Who is being conquered?

As Helen and the others were busy cleaning up, Guinaifen, free from their constraints, let go of her idol persona a bit and sighed with immense disappointment, her ear tufts drooping with her melancholic mood.

"But in the end, the villains came for me... The others in the audience were innocent. If they had been hurt, how could I have lived with myself?"

For an idol who had always wanted to convey harmony and share hope, encountering such a sharp and bleak conflict and causing innocent fans and listeners to be injured, or even killed, was something she could never accept.

However, no matter where Guinaifen went, this seemed to repeat itself, to the point where she was starting to doubt the legitimacy of her own actions.

"These followers of the Medicine King's Legacy just wanted to create chaos and conflict. They acted solely for their own selfish desires. This situation was unavoidable, but it's fortunate that no one on the scene was injured, so you have no reason to blame yourself."

Bai Jun continued to comfort Guinaifen, then passed the conversation to Potio beside him. Potio nodded and added, "Exactly, exactly. That group, the Oblivion Gang, were also a bunch of jerks. They would have caused trouble even without a big star like you around, so don't always take responsibility for things that aren't your fault."

"I'm sorry, I did get a bit carried away, but..."

Guinaifen's slightly subdued words were cut off halfway by a warm hand placed on her head.

"Drink this quickly. Looking at your gloomy face, thinking more will just be a waste of time."

Bai Jun sighed and handed her a bottle.

Guinaifen was stunned for a moment before realizing it was a bottle of honey jasmine tea, and it seemed to have been prepared in advance.

"Singing for two hours straight must be exhausting, and your voice sounds hoarse. So, don't overthink things and focus on resting."

Bai Jun ruffled Guinaifen's hair. When Guinaifen realized Bai Jun was showing his concern in his own way, an incredible emotion surged within her.

This wasn't the usual care she received from subordinates or an older brother. It was care offered from an equal standing, as a friend.

"Thank you..."

Faced with a level of care she hadn't felt in a long time, her sky-blue eyes showed a hint of emotion, and her mood lightened considerably.

Mr. Bai Jun always hides his gentle side... Although he seems a bit laid-back usually, he's always reliable when it matters.

At this moment, Helen seemed to have just finished a call and hurried over to Guinaifen, saying something. It was likely about other matters concerning the concert, or perhaps a message of comfort from Shence Mansion.

In any case, Guinaifen quickly composed herself and flashed Bai Jun a gentle smile: "Then I'll head backstage to remove my makeup. I might need to trouble you and Mr. Potio this afternoon."

After seeing her off, Bai Jun intended to find a place to ship his sword corpse, but he unexpectedly noticed Potio beside him observing him with a thoughtful expression. This caused Bai Jun's expression to stiffen, and he subconsciously took a few steps to the side.

"What's with that look?"

"Damn, I suddenly feel like you and the big star are quite a match." Potio rubbed his chin, sighing with emotion.

"What nonsense are you talking about..."

Chapter 73: Her Smile Always Means Trouble (4k3)

The concert was still in full swing.

Guinaifen went to the dressing room to change her outfit in preparation for the afternoon fan signing event.

At this point, Bai Jun and Potio couldn't possibly follow, so they had no choice but to stay put in the backstage lounge, quietly waiting for Guinaifen to emerge.

--- Half an hour later, Potio, who was never one to sit still, was so bored that he had his legs propped up on the coffee table, yawning and idly spinning his cowboy hat with his fingers.

"Bro, why is changing clothes taking so long? Damn, did something happen?"

"Don't you notice everyone else's expressions are natural? That means this is perfectly normal. Maybe she always took this long to change outfits before."

Pushing back Potio, who was about to barge into the dressing room, Bai Jun sat on the sofa and leisurely flipped through a book. "Stop thinking of others with a wanderer's mindset. There must be a deeper meaning from the costume designers for such a long time spent changing clothes, right?"

