Chapter 218 - 4.44

"That's understandable. Well, above all, I get the feeling that you're much more.. liberated than before. If I'm not being too rude by saying this.. As an old man with various experiences, I want to say that not everything in this world is as what they seem." He sighed, stepping on the pedals to drive them to the destination.

"...I'm aware of that fact." Xu Jiaqi creased her brows, making a saddened smile as she spoke.

"It's good that you know. Keep that in mind, as it might be a piece of advice that you need in the near future. Do mind your surroundings.. and choose your allies wisely." As if there was something weighing on his back as well, the old man said in a sullen tone, making Xu Jiaqi wonder what this man went through in the past.

Alas, her true goal wasn't to bother with the old man, but rather make her way back to her place and retrieve her items.

The driver was skilled and knew his roads well, so they arrived at her place not long after. Xu Jiaqi asked the man to wait as she went inside to get the appropriate items and got back inside the car. The driver didn't question anything and drove her back to Tang Yizhou's suite.

Although, he did initiate a few conversations here and there. It seemed like he was being overly careful of his choice of words, knowing that Xu Jiaqi wasn't an ordinary person. Especially concerning her past, it wasn't a surprise that the driver didn't want to trigger anything bad from returning to her mind.

Xu Jiaqi felt like the old driver was a rather nice person. He was wise. Wisdom wasn't something that naturally came with age, one needed to acquire the correct experience to nurture their minds. Whatever it was, it must've been something that hit his psyche hard, affecting him to this point.

The two had pleasant interactions, and arrived in front of the suite building without a long waiting time.

"Thank you for the various talks. Mister, too, if you have a particular burden, or have something tying you down.. As a youngster who may or may not know what's the best approach, I want to say that life is not eternal." Xu Jiaqi pursed her lips. "One ought to take their chances before everything is too late. I realized this far later than I should've. Living.. If you're still being bound by plaguing memories, it's torturous."

"..I see. The reason you are so dazzling right now is because you have overcome your past, hm?" The driver felt like something was lodged in his throat, looking at Xu Jiaqi with endearing eyes. She could even feel a trace of admiration in them.

"After all, you only live once. Might as well throw my life away if I can't even live happily." Xu Jiaqi made a peace sign. "A brazen way of thinking, yes? But it's great. I've never felt this refreshed."

"Hahah! Indeed, it is.."

Xu Jiaqi didn't know yet, but she was incredibly lucky in meeting this man as her taxi driver not only once, but twice. The man with an equally mysterious past had his own fair share of problems. Tragedies after tragedies made him throw away his former identity and come out to the society as a reformed man, a humble taxi driver who drove around the city daily.

Meeting her and knowing where she came from made him finally take a step forward and look back to the past that he had ignored for so long, the responsibilities that he ran away from.

Later on, he was filled with gratitude.

______

"Hello, everyone." Xu Jiaqi greeted.

Her stream had just started. She wore simple, formal clothes and didn't wear a shred of makeup. She faced the camera, which captured her beauty well on the screen the viewers saw.

Unlike her previous broadcasts, Xu Jiaqi decided to create a solemn mood right from the start. Since she has garnered quite a large following, as soon as she pressed the start button on her broadcasting application, a lot of people had already begun to jump into her stream and greeted her. They amounted to hundreds, but other would quickly follow suit and jump in before long.

Comments noticing the different tone and mood of the stream immediately flooded in. The most noticeable difference being: The Queen not even wearing her costumes, which defied the channel's name itself.

Her Majesty's Faithful Maid: Oh? I sense something weird. Why is Her Majesty not being as vibrant as before? Did she get into trouble? Oh no!

Begging the Queen for Prosperity: How can our queen get into trouble? She's unbothered by the laws of the world lololol

Begonia Baby: This seems like an announcement to quit streaming if you look at it from a different perspective. I hope not wuwuwu

Behind his screen, Feng Qin, who has been a loyal follower of Xu Jiaqi from the first day she started streaming, panicked. He got Xu Jiaqi's contact information after some time of interacting with her, back when her viewer count was still below ten.

Strangely, the two clicked off quite well after their rough first impressions, and they continued to contact each not only as a streamer and her fan, but rather just as equal friends after some time. He was even appointed as her channel's moderator after it took off and needed some regulations.

He hurried to contact her, expressing his worries and asking her what had happened.

Xu Jiaqi received the notification, but did not answer it. She didn't talk. Waiting for a few minutes for more viewers to come. Staring at the camera blankly without showing any change in expression, making her viewers worried to death at how she was behaving.

Her Majesty is the Galaxy: Your Majesty, please answer us! Say something before we faint out of worry! T^T

Big Brother is Angry!: She won't quit, she won't quit, she won't quit! There's no way...

RainDoops: Lord Moderator, I can sense your anxiousness from a mile away. Come, let's pray in a circle and hope for the best! Your Majesty, please give a sign soon!

As requested, Xu Jiaqi answered the frantic prayers of many people. She shut her eyes tight before clearing her throat and preparing for her performance after seeing that the viewer count had finally reached the five thousand mark.

It should be enough for now, the rest could come later.

"Everyone, I have an announcement to make. I... want to discuss more things about my origins and backstory, I just don't know if everyone is willing to listen or not. For those who aren't up to it, please do skip today's stream, as we will be discussing nothing but bits of my personal business."

"My real name is Xu Jiaqi. Some of you might be familiar with that name right away, but for those of you who don't know who I am, please do look it up on search engines, I am sure that things will pop up."

"I don't think I need to elaborate on what I went through. What I think is necessary is.. Expressing my thoughts and experience after the incidents that trampled me."

Xu Jiaqi bit her lips, taking in a deep breath before briefly telling the story of her life in short, yet hard punching sentences that stuck deep within the viewers' mind.

She glimpsed over the characters that existed in her life, but basically summarized everything up until the point she was in right now, as a popular streamer with fame to her name.

It lasted for minutes. The viewers found it impossible to look away from her figure, and kept their eyes strictly on the screen, kept their ears open to capture everything she said, and stopped their fingers from typing anything.

Although they didn't know the details, it was already clear from her gestures and stories that she suffered. Many times, over and over again.

"I am no longer going to run away from my past, as I have done nothing wrong. Yet, I was forced to keep my head low and be restrained just because I've never jumped over the cursed line that disabled me from living a great life."

"I've always wondered. Why am I the one running away from it all? Why must I be the one to suffer? Why are the ones who hurt me able to live happily? Why, why.. I've asked such questions too many times by now, but not once did I act on it and search for answers. Not once did I try to break through the shackles and free myself."

"It has vexed me and ruined me for so many years, but it is all going to end now. I have been working on myself, trying to recover for so long.. Coming to this platform is also a way to cope with my struggles."

"The streamer that you are familiar with.. the little girl Xu Jiaqi is still trapped inside this very body. Not the Queen that you all sought, but just a little girl that... holds one too many sad stories."