Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva
Chapter 978 - 94: The Girl's Dream_3

Well, life is probably just too unbearable. If you stay clear-headed all the time, you'd suffocate under the pressure; the only escape might be drowning yourself in alcohol.

Soon, the office worker who finished their glass of dark red liquor staggered to their feet and, with a slightly unsteady gait, made their way to the dance floor, where they began swaying alongside the others under the dim, flickering lights.

After that, more people trickled into the bar—most of them employees from nearby office buildings getting off work. Their situations were similar to the earlier worker; they came here to release stress.

They often wore suits and dress shirts, but upon arriving, they irritably loosened their ties or collars and tossed their jackets carelessly onto nearby sofas. The smell of sweat in the air? Mostly from them.

After nine o'clock, the bar started to fill with more women. Some were female office workers just off work; others didn't seem like regular employees. A minority were students, like Tilan.

"Is it okay to sit here?" Two young women who came late noticed the open seat next to Tilan and approached.

"Sure." In the dim light, the girl's face wasn't clear, but her figure appeared graceful.

Once they sat down, the two women began chatting—about the boys they'd met during the day, their favorite celebrities, and the classmates they'd set plans with that evening.

Unlike the weary office workers who came here to decompress, these women were seeking fresh excitement. Their outfits were bold, and one of them had a tattoo on her wrist—a representation of some kind of demonic butterfly.

As Tilan was pondering how long she'd be sitting here tonight and whether holding an empty glass looked too conspicuous, thinking she should refill it, the two women turned toward her.

"Are you here alone? Looks like you've been sitting here for quite some time." They were curious about this pretty girl who was sitting in the corner alone.

"Yes, it's my first time here, not very familiar with the place." Tilan replied.

Hearing her voice, the girls' eyes lit up. "Your voice is lovely, do you sing?"

"A little."

"With talent like that, sitting here is such a waste." They felt both pity and a tinge of jealousy mixed with superiority.

"Later, our friends will be coming over. Why don't you join us and sing a few?"

"Oh, no, that's alright." Tilan smiled and waved her right hand lightly.

"It's no big deal; we're all friends—nobody's going to laugh at you." They assumed Tilan was just shy.

"You're too simple-minded. Just look around—you can tell you're not really leveraging your advantages. Let me tell you something: don't be fooled by how chaotic it seems here. Those drunken idiots swaying around? A fair number of them are employees of major corporations. If you manage to catch one, you could get them to spend tens of thousands on you without breaking a sweat."

"Cough, cough, isn't that a bit… wrong? I mean, it's their hard-earned money, after all." Tilan started thinking about how she could distance herself from these two tonight. She was here for social research and to complete an assessment, not for this sort of thing.

"Your thinking is way too honest. Oh, I get it—you're still stuck in those old-school values. My family taught me that way growing up too, saying to be a good person or whatever. But have you seen what kind of world we live in today? Be a good person and spend your entire life earning hard money? You'd die having never been truly happy."

"Central Star Domain is the wealthiest region in the Federation. There's bound to be rich people here. All it takes is a bit of effort and finding the right family—it's far more worthwhile than slogging it out for decades on your own." She was confident and resolute in her advice, clearly someone who genuinely believed this, with no hesitation in her heart.

"Sigh..."

Seeing that the woman had worked herself into a fervor, Tilan realized her mild refusal wouldn't be enough to interrupt her.

"Actually, I have my own part-time job. I'm not exactly short on money." She brushed her hair back, her gaze drifting to the side.

"You still work part-time?" Hearing Tilan say this, the two were even more shocked. To them, Tilan had such favorable conditions that she should've been surrounded by male admirers showering her with gifts—why would she need to work?

"Uh, yes, at a pet hospital." That part was actually true.

"How much do you earn? Is it enough to buy a house? Enough to spend freely? Sounds like way too much serious, hard work."

Feeling the topic straying further and further, Tilan had no choice but to say something to steer things back.

"It's not really about how much. The job aligns well with what I'm studying, and it'll help me transition into my career."

"Tsk, tsk, such an old-fashioned way of thinking." The two stared at her as if she were a primordial human—gorgeous, but apparently not too clever.

"Fine, we won't try to convince you. My friends are here now; why not join us for a drink or two? One of them has a father who's an executive at a major corporation. Knowing him will help you with internships or job hunting, trust me."

As she spoke, three men in their early twenties walked over, with one leading the group—a blond man in a striking new red jacket that made him stand out.

"Hey, ladies, enjoying yourselves tonight?" He spread his arms as if to hug the two women, only to be "shyly" pushed away by their hands, followed by a round of playful complaints and coquettish banter.

In response, Tilan simply bowed her head, hoping to avoid catching the man's eye. Though she wasn't afraid of him, garnering attention now would ruin tonight's plan.

But of course, accidents have a way of happening at the worst time. The blond man quickly noticed the black-haired girl sitting in the corner. Even with her bowed head hiding her face, her graceful figure alone marked her as a rare beauty.

And so, he walked over.

"Is this your friend? Let me introduce myself—I'm Vaughn, the brightest star in this bar tonight." He brushed his bangs aside with a confident smile.

Faced with no choice but to respond, Tilan silently sighed. It seemed tonight's mission wouldn't be completed after all. But it was only the first day, so there wasn't much urgency.

Setting down her empty glass, the girl stood up. As her flawless face and clear eyes emerged into the light, the group before her froze in awe.

"Hello. But I have other matters tonight, so I'll be taking my leave."

"Hey, wait…" The group wanted to stop her or ask further questions, but a tall Beastman stepped forward, blocking them, effectively silencing them.

Afterward, Tilan exited the bar and climbed into a car for the ride home.

Looking out at the dazzling nightscape and neon lights outside, the girl leaned against the car seat and closed her eyes for some rest.

'Even though I didn't carry out my plan tonight, I saw quite a few things. Maybe ideas for solutions will begin to take shape tomorrow.'

Regarding the assessment Idrylia had assigned, Tilan didn't believe it could simply be considered complete by singing a few songs or appeasing people. As a senior Songstress, Idrylia should've understood that better.

In Tilan's view, the true purpose of Idrylia's assessment was to allow the Songstresses still cloistered in their Ivory Towers to directly witness the entrenched darkness within the Federation—the issues that required change. Figures like Ores or Shui Yanqing, who grew up in stable, affluent environments, might know these things, but rarely did they truly understand what it felt like to be in those conditions—to grasp the experiences and mental states of those people firsthand.

After all, knowing about something and genuinely feeling or understanding it were worlds apart. When a Songstress loses touch with the broader populace, she can no longer sing melodies that move people to their core.

But for Tilan, she had already been deeply familiar with these realities for a long time. Perhaps it was precisely because she'd been exposed to and understood them too early that she couldn't live the simple and blissful life the other Songstresses enjoyed.

Knowledge is sometimes a curse. Being too clear-headed often leads to suffering, which might explain why those professional elites are so tempted to drown themselves in drink.

The polished car exterior reflected the neon lights and signs passing by in the night, the window awash with the shifting colors of countless screens. Behind that glass, the young girl now drifted into a serene slumber.

Her enchanting brows subtly shifted with her breathing, making one wonder what kind of dream this flawless and graceful girl might be having at this moment.

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