Chapter 49.1

“You are a deity,” the director said.

“I am a deity,” Xu Heran nodded.

“You woke up from slumber. Your followers discovered your awakening, and they spread your name as they walked the earth. But you slept for too long and became an indifferent deity,” the director said seriously.

Xu Heran asked seriously, “Why does sleeping for a long time make emotions become indifferent? Was I an emotionally rich deity before I slept? Where did my feelings go after sleeping?”

“Smack.”

A fair hand pat on Xu Pearl’s head, Xin Nuo’s expressionless, “Listen to the director.”

“Alright.” Xu Pearl nodded, looking at the director skeptically, her eyes signaling, “Go on.”

“…Thank you. Where was I—oh, because of losing your emotions and not valuing your subjects, you are a distant deity. You watch your subjects’ struggles from a high position, detached and cold-hearted. And due to your indifference, you contribute to your subjects’ suffering.”

Xu Heran: “Wow.”

“I’m so bad!” Xu Pearl held her heart.

Haya patted her shoulder, “You bad bad.”

“Smack.”

“Smack.”

“…”

“…Thank you,” the director pushed up his glasses, “In any case, to rekindle your emotions and reignite your passion for the earth, the city’s subjects offer sacrifices to the deity.”

The director glanced at the beautiful girls in snow-white lace dresses.

“At first, the deity wasn’t interested in these sacrifices. The deity kept these girls locked in the garden until one day, while passing by the garden, the deity met one of the girls and became interested in her. The deity became entangled with humans… Do you have anything you want to ask?”

Xu Heran lowered her raised arm, excited and eager, “How were they entangled?”

Director: “…”

He turned to another girl who had raised her hand.

Jiang Qiong curiously asked, “This deity has caused the people immense suffering, yet instead of wanting to get rid of this deity, they offer sacrifices to her. Isn’t that foolish?”

“Why did the deity lock them in the garden? Wouldn’t they starve to death? Outdoors, right? How do they eat, drink dew?” Haya felt bewildered, “And in the time span of a year between the divine realm and the mortal world, if the deity abandoned them in the garden and didn’t care, wouldn’t the people on Earth have disappeared a long time ago? So, even if they offer sacrifices, wouldn’t it be useless?”

Xu Heran strongly empathized, nodding.

Remaining members of SGS: “…”

Though your questions make sense, this is acting!

Director: “…………”

The director clutched his chest, “Anyway, that’s roughly it! Let’s start shooting. Let’s aim to finish the first song’s MV tonight!”

“Alright.” The three “inquiring” girls walked to the studio with their minds full of confusion.

Holding hands, everyone in line, Xu Heran said to Xin Nuo, who was leading, “Nuo Nuo, if I were that deity, I definitely wouldn’t lock you up in a garden.”

Xin Nuo nodded, “Yeah, please let me go in by myself.”

“Hey!” Xu Heran felt hurt by Xin Nuo’s lack of cooperation. Xu Pearl squinted her eyes and teased, “Since you want to be locked up, I’ll get a big cage and lock you inside.”

The director walking beside them brightened his eyes, thinking this idea was good. He waved his hand to have someone find a golden cage.

Xin Nuo: “…”

“What I mean is, without a deity as ’emotionally rich’ as you, I don’t think no matter how long you sleep, you won’t become indifferent when you wake up.” Xin Nuo explained softly, “If it were really possible, how many meals would you need to sleep this long?”

A string of laughter from behind: “Hahaha!”

“Hmph!”

Xu Pearl turned her head, grimaced, and exclaimed loudly, “Well then, I’ll still lock you up in the garden. You foolish mortals deserve some punishment!”

“Oh, by the way, if you’re locked up in the garden, will you be wearing clothes?”

“Who doesn’t wear clothes in an MV shoot!” Jiang Qiong raised her foot and kicked her butt.

Xu Heran immediately explained, “I’m talking about the story. Who said anything about reality! In the story, weren’t Adam and Eve both naked in the Garden of Eden? If you’re locked in a deity’s garden, why wouldn’t you be naked?”

Jian Yueyin said, “I see your forehead shining. I want to give it a tap.”

“Hehehe.”

Everyone entered the studio with several set scenes, releasing hands one by one with increasing disdain. Xu Heran raised both hands.

“My foolish subjects, feel my divine power!”

Xin Nuo raised her hand and slapped the divine power’s butt.

Everyone arrived at the location for the first scene. The director had Xu Heran sit on the divine throne with a green cloth behind it. The young director reminded her, “You must be indifferent, merciless, and not smiling, got it?”

“Don’t worry.” Xu Heran snapped her fingers.

She was dressed in an intricate and heavy deity robe, her hair curled into waves, adorned with a silver deity crown. With her hands outstretched, she solemnly ascended the throne. Several crew members rushed over, adjusting her hem and placing various mysterious-looking props around the divine throne.

