A First Magnitude Star on Stage

A large crowd is gathering at the entrance of the "Green Tower" stadium in Fangting City.

It was afternoon, and the faint sunlight in the clear sky dispelled the slight chill that lingered around people. They were filled with fervent enthusiasm, as if they were waiting for something.

The "Green Tower" is named so because there is an observation tower opposite the main stadium. Every night, the top of the observation tower emits a pale green neon light, adding a lively atmosphere to the stadium.

This is the largest performance venue in Fangting City. Countless famous artists have performed here in the past, and it has carried the enthusiasm and expectations of countless audiences. Today is no exception.

Jiang Yuan was wrapped in a thick down jacket, with half her face tucked into the scarf around her neck, making her look like a plump penguin from a distance. She stood on the outskirts of the crowd, constantly looking towards the road in the distance, trying to find the figure she wanted to see.

And soon, she saw the person she was waiting for.

Lin Xiaolu, who arrived late, came into her view.

She took her hand out of her pocket and raised it slightly. She subconsciously wanted to greet her friend as usual, but the words she was about to say got stuck halfway, inexplicably frozen in frost.

Because Lin Xiaolu was followed by several people she didn't recognize.

Of course, she wasn't a complete stranger; she had met at least once with one of the pretty girls named Xia Liang. She vaguely remembered that Xia Liang was a student in another class of the same grade, and had been a rumored delinquent girl some time ago, but she seemed to have calmed down a lot recently, and she could even occasionally be seen at the top of the exam rankings.

Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang had a good relationship, but Lin Xiaolu seemed to intentionally avoid talking about it, never bringing up anything related to Xia Liang in front of others. So, she stopped being curious and simply respected everyone's freedom to make friends.

And now, Lin Xiaolu is actually going out with Xia Liang?

Besides Xia Liang, two other figures also caught her attention: they were two girls who looked quite young, probably still in elementary school. One of them wore a medical goggles, had a bob haircut, and looked very quiet; the other had long blue hair, a somewhat indifferent expression, and looked like a noble lady from a fantasy story.

They're all Lin Xiaolu's friends? Wait, Lin Xiaolu actually has so many friends?

Jiang Yuan felt her understanding of the world was greatly shocked. Jiang Yuan outstretched hand froze in mid-air, as if it had been frozen into an ice sculpture in the cold weather, remaining motionless.

In contrast to her surprised expression, Lin Xiaolu seemed delighted to see Jiang Yuan. She quickly walked over, greeted Jiang Yuan, and then turned to introduce her to the girls behind her, "This is my friend. I arranged to come to the concert with her."

Although she didn't understand the situation, since Lin Xiaolu had already introduced herself, Jiang Yuan couldn't remain silent any longer, so she followed her lead and said, "Hello, I'm Jiang Yuan."

"I see." Hearing Lin Xiaolu's words, for some reason, the blue-haired girl looked at Jiang Yuan with a scrutinizing gaze for a while, then said something somewhat puzzling, "It's fine."

"Hello, I'm Xia Liang."

"I am Bai Jingxuan."

The other two greeted each other in a very ordinary way.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Jiang Yuan, slightly regaining her composure, lowered her voice and quickly asked Lin Xiaolu, "Um, Xiao Lu, who are they?"

"Ah, they are... my friends?"

Lin Xiaolu answered with slight hesitation, her gaze sweeping over the three of them. "You should know Xia Liang; she's in the same grade as us. As for the other two..."

"They are my relatives."

Xia Liang smiled and said quite naturally, "Excuse me, I'm sorry to bother you two. I was originally going to the concert with them, but I ran into Xiao Lu on the way, so we went together."

"Relative?"

Jiang Yuan tilted her head and looked at the two girls who bore no resemblance to Xia Liang whatsoever. She paused, feeling a surge of confusion. But ultimately, since it was none of her business, she easily accepted the fact and nodded, saying, "Okay... so you just happened to be going the same way?"

