Chapter 499 - 497: To Stay

Onstage, Jiang Qin, still in her regular clothes, stood before the microphone.

Lan Yuyan was in charge of the lighting, while Yuan Ling was at the back, managing the background tracks and other tasks.

Everyone else had their own jobs. Only the great tree stood as the sole audience member in the venue.

Once everything was ready, the sound system played the opening notes of the accompaniment.

Under the dim lights, Jiang Qin began to sing:

"The river of stars hangs in the sky, protecting the brilliant moon

And you, in my heart, are like the moonlight

For you I’m crazy, for you I’m wild, for you I smile, for you I charge ahead

...

She is the fantasy that shattered the stars and fell into my dreams..."

Jiang Qin’s voice was ethereal yet powerful.

This female version of "Fallen" was like a celestial voice piercing through the starry sky.

It was especially captivating in the vast, empty hall, where her voice echoed beautifully.

A paparazzi photographer, hiding in the shadows to take pictures, had never expected this. He just wanted to snap a few beautiful photos of Jiang Qin, but he had stumbled upon such a scene.

Desperate for traffic and thinking about the recent rumors, he gritted his teeth and secretly started a live stream.

The title was: "A Front-Row Seat at Jiang Qin’s Concert."

The Jiang Fan flew into a rage the moment they saw the title. Everyone knew how busy Qin Bao was lately; how could she possibly be holding a concert?

Besides, if there was a concert, it made no sense that they, her fans, wouldn’t know about it.

Some with inside information knew even more; it was possible that Qin Bao had already been evacuated.

They were part of the second evacuation group, so they knew a group had already left much earlier.

Although they didn’t know what was happening, they knew that an evacuation meant it had to be a life-or-death situation.

That’s why they were so angry. At a time like this, someone was still trying to pull a scam.

And so, a huge crowd flooded into the live stream.

However, before they could type out their angry comments, they heard a familiar voice and saw a familiar face.

The beautiful, cool-tempered female on stage, with that hint of fragility—wasn’t that their Qin Bao?!

Everyone paused their planned attacks, and their tone did a complete 180:

[Is this a recording of Qin Bao?]

[Probably not. It says it’s a live stream.]

[Then it’s probably a concert rehearsal. After all, there’s no one there. Doesn’t that mean this streamer is secretly filming?]

[...There is someone. Look, isn’t there a tree in the audience?]

[It’s just a tree, probably a prop. Everyone, hurry up and report this streamer. Don’t let him film too much of Qin Bao’s rehearsal.]

As much as they wanted to hear the song, they weren’t about to defend this kind of secret filming.

So, not only did they report him, but someone also directly called the Law Enforcement Department.

But even with multiple reports, the platform wasn’t unreasonable; they had to verify the claims before banning the account.

So everyone decided to stay, wait for the outcome, and listen to the music in the meantime.

Onstage, Jiang Qin had already begun her second song.

A faint, sorrowful melody flowed from her lips...

Down below, the great tree felt as if its entire being was stretching out as it listened to her songs. It was truly magical.

It found her small body even more peculiar.

’Why is she so tiny, yet able to produce such a beautiful sound?’

’These little things don’t seem to live very long. I’ve secretly watched them before. The lives of every little thing seem quite short.’

’They disappear quickly, and then a new batch appears.’

’If Jiang Qin disappears quickly too, won’t I never be able to hear this beautiful sound again?’

The great tree grew worried.

By the time Jiang Qin grew tired and stopped, the live stream had long been shut down, and the paparazzi photographer had been quietly taken away.

Not all the Federation’s high-ranking officials, you see, were cowards who clung to life and feared death.

Many officials hadn’t left. Instead, they chose to stay behind to maintain order on the Main Star. After all, the people who remained still had to live.

So, although the Law Enforcement Department was in a bit of chaos, there were still people on duty.

They had known what Jiang Qin was doing here for a while and admired her immensely.

As a High-level female, she had absolutely no obligation to do this, yet she did it anyway.

Everyone was very grateful to her.

If not for Jiang Qin insisting that no one stand guard—lest they anger the tree and die in vain—they wouldn’t have all evacuated the venue, leaving an opening for that reporter to slip through.

However, this matter wasn’t exactly a state secret. After all, no matter the outcome, the Federation would certainly publicize everything Jiang Qin had done for the people.

That was why security hadn’t been overly tight.

...

Seeing that Jiang Qin had stopped singing, the great tree asked, confused, "Why have you run out of the pretty sound again?"

"I’m tired. We humans need to rest. If we get too tired, we can get sick or even die. Just like that corpse you dragged over—we stop moving, forever."

’Never moving again meant disappearing!’

The great tree had a sudden realization. ’So that’s why those little things change from one batch to the next. Did the previous batch just get tired and die?’

’It’s just like that one race that lives in Deep Space. Because they keep moving and moving, they eventually stop moving forever!’

"Then you should move less in the future, so you don’t disappear so quickly."

Suddenly thinking of something, the little tree turned an extremely vibrant green and began to emit a fluorescent green glow.

Then, a small, cyan fruit appeared on one of its branches.

A vine curled around the fruit and offered it to Jiang Qin.

"You eat."

"What is this?"

"It’s something that can make you exist for longer. I want you to exist for longer."

Jiang Qin understood. After a moment’s hesitation, she ate it.

The sapling instantly became cheerful.

It then said, "I want to live at your house and listen to the pretty sound. When you can’t move anymore, then I’ll leave."

Hearing this, Jiang Qin was already mentally prepared.

’Considering how much it loved her singing, the fact that it hadn’t just kidnapped her and tied her to its trunk to sing day and night was already quite gentle of it.’

’It’s better that it’s willing to follow me and listen. That way, I won’t have to be on edge all the time.’

So she agreed, but she gently laid down some ground rules without explicitly stating them as such.

She just coaxed it, saying, "I’d be happy to have you as a guest at my house, but your body is too big, and you’re too powerful.

I’m afraid that if you accidentally swing a branch, I’ll die. So, can you promise me you’ll always stay small?"

The sapling compared its body to Jiang Qin’s.

’She really is fragile. Of course, her whole species is fragile. Little things like this... I could kill a whole bunch of them just by passing by.’

Thinking about her voice, it couldn’t bear the thought of losing it, so it agreed. "Okay."

Afraid of accidentally breaking its little toy, it even took the initiative to add, "You should teach me what to do so I don’t break you.

I’m willing to listen to you, so you won’t stop moving so quickly."

Jiang Qin hadn’t expected it to be so cooperative.

So she told it many things, such as not growing big, not using its vines, and so on.

The sapling agreed to all of it.

"Then I’ll get even smaller and hang on your head without moving. That way, I can go into semi-hibernation, and I won’t accidentally trample you to death."