The Villain Is Too Popular

Caroline had been in a bad mood lately. Ever since Chen Kong was attacked, the relationship between Tendo and her had inexplicably become somewhat "distant."

It wasn't just because Tendo hadn't actively sought her out much in the past two days. It was also because Caroline had noticed a secret between Tendo and Chen Xing that she wasn't privy to.

She had seen Tendo and Chen Xing secretly meet behind her back more than once. Although she didn't think they would harm her, nor did she believe there was anything truly going on between them, being isolated and excluded like this made her feel very uncomfortable.

However, due to an unidentifiable emotion, even though Caroline knew Tendo and Chen Xing were keeping a secret from her, she stubbornly refused to ask. She insisted on waiting for Tendo to tell her voluntarily.

To her disappointment, two whole days had passed since Chen Kong's attack, and Tendo showed no signs of wanting to tell her anything. This led Caroline to overthink, believing that Tendo was upset she hadn't told him about Instructor Yun Meng's arrangements at the time, and was deliberately distancing himself, allowing Chen Xing to take advantage of the situation.

But Caroline felt she was completely innocent. She had wanted to tell Tendo beforehand, but Instructor Yun Meng had specifically instructed her not to say anything. It had nothing to do with her.

Because of this, she had tried several times to find Tendo privately and explain the situation, but for some reason, Tendo would always run off with a very clumsy excuse before she could even open her mouth. This left her frustrated, as she couldn't find an opportunity to explain, despite her desire to do so.

On Sunday, on the balcony of the villa's second floor, Caroline watched Tendo and Chen Xing, who had once again shrugged her off with the excuse of visiting the hospitalized Chen Kong, leave through the villa's main entrance. She felt a lump in her throat.

So... what exactly are Tendo and Chen Xing hiding from me?

Inside the private hospital of Tianhai Group in Deep Blue Metropolis.

"Sister, Brother Tendo, can you two please stop using visiting me as an excuse to hold your war meetings here every time? I think Sister Caroline must already be suspicious of you two." Chen Kong, lying on his hospital bed, said with a wry smile as he watched Tendo and Chen Xing finalizing "battle plan" details on a tablet nearby.

Although he didn't know how Caroline felt being left alone at the villa, he felt that Sister Caroline must have discovered something. Otherwise, there was no reason why only Tendo and Chen Xing had come to visit him these past two days.

Hearing Chen Kong's words, Tendo said with dissatisfaction, "Comrade Xiao Kong, you're saying something I don't like."

"What do you mean we're using visiting you as an excuse to hold a war meeting here? We clearly came specifically to see you, alright?"

"As for holding a war meeting here, that's just incidental. Please don't confuse the primary with the secondary."

"Besides, aren't you also at this war meeting? You can't be discharged for two more days, so where else are we supposed to hold it?"

Facing Tendo's obviously black-and-white reversal of the truth, Chen Xing, who was usually very serious, surprisingly chimed in, "Kong, Tendo is right."

"..."

Watching Tendo and Chen Xing double-teaming him, Chen Kong wisely chose to remain silent. There was nothing he could do; even if he were in peak condition, he wouldn't dare disobey either of them, let alone both.

However, thinking of Caroline, who was left alone in the villa like a forgotten child, Chen Kong couldn't help but say, "Sister, Brother Tendo, I really think there's no need to be so mysterious. It's just a birthday celebration for Sister Caroline. I think you can completely tell her openly."

"Otherwise, Sister Caroline, who has been kept in the dark by you two these past few days... is a bit too pitiful."

Hearing this, Tendo put down the tactical tablet in his hand and said to Chen Kong with a serious expression, "Kong, you're wrong about that."

"Others might not know Caroline's personality, but I do."

"With her personality, which values efficiency in everything and prioritizes profit above all else, if she knew we were going to spend time and effort celebrating her birthday during a mission..."

"She wouldn't just disagree; she would even actively ask us not to waste time and to focus all our energy on the mission instead."

"So, we really can't tell her about this."

"Besides, for a surprise to be a surprise, there must first be 'shock' before there can be 'joy.'"