Yes, that's right.

Xia Liang nodded with an innocent look and a friendly smile, "I didn't know before, I didn't expect you guys to be fans of Sister Mary too!"

"Mary" is the nickname of the singer at this concert, Asō Madoka. Fans affectionately call her "Mary." Although the origin of this nickname is unknown, it is a commonly used term of address, and no one questions its validity.

Because this nickname has almost no logical connection to the singer's stage name, it is often used by fans to distinguish their identities. People who call her "Mary" may not be true die-hard fans, but those who call her by her real name are definitely not considered one of their own.

Therefore, when Xia Liang addressed her as "Sister Mary," Jiang Yuan's initially tense and somewhat awkward attitude softened considerably. This manifested as a sudden, inexplicable sigh of relief and a slightly more relaxed expression.

"That's not surprising, is it?"

Blinking, Jiang Yuan said half-jokingly, "With Mary's popularity, if you look around in the crowd, you might find other classmates."

"Indeed, I should take this opportunity to search carefully."

Nodding slightly, Xia Liang suddenly turned to look at Lin Xiaolu beside her, her mouth slightly open in a barely perceptible gesture, silently conveying something. Then, as if nothing had happened, she took the hands of the other two girls. "Alright, then we won't bother these two older sisters anymore. I'll take you somewhere else to play."

After saying that, she led the girls out of Jiang Yuan's sight, leaving Lin Xiaolu alone there.

"... So what's going on?"

After confirming that Xia Liang had left, Jiang Yuan looked at Lin Xiaolu with some confusion. "Seeing so many of you coming over so aggressively, I thought you were all together, but it turns out you were just passing by?"

"Ah... ah, yes, yes."

It took Lin Xiaolu about half a day to accept the fabricated backstory Xia Liang had given her. Her bewildered expression was mixed with slight annoyance, as if she had swallowed a fly. But she still nodded and said, "I ran into Xia Liang on the road. She... insisted on chatting with me, so she just followed me."

"Haha, that really has her style."

With no "strangers" around, Jiang Yuan's tone became much more lively. "So those two are really her relatives? Why is there a foreigner among them? Is she a cousin or something?"

"... have no idea."

Lin Xiaolu said, slightly annoyed, "Anyway, it has nothing to do with us."

"That's true. Let's hurry up and get our tickets checked, or someone might take our seats."

Jiang Yuan pointed towards the venue entrance, but before leaving, she glanced back in the direction Xia Liang and her group had gone, and said with a hint of emotion, "But, that long blue hair... it looks so beautiful, sparkling like a magical girl. Is that girl from another world?"

"... Are you interested?" For some reason, Lin Xiaolu's tone sounded a little strange when she said this.

"I wouldn't call it an interest; it's simply an appreciation of beauty."

Jiang Yuan grabbed her hair and waved it in front of her eyes. "Do you think I should get my hair dyed? I feel like colored hair looks pretty good in real life."

"Just for the hair... like this."

Lin Xiaolu glanced in the direction Xia Liang had left, clenched her fist slightly, but ultimately turned back with a hint of reluctance, sighing, "Let's go, let's get our tickets checked."

"Bad mood?"

"A little."

"What's wrong all of a sudden? You seemed pretty happy when you first arrived?"

"Your friends planned to go out and have fun together, but they left you all alone... Never mind, that's not a good analogy, just pretend I didn't say anything."

"Friend?"

"Never mind, let's go." Lin Xiaolu waved towards the main entrance, clearly not wanting to continue the previous topic, and walked towards the venue not far away.

This brief interlude obviously wouldn't occupy Jiang Yuan's attention much, and Lin Xiaolu didn't want to continue the conversation, nor did she bother to pursue it further. So she easily put the matter out of her mind and resumed her celebrations for the concert.

Therefore, she was destined never to know how Xia Liang and the two girls, these three "fans," had gotten here.