"That sounds damn reasonable... By the way, bro, do you have a light?"

Potio found it very reasonable, so he sat back down. At the same time, he took out a cigar from his inner pocket, bit off the cap with his front teeth, and stylishly put it in his mouth. He intended to light it with a domineering flourish but realized his lighter was missing from his pocket—he might have dropped it during his earlier movements.

When he didn't have a lighter before, he would usually ignite it by firing his revolver directly. However, the situation was a bit special now, and he couldn't just fire his gun freely. He had to consult Bai Jun beside him.

Bai Jun didn't speak but simply extended his hand. Then, under Potio's confused gaze, he snapped his fingers, and a crimson flame that shot up from his fingertips instantly lit the cigar.

"Oh! Thanks, bro, that's damn cool."

Potio skillfully took a puff of the cigar, letting the delicate, sweet smoke linger in his mouth for a fine taste, swirling on his tongue and resting on his palate, before exhaling it a few minutes later with a comfortable sigh. "Ah, classic. It would be even better with a glass of red wine."

"That might not be possible. It's better to keep a clear head during work... But if there's nothing else going on tonight, we can probably have a few drinks, right?"

"Haha, bro, I like you more and more. We're definitely going to be the best of brothers."

Potio burst into laughter upon hearing his answer. He hadn't met a partner who suited his personality so well in a long time. It wasn't easy to find someone with such similar tastes in the vast universe.

Bai Jun shrugged and suddenly asked with interest, "Guinaifen mentioned that you're just traveling with her by chance. What about afterward? Do you have any other destinations?"

"I don't know. I haven't even considered that question."

Potio gave a very wanderer-like answer. He leaned back on the soft sofa, leisurely exhaling cigar smoke. "Besides, why are there so many 'whys' in this world? If you have to find a reason for everything, it becomes damn boring..."

Suddenly, he stubbed out the cigar tip with his finger, even though doing so caused the cigar to emit an unpleasant odor and form a messy pile of ash.

All the cheerfulness, freedom, and optimism on Potio disappeared. It was as if hundreds of angry flames were burning within his mechanical body, making the expression on his face more sinister than ever before:

"However, one thing is certain: I'm going to settle the score with those little cuties in the company, especially the Market Development Department. I will definitely use this gun to put a big hole in each of their heads, to show them what blood debt means."

This was not a private grudge that could be casually shared with others. Although Potio believed Bai Jun to be trustworthy, it was ultimately improper to arbitrarily drag others into the storm of hatred. Potio soon realized this, scratched his head, and revealed an embarrassed smile:

"Ah, sorry, bro. I accidentally said too much. You don't need to mind."

Bai Jun mulled over Potio's words thoughtfully, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat. If he remembered correctly... wasn't Ye Linna in the Market Development Department?

"If it's possible, I'd like to ask what exactly happened between you and the company..."

As Bai Jun was about to ask for details, two cups of perfectly warm coffee were placed on the coffee table. The receptionist, who had smiled and come over to greet them, stared intently at Bai Jun sitting on the sofa. She nodded shyly, but it felt deliberate:

"Please enjoy your coffee. Let me know if you need anything else."

Disturbed, Bai Jun's lips twitched. He merely glanced at the woman's affected demeanor, offered a simple thank you, and intended to continue their conversation.

However, his politeness seemed to carry a subtle implication in the woman's eyes. Coupled with Bai Jun's seemingly ordinary yet high-class attire, it made his naturally cool and handsome features even more captivating.

Furthermore, true nobility couldn't be faked, and the allure of someone genuinely distinguished made the woman involuntarily swallow. Though she believed she had perfectly concealed her intentions and subtly displayed her charm, it appeared remarkably clumsy in the eyes of the other party.

She leaned forward again, unwilling to give up, trying to capture his attention: "Sir, may I ask you..."

"I'm sorry, please don't disturb me any further."

