Carol

“Carol?” Leylin leaned back against the couch while feeling the familiar rumble of the engine, his mind fuzzy. ‘Seems to be a very famous singer, said to be the idol of teenagers in the Furze Federation… Also seems to be slightly related to me, but… I don’t remember anymore…’

Memories related to the other person immediately emerged in Leylin’s brain, ‘Only, why do I keep feeling that something’s wrong? This shouldn’t be my life… My life…’

Leylin stretched out his right hand and a word suddenly emerged in his brain: “Fire!” This was pronounced in the ancient Byron language, but tens of seconds passed and nothing happened.

“What’s wrong with you Leylin? Devising new words? Why haven’t I heard this before, is this German or Spanish?” Serway asked thoughtlessly as he looked at the scenery outside the window from time to time.

“Neither! I may have pronounced it wrongly…” Leylin’s face was slightly flushed, but his heart was stirring, ‘What happened just now, why did I have a premonition that something interesting would happen after reading that phone… No! Why do I remember this syllable?’

*Skrrrrr!* Following the sound of sudden brakes, the taxi stopped in front of a beautiful institution.

A large coniferous tree and a holly tree stood on both sides of a white marble statue. In front of the entrance was a banner— Innocent Saints 57th Campus Festival.

Below the banner, there was a row of tiny words written in black ink using felt-tip pens and spray paint — Welcoming the beautiful Miss Carol’s arrival. We will support you forever! A smiley face was even drawn after it, and Leylin felt like laughing upon seeing it.

“This lad is a student of Innocents Saints High School? Work hard…” The taxi driver waved his hand and disappeared into the road. Leylin secretly rolled his eyes at the hand that was stretched out of the car’s window.

After walking into the school, Leylin could see the bustle of a large crowd. Many teenage boys in shirts and teenage girls in dresses hovered around a colourful tent that was set up temporarily. From time to time, playful giggles also echoed from within. Colourful confetti fluttered gently while a sweet, symphonic music permeated the place.

“Brother! Why aren’t you moving? You were the last one we were missing!” A small girl came over and pulled Leylin by the hands, giving him a feeling of warmth.

Leylin fell into a trance for a moment as chunks of memories emerged one after the other in his mind. This young lady was his younger sister Gail, currently in year one. And yet, this familiar face seemed foreign as well, causing him to be somewhat dazed. “Aren’t I here now?” he said in reply.

“Let’s go! Let’s go!” Serway and Gail, one behind the other, brought Leylin to the side of a large open stage.

“Hurry and start work, oh Debugging Master!” Serway pushed Leylin to a mechanical platform that was filled with joysticks and buttons, taking out a huge heart shaped bouquet of roses from his back as if he was performing magic. He shifted his attention towards a tall girl in the dance team, a sight that caused Leylin to roll his eyes.

“What’s the matter? Is there a problem? Nooo! Miss Carol will be here soon!” Gail was looking at Leylin who stood looking silly in front of the debugging platform. Thinking that the machine malfunctioned or something, she couldn’t help but pace back and forth as a layer of tears appeared in her eyes.

Seeing Gail like that, Leylin secretly heaved a sigh of relief and came before the debugging platform, “Oh it’s fine, I was just thinking about something and my mind kind of wandered off…”

The moment he came in front of the platform, his hands moved to its surface, beginning to work subconsciously. Numerous lights lit up, and the curtains on the stage were slowly drawn back.

‘Okay! The joysticks and sliding platforms are all normal, just do it according to the previous procedure and it’ll be fine…’ Leylin rubbed his forehead, feeling that things had grown more unexpected. The knowledge of the debugging machine seemed to have been shoved into his brain all of a sudden, and although he felt extremely familiar with it fear began to rise in his heart.

“Yay! My brother is the best, you’re awesome!” Gail jumped in glee. Seeing her like that, along with the gentle and kind memory of his elder sister, Leylin suddenly felt that such a life… didn’t seem all that bad.

This thought seemed to have only come up for a moment, but it made his heart stir as if he discovered something incredible. Fragments of memories poured into his mind, as if he was watching some sort of movie.

He’d seen an ignorant and underdeveloped world that was filled with a mysterious force called magic. He seemed to have been exploring that place.

‘Hmm… Is this what I dreamt of last night? Maybe I can use it as an idea for a novel or something…’ Leylin stroked his chin, but he still had the nagging feeling that things weren’t so simple.

While Leylin had sunk into deep thought, a loud, deafening clamour sounded out. Many people rushed out to gather at the front of the stage in a flood, breaking his train of thought.

