Chapter 78: The End
In the end, Night Star didn’t keep Eypar here—who could blame her? After all, she’s just a sweet little loli at heart!
When night fell, Night Lan reunited with Night Star at their cozy little cabin.
The long-awaited meet-up had the two identical little lolis squealing and hugging each other.
“Swapping things up is fun and all, but nothing compares to being in my own body!”
Once satisfied, they released each other and plopped down on the bed, lost in thought.
The more they learned about the stars, the clearer it seemed to Night Star Lan that she had figured out a way back to the future.
Like, for example, they could return tonight!
And just in time for a nice long nap with Eypar, too.
Now that you mention it, there was more than one way to bring Eypar back—one of them involved either Night Star or Night Lan passing out.
They just had to ensure Eypar was snuggled up beside someone snoozing, and that’d do the trick!
One awake, one asleep—Night Star Lan could definitely manage that!
Hey, it was a high-level slacking-off technique! Super convenient!
Thinking about this, Night Lan lay back on the bed and waved at Eypar, who was twirling around in the air.
“Hey, silly ghost girl! It’s bedtime! If you wanna go back, come over here!”
“Yay~!”
With that cue, as Night Lan drifted into sleep mode, Eypar seized the chance and dove right in.
“Heehee~ Night Lan’s body! Smells nice and feels all soft~”
Night Star couldn’t help but twitch her mouth.
This silly ghost was an even bigger loli fan than she was!
No, scratch that—this was downright creepy!
If she hadn’t been afraid they would inexplicably return to the future at that very moment, Night Lan would’ve kicked Eypar out already.
Honestly!
Eventually, as Eypar possessed Night Lan’s body and succumbed to the drowsiness, peace settled in.
Night Star stared outside at the night sky, feeling a knot of anxiety in her stomach.
How was she supposed to deal with all the changes waiting for her in the future?
What a pain!
“Sigh~”
With a gentle sigh, Night Star lay back down next to Night Lan.
It felt like they were about to leave.
All she had to do was close her eyes and take a simple nap to get back to the future.
Things would change—White Paint would no longer be a loli, the singer would no longer be a singer, and everyday life might be completely transformed.
Facing such changes, Night Star wasn’t mentally prepared at all.
She should’ve realized that everything they did here would impact the future; why was she feeling so uneasy?
Just then, a haunting melody drifted into her ears, sending shivers through her heart.
“Ah~♬”
It was Kong Yu Bai’s singing, emanating from who-knows-where but reaching her ears all the same.
Even at night, the song didn’t feel out of place; on the contrary, it suited the environment beautifully, like a lullaby urging her to sleep.
Feeling the emotions behind the song, Night Star curled her lips into a slight smile.
“Oh, so you’re here to bid me farewell?”
Sending someone off with a song—that’s the kind of romance between songstresses, isn’t it?
Just like a poet stirring up words.
Hmm, since Night Star had also been a songstress, she was totally fine with wearing that crown.
With a soft exhale, she relaxed her body.
Since Kong Yu Bai came to see her off, there was no reason to hesitate.
What’s the worst that could happen? Break a few things? Let it be!
With that, Night Star closed her eyes, letting the lullaby from the Blank Songstress usher her into dreamland.
In the next instant, both their bodies began to shimmer with starlight.
Time and space shifted, and everything returned to normal.
…
Morning came.
Night Star and Night Lan opened their sleepy eyes, booting Eypar out of their bodies.
“Did we make it back?”
Eypar stretched, apparently well-versed in the art of sleep.
Night Star glanced at her phone, nodded thoughtfully.
“Yep, we’re back…”
“Yay~!”
Eypar floated around cheerfully, clearly on cloud nine.
She thought she’d be left behind, so getting to return with Night Star and Night Lan was a huge relief!
Once Night Star checked the time, she felt at ease and snuggled back up to Night Lan.
According to the universal law of post-wish sleepiness, it was time for a good rest anyway—Night Star Lan couldn’t drag herself out of bed regardless.
As for the changes the past might have wrought—well, she had no clue yet.
All she knew was, as long as Kong Yu Bai was back, everything else could wait until after her nap.
“Goodnight~”
…
In the next room, Mo Tu found himself deep in thought.
A memory flashed in his mind—the one where Night Star and Night Lan existed in that particular timeline.
Those two little lolis were stirring up all kinds of chaos in a parallel world again.
Compared to before, there had been a huge transformation.
At least he had a blast during that time.
It made him nostalgic for the days he spent as an announcer in the Rising Sun Theater.
After Night Star and Night Lan left, he found himself still working with the Rising Sun Theater, becoming the very first Day Watcher to mysteriously go missing for ages.
