Chapter 15: Annie's Master's Worldview, You Earthlings Are Forever

It was a beautiful, clear night. Usually, at a time like this, Annie loved playing by the seaside with her teddy bear, Tibers! Although Tibers protested vehemently every single time, nothing could stop Annie from soaking herself and the bear in those crisp, cool sea waters!

Today, however, was an exception. Annie was currently dressed in a lovely little red dress, sitting in Coulson's equally red little sports car. It was her classmate Angelina Roberts' birthday tonight, and she had invited Annie and their other classmates to her birthday party.

"What's wrong, Annie? Don't you like attending classmates' birthday parties? You don't seem very happy," Coulson said as he drove, stealing glances at Annie. He noticed she seemed a bit listless; did she perhaps dislike parties?

"It's not that! It's just that Angelina begged me to play one more song for her as a birthday gift, and I'm considering whether I should do it or not!" Annie rested her chin on her hand, looking out the window gloomily.

"I remember the teacher saying you play the harp very well—even gave you an A+! If that's the case, playing a song for a classmate should be a wonderful idea, shouldn't it?"

When he was a child, Coulson hadn't been very fond of attending classmates' parties either, because one had to bring gifts! He loved receiving gifts, but spending his own pocket money to buy gifts for classmates wasn't exactly a delightful prospect. Now, Annie only needed to play a song; it should be a very easy task. Why was she reluctant?

"Because I don't play just any ordinary song. It's a magic song! If, um, people listen to it too much, it might not be good for them!" Annie carefully turned her face back toward the window, hiding her embarrassed expression from Uncle Coulson.

"Oh? A magic song? That sounds quite interesting. Why would a magic song be bad for people?" Coulson had heard plenty of music in his life, but he had truly never heard of a "magic song"! He was extremely curious.

"Because... because if people listen to magic songs too much, they get addicted! It has a tiny, tiny bad effect on the soul—just a little bit! But, if you only listen once or twice occasionally, it's no problem at all." After a moment's thought, Annie decided to tell the truth.

*(So! Lady Annie! I've told you many times! You should practice properly instead of thinking about these unorthodox tricks all day! By adding seductive magical tones to your music, not only will people become addicted, but it can also easily cause irreversible damage to the soul! That is exactly why the Valoran Performance Convention strictly prohibits doing such things! Can't you learn from Sona and play with your whole heart? Her playing is truly wonderful; even a bear like me loves listening to her performances!)*

"Shut up, Tibers! I've decided, I'm not taking you to the party tonight!!" Annie grabbed her backpack, stuffed the teddy bear Tibers—who had been in her arms—all at once into it, and tossed the bag onto the seat behind her. *That's what you get for talking bad about me! And for liking Sona! See if I don't lock you in this little bag!*

"Is that actually a thing?" Coulson found the idea of magic songs being addictive quite novel. He could understand drug addiction, but being addicted to music? Unbelievable! As expected, things from the magical world were difficult for him to comprehend!

"But if I remember correctly, you've only played it once before. So, playing it one more time shouldn't matter, right?"

"Exactly! That's it! You're absolutely right, Uncle Coulson! Playing it one more time should be fine!" Hearing Coulson's words, Annie's eyes lit up, and she became determined to play a song tonight. It was only the second time, after all. Addiction? Impossible! At most, she just wouldn't play it again, no matter what.

"By the way, Uncle Coulson, let me tell you something. I think your sunglasses are super cool—if it weren't nighttime!"

"Ha, uh, sorry!" Coulson awkwardly pulled the sunglasses off the bridge of his nose. It was dark now; he didn't even know when he had put them on. Perhaps it was just a habitual movement for an agent?

"Well, wearing sunglasses while driving at night is indeed quite silly!" Coulson shrugged, admitting his mistake. "But Annie, you know how to use words like 'super cool'? Where did you learn that?"

"The internet! Why?" Annie indicated that since she had recently learned how to use the internet, she had learned a vast amount of things!

"You know how to use the internet?! Who taught you?" Coulson was slightly startled. Was it a teacher?!

The internet was a mixed bag of quality, and little Annie was only eight years old—the age where one is most susceptible to bad influences. If she were an ordinary person, he could just educate her, but Annie was a dangerous alien being comparable to a strategic nuclear weapon! If she accidentally learned bad habits from the internet, there would be real trouble!

Precisely because of this, Coulson and Melinda had never taught Annie how to use a computer, nor did they ever surf the web in front of her, fearing she would be influenced by negative elements. Yet, Annie had actually learned it herself? Coulson felt this intelligence was very important and had to be taken seriously! Where did she learn it? Who taught her? And what was her purpose?

"Fat Jack from my class taught me! I bribed him with a few roasted frogs!" Annie laughed proudly, but her expression turned indignant the next moment. "Speaking of that fat kid, he makes me so angry! He ate the most when we were eating frogs, but when the teacher questioned us, he was the first to sell me out! He's so mean!"

