3 3 304 Dear Selena, I've got another good news. cc82cfff 1 Assets/Product/Texture/Image/BgStory/BgStory00.png 1
4 4 304 My play is almost finished, ready for rehearsal. cc82cfff 1 Assets/Product/Texture/Image/BgStory/BgStory00.png 1
5 5 304 I've also got some bad news. cc82cfff 1 Assets/Product/Texture/Image/BgStory/BgStory00.png 1
6 6 304 I can't complete it yet. There is a haze before me, one that I can't cross alone. cc82cfff 1 Assets/Product/Texture/Image/BgStory/BgStory00.png 1
7 7 304 Unlike the writer's block I had, the harder I tried this time, the more confused the path ahead was. cc82cfff 1 Assets/Product/Texture/Image/BgStory/BgStory00.png 1
8 8 304 So... I've asked Chairman Allen for help, hoping he can offer me some guidance. cc82cfff 1 Assets/Product/Texture/Image/BgStory/BgStory00.png 1 1
9 9 304 How would you feel if you had the chance to see this performance that's based on your story? cc82cfff 1 Assets/Product/Texture/Image/BgStory/BgStory00.png 1
10 10 304 What were you thinking... when you took that probe before the Gray Raven Commandant? cc82cfff 1 Assets/Product/Texture/Image/BgStory/BgStory00.png 1
11 11 304 Were you thinking about what you used to say to your mom? cc82cfff 1 Assets/Product/Texture/Image/BgStory/BgStory00.png 1
12 12 304 "Sacrifices shouldn't just inflict pain. They should inspire bravery... and invoke hope of the calm after the storm." cc82cfff 1 Assets/Product/Texture/Image/BgStory/BgStory00.png 1
26 26 301 The young artist blinks, closing her eyes before opening them again.
27 27 301 In the expansive opera hall, one gentleman sits alone, listening to her going through the script in her hand.
28 28 301 Allen That's alright. You finished the whole thing. I'm still appreciating the aftertaste. 2
29 29 301 The gentleman shrugs, defusing the awkward situation.
30 30 301 Allen I'm just curious why you kept staring at those letters on the side every time you were done with a scene. 2
31 31 301 Allen Letters. Not very common nowadays, aren't they? Are they your source of inspiration? 2
32 32 301 Ayla Not that they aren't... but perhaps I should say... they are what the play is based on? 1
33 33 301 Allen Oh... an autobiography? I should keep my curiosity in check, then. 2
34 34 301 The man knocks on the floor with his cane, his smile slightly shifting.
35 35 204 2
36 36 301 Allen Anyway, I suppose you're looking forward to what I have to say about your play. 2
37 37 301 Allen Well, bravo! Remarkable work for someone new to the art form. 2
38 38 301 Allen A young opera composer meets a group of art-loving kindred spirits on her way to search for a girl, ending up saved by her past self. 2
39 39 301 Allen Journeys of self-discovery aren't uncommon in operas, but it is refreshing to see yours presented this way. 2
40 40 301 Allen Only you can come up with ideas like that, Ayla. 2
41 41 301 Allen Sure, your writing on the children might be a little too assuming, but that's nothing new for young writers. 2
42 42 301 Allen Probably just your first instinct when you were writing, and you didn't realize it. Mark it down, and make sure you don't make the same mistake twice when you go through your draft again. 2
43 43 301 Ayla Thanks, Chairman. But you must know that I'm not looking for simple comments like that. 2
44 44 301 Allen Changes on the script, huh? Don't worry. I more or less got that when you were reading your script. 2
45 45 204 2
46 46 301 Allen But... before I say anything, I must ask you if that's all you want, Ayla? You asked me to listen to your new play just to get my suggestions on changes to make? 2
47 47 204 1 1
48 48 301 Ayla ...Of course not. I... have something else I want to tell you. 1
49 49 301 Ayla lowers her head, her gaze turning to someone at the side.
50 50 301 That person is lying in her chamber, her hands crossing and resting above her abdomen. Her eyes are lightly shut, the corners of her lips slightly raised, her long hair draping by her sides.
