Chapter 175: Behind the Stage

When the enthusiastic cheers erupted around her, Lin Xiaolu had to cover her ears to block out the deafening shouts.

Heaven had mercy—she had never before attended an event of this scale; the thunderous music from the venue's speakers combined with the roaring crowd had exceeded her ears' tolerance.

In contrast to her, Jiang Yuan had fully merged into the crowd of fans, waving her glow stick in rhythm with the stage music and singing loudly. More strikingly, since the concert began, she had sung along to every single song—clearly a devoted fan.

Gao Ang's enthusiastic demeanor quashed Lin Xiaolu's urge to strike up a conversation; interrupting someone in the midst of their passion was hardly wise, and the best way to avoid spoiling their joy was to stay silent.

In silence, she scanned the surroundings, watching the excited crowd, and suddenly felt a pang of loneliness.

She, neither a fan nor an admirer, stood among them as an odd, out-of-place figure—as if she didn't belong here at all.

She couldn't help but regret coming; she wondered if she shouldn't have followed just for the theme song "Colorful Sky Angel." Especially since the song she wanted to hear had yet to appear, and the unfamiliar tracks were impossible to enjoy properly amid the noise.

It wasn't that the concert itself was bad. In fact, even though Lin Xiaolu wasn't a fan of "Masaoka Mako," she could still clearly appreciate the singer's solid vocal technique—she simply couldn't fully immerse herself today.

—I wonder how Senior Cuique is doing. Since she's not a fan either, can they even fit into this concert?

At this thought, she couldn't help but form this idea.

Rather, even now, she remained curious as to why Senior Cuique had come here.

Several days ago, after Lin Xiaolu told Senior Cuique about her plan to attend the concert, Senior Cuique unexpectedly changed the patrol schedule and volunteered to take the entire squad along.

Such an odd decision naturally puzzled the girls, but no matter how much they pressed, the only answer was "You'll see when you get there," with no further details.

That alone might have been strange enough, but what confused her more was that while Lin Xiaolu was still baffled, Xia Liang and Bai Jingxuan already looked thoughtful—as if they'd figured something out.

Lin Xiaolu always asked questions to resolve things she cared about. But when she asked Xia Liang what she'd guessed, all she got was a mysterious smile and the annoying riddle: "I'm not sure, so I can't say anything—just enjoy yourself with your friend."

Like anyone cares. If you don't want to tell me, I don't want to ask.

Thinking of this, Lin Xiaolu's already low mood turned even worse. She grumbled silently about Xia Liang, then pushed aside her tangled emotions and decided to leave the venue for a while to clear her head.

Under the pretense of going to the restroom, Lin Xiaolu slipped out of her seat and ran lightly down the corridor, leaning against the wall to take a long, deep breath.

Through the wall, the sound from the speakers was no longer so piercing.

She stood there blankly for a while, until the numbness in her eardrums eased slightly, then found a nearby vending machine and bought two bottles of water.

The quiet corner vending machine became a rare haven amid the noise; the thunderous sound still reached here through the wall, but it felt like the sounds of another world.

She pulled out the water, tucked one bottle under her armpit to take back to Jiang Yuan, then twisted open the cap of the other. The bottle's rim touched her lips, and the clear water washed through her mouth, making her feel more alert.

Standing silently for a while, pondering when to return, Lin Xiaolu dawdled for another dozen minutes as the songs inside changed again and again. Seeing that the concert was nearly halfway over and she really couldn't delay any longer, she reluctantly turned toward the venue.

But before she had taken two steps, a commotion echoed from the corridor beside her:

—"So why do we have to wait until the concert ends to leave? There've been so many shows already—what's so special about this one?" A high-pitched girl's voice said.

"It's not about the number of shows—it's because today's concert is the final stop of the tour, and it has different meaning." Another, calmer female voice replied.

"What meaning? Just because it's the last one? Will there be champagne after?"

"Well, no…"

"Then what meaning is there? Just because Fang Ting City is her hometown?"

"No, strictly speaking, the teacher's hometown isn't Fang Ting City either."

"Then what's the point? I've got important opportunities and dates coming up—don't ruin this for me!"

This abrupt, incomplete conversation piqued Lin Xiaolu's interest; one of them, like herself, clearly didn't want to stay. A strange sense of resonance made her veer off her path toward the venue and follow the voices deeper into the corridor.

There, she saw three young girls gathered together, talking.

