Xiang Ning grinned. “Ah, we meet again. How are you? Are you okay?”
Annot’s grin immediately fell. She turned to look at the icy Anran, then jumped and hid behind the sofa.
“Annot! You said you weren’t injured! Tell me the truth!” Anran’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was terrifying.
Even Xiang Ning felt a chill. This lady wasn’t a person to cross! In an instant, he made a mental note to never anger Anran.
Annot was already clutching her head, trembling, and covering herself with a blanket.
“Come here!”
Annot jumped, then slowly stood up. She hung her head like the night Xiang Ning had met her with her hood on, unable to see her face.
Anran’s eyes were sharp. She reached out to pull down Annot’s blanket for a proper chat but before she touched it, Annot ran behind Xiang Ning and clutched his clothes in a death grip. “You’re my bodyguard, right? You have to protect me, right?”
Anran was stunned by her behavior. Hadn’t Annot always been afraid of strangers? Didn’t she keep at least a meter’s distance away from everyone? What was with this new behavior? She was sticking to Xiang Ning!
Xiang Ning gave Anran an exasperated look.
Anran stared back at him. Never mind, she would have more chances to question Annot on Azura; she couldn’t defeat Xiang Ning. “Alright, alright. We’ll talk about this next time. Just sit.” She turned back into her usual self. She knew Annot well—the little girl was sometimes an angel, and other times she was a little devil.
“Hehe, I knew you could never bear to scold me. You’re the best!” Annot smiled.
Anran was mesmerized for a moment. Annot had a face gifted by the heavens since birth; every person who saw her smile would be mesmerized for a few seconds. However, there was now an exception. After Anran recovered her senses, she realized Xiang Ning and Annot were already chatting on the sofa.
Anran didn’t approach, but propped her chin on one hand, her brows slightly furrowed. Just who was Xiang Ning, anyway? This was her first time meeting a person who could act so normally when they saw Annot’s face, especially her smile. One must know that everyone, ranging from a child to an elderly person over a hundred, would be stunned by Annot’s beauty. Her powers only seemed to grow as she grew older, becoming more and more beautiful.
However, those powers didn’t seem to work on Xiang Ning.
“Xiang Ning, do you like listening to music?”
“Huh, y-yes… I guess.” Xiang Ning scratched his head. Music? All the music he had heard was whatever they played in the streets. He didn’t feel anything from it.
“Really? Then have you heard my songs?”
“Uh… yes, I think they’re great,” said Xiang Ning. After receiving the assignment from Fang Zhenyuan and Lu Shiyu, Xiang Ning had looked Annot up and listened to her songs. However, due to time constraints, he still wasn’t all that familiar with her work.
“Really? Which song is your favorite?”
“My favorite? Colors of The Sky, I guess?”
“Colors of The Sky?” Annot mused.
Xiang Ning nodded, smirking. He had long anticipated this question and was prepared. “Yeah. although your singing is perfect and I can picture the free, blue sky in your song, I still feel it’s too lonely.”
“Xiang Ning, I want to sing you a song.” Annot was surprised by Xiang Ning’s answer.
He nodded, then smoothed his clothes and straightened his posture.
Annot leaped from the sofa, and without warming up, sang the first word. Xiang Ning felt like something damp had licked his ear, or he was struck by lightning. The beginning of the song was in a language he didn’t understand, but he could feel the emotions in it.
“You take me, take me to paradise; You carry me, carry me over the babbling brooks.…”
Anran was once again mesmerized as Annot slowly sang every note. She was singing acapella, but it felt ethereal. Her pure, clean voice was refreshing. Anran saw the paradise in the song, the babbling brook, a tall man protecting a girl… she couldn’t help but think about her father.
The song ended.
“Annot, your new song is so good…” Anran praised in a daze.
But Xiang Ning had a strange expression. Not one of pleasure, but heartache.
Why heartache? Anran couldn’t believe it. Then she saw Xiang Ning stand up and place a gentle hand on Annot’s head and say, “Do you want friends? Do you really want to go to the places you mentioned?”
Annot hung her head, but gave the tiniest nod.
“After your concert, I’ll take you to meet my friends. They’re all very good people and they’ll like you very much. We’ll go to the places you want to go then.”
Annot looked up at him, disbelief in her eyes. “Are you telling the truth?”
“I have a younger sister who really likes your songs, too. She’ll be very happy to be your friend.” Xiang Ning was confident. Annot was like him before everything had changed. He’d never had friends before. However, his life had changed for the better after he’d met Fatty Wang, Li Zimo, Liu Ruoxue, Lu Shiyu, and Fang Rou.
“Mm, that’s a promise!” Annot suddenly turned and laughed. “I need to go get something from my room.…”
When Anran saw that, she realized she must have missed something very important. “Hey, Xiang Ning. Have a seat, let’s talk.”
“Sure, Miss Anran.” He sat down.
“Although I don’t understand why Annot would trust a person she’s only met once so much, I beg you not to hurt her. I’ve never seen a person who could get so close to her… do you understand what I’m trying to say?”
“I do.”
Neither of them spoke for a minute. Xiang Ning waited until Anran finally continued, “This is a dangerous mission. To be honest, I’ve always been against Annot coming to her mother planet for a concert.”
Xiang Ning didn’t speak, but understood. Annot was relying on her angelic beauty, voice, and heart to win the people’s hearts. She was an ambassador of peace. But the people of Azura weren’t as united as the people on Earth.
Doge & Chacha's Thoughts
Annot just wants to live like a normal human without the attention ;-;
Xiang Ning grinned. “Ah, we meet again. How are you? Are you okay?”