51 51 301 Ayla ... 1
52 52 301 Ayla tries to call her by her name.
53 53 301 But she knows that person is not here now.
54 54 301 Allen No matter how many times I've seen it, the Capriccio frame still impresses me with its intricacy. It's only here thanks to your push and design. 2
55 55 301 Allen Did you bring it here because you have a new idea for a coating? 2
56 56 301 Ayla Haha. Nothing that complicated, Chairman. 1
57 57 301 Ayla She's here... just because... because... 1
58 58 204 1 8
59 59 301 Ayla looks nonchalant, but her voice is slightly shaking, and her words are stuck in her throat.
60 60 301 —I just wanted her to be able to see this.
61 61 204 2 1
62 62 301 Allen ...Alright, relax. Let's change the subject. 2
63 63 301 Chuckling, Allen makes a few spins with his cane before standing up from his seat and walking toward the stage.
64 64 301 Allen People in the saloon have been talking about you. They said you kept working late in your studio without sleeping, and they don't really see you that often anymore. 2
65 65 301 Allen They said it wasn't like you, but I think you've just been focusing all your infectious passion on one thing. 2
66 66 204 2
67 67 301 Allen That thing being this "Song of Flowers" you just read, isn't it? 2
68 68 204 1 4
69 69 301 Ayla ...It is. 1
70 70 301 Ayla turns toward the frame by her side again, Ayla's face reflected on the glass of the chamber.
71 71 301 It is a face of affection and regret.
72 72 301 Ayla ...Have you heard of whale songs? 1
73 73 301 Allen You got me there. I once took a probe and stayed by the shore for a few weeks. I was almost frozen to death, but I heard nothing. 2
74 74 204 1 1
75 75 301 Ayla Whoa, another wild thing you've done for art there, Chairman. 1
76 76 204 1
77 77 301 Ayla But that's not what I meant. 1
78 78 202 1 2 1
79 79 401 2 1515
80 80 301 Ayla takes out a remote and opens her portable studio terminal.
81 81 401 1 51
82 82 301 It plays a slow and soft aria.
83 83 301 Allen, with all he has seen and done, is still slightly taken aback when he first hears it.
84 84 301 The tone ebbs and flows as it rises higher. Suddenly, a vast ocean seems to appear before his very eyes.
85 85 301 The female singer is not fully imitating the sound of a real whale, but she conveys the same expression in the melody.
86 86 301 —A lonely blue whale is swinging its tail fin and cruising in the sea. Again and again it sings, its song echoing throughout the ocean depths, but there is no response.
87 87 301 The singing stopped. The song has no end, and the lonely blue whale did not find its kind.
88 88 301 Taking a few moments, Allen remembers where he has heard this aria before.
89 89 201 1 500110 400
90 90 201 2 500111 -400
91 91 301 1 Allen "Practice No. 654"... her unfinished aria. 2
92 92 301 Ayla That's right. The one I have is incomplete. 1
93 93 301 Ayla She said that she hadn't thought of an ending yet because she hasn't seen the ocean with her own eyes. 1
94 94 301 Ayla She'd write the second half after she'd seen the real ocean. 1
95 95 301 Ayla ...Just like this. 1
96 96 202 2 1
97 97 201 1 500110
98 98 301 1 Ayla clears her throat and holds up her arms, suddenly singing with a gentle voice.
99 99 301 The tone also rises, but the direction the whale is heading has changed.
100 100 301 Ayla is not a skilled singer, but even her simple delivery has revealed to Allen the meaning behind the melody.
101 101 301 —The lonely blue whale is heading deeper into the ocean. It is still singing, and its voice would have formed a cage around it as it echoes more frequently in the narrow trench.
102 102 301 But the cage never forms. Instead, the further it dives into the trench, the more faded its voice is, its echo nowhere to be found.
103 103 301 Almost as if the whale is not diving into the ocean trench but a broader... universe.
104 104 301 It can no longer find its tribe, its kind, or even life.
