I've already said this isn't a life simulator!

The person who spoke first quickly interrupted the crowd, which was about to become noisy again, and then turned their attention back to Xi Wang.

"Tell us about it? Xiwang, we're really curious..."

"Me? Hmm... I don't have any definite plans yet, but I want to travel around a bit first. There are some people I want to meet. As for what comes after... I guess it'll be pretty much the same as it is now?"

"Now? Hmm... I see, being a [bard]? That sounds romantic..."

"Haha, thank you for giving me a nicer name."

"Don't say that. Even if you become a bard in the future, you'll definitely be the most famous one."

"Then I'll borrow your good words."

Xi Wang smiled and then turned her gaze to Eden.

"Then... what about Eden?"

"You should already know, Xiwang."

Eden took a sip of his drink, then returned the smile and said softly.

"Of course, my goal is to reach the most dazzling stage... In the future, I want to become the most dazzling star, belonging to classical and operatic music, and bringing the beauty of music and art to everyone."

"Oh no! We're doomed! From now on, Eden will be suppressing us!"

"It's over, it's over~ We're doomed~ Hahaha..."

The group engaged in another round of lighthearted banter, but none of them questioned Eden's idea, because they believed that Eden could definitely do it.

"Then... Xiwang, what about you?"

But then, Eden turned to Xiwang and asked him a question.

"I?"

"Well, it's not about becoming something or doing something in the future, but rather... something akin to a [wish], a goal."

“Then… I want to stay with Eden.”

Xi Wang tilted her head, thought for a moment, then smiled slightly and said softly.

"Wow--"

The crowd started teasing and jeering playfully.

"Ha... things that have already been achieved cannot be called 'wishes,' you know, Xiwang?"

Eden tilted his head, a slight smile playing on his lips, and denied Xi Wang's words.

"Then... will you stay by Eden's side from now on?"

“I’ve already said it, Xiwang… things that can already be achieved cannot be called ‘wishes’.”

"Wow--"

This surprised everyone, because if you translate this sentence slightly, does it mean... umm?

"That's it..."

Xi Wang looked somewhat troubled. After thinking for a moment, she looked up at the bright silver moon outside the window.

"Then... I hope that one day, when I play my instrument, when I sing, everyone... regardless of gender or age, whether friendly or hostile, whether busy or leisurely, can temporarily put aside their grudges, temporarily put aside their thoughts, put aside what they are doing, listen to my song, and enjoy a moment of lightness and tranquility here... before facing what they have to face."

"Hey, hey, hey, making everyone in the world come specifically to listen to your songs... isn't that a bit too bold? But... it's also quite romantic."

"Haha... So this counts as a 'wish'... And what if? Right?"

Xi Wang merely exchanged a glance with Eden, smiled gently, and said nothing more.

Chapter Twenty-One: It's cherry blossom season... (6915)

You and Eden have successfully graduated, but due to your respective choices, you will be separated for a while.

Eden heads to her chosen agency to prepare for her debut, while you pack your bags to meet people you want to see... or rather, to begin your musical journey.

After all, you are a "bard," aren't you? So naturally you should be like the wind, carrying your songs to all corners of the world, sharing your songs with others, and also gaining some... stories and inspiration from them.

[Your first stop was the church. You visited Father Henry the Conqueror and Mother Teresa at their graves, offering white lilies in remembrance once again, and spoke at length before their graves.]

[Afterwards, with permission, you performed in the church for several days to thank the church for its continued support and help... Here, you slightly leveraged your online popularity to inform your fans that you would be performing in the church, which attracted a large crowd to listen, startling the priests and nuns.]

Fortunately, there wasn't a stampede, nor were there any overly enthusiastic fans... It makes sense, since you hardly upload anything other than videos of your performances, which makes most of your fans quite "pure"—they're just there to listen to your music.

Even if some businesses have approached you for promotional work, you wouldn't record a dedicated video for it; at most, you'd just place the product in a prominent spot... But this approach is surprisingly effective. At least when people watch your videos, they can immediately tell that you've accepted a "commercial order," and they'll likely give you some support out of consideration for your reputation.

Hmm...it's probably because the products you accept are all of very good quality. You generally wouldn't accept anything with quality issues.

Okay, I've gotten a bit off-topic. In short, you performed at the church for a few days, and then you left.

[The second stop was still the church where you used to live. As your former "home," you had to come and visit it. In addition, you also met with everyone in the community. The community was very happy to see you come back to visit them. Hmm... if only you didn't care so much about why Eden didn't come with you.]

[The third stop is your old boarding school. You're here mainly to visit your music teacher... He seems to have been promoted; he looks quite busy, and there are even more wrinkles on his face. Clearly, his recent students are causing him some worry.]

He seemed very happy to see you. He also follows your personal account online and has watched you grow from a few hundred followers to what you are now. In a sense, he is one of your "long-time fans".

He's very happy because you've indeed surpassed him and left him far behind. He's genuinely proud of you... Well, you'll be something he can brag about from now on.

As before, you stayed here for a few days, played a few pieces at your former school, took a photo with your teacher, and then continued your journey.

The next stop might be quite busy, since... Li and the others are in different places, and it would take a lot of time to find them one by one.

Fortunately, you have plenty of time now... You travel and play along the way, and when you arrive in the city of the person you're looking for, you'll find a place to stay and play on the street until late at night... Many people recognize you along the way, but most just sigh, take a picture of your performance, and then leave in a hurry.