Bai Jun sighed, his icy gaze causing the receptionist's face to turn bright red. She quickly fled, but somehow found that even such a look was attractive, and she could faintly discern a sense of satisfaction in her expression.

"Whoa, is this what being good-looking gets you? It's not something a commoner like me can understand... Oh right, what were you saying, bro?"

Potio whistled, teasingly looking at Bai Jun, who wore a helpless expression. While teasing, he found it quite normal. After all, even as a man, he thought Bai Jun was incredibly handsome, let alone women. They must have been utterly smitten, right?

Despite being accustomed to such things, Bai Jun felt an inexplicable urge to punch Potio when he saw his irritating face.

After suppressing this impulse, he lost the desire to continue their previous conversation and slumped back onto the sofa to read his book with a lack of interest: "...Nothing, I just wanted to ask when we're eating."

"Is Mr. Bai Jun hungry already?"

His answer wasn't Potio's gruff, mechanical voice, but another gentle and melodious female voice. Guinaifen, having changed into another dress at some point, had quietly walked over from the dressing room and stood silently beside the sofa. With a gentle smile, she looked down at Bai Jun's face:

"It's still half an hour until lunch. If you don't mind, I have some candy here."

"That was scary. Why didn't I hear you?"

Bai Jun, sinking into the sofa, slowly raised his head, looking with some surprise at Guinaifen, who took a small bag of throat lozenges from her pocket. Although his attention had been entirely on his book and he hadn't paid much attention to his surroundings, there was no way someone could have quietly circled around behind him.

Potio, sharing the same sentiment, hadn't noticed any movement beside him at all. Hearing a sudden voice, he instinctively placed his right hand on his revolver.

"Actually, I just used Harmony's power to eliminate the sound of my footsteps. There's no need for you two to look so surprised... Am I really that scary?"

Guinaifen lowered her delicate eyebrows in confusion, her white ear tufts fluttering gently with her troubled thoughts.

Bai Jun was the first to break the silence. He took Guinaifen's throat lozenges and explained, "That's a very impressive skill. It seems Miss Guinaifen is not only an outstanding singer but also has the potential to be an assassin."

"That's true. Damn, big star, your move is really impressive. Not many people can get close to me so quietly," Potio immediately chimed in with agreement, shamelessly praising himself.

"Then I'll take that as a compliment from you both. Thank you," Guinaifen suddenly laughed.

"Uh, bro, you don't think she took that seriously, do you? What if the big star really goes down the wrong path? Will we become sinners?" Potio whispered into Bai Jun's ear, occasionally glancing at Guinaifen as if sharing a secret.

Bai Jun ignored his foolish question and silently stuffed a lozenge into his mouth to prevent him from talking nonsense.

"There will be a fan signing event at Changle Heaven today from 2 PM to 4 PM. We plan to depart at 1:30 PM, so please be prepared?"

Guinaifen showed no displeasure at their joking, as if she didn't take it to heart at all. Instead, she appeared quite cheerful, her beautiful eyes curving into crescent moons with happiness.

She glanced at the time, feeling it was almost lunchtime, and proactively invited, "Shall we go have lunch together?"

The tour concert was only open from 9 AM to 12 PM and 6 PM to 9 PM, with the remaining time reserved for the singers and staff to rest. Watching the crowd gradually leave the concert, the three headed towards the backstage restaurant.

Along the way, there was a corridor stretching 100 meters. Walking forward along the passage, warm sunlight streamed in through the stained-glass windows on the side, so bright it made one squint.

Bai Jun pushed away Potio's hand resting on his shoulder, giving him a helpless warning look, while Guinaifen suppressed a chuckle and returned a smile.

There were many receptionists, Cloud Cavalry, and security teams responsible for maintaining order, but the number of people heading to the backstage restaurant was smaller than expected. Perhaps most of the staff hadn't reached their break time yet.

Proceeding clockwise along the corridor from the left, they finally arrived at the backstage restaurant after some time.