In fact, until a few days ago, the night Lin Xiaolu confessed to Larkspur that she was going to the concert, none of the three of them had any intention of coming to the event.

It was only when Lin Xiaolu uttered the name "Asō Madoka" that Larkspur's originally calm heart was stirred into a storm.

Because this name is not simply the name of a person from Eastern Isles, but the name of a person from Eastern Isles whom she knows very well, or even the most.

That was twenty years ago, the original four-person team of the Fangting City Squad, including the magical girl codenamed "Margaret".

Asō Madoka, or Margaret, initially appeared in Lin Yun and Anya's lives as a transfer student.

This transfer student from Eastern Isles was popular with her classmates from the very beginning because of her fluent Donghua Prefecture dialect, and quickly got along well with them. In addition, her outstanding appearance soon won her a lot of admiration from both male and female students.

At the time, Lin Yun, who was still a junior high school student, was so preoccupied with the major changes in his life that he had no interest in his studies and didn't care much about school affairs. So much so that even though the transfer student was sitting right behind him, he didn't remember the other person's name at all.

This led to him remaining silent the entire time when he was assigned to stay at school with Asō Madoka for his after-school duty, because he couldn't remember her name.

This unusual silence continued for several days of duty, which caught the other person's attention. So much so that it was Asō Madoka who took the initiative to talk to him, and the two had very little interaction.

If that were all, the two would simply be ordinary male and female classmates, and their lives might not intersect at all except for this shared experience of being on duty. But things just happened to be so coincidental. A few days later, Lin Yun had transformed into a magical girl, encountered an Aberrant Beast that he couldn't handle at the time, and Anya happened to be absent, leaving him to fight alone.

Just then, a magical girl, radiating orange light like a comet, rushed into the battlefield.

This magical girl seemed to have more mature combat experience. After intervening in the battle, she quickly reduced the pressure, allowing Lin Yun to successfully turn the tide and defeat the Aberrant Beast together with this reinforcement.

But this was only the beginning of the incident. After achieving a hard-won victory, the two magical girls left the scene, ready to undo their transformations and get to know each other better, only to discover a shocking truth:

--The other person turned out to be my classmate.

Just as Lin Yun never imagined that the Japanese transfer student who spoke fluent Donghua Language would be a magical girl, Asō Madoka never imagined that a quiet and shy boy would be a magical girl.

Rather, the fact that the boy was a magical girl was what shocked her the most.

However, the facts were undeniable, leaving her no choice but to believe them. With Anya mediating, Asō Madoka quickly became friends with the two, and the three formed the initial Fangting City Squad.

It can be said that Asō Madoka was a witness to Lin Yun's magical girl journey from beginning to end; while Lin Yun only knew a small part of the beginning of Asō Madoka's magical girl journey.

After he retired to study, obtained a degree, and married Anya, Asō Madoka chose to leave on a snowy night. From then on, he never contacted her again.

Hearing that name again now, besides a momentary sense of nostalgia for the past, Lin Yun felt mostly curiosity—could it really be the person she knew? But if it was her, although the Asō in her memory did have that kind of interest, how did she become a so-called pop diva?

With this question in mind, Larkspur searched for the name online. However, in the pictures and videos she found, the singer mostly appeared wearing sunglasses, and her hairstyles during performances were varied, with her hair often dyed in different colors, making it impossible for her to identify her by her features. Only through that familiar yet slightly unfamiliar face could she vaguely feel that this was indeed the person from her memory.

Driven by a desire to verify, Larkspur Que changed her mind and decided to go to the concert with Lin Xiaolu to confirm the identity of "Asō Madoka" with her own eyes.

In order to attend the concert, she deliberately started her patrol earlier, focused intently, and finished her patrol as quickly and efficiently as possible before rushing to the concert venue.

