Evening, Hilton Hotel.
Annie's cheerful voice came from the bathroom: "Come here, the temperature is just right."
In the hall, by the sofa, Wade shed all his clothes and stroded into the bathroom:'Screw it. Isn't it just two good sisters taking a bath together?'
The rising steam, scented with lavender, greeted him. Annie was soaking in a circular whirlpool tub filled with thick white bubbles, her shoulders exposed, beckoning with a smile in her eyes: "What are you dazing for? Get in here."
Wade slid into the warm water as told, sitting opposite her, their bodies touching beneath the bubbles.
"Ah—this feels amazing." Annie brushed back her wet hair and let out a long sigh, then picked up a bath sponge from the side, "Turn around, I'll scrub your back."
Wade obediently turned around, rubbing his hair as he asked, "How was your work this afternoon? Did it go smoothly?"
"Of course. It was just taking photos, memorizing lines, and showing off my abilities a bit."
"Where are you taking me tonight?"
"To the Indian Creek Nature Center. The scenery is beautiful there, and we can observe wildlife up close." Annie pressed against his back, turning her head to sniff his neck, "How is it that the places you haven't washed don't have any scent at all?"
"Don't, that tickles..." An odd sensation welled up in Wade's heart. He splashed water back at her, "If you keep touching me, I'm going to breathe fire!"
"Hehehe... Go ahead and spray then, it's all water here." Annie laughingly lunged forward to hug him, and the warm light in the room dimmed.
Water splashed in the tub, filled with the sounds of cheerful frolicking.
Half an hour later, having finished bathing, Wade sat at the dressing table drying his hair with a hairdryer, just about to get dressed.
Annie, wrapped in a bath towel, walked over and pressed him back down: "Don't move, I'm going to do your makeup."
"I never wear makeup. It feels like such a hassle to smear things on my face." Wade resisted, turning his head away and shaking it repeatedly. "This stuff is useless on the streets."
"Just try it; you have such a good foundation." Annie leaned her face close and commanded, "Don't move, I'm going to dress you up like a doll."
Wade sat still, watching her intently apply cosmetics to his face—eyebrow pencil, eyeshadow, and blush... "My god, that much?" He endured the discomfort, his lips slightly parted, "This feels awful."
When Annie picked up a bright-colored lipstick, Wade couldn't help but dodge, "Let's skip the lipstick, okay? I don't want to eat it."
Annie reached out to steady his face, looking serious: "No, this is the final step, and it really suits you."
A few minutes later, the makeup was finished. Wade was finally free and had just changed into a short-sleeved shirt and jeans.
"I'm not going out with you if you wear that." Annie pulled him toward the closet, pointing at various dresses, "How about this one? Or this one?"
Wade acted as a clothes rack with a look of utter despair, sighing, "I never wear skirts, please."
Annie held the clothes against him to measure, selecting a pale yellow dress: "This one. You'll definitely look good in it!"
Wade put on the dress, tugging at the hem awkwardly: "It's so breezy, it feels weird..."
"So beautiful!" Annie circled him twice, clapping in admiration. "Wait for me a moment, we're getting ready to head out."
...Indian Creek Nature Center.
The setting sun dyed the sky orange-red as the two walked hand-in-hand along the wooden forest boardwalk.
Annie introduced everything with great enthusiasm, then pulled Wade to take photos everywhere: "It's rare for us to come here, let's take a few more."
Wade leaned against her, cooperating with hand gestures: "Tonight you're the boss, Your Excellency, Goddess Starlight."
Annie led him to the creek, found a bench to sit on, and whispered: "Keep it down, or someone will recognize me."
The last rays of the sun sank below the horizon, and night slowly unfolded. The sound of the gurgling creek was exceptionally clear in the silence.
The two snuggled together in this peace.
Looking at Annie's smiling profile, the trace of reluctance in Wade's heart flashed and vanished. He said, "I'm really lucky to have met you."
Annie turned her head, her nose affectionately nuzzling his face: "Me too."
"There's something I feel I can't keep from you anymore." Wade looked down at the wildflowers growing stubbornly in the cracks of the rocks and said solemnly, "I'm actually... an orphan. Because the compound v I was injected with as a child didn't trigger an ability they were satisfied with, I was abandoned."
Annie's smile froze on her face as if she didn't understand: "...What? Vivian, this joke isn't funny."
"I'm not joking." Wade looked directly into her eyes and said deeply, "Just like the 'Sacred Seed' that priest mentioned in the news today. We... are no different."
"That's different!" Annie pulled her hand back forcefully, her expression agitated. "Those are slanders, fake news. I am... I was chosen by God. My abilities are innate!"
Wade took her hand, his voice calm: "God didn't choose anyone. It was your mother who personally injected you with compound v when you were a child... She fabricated the story of being chosen by God for you, and together with Vought, they molded you into the 'Starlight' they needed."
"Shut up! You're not allowed to say that about her!" Annie turned her head away, her body trembling slightly. "What evidence do you have? What right do you have to say that!"
Wade stroked her head and said softly, "The evidence is in your head. Think about it carefully."
Annie recalled the priest's wording during the live broadcast, her mother's harsh and almost inhuman training from childhood, and the dark rumors in the company she had deliberately ignored... All the clues connected at this moment, tightening around her until she couldn't breathe.
"You're lying to me!" She shook her head frantically, murmuring, "Mom... how could she... it's impossible..."
Wade put his arm around her shoulder and said nothing.
"Then... who am I? Really?" Annie looked up, tears streaming down. "I trained so hard, worked so hard to participate in the talent show, worked so diligently... If even my abilities are artificial, then what does the name Starlight, this identity, even mean? Am I just... a carefully packaged commodity?"
Wade pulled Annie toward him and said softly, "Look at what you've done, how many people you've helped... You can choose to use these abilities to become a true hero—a hero defined by yourself!"
Annie hugged him tightly, her low sobs turning into uncontrollable wailing as her facade of strength collapsed.
"Why... why did you tell me this..." she sobbed, asking incoherently, "Did you get close to me... for this too? Like everyone else, with an ulterior motive?"
Wade gently patted her back and whispered, "I don't want anything. I only hope you choose your own path for the future."
The landscape lights of the nature center flickered on, and swarms of fireflies sparkled in the grass like tiny lights guiding the lost.
Annie cried for a long time before slowly looking up, her eyes misty with tears as she looked at the person who had brought her the cruel truth but also supported her during her breakdown.
She let go, her voice choked with sobs: "Vivian, thank you. You never told anyone our secrets, and you were willing to tell me the truth... You're so kind."
Wade cupped her face and wiped away the tears: "It's nothing. Am I not your Clara?"
Annie suddenly looked up and kissed his cheek repeatedly. Her internal need for reliance, surging gratitude, confusion, and fragile emotions overwhelmed everything at this moment.
Wade clearly sensed the chaos of love, trust, and despair intertwined in Annie's mind. He didn't push her away: 'Let it be... a memento before the farewell.'
A moment later, Annie buried her face in his shoulder, sobbing, "I'm sorry. I'm just... too..."
"Don't say it, the nutcracker. Let's go back." Wade supported Annie, walking along the stone path toward the exit.
He wiped the lipstick marks from his face, his mind a mess: 'Tomorrow, I should let the identity of "Vivian" take its final bow. I need to get out before this friendship could warp.'
PS: Support the new book, please!
plz support my patreon
patreon.com/AZofficial
it is 30 chapter ahead