They seemed young mainly because their faces were all immature—roughly the same age as Lin Xiaolu. They all wore matching bright yellow T-shirts—the uniform of venue staff, apparently—but why were there such young staff members here?

The earlier noise had come from two of them: the shortest girl, who looked two years younger than Lin Xiaolu, was the one demanding to leave. She had shoulder-length golden hair, parted bangs revealing a broad forehead, and now stood with her hands on her hips, looking fiercely accusatory.

Another girl wore glasses and appeared the oldest of the group, exuding an intellectual, composed air as she patiently tried to reason with the blonde girl.

The third girl, however, had said nothing from the start, silently observing everything before her. Had Lin Xiaolu not seen her with her own eyes, she'd never have guessed another person was even there, based solely on the voices.

—So what are they doing here?

Lin Xiaolu couldn't help but wonder.

They couldn't be fans—they refused to stay inside the venue, just like her, sneaking out to the corridor. Clearly, they weren't here to enjoy the concert.

They couldn't be staff either—their ages didn't fit, and with the concert ongoing, staff should be swamped with work, not chatting idly.

Most puzzling of all: why did the blonde girl look familiar? As if Lin Xiaolu had seen her somewhere before.

As Lin Xiaolu studied the group with growing suspicion, the girls also noticed her presence and fell silent, turning toward her.

For a moment, no one spoke. A strange silence stretched between them in the corridor.

The three girls likely assumed Lin Xiaolu was just passing by, so they paused their talk, waiting for her to move on—but she showed no intention to leave, simply standing there openly watching.

This stalemate was finally broken by the girl with glasses.

"Hello, may I help you?"

She abruptly shifted her tone, abandoning her earlier calm seriousness to greet Lin Xiaolu warmly: "Miss, are you lost?"

But her question received no reply, because Lin Xiaolu was frowning, staring fixedly at the blonde girl beside her.

The unhidden gaze naturally drew the attention of the three girls; they realized Lin Xiaolu was looking at someone, and the other two turned their eyes toward the blonde girl as well.

"Is she looking for you?" the girl with glasses asked.

"Me?" the blonde girl looked utterly confused.

"You," the quiet girl suddenly spoke up, confirming it.

"Why me?"

The blonde girl blinked, turned to Lin Xiaolu, and asked bewilderedly: "Do I have something on my face?"

"... I have a strange feeling."

After staring at the girl's face for a long while, Lin Xiaolu spoke slowly: "Have I met you before?"

"Huh?"

The blonde girl froze.

The girl with glasses also unconsciously adjusted her glasses.

The taciturn girl, who had hardly spoken a few words for a long time, widened her eyes in even greater shock.

"... Is this a pick-up line?"

"This seems like it could be a pick-up line."

"I, I've heard of this pick-up tactic before. My older sister told me about it..."

They gathered together, whispering and exchanging words, occasionally turning their heads to glance at Lin Xiaolu, yet after half a day, they still hadn't figured anything out. Their conversation amounted only to empty sighs.

In the end, it was the blonde girl who noticed something slightly off during their discussion. Because after repeatedly sizing up Lin Xiaolu, she suddenly felt a sensation as well, as if she had indeed seen the other person somewhere before.

She shared her impression with the other two, instantly sparking another round of exclamations.

"You feel that way too?"

The girl with glasses let her gaze wander back and forth between Lin Xiaolu and the blonde girl, somewhat startled and uncertain: "Why is this?"

"It, it's love at first sight!"

The taciturn girl stammered, yet spoke with complete seriousness: "I, I heard my older sister say that this situation is generally called love at first sight! It's a fated encounter!"

For the past week, the company had been frantically working overtime; we ran to the office even on weekends, leaving absolutely no time to type. Returning home, I was so exhausted that I had not a single thought in my head. Actually, writing according to the outline should have been fine, and I truly wanted to update every day, so I didn't take leave, but the resulting text was deeply unsatisfying. By midnight, I was groggy and just gave up. I am very sorry, meow.

Next, I will strive to regain my typing state and try to stabilize the updates. The upcoming story is supposed to be very interesting, and I must present it well to everyone.

Thank you to reader Tengshe Lieyun, reader dahuangfgd, and the reader who bestowed the Alliance Leader title during this period. I am truly grateful and also very sorry. I am even more grateful to all the readers who have supported and waited patiently. Thank you all.

(End of this chapter)