Soon, news of the famous singer Lin Fan's scandal, lip-syncing, and insults toward fans surged onto the hot search. On stage, the young man was nearly drowned out by the vitriol of his fans. Under the cover of bodyguards, he barely managed to retreat from the agitated crowd. His shoes were lost and buttons torn off his clothes in the scuffle, leaving him looking utterly dejected and disheveled, like a drowned rat.
In an interview, a man shouted at the camera:
"Do you know how much money I spent just to snatch a concert ticket? And then he just cheats us with lip-syncing!"
"Goddammit! Do you even care about us? Refund!!"
Meanwhile, the staff members were like ants on a hot pan, trying to appease the restless fans while arranging for them to leave through the evacuation tunnels.
Under the shadows of the park trees, more and more indignant figures appeared. This emergency evacuation tunnel ended in a corner located to the back left of the stage—a place that usually saw no visitors.
Tang Xin wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but it seemed like the number of people near her was gradually increasing.
It started with just two or three figures, then a dozen or so scattered about, and now, a dense crowd had formed that she couldn't even see the end of.
Did something happen on the main stage?
"Oh, look, there's a girl performing here. I didn't even notice her just now."
"Is she playing the bass?"
"What's wrong with her? Her eyes are all red, like she just cried... She looks a bit pitiful."
"Probably a breakup or someone played with her feelings."
Before long, a large crowd had stopped in front of Tang Xin. There were men and women, old and young, all dressed in their own styles, sizing her up with various gazes. Some even turned on their curtain recording devices.
With so many people watching, Tang Xin couldn't help but feel nervous. The lack of self-confidence rooted deep in her heart began to whisper in her ear. She started reflexively worrying if her movements were ungraceful, if she had the lyrics wrong, or if she looked ugly. Soon, she began to lose her pitch, and her fingers fumbled over the notes on the bass.
"She’s off-key, hahaha! She looks so nervous."
"Sigh, her singing skills are too weak. What a waste. Her playing is only mediocre, too."
"Let's go, let's go. Tonight has been such a disappointment."
The crowd in front of her began to disperse, the scale shrinking at a visible rate. Tang Xin's expression darkened. She hung her head, looking dejectedly at the tips of her white sneakers.
Right then, she caught a glimpse of a figure in the crowd trying their best to jump up, holding two glow sticks high toward the sky!
The glow sticks flashed with the initials of her name—TX.
That figure had long golden hair that reached her shoulders. She jumped again and again, trying to get Tang Xin's attention. Though she was easily swallowed by the shifting crowd, she was like a shimmering star that firmly drew Tang Xin's gaze.
In that instant, Tang Xin's eyes flickered. Scattered points of light were given life, actively extending toward the world beyond the frame. The entire world suddenly became bright, bursting with beautiful colors!
"Little Blue Bird! Go for it! You can sing well!" Xu Xiaoyou shouted, cupping her hands like a megaphone.
"Just sing for yourself! It doesn't matter if you sing poorly—this is the concert I organized for you!"
"I won't just make you a new star for everyone to see. I will make all the stars shine for you alone!"
"Tonight, the only protagonist on this stage is you!"
The girl's voice pierced through the wind and snow, striking Tang Xin's heart directly.
A faint sourness rose to her nose, and her heart, bolstered by courage, beat faster and faster. Responding to the near-scream from within her soul, Tang Xin's fingertips touched the strings: "How can I travel through time and space? How can I hold you in my arms?"
This feeling was exactly the same as that night in the room. All the unease and anxiety vanished completely.
She only wanted to sing with all her heart, no longer worrying about strange looks.
"Outside the window is a vast expanse of white, longing turns into snowflakes~"
It was as if her world only contained her and the young girl. It was so quiet that only the girl's cheers for her could be heard.
The people who had stopped became nothing more than irrelevant background noise. She couldn't see them clearly, and she didn't want to.
"All the past trapped in ice and snow, the words of self-hypnosis and self-burial, forget them all~"
She only wanted to see the girl clearly. She only wanted to sing for her, just like that night.
Tang Xin's youthful face was flushed under the streetlights. She plucked the strings, and her voice gradually became melodic and beautiful:
"The galaxy descends into my eyes, and my eyes only hold you~"
The crowd in the park slowly became immersed in the girl's voice. The wonderful melody seemed capable of piercing through time and space to reach their innermost hearts.
The pure and lingering tone of her voice was like a pair of slender hands, brushing away the restlessness and dissatisfaction they felt tonight. The emotions previously bottled up at the main stage found an outlet and were all vented out.
"Keep going!" someone started.
"Go for it!"
Soon, others responded. Before long, cheers rose one after another. More and more passersby noticed this lively corner, stopped, and joined the group cheering for the girl.
Tang Xin gradually found her flow. Her movements were no longer as restrained as they were at the beginning. She presented herself openly, expressing all her past frustrations through her song.
The clear and graceful singing echoed over the park for a long time, flowing slowly through this quiet moment until the sky grew dark and the three radiant stars had completely set.
"You are my starry sky. I am dazzling because of you, eye-catching because of you, and I shine only because of you~"
"I only hope to have you in my world. I only want to stay by your side."
As the last note fell, the audience immersed in the girl's singing finally snapped back to reality. Enthusiastic applause erupted throughout the park.
Tang Xin still felt a sense of unreality. Realizing that people were cheering for her, she bowed sincerely to everyone.
"Thank you!"
"Thank you for liking it! Thank you for staying to hear me finish!"
Another wave of warm applause followed. Tang Xin looked up, but she couldn't find the figure she was looking for in the crowd. A trace of disappointment flashed in her eyes.
At the park exit, people were coming and going. Xu Xiaoyou walked through the crowd, blowing gently onto her frozen palms. Her gaze remained on the curtain which was rapidly scrolling through information.
As she expected, Tang Xin's performance in the park had been recorded and shared to the Note platform. It had gained countless likes while surging onto the hot search. Currently, its popularity was second only to the "Lin Fan Concert Scandal."
All it took was creating a contrast. By ruining the concert of a manufactured star like Lin Fan, the people who were utterly disappointed would naturally notice the girl giving off a faint light in the corner.
However, she had neglected Tang Xin for a whole day. She didn't even dare to imagine what kind of emotional journey the girl had gone through before the performance. The other girl was probably very angry right now. After all, she had still deceived her.
She would deal with it when she got back.
Just as Xu Xiaoyou was about to leave, someone suddenly called out to her from behind.
"Xu Xiaoyou!"
Xu Xiaoyou's lip twitched slightly as she quickly thought of how to explain things to Tang Xin and soothe her wounded heart.
The sound of rushing air came from behind her at that moment.
As soon as she turned around, the girl lunged into her arms. With a happy smile on her youthful face, she tightly hugged Xu Xiaoyou's shoulders and buried her face in her, as if afraid that she might disappear again if she wasn't careful.
"Huh?"
In the winter chill, the girl's body emitted a cloud of warmth. Beads of sweat still clung to her neck and face. That feeling of warmth and softness made Xu Xiaoyou daze for a moment, and she instinctively hugged the girl back.
It felt as if it had been a long time since anyone had hugged her like this.
Xu Xiaoyou's gaze was peaceful as she asked, "Are you not mad at me?"
The girl's heart seemed to be beating very fast.
"How could I be mad? Okay, I was very angry at first, but I'm really, really, really happy now. It still feels like a dream. So many people clapped for me just now."
"This is the first time I've been recognized by so many people."
"Thank you, Yuzu. I'm really so happy."
"This concert you held for me... I love it."
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