"That is bravery, Veronica. Don't blame yourself for this."
"People are born into this city, which is like a stinking gutter, and they have to fight it. You just did what you had to do."
"..."
After speaking, Jessica felt her words were extremely clumsy and was quite annoyed.
But she truly couldn't think of anything else comforting to say.
Contrary to Jessica's expectations, her words clearly had some effect; Veronica stopping her crying was the best proof.
"But, you don't think I..."
"Don't say it out loud, Veronica. You've done very well."
Jessica took a deep breath and pulled Veronica into her embrace... They held each other for a while, and in the silence, where only their breathing could be heard, their emotions softened.
The power of a hug is the power of humanity, always offering solace in the darkness.
"...Do you want to hear me sing?"
Suddenly, a timid voice sounded next to Jessica's ear.
"Hmm?"
"You didn't finish listening earlier, did you? I can sing it for you."
Raising her face, Veronica's tear tracks were obvious on both sides, and her face was flushed from crying hard, but now a relieved smile spread across her lips.
"Of course, I would be honored."
Upon hearing this, Veronica smiled shyly, wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks, and sat down beside her.
"Angel's Tears. That was the first song I wrote myself."
Under Jessica's encouraging gaze, Veronica cleared her throat, parted her lips, and began to sing a cappella.
Veronica's former status was definitely not accidental.
Her voice possessed an inherently moving power.
That whispered chant took people away from the complicated reality and back to the distant, long-lost pastoral idyll that humanity had abandoned centuries ago.
It was as if they were truly in a small country chapel, where the pure nun's melodious singing echoed beneath the stained-glass image of Jesus, with faint human voices and birdsong drifting in from outside. Nature and humanity reached harmony in that moment.
Jessica knew that the past wasn't naturally this beautiful either.
But Veronica could always cast aside the heavy realities and present the most beautiful, fantastical side to her listeners.
Perhaps this was the power of music.
However, Jessica noticed a slight difference.
The singing was not filled with the same sacredness and promise as it had been in the video earlier. Veronica looked at her with gentle brown eyes, and the rise and fall of the song carried a different kind of emotion.
Rather than a hymn in a church, it sounded more like a shepherdess happily singing a song she heard in church to the freckle-faced boy beside her in the fields, adding a subtle emotion to the melody that she herself couldn't quite explain.
"Good, that was fantastic!"
When the last note ended, Jessica immediately clapped.
Veronica closed her eyes, returning from the song's emotion. When she opened them again, the sadness was gone, replaced only by a gentle feeling.
She smiled lightly like a spring breeze, sat back down next to Jessica, skillfully wrapped her arms around Jessica, and buried her face in her neck.
"Veronica?"
Jessica was somewhat speechless.
She felt the warmth on her neck, which felt like a kiss.
At first, the movements were small, but soon, Veronica in her arms grew bolder, lighting fires everywhere, recklessly kissing the exposed skin on Jessica's neck.
"Veronica?"
Jessica, normally a veteran player in the dating scene, was now as flustered as a middle schooler by Veronica's actions.
As if displeased by Jessica's constant questioning, Veronica's soft murmurs carried a hint of grievance.
"Stop talking..."
Hearing the hot words and feeling the urgent movements of the person in her arms, how could Jessica not understand what was meant? Her breathing immediately became heavy.
As a veteran in the dating scene, how could she let her partner's hopes be dashed?
Jessica immediately used force in her hands, laying Veronica down on the soft quilt.
And this time, Veronica did not refuse.
Not only did she not refuse, but when Jessica saw Veronica's eyes, her heart trembled.
In those bright eyes, Veronica's rich, pink emotions rushed out like a wave of fragrance; she revealed her everything to Jessica.
Veronica was completely hooked.
Having navigated the dating scene for so many years, this was the one situation Jessica feared encountering.
If she were to take advantage of such a pure Girl, she would surely go to hell.
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