Patch notes: Last + First Name
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[In the preliminary round, Toru conquered all the judges with just the required piece. They could only sigh that his reputation was well deserved.]
[At the same time, the judges could not help wondering if this year's first prize might finally have a winner.]
[In fact, to maintain the competition's prestige, the Paganini Violin Competition does not always award a first prize.]
[For the past four years, two full competitions, no first prize had been given.]
[After the preliminary round ended smoothly, Toru took you to various sights in Italy. There were churches, old alleys, and harbors. With him, all your worries disappeared. Your boyfriend could bring you boundless joy, a happiness so beautiful it felt like a dream.]
[To you, Toru had already become half your world. Outside of the other half, which you called "boredom," only he remained.]
[You could not imagine what your life would become if you lost him.]
[Having once seen such dazzling light, how could you ever return to the dark? The thought was too painful to face.]
[Fortunately, your boyfriend's health seemed to grow better and better. It was as if the minor illness from half a year ago had been nothing more than a cold.]
Something felt wrong.
Kita felt something was off.
But for a moment, she couldn't tell what it was.
Because in the simulation, Toru's face was glowing with color again, his weight had returned, and there was no trace of sickness or frailty at all.
[After the preliminary round, the semifinals began. The pieces were still chosen from a specified list. Toru went on stage casually, drew his bow casually, and when he finished, during the judges' critique session, an unexpected scene unfolded. The judges fumbled for words. Each of those master musicians discussed for a long time, yet could reach no conclusion.]
What were they discussing?
[They were debating what exactly was wrong with Toru's performance.]
[That's right. After listening, they couldn't find a single flaw. Other than saying "good," they had no critique to offer this young genius. To speak carelessly would only invite laughter.]
[In the end, the chairman of the jury stepped forward and pointed out one wrong note.]
[Only then did the seven master judges sigh in relief, nearly spared from utter embarrassment.]
[But later, Toru secretly told you that he had played that wrong note on purpose.]
Pfft…
Kita almost burst out laughing at that twist.
[The trip to Italy ended quickly.]
[In early October, the finals began.]
[With no set piece this time, the contestants displayed their full range of skill. They performed difficult classical works one after another. You didn't understand the violin, but you could tell the competition was much stronger than in the earlier rounds. You wondered if your boyfriend could really break through.]
[But soon, you would know, Toru was a man who could create miracles.]
[Before he went on stage, the judges were already scratching their heads over his entry form. No matter how they thought about it, they couldn't figure out where his chosen piece had come from.]
[Toru hadn't even written down the full name of the piece, so the judges could only see a blank title: "".]
[But they vaguely guessed that Toru was going to play an original composition.]
[Very soon.]
[A well-dressed, upright young man with a handsome face walked from the corner of the stage into the spotlight. He set his violin, drew the bow slowly, and played the first note.]
[The large concert hall fell silent.]
[In that moment of trance.]
[Before everyone's eyes appeared an old white eagle. Its beak was curved and long, its claws dull with age. It could no longer hunt, and its wings had grown too heavy to fly.]
[Alas, death awaited it.]
…Why was the simulator suddenly abstract?
Kita continued watching, enjoying Toru's violin at the same time.
[The atmosphere grew heavy, oppressive. For a time, the audience could hardly breathe.]
[Now the old eagle had only one way to survive. It must shed its useless beak, its dull claws, its heavy feathers, and be reborn like a phoenix rising from fire.]
[The melody became more and more tragic.]
[The white eagle struggled up the mountain peak to build its nest. It struck its beak against the cliff again and again, until blood and flesh blurred together. Thunderstorms could not shake its resolve, nor could the heat break its will.]
[Every person in the hall was captivated, their hearts moved for the aging eagle.]
[As the bow drew on and on.]
[The eagle grew a new beak, and with it tore away its old claws and feathers. After half a year of recovery, it was reborn.]
[It soared into the sky once again.]
[Thus lived on the long-told legend, the Rebirth of the Eagle.]
???
Kita listened to the entire piece, feeling joy for the white eagle, only for the simulator to inform her that none of it had actually happened.
[Once again, the judges fell silent, thinking about how they should present the award speech to Toru.]
[They even wondered whether this original piece, performed for the first time on the Paganini stage, had brought glory to Toru, or whether the competition itself had benefited from him.]
[But no matter how tangled their thoughts were, Toru's victory was already certain.]
[A few days later, after the judges' discussion, the piece was given the title "Phoenix," symbolizing a bird reborn from fire, and it soon spread throughout the world.]
[At the same time.]
[You both returned to Japan.]
[Midterm exams were approaching. Having missed an entire month, you hurriedly began to study.]
He won an international violin competition, and he still has to go to school?
Kita watched herself in the simulator flipping through textbooks, on the verge of tears, unsure how to even complain.
[During this time, it was mostly Toru teaching you. As a genius, he already knew all the high school material by heart.]
Unfair.
Geniuses are just ridiculous.
[You, clumsy as you are, could only learn from him with humility.]
I'm not clumsy.
[Sometimes he would read interesting books and tell you the stories inside.]
[For instance, in some countries, there is a legend that eating certain things nourishes the corresponding organ. Eat brain, gain wisdom; eat heart, gain courage; and if you eat someone's pancreas, you can inherit their finest qualities.]
Yikes, what a terrifying legend.
[In the library, the time that used to feel dull passed quickly as he spoke.]
[When you grew tired of studying, you would daydream together about your future. Your wedding venue, your children's names. At those moments, your boyfriend would always tease you for fun.]
[But you truly loved him.]
[Even if storms lay ahead, it didn't matter.]
[John Lennon once said that every story ends well, if it isn't good yet, it just isn't the end.]
[In the crimson light of dusk in the library, you believed that too.]
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