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Retracing the places she had visited, Sparkle updated her notebook with new entries:
"May 15th, Hour of the Sun — this is a dreamscape bearing the history and culture of Penacony."
"The Origami University here was holding a one-day trial experience event. I thought Su Qing would just do what he always does—stand aside and take pictures. But he pulled me into participating."
"The one-day experience included attending classes, eating in the cafeteria, touring the campus, and finally, a graduation ceremony."
"Speaking of which, it was while eating in the cafeteria that I realized something."
"Was he... photographing me the whole time today?"
"What do I do? Should I pretend not to notice?"
In the cafeteria, Sparkle sat upright, but her head was lowered.
Her long silver hair draped over her blushing cheek, chopsticks poking aimlessly at her food.
Beside her, Su Qing leaned against the table, holding his camera up toward her.
Passersby turned their heads: "What's going on here?"
"No idea. Is he shooting a photobook?"
Hearing their murmurs, Sparkle flushed deeper and ducked her head further, biting a piece of food quietly.
[March 7th: Haha! He's practically shoving the camera in her face—how is she supposed to pretend not to notice!]
"But going to class together, wandering the campus together, it really felt like Su Qing and I became classmates."
"Walking with him under the shaded campus trees... maybe, for just a moment, I really forgot who we were."
"At the end, we nearly missed the opera because no one wanted to leave the graduation ceremony."
…
"Regret. The opera was boring. Su Qing even fell asleep."
Inside the Grand Theater, a soprano sang passionately onstage.
Sparkle poked Su Qing's arm: "Wake up."
"Ah, sorry." Su Qing woke for a bit... then drifted back to sleep.
This time, Sparkle didn't wake him.
She glanced around, pulled out her phone, and secretly snapped a photo of Su Qing asleep.
He always takes pictures of me, so... it's fair if I take one back, right?
*Attached to the notebook is a photo of Su Qing napping, arms crossed.
It was her first time doing something like this—her heart raced holding the phone.
Surely... no one saw that, right?
[stelle: I saw it!]
[Qingque: Me too.]
[Tingyun: +1]
[Xueyi: +2]
[Natasha: +3]
[Jingliu: +4]
[Pela: So many people...]
[Seele: Everyone's coming out of the woodwork, huh?]
[Sparkle: No one saw? (✘) Everyone saw! (✔)]
[As she watched the stream, Sparkle immediately covered her face.]
[She never imagined the moment she secretly photographed Su Qing would someday be broadcast for everyone to see!]
[If she'd known... she would've taken more photos—no, wait! She wouldn't have taken any at all!!]
·
"May 16th, Hour of the stelles — this place is full of clubs, each holding different competitions."
"We entered a mech-driving competition. Su Qing was super into it."
"Somehow, we won first place. Everyone else was really weak."
"Su Qing was shocked and kept asking me for my secret."
"Practice makes perfect...? That's all I could tell him."
*Attached is a photo of the medal.
[stelle: We—are the champions!]
[March 7th: (sarcastic) What do you mean 'we'? What does that have to do with you!?]
·
"May 17th, we went to the Hour of Scorching Sand. A vast plain full of wild winds, taverns, and the Soularada Festival auditions."
"What happened that day? I can't really remember."
"I wrote this note the next morning, still groggy."
"What's going on? My memories of yesterday are so fuzzy."
·
"May 18th — AAAAAH I REMEMBER EVERYTHING NOW! I was drunk yesterday!!"
Back on the 17th, inside a tavern—
Sparkle held up a glass, puzzled: "Why doesn't this taste like anything? Is it just water?"
Su Qing took a sip and flinched: "?"
People at the Hour of Scorching Sand do things wildly. Their taverns serve real hard liquor.
Sparkle had the bartender bring out something stronger. She took a sip and licked her lips. "Mmm, this one's got flavor. I like it."
Su Qing hesitated: "You probably shouldn't drink something so strong..."
"It's fine." Sparkle cupped the glass and sipped, "Maybe I've got surprisingly good tolerance."
After one glass, her face turned pink, and her body filled with heat.
"So hot... but I want more."
Her voice got louder, bold like a trailblazer. She slapped the table. "Boss! Another!"
