Chapter 25: Seraphine's Transformation
"I do!" Seraphine said with almost no hesitation.
She even took off the silk gloves that noble ladies loved the most, revealing her soft, white and delicate hands.
Then he stretched out his hand and shook Levi's hand tightly.
Then, within a few seconds, a layer of cold sweat broke out on Seraphine's smooth forehead.
Her pupils were shrinking, her breathing became heavy, and sweat quickly soaked her cheeks, making the strands of hair stick to her face in a mess. It was as if something heavy was pressing down on her and her heart.
"Take a deep breath... and slow down." Levi let go of his hand in time.
He had anticipated Seraphine's reaction.
Because when he had just traveled through time and came into contact with the original owner's memories for the first time, he was also in such pain and shock.
That memory contained almost nothing but despair and pain. Just quickly browsing through it from the perspective of an observer was enough to make one feel suffocated.
Seraphine was even more innocent and delicate than him, so the shock she received was probably even greater.
This is indeed the case.
"Hu, hu——" Seraphine broke free from Levi's support in a daze and staggered to her feet.
She saw many things that she had never imagined before.
For example, Seraphine had no idea what it was like to be an apprentice in her own factory.
It turned out that everything she ate, used, and played with, and every gold coin she spent, were all soldered together one component at a time by the workers in this painful life.
And this, a job that Seraphine could not bear just by imagining it, was actually a blessing in the eyes of those Zaun apprentices, because their memories of Zaun were even more tragic.
"Now, do you understand?" Levi only shared some fragments with her, but it was enough.
"Hmm..." Seraphine nodded slightly.
She finally understood how stupid she had been before - she always sympathized with the suffering people she saw, but she didn't even understand how miserable they were.
Levi didn't take the opportunity to preach.
Reality is more convincing than any great truth. And Seraphine has the courage and determination to face reality.
"Let's go." Those painful memories obviously put a heavy mental burden on Seraphine. Levi was worried that something might happen to her, so he wanted to take her away.
But Seraphine shook her head: "Mr. Levi, can you wait a little longer?"
"I want to hear more of the Zaun people's voices." She turned to look at the beggars:
They were still immersed in the wonderful music they had just heard, and their expressions were as peaceful as the saints bathing in the Ganges.
Endure suffering quietly without any complaints.
"Can I shake your hand?"
Seraphine plucked up her courage and walked up to the beggars.
Perhaps her singing really moved everyone, or of course, it was more likely that the influence of the magic had not yet dissipated - these beggars all had an inexplicable admiration and respect for Seraphine.
It's like fans meeting a star.
"You, you want to shake hands with us? How is this possible... How can a noble person like you... shake hands with us?" The beggars were all flattered.
They instinctively worship Seraphine, but feel inferior to her and dare not approach her.
"Please." Seraphine extended her hand.
But the beggars dared not get closer - they even felt that touching the girl with their dirty hands would be a blasphemy to the "idol".
"I, I'll do it..."
Finally, a female beggar stood up hesitantly and excitedly. Her hands were cleaner than those of the rough men, and were the most presentable.
But even so, when that hand was covered with calluses, cracks, dust and skin growing together, black mud and nails blending into one, a poor beggar's hand...
When the hand reached Seraphine, she instinctively resisted.
This was completely different from shaking hands with Levi. Although Levi's hands were calloused, they were well-groomed, and they were slender, with distinct knuckles, and naturally beautiful.
Even if it wasn't for the purpose of "experiencing life", Seraphine would be willing to hold such a hand.
But the hand of this beggar woman...
It's really dirty.
Just by taking a closer look, Seraphine, who has a slight obsession with mysophobia, immediately got goose bumps.
“No, sorry, miss…” The female beggar seemed to have noticed something and blushed and retracted her hand.
This action actually woke up Seraphine.
"No! I should be the one to say sorry..."
Seraphine was extremely ashamed.
She suddenly realized that she was actually "hypocritical"!
It is obvious that she has sympathized with beggars and wanted to help the poor since she was a child.
She always considered herself as half Zaun, and every time she heard her parents say bad things about Zaun, she couldn't help but speak up for her imaginary hometown.
But now, after Seraphine actually stood in front of these poor people of Zaun, she finally realized...
It turns out that she has always disliked them!
Even she herself was unaware of this dislike.
Her father was right, she was not from Zaun at all...never!
"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry..."
Seraphine overcame her discomfort and guiltily shook the beggar's hand. Just by shaking it, her hands seemed to be covered with a layer of dirty dirt.
Seraphine did not let go, but held it firmly, then looked up at the beggar woman and asked:
"Can you please recall how you came to Piltover from Zaun and became what you are now?"
This question does not have any magic power, but it is like a needle that suddenly pierces the dream created by magic.
"Ah——" Almost in an instant, a painful memory flashed through Seraphine's mind.
She saw with her own eyes a girl who struggled to grow up in Zaun by selling her parents' bodies and eating sewer rats. She finally saved enough money to buy an apprenticeship and came to Piltover to work with her dreams in mind, but she lost everything because of a factory accident, was fired from the factory, driven out by the landlord, and repatriated by law enforcement officers. She tried her best to escape, but couldn't find a job because she lost her legal identity... The woman who had fallen to this point even dreamed of becoming a prostitute, but because her face was disfigured by the alchemical gas in Zaun in her early years, no one wanted to buy her body. In the end, she could only become a beggar, relying on petty theft, rummaging through garbage dumps, and begging for alms to survive...
