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Psst! We're moving!
Two days later, it was Yang Yi’s concert.
Early in the morning, the area around the stadium was already swarming with fans, countless flowers, posters, light sticks, and light-up signs.
Yang Yi was now in his thirties, having debuted from a talent show. However, from the beginning, he wasn’t known for being a “pretty boy” but rather a powerful vocalist.
Shen Yihuan had liked him since his debut and had bought every one of his albums.
But now she wasn’t as fervent; it was more like “Buddha-style” fandom.
Qiu Ruru now worked in news, and sometimes she could get entry tickets to events. The tickets for Yang Yi’s tenth-anniversary tour concert were incredibly hard to come by this time; Shen Yihuan didn’t know how she got them.
Since no one was going with her, Shen Yihuan didn’t want to ask casual work acquaintances, so she went alone. The extra ticket was tucked into his latest album, kept as a collectible.
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After work in the evening, Shen Yihuan went home, showered, and reapplied her makeup. The bite marks on her neck were now just two faint tooth indentations, covered by a bandage.
By the time she left, it was already getting dark.
Outside the stadium, people were everywhere, a vast throng.
Tickets for this concert had sold out in one minute, leaving many unable to get them. They could only listen to the free concert from outside, unable to see the stage.
Shen Yihuan bought a small red devil’s horn headband outside and wore it. Red was the fan color, and the area around the venue was a sea of red.
She scanned her ticket and entered.
She found her seat.
The ticket Qiu Ruru gave her was in an excellent spot, near the front row, center.
The two girls sitting next to her were still in school uniforms, blue and white. It was Friday, so they had probably rushed straight from school after classes.
They were taking endless selfies with their phones, pouting, making peace signs, and winking, exuding youthful vibrancy.
Shen Yihuan used to have many such photos herself. As a young girl, she would make those deliberately cute poses without blushing, performing them very smoothly. She even used to drag Lu Zhou into taking photos with her back then, but unfortunately, the quiet fellow would only put on a grumpy face.
The stadium lights went out, illuminating only a red sea formed by light-up signs and glow sticks.
A spotlight swept across the stage. Yang Yi hadn’t appeared yet, but the crowd was already screaming.
Shen Yihuan joined everyone in shouting Yang Yi’s name.
Amidst the roar of the crowd, she suddenly remembered an old memory: she had once attended another Yang Yi concert, with Lu Zhou, when she was in her first year of high school.
“Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!! So handsome!!!”
“Brother, I love you!!!!”
“Yang Yi!!!! Happy 10th debut anniversary!!!!”
It was at this moment that Shen Yihuan truly felt she was getting old; she couldn’t shout anymore. Amidst the crowd’s cheers, she looked up at the stage.
After all these years, Yang Yi hadn’t aged. He appeared in a tuxedo, sitting at a piano.
The opening song was a ballad, and everyone sang along.
Shen Yihuan swayed her light stick and sang along. Her phone suddenly vibrated. She took it out.
Gorky: Sweetheart, are you at the concert too? I think I saw you.
Shen Yihuan paused slightly, turned her head, and looked around, spotting Lin Kaige wearing a mask, sitting diagonally in front of her.
Lin Kaige quickly negotiated with the girl next to him to switch seats. His seat was closer to the center in the front row, and combined with his handsome face, the young girl readily agreed, blushing.
After switching seats, Lin Kaige surveyed the red devil horns Shen Yihuan was wearing, and smiled.
“That headband really suits you.”
Her face was originally slender and cute, with clear, deer-like eyes. Wearing the little devil headband created a contrasting cuteness, like an angel fallen into hell, pure and innocent.
It made one want to cut her open and see if her insides were as pure as her exterior.
“Just wearing it for fun.”
“How come I didn’t know you liked Yang Yi?”
Shen Yihuan gave him a sidelong glance and reminded him, “We’ve only known each other for less than a month, haven’t we? There’s a lot you don’t know.”
Lin Kaige didn’t mind. He liked Shen Yihuan’s directness. If she were really a “good girl,” he’d feel awkward making a move, like he was corrupting an innocent young lady.
“I even posted on Moments a while ago that I was coming to see it. Didn’t you see it?”
“No,” she shook her head.
The two chatted for a bit then stopped, listening intently to the music.
After a few songs, the heat in the venue was stirred up again and again. The concert was halfway through. This tenth-anniversary themed concert even had a cake mid-show, which was then distributed to the fans below.
Fans who were chosen had to answer a question about Yang Yi to receive a celebratory cake.
The questions weren’t difficult. The chosen fans were ecstatic, taking the microphone from the staff and loudly proclaiming “Yang Yi, I love you,” and similar sentiments.
“There’s one last cake!” Yang Yi held a small cake, tilted his head to think for a moment, then picked up the microphone. “...How about Row 5, Seat 26!”
Shen Yihuan didn’t react at first, until Lin Kaige nudged her with his elbow. “Hey, is that you!?”
She unfolded her crumpled ticket, and sure enough, it said Row 5, Seat 26.
“...”
She never expected that after 24 years of bad luck, she would finally have a stroke of good fortune.
When she took the microphone from the staff, Shen Yihuan’s face was a little red.
“Why are all my fans so beautiful?” Yang Yi playfully teased. “Alright, last question, it’s a tough one, get ready.”
Shen Yihuan smiled, nodding. “Ask away.”
