Girls' Wishing Tree

A brilliant writer, a world-class talent, but a life as fleeting as a brilliant meteor, would surely become a topic of discussion for generations to come, just like Wang Bo, who wrote "Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng" but died young. But for this innocent girl, this was not a wonderful thing.

As for becoming a naturalist, one has to go out for research frequently. If the research results are not widely recognized, one will suffer from both psychological and financial pressure.

The third option, forming a band, is much better than the first two. If a little girl forms a band and then disbands, it will just be a memory of her youth.

And what is this girl? She's a singer, a lead vocalist!

If the band breaks up, the bassist may switch to delivering food, but isn’t it easy for the lead singer to go solo?

Who knows, maybe he'll be even more popular than when he was in the band! Isn't it that certain band lead singers who never grab the headlines, who take off after going solo?

Gao Mu had already pressed "C" several times in his mind before the content in the chat box was refreshed.

[Under your guidance, the girl will embark on the path of becoming the band's lead singer. Earn 10 shining points.]

"Deng, you're here." A long-haired girl of the same age as Deng ran over: "Deng, are you injured? You need to disinfect first--"

The girl named "Lamp" stretched out her hand to stop the girl who ran in from continuing speaking.

"Lixi, the God has responded to me."

The girl named "Lixi" did not dwell on this topic, but from the expression on her face, it could be seen that she obviously did not believe what Deng said.

"Lord God..." Li Xi lowered his voice: "If there really is a Lord God, I think he would favor me..."

"Lixi, what's wrong?" Deng noticed something was wrong with his friend.

"Nothing, let's leave."

Chapter 3: Dryad, Live and Music Girl: 3. The Obsession of Becoming an Idol

After getting 10 shining points, Gao Mu's system finally responded.

[Shining Points Function 1: You can participate in the skill lottery. 100 points can be used to draw a primary skill, 500 points can be used to draw an intermediate skill, 3000 points can be used to draw an advanced skill, and 10000 points can be used to draw a master skill.]

Shining Points Feature 2: Spend a certain amount of points to become a Dryad. 2000 points grants you a Small Dryad, capable of transforming into a humanoid form and navigating the shrine grounds. 8000 points grants you a Large Dryad, capable of transforming into a humanoid form and navigating Tokyo, using simple Dryad spells. 30000 points grants you a Senior Dryad, capable of retracting the cherry blossom tree, transforming into a humanoid form, navigating Japan, and wielding complex Dryad spells. 100000 points grants you a Grandmaster Dryad, capable of retracting the cherry blossom tree, transforming into a humanoid form, navigating the globe, and wielding all Dryad spells.

[The remaining system functions will be unlocked after becoming a Great Tree Demon.]

When Gao Mu saw the system's explanation of the shining points, he was so happy that the leaves of his trees stood up.

Although he was still a tree, he was no longer an ordinary tree. Instead, he was a tree that had the potential to transform into a human form.

When the time comes and you become the ancestor of the tree demon, won’t the sky be high and the birds fly freely, and the sea be wide and the fish leap freely?

Before he could be happy for long, the girl who had been there yesterday came to the shrine again.

The girl was not as disheveled as yesterday. She was no longer wearing her stage costume, but was wearing everyday clothes. However, her mental state seemed to be worse than yesterday.

Her ponytail was untied, and her long, smooth pink hair fell on her shoulders. The corners of her eyes were slightly drooped, and her lower lip slightly lifted her upper lip. The sadness in her expression was so strong that it seemed to lower the temperature in the shrine by two degrees.

"God..." Maruyama Aya moved forward and stopped in front of the cherry tree.

Gao Mu didn't type anything in the chat box. He was not in a hurry to communicate with Maruyama Aya, but waited for Maruyama Aya to speak out herself.

"All of PasPale's activities have been halted, and there's a lot of negative online commentary." Maruyama Aya paused before continuing, "...some people say Chihiro is a truly amazing actress, even pretending to play bass so well. Others say Maya was so faking it with us that she didn't even dare to play the drums hard. Some even said I...shouldn't even hold the microphone anymore and just go on stage with a sundae, at least that would be a good show."

Two lines of tears flowed from Maruyama Aya's eyes.

"The agency asked us to only practice instruments for the next period of time. I also told everyone that as long as we work hard, there is still hope... But, but God... I'm very scared... I'm afraid that after everyone in PasPale can perform, they will never have the chance to step onto the stage again—"

Maruyama Aya suddenly knelt down: "God, please help me--"

Gao Mu looked at the girl crying bitterly and felt pity for her. He wanted to help her, and once again an option appeared before him.