105 105 301 And the whale is eventually torn apart by the gravity of the void. Its voice gradually fades until its last wail is silent.
106 106 301 The song ends. Ayla stops singing.
107 107 301 She gives Allen a brief moment to savor the aria before speaking again.
108 108 203 1 0.25 400
109 109 201 2 500111 -400
110 110 204 1 4
111 111 301 1 Ayla Do you still remember Operation Red Tide, Chairman? 1
112 112 301 Allen I do. That was her... 2
113 113 301 Allen does not finish. No one wants to be reminded how it ended.
114 114 301 Ayla does not continue his sentence as well. She keeps on going.
115 115 301 Ayla During that operation, a scout from Strike Hawk recorded the song from the Corrupted... Siren, in order to compare it with our data. 1
116 116 301 Ayla A long time after that, Babylonia's sonar detected a surprising recording. After checking, its sound wave closely resembles Siren's song. 1
117 117 301 Ayla A... friend from the Task Force told me about that. I pulled some strings, hoping to get ahold of the recording... but what I got was an audio file with white noise and disordered sounds. 1
118 118 301 Ayla But I had a feeling I know who sang that response. 1
119 119 301 Ayla I repaired the audio file. It's a skill every member of the Archaeological Team knows. 1
120 120 301 Ayla This song was what it ended up being. 1
121 121 301 As she says that, Ayla holds up her remote to her ear as if she can hear the whale song again.
122 122 301 Ayla People from the Science Council told me it's impossible to detect and trace the source. 1
123 123 301 Ayla For one thing, sonic waves decay, causing discrepancies in tracking. Our radar can only point at a general location. Secondly, it took time for the song to reach us. By the time we received the file, the singer could be long gone. 1
124 124 301 Ayla We can't trace it, But I can't help but wonder who the singer might be. Did our receiver mistake white noise for a whale song? Was it an unknown machine playing music randomly? Or... was it a lament from a lonely blue whale left behind on Earth? 1
125 125 301 Ayla The technicians gave me different theories, but I only believed in one of them. 1
126 126 301 Ayla That was her signal. That was her whale song.
127 127 301 Ayla pauses again, looking at the sleeping frame beside her. There is a metallic iris blossoming on the frame's chest, an adornment for her performance.
128 128 301 Ayla You might be wondering why I pushed for the development of this frame. 1
129 129 301 Ayla It was because I wanted the whale song to continue. I want to use that song from Earth to make sure her voice doesn't end. 1
130 130 401 2 1515
131 131 301 Ayla turns on her terminal again, revealing a map before Allen. Several circles dotted the map like seeds spread onto the field.
132 132 301 Ayla Whenever we located an area where her whale song appeared, I would imagine what she had experienced when she traveled there. 1
133 133 301 Ayla Did she meet someone kind or dangerous? Would she encounter threatening tempests? 1
134 134 301 Ayla Did she see the turfy mountains where the sheep nibbled? The banks with pioned and twilled brims? The... rainbow across the sky after the tempests? 1
135 135 301 Ayla I put all these imaginations and sceneries along her journey into the Capriccio frame. 1
136 136 301 Ayla If the person in my story walks the same path and meets the same people as the wanderer on the surface... 1
137 137 301 Ayla Then, when she comes back, she will know that there has always been another whale song from Capriccio following her. 1
138 138 301 Ayla She will know that someone out there in the stars has been humming her whale song, wishing her the best on the planet she loves so much. 1
139 139 301 Ayla In the years to come, she will realize her journey wasn't alone when she looks back. 1
140 140 301 Ayla She might chuckle, teasing me about how the character arcs of my story are wrong while we modify her frame together. 1
141 141 301 Ayla I couldn't save her a few years ago. I can't find the whereabouts of that whale song now. The least I can do is give her a pleasant future. 1
142 142 301 Ayla She gave me a soul with her Hamlet. This fragment of her soul has comforted me, so I must repay this kindness. 1
143 143 301 Allen So you decided to write a story based on her past, didn't you? 2
144 144 301 Allen You visited a few people who knew her during your time away from the saloon. I guessed that when you came to me with all your questions a few days ago. 2
145 145 301 Ayla Nothing gets past you, Chairman. 1
146 146 301 Ayla Her mind is so... alive. To recover her work, I had to find others to talk about what she was thinking back then. 1
147 147 301 Ayla I was just surprised to find that commandant to be one of the people who knew her well... Oh, that's a secret. You didn't hear that. 1
148 148 301 Ayla Regardless, I thought I knew her, but knowing the journey she has traveled now, I just... want to hold her and tell her how I feel. 1
149 149 204 1 8
150 150 301 Ayla I want to tell her that the theater she wanted to visit on the surface has a replica here on Babylonia.