“When was the first concert I held here?”
As soon as the question was asked, the audience burst into laughter. This question was too tricky. He’d debuted ten years ago; his first concert here would have been at least 7 or 8 years ago. Who would remember the exact date?
Just when everyone thought she wouldn’t be able to answer, Shen Yihuan was calm and confident.
“It’s the same as my seat number, May 26th, a Wednesday,” she said.
The laughter grew louder. So, the answer had already been given.
Yang Yi was also a bit surprised to get such a precise answer. “Wow, did you guess, or do you really remember?”
“I really remember,” the young girl’s eyes curved into a smile, very well-behaved. “I was in my first year of high school then, and it was my first time seeing your concert.”
“Did you skip class to come?” Yang Yi teased.
The young girl’s smile froze for a moment, then the corners of her lips curved up even more, and she playfully and alluringly placed her index finger on her lips, shushing him.
________________________________________
Back then, buying tickets wasn’t as simple as purchasing them online. For the evening show, sales began at noon, and tickets could only be bought on-site.
As soon as the fourth period ended in the morning, Shen Yihuan didn’t even go to the cafeteria to eat. She grabbed her bag, ready to climb over the school wall, but was caught red-handed by the dean of students. By the time she came out of his office, it was already too late.
The girl was furious. She skipped all afternoon classes, kicking pebbles and sitting by a tree near the sports field.
The end of May already had the heat of early summer. She soon grew drowsy but was suddenly hit on the head by a mineral water bottle falling from the sky.
“Who’s that clumsy oaf! Come out!” she immediately cursed.
The tree branch shook a few times, and several leaves slowly fell onto her head.
Shen Yihuan instinctively looked up. Sunlight dappled through the gaps in the leaves, casting spots of light on her fair cheeks, making them obscure.
A long leg swung over the wall, and the boy, bending slightly, leaped from the top of the wall onto a tree branch.
The boy’s ankle had a smooth, powerful curve, his Achilles tendon taut, and a clean white short sock visible.
When she clearly saw his face, Shen Yihuan rubbed her eyes, even thinking she was dreaming.
The top student in their grade, the class monitor, climbing over the school wall to get in?
“Lu-Lu Zhou?” She clutched the mineral water bottle, bewildered.
The boy’s figure was agile. He clung to a tree trunk with one hand, steadily jumping down from the height, landing in front of Shen Yihuan.
She smelled a faint tobacco scent.
The top student smokes? She blinked in confusion, then thought, the top student also skips class and climbs walls, so it’s not that strange.
Stay calm.
This was a top student who took an unconventional path.
“Lu Zhou.” Shen Yihuan leaned closer to him, sniffing at his collar. “Did you smoke?”
The boy didn’t speak, but abruptly took a step back, widening the distance between them, his jawline tightening until it was rigid.
“Hey,” Shen Yihuan complained, “I didn’t even mind your cigarette smell. Why are you so far away from me?”
“Here.”
“What?”
Shen Yihuan looked down.
His palm was very fair, his palm lines clear. In the bright sunlight, two concert tickets lay in his palm.
So, the top student was once again lured out of school by the last-place student. It was still early. They went to see a movie, had dinner, and then went to the concert together.
By the time they returned to school, it was almost time for the last evening self-study class to end.
The homeroom teacher waited at the classroom door, his face dark.
________________________________________
Shen Yihuan took the cake, sighing inwardly.
She then cursed Lu Zhou, that dog, in her mind. He bit her neck the day before yesterday, and now he was bothering her with memories again.
After seeing the homeroom teacher, she learned that Lu Zhou had left school with a leave slip. He had good grades, so he could easily get leave with any excuse. Climbing the wall was just a reluctant move because the security guard was napping.
So, in the end, Lu Zhou was perfectly fine, while she was punished with cleaning the classroom for a month.
Although, in the end, Lu Zhou helped her with the cleaning.
He was actually really good...
Shen Yihuan felt like she was going to die from indecision.
The concert ended.
Lin Kaige asked, “Want to get some late-night food later?”
Shen Yihuan held her small cake. “No, I’m going straight home.”
“Can I drive you?”
“No need,” she refused again, smiling at him. “I drove here.”
She said goodbye and left through another exit. Lin Kaige didn’t try to keep her.
As Shen Yihuan approached the parking lot, she suddenly froze, her gaze catching a familiar figure.
Neat short hair, deep-set brows and eyes, slightly furrowed, making him appear more resolute and cold. His features were sculpted, and he was wearing a military uniform—a military shirt meticulously buttoned all the way to the top, drawing one’s gaze involuntarily to his prominent Adam’s apple.
Not far away, two girls were taking photos of him.
Shen Yihuan slightly raised an eyebrow.
Her gaze uncontrollably fell on his lips.
The man’s lips were on the thinner side, the kind of mouth often associated with being heartless.
She momentarily let her guard down, not noticing that Lu Zhou had already sensed her gaze. He had been in the border region for a long time, living in harsh conditions, sometimes even fighting wolves, making him highly sensitive to all kinds of gazes.
Shen Yihuan froze.
Lu Zhou, silhouetted against the lamplight, met her eyes.
Her heart skipped a beat. She was instantly somewhat disoriented, almost unable to speak or move.
Lu Zhou seemed not to have seen her. He calmly shifted his gaze, communicated a few words with the person beside him, turned, and walked away.
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