Of course, considering that she and Lin Xiaolu were both going to a concert, it wouldn't be appropriate to leave Xia Liang and Bai Jingxuan at the Secret Base, so today's scene is what happened—the four of them came here together.

Lin Xiaolu was exempt from the ticket requirement because she was traveling with Jiang Yuan, while Larkspur and the others had to buy tickets from others through a second-hand trading platform. During this time, there were constant troubles and the situation was completely disrupted.

Unlike Xia Liang and the others who came simply to have fun, Larkspur's feelings were quite complicated.

She had mixed feelings about confirming whether this "Asō Madoka" was indeed an acquaintance. On one hand, she was curious about her old friend's current situation and wanted to know what she had experienced in the years since leaving Fangting City and joining the Magic Kingdom; on the other hand, too many changes and events had occurred in those years, including Anya's departure. If the two of them met now, it would most likely only lead to awkwardness.

This is also why she had previously resisted revealing the news of her comeback: meeting an "old friend" like Asō Madoka now would be far more awkward than heartwarming.

However, even with such complicated considerations, when she heard that the owner of this name had returned to Fangting City, Larkspur still decided to go and confirm it.

She always felt that while many things might change over time, some things would remain unchanged.

And so, together with Xia Liang and Bai Jingxuan, they checked their tickets and entered the concert venue. Larkspur found her seat, sat down, and waited for the show to begin.

It was still afternoon, and because the stadium was open-air, the entire venue was clearly visible.

This was also the organizer's requirement. In fact, holding the concert in the afternoon was part of the stage presentation. According to the organizer, some songs that were suitable for daytime performances were scheduled for the afternoon. After nightfall, with the introduction of stage lighting and other visual effects, songs that were more suitable for sound and light performances would be performed.

Because it was a tour concert, this format had already been proven effective in shows in other cities. According to online sources, most fans felt the performance was excellent and the concert was worthwhile, so the format has been continued ever since.

As time ticked by, the audience members who had been gathered outside the venue completed their ticket checks and took their seats inside. Of course, some tickets did not include seats, but that did not dampen the enthusiasm of these fans.

Looking at the sea of people in the venue, Larkspur gained a deeper understanding of the popularity of this concert, and at the same time felt a little ashamed - if she hadn't come to this concert in person, she would have had no idea that there was such a popular singer.

Perhaps it was because she was previously immersed in her work and didn't pay attention to entertainment news; or perhaps it was because Lin Yun was getting older and gradually developed a generation gap with the younger generation. In short, the singer with the name "Asō Madoka" had been popular for many years, but she only recently learned that such a person existed, and only today did she realize just how popular she was.

Even without confirming the other person's identity, this subtle awkwardness persisted until the concert began. As the fans in the audience quieted down, the stadium's speakers started playing upbeat warm-up music, and the atmosphere gradually became more enthusiastic.

Amidst this lively atmosphere, Larkspur's heart began to race.

Whether the other person is the one I'm thinking of or not, the answer is already very clear.

If not, that would certainly be a relief, but it would also be awkward, as it would make her seem somewhat presumptuous; but if so, the mere fact that the other person is on this stage is enough to say a lot.

Asō Madoka, who hasn't returned to Fangting City for so many years, and didn't even appear at Anya's funeral, is now making a big fuss about returning here, so she'll probably definitely come looking for him.

After all, they were old teammates, not enemies. Logically speaking, Asō Madoka had no reason not to see him.

But when it came down to actually meeting in person...

Thinking about this, Larkspur's thoughts drifted a little until the music on stage gradually subsided, the large screen behind her began to scroll characters, and the fans around her started to cheer wildly. Only then did she realize that the main character was about to arrive.

With the rhythmic beat and shouts, she felt her heart pounding. Holding her breath, she focused intently on the stage. Even though her seat wasn't very close, Larkspur felt as if she and the stage were the only ones left, waiting for the performers to step onto the stage.

"Mary!" "Mary!" "Mary!"

