Chapter 548: Chapter 548: Moving Toward Happiness
With innocence, yet realizing the difference between past and now, I find myself aged, having weathered countless trials.
It’s as if the child and the old version of myself coexist.
In the end, amidst the heated atmosphere of the crowd, it seemed as if time transcended, and love and hate returned to the beginning, leaving just my original self.
This is "The Opening".
As the song concluded, smiles adorned everyone’s faces, yet tears lingered in their eyes.
Only three seconds later did the audience erupt into a vehement applause.
Serena stood on stage, slightly bowing to the crowd.
And this was just the beginning.
For nearly three hours after, Serena sang one song after another, consecutively.
She sang many songs she had once written.
From "Yesterday Once More" to "We", "Deep Sea", "Travel", "Sculpture", to several she later wrote for Hawthorne’s new products, and then to "I".
Each song represented a different era of herself.
And at this moment, she was different from who she once was.
The way the same song was interpreted also changed.
Everything began with her, everything was her, Serena.
At ease.
Although it was winter, the atmosphere was heated, with countless people immersed in it, feeling warm rather than cold.
Song after song, joyful, sorrowful, romantic, painful, each song breaking from the cocoon to become a butterfly, and everyone held their most cherished true self.
The voices of all the fans went hoarse.
And as the last note of this song fell, the stage suddenly went dark.
Then scenes appeared on the big screen.
Beautiful, painful, joyful, sorrowful, all kinds of scenes.
Everything from these days seen made everyone tear up.
And after all this played out, the stage went dark again, followed by Serena reappearing in front of everyone.
By now, who knows how many outfits she had changed.
But this time was different.
She was wearing pure white at this moment.
A very simple dress, with her long black hair pinned by a white veil at the back.
Not a wedding dress style, yet inexplicably it felt like a wedding gown.
She stood there, smiling, beautiful and pure.
"Happy times always pass quickly," Serena said softly into the microphone, "This is the last song, and it’s a new one."
Everyone called out reluctantly.
There was reluctance in Serena’s eyes too, yet she still smiled.
She looked up at the dark night sky.
"Life always has its ups and downs."
Her voice was soft, yet very clear.
"Like ending a day’s work and returning home, like all hardships had passed, and even more like..."
Serena paused slightly, lowering her eyes a bit.
"Having gone through the ups and downs in the story, there’s finally an ending."
"Today’s last song, ’The End’."
As Serena’s voice faded, the music began.
Serena sang gently, her voice soft and harmonious, yet carrying the power of time.
Everything from these years played out one by one before the eyes.
Love and hate, laughter and tears, all unfolded.
Serena’s eyes slightly open, beneath her long lashes were her beautiful eyes.
Everything and everything...
Everything until the final ending.
The song transitioned from gentle to intense to mellow.
Just like she said, it was the ending of a story.
Is it finished here?
No, it’s not.
At some unnoticed moment, a violin was delivered to her hand.
Her hand moved, the strings vibrated, and the melodious sound of the violin resonated throughout the venue.
Fireworks shot up, brilliant displays of fireworks, the drumbeat re-entered, synchronized with the ever-rising violin sound, moving forward, forward, without pause.
As if to say, the story’s ending isn’t life’s end, but it’s where everyone moves toward a more beautiful and happy future.
The violin sound continued, carrying everyone continuously forward.
The breeze gently blew, Serena’s long hair dancing as she played the violin, elegant and vibrant amidst a display of firework brilliance on stage.
Below, Seraphina was jumping around with a smile on her face.
Bianca Lynch and Justin Jennings held hands tightly, Bianca had successfully been promoted, and Justin’s career was booming.
In the past two months, they had already held an engagement ceremony, now officially an engaged couple.
Crystal was doing his spirited dance on the side; during these days, he had been promoted and got a raise, buying figures until exhausted, and his lively nature in the second dimension was ever-present.
Xander Linton conjured up a wine glass from somewhere, raising it to the people beside him.
After swallowing his share, the Linton Family’s influence had expanded once again, and he was set to embark on a journey to find "that person" in his life once more.
Isla Lawson also got a wine glass from Xander, clinking glasses with him.
She lightly sipped the wine, but her eyes were on Serena playing the violin on stage.
Isla and Xander were friends now, but her admiration for Serena had reached another level.
Isla had already set her mind on moving toward that goal, just as she had always done during these days, fighting relentlessly, fighting!
Orion Hawthorne and Miss Chaucer were still bantering on the side, the two of them playfully quarreling, evidently a pair of happy rivals.
June Hawthorne looked at the order confirmation she just received, along with a caring message from someone, her face full of joy.
Jasper Ford was the most exuberant of all.
After swallowing his share of SKR, Jasper had now surpassed Virgil Ford and was trusted by Percival Ford, being given many of the family businesses to manage, as Percival planned to step back.
The competition among the Ford family’s three sons had finally yielded a winner, not the eldest, not the second, but surprisingly the youngest, Jasper Ford!
Sitting beside Jasper was Gigi Sutton; the two were like-minded, matching each other perfectly, and their wedding date had already been set. They were currently preparing to wed soon.
Sheila Jenkins and Clara Huxley’s seats were close to each other, and their relationship was growing stronger.
Sheila looked at her daughter on stage, tears in her eyes.
Clara gently patted Sheila’s hand, softly comforting her.
Ethan Lynch removed his gaze from the phone and looked back at Serena playing the violin on stage.
He had just received a notification from Cygnus that his latest report had passed the final verification, and his team had finally overcome a significant challenge.
The message had just come from a like-minded female researcher in Cygnus.
Not far from Ethan, sitting in a wheelchair, was Julian Lawson.
He was also watching Serena.
After jointly acquiring SKR, the Lawson Corporation gained not just in Zetania, but many others; the relationship between the Lawson Corporation and MKK had also grown closer, and thus, the expansion speed was rapid.
And with new products set to launch next month, the Lawson Corporation’s stock price was soaring.
However...
Perhaps he could never let her go in this lifetime.
