A Shared Secret Amidst the Roar

Amidst the clamor, the brush of skin caused Bai Muxue’s delicate frame to subtly shiver.

She quickly turned her head, her gaze falling upon Qin Xiyao, who, for reasons unknown, had averted her eyes and whose cheeks were flushed crimson.

“Xiyao, is something wrong?”

“N-nothing at all.”

A jolt went through Qin Xiyao’s heart.

She hastily deployed her pre-planned countermeasure—to proactively change the subject, utterly avoiding any mention of their surreptitious hand-holding!

“Speaking of which, I noticed Xiaoxue was completely absorbed in the performance just now… Do you really like it?”

“Hmm, it’s alright, I suppose.

No wonder my friend kept telling me I wouldn’t regret seeing it.”

Bai Muxue observed the excited crowd around them, the fervent fans waving their light sticks.

She chuckled, remarking, “No wonder so many people enjoy these kinds of performances.

I’ve certainly had my eyes opened today, haha!”

Hearing this, Qin Xiyao offered a bright smile.

“Oh, is that so…”

Bai Muxue shook her head lightly.

After giving Qin Xiyao a playful wink, she returned her gaze to the stage.

Qin Xiyao secretly swallowed, a nervous lump in her throat.

She took a deep breath, attempting to quell the anxiety bubbling within her.

Yet, juxtaposed with her tension, an irrepressible joy slowly unfurled in her heart.

‘It… it worked!’

‘Xiaoxue didn’t say anything more!’

‘And she didn’t pull her hand away!’

Before leaving home, Qin Xiyao had specifically consulted dating advice from various relationship bloggers.

Their posts mentioned that if you deliberately reach for your crush’s hand when you’re at a cinema or a similar venue, you’ve already succeeded halfway!

—She had worried that Xiaoxue had only instinctively gripped her hand, swayed by the fervent atmosphere of the venue… But now, Xiaoxue not only hadn’t pulled away, she had even intertwined their fingers in return!

‘This means her attempt was a triumph!’

‘Xiaoxue… could she be harboring the same feelings deep down?’

Such a thought bloomed in the depths of Qin Xiyao’s heart.

A different kind of light entered her gaze as she looked at Bai Muxue.

Amidst the surrounding clamor, they remained, hands clasped together, neither daring to break the unspoken silence that had settled between them.

‘Hmm… is this kind of boisterous atmosphere truly too much for a quiet girl like Xiyao?’

Bai Muxue was indeed lost in thought, though certainly not in the way Qin Xiyao imagined.

Her mind drifted to the time Xingwan, that little imp, had suddenly gotten a whim and dragged her along to watch a horror movie, only for the girl to nearly jump to the ceiling in fright less than twenty minutes into the film…

‘Well, between girls, isn’t holding hands quite normal?’

Bai Muxue didn’t dwell on it, merely allowing a faint, helpless smile to grace her charming face.

On stage, the performance continued unabated.

Unlike the previous song, which had unequivocally centered around a single performer, this particular song’s arrangement and staging clearly made a concerted effort to highlight the other members of the group, allowing those who had been momentarily overshadowed by the lead vocalist’s brilliance to step into the audience’s view and showcase their own captivating charisma.

It was, undeniably, a remarkably clever arrangement.

It ensured the lead vocalist’s central position was maintained, while simultaneously preventing a scenario where one singer monopolized all the limelight, leaving the others as mere background figures.

‘Heh, that’s quite like that girl Amber’s style.’

‘On the surface, she might seem to think the world revolves around her, yet she’s surprisingly considerate of others’ feelings…’

Though Bai Muxue had little understanding of bands, she was well aware that for a band to function as a cohesive unit, if one member’s brilliance shone too brightly, drawing all the fans’ attention solely to them, resentment would inevitably fester, ultimately leading to their dissolution.

Evidently, Amber’s band excelled in this aspect.—Bai Muxue observed most of the fans present enthusiastically waving lightboards emblazoned with the entire band’s image, rather than the anticipated ‘I’m here for the lead singer, who are the rest of you?’ scenario.

As Bai Muxue’s thoughts began to wander, the music slowly drew to a close.

The performance had ended, yet the audience below remained so lost in their lingering enjoyment that they hadn’t even fully registered its conclusion.

