Tang Xin put down the guitar, the children stopped crying, and everyone had to learn to look forward; they were no exception. The more cruel the world, the more people must learn to grow up. After realizing that the closest person had left forever, they learned to be strong, holding back tears to earn the admiration of their peers.

"It's the Voice of the Wings, I recognized it."

Shu Tong, immersed in the melody, took a long time to return to his senses, chuckling as he rested his head on Tang Xin's shoulder:

"It's really nice to listen to. Destiny is such a strange thing. Who would've thought one day my sister would appear before me and sing right to me?"

"If people find out, they'd die of envy. I heard even rich people can't get tickets to Sister's concert!"

Tang Xin smiled helplessly, "It's not so exaggerated."

"The adults always talk about the city, and I often wonder, just how far is that place called Star of Art from Mermaid Town?" Shu Tong said.

For these children, this small island is their whole world. The sun rises from the sea, lights of fishing boats returning from afar, and the day begins. The sun sets below the sea as adults' fishing boats sail into the distance, marking the arrival of night, day after day, year after year.

Beyond the world lies the vast ocean. Occasionally, they see tourists who arrive on cruise ships from hundreds of kilometers away, and only through these things that the tourists bring can they understand how vast the outside world is.

People outside use screens, while the children gather around the small old-fashioned TV set, watching sporadic channels, putting album discs into the CD player, watching the blue-haired girl in reality use her gentle and beautiful voice to win applause from everyone in the audience. Sometimes the children clap along, cheering for the girl; the naive boys cry, swearing she'll be the one for them in the future.

They like this big sister because her voice is gentle, capable of healing and soothing their hearts.

These children lost their parents at a very young age, and yet the foster home system is not implemented on this small island, nor are there any hypocritical politicians seeking welfare for the street children in this remote area. As a result, they have no choice but to huddle together for warmth, becoming outcasts of the town.

Shu Tong is one of those street children. Upon hearing that the admired figure had arrived at their small town, the other children hid away instead, afraid the girl would see their dirty appearance. Only Shu Tong used his savings to buy a dress, convinced a timid girl to wash up in someone else's house, and came to Tang Xin's side clean.

The figure she dreamed of meeting is now right in front of her, yet Shu Tong's heart is not as excited as when she first heard the news. This feeling is truly strange.

Shu Tong tilted her head, gently leaning against Tang Xin, clearly aware that the outside world held terrible things, yet she felt no fear. It was as if being close to her sister would involuntarily calm her heart.

"Sister, do you want to hear my story?" Shu Tong asked. "It was a stormy night..."

Shu Tong shook her head, embellishing her life experiences and descriptions, like many other children facing hardships, nothing particularly special, only her personality is somewhat more mature.

Tang Xin's lips curved into a faint smile. Thinking about those distant fans standing up for her when she was insulted online, wishing to comfort her even through the TV set, a warm feeling welled in her heart.

It turns out that her singing voice could reach so far, soothing these young hearts suffering hardships, granting them peaceful dreams.

"So, you led your little friends and defeated the evil Siren King, sealing him back underground?" Tang Xin said with a light laugh.

Shu Tong replied, unfazed, "That's right!"

"Haha, Sister, rest assured, I'm not someone who likes to vent their woes to others. The hardships I endure are for me to know; bringing them up too often only ruins others' moods. They wouldn't kindly offer me any bread out of pity."

"What do you think, is Shu Tong's story interesting?"

"Mm-hmm." Tang Xin nodded.

"In exchange, Sister has to tell me a story too."

Shu Tong put her hand on Tang Xin's leg, propping up her little face, smiling brightly.

"Alright." Tang Xin nodded.

Although she's not very good at storytelling, at times like these, not thinking things over would indeed be unreasonable. As she pondered the story's structure, someone suddenly knocked on the window, followed by a man's voice.

"I'm from the cruise's security team; it's dangerous outside. Stay inside and don't come out; we'll be in shortly."

The children inside showed hopeful expressions; someone said, "Someone's here to save us?"

"We've been rescued; it's alright now."

"Great..."

The classroom was filled with some commotion and the sounds of children's discussions.

Tang Xin, with her keen instincts, sensed a change. Upon hearing the commotion inside, the people outside hastened their steps.

Something's wrong; those outside are certainly not members of the cruise's security team!

They acted as if they knew there was someone in the library beforehand, yet the children in the library had ceased their crying more than ten minutes ago—it was someone who leaked information about this place.

Is it those gun-wielding thugs?

Alarm bells sounded in Tang Xin's mind.

Shu Tong also realized something was wrong, glancing up at her, her little face turned pale instantly.

"Hurry, Shu Tong, you're familiar with this library. You know where to hide; lead them to safety!"

Shu Tong murmured, "Then what about Sister?"

"Hurry!" Tang Xin raised her voice in urging.

Shu Tong nodded repeatedly, shouting to the children below the stage, "Don't say anything; everyone, follow me quickly! Those guys aren't good people!"

At this moment, the sound of doors being smashed came from classrooms in the distance, with desks and chairs blocking the doors falling to the ground, producing chaotic crashing sounds.

"Not here, keep searching ahead!" someone shouted.

The children's faces inside the classroom drained of color again, fear and unease spreading once more, leading to more crying, which soon joined into a chorus. Shu Tong and Shanshan tried to stop them, but to no avail.

"Stop crying!" Tang Xin shouted.

The children didn't respond, noise buzzed in her ears, and the thoughts just formed in her mind scattered like tangled threads, anxiety rising within her. The footsteps from far away hurried toward this direction, and Tang Xin stomped her foot, letting out a sharp beast-like roar:

"Stop crying!"

"I told you to shut up!!"

All the children were frightened; they never thought this seemingly gentle sister would reveal such a fierce side. Shu Tong saw Tang Xin's chest heaving violently, her hair disheveled beside her face; her expression broken and somewhat twisted.

Shu Tong was the first to react, "Come on, follow me!"

After being shouted at like this, the children suppressed their sobs, climbing the ladder and entering the ventilation duct that barely accommodated them, following Shu Tong's lead. Shanshan finally glanced at Tang Xin, who stood there silent and transformed into someone unfamiliar, and quickened her pace to leave as well.

Shortly after, the classroom door was kicked open, desks and chairs at the entrance fell to the ground.

White Snake looked at the empty classroom with only one person, frowning, and pointed his gun at Tang Xin; behind her was the wide-open window, the curtain fluttering at the girl's blue long hair.

"Where did those brats go?"

Tang Xin lifted her head, bloodshot eyes saying, "I'm the only one here."

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