After all, everyone has things to do, so while there are quite a few people who can stop and listen to your performance, there aren't an exceptionally large number.

[You're happy to do this, focusing on your own things, which is good. And... your music can make busy people stop for a moment, marvel at your singing and playing, and be willing to take a picture to remember it. That's enough for you.]

During breaks in your performances, people often come up to chat, or there are agents trying to recruit you, or fans wanting to take photos with you. You handle all of these people with ease.

The only troublesome thing is that some nosy media outlets are always trying to interview you or dig out some "juicy tidbits" from you. When they talk to you, they have a "nitpicking" attitude and often set "traps," which makes you a little unhappy.

[But what's really strange is that although these media outlets keep popping up, they quickly disappear again... It's amazing how these people eventually get exposed for some inexplicable reason, then get warned, and some even get arrested for spreading rumors... It's quite amazing.]

[To the point that in the end, no media outlets like you came looking for you anymore. After all, those who were observant had noticed that there seemed to be something "strange" about you.]

So they prefer to fabricate wildly imagined rumors online, just to attract attention, and since you don't seem to care much, they quietly entertain themselves in the corners of the internet, occasionally popping up to disgust people, only to be quickly debunked, criticized by everyone, apologize, and then complain about being cyberbullied... well, they're pretty adept at it, aren't they?

However, you don't care much about any of that. Compared to the chaotic comments online, you prefer the stories and experiences you hear from people on the street. From their descriptions, you often see many inexplicable yet seemingly traceable interesting things in the world.

[Whether bitter, troublesome, or of course, mundane, happy, joyful... you always enjoy listening to these stories, just as they enjoy listening to your playing.]

They draw lightness and tranquility from your music, while you draw inspiration from their stories—it's a nice exchange, isn't it?

Ah, I feel like you're becoming more and more like a "bard," it seems your friend wasn't wrong after all.

[And so, in this rather wonderful and pleasant experience, you gradually met the friends you were looking for, and then changed your mind and decided to go see Li and Yin... but it seems that the two of them are not together at the moment, but have gone home to take care of their own things.]

You hesitated, but in the end, you chose to visit Yin first... The reason is that Yin's home is in the Far East.

You always feel you should go there first, to that place in the far east. There's no particular reason, you just feel in your heart that you should go there first.

Without any hesitation, you packed your things and immediately set off for the island where cherry blossoms danced in the air.

--------

"Hmm... let me see... the brand... the brand... ah, I see it."

As soon as Xi Wang got off the plane, she dragged her luggage and carried her musical instruments while looking for the person Yin had mentioned who would pick her up. Soon she saw a sign being held up with signs written in Far Eastern and Common Tongues, and she walked over quickly.

"Ah, hello, did Yin ask you to pick me up?"

Looking at the neatly dressed and robust-looking group, Xi Wang politely inquired.

"...Oh, so you're the 'record player' Miss was talking about?"

"Yes, I am a record player~"

"That's good. Miss is looking forward to your arrival... Please come with us."

The group nodded, quickly stepped forward to help Xi Wang pick up her luggage, and led her outside.

After getting into the rather high-end-looking black sedan, the group remained silent and quickly drove Xi Wang to a courtyard with a rather large area.

"Wow... I never expected Gin to live in a place like this... Hmm?"

As Xi Wang was led through the courtyard, he admired the tranquil and beautiful scenery around him and sighed softly. But halfway through, a pale pink color caught his eye, and he subconsciously shifted his gaze to find a whole cherry blossom falling from the sky.

"A whole flower...that's quite rare..."

For some reason, Xi Wang seemed to be attracted by this cherry blossom. She subconsciously stopped and reached out to catch the cherry blossom that was dancing in the cold wind, looking somewhat helpless and lonely, and even a little fragile. Her fingertips gently touched the pale pink petals, and she felt as if a faint fragrance of flowers was lingering around her nose.

"...I knew it, you [record player] are the most troublesome."

Yin's calm, even tone rang out from the side.

"You can't even get a straight answer from someone... just because you're attracted by the flowers? Are you a child?"

Turning his head, he saw that Yin had come to his side at some point. She was still petite, but her demeanor was slightly different from before, carrying a hint of the sternness of a superior.

"Long time no see, Gin... Um, sorry to have made you come out to pick me up~"

Xi Wang didn't react much to Yin's accusations, but just smiled and said...

"It's really rare... In the past, it was hard to see Gin leave his house."

"I haven't even left my house yet; this is still my home."

Yin remained expressionless as she spoke, pointing around to indicate to Xi Wang that the area around her was now her "home" and that she had not yet left the house.

"But do you really like them? Cherry blossoms."

As she spoke, Yin turned her gaze to the cherry blossom in Xi Wang's palm... It was the season when cherry blossoms were in full bloom, but at this time, a whole cherry blossom had fallen and happened to land right next to Xi Wang's hand. This was quite a coincidence, especially considering Xi Wang's expression... He seemed to like it very much.

"If you like, you can break off a branch and take it with you, but if you want the flowers to stay on, you'll have to ask someone to take care of it."

"Ah, no need for that. Rather, I just had some, um... inspiration about it."

"Really? Then I'm looking forward to your song, 'The Record Player'."

"Okay, if I write it down, I'll record it and send it to you as soon as possible."

"You've put your heart into it."

Yin nodded, then opened her arms and gently hugged Xiwang.

"It's been a long time, Xiwang."