The naive Seraphine never thought that for a woman, being a prostitute could become a luxury dream.
This memory...
It hurts, it hurts so much!
"Ah——" It really hurts.
"What's wrong, Seraphine?"
“My ability… was stimulated and went out of control.” Seraphine covered her ears with a splitting headache. “The sounds are everywhere… They are all painful sounds! Ahhhhhh!”
This is a Zaun community, so of course there are painful melodies everywhere. And, almost only painful melodies.
Mr. Irwin didn't let her come here because he was afraid that his daughter's abilities would get out of control in such a place.
"Seraphini!"
Seeing that she was almost fainting from the pain, Levi finally panicked.
He could no longer care about anything else, and immediately supported the shaky Seraphine and hugged her around the waist. Seraphine leaned her head weakly on his chest, and seemed to be about to faint.
"Hold on, I'm taking you out now!"
Levi picked her up and wanted to leave quickly.
But Seraphine forced herself to regain her consciousness and looked at the beggars with a dazed look:
"You can go... go to the factory area and find Mr. Erwin of the Hex Audio Factory. Ask him to give you a job and help you regain your apprenticeship status... Don't forget to say my name. My name is..."
"Seraphini!"
…
Seraphine woke up from the darkness.
When I woke up, I was surrounded by the clean and bustling streets of Piltover.
The sky here is so clear, and the sun is so bright. It seems that everything I just saw in the Zaun community was just an illusion in a nightmare.
As for Seraphine herself, she was being carefully held and carried steadily on the back of a man , whose shoulders were broad enough for her to sleep comfortably.
"Oh, it's Mr. Levi..." Seraphine vaguely recognized the man's identity, and then she lay on his shoulder again with confidence.
Only then did she vaguely "hear" that Levi was singing for her in his heart, singing all the time.
The melody of the song is soft and sweet, and the rhythm is slow and elegant, giving people an indescribable feeling of peace.
This was not a Piltover song. And it was a song she had never heard before.
"Mr. Levi?" Seraphine woke up excitedly: "What song is this?"
"You're awake? Fortunately, you weren't unconscious for too long..." Levi breathed a sigh of relief.
And he finally communicated with Seraphine about music as she wished:
"It's 'Lullaby' - you said your father's nursery rhymes helped you with your pain, and I thought this song might do the same."
"Hmm..." Seraphine felt the gentle melody carefully, and her mind indeed felt a lot more relaxed.
The melody of this song can really help her.
"Thank you, Mr. Levi."
"Is this Lullaby also your work? Your style is so rich and varied, it seems that you can handle any subject matter... You are simply a genius!"
"No, it's not a song I wrote - it's a piece by Schubert."
"Schubert?"
"You don't know? But can't you read minds?"
"No... Mr. Levi, your soul seems to be 'protected' by some force. There are some things that I can't read at all."
"I see..." It seems that Seraphine cannot read the memories that could expose his identity as a time traveler.
In this case, it seemed that his previous efforts to concentrate and only recall part of the original owner's experience for Seraphine were completely unnecessary.
"So, Schubert is?"
"…This is hard to explain…Just think of it as my creation…Anyway, just listen to the song. No matter what style you want to listen to, I can 'play' it for you."
"You mean... you know many, many more beautiful songs like this?" Seraphine's eyes were shining.
"Yeah." Li Wei nodded. As an amateur, his music library is quite rich.
"Would you teach me all of them?"
"certainly."
"Thank you, Mr. Levi! You are so kind to me!"
"Um... okay?" He didn't know how many times he had called her a fool.
"Better than before." Seraphine smiled contentedly.
That's true.
Seraphine is willing to admit her own immaturity and naivety, willing to come down from the clouds and communicate directly with the people at the bottom of society, and even reflect on and feel guilty about her previous ignorance.
At the last moment, she still held up her almost collapsed spirit and pointed a way for the beggars.
They didn't run away after feeling self-satisfied, or slip away after giving alms, nor did they come up with any such bizarre poverty alleviation methods as "Let me sing a song for you."
Instead, we thought from a practical perspective and gave them the help they needed most - an apprenticeship status and a job.
All of Seraphine's performances exceeded Levi's initial expectations... After all, he completely thought of her as a fool at the beginning.
So Levi's impression of this naive young lady changed a lot unconsciously.
"It's not just a change..." Suddenly, Levi noticed that Seraphine's breath on his face was a little hot.
She lay on his shoulder and said hesitantly:
"Mr. Levi, you, you seem..."
"You're starting to like me a little bit."
Levi: “…”
"Nonsense! I..."
Fuck! He didn't even realize it, but she knew it first.
This girl is so scary.
There is no privacy at all. Whoever marries her will go to jail!
"Mr. Li, Mr. Li Wei, why are you thinking about getting married... This is so... so ungentlemanly... We have only known each other for less than half a day!"
Levi: “…”
"Seraphone, you are not as good as Sona in this respect."
"Sona?" Levi's memory of the game story was also something Seraphine couldn't read: "Who is Sona?"
"A girl with abilities similar to yours."
"Hey? How am I inferior to her?"
"She is mute and cannot speak."