Su Qing watched her carefully and held down her glass. "That's enough."
Sparkle: "I'm fine, I can still—"
She tried to stand up. The world spun. Su Qing quickly held her by the shoulders and made her sit.
"Huh?"
Sitting down again, Sparkle's eyes turned swirly. She rubbed them. "Su Qing... why are there... one, two, three of you...?"
——May 18th.
After meeting up, Su Qing reminded her of what happened the night before.
And then...
Sparkle shouted, face red: "You really *did* take photos! And a bunch of them!!"
Su Qing showed her a few.
One was Sparkle sipping from her glass, cheeks slightly red—adorable, like a squirrel.
Another was her puffing her cheeks, insisting she *wouldn't* get drunk.
Those two weren't bad.
But the third...
It showed her resting her head sideways on the table, the camera also tilted—she had this totally spaced-out silly grin...
The entire "mysterious beautiful girl" aura—gone.
"AAAAHHHH!!" Seeing it, Sparkle broke down. She stood on tiptoes and grabbed for the camera. "Give it here! Delete it! DELETE IT!!"
Su Qing laughed, holding the camera high, refusing to erase it.
[Kafka: Tsk tsk tsk.]
[Silver Wolf: Tsk tsk tsk.]
[Kafka: Rare sight.]
[Silver Wolf: Very entertaining.]
[Sparkle: (wants to dig a hole and disappear) Silver Wolf!? Kafka!? When did you get here!?]
[Silver Wolf: Hmm... I think around the time... you were stelleing at that clockwork boy in the plaza.]
[Sparkle: THAT WAS THE BEGINNING!!]
[Sparkle: (face red) (completely buried in her pillow)]
[Sparkle: (I'm doomed. They're gonna tease me about this forever...)]
"May 19th — To soothe the wildness of the Hour of Scorching Sand, we went to the Hour of Oasis."
"Thinking back on the past few days... I still feel embarrassed."
"Fortunately, the afternoon at Daylight Park was peaceful. Listening to the automated orchestra calmed me."
"We didn't do much today. Just walked together in the warm sun."
"Time is something I treasure."
"Even though the Family's Harmonious Ceremony is still far off... I want to move quickly through this dream and experience as much as I can."
"But just this slow, easy stroll was enough."
"It really felt like a luxurious happiness."
·
"May 20th, Hour of Dusk."
"We came here to rent our outfits for tomorrow. I chose a light-colored dress; he picked a black tuxedo."
"As expected, the Hour of Dusk was crowded. We almost got separated."
·
"May 21st, Hour of Blue Jazz — tonight there was a cruise performance, and a ballroom dance."
"Everything was beautiful."
"Su Qing asked me to dance. Neither of us really knew how."
"But surrounded by the Sea of Dreambubbles, dancing to music with him... I could feel the joy in my heart."
"It was sweeter than cake. Airy, light, and wonderful."
"Honestly, it kind of scared me..."
"Can I really be this happy? I found myself wondering."
Inside the Reverie Hotel.
Sparkle tapped out her final sentence of the day on her phone: "The dream Penacony always advertised... I think this is what it feels like."
After typing, she put down her phone, propped her chin in her hand, and spaced out, lost in thought.
One week—it went by so fast.
[March 7th: Alright! Once again, Detective March 7 is here to analyze everything!]
[March 7th: Sparkle's older notes were simple, all business.]
[March 7th: But now? Look at all the emotional descriptions! So many feelings!]
[March 7th: Especially that last bit about the ballroom. Yes!! I ship it!!]
[Himeko: Little March really does love romance, huh?]
[Himeko: But fangirling right in front of the person—are you sure that's okay?]
[Sparkle: ...Um, what reaction am I supposed to have?]
[Firefly: Just smile~]
[stelle: Do we really need an analysis? This is so obvious even that old guy on the train could figure it out.]
[March 7th: ? Are you throwing shade at Uncle Yang!?]
[stelle: I'm not. I didn't.]
·
"May 22nd, Hour of Gold — we returned to the rooftop."
"Su Qing's expression was serious. He seemed like... he had something he wanted to say."
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