151 151 301 Ayla I want to tell her that the opera she wrote is still well-loved. Many people l longing for the day it appears on the stage again. It's still the pride of her mother... and me.
152 152 301 Ayla I want to tell her how many people are listening to the operas she recovered.
153 153 301 Ayla I want to tell her that... the song she sang in that lonely space station has been found...
154 154 301 Ayla I want to tell her I saw her pain and her strength... I saw her spirit quaking inside the tempest, bent but not broken.
155 155 204 1 4
156 156 301 Ayla But she wasn't here... What else could I do?
157 157 301 Ayla I... had to put them into this story!
158 158 301 Ayla I started writing "Song of Flowers" when the signal of the whale song started heading toward the ruins of the Great Evacuation site.
159 159 301 Ayla I came up with a story based on what happened when she was young, using conservation area 184 as a stage... But this time, I let her become a character in her own story as well.
160 160 301 Ayla I mixed in a lot of different ideas and settings, but most of the characters in the story have real-life counterparts. Their names will be changed for the performance, obviously. 1
161 161 301 Allen Counterparts... I guess the most obvious one was her father, Mr. Florance. He was a legend in WGAA. 2
162 162 301 Allen A person in high places, he joined the fight after being inspired by art... until his honorable death on the field. What happened to him might have greatly affected his daughter, but it took a much bigger toll on his wife. 2
168 168 301 Allen Mrs. Florance spent a lot of time in counseling. Her illness... possibly originated from her survivor's guilt. Compound that with losing her husband and having to care for her child, she turned away from operas.
175 175 301 1 Ayla She did become very repressed during that period of time. 1
176 176 301 Ayla But Mrs. Florance stopped visiting counselors one day while still recovering pretty well afterward. The first time I saw her, she was with someone accepting, and her daughter was singing a lullaby with her. There was only love in her gaze. 1
177 177 301 Ayla She worked hard for all of it. 1
178 178 301 Ayla She talked to her mother for a very long time after that. I don't know what she said that changed her mother's mind, but she was allowed to study operas after that. 1
179 179 301 Ayla One day, she "ran away" to this very theater. When her mother found her, she was performing Mr. Florance's last work as a one-person performance. 1
180 180 301 Ayla It wasn't the first time she "ran away," but that was the only time she had the courage and the words to face her mother's pain. 1
181 181 301 Ayla She said it was thanks to someone who found her performing alone during one of her escapes and offered her guidance. 1
182 182 301 Ayla I don't know who he or she was... but if that person could see this performance, I hope the story will serve as my thanks. 1
183 183 204 2 1
184 184 301 Allen Haha. I'm sure that person would see it if fate allows. 2
185 185 301 Ayla Right... Another person on which I based one of my characters is Mr. Pieter, but I'm sure you've guessed it already. 1
186 186 301 Ayla Even with all the talented people I've seen, he is still second to none. The operas he wrote have inspired many writers in WGAA, including her. 1
187 187 301 Ayla I was surprised to find a famous playwright from the Golden Age buried in the army—wait, no. He stressed to me quite a few times that he wasn't "buried." This was his choice. 1
188 188 301 Ayla It took me some effort to find him and tell him this story... and he agreed to help me with my script after seeing Selena's. I couldn't have finished this without his help. 1
189 189 204 2
190 190 301 Allen And Pieter was one of the reasons why you came to me when your script was still unpolished, right? 2
192 192 301 Ayla has been like a feral rabbit jumping around since Allen came here to listen to her story. She moves on from topic to topic, and he has acted like a patient guide, following and responding but never stopping her in her way.