Who would’ve thought he’d end up hopping from one Star Eclipse to another alongside a few Ultra Star Eclipses?
Once he donned the concept mask of a Fraudster, his former colleagues no longer recognized him.
Every time the Gentleman and the Fraudster faced off against the Night Watchers, he would sit back and enjoy the show, chuckling to himself.
But after playing around enough, he decided to bow out.
With only four buff dudes left in the theater after the singer took her leave, things had become increasingly unbearable.
“Ah… but it seems the theater now has plenty of interesting new faces. The singer returning, and then a Puppet Master joining in, along with a certain Audience Performer. Should I go back and try to boost my presence?”
That was just idle chit-chat, of course—Mo Tu was merely musing.
Coming back during this time felt a bit off.
He then picked up his phone to check the internet status.
Right now, the world hadn’t been altered all that much. Although the Blank Songstress had returned, she was in a state of retirement, with the new world songstress Qing Liao leading the industry—no one found it strange.
Moreover, the Blank Songstress’ retirement seemed perfectly normal; everyone, including Mo Tu, just accepted it.
Aside from that, the recent revisions appeared to have a twinkle of change.
It seemed like…
“An incomplete revision? Were the supposed existing elements hidden away? The Wish Machine acquired part of the Existence Interference power and added it to the revision force—now that sounds interesting!”
Mo Tu observed the “Night Star” seizing the power of Existence Interference—that must be what happened.
Let’s just say, things were getting increasingly intriguing.
He’d pieced together some of how the Wish Machine worked by now.
To make a wish, one needed to pay an appropriate price and have the consent of either Night Star or Night Lan. Once the wish was fulfilled, it would collect its dues, just like the one-third power of Existence Interference this time.
From what Mo Tu knew, White Fish and Lianhua might’ve made wishes, leaving traces of their essence hidden within Night Star Lan.
The price White Fish had to pay was her mother’s Life Blessing, while Lianhua had to share a good chunk of the rights to Doll City, and now Eypar’s cost was a third of her Existence Interference power.
That price was steep!
Mo Tu couldn’t help but wonder what price he’d have to pay if he made a wish.
He couldn’t possibly hand over his River Map and Lo Sha, could he?
Absolutely not! This star, while not as powerful as a supernova, was still his ticket to fun. Losing it would mean losing all the joy!
“Fine then. I’ll go check the Night Watchers Base to see what’s new.”
With a smirk on his face, Mo Tu happily made his way to the base.
…
Inside the Fish Playing House, it was eerily quiet.
Who knows how long later, Night Star Lan finally felt well-rested.
“Mmm~ That felt amazing! Although I tend to doze off a lot after coming back, a good sleep is still the best…”
Night Star Lan looked around her room and noticed Eypar was nowhere to be found. She must have gone out to play.
Thinking back to when she brought her back, she had kept her cooped up at home for a while and felt a bit guilty about it.
But it seemed like there was no harm done after all.
As long as Eypar could roam freely, all was well.
She just hoped the Night Watchers wouldn’t catch her.
After making a little prayer in her heart, Night Star Lan got up to freshen up and see how reality had been altered.
So, while brushing her teeth, she pulled out her phone to look up information on the Blank Songstress.
“Oh~ Found it!”
According to the info, the Blank Songstress was in a state of retirement, having stepped off the super first-tier songstress list—she probably wouldn’t be doing much in the way of songstress activities anymore.
What’s more, her whereabouts were shrouded in mystery, supposedly employed by a secretive company—definitely classified intel.
There was some good news, though.
With the return of the Blank Songstress, her collection of songs had also resurfaced online.
And as of now, her popularity still hadn’t faded; tons of people were still keen on her voice.
Yep, Night Star Lan was among them! Just the thought of all those beloved songs made her bubble with joy.
Of course, there was also Qing Liao’s work.
The Blank Songstress’s return didn’t affect Qing Liao Songstress’s standing at all.
However… the songstress rankings would probably remain unchanged.
World’s number one would be Blank, and the second would merely be Qing Liao.
Thinking about it, being the eternal runner-up was a tad sad.
Yet Night Star Lan figured Qing Liao probably wouldn’t mind; after all, her idol was Blank—she might even dream of sharing the stage with her someday.
“Mmm~ Truly, can’t go wrong with my two favorite songstresses.”
Night Star Lan was all for Qing Liao, while Night Lan had her heart set on Kong Yu Bai. You could call it dedicated fandom.
They could always trade if need be!
Then Night Lan pulled out her Night Watcher phone, opened the official site, and prepared to check on Kong Yu Bai’s current status.
