The bustle of the backstage concert hall felt as if a mute button had been pressed.
The moment Kasahana Chiai stepped into the wings, the noise faded into a blurred background hum.
Usually, at this time, a familiar figure would be right by her side.
Su Yuqing, her manager, would be there at the final moment to straighten a non-existent wrinkle in her clothes or whisper a soft “don’t be nervous” that even Su Yuqing didn’t quite believe.
She would stand at the boundary between shadow and light, watching Chiai walk toward the stage—a place of brilliant radiance that belonged only to her.
But tonight, she was not there.
In the empty backstage corridor, only Kasahana Chiai remained.
Along with the silence, the sharp pain in her ankle throbbed more clearly with every heartbeat.
She performed her final preparations alone.
Every slight shift in her center of gravity tugged at her nerves, reminding her of the consequences her headstrong decision might bring.
‘She really… actually left…’
This realization was like a cold needle piercing her already frantic mind.
Moreover, she had been driven away by Chiai’s own bastardly words and that uncontrollable, wicked temper.
A strong sense of regret surged like a tide, nearly drowning her.
‘No!’
However, that regret was instantly covered and twisted by another sharper, more paranoid emotion.
‘It’s that woman! That blue-haired woman who appeared out of nowhere with a strange aura and easily drew all of Su Yuqing’s attention! It’s all that stranger’s fault! She took Master away from me! She ruined everything!’
A flash of near-insane jealousy and resentment flickered in Chiai’s lapis-colored eyes, shifting all the blame onto the “intruder” she had only met once.
The makeup mirror reflected a meticulously sculpted face, perfect without a single flaw.
Her long blonde hair flowed with a synthetic luster under the lights.
Chiai looked at herself in the mirror and couldn’t help but sigh softly.
That sigh held fatigue, grievance, and a loneliness she could tell no one.
Right then, Sakura Onodera’s voice sounded behind her, filled with encouragement and concern.
“Chiai, the audience has mostly finished entering, the stage is ready, and it’s almost time for you to go on.”
Chiai turned around, her face instantly switching to her signature idol smile, though it carried a hint of fragile uncertainty.
“Big Sister Sakura,” she whispered, her eyes showing a rare lack of confidence.
“Do… do I look pretty enough tonight?”
The question went beyond usual pleasantries; it was a plea for external validation to fill her internal insecurity.
“Of course you do!”
Sakura immediately gave a firm response.
She smiled, trying to dispel the tension with a light tone.
“Please! Don’t you dare look down on the great revolutionary friendship and deep bonds shared by everyone in the makeup team! We’ve brought out all our secret techniques for this!”
“Then… right now, am I…”
Chiai paused, asking a more childish question that touched the depths of her heart’s desire.
“Am I at the level where anyone who takes one glance at me will instantly love me to death?”
She needed that absolute magnetism.
Specifically, she needed to attract the person who might no longer be there.
“Absolutely!”
Sakura nodded without hesitation. her voice was powerful, as if she were making a solemn vow.
“Our Chiai is, without a doubt, the world’s number one most adorable and shining idol girl tonight! There is no runner-up!”
This unreserved praise acted like a weak shot of adrenaline.
A more genuine smile bloomed on Chiai’s face, filled with gratitude.
“Thank you, Big Sister Sakura. And… thank you to all the sisters in the makeup team for working several days of overtime for this kitty.”
The warmth from the team temporarily chased away some of the chill.
“Good luck! Our Chiai is the best!”
“Mm.”
Chiai took a deep breath, as if forcing all the pain and insecurity into the deepest part of her heart.
She turned toward the passage leading to the dazzling stage.
She shouted to herself in her mind, trying to use pride to drive out fear:
‘This is your stage!’
She told herself, every word hitting her heart like a hammer.
‘After all, this stage belongs to you, Kasahana Chiai, and you alone!’
The voice echoed in her mind with a desperate resoluteness.
‘Even without her… even if just this one time, the entire performance lacks that woman’s gaze… can’t you, Kasahana Chiai, complete the show on your own?! Can’t you still shine…?!’