193 193 301 But now, this guide has stepped ahead of the rabbit and planted a fence before her, stopping her from avoiding her past.
194 194 204 1 1
195 195 301 Ayla Hah... I can't hide anything from you, can I? I didn't want to mention it. 1
196 196 301 Allen Artists' eyes are sharp. You are quite insightful yourself. 2
197 197 204 1
198 198 301 Allen But then, it wasn't hard to tell. I thought she was the protagonist of this story in the beginning, but there was a lack of her self-reflection in it. On the other hand, Pieter's role was very much highlighted. 2
199 199 301 Allen It wasn't a wrong arrangement, per se, but it didn't feel like what a new writer like you would do. 2
200 200 202 1 2 1
201 201 301 Ayla sighs.
202 202 201 1 500110
203 203 301 1 Ayla True, it wasn't my style. But I charged toward it blindly. 1
204 204 301 Ayla I didn't think I'd feel this way, but the first time I tried to write a story like that, I was drowned in that feeling. 1
205 205 301 Ayla She would have called it... 1
206 206 301 Ayla raises a hand, moving it tentatively, seemingly trying to plug the right word from her M.I.N.D. Or perhaps she has found the word, but she is hesitant to say it.
207 207 301 Ayla Lost. 1
208 208 301 After a while, she drops her hand.
209 209 301 Ayla Right... Lost in the paints of my brushstrokes, in the words of my lines. They melt away from my canvas and fall from my script, traveling along my brush toward my arm, coagulating on my hand. 1
210 210 301 Ayla Not that I never struggled to pick up my pen, but I never thought I would be a stranger to my canvas and my script. I can't even imagine what this painting and this play will look like when it's complete. 1
211 211 301 Ayla I wondered many times what happened to her on the premiere of "The Acadia Evacuation" that put her on the battlefield. 1
212 212 301 Ayla In the end, I attributed it to "pride"... That's my guess. 1
213 213 301 Ayla But is that the truth? Their stories and their insights... have I understood them? 1
214 214 301 Ayla Or have I twisted them so that I get the ending I wanted? 1
215 215 301 Ayla Every time I step before my canvas, my head is filled with all these doubts. 1
216 216 301 Ayla I started to lose sight of what her character would think in my story. 1
217 217 301 Ayla So I avoided writing what she thought and just had her push the plot forward blindly. 1
218 218 301 Ayla I wanted to ask Mr. Pieter for help, but I just found out that his transmission was lost near a conservation area... It was conservation area 184, near the evacuation site, where the whale song was last heard. 1
219 219 301 Ayla I was even more lost after I heard the news. 1
220 220 301 Ayla To be honest, I haven't made any changes since I wrote this ending. I've been trapped by this feeling for days. 1
221 221 301 Ayla I can't take this... motionlessness anymore. All my muses will be gone if I don't talk to somebody. 1
222 222 301 Ayla So say something, Chairman. I'm sick of drowning in this still water. 1
223 223 301 With that, the rabbit stops, standing still on the stage, reaching out for Allen, asking her guide to point her in the right direction.
224 224 301 And Allen already has an answer.