The fans' shouts grew louder and louder, the music from the speakers became more complex and exciting, more vocal parts gradually joined in, numerous instruments began to play, and then the list of performers began to scroll on the big screen.

Guitarist, drummer, bassist, keyboardist, woodwinds, strings... one name after another flashed before people's eyes. As the rhythm intensified, the list scrolled faster and faster, and the cheers from the audience rose higher and higher, the deafening roar pulling everyone in the venue into a sea of revelry.

Finally, when all the musicians' names were listed, only one large, white name remained alone on the screen, and that brief character elicited the loudest cheers.

--Asō Madoka.

Following the name is the title of the opening song, <Lonely Meet>.

The music abruptly shifted, seamlessly transitioning into the song's intro, and then, amidst the intro, a rather tall figure appeared on the stage.

The glamorous performance dress and slightly flamboyant makeup couldn't conceal the singer's beautiful long orange hair and her pair of bright red eyes.

Those were a pair of eyes that seemed to speak, deep and melancholic, and within that melancholy seemed to lie countless secrets. Just one glance was enough to make one feel intoxicated and swept away by a vortex.

The owner of the eyes walked confidently to the front of the stage with a smile, waved to the fans below, and then, as the intro ended, effortlessly raised the microphone, and a loud voice and cheers resounded throughout the venue.

As for what she was singing, Larkspur no longer cared.

Because she had achieved her goal. Just seeing those familiar eyes was enough to confirm that the person on stage was undoubtedly the one she had imagined. In fact, the image on stage could be described by another name— Margaret.

The other party showed no restraint, appearing there in their True Form.

Although the other party's current appearance differs from what Larkspur remembers, and doesn't look like the junior high school student she was when she first advanced to the Bud Rank, but rather more like an adult, or rather a college student, this doesn't mean Larkspur is mistaken. In fact, it's related to the procedures for magical girls to join the Magic Kingdom.

All magical girls who join the Magic Kingdom will face the process of upgrading their True Form to their original form. During this process, magical girls can adjust the appearance of their True Form to a certain extent to make it closer to their current age.

This also means that not all magical girls in the Magic Kingdom look like "young girls"; some even look like young women or young women, and Margaret is clearly one of them.

It is precisely because her upgraded True Form is different from her original True Form that Larkspur cannot confirm her identity when searching for photos online. Perhaps this is why she can confidently use her true True Form as her real image in her entertainment activities.

Although the other person's appearance did not quite match the memory, it awakened Larkspur's long-buried memories in another way, because it was actually very close to the image of Margaret when she left.

However, Lin Yun and the other party had not seen each other often by then, and the image she saw in the rush was far from enough to cover up the impression left by the previous years.

When the other party left Fangting City, he seemed to be in his early twenties, two years after Lin Yun and Anya got married, and when Lin Xiaolu was just over one year old.

Unlike He Hong Siyu, who left without saying goodbye, Asō Madoka calmly announced the matter to her teammates, and Anya relayed it to Lin Yun, thus finalizing the agreement.

Throughout the process, she maintained a very rational attitude, discussing her decision to leave Fangting City and her reasons for joining the Magic Kingdom in a way that analyzed her future development.

Because the analysis was so rational and realistic, no one could find any reason to persuade her. Su Shengzi, the only one in the group who had the ability to persuade, had no intention of doing so and readily accepted Asō Madoka's choice to leave.

And so, in a cold winter similar to the one before her, amidst the falling snowflakes, Asō Madoka bid farewell to her teammates and embarked on her journey to the port.

Before leaving, Lin Yun, whom she hadn't seen for a long time, came to the scene to say goodbye to her old teammates.

"Sorry."

Even now, Larkspur still remembers what he said when he met her.

Why apologize?

"Regarding my retirement, I'm not intentionally avoiding you, it's just..."

"I just felt that meeting would only make things more unpleasant, and might even end badly, so I simply avoided it?"