It wasn’t until the lead vocalist stepped forward, microphone in hand, and charmingly waved to the audience below:

“Thank you all for coming to see our performance!

Tonight’s show concludes here!”

The girl’s vibrant voice, brimming with an energy that seemed untouched by her demanding performance, carried across the entire venue.

This elicited the most unified and enthusiastic cheer from the audience yet, their shouts and applause threatening to lift the very roof off the building.

Undoubtedly, after tonight, the name ‘Stardust’ would resonate throughout Wangdu’s (TL Note: Wangdu is the name of the city.) band enthusiast community.

Regardless of whether they had heard the band’s songs before, for a considerable time to come, the entire band, led by their captivating vocalist, would be frequently discussed.

The audience slowly dispersed.

The stage lights dimmed one by one.

Yet, amidst the dwindling crowd, the excited chatter of many still lingering, unwilling to let the moment fade, could be heard.

Shortly after Bai Muxue and Qin Xiyao had slowly departed the performance venue with the dispersing crowds, Bai Muxue suddenly halted, turning to Qin Xiyao with a slightly embarrassed expression.

“Ugh, I think I left my wallet on the seat.

I’ll go back and look for it.

Xiyao, you head out first, I’ll find you later.”

“Huh? Why don’t we go together—”

Before the momentarily stunned Qin Xiyao could finish her sentence, the girl before her gently squeezed her hand, offering an apologetic smile.

“It’s fine, I’ll just go by myself.”

Gazing into the girl’s clear eyes, Qin Xiyao found herself unable to utter another word of protest.

She could only nod instinctively.

“Oh…”

****

Backstage, the band members, their faces slick with sweat, were sprawled exhaustedly on their seats.

They chattered excitedly, dissecting the outcome of their performance.

“I can’t believe so many people came to see us this time!

I was genuinely worried there wouldn’t be many people, or that they’d get bored after a couple of songs and leave in disappointment…”

“Oh, I even imagined disaster beasts (TL Note: Refers to monsters or catastrophic creatures in a fantasy setting.) or strange individuals suddenly appearing halfway through the show, completely ruining everything for us…”

“But then again, Wangdu (TL Note: Wangdu is the name of the city.) is a big city.

Our popularity was unexpectedly high, wasn’t it?

Could we be considered a famous band now?”

“Don’t get ahead of yourselves.

We still need a lot more practice…

There are clearly still many issues with the scores, and our ensemble playing isn’t polished enough.

If Shu Ying (TL Note: Shu Ying is the lead vocalist.) hadn’t carried us through with her powerful vocals today, who knows how it would have turned out…”

The short-haired girl, mercilessly pouring cold water on their enthusiasm, turned to the lead vocalist sitting beside her.

“Shu Ying?”

However, the expected reply didn’t come.

The band members suddenly realized something was amiss.

Their gazes uniformly converged on their lead singer.

At that moment, the girl who was usually so cheerful and lively had uncharacteristically fallen silent.

She was frowning, her eyes fixed on a white envelope in her hand.

“This envelope… did one of you leave it on my table?”

The team members exchanged glances.

Then, in unison, they shook their heads.

“No, we didn’t.”

Another inexplicable silence descended.

The short-haired girl hesitated, then cautiously suggested: “Um, could it be a letter from an anti-fan?

Maybe we should just throw it away…”

Before she could finish her thought, their lead singer’s face broke into a mocking smile.

With swift, decisive movements, she tore open the envelope:

“Heh, an anti-fan, eh?

Let this young lady see what schemes you’re concocting…”

Yet, as the girl pulled out the folded letter and unfurled it, the smile on her pretty face abruptly froze.

Only a single, brief sentence was inscribed upon it.

–’The performance was excellent, I truly enjoyed it.’

The signature was a crooked cowboy hat accompanied by two toy guns.

Without a moment’s hesitation, under the bewildered gazes of her bandmates, the girl bolted directly out from backstage.

But around the now-empty stage, apart from the cleaning staff dismantling the waste disposal equipment, there was no other soul to be seen.

“That person… !”

The letter in her hand was instinctively crumpled, and ripples of emotion crossed the girl’s pretty face.