The deafening cheers were like a tangible tsunami, nearly lifting the dome off the music hall.
Dazzling spotlights pierced through the air thick with fervor and anticipation like sharp swords, finally focusing on the petite yet radiant figure in the center of the stage.
Kasahana Chiai had arrived.
She stood at the heart of the halo, her long golden hair flowing with a honey-like sheen under the lights, while her meticulously crafted stage outfit traced the lines of her youth.
However, upon closer inspection, there was a subtle, nearly imperceptible stiffness in her posture.
Her center of gravity leaned delicately toward her uninjured right foot.
Yet, all of this was masked by the perfect smile on her face—a blend of innocent allure and queenly confidence.
“Meow~ Good evening, my dearest, dearest, dearest Ai-fans~!”
She spoke into the microphone, her sweet voice carrying through the top-tier sound system to every corner of the venue.
It immediately triggered a new wave of screams that threatened to shatter the ceiling.
“First of all, of course, I have to thank everyone. Thank you for coming all this way tonight to watch this Meow’s special Gratitude Performance~!”
She bowed slightly, her movements perfectly controlled.
It was enough to express her gratitude while avoiding putting excessive strain on her ankle.
“And then—”
She straightened up, her glass-colored eyes shimmering as they scanned the dense crowd of fans driven mad for her.
Every place her gaze landed triggered a surge of excited commotion.
“This Meow also knows that every single Ai-fan here tonight is the cutest little angel in the whole world, and the ones who support Chiai the most! Meow~!”
She blew kisses one after another, continuously pushing the atmosphere to a climax.
However, amidst this boiling ocean of joy, one person in the first row of the audience felt as if they were trapped between ice and fire.
Su Yuqing gripped the cold, sticky lightstick in her hand, her eyes locked onto Chiai’s left foot, which the idol was trying to hide with clever positioning.
Her heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand.
The deafening shouts of “Chiai!” all around her sounded like a tolling death knell in her ears.
‘She just got on stage… she has to stand and talk for so long… it must… it must hurt…’
She murmured to herself, her voice swallowed by the waves of sound. Her face was frighteningly pale.
She felt as if she could see through the thick bandages to the miserable state of the congested, swollen tissue beneath.
She could feel the bone-deep pain radiating from the ankle every time the girl’s center of gravity shifted.
“Yuqing? Hey! Su Yuqing!”
Liuli, who was standing beside her, bumped her shoulder hard, dragging her soul back to reality.
Liuli’s face was flushed with excitement, and she waved two lightsticks in her hands like two purple whirlwinds.
“What are you just standing there for?! Hurry! Chiai is looking this way! Wave your lightstick for her with me! Shout out loud!”
Liuli’s voice was somewhat raspy from excitement.
“Oh… R—Right away.”
Like a marionette, Su Yuqing mechanically raised the heavy lightstick in her hand and swayed it from side to side with the rhythm.
The purple light traced a blurred path before her unfocused eyes.
She felt like a hack actor, forced to perform a fake enthusiasm before the opening of a grand tragedy.
Just then, some sharp-eyed fans in the audience also seemed to notice something was wrong.
After all, Chiai’s openings were usually accompanied by energetic running and jumping across the stage.
Today, she acted as if she were pinned to the center.
“Wait—Chiai! What’s wrong with your leg?”
A bold male fan shouted the question that was on many people’s minds.
“Eh? Why is Chiai insisting on performing even though she’s injured?” another female voice cried out, filled with heartache and confusion.
The voices of doubt were like drops of water falling into a frying pan, instantly igniting all sorts of speculation. Very quickly, a “logical” conspiracy theory began to ferment and spread through the crowd.
“Isn’t it obvious?! It must be that damn black-hearted manager’s fault! To make her dirty money, she forced our Chiai to go on stage with an injury!”
That voice was filled with rage and immediately gained a massive following of agreement.
“Right! It’s definitely her! That manager named Su! She hides every time something happens!”
“Ah… that, Liuli…”
As Su Yuqing listened to the accusations behind her growing louder and more vitriolic, every sentence felt like a whip lashing across her back.
She subconsciously tried to hunch her shoulders, wishing she could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.
‘Maybe… we should—no, maybe I should just… leave…?’
She tried to pull her hand away from Liuli’s grip, wanting to escape this judgement seat that made her feel like she was sitting on needles.
“Ugh! What are you afraid of?!”
Liuli gripped her wrist tightly, her strength making it impossible to break free.
She leaned into Su Yuqing’s ear, her voice carrying an optimistic tone that seemed to see through everything.
“Wake up, Yuqing! Look at yourself!”
She pointed at the cat-ear hat on Su Yuqing’s head that bore the words “Closest Family,” then shook the two out-of-place lightsticks in her hands.
“Which part of you looks like the ‘damn black-hearted manager’ they’re talking about?”
“Hey, hey, hey! Don’t push me! Liuli, don’t push me forward, hey…!”
Su Yuqing cried out in a low panic, but Liuli had already applied force without listening.
She shoved Su Yuqing from her slightly recessed position all the way to the very front of the barricade, completely exposing her to the residual glow of the stage lights and the eyes of the surrounding fans.
“Look closely!”
Liuli stood behind her, her voice carrying a strange sort of encouragement, as if she were announcing a brand-new identity.
“Su Yuqing, right now, you are just an ordinary member among the tens of thousands of ‘Chiai’s closest family’ here tonight! You are here to cheer for that girl who is working hard to shine on stage! That’s all!”