225 225 201 1 500111
226 226 301 1 Allen Then, let me answer you with the scenes from your story. 1
227 227 301 Allen Neither Flora, her father, Pieter, nor she was aware of the whole truth in your story. But they weren't motivated by truth. 1
228 228 301 Allen They each set off on their path because they were inspired when they were moved by the stories they heard. Stories written by someone else. 1
229 229 301 Allen That was their motivation. That was what drove their actions, am I right? 1
230 230 301 Allen That was why you started writing this story, wasn't it? 1
231 231 201 1 500110
232 232 301 1 Ayla Hmm... 1
233 233 201 1 500111
234 234 301 1 Allen You visited the people she knew to learn about her story. If I guessed correctly, you have memorized every event and analyzed her character at each point in time. 1
235 235 301 Allen You've walked her path, and you've looked into her bountiful heart. You know what kind of pressure made her lose her way, and you know how she held on when she was lost. 1
236 236 301 Allen You said you had her push the plot forward blindly? No. You've made her come to life. 1
237 237 301 Allen If this is just a story with a happy ending, then it would have ended with the two Constructs entering the theater and saving Flora. 1
238 238 301 Allen But you had Flora opposing her future self, inspiring and freeing each other. I think she would have chosen the same if she saw her past self as well. 1
239 239 301 Allen Perhaps a story where a person's past and future selves meet won't happen in real life, but you have given each of your characters a soul, and they have all expressed themselves to the fullest. 1
240 240 301 Allen Maybe you didn't create her completely. But then, you know full well that the complete her doesn't belong in a story. 1
241 241 301 Allen This is enough. If they can express how you feel, that is enough. 1
242 242 301 Allen I think she would say the same if she were here. 1
243 243 301 Allen "You already created the work you wanted to make, Ayla." 1
244 244 201 1 500110
245 245 301 1 Ayla ...Is that so? 1
246 246 301 Ayla Please excuse me for a second, Chairman. 1
247 247 201 1 500111
248 248 301 1 Allen Of course. 1
249 249 202 1 2 1
250 250 301 Allen nods, and Ayla turns silent, taking a deep breath.
251 251 301 The "excuse me" is not just because Ayla needs to stop the conversation. She also needs to create the right environment.
258 258 301 Ayla waves her hand, and the lights of the theatre turn off on her command one by one. Darkness spreads from the audience to the stage, stopping at a ray of light.
259 259 301 Ayla stands in the middle of the spotlight as if she is the source of light.
260 260 301 Ayla is always good at turning strange environments into her working space. Right now, the single ray of the spotlight in the dark has provided her with a small studio for her to think.
261 261 301 Ayla would probably feel too embarrassed to do this if someone else was in the audience. The sudden darkness can be, after all, quite uncomfortable.
262 262 301 But Allen seems to be used to Ayla doing this by now. He looks pleased instead of dismayed as he watches the rabbit standing inside the spotlight, her head raised.
263 263 201 1 500110
264 264 301 1 Ayla (Exhales) ... 1
265 265 301 AniZhuanchangBegin Ayla does not focus on the dark. She follows the slowly unveiling stars and turns her gaze to the window walls of the theater.
269 269 301 AniZhuanchangEnd A whole window of stars fills her eyes.
270 270 502 RImgBg1BlowUp
271 271 301 Once, Ayla would see that starry night and find it boring.
272 272 301 Those stars are so far away. Only one can actually reach her, and who knows how long ago its light started traveling.
273 273 301 The stars burn themselves so brightly, casting their photons into space in all directions.
274 274 301 The photons travel far and long, sailing forward in the cold for ages until they hit a surface, imprinting the brief image of their stars before getting reflected and scattered. By then, those stars might already have burnt out and died.
275 275 301 Would the stars have expected a response for their light? Is a response even possible?
276 276 301 Right now, looking at the countless, lonely stars out there, Ayla suddenly feels a sense of gratitude.
277 277 301 Unlike them, the light she casts is so much closer to her, almost reachable.
278 278 301 That light is cast on the blue planet below her, and she is gently singing.
279 279 301 Ayla has created this story. It focuses all her inspiration and gives life to the girl in her story.
280 280 301 Ayla's starlight and her longing have been cast on Earth. One day, they will reach the girl.
281 281 301 How long will that take? A day? A month? Years? Ayla does not know. Her light does not have to travel lightyears, but it has to traverse uncertainty.
282 282 301 Thinking about that, Ayla raises her hands. The studio terminal awakes once more, opening a holographic display before her under her commands.
