Should I go to Origin Land, or somewhere else? Chu Lian's thoughts were gradually sinking into silence as well. She knew that after Li Xiu'er fell asleep, her special constitution would draw everyone else into a dream even she herself knew nothing about.
The dream differed from person to person, manifesting from the one thing they most wanted to know in their hearts. It was impossible to resist and extremely easy to become lost within.
After spending so much time with Li Xiu'er during the school trip, Chu Lian and Chu Chu in particular understood this better than anyone else.
However, unlike the others, Chu Lian had now found ways to avoid the dream. The system went without saying. She could also enter Origin Land or descend into her Spirit Sea, thereby evading the dream's intrusion.
Of course, she could also enter the deep-sea space where Hare Menjou and the others were imprisoned, but she did not want to go there for the time being. She kept feeling that something about the place was wrong, although she had yet to discover the exact reason.
"Shiroha, is there any way for me to pass the songs, dances, and other things I've exchanged from the system on to other people?" After thinking for a while, Chu Lian stopped hesitating and entered the system space to find Shiroha, intending to ask about what she wanted to know.
"You can spend half the Culture Points required for them and transfer that portion to the others. There won't be any problem after that." Unlike Ayase, who enjoyed teasing her, Shiroha always answered whatever questions Chu Lian asked.
"Really? How do I do it? I mean, how exactly do I transfer that knowledge to them?" Hearing that it was possible, Chu Lian breathed a sigh of relief. Since it could be done, their performance was practically guaranteed to succeed.
She was not worried in the slightest about whether she herself could meet the requirements. The only ones she was concerned about were Li Xiu'er, Chu Chu, and Liu Yanran.
The first two girls possessed no ability in that area. Without her help, the performance would be impossible to carry through.
Liu Yanran, meanwhile, was highly proficient in classical music, but aside from playing instruments, she was not particularly skilled at singing or dancing. Even if she was not required to be the lead singer, she still needed to know at least a little.
As for the other three girls... Mm, fine, she needed to worry about them too. After all, there was far too little time.
"Kiss them. You only need to kiss the person you wish to transfer the knowledge to." Shiroha's answer made Chu Lian freeze slightly. What was that supposed to mean? A kiss?
"Shiroha, are you certain kissing will work?" Unsure whether Shiroha had misspoken, Chu Lian hesitated for a moment before asking again.
"Yes. Only kissing will work." Shiroha sounded certain, more certain than ever before.
Chu Lian stared pensively at the words on the screen before her, unable to determine whether Shiroha was deceiving her or whether that was truly how it worked.
Still, since Shiroha had given her this method, it did not matter whether it was genuinely the only option. At the very least, doing so would accomplish her goal.
The problem was that kissing Chu Chu, Xiu'er, and Yanran would be fine. The troublesome ones were Cai Ya, Ruriko Nana, and Lux.
The most intimate encounter Cai Ya had shared with her so far was what had happened during the thunderstorm several days ago, when she had been tempted by the suddenly appearing Eve and done such things to Chu Lian. Even now, she refused to mention it, choosing to forget the entire incident selectively.
If Chu Lian did something like that to her now, she could already imagine how the tsundere girl would react. Who knew how long it would take to coax her afterward?
Of course, she could always kiss her by force, and do it somewhere crowded at that—If I actually forced a kiss on her in front of a crowd, she'd definitely kill me, wouldn't she? Possessing considerable self-awareness, Chu Lian immediately discarded the idea.
If I can't force a kiss on her in public, I can pin her against a wall somewhere secluded... But my height is a problem. I'm a little shorter than she is, so even pinning her against the wall would be difficult. I don't necessarily have to do it properly, though. I can just press her against the wall, right? Yes, that's it!
Having already cast aside her inhibitions and grown thoroughly accustomed to such things, Chu Lian no longer felt any resistance toward them. On the contrary, she was beginning to enjoy herself.
After all, spending time with girls was wonderfully comfortable, wasn't it? Besides, kissing was not H. There was no need for restraint.
As for Lux Lyle and Ruriko Nana, there should not be any problem as long as she explained it to them. After all, it was only a kiss, not H, and she was a girl too. It could not count as NTR, could it?
"So when I kiss them, do I only need to think about transferring the knowledge I exchanged to them?" Chu Lian still needed to confirm precisely how the transfer worked.
"Yes. You merely need to hold that intention in your mind." Shiroha responsibly explained the process, dispelling Chu Lian's suspicion that she had deliberately tricked her.
It seems Shiroha wasn't lying. A kiss really is enough... Once I find out who created this setting, I'll have to give her a beating. How could she be so considerate... Ahem, no, I mean so utterly deranged? Requiring a kiss is simply outrageous.
Shiroha had no idea what Chu Lian was thinking. In any case, that was what she had told her. As for whether it was a trap, that was not her problem. After all, it truly was one possible method, merely the most extreme among many.
She would never admit that she had deliberately set Chu Lian up. Nor had she been curious about what yandere corruption, cleavers, or boats capsizing might look like. She merely wanted to give Chu Lian a little benefit. As long as Chu Lian did not capsize her own boat, it was indeed an excellent and perfectly legitimate excuse to kiss someone.
"Then there won't be any problem. I'll head back out now." That was all Chu Lian wanted to know. Since Shiroha had explained it, she had no other questions.
As for Origin Land and similar places, Chu Lian had no desire to visit them for the moment. She was poor, and even if she went, she would not be able to trade for much.