“Look! Sister Carol is here!” Gail shouted in excitement as well, squeezing forward on tiptoes.

“Isn’t she just a celebrity? Just you wait, I’ll get a few autographed photos and postcards for you later!” Leylin snorted.

“Of course you can take as many photos of her as you want, but the current scenario is different! I’m so excited…” Gail squeezed forward even more, but Leylin grew confused, “Wait, what do you mean I can take as many as I want, am I very close to her?”

But Gail had already disappeared into the crowd, making Leylin lose someone to question.

Carol slowly walked to the centre of the stage, accompanied by the hysterical shouts of the crowd. The many spotlights emitted a dazzling brilliance even in the day as colourful mist spread out and surrounded her.

“Carol!” “Carol!” “Carol!” “We love you!”

Numerous teenagers screamed at the top of their lungs, almost to the point that Leylin could not help but cover his ears, feeling as if his eardrums had been destroyed.

At the same time, his gaze shifted, attracted to the girl at the centre of the stage. Carol wore a magnificent costume that wasn’t the dazzling kind, with two plaits hanging down gently from her haid. Her face was so exquisite she looked like a doll.

“Thank you! I love you all too!” Carol looked at the fans below and smiled sweetly, causing many fanatical fans to cover her in another round of adulation.

Her voice was very airy, melding well with her personality to form a unique aura. Even a few words from her generated an extraordinary attraction.

“Next, let’s invite Miss Carol to perform her famous song for us — Flight!” Because of Carol’s presence, the two emcees were almost forgotten. Patiently waiting for their chance, they immediately announced the song.

“Okay! Start the background music!” Leylin wore his headphones, but Carol who was on the stage, made a signal to stop.

“Wait! I have another piece of news here for everyone,” Carol smiled, carrying a rare hint of excitement in her voice. “My trip to Innocent Saints’ campus this time was on my boyfriend’s invitation. Yes! I’m in love!”

The place instantly fell into a deathly silence. Carol, who was famous across the entirety of the Furze Federation and had always been lovely idol, was actually in love, and with a high school student?

This storm immediately petrified the surrounding audience. Soon after, a howl echoed, livening the atmosphere at the scene.

“What? No! Carol, you’re my goddess, how can you…” “Oh! No! How is that possible?” Many teenage boys clenched their chests in pain and collapsed. Leylin even felt like he could hear the sound of their glass hearts shattering.

But even more of the audience waved the fresh flowers, lightsticks and other items in their hands and said, “Carol, we support you!”

“Thank you!” Carol bowed at the audience below with reddened eyes, “I’d like to invite my boyfriend up to sing Flight with me! To commemorate this day…” Upon hearing this, many of the students looked at one another, as if they were trying to identify Carol’s boyfriend.

‘Wahaha… This Carol’s boyfriend is going to get unlucky!’ Leylin thought gloatingly.

“Then, aren’t you going to hurry up there?” Who knew since when, Serway and Gail had appeared beside Leylin again, pulling him onto the stage.

“Brother! Sister Carol has already mustered her courage like that, what are you still waiting for?” Gail tugged on Leylin’s sleeve, laughing like a small fox that had successfully stolen a chicken.

“Eh? What what? It’s me?” Leylin pointed at his own nose, “Carol’s boyfriend is me?” Suddenly, another memory appeared again.

“Leylin, remember our promise!” Wearing a pretty ribbon on her head, Carol pulled Leylin’s hand.

Only at this moment did Leylin recall. it seemed… As if… Should be… Roughly… Carol had actually been his neighbour for 3 years, and it was at that time that the two had embarked on a romantic relationship.

After being dragged onto the stage with Carol pulling his hand, facing the multiple spotlights and the fervent gazes of many geeks, Leylin’s face was still a little stiff.

“Are you serious? This scenario just isn’t right…” Leylin felt slightly dizzy. At this moment, the gentle background music started playing, and an angelic voice echoed from beside him.

Leylin looked slightly dazed as he watched this beautiful fairy-like girl beside him. Her voice was airy like no other, as clear as spring water. It seemed like even her spirit could cleanse him, it was extremely refreshing. This was especially true of her eyes. Those eyes were full of emotion as she sang, making it extremely difficult for him to part with her.

‘An affluent life, and the admiration of a celebrity, all this is so wonderful… What am I still waiting for?’ Leylin could not help but question himself.

But at the same time, the uneasiness in his heart grew stronger, a feeling that he would regret the wrong decision here for the rest of his life.

‘That’s right! My dreams, my goals, my original pursuits, what exactly are they?’ Leylin asked himself repeatedly.

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