She heard the sound of a dream taking shape, then shattering.
It was all a lie.
Her beauty was a lie. The glittering world her beauty had led her to was a lie.
All the world's hustle and bustle was for profit. The power and fame they clung to were lies.
The boy who set out to slay the dragon had become one himself.
The dragon had left him battered and bruised. He was now a long, long way from the boy who had once sworn to fight it. The last of his sincerity and anger had become muddled with the false affection in his wine. From then on, all he saw was power and profit. He clutched countless puppet strings in his hands until they were slick with blood, grinning with abandon, his gaze twisted.
She listened to the songs he had written long ago, singing them word by word in a hoarse voice, heedlessly off-key. They were full of youthful passion, of observing the world, understanding the people, and speaking with fervor and indignation. They also held boundless tenderness and a love that would endure until death.
Hot tears fell from her eyes, and she trembled with heartache. Clutching her chest, she didn't know how to bear such overwhelming grief and sorrow.
He had wounded her so easily, leaving her battered and bruised, just as he had once been.
She thought she had finally caught up with that unreachable dream: to become beautiful, to stand beneath the spotlight.
Fame, status, money: step by step, she had become him.
She had watched him build his tower, entertain his guests, and bask in boundless glory. But when he stood apart from the crowd, high above it all, gazing at these fleeting illusions alone, his lonely silhouette still pierced her heart.
She remembered the night she reunited with Rong Shi.
She asked Zhicheng, "What do you think a star has to do to stay at the top forever, without ever falling?"
"No one can stay at the top forever. It's only a matter of how long they last." Zhicheng looked at her. "Unless they leave at the very peak. Then they'll be a legend forever."
Theme: She never learned how to live in this real world