So that was it! Coulson hadn't expected a little fat boy to ruin his plan to guide Annie into being a good girl! In the future, he and Melinda must closely supervise Annie's internet usage; they couldn't let her learn any more bad things from the web!

"By the way! Speaking of frogs, I forgot to ask a couple of days ago. Annie? How did you even think of eating frogs in the first place?" Coulson was genuinely puzzled. Could frogs even be eaten? He had certainly never tried them!

"Well, um, let me think." Annie bit her finger, recalling that day. "Anyway, at the time, I just felt those little frogs were different from the ones in our Voodoo Lands! The frogs back home are big and ugly! These ones are small and cute; looking at them, I just couldn't help but want to eat them... Yes! That's exactly it!"

"You want to eat an animal just because it looks cute? Why?" Coulson was stunned. What kind of logic was this? Her worldview was completely skewed! Her words nearly caused him to rear-end the truck in front of them!

"Uncle Coulson, you're so strange! Aren't cute animals supposed to be eaten?" Annie looked at Coulson with curiosity. Animals were meant for eating!

Back in the Voodoo Lands, she had eaten plenty of small animals! Things like crocodiles, little dinosaurs, big tigers, or lions! Whenever Annie went out adventuring and got hungry, she would roast and eat whatever looked appetizing! However, the frogs from the school laboratory were truly a first for her. It was a pity she hadn't remembered to bring seasoning... what a shame. Teacher Maine would certainly never give her a second chance.

*I'm strange? It's your alien values that are abnormal!* Coulson's lips trembled as he turned his head away.

He was unwilling to argue further with a little girl. Perhaps aliens really were like this? In that case, he shouldn't try to correct them! He would need to include this in his report later: *Valoran customs differ significantly from Earth's; this requires serious attention!*

Coulson felt he should stop discussing these issues with Annie. The two worlds were different. Perhaps in the eyes of a Valoran, as long as it's an animal, you can eat it regardless of how you prepare it? The thought sent a chill down his spine!

Forget it! Instead of thinking about this, he should focus on driving Annie to the party. He might even find time to grab a coffee, and then hurry to pick her up when the party ended! A pleasant day could be survived this way.

Time passed quickly! It was now past 9:00 PM, and the party had ended. Mr. Roberts and his daughter personally saw Annie to the door. Little Angelina stepped forward to give Annie a gentle hug. The entrepreneur, Mr. Roberts, had a slight glint of tears in his eyes as he looked at Annie with gratitude.

"Thank you, Annie! You are truly a little angel! Thank you so, so much for today."

Roberts had a very good relationship with his wife, but tragedy struck. Since his wife passed away two years ago, he had been unable to emerge from the shadows, remaining immersed in the pain of her loss... his daily routine was chaotic, he drank heavily, and he rarely even attended to company matters.

A while ago, after coming home from school, Angelina had excitedly told him about her new classmate, Annie. According to her, Annie's music allowed her to see her mother—that her mother was up above the moon, doing very well, and had even given her a hug.

At the time, Roberts believed this was merely the result of a young girl's excessive longing. He kept it in mind but didn't take it too seriously.

However, taking advantage of his daughter's birthday party, he had ordered an exquisite harp from a musical instrument company with a glimmer of hope and complex emotions. He knew the girl named Annie would be attending the party, and perhaps, he should take the opportunity to hear her play?

In the end, the facts proved it! His most precious daughter, Angelina, had not lied to him.

Not only had he heard the most beautiful and moving music in the world tonight, but as he drifted through the starry sky with the melody, he truly saw her above the moon—his wife! The two of them gazed at each other for a long time, embraced tightly, and poured out their hearts to one another! It was a spiritual communion! In that instant, he forgot everything and moved away from his sorrow...

So, heaven truly does exist!

*My God!* Roberts swore that from this day forward, he would no longer live in decay! He would pull himself together, not just for her, but for their daughter.

"Thank you, Annie. May God bless you," Roberts said softly, holding his daughter as he watched Annie climb into Coulson's car.

"How was the party tonight?" After starting the car, Coulson turned to Annie in the passenger seat and asked softly.

"It was great!" Annie blinked and looked at Coulson. She seemed a bit nonchalant, not particularly wanting to answer him, as she was currently pondering a question.

"That's good then!" Coulson looked at Annie, a strange curve appearing at the corner of his mouth. "Then, how about Uncle Coulson takes you somewhere fun in a little while?"

"Eh? Somewhere fun? Okay!" Annie suddenly laughed. She turned to grab her backpack and pulled Tibers out to hold him in her arms. She seemed to have discovered something very amusing; her large, bright blue eyes were filled with a mischievous glint.

*(Foolish Earthling!)* Tibers curled his lip disdainfully at the driving Coulson.