a gentle evening breeze, carrying the aroma of food from the street, quietly drifted into the alley.
Smelling the scent, Jing Liuli's stomach rumbled uncooperatively.
Hearing the sound, Tendo pointed outside the alley and said, "Let's go. I see you're not full yet. Want to try that?"
Jing Liuli followed the direction of Tendo's finger and quickly saw a steaming takoyaki (octopus ball) stall outside the alley. Her eyes instantly lit up.
"Yes, yes, yes! And I want double bonito flakes and mayonnaise!"
"Got it, you little foodie."
"Tendo, in return for taking me out today, I've decided not to be mad at you anymore!"
"But your anger wouldn't have done anything anyway. You can't beat me."
"..."
"Tendo!!!"
"Lower your voice. I'm not deaf. You don't have to shout like that."
"I won't! I'm going to shout!"
"Okay, then shout. I can't hear you anyway now."
Watching the bad guy use 'Vast Manifestation Concealment' to block her sonic attack, the purple pufferfish swelled up again.
As is well known, a pufferfish only inflates its body when it encounters danger.
This, in turn, subtly proves one thing: when there is no danger, this guy, Tendo... is the greatest danger of all!!!
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