Online, it was said that the Blank Songstress’s situation was tied to some classified matters, indicating she had become a Night Watcher.
After all, Night Lan simply couldn’t imagine any other reason for the restored Kong Yu Bai to stay at the Rising Sun Theater.
Such a pity that Night Star’s Rising Sun Theater would be down a good member! Sob sob!
“Oh~ Guess it’s true?”
When Night Lan spotted the information about Kong Yu Bai on the Night Watcher’s official site, she thought to herself: Nailed it.
Kong Yu Bai had indeed become a Night Watcher and was located in Yun Chang City.
However, she hadn’t become a Day-level Night Watcher.
Even though she possessed an Extraordinary Star, her abilities didn’t permit her to take on too dangerous missions.
After all, her star had experienced the Eclipse phenomenon before; if it went haywire again, it would be quite the pickle.
Thus, Kong Yu Bai effectively served as a New Star-level Night Watcher at the base, becoming quite popular and occasionally hosting mini-concerts, truly capturing the hearts of the Night Watchers.
Night Watchers from other cities were downright envious.
“Mmm~ That’s good. Now she can still sing for others, and many will remember her; nothing makes me happier than that.”
Night Lan felt thrilled for Kong Yu Bai.
But the singer was probably in for a rough ride!
Sorry, group leader! Your theater just unexpectedly lost a member!
“Mmm, I’ll check on the group later.”
Then Night Lan kept pondering about the Night Watcher base.
She was debating whether or not to visit and how to fool the boss and others she had tricked.
If all went according to plan, her connection to the “Tragic Shadow Theater” would probably come to light.
For that, Night Lan could only wish!
But regardless, escape was not an option.
She had to bite the b*llet and face it!
“Okay~ Let’s go see what’s up…”
Having finished her morning routine, Night Lan slipped into a dress and stepped out the door.
Since having stood on a stage before thousands of audience members, she had become fearless!
…
Arriving at the Night Watchers Base.
Night Lan tiptoed into the building, feeling a smidgen scared.
Being fearless was a lie; old habits d*e hard!
After wandering the halls for a bit, her Night Watcher phone suddenly buzzed.
“Huh?”
She glanced at it and saw that her boss, Xiao Jin, wanted to see her in the nearby meeting room.
Upon reading the message, Night Lan immediately adopted a deflated kitten face.
“Mmm, I haven’t even started sneaking a look yet! How did they know I was here?!”
Looking at things that way, Night Lan had no choice but to head on over.
Worst-case scenario, she’d just play dumb and hope for the best.
Surely, those adults wouldn’t give a hard time to a little loli, right?
That’s how Night Lan figured it would go.
A short while later, she found the door to the meeting room and entered after getting the go-ahead.
Upon stepping inside, Night Lan cast a quick glance.
What she saw made her jaw drop: there were quite a few people present!
Xiao Jin, Wang Chao, Bai Yuan, Mo Tu were all there, alongside seventeen-year-old White Paint and… the one sitting on the sofa with a smile directed at Night Lan—Kong Yu Bai.
Four years ago, the same group had occupied the meeting room, and now, the same faces were still there.
Only Kong Yu Bai and Night Lan hadn’t changed at all.
Mo Tu grinned, “Behold! The main character has arrived! Let’s give her a warm welcome!”
Wang Chao, lounging on the sofa, casually remarked, “How do we welcome her? Throw her in the air and catch her?”
Hearing that made Night Lan feel an overwhelming urge to roll her eyes.
What kind of childish trick was that?
Did she look like a toddler to them?
“Uh, how did you all know I was here? This timing is uncanny.”
Xiao Jin replied, “Kong Yu Bai sensed your presence, which is how we discovered it.”
With that, Night Lan turned to the smiling, silent Kong Yu Bai and tilted her head.
“Is that so?”
Kong Yu Bai nodded softly.
“Only when you’re around can I not ignore your presence. No matter where you are, I can always find you. After all, you saved me.”
“Oh~ If that’s the case, wouldn’t you be unbeatable in hide-and-seek?!”
Night Lan suddenly thought of this, provoking hearty laughter from everyone.
Letting someone with an Extraordinary Star use star power to play hide-and-seek? Now that’s a genius concept!
Only Night Lan could come up with something like that.
“Hahahaha~”
Night Lan chuckled nervously, already feeling embarrassed enough to want to flee.
Still, based on her earlier observation, the atmosphere didn’t feel too serious.
And Kong Yu Bai seemed to be doing just fine.
This brought Night Lan a sense of relief.
Volume Four: Slacking-Off Days