Despite the numerous interruptions along the way, they had at least successfully navigated through half of the day's schedule.

The backstage lunch prepared for the singers was very generous and entirely free. However, Guinaifen's diet was managed by a specialized team, so only Bai Jun and Potio went up to collect some food.

The two followed Guinaifen to a quiet lounge and enjoyed their lunch while sitting on a bench by the window.

After lunch and a short rest, the schedule quickly moved to the location of the fan signing event.

Most signing events require fans to purchase specific albums. Apart from a few lucky individuals favored by fate, only by buying many, many albums could one have a chance to be selected, and this also depended on the specific requirements of the brand.

Epsilon's distributor had released several albums for Guinaifen and invited her to stay and perform for a period. During those fan signing events, fans were almost required to buy hundreds of albums to have a chance.

However, this signing event was different from previous ones. Because the organizer was Shence Mansion, there weren't many strict requirements. One only needed to purchase an additional ticket for the fan signing event on top of the original concert ticket.

Despite this, Guinaifen's popularity was simply explosive, causing the tickets for her fan signing event to be sold out the moment they were released. This led to ticket prices being speculated up to five hundred thousand Credits per ticket. Therefore, most of the people who came here were wealthy individuals.

And they were wealthy, and wealthy people who weren't working today.

"Lord Guinaifen! Sob, I can't believe I'll actually get to see you in my lifetime!"

"M-Miss Guinaifen, your singing voice is truly beautiful. I will always be your fan!"

"Miss Guinaifen, do you encounter any difficulties during your music creation process, and how do you maintain your inspiration to create so many masterpieces!"

"..."

Facing the fans' various emotions and questions, Guinaifen's smile never changed. She remained as gentle as ever, patiently responding to their feelings and answering their questions.

Bai Jun stood beside her, his gaze sweeping over each fan who came forward, ensuring that no extreme incidents would occur.

Even if one did, he could guarantee that he could save Guinaifen within 0.5 seconds.

Fortunately, the fans at the signing event seemed to have very good conduct. There was no harassment, no malice, just pure and excited expressions of their feelings. After asking their questions, they would obediently leave with their autographed merchandise.

Bai Jun, who had expected the fan signing event to conclude peacefully, suddenly felt a surge of malice.

"Gulp..."

Always highly sensitive to others' gazes, Bai Jun vaguely sensed a dangerous stare coming from an unknown direction. The hostility and killing intent escalated with every step he took closer to Guinaifen, causing him to break out in a cold sweat.

This chilling sensation persisted until a Foxkin fan, with fox ears and a beautiful tail, arrived at Guinaifen's table.

However, her gaze wasn't fixed on Guinaifen, but rather ominously locked onto Bai Jun, who was acting as a bodyguard.

"Benefactor, is this the commission you said... needed to be completed?"

With a crack, the album in her hand shattered. "Heh heh, that's right. After all, it's Miss Guinaifen. No man can refuse her, can he?"

Bai Jun, who had been terrified for half the day, finally came face-to-face with the source of the malicious gaze—Miss Tingyun, the Emissary of the Tianbo Division. However, this reunion was far from a happy one...

Tingyun, whom he expected to be angry, actually showed a faint smile. And when she smiled, it usually meant trouble.

"L-l-l-let me explain!"

"I don't want to hear it right now. Go on, we can talk later."

Bai Jun, sweating profusely, tried to explain, but before he could even speak, Tingyun, with a grim expression, grabbed his collar and dragged him away.

Guinaifen, standing nearby and wanting to speak but holding back: ?

Potio, standing at the entrance of the fan signing event: His treasure, is this the legendary love triangle?

Chapter 74: Whose Little Lightbulb? (4k1)

...Ten minutes later.

"As expected, I can never borrow money from her again..."

Under the worried and confused gazes of Guinaifen and Potio, Bai Jun, outwardly appearing fine but inwardly feeling like a pineapple, staggered back.