Annot’s grin immediately fell. She turned to look at the icy Anran, then jumped and hid behind the sofa.
“Annot! You said you weren’t injured! Tell me the truth!” Anran’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was terrifying.
Even Xiang Ning felt a chill. This lady wasn’t a person to cross! In an instant, he made a mental note to never anger Anran.
Annot was already clutching her head, trembling, and covering herself with a blanket.
“Come here!”
Annot jumped, then slowly stood up. She hung her head like the night Xiang Ning had met her with her hood on, unable to see her face.
Anran’s eyes were sharp. She reached out to pull down Annot’s blanket for a proper chat but before she touched it, Annot ran behind Xiang Ning and clutched his clothes in a death grip. “You’re my bodyguard, right? You have to protect me, right?”
Anran was stunned by her behavior. Hadn’t Annot always been afraid of strangers? Didn’t she keep at least a meter’s distance away from everyone? What was with this new behavior? She was sticking to Xiang Ning!
Xiang Ning gave Anran an exasperated look.
Anran stared back at him. Never mind, she would have more chances to question Annot on Azura; she couldn’t defeat Xiang Ning. “Alright, alright. We’ll talk about this next time. Just sit.” She turned back into her usual self. She knew Annot well—the little girl was sometimes an angel, and other times she was a little devil.
“Hehe, I knew you could never bear to scold me. You’re the best!” Annot smiled.
Anran was mesmerized for a moment. Annot had a face gifted by the heavens since birth; every person who saw her smile would be mesmerized for a few seconds. However, there was now an exception. After Anran recovered her senses, she realized Xiang Ning and Annot were already chatting on the sofa.
Anran didn’t approach, but propped her chin on one hand, her brows slightly furrowed. Just who was Xiang Ning, anyway? This was her first time meeting a person who could act so normally when they saw Annot’s face, especially her smile. One must know that everyone, ranging from a child to an elderly person over a hundred, would be stunned by Annot’s beauty. Her powers only seemed to grow as she grew older, becoming more and more beautiful.
However, those powers didn’t seem to work on Xiang Ning.
“Xiang Ning, do you like listening to music?”
“Huh, y-yes… I guess.” Xiang Ning scratched his head. Music? All the music he had heard was whatever they played in the streets. He didn’t feel anything from it.
“Really? Then have you heard my songs?”
“Uh… yes, I think they’re great,” said Xiang Ning. After receiving the assignment from Fang Zhenyuan and Lu Shiyu, Xiang Ning had looked Annot up and listened to her songs. However, due to time constraints, he still wasn’t all that familiar with her work.
“Really? Which song is your favorite?”
“My favorite? Colors of The Sky, I guess?”
“Colors of The Sky?” Annot mused.
Xiang Ning nodded, smirking. He had long anticipated this question and was prepared. “Yeah. although your singing is perfect and I can picture the free, blue sky in your song, I still feel it’s too lonely.”
“Xiang Ning, I want to sing you a song.” Annot was surprised by Xiang Ning’s answer.
He nodded, then smoothed his clothes and straightened his posture.
Annot leaped from the sofa, and without warming up, sang the first word. Xiang Ning felt like something damp had licked his ear, or he was struck by lightning. The beginning of the song was in a language he didn’t understand, but he could feel the emotions in it.
“You take me, take me to paradise; You carry me, carry me over the babbling brooks.…”
Anran was once again mesmerized as Annot slowly sang every note. She was singing acapella, but it felt ethereal. Her pure, clean voice was refreshing. Anran saw the paradise in the song, the babbling brook, a tall man protecting a girl… she couldn’t help but think about her father.
The song ended.
“Annot, your new song is so good…” Anran praised in a daze.
But Xiang Ning had a strange expression. Not one of pleasure, but heartache.
Why heartache? Anran couldn’t believe it. Then she saw Xiang Ning stand up and place a gentle hand on Annot’s head and say, “Do you want friends? Do you really want to go to the places you mentioned?”
Annot hung her head, but gave the tiniest nod.
“After your concert, I’ll take you to meet my friends. They’re all very good people and they’ll like you very much. We’ll go to the places you want to go then.”
Annot looked up at him, disbelief in her eyes. “Are you telling the truth?”
“I have a younger sister who really likes your songs, too. She’ll be very happy to be your friend.” Xiang Ning was confident. Annot was like him before everything had changed. He’d never had friends before. However, his life had changed for the better after he’d met Fatty Wang, Li Zimo, Liu Ruoxue, Lu Shiyu, and Fang Rou.
“Mm, that’s a promise!” Annot suddenly turned and laughed. “I need to go get something from my room.…”
When Anran saw that, she realized she must have missed something very important. “Hey, Xiang Ning. Have a seat, let’s talk.”
“Sure, Miss Anran.” He sat down.
“Although I don’t understand why Annot would trust a person she’s only met once so much, I beg you not to hurt her. I’ve never seen a person who could get so close to her… do you understand what I’m trying to say?”
“I do.”
Neither of them spoke for a minute. Xiang Ning waited until Anran finally continued, “This is a dangerous mission. To be honest, I’ve always been against Annot coming to her mother planet for a concert.”
Xiang Ning didn’t speak, but understood. Annot was relying on her angelic beauty, voice, and heart to win the people’s hearts. She was an ambassador of peace. But the people of Azura weren’t as united as the people on Earth.
Doge & Chacha's Thoughts
Annot just wants to live like a normal human without the attention ;-;
