Beautiful blue hair cascaded down across her bare shoulders, bouncing off her pearl-like skin and showing off dazzling aquamarine eyes. Her star-idol outfit hugged her curvaceous figure, and the makeup that accentuated her already glamorous features was what drew people's eyes to her. She retained a look that was both innocent and yet highly alluring.
Perfectly plump and rose pink lips were bitten on for a moment, and soon the young woman winked and the crowd went wild. Despite Bai Minghua's forehead shining with sweat, and her body riddled with exhaustion after performing so long, the singer continued on the stage and the people in the concert's front cheered along with her.
Neon glowing light sticks waved through the dome, accompanied by wild screams.
Yes—even the people who were in the front—the people who had the VIP tickets paid with exorbitant amounts were actually wild and cheering. Perhaps that should have been obvious. Mostly male fans who adored their shining idol were seated in front, and some even had their bare chests revealed with the name and even image of the woman tattooed.
"I love you, Minghua!"
"Marry me!"
"Step on me, please!"
Those voices were lost in the sea of people gathered today, but even then, almost everyone here was either in love with the idol in front of them or the other singer that had performed earlier. Seated amongst the VIP seats were Li Yang and Ying Yue He, and really, the both of them were sitting down even while the others were giving standing ovations.
"Thank you so much for coming to see me today!" Bai Minghua gushed in front of her fans and wiped the sweat off her forehead. Some of it even flicked off stage, and Li Yang could have sworn that some were attempting to collect it in their towels. However, the singer was untainted and kept her gaze on everyone with a smile. "This next song will be with my brilliant friend Sun Aoyun, please cheer us on, guys! Let's go!"
But even though some of the wild and obscene scenes of some of the fans were enough to make him question the sanity of these people, he could understand it to some extent? Even Li Yang couldn't help but admire the dedication that the idol was pouring out through the entire stage and somehow, even the music wasn't exactly what he was used to listening… when she was performing it, it actually worked.
"Mister Li, what do you think? I'm looking forward to the duet." Ying Yue He had to lean down extremely close to him to whisper—or at least shout in his ear over the racket. And it truly was a sizable crowd. He couldn't imagine that it was so completely packed that other people had to watch outside in an enormous display.
"It's interesting, I can see why many people attend these concerts. Have you listened to them before?" He didn't want to say that he was out of the loop with trends, but it really was his first time hearing about them. Which was actually strange when he considered the possible market in front of him?
A great number of both men and women were present.
"Mostly Sun Aoyun, but Bai Minghua is great too. It's like I'm listening to an angel." Ying Yue He glanced up at the much younger woman. A grin formed on her face and she looked back at him. "This was a really good decision. Thank you for inviting me here, Mister Li."
Before he could even say a word, the male singer arrived on stage and gave a wave. The two of them greeted each other and there even seemed to be some kind of chemistry between them, but then looked back at the stage and greeted everyone—and this time it earned both of the crowd's men and women their loudest screams. Both sides tried to drown each other with cheers, throwing their favorites in the air, until the disharmony dispersed and the crowd sang along with both performers.
… Even Li Yang could almost feel himself getting roused to his feet. He barely stopped himself, even when the lyrics became more familiar to him. Instead, he focused on Ying Yue He who had already thrown her hands into the air and was having fun amongst the crowd like the carefree person she had always been.
He couldn't help but smile and wondered if he should actually loosen up and join in—get a little loose and perhaps focus on the performers on stage. The dazzling, shimmering and colorful lights, the harmonic music blasting through super-sized audio systems and just the mere presence of the idol and singer could make one forget about themselves, their worries and insecurities.
Their only focus was on the song and the performers.
Li Yang stood up and glanced at the sea of people. Somehow it felt like he even recognized some faces. And yet the outstanding thing was that nobody had a phone in their hands trying to record or even get a picture, instead they were all focused on stage, some were singing along and cheering like Ying Yue He but there were even those just standing up in complete awe.
It was an outstanding feat.
And then their eyes met, Bai Minghua outstretched a hand to him and sang. It almost felt like she really was directing her entire attention to him and the entire noise around him faded and disappeared. Her warm and kind gaze was on him.
"With you—I can smile again!
I'll find the strength to carry on,
Thunderclouds can fly away
I'll meet you here again!"
Li Yang's heart could have skipped a beat. It was a strange thing, and it was like he was back in university again—the memory of a young woman came back to his mind. Until Bao appeared out of thin air and had its paws in its ears. "What the actual fuck are you guys listening to? It's grating on my nerves and the others too."
Somehow the presence of the creature was enough to kick him out of his reverie. And for Li Yang to notice that there had been several dings in the back of his mind and comments from the Observers. Even when he thought he was self-aware, the music had captivated him in its own way.
[ Observer 'One Who Slaughters' Dislikes The Music ]
[ Observer 'Apache' Wonders About The Sudden Change In Music Industry ]
[ Observer 'Sea Foam' Can't Help But Roll Their Eyes At Petty Tricks ]
[ Observer 'Trite' Has No Comment But Questions The World ]
[ Observer 'Turtle Turquoise' Stares Down At The Monkey And Then Goes Off In A Rampage ]
[ Observer 'Dat Peach' Is Extremely Amused At People's Antics ]
His gaze immediately focused on the Observer mentioning 'petty tricks' and he held a hand over his face. The image of someone he didn't want to remember actually sprung up in his mind with just one look from the idol, and everyone around him was enraptured by the music.
He could feel the warmth of her smile—
The Panda gave him another slap in the face, and he was reeled back for a moment and nearly crashed if he hadn't stopped himself. The throbbing and searing pain once again cleared his mind. He could have stumbled into other people, but there was hardly a reaction from them.
The performers were messing with their minds.
[ You Have Gained A Mental Skill ]