Margaret, dragging her suitcase, blinked and smiled slightly. "Sister, there's no need for useless explanations, and you don't need to apologize for this."

"I feel that the term 'sisters' is no longer appropriate for the current situation."

Lin Yun sighed in his memory, "Anyway, having left the magical girl environment, I can't give you any useful advice. I wish you all the best in the future."

"I call them 'sisters' to express my pursuit of a constant relationship. Sisters. In my view, this is how we define our relationship, and it is also the most comfortable way to do so."

Margaret tugged at her gloves, making them even tighter, and gripped her suitcase tightly again. "Do you know what I'm most unhappy about right now?"

"My unauthorized retreat has increased the pressure on you in the battle?"

Lin Yun pondered for a moment and said, "But I felt that at that time, I could only be a burden to you all..."

"That's not the main reason."

Margaret still wore a bright smile, but there was no joy in her crimson eyes. "Sister, do you know what I'm trying to say by repeatedly emphasizing this title?"

"... We are friends, we are teammates."

"Yes, there are three of us: me, you, and Anya. Of course, now we can also include that woman Su Shengzi, and even Hong Siyu and that taciturn guy. In short, we are teammates, and we were originally the closest of friends."

She raised one hand and made a "five": "This was supposed to be a stable group relationship, but you and Anya suddenly got married, which is like the two of you playing around, and you didn't even consult your sisters before making the decision. It really makes me feel awful."

"It's like your friends decide to go out together, but you're not involved in the entire decision-making process, and they even act like they don't need you after the decision is made. That's the kind of indifference I feel. Am I being abandoned?"

"I don't know what that woman Su Shengzi is thinking, but you should know why Hong Siyu ran away without a word. That girl keeps calling you 'senior' all the time, her intentions are crystal clear. The way you two got married has completely broken her spirits. Can't you bear it?"

"... I'm sorry." Lin Yun could only repeat the word somewhat listlessly.

"Sigh, but in the end, we're sisters, so I'm destined not to have any resentment towards you."

With a soft sigh, her breath turning into wisps of white mist in the cold wind, Margaret looked at Lin Yun again. "Just like I said at your wedding, although it wasn't entirely my wish, I wish you happiness, that your marriage be more fulfilling than anyone else's; that your life be sweeter than anyone else's; and that your children be more adorable than anyone else's. If you can't achieve that, then you'll have let down your sisters' expectations and the hearts that were broken before you."

"We all know what kind of person Anya is, so it's hard for me to say anything cheesy like 'You have to make A-Yun happy.' But with you, I can be direct: Sister, don't let Anya down. She really loves you."

Lin Yun also let out a soft sigh, "... I know, thank you."

"It's just saying a few nice words; it's nothing technical or costly, so there's no need for thanks."

Supporting herself on the handle of her suitcase, Margaret kicked the ground with her toes. "Anyway, that's all I wanted to say. I've already made my reasons for leaving very clear. It really has nothing to do with you guys. It's just that I got bored and wanted to go see other places. Or rather, after being a magical girl for so long, it's time to think about what I want to do with my life from now on."

"Do what?"

"I haven't decided yet."

Margaret's answer was quite candid, "Anyway, I'm not a stable white-collar worker or a housewife, so I have to find something that can attract attention and satisfy my love-starved soul."

"A heart starved of love... Oh well, let's just say that's how it is."

With a hint of helplessness, Lin Yun recited the words Margaret had spoken, then closed his eyes. "Well then, no matter what, I wish you all the best in your life, and that you find the meaning you're looking for soon, my... friend."

"Ah, thank you for your kind words."

With a light laugh, Margaret dragged her suitcase. "Alright, let's go back. Don't freeze out here in this cold weather. Your wife and kids are waiting for you at home in a warm bed. What's the point of talking to a lonely old man like me?"

Lin Yun then knew that she had probably run out of things to say.

