Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

It would probably still take some time before she could truly overcome the psychological barriers of performing onstage, but at least now, she wasn't as anxious as she used to be.

Exiting the dressing room, the resting area seemed especially lively, with many people discussing the performance they had just witnessed.

"I didn't recognize her at the time, that it wasn't Senior Fuyu Luo at all; one could only say their temperament and charm were too similar," a girl fervently said to her companion.

"If it hadn't been for the advance knowledge, I might have been just like you; that girl's performance was just too good."

"There are some differences, though, the dance steps in the performance differed, but overall it was very natural, and almost no one realized it at the time."

"I wonder what the outcome will be, whether the teacher and that important guest have come to any result yet."

"Ah, Hexia is coming out." Everyone's gaze shifted, looking toward Hexia as she walked out.

Due to the difference in hair color, she looked noticeably different from her appearance during the performance, which made it almost hard to recognize her. After comparing the recorded video and her in person for a while, the crowd confirmed that she was indeed the girl from the performance.

At this moment, Fuyu Luo came over, took Hexia's hand, and the two of them approached the crowd.

"Now, you can have a good look and compare," she said, half-hiding a light smile, addressing the people around them.

Seeing that the crowd had made their comparisons and had enough, Fuyu Luo then let go of Hexia's hand, "Alright, are you all satisfied? Don't crowd around anymore, go do whatever you should be doing."

"As for the performance, Hexia and I have done what we could; as to whether the deal will be negotiated successfully, that's not up to us anymore," she said, closing her eyes and shaking her head lightly.

Afterward, the people dispersed with chuckles and laughs, with only a few occasionally casting surreptitious glances at the two sitting on the sofa.

Having sat down again, Fuyu Luo turned her head to look carefully at Hexia, then nodded slightly.

"Although the hair isn't black, I must say that your temperament and facial contour really do match,"

"It's probably because of my mother, I guess. As a child, one tends to unconsciously imitate adults," Hexia explained with a touch of embarrassment.

"There must also have been similar traditions in your family, I can tell. Your steps are very steady, and your body is well coordinated, not like someone who is inexperienced," Fuyu Luo continued.

"I won't pry into the specifics, otherwise, I might be considered impolite, hehe."

"I really appreciate Hexia's help stepping in. Let me think, I will speak with the Academy's teachers later and prepare a return gift for you."

"Today is likely to be quite busy, and it might be hard to host you properly. If you're free next time, let me think... the holidays are coming up soon, so let's set a date for the break, and you can come visit us at Lianhong Porcelain Academy."

"No excuses, it's rare for me to invite people, and not to properly express our thanks would seem very rude of us," Fuyu Luo said, extending a finger halfway out of her sleeve cuff, lightly touching her chin.

"Alright then, I will visit during the holidays," Hexia agreed with a nod.

"Good, as for school matters, we will let Yuanting know in advance, you don't need to worry."

"That's it for today; since you came to the venue, you must want to enjoy the festival, so I won't keep you any longer. It's also quite boring to just sit here," Read exclusive content at empire

"Not at all, I actually learned a lot from Senior Luo," Hexia responded.

Afterward, Hexia and Mel stood up and, under the guidance of Fuyu Luo, slowly made their way out of the venue. Before leaving, they were given a set of pendants.

"I wanted to give you a finer piece of porcelain, but it was too large, and I was afraid it would be inconvenient for you to carry, so I'll have to send it to your Academy later."

"I'll come again next time~," she said, waving her hand, and then waited for the two to walk away before returning to the 'venue'.

After leaving there, Mel remained completely absorbed in amazement at the girl's earlier performance, incessantly looking at the photo in her own hand, trying to find the commonalities between the two.

This continued until their path took a turn for the better when they encountered another girl on the platform.

"Hexia, I'm over here," Miss Yilin called out today, dressed in a brown top with a black pleated skirt and high socks, sporting sunglasses. Her originally chestnut-gold hair now had wavy curls at the tips, exuding a stylish vibe.

As she approached, she took off the sunglasses from her nose, revealing her pale golden eyes, and her face lit up with a smile when she took Hexia's hand.

"It's been such a long time since I've seen Hexia, just half a year, and it feels like so much has happened."

"This must be Mel, right? Hello, I'm Yilin, Hexia's good friend and childhood playmate." Compared to Mel's timid demeanor, she was as open and friendly as ever.

After the three of them joined together, they continued their tour, with Yilin talking about her life after going to high school.

"Before I went, I thought it was going to be a leisurely academy life, but the academy's curriculum is so, uh, not exactly full, but it makes you busy all the time, with no room to spare. I started learning and gradually became immersed in various horticulture courses, with absolutely no time for other stuff."

"Luckily, the recent exams are over, and things have lightened up, allowing me to catch up on the latest fashion news, get my hair curled, and buy new clothes."

"With only about 100 students in the entire grade, you basically know everyone, and each person has their own flower field. Sometimes, you can even visit others' fields to see how well their plants are growing."

"When I first applied, I just saw gardening as a personal hobby, since after all, there's a family business to inherit. But recently, I've grown to love it more and more. Maybe in the future, I'll open my own flower shop? But I always feel like there's a lot more that I'll want to do."

"Like managing our family's industry and company, taking care of the small company opened with Hexia, opening a flower shop, visiting botanical gardens in various places, learning about fashion, designing my own clothes in the future, and so on." As Yilin spoke, her voice hardly stopped, clearly overflowing with new ideas she wanted to share with Hexia.

In response, the young girl listened attentively and carefully, occasionally smiling and responding. For Yilin, who had always liked this companion and friend from childhood, there were endless things to talk about and an inexhaustible excitement.

Latter, the trio entered the academy venue specializing in combat training, tasted a variety of delicious food at the Mountain Delicacy Bamboo Academy venue, visited the Huilong Temple to pray and burn incense, and it was evening by the time they arrived at the Loath Eye Academy venue.

The venue was divided into several layers, both inner and outer, separated from each other. The outermost layer consisted of exhibition stands made of various glass display cases, inside which were displayed many exquisitely crafted dolls with diverse hair colors and eye pupils, quietly sitting on the cushions inside the cases, with keyholes on their backs for winding up with rotating keys.

Although the old-fashioned method of winding up spring mechanisms for power was no longer used, this ancient ritual and style were still preserved.

Inside the inner layer was a small performance room that could only accommodate 80 people, enclosed by black curtains. On the inner stage, several cute and ornate dolls were being suspended by threads, performing various motions to enact a famous opera, with academy students controlling them from above and dedicated students providing voiceovers on the side.

"Today, we are performing the story of the ancient seven heroes," a rabbit doll on stage bowed in greeting.

"In a time long, long ago, to stand against cruel despotism, to avenge his sister, a young boy entered the seldom-trodden forest alone…"

"He traveled very far, so far that he had forgotten the direction in which to go and how to survive."

"Finally, he fainted and collapsed in the night, on a cold night, deep in the forest where none could hear. "

"Probably, he'll be eaten by wild beasts, that's what he thought at that moment," the young doll onstage lay still, and a droplet of dew fell from above, landing at the corner of his eye, slowly sliding down.

"However, it seemed that fate had not given up on him at that moment."

A silver-haired, white-dressed doll descended, her fingertips lowered, and with them, drops of dew and fruit fell.

"Because of the girl's rescue, the boy survived, and his legend began from then on."