283 283 301 She swipes across the display, hoping to open the map with the trails of the whale song. Instead, a photo of a smiling girl standing among bushes of flowers appears before Ayla.
294 294 301 AniZhuanchangEnd —The distance of time, is it? Right... it is a shame, then. But even lost civilizations leave behind traces. They would have a long time to appreciate the marks we left behind.
295 295 301 —As long as we keep looking, the light of our art still travels across the universe... Then one day we will meet.
296 296 301 —For a second, the lines Ayla wrote echo within her.
297 297 301 Why? She wrote those words, but why does she only understand them now?
298 298 301 The gaze that travels between the display and the starry night lands on the sleeping girl in the chamber unintentionally.
299 299 301 Ayla ...Hah. Of course. Because I didn't write them all by myself.
300 300 301 AniZhuanchangBegin The girl's quiet smile has given Ayla the answer.
302 302 301 AniZhuanchangEnd That line was not entirely Ayla's work.
303 303 301 They were the girl's words, written through Ayla from a memory.
304 304 301 Ayla's fingers linger on the terminal, touching her painting. For a brief moment there, her hand seems to travel through the canvas and reaches the field of flowers thousands of miles away.
305 305 301 —If she cannot tell how far it is, then she will keep shining until her light reaches the girl's eyes.
306 306 301 So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, so long lives this and this gives life to thee.
307 307 301 Ayla takes a deep breath again and raises her hand.
311 311 301 The theater gradually lights up again. Allen looks at her with anticipation.
312 312 201 1 500110
313 313 301 1 Ayla ...Thank you, Chairman. 1
314 314 301 Ayla I'm feeling much better. 1
315 315 301 Responding to her guide's expectations, she smiles confidently.
316 316 203 1 0.25 400
317 317 201 2 500111 1 -400
318 318 301 1 Allen That's the smile I'm hoping for. You're back. 2
319 319 301 Allen How do the folks in the saloon say it... "This is the smile of the blunt, unclouded Ayla, who puts all of herself on her canvas!" 2
320 320 301 Ayla Haha! No way, your imitation is perfect! 1
321 321 301 Ayla I'll visit the saloon after I'm done polishing this script. Please send them my regards when you visit them. 1
322 322 301 Allen Of course. 2
323 323 301 Ayla Well... I still have another problem to consider... How should I do the background story? Maybe I can put it online so the audience can read them for free... 1
324 324 204 1 1
325 325 301 Ayla Oh, hold on, I got it. Need to do it more cleverly... 1
326 326 301 Ayla Ah-ha! An idea just hit me, Chairman. I've got to go! Thanks for your help. I still need to work on the frame later, so I'll just put it here for now! 1
327 327 301 Ayla jumps down the stage in a few steps, dashing out of the theater to her actual studio.
328 328 202 1 1
329 329 301 Seeing the rabbit-like figure leaving, Allen turns his gaze back to the stage.
336 336 301 The first opera that girl composed premiered on that stage a few years ago. She stood alone against the tempest with a standing ovation as the backdrop.
342 342 301 AniZhuanchangBegin Another musical might soon premiere on that stage in a few months. This time, it will tell the story of another girl's longing.
343 343 201 1 500111 1
344 344 301 AniZhuanchangEnd 1 Allen (Exhales) ...Wasn't planning to be nostalgic now. 1
345 345 301 Allen smiles at the stage, his words light and ethereal as if he is whispering to a mysterious spirit beside him who has traveled lightyears.
346 346 301 Allen Young Selena... When I met her here, I wasn't that mature a writer either, and my comments barely held water. I didn't expect it would inspire her. 1
347 347 301 For a moment, Allen seems to find himself back in the field of flowers years ago, when he was also like a rabbit, running on the field unrestricted, followed by a gentle guide who watches him with a similar gaze to his now.
348 348 301 Allen Ha. Seeds planted unexpectedly have now grown into an ocean of flowers. 1
349 349 301 1 AniZhuanchangBegin Allen I wonder what you would think when you see them after you sent me on this path, Mr. Florance? 1