[Under your guidance, the girl embarks on the path to becoming an "idol." Please select the specific direction of guidance:]

[A. The girl will become an idol, but she will also become Tokyo's top lip-syncing comedian. Her fans all know she's lip-syncing, but they still managed to get her into the Budokan.]

[B. The girl will become an idol, but will acquire a body type that will make her unrecognizable. Even if she becomes famous, she will have no presence in daily life.]

[C. The girl will become an idol, but she will mainly shine on variety shows, bringing smiles to everyone's faces by repairing cars and splitting tiles.]

Girl, your obsession with becoming an idol is really strong. The girl before had three options representing three professions, but how come you have only "idol" in your choice?

Even though Gao Mu had only met Maruyama Aya twice, he could tell that she was a girl who had a pure love for "idols".

If she were to lip-sync all the time or mainly appear on variety shows, her mental state would likely be affected.

In comparison, it’s not a big deal if it’s just not easily recognized by fans.

Gao Mu selected "B" with his mind, and then said to her in the chat box: "Just do good things and don't worry about the future. As long as you live up to the stage, the stage will not let you down."

When Maruyama Aya heard Gao Mu's voice, she suddenly raised her head. Although her expression still looked sad, the light of hope had dispelled her confusion.

It turns out that what I heard from the God yesterday was not an illusion.

As long as you work hard, tomorrow will open its arms to you.

"PasPale will not disband." Maruyama Aya clenched her fists. "In the future, I will definitely become the most popular idol! God, I will not let the stage down, and I will not let you down!"

[Under your guidance, the girl will embark on the path of becoming the band's lead singer. Earn 10 shining points.]

Gao Mu looked at the balance of shining points which had increased a little more. Well, there were 20 points now.

In other words, if he can fool 1 band lead singers, he can become the ancestor of the tree demon.

He hadn't been happy for a few seconds when he realized a serious problem - in the past ten years, there were less than ten thousand people who came here, let alone ten thousand lead singers.

Maruyama Aya stuffed 2000 yen into the prize box and left.

Now the unhappy person - or perhaps the unhappy tree - has become Gao Mu.

As a cherry tree, he can only "sit back and wait".

If the gifted girl didn't come here to pray, he wouldn't get any shining points. This was just a small, remote shrine, not a famous tourist attraction. If this continued, the system might become a "carrot on a stick."

Day after day he looked forward to the visit of a girl approved by the system.

No, it's not hope, it's waiting. Or to put it more humbly, it's praying.

Are the girls begging me to help them realize their wishes, or am I begging the girls to provide me with points?

Gao Mu felt for a moment that this question was somewhat philosophical. He and the girls were both praying for a perhaps fateful encounter.

Before traveling through time, he would never have thought about this kind of question, but now, this kind of thinking has become normal for him.

As a tree, the timeline is always stretched.

He had enough time to observe and enough time to think.

In the morning, let the wind blow the morning dew off the leaves as birds sing, watch the sun slowly rise from the horizon, and then spend the day thinking about whether you can see the Far Eastern Chickadee or the Gray Wagtail today.

Watch the moon appear and disappear in the clouds at night, feel the nutrients slowly flowing from the tree roots to the treetops, and then use the night to estimate whether the rain chains under the eaves will be busy tomorrow.

Tomorrow...will there be more girls sending points?

Chapter 4: Dryad, Live and Music Girl: 4. Please listen to my request

For the next week, Gao Mu didn't meet any girl recognized by the system.

The old priest had come twice. Over the past ten years, his wrinkles had increased and his back had become more hunched. Both times, he didn't even notice the Band-Aid thrown in by the short-haired girl.

Apparently, his eyesight is also failing.

The system seemed to be dormant. No recognized girl appeared, and it just "laid" there without any reaction.

The two girls, Maruyama Aya and Tomo, did not come again, and there were very few other people who came.

Gao Mu seemed to have returned to the days before the system was activated, which made him a little depressed.

Fortunately, with ten years of experience as a foundation, this feeling of frustration did not break down his emotional dam.

What Gao Mu didn't know was that a young woman came to the old priest's grocery store.

The young woman was dressed in business attire, with a work badge hanging around her neck. Judging from her attire alone, she exuded the aura of a "social slave." Upon seeing the young woman arrive, the old priest steeled himself, popped a painkiller into his mouth, and drank a sip of warm water.

"Acorus, you're here." The old priest looked at the woman in front of him and tried his best to force a smile on his face full of age spots and wrinkles.