With a heart forced full of courage but still trembling with unease, Kasahana Chiai took a step toward the center of the stage, into that vortex of light.
With every step, her injured ankle sent a piercing pain through her, but a flawless, sweet smile rose on her face.
“First of all, I want to thank everyone—”
She spoke into the microphone, her voice carrying through the speakers across the entire hall.
It was sweet, pleasant, and carried just the right amount of playfulness.
“Thank you for coming here tonight specifically to watch this kitty’s special Thanksgiving Performance… meow!”
“And then—”
She intentionally dragged out her tone.
Her lapis-colored eyes scanned the dark sea of fans who were going wild for her, trying to use the interaction to distract herself from the pain.
“This kitty knows that every single Ai-fan here tonight is the world’s most, most, most adorable little angel who supports Chiai the most! Meow!”
But until she truly stood in the center of the stage, relying on her injured left foot to barely maintain balance while shifting most of her weight to her right foot and tightly gripping the microphone like a lifeline—
Only at that moment did Kasahana Chiai realize a cruel reality.
The tearing pain coming from her ankle was absolutely not something she could easily endure by simply gritting her teeth or forcing a smile.
Physiological tears nearly burst from her eyes, but she forced them back.
Fine beads of cold sweat broke out on her forehead, shimmering imperceptibly under the spotlight.
‘I can’t… hold on… it hurts so much, meow…’
Her vision began to blur.
The cheers from below the stage felt as if they were behind a curtain of water.
‘I can’t do it, meow… I really… can’t…’
A sense of desperate powerlessness seized her.
‘I’m sorry… everyone… I’m sorry… Tonight’s performance might really be ruined…’
Just as her willpower was about to be completely crushed by the pain, and just as her smile was about to break at the critical moment—
Time seemed to stop as Chiai’s wandering gaze accidentally swept over the center of the very first row and froze on a profoundly familiar face.
‘Mas… ter…?’
A syllable of extreme shock escaped from the depths of her soul. It was nearly inaudible, yet to her, it sounded like a clap of thunder.
Su Yuqing!
She hadn’t left!
Not only had she stayed, but she was currently sitting right there in the sea of lights composed of countless stranger’s faces!
What made Chiai’s heart shake so much she almost lost her composure was—
On Su Yuqing’s head sat that cat-ear cheer hat!
The one sold by the official fan club to symbolize being “Chiai’s closest family,” a design Su Yuqing had once complained was childish and ridiculous!
In her hand, just like the most ordinary fans around her, she awkwardly but firmly held a glow stick representing Chiai’s support color!
This scene was more magical than any painkiller.
It was as if an unbelievable miracle truly existed in this world.
An indescribable, surging wave of heat instantly pumped from her heart to her limbs, dispelling the cold despair and sharp pain that had nearly consumed her!
A massive power, mixed with overwhelming joy and disbelief, filled her entire body!
“So, my most adorable Ai-fans—”
Her voice suddenly became incredibly stable, even carrying a sense of powerful strength she had never possessed before.
She straightened her back as if the injury to her ankle had instantly healed.
‘This is your stage, Kasahana Chiai!’
She shouted in her heart again, but this time, it was full of certainty and power!
“I have to ask, are you all willing… to be quiet and listen carefully to the new song this kitty prepared for you? Meow?”
Her smile became incredibly brilliant, a radiance emanating from the inside out.
Firm starlight flickered in her lapis-colored eyes.
“I can’t hear you! A little louder, please! Meow!”
She playfully tilted her head to listen, then used an even more infectious voice to stir up the entire crowd.
The response from below was a wave of sound powerful enough to lift the roof:
“WE ARE WILLING…!!!”
The prelude to the music crashed in like a flood breaking through a dam!
Chiai took a deep look at that figure in the audience.
Then, she took a deep breath and poured all of her emotions—pain, grievance, surprise, love, and the desire to prove herself—into the very first note.
She knew that this performance was no longer her fighting a lonely, losing battle.
It had become a mutual pursuit and a testament.
She would use the most perfect performance to tell that person:
Look, I didn’t fall.
And she would also tell her:
“Master,” your presence means everything to me…