The other seven people stood cheerfully outside the green fabric, watching Xu Heran.

“Alright, now begin the sleep scene,” the director said.

Xu Heran leaned her elbows on the divine throne, her slender fingers against her fair cheek. A makeup artist rushed over to fix her hair. Xu Heran’s eyelashes were coated in silver-white mascara, enhancing their already long length. The ends of her eyes drew a silver mysterious pattern, and her forehead was adorned with a diamond tiara, including under her eyes. Her face, positioned closer to the top, was adorned with water diamonds.

The makeup artist touched up her lipstick, adjusted her hair, and hurriedly stepped back. The seven girls immediately walked behind the director, looking at the person on the monitor.

On the screen, a nearly perfect profile appeared.

“Wow.” Jiang Qiong couldn’t help but hold her hand, saying, “It feels like that.”

“This kind of Little Pearl seems a bit hard to approach,” Laurel said.

The director lifted a megaphone and shouted, “Get ready.”

All the crew members in the studio began to move, adjusting the lighting, setting up the cameras…

“Listen to my instructions. Ms. Xu, flutter your eyelashes lightly, then slowly open your eyes, very slowly. Keep your body and face still and use your gaze to sweep over the audience below,” the director explained, afraid that Xu Heran wouldn’t understand.

“Three, two…”

Inside the studio, the music of 《Follow Me》 played in a loop, synchronized with the MV shoot. An additional segment of dramatic music was intentionally added to the beginning of the original track.

Dressed crew members stood in front of the camera.

“One.”

“Action!”

“Snap!”

Amid a gentle feminine hum, the deity seated high on the throne closed her eyes tightly. She slumbered like this, unaware of the passing time. Behind her, the sun and moon revolved, until one day, at a certain moment, the hourglass “dinged,” and the final grain of sand fell. The deity’s eyelashes quivered lightly.

People on the earth felt the changes in the sky and raised their heads to the blue sky.

The deity opened her eyes.

First came a faint blue light, slowly, ever so slowly, the deity raised her silver-white long lashes. It was as if her soul was gradually reviving with the gentle lift of her lashes. More and more dense and profound colors emerged—like the deep sea, like the sky, like the unfolding of a nighttime scene. A shallow yet mysterious purple pattern flowed through the scene.

This dreamlike scene caused those behind the camera to hold their breath involuntarily. They gazed upon the deity’s eyes through the passage of time and technology. Suddenly, the deity’s pupils shifted.

Her face resembled an age-old iceberg, frigid and bone-chilling, impossible to directly face. Only her gem-like eyes abruptly turned forward, locking onto the lens, coldly meeting the eyes of those behind it.

Collision.

“…”

Amidst an utter silence, Xin Nuo’s heart felt as if it had been fiercely clenched. She was somewhat entranced, looking at the camera’s portrayal of those emotionless eyes. Due to their overwhelming indifference, the exquisitely beautiful and familiar visage turned into something oddly foreign in an instant.

“Oh…”

Among the crowd, someone sighed softly. They were accustomed to Xu Heran’s antics, her playfulness- accustomed to her cheerful and lively demeanor. However, when she used these divinely-given eyes to gaze upon the “earth” devoid of emotion, everyone felt like ants beneath the deity’s throne. They could only look up to the deity, awaiting her mercy.

In the throne, the deity slowly rose, her voluminous sleeves swaying gently, revealing her fair fingertips. Her hand hung down, as though holding an invisible flower. Yet, as she touched the imaginary bloom, the intangible flower suddenly plummeted, disintegrating into fragments that fell at the deity’s feet.

Three seconds later.

“Alright, cut!” The director stood up excitedly, clapping his hands. “Very good, excellent!”

“Teacher Xu performed too well. At this rate, we’ll be able to finish shooting quickly!”

The director’s words were like shattering a mirror in the void, breaking the glass barrier between reality and fantasy with a resounding “crack.” Tiny fragments of glass scattered and quietly landed in some people’s hearts.

Subconsciously, Xin Nuo lifted her hand and touched her ear, watching Xu Heran holding up her skirt, smirking her lips, and strolling leisurely.

She had grown much taller than Xin Nuo, just as she had become increasingly adept at lifting Xin Nuo up, and Xin Nuo had grown accustomed to looking up at her.

“This dress is a bit heavy,” Xu Heran said. She smiled and asked, “So, how do I look? Am I okay?”

Others immediately raised their thumbs. “More than okay, you’re fantastic!”

“Hmm, feeling a bit pressured, why can Xu Pearl do everything so well?” Jiang Qiong crossed her arms, “We’re all members of the Woof Woof Squad, why are you so outstanding!”