"Grandpa, I just happened to be here today to urge you to submit a manuscript, so I can come here." Her serious appearance was at odds with the casualness of her tone. The woman named "Callis" found a stool and sat down. "Grandpa, if you're tired, why don't you stop running this shop?"

"The Kagurazaka family has been running this shrine for over two hundred years, since the Edo period..."

Acorus patiently kept the same posture and listened to the old man's words.

She had heard this story countless times. Ever since she could remember, she had heard her grandfather say that her ancestors had built this shrine and planted the cherry trees themselves. It was only until today that there were these ancient buildings and the cherry trees that were over ten meters tall.

As people get older, they tend to reminisce about the past, and old priests are no exception.

“…In the past few years, there were quite a few people visiting the temple, but it has become more deserted in recent years. Alas…” The old priest sighed when he said this.

Ayame knew it was time to end the conversation—if she continued, this visit would go from being unhappy for her to being unhappy for both her and her grandfather. Her grandfather had always wanted her to manage the shrine, but she preferred the editor's position.

"Grandpa, I still have to go and urge the manuscript, so I'll come see you next time. I have to get the manuscript before the deadline to give my colleagues who proofread and typeset it enough time. You don't know that authors nowadays are different from those in the Showa era. If you don't come to urge the manuscript, nothing will be submitted to the editorial department."

The old priest nodded without saying anything, but an imperceptible sense of loss flashed in his cloudy eyes.

As soon as Kagurazaka Ayame left, he took out a diagnosis sheet from under the table.

With less than a year left, where can I find the right person to continue running the shrine? Young people these days don't seem to like this slow pace of life. My wife passed away over a decade ago, and my children have all settled elsewhere. Although my granddaughter has returned to Tokyo, she's reluctant to take over my shrine...

He walked to the steps of the shrine on crutches.

The steps are not very high. Compared with some large shrines built on the mountains, these dozens of steps are nothing.

But now if he wants to go to the shrine, he has to take a break on the way.

The old priest raised his head and found a young girl sitting where he usually rested. Judging from her figure, she looked very tired.

He suddenly gave up the idea of ​​visiting the shrine and slowly moved back to the grocery store not far away.

The girl, who had been sitting on the stone edge between two flights of stairs and resting for a while, did not look any better after the rest. Her complexion was still pale with a hint of yellow.

Her condition won't improve just by taking a short rest.

Tokyo's most authoritative medical experts have already given her a diagnosis.

In order to fully restore body functions, you have to undergo radical surgery.

No doctor is confident that he can perform such an operation, whether in the United States, which is very advanced in medical research, or in China, where doctors perform a large number of operations.

But for one of her wishes, she was willing to undergo such an operation.

The doctor said there was a one-third chance of the operation being successful, but she knew the chance was probably even lower.

She had already written a letter, or rather, a suicide note.

If you pray once more at the shrine not far from the hospital, you can undergo the surgery with peace of mind.

She looked up at the paint-chipped torii gate, her sight already sweeping across the vast treetops. Although she had come here because it was closest to the hospital, she had also searched for reviews on her phone before arriving.

There isn't a lot of discussion about this shrine online, with some people commenting on their surprise at the large cherry blossom tree in the grounds.

However, there was a post that caught her attention. It was posted by a person named "KiraAya". The content of the post was:

[The small cherry blossom shrine on the low hill in Toshima Ward is perhaps the closest place to the gods.]

There is also a person with the online name "Spheniscidae" who posted a comment below, agreeing with KiraAya's statement.

The word "Spheniscidae" is Latin for "penguin". Generally speaking, when describing penguins in foreign languages, the English word "Penguin" is more commonly used. Perhaps this guy has a background in biology?

The girl carried her violin case and continued to climb the not-so-high stairs.

She didn't think about mentioning the God's online comments again.

If God really existed, he would have heard her prayers long ago.

If God really existed, he wouldn't let her hide her true feelings with lies.

If God really existed, he probably wouldn't let her put her most precious thing in an envelope.

Compared to instruments like guitar or bass, the violin is much lighter. Her violin and ABS case weigh less than six pounds.

But for her now, this violin is a bit heavy.

Level 10, level 5, level 2, level 1.

There were fewer and fewer steps left, and the small shrine gradually appeared in front of the girl.

It certainly looked old, but this sense of age made the girl feel more relaxed.

She walked under the cherry tree, opened the violin case and took out her violin.

Now her physical strength no longer supports her to perform intensely, but she still wants to pray for herself in this way.

The girl assumed the standard playing posture and picked up the bow with trembling hands.

She took two deep breaths. The disease in her nervous system made it painful for her to maintain this posture.