"It's not easy for everyone to come out once, and by coincidence, it happens to be Caroline's birthday, so we must create a memorable experience for her, one she will never forget in her life."

"After all, memories... are the best and most precious gifts in this world."

Watching the serious Tendo, Chen Kong inexplicably had a strange feeling. Although Tendo seemed no different from usual, he subtly sensed a slight anomaly. It was as if Tendo knew his time was running out and was anxious about things he wouldn't have time to do later.

It might sound like self-flattery, but for Chen Kong, who had been ostracized and isolated since childhood, he was indeed very sensitive to the emotional changes of those around him. This strange feeling about Tendo wasn't new; he had intermittently felt it ever since Tendo left the base.

However, Chen Kong hadn't mentioned it to anyone. He was not only afraid of misinterpreting things, but he also couldn't understand why Tendo was in such a hurry.

Just as the conversation between Tendo and Chen Kong ended, the scene in Prequel of the Stars: Embers suddenly and without warning switched to an unfamiliar memory fragment of Tendo from just before he left the base.

In the scene, Tendo, before leaving the base, mysteriously sought out Jing Liuli alone in the dead of night.

"Liuli, do you think dreams... could become reality?"

Faced with Tendo's question, the previously sleepy Liuli instantly sobered up. After a moment of thought, she gave what she considered a relatively reasonable answer.

"Tendo, I don't know why you're suddenly asking this, but if the dreamer is you, then I feel your dreams really might become reality."

"Because the Star Eclipse Heavenly Eye is inherently an eye that can glimpse fate and the future. Therefore, at certain specific times, it indeed might inform you of future fragments in the form of dreams."

"However, this is just my personal, shallow understanding of dreams, and it doesn't mean it's necessarily correct."

"So, Tendo, did you... dream something?"

Looking at the concerned Jing Liuli, the Tendo in the scene thought for a moment, then suddenly dropped his serious expression and returned to his usual carefree demeanor.

"Nothing, I just suddenly dreamed that I was standing at the pinnacle of the world, and the scenery there was so beautiful it made me want to cry."

"And then after that, I couldn't sleep at all, thinking I had to show off to someone. How about that, Liuli? Didn't expect it, huh? Haha!"

After Tendo finished speaking, without waiting for Jing Liuli's response, he walked out, muttering to himself, "It's so late, why am I suddenly a little hungry? Liuli, I'm going to the cafeteria to find something to eat."

"Honestly, desserts are really a great invention. What am I going to do if I can't eat them anymore..."

Jing Liuli watched Tendo's retreating back, her brows furrowed. She was usually a very easygoing person and rarely dwelled on things. But for some reason, she felt Tendo was a bit strange today. It was as if his questions weren't him idly seeking amusement, but rather that he had genuinely dreamed something.

But what kind of dream would make Tendo get up in the middle of the night and suddenly come to find her? She couldn't figure it out, no matter how hard she tried.

And just as Jing Liuli was full of doubts, Tendo, who had said he was going to the cafeteria, strangely found himself alone on the beach outside the base, sitting quietly.

Salty sea breeze ruffled Tendo's silver bangs. The tide repeatedly washed over his ankles, then receded.

After an unknown amount of time, Tendo, who had been sitting in silent contemplation, seemed to finally understand something and spoke to himself.

"Dreams might become reality? That's truly bad, but..."

Tendo braced himself with his hands on his knees and stood up forcefully from the beach. Then he looked up at the boundless starry sky, his azure eyes radiating an unprecedented light.

"...Since the dream is bad, why don't I just make reality less bad?"

With that, Tendo turned and left the beach, disappearing into the night forest.

At this point, Tendo's memory fragment ended.

Watching Tendo, who was planning Caroline's birthday happily a second ago, and then this strange and obviously metaphorical memory fragment suddenly inserted, the dimensional viewers on Station 13 fell silent for a moment, then went completely crazy.

Because from this strange plot combination by the production team, they sensed the sharp, painful feeling of an impending separation—a true "knife" to the heart!