“That’s right!” Xu Heran proudly puffed her chest. “In the Pearl family, we’ve got some skills to show off.”

Xin Nuo raised her hand and brushed a strand of hair that had fallen onto Xu Heran’s chest, saying with a smile, “Well, you’ve taken more beatings than anyone else, too.”

Xu Heran: “Well, that doesn’t need to be brought up.”

The group laughed and moved to the next scene.

The next scene was a group shot. The other seven girls wore white dresses and were busy working in the grass, arranging flowers… doing their own things. This time, it was Xu Heran’s turn to stand behind the director and observe.

“Is this the primitive world?” Xu Heran asked the director. “I, as this deity, seem quite technologically challenged.”

The director laughed heartily. In the setting, ordinary humans lived in grass huts or mud houses. Many extras in brown clothes were moving about inside the houses.

“No wonder my friends all look so good,” Xu Heran praised. In the camera’s frame, each person was photogenic. Everyone held a strong determination within, putting in their best effort to perform.

“These two girls both have the aura of acting,” the director pointed at Xin Nuo and Song Fenghua.

Xu Heran immediately raised her thumbs up and whispered to him, “Nuo Nuo says she likes acting and is interested in it, so she’s been working on her acting skills. She can even handle swords and daggers, swoosh swoosh swoosh!”

“Amazing!” Xu Heran raised her thumbs. “Little Fenghua’s appearance seems suitable for historical dramas. Director, do you have a suitable script that can consider our members? Both of them have the temperament for classical dance! Oh, by the way, I want to see Nuo Nuo play the role of an unparalleled beauty!”

Xu Heran thought for a moment, then whispered, “Let me play the emperor!”

“…That’s really not possible!” The director was a rising star in the entertainment industry signed with Universal Entertainment. He was young and had just made a name for himself in the industry. The Starlight Milk series of advertisements were directed by him.

The MV’s storyline continued to be filmed.

The seven girls were blindfolded and led into the temple, standing in front of the deity with fear. They gazed up at the deity’s face, curiosity in their eyes, but they did not catch the deity’s gaze.

On the deity’s throne, Xu Heran raised her finger slightly. The girls in white dresses were led away by the silver-clad figure toward the garden. As they departed, Xin Nuo looked back, casting a glance at the throne. When she averted her gaze, the deity lowered her eyes, sweeping over Xin Nuo’s figure.

Next was the garden scene. The girls were trembling in the rain. The deity entered the garden, but the rain couldn’t touch her. She lowered her eyelashes and, in response to the girls’ prayers, took Xin Nuo away.

The rain would be added in post-production, but the girls were doused with water.

“Why is it that only Xin Nuo can be taken away? We’re getting rained on too!” Several drenched girls shouted while holding towels on their heads.

“And why is there rain in the so-called deity’s garden?”

“Unfair!”

A few girls raised their hands, “Unfair!”

“Unreasonable!”

“Very unreasonable!”

“Sacrifices also have human rights, dammit!”

Passing by, Xin Nuo with a towel on her head gave a piece of candy to each person, successfully calming them down.

“Bed scene!” Xu Heran clapped her hands, her cheeks puffed out. With candy in her mouth, she excitedly shouted, “Bed scene!”

“The first bed scene of my life!”

Xin Nuo said speechlessly, “Well, your bed scene sounds a bit cheap.”

“?”

A question mark floated above Little Pearl’s head. She sat on the edge of the luxurious bed and asked Xin Nuo, who was lying on the bed, “Then what’s considered not cheap?”

Xin Nuo: “Cough.”

“You’ll understand later.”

Xu Heran: “???”

Xu Heran crunched on the candy, looked at Xin Nuo, squinted her eyes, and said, “Oh~” in a drawn-out tone.

“I get it.”

Xin Nuo calmly replied, “You don’t get it.”

“Are you saying things that kids shouldn’t hear again?” Xu Heran questioned her. “How do you know? Could it be—”

“No!” Xin Nuo immediately said, “I definitely haven’t acted in that.”

“Of course you haven’t acted in that.” Xu Heran said, “Have you thought about it?”

“Oh my god, you want to act?”

Xu Heran excitedly knelt up, her tall god crown almost falling off her head. She crawled forward a bit and happily said, “Let’s act!”

“Step away, I’m warning you. If anything falls off your head and hits me, I’ll really make you act in a bed scene.” Xin Nuo’s face turned slightly red, her tone very impatient, “A hospital bed!”

“Make you wrapped in bandages.”

Little Pearl giggled, “Oh~”

“I’ve discovered Xin Nuo’s secret, you know.”

Xin Nuo couldn’t hold back, rolled her eyes, lifted the soft blanket, and lay down.

The surrounding crew immediately gathered around, starting to adjust their clothes. The director explained the scene to Xu Heran, and she waved her hand grandly.

