98 – Concert

The beginning of the concert was painfully loud, good thing Rouxi came prepared with earplugs for the two of them. He could tell she was a regular idol concert goer. Rouxi screamed like the other girls, and Li Yun wondered if he should join them and look crazy, or stand there like an idiot. From the bewildered look of some male audience, it seems that he wasn’t the only one.

"Oh my gosh, they look so adorable!" Rouxi laughed and cheered as the idols did their dance routine.

They were really just babies dancing around. They didn't look older than fifteen. It was very uncomfortable to watch.

"Do you think it's their choice to be up there?" Rouxi wondered. "Or because of their circumstances? Their parents?"

Li Yun could see the determination in their eyes that these were children who wanted to be up there. There were different reasons, whether it was to escape whatever life they had, to reach their dream, to impress their parents, or to become famous, it was their decision. However, for children who knew very little about the world, how much was truly their choice?

When Li Yun was their age, he wasn't sure if he shared the same determination if it wasn't for his system. He never thought about the future or the need to work for money back then. Were kids simply growing up too fast?

During the routine, the dancing became intense. It was much more advanced than the earlier 90s boy bands. Li Yun noticed one of the members complexion looked pale.

"Is there anything wrong with Ano?" Rouxi asked, knowing her boyfriend's occupation. "He's pretty, pale as snow, so the fans call him snow white."

"How old is he?" Li Yun asked curiously.

"He's the second youngest at twelve."

Li Yun wasn't sure of the exact problem. All the boys seemed to have some symptoms of exhaustion, but the boy Ano seemed to be particularly off. The color of his face suggested ailment in the blood.

At the intermission point, the movement of the staff seemed concerning. They were carefully listening to their earphones with concerned looks. Something had happened backstage that made them worried.

"Intermission isn't usually this long," said Rouxi. "Do you think Ano will be okay?"

"There should be medical staff in the back, if anything happens, they will rush him to the ER," Li Yun replied.

After another ten minutes, the music started up again. People in the audience who sensed something was off were relieved that their concerns were unwarranted. The boys returned on stage with a ballad. Li Yun felt that Ano still looked a bit off, even Rouxi thought he didn't look too well.

"Their set-list has changed," Rouxi commented. "It's supposed to be another dance routine, not a ballad."

The boys sang to the crowd, slowly making their way close to the edge of the stage. They were shaking hands with the girls in the front row. Li Yun's eyes lit up.

"Do you think Ano will shake my hand if I call him out?" asked Li Yun.

Rouxi held up both hands in fist form. "Fighting!"

Li Yun rolled his eyes, but then started to yell out Ano's name. All the girls around him looked impressed. They were generally very supportive of male uncle fans. Some girls decided to film Li Yun during his screaming session while some others decided to also help him gather Ano's attention.

Rouxi had to duck down a little, away from the camera. It was to avoid being randomly filmed with him, and she was slightly embarrassed.

The combination of Li Yun's deep male voice, along with the girls around him caused Ano to notice. Touched that he had a male fan, he approached Li Yun's side of the stage and shook his hand. Ano then moved away to shake another fan's hand.

"Rouxi, the kid is in pretty bad shape, he should be rushed to the hospital now," Li Yun confirmed after he shook Ano’s hand .

Even without any ability, Li Yun could tell that it was a high fever. Li Yun didn't know how he was still standing there and smiling to the audience like it was nothing.

"There's a solo song by Minghu coming up, so Ano should be backstage after two more songs," Rouxi suggested. "We should head backstage."

Li Yun grabbed Rouxi's hand and moved toward a guard blocking the backstage entrance.

"I'm a doctor, I heard about the situation with Ano," Li Yun told the guard and flashed his work ID. "I need to speak with the medical personnel."

The security guard had an earbud on, and already knew the situation in the back. Outsiders shouldn't have known what was going on, so the guard naturally assumed that the in-house doctor, Shui, had called someone.

Li Yun and Rouxi rushed to the back, and scammed another security guard to lead the way. They approached the medical station.

"Who's in charge of monitoring Ano's health?" Li Yun called out.

"Who are you?" asked the thin male. "I'm Doctor Shui, I'm in charge here. How do you know about Ano's condition?"

"Are you crazy to let a kid out there with a fever?" Li Yun cried out. Rather than answering, it was better to pressure people by pointing out an obvious flaw.

"We have already advised him to stop," Doctor Shui replied in a defensive tone. "But he's determined to finish the concert. There are only around 30 minutes left. He will leave before the encore. Now, who are you before I call security?"

Just with the statement, Li Yun could tell that the doctor wasn't aware of Ano's illness. If anyone in the company knew, they would drop him out of the group.

"I'm a personal doctor of the family from his hometown," Li Yun responded, showing him his work badge. "His parents called me after watching the live broadcast. They are worried that he has a fever. I would like to speak with Ano when he comes back."

Rouxi had filled Li Yun's in on Ano's background, and it looked like the family was from a poor rural area up north.

The medical doctor hesitated, but it wasn't a bad idea to watch over the stranger. Li Yun quickly wrote something on a piece of paper as they waited for Ano to return backstage.

During the solo song, Ano was assisted by two managers to the medical rest area. He was also made aware that his parents sent him a doctor.

Ano knew his mother was always concerned about his choice of profession, but he didn't know how she was able to send a doctor out to see him. He arrived in the room, and looked curiously at the strange man in front of him.

"Uncle, my parents sent you?" Ano asked with his pale face, but his eyes were beaming at the thought that his parents were still looking out for him.

"When did I suddenly become an uncle?" Li Yun thought as he felt like crying in his heart, he wasn’t that much older. He slipped Ano the piece of paper he had written. “Read this carefully and nod if you understand…”