r, suddenly burst with a series of surprised and questioning comments in the livestream chat:
"Who else could it be but Tao Yao? Host, is your brain alright?"
"You couldn't even see such an obvious plot hint, Snow Dog, are you dumb?"
"But isn't this just Tao Yao's schedule? Are you really playing the game seriously, host?"
"Snow Dog, are you only interested in treasure chests? You didn't even notice such an important plot clue!"
Faced with the doubting comments, Sakura Fubuki smiled awkwardly.
Then, she carefully examined the content of the schedule.
"Well... I took a look, and this schedule is indeed very likely Tao Yao's. But to be honest, isn't this a pretty normal routine? My own daily schedule is pretty similar. Waking up early and going to bed late, spending time making videos or livestreaming in between, isn't that normal?"
Sakura Fubuki's remark sparked another lively discussion in the chat:
"The host even thinks she can compare to Tao Yao?"
"Normal? The host actually thinks this is normal?"
"Tao Yao is an apostle of the Apostle Guild, she spends all day doing nothing but practicing dance. Use your pig brain to think about it, is this reasonable?"
"Host, look at the notes! I've asked you to look at the notes countless times already, don't pretend to be blind!"
"Host, do you have some misunderstanding about the word 'normal'?"
"Where is this normal? This is clearly a schedule of someone who's obsessed to the extreme!"
Watching the suddenly active chat, Sakura Fubuki couldn't help but feel a headache.
She didn't know when it started.
The style of the comments in her livestream had suddenly changed, no longer as harmonious and friendly as before.
With a slight sigh in her heart, Sakura Fubuki didn't dwell too much on this issue.
She decided to continue exploring.
So she opened up other items and looked at their descriptions.
[Half-Broken Folding Fan: This exquisite folding fan has a faint peach blossom fragrance but is stained with a trace of blood; no one knows where the blood came from...]
[Tattered Puppet: Due to its damage, it is no longer possible to see the puppet's face, but it still feels somewhat familiar...]
For these two items, Sakura Fubuki couldn't make sense of them.
She skipped over them and clicked on the last item.
[Neatly Written Notes]
The content of the notes was revealed to her and the players.
Sakura Fubuki carefully read the contents of the notes:
...
Today is the first day of officially starting to choreograph.
Teacher Elena said I've made great progress, but I still feel like I'm not good enough.
Can this level really make her like me?
...
Woke up in the morning, did some simple warm-up, and began morning practice.
Focused on strengthening my waist and flexibility to prepare for the high-difficulty moves later.
Today, I revised the choreography with Teacher Elena.
She suggested adding a jump after the third eight counts,
It can be a bit lighter, symbolizing the moment a butterfly flaps its wings.
I love this idea; she should like it too.
...
The day after tomorrow is the official performance.
I've prepared for so long.
I hope she can forgive my selfishness...
...
Sakura Fubuki slowly finished reading the notes and furrowed her brow slightly.
To be honest, she didn't find anything particularly special in it.
The notes weren't very long either.
They simply recorded a dancer's daily practice process, mentioned Teacher Elena, and noted some details about the note's owner's dance training.
The only special thing was that this was likely something left by Tao Yao?
Sakura Fubuki couldn't help but say:
"This... doesn't seem to be anything special, right? It's just an ordinary dance practice diary. Strictly speaking, it's not even a diary, it's just some scribbles left behind. Tao Yao doesn't seem to have written much about her feelings..."
However, the chat immediately erupted:
"Hiding a mission! Host!"
"Hurry up and find someone named Elena!"
"Isn't this an obvious mission hint?"
"Snow Dog, what happened to your gaming intuition? Go find Teacher Elena!"
Looking at the screen filled with comments, Sakura Fubuki suddenly realized.
She hurriedly controlled her character in the game, and under the guidance of the chat, began searching for the NPC named Elena.
After some searching, Sakura Fubuki finally found Elena in a classroom.
She was a woman in her thirties, elegant in stature and dignified in manner.
When Sakura Fubuki's character conversed with her,
Elena showed a gentle smile.
"Hello, I'm Elena, the dance teacher here. Are you here to learn dance?"
Sakura Fubuki chose the conversation option:
"I want to ask about Tao Yao."
Elena thought for a moment, "Are you her friend? Wait... you look somewhat familiar? I remember that Miss Tao Yao seems to have a puppet that looks exactly like you..."
"..."
Next, there was a series of dialogue related to this.
During this process, Sakura Fubuki not only learned that the puppet was made based on Hiyakura but also gathered some information about Tao Yao from this NPC.
Elena slowly said, "Miss Tao Yao is a remarkably talented girl."
"But unfortunately, she seems not to like dancing."
"She has clearly stated that she practices dance just to perform for someone she likes."
"For this, she still practices every day from morning till night, pursuing perfection."
"It seems she wants to hold a performance, and has put in unimaginable effort for it."
Elena sighed and continued, "To be honest, sometimes I even feel that her dancing isn't like a performance, but more like she is expressing herself."
At this point, Elena seemed to remember something.
Then added:
"She mentioned that she was preparing for a performance. I originally wanted to go watch, but she only told me that it was a performance prepared just for one person."
"Um... if I'm not wrong, you are the audience for her performance, right? Of course, I might be wrong, after all, she never told me who it was..."
With Elena's narration.
Sakura Fubuki and the viewers felt increasingly distressed.
However.
Listening to Elena's evaluation of Tao Yao, an inexplicable feeling rose in her heart.
Just then, Elena seemed to remember something.
"Right, since you know Tao Yao, could you help me with a favor? I have some of her belongings that she left behind; can you help me pass them to her? The Twin Cities has been quite chaotic lately, and I haven't heard from her, so I'm a bit worried."
At the same time, Sakura Fubuki received a new mission.
[New Mission: Return the Lost Items]
Objective: Help Elena return the items to Tao Yao
Reward: Adventure Experience +500, Favorability +10
Sakura Fubuki stared at the screen, suddenly widening her eyes.
A wave of indescribable joy surged in her heart, and she couldn't help but hold her breath.
"Wait, didn't Tao Yao get lost in the rift? What does this mission mean?"
She murmured, her voice trembling slightly,
"Could it be that..."
Her mind raced, and her heartbeat quickened.
A bold guess formed in her mind: Tao Yao is still alive!
After all, if she were dead, how could there be such mission content?
Thinking of this, Sakura Fubuki took a deep breath, trying to calm her excited emotions.
She quickly clicked to accept the mission.