“It’s fine, I understand!”

“Isn’t it just Xin Nuo looking pitiful, and I’m not moved? Xin Nuo is trying every way to seduce me!”

Director: “… There’s no such content in our script.”

“Hehe.” Xu Heran rubbed her hands together.

“Xu Pearl, if you dare mess around, just wait for me!” Xin Nuo lay on the bed and warned her.

“Darling, don’t be afraid. I’m here. Muah~” Xu Heran blew a flying kiss to Xin Nuo.

Others couldn’t bear to watch. “Xu Pearl, can’t you be more reserved? Can’t you maintain your aloofness?”

“Spoiler!”

Xu Heran lifted her dress and walked outside the temple’s door with a playful smile. “You guys don’t understand!”

The director quickly said, “Take your positions, get ready—”

“Action.”

“Clang.”

The great doors didn’t need the intervention of a deity; they opened automatically. The deity stepped into the hall with a deliberate pace.

On the bed, the slender figure of the sacrifice trembled lightly, and she opened her eyes under the deity’s indifferent gaze. Their gazes met within the canopy of the bed, with white veils fluttering— one gaze like water, the other icy and detached.

After a while, the deity lifted her eyelashes, uninterested, and turned away. But in the next moment, her steps seemed difficult to take; a soft, snow-white hand grasped her voluminous divine robe.

A soft girl gazed up, revealing a gentle and pure smile.

The deity froze.

The wheel of fate turned as the deity sat by the sacrifice’s bedside, listening to the low murmurs of earthly tales. Her expression remained as indifferent as ever, slender fingers supporting her chin, seemingly oblivious to the humans’ words.

Until one day, a human gingerly took the deity’s hand and, within her palm, placed a fully blossomed flower.

“These humans are so crafty. They pick flowers from the deity’s garden and offer them to her. How terrifying!” Jiang Qiong remarked.

Everyone laughed heartily.

In the plot, the relationship between the deity and the humans underwent changes. They seemed to grow closer, until one day, beneath the deity’s throne, stood a delicate white figure.

Everything seemed like the deity’s benevolence. She would gaze at the flowers brought by humans, pondering deeply. She would also stand behind the humans, pushing the white swing adorned with blooming flowers.

They seemed to have become the closest of friends, and everything in the human world gradually improved—abundant harvests, prosperity in all things, and human cities flourishing on the plains.

In the clouds, the deity still wore luxurious robes as she walked through the corridor beside the garden. To her right, in the garden, a riot of flowers bloomed while the girls danced joyfully.

At this moment, the deity’s chosen sacrifice, with a light laugh, left her merry companions. She entered the corridor, took the deity’s hand, and chatted as they walked forward together.

The deity’s lips curved gently, like a piece of ice mountain suddenly plunging into the sea.

The human girl smiled sweetly, looking up. But as she lowered her gaze, her lips curled slightly, her emotions ambiguous.

The scene froze in the silhouette of their joined hands.

“Wow—”

“Ouch!”

“Poor deity! Xin Nuo is definitely using her, right?”

Laurel nodded, “Imagining a dramatic plot.”

Xin Nuo smiled and remained silent.

Xu Heran took off her divine crown and sighed in relief. She smiled and said, “You guys are underestimating the deity too much. She’s a deity, all-knowing.”

Everyone paused, “So you mean, the deity knows the human thoughts and knows that humans are using her?”

“In my understanding, yes,” Xu Heran said. “The deity finds it interesting, so she’s willing to give you everything, like planting a seed and waiting for it to sprout and bloom.”

Xin Nuo countered, “No, in my eyes, the deity has been deceived by me. Man can surpass fate.”

Xu Heran looked at her indulgently, “If that’s how you see it, I can’t change your mind.”

Xin Nuo: “…”

“Haha! Hahaha!”

“Who taught you the scumbag phrases?” Jian Yueyin asked with a laugh.

Song Fenghua raised her hand and poked Xu Heran’s shoulder, “A scumbag Zhuzhu.”

“Yeah, Little Pearl has the reputation of a scumbag girl, so of course, she has to say a few scumbag words.” Lin Weining chuckled.

“Pearl’s words.”

Xin Nuo sneered, snatched her divine crown, put it on her own head, and reached up to pinch Xu Heran’s ear.

Xu Heran tilted her head slightly, smiling as she looked at her.

The two locked eyes for a moment, and unexpectedly, it was Xin Nuo who let out a soft hum, lowered her hand, pushed up Xu Heran’s crown, and calmly turned around to leave.

“The scenes are done, next is the dance. Everyone, change into your costumes. We’re shooting five dance routines,” the director said.

Everyone perked up, immediately responding, “Sure!”

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Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Sinensis

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