Shiroha did not reply and merely watched her leave. Only after Chu Lian had gone did a line appear on the screen. "Girl, this is as far as I can help you. Whether you conquer them or get hacked apart depends on your own performance. Although I would greatly enjoy seeing a cleaver ending, try not to die."
"Phew, they're still asleep?" Chu Lian had spent some time thinking and had even taken a trip into the system space, so time had passed quickly.
Yet when she awakened, the other girls were still sound asleep. In a sense, that presented her with the perfect opportunity.
"Just once. One little kiss is enough. Please don't wake up." Chu Chu and Li Xiu'er lay on either side of her, while Cai Ya lay directly opposite her. She was also the most troublesome one.
Chu Lian now regretted not pulling Cai Ya over to her side. Had she done so, she could have secretly kissed her without any problem or risk of discovery.
Still, even like this, I should deal with the others first. Chu Lian glanced at Li Xiu'er on her left and Chu Chu on her right. After a brief hesitation, she chose Chu Chu.
After all, the little girl was the strongest among them. If Chu Lian kissed Li Xiu'er first, Chu Chu would certainly sense it and awaken, making everything difficult.
She might as well give Chu Chu a little sweetness first. Even if she woke up afterward, there should not be any problem.
Before that, however, Chu Lian first needed to decide what she should exchange.
Songs in languages other than Huaxian and English are out. After all, we're in Huaxia and performing before the President of the United States. If we don't use one of those two languages, wouldn't that completely disregard his status?
Mm, I can choose four songs. Two in Huaxian and two in English.
For the Huaxian songs, I'll choose one Huaxia-style song and one ancient-style song. Those two genres best represent our cultural heritage. For the Huaxia-style song, should I choose "Blue and White Porcelain" or "Hair Like Snow"? And for the ancient-style song, should I choose "Koi Transcription" or "The Marionette"?
Chu Lian was struggling to decide which songs she should choose. In truth, there would be no problem with using all of them, but the performance would become far too long. She was not confident that the cameras would remain focused on them for that much time.
"Hair Like Snow" and "The Marionette," then. Those two can serve as the opening and finale, with two English songs in between. If there's enough time, I can add solo performances of some older songs. That should work.
Once she made her decision, she acted immediately. Opening the system's exchange page, she searched for the number of points required to obtain the two songs.
[Hair Like Snow: Exchange cost—24,000 Culture Points.]
[Koi Transcription: Exchange cost—12,000 Culture Points.]
"Huh? They're equally beautiful songs, yet the price differs so much simply because of their fame. As expected, popularity and intellectual property are king in that world. Still, that's fine. It works in my favor."
After seeing the two numbers, Chu Lian sighed for a moment before exchanging for both songs.
The songs cost a total of 36,000 Culture Points. Half of that was 18,000. Distributing them to seven girls would cost 126,000, making the total expenditure 162,000 points. That left...
"Pfft! The next two songs absolutely can't be that expensive. They can't! Otherwise, I won't have enough points to use at all!"
After doing the calculation, Chu Lian immediately lost her nerve. She had originally intended to exchange for an English song such as "My Heart Will Go On." A classic like that would surely appeal to many people.
Who could have known that reality would strike her over the head? Those points had looked plentiful, yet there were far too few for her to spend so willfully.
I had 396,000 points remaining before. After spending 162,000, I'll have 234,000 left. If I reserve 34,000 for emergencies, that leaves 200,000. That means I can't choose anything world-famous, or I definitely won't have enough to buy the fourth song.
Chu Lian's little face scrunched bitterly. She had previously thought those points were plentiful, yet once she began spending them, they vanished like flowing water. Still, there was nothing she could do about it. If she wanted to accomplish something, how could she expect to pay no price?
"Forget it. Let me look around... The demo version of 'Wonderful You.' I'll choose this one. Although it's very sad, it's beautiful, and it's a solo song, which makes it perfect for me."
[Wonderful You: Exchange cost—32,000 Culture Points.]
"The last one will be the English version of 'Karakuri Pierrot.' That should be enough."
[Karakuri Pierrot (English Version): Exchange cost—10,000 Culture Points.]
"Forty-two thousand plus twenty-one thousand times seven makes 189,000 points. Fine, at least I haven't gone over budget, and I'll still have 45,000 left. That's more than enough for emergencies."
Fortunately, Chu Lian's indecisiveness was not too severe, and she only hesitated for a short while. Otherwise, settling all these matters truly would not have been so simple.
Even so, this caused Chu Lian's Culture Point balance to shrink drastically. Until she reached the next target and received another system reward, even reading books desperately would not earn her anywhere near that many points.
I should automatically trigger a few minor quests and slowly accumulate points! Otherwise, how am I supposed to form an idol group and bring calamity to... Ahem, I mean save the world?
After exchanging for the four songs, Chu Lian calculated roughly how many points she would have left. For the first time, she realized that Culture Points, despite being so easy to obtain, could also be exhausted just as easily.
"The preparations are complete. Now then, little beauty, here I come." Chu Lian closed the exchange panel and opened her eyes. Looking around, she discovered that all the girls were still asleep. As she breathed a sigh of relief, she began putting her plan into action.
"Chu Chu, accept Big Sis' affection..." Gazing at the cherry-red lips before her, Chu Lian lightly licked her own lips and leaned down, preparing to kiss Chu Chu.
However, just as her lips were about to meet Chu Chu's, a voice came from beside her and turned her instantly to stone. "Chu Lian, what are you doing?"