Having been friends and teammates for so many years, he had a certain understanding of Margaret's personality. Margaret always spoke with tact and grace, making people feel very relaxed. But beneath her gentle words lay a straightforward soul who never hid her likes and dislikes.

She clearly found the conversation somewhat boring.

However, Lin Yun herself didn't know what she and the other person would have to talk about after she shed their magical girl identities. At this age, it was probably too early to start reminiscing about the past; in the end, they would have run out of common topics to discuss.

But as he watched the other person's figure gradually disappear into the distance, his thoughts traveled back in time to the moment when he first met that person, the scene of that orange flash descending from the sky.

Is this how it ends? He asked himself.

A friendship that carries countless memories, a memory as precious as gold even now, where the two of them shared so many shining memories of "magical girls" during their youth, but ultimately it all ended in silence on this snowy night?

That doesn't make sense.

Even though he has given up the power of a magical girl, and even though he has lived as an ordinary person for many years, he knows that this is not right.

He and Asō Madoka both knew that the light of their friendship still shone in each other's hearts, but because of various misunderstandings, they were unable to express it openly.

What should I do?

I should pass this feeling on to others.

Thinking this through, Lin Yun knew what he should do next. So, he suddenly spoke, calling out to the woman whose back was now the only visible part of her body:

"Thank you! Asō! Thank you for helping me back then, thank you for being my friend! It was truly a happy time fighting alongside you! Whatever you want to do next, good luck!"

The sound was carried by the cold wind and couldn't travel too far, but it was enough to reach the other person's ears.

He saw Margaret's figure suddenly stop in the night, and then the woman dragging her suitcase turned around and, for some unknown reason, made a childish face at him.

"You'll definitely regret not choosing me!"

He couldn't describe the expression he saw on Margaret's face at that moment: confidence, relief, and resentment all mixed together. Then, without giving him a chance to reply, she quickened her pace and disappeared into the night as if fleeing.

That grimace, the last expression the other person made in front of me, is frozen in time for thirteen years.

Only now, with the appearance of that vivid image on stage, has this frozen expression gradually thawed over time and regained its due vitality.

Looking at the dazzling figure on the stage, Larkspur was overwhelmed with mixed feelings.

She wasn't concerned about the other person's current situation; rather, it was because their past as "old teammates" brought back too many memories, and Anya's presence was ubiquitous in her memories of Margaret.

Now that Anya is gone, this longing is rekindled by seeing an old friend, and mixed with various other emotions, it naturally becomes quite complex.

In the midst of her sigh, she suddenly noticed that Margaret on stage had made a peculiar move: she removed the flower ornament from her hair.

Then, amidst the enthusiastic cheers of her fans, she tossed it forcefully, sending it flying into the audience below.

In the dense crowd, it seemed as if countless hands reached out, trying to intercept the gift from their idol in mid-air. But the hair accessory, tossed out casually, seemed to have eyes, slipping through the gaps in people's hands, and no one was able to stop it.

It flew straight towards the Larkspur and landed lightly in her palm.

Even as the flower landed in the Larkspur's palm, the song reached its climax. Amidst the rhythmic waves, the clear and resonant voice reached her ears.

--"A solitary encounter; migratory birds do not fly south for winter."

You'll definitely regret not choosing me.

Upon hearing these two lines of lyrics, the memory that had just flashed through her mind caused Larkspur to raise her head as if struck by lightning, looking towards the stage once more.

Then, her gaze met that of the singer on stage.

Consciousness is stretched infinitely at this moment, movement loses its power, and the barriers between stages seem to disappear in an instant, with only the song continuing.

"Year after year, it's all about the sweat shed."

"Watch me, the star of the stage, returning like a dazzling ray of light!"

Thank you to the patrons of the book lovers "The Rustic and Wooden Meat Pigeon" and "Wandering in the World of Fantasy," as well as all the readers for their support and patience.

Ten thousand words, meow.