However, at the very moment Su Yuqing was forced to “debut” in the front row, Chiai—who was trying to use lighthearted topics to divert everyone’s attention on stage—happened to glance across the first row of the audience.
Time seemed to freeze in that instant.
Chiai’s glass-colored eyes accurately captured that figure, one so familiar it was etched into her very bones.
The figure was currently wearing the cat-ear hat that symbolized the highest level of fan recognition and holding her lightsticks.
However, the woman’s face was devoid of color, and her eyes were filled with panic and the helplessness of someone caught red-handed.
“Ma… ster…?”
An extremely tiny syllable, trembling with disbelief, leaked from between Chiai’s teeth, nearly inaudible.
Her pupils constricted violently in 1/10,000th of a second.
Looking at Su Yuqing like this, Chiai was clearly stunned at first.
Even her perfect idol smile showed a momentary stiffness and a crack.
Her brain seemed to need extra time to process this scene that had far exceeded all her expectations.
Below the stage, the fans’ anger had reached a peak under the incitement of those with ulterior motives.
Uniform slogans began to ring out, the waves of sound growing higher and higher:
“Fire her! Fire that unconscionable manager!”
“Right! Fire her! Replace her! Change the manager!”
“Change the manager! Change the manager!”
“Ah…”
Amidst the chorus of condemnation directed at her, Su Yuqing closed her eyes in despair, waiting for the final judgment to fall.
She could even imagine how Chiai would follow the momentum, directing all the responsibility and fury onto her to completely ruin her reputation.
This was the most logical script, and it was also the punishment she subconsciously felt she deserved.
However, in the next second, Chiai’s voice rang out clearly throughout the venue via the microphone.
It carried a calmness and power that defied her age, instantly suppressing all the noise.
“Everyone—please be quiet and listen to this Meow!”
The venue fell silent abruptly.
Everyone looked toward the idol in the center of the stage, waiting for her accusation.
Chiai’s gaze swept across the crowd once more.
Finally, she took a deep look at the shivering “family member” wearing the cat-ear hat below.
Then, she spoke in a clear and firm voice.
“This Meow is truly, truly moved by how much everyone cares for and protects me. I completely understand.”
She paused slightly, as if gathering strength or making an important decision.
“However, regarding the decision for tonight’s performance, this Meow must make things clear to everyone—the truth is, my manager, Ms. Su Yuqing, did not force this Meow to perform injured in the slightest tonight.”
The crowd erupted in an uproar!
Even Su Yuqing snapped her eyes open, looking at the stage in disbelief.
Chiai ignored the commotion below and continued, her tone carrying an unquestionable sincerity.
“On the contrary, the person who insisted on completing tonight’s performance despite being injured—was me. It was Kasahana Chiai’s own personal, willful decision.”
“Why!?” a fan immediately shouted excitedly from below.
“Chiai! Your health is the most important thing!”
“There will be many, many more performances in the future, but there is only one Chiai in the whole world!” another voice cried out, sounding as if they were on the verge of tears.
Facing these sincere concerns, the smile on Chiai’s face softened slightly, becoming even more moving.
She brought the microphone close to her lips and spoke the most touching words of the night in her characteristic cat-like, lazy, magnetic voice.
“Because… in the depths of my heart, this Meow has truly, truly loved everyone deeply for a long, long time.”
Her words were like a warm current, instantly smoothing over most of the unrest.
“Because this Meow truly loves every single person who was willing to come here tonight to support me. Meow~”
She blinked, revealing a mischievous and cute smile as she cleverly shifted the topic.
“Of course~ perhaps those Ai-fans who have already purchased this Meow’s latest limited-edition hat might be able to get just a little bit more of my love? Who knows~?”
These playful words instantly ignited the fans’ desire to buy and their vanity.
The atmosphere shifted from anger to fanaticism in a heartbeat.
“Did you hear that?! Chiai said those wearing the hats get more love! Hurry up and buy the hats!” someone shouted loudly.
“Idiot! The official stalls sold out long ago! Fat chance!” another person immediately retorted.
” I don’t care! Give me that one on your head! Hurry! I’ll pay double!”
In the middle of the chaotic and enthusiastic atmosphere, Chiai smiled and tossed out the final question, pulling everyone’s emotions back to the main thread of the performance.
“So, my dearest Ai-fans—”
She took a deep breath, as if temporarily suppressing the sharp pain in her ankle.
The most brilliant smile of the night blossomed on her face as she asked loudly, “Are you willing to… quiet down now and listen carefully to the new song this Meow has prepared for you? Meow~?”
“WE DO—!!!”
The mountain-shaking response nearly shattered the glass.
“I can’t hear you~ A little louder! Meow~!”
Chiai cupped her hand to her ear in a listening gesture, doing her best to stir up the atmosphere.
“WE… DO…!!!”
The even more fanatical, even more uniform wave of sound was like a most devout prayer, echoing through the sky and completely swallowing all the previous discord.
The intro of the music crashed in at that moment!
Chiai took one last deep look at the nearly petrified Su Yuqing in the first row.
The corners of her mouth curled into an arc that was a mix of pain, pride, and perhaps a faint trace of solace.
Then, she turned around, throwing all her attention toward the stage, toward the music, and toward the thousands of fans who had come for her.
It was as if that world-shaking defense from moments ago was merely an insignificant interlude…
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