Under the Spotlight

"A fateful encounter?"

"Me and her?"

The taciturn girl's abrupt remarks caused a huge stir, leaving both Lin Xiaolu and the blonde girl speechless in surprise, followed by an inexplicable eye contact.

Looking at the somewhat familiar blonde girl in front of her, Lin Xiaolu first subconsciously shook her head, rejecting the absurd claim in her heart. Just as she was about to say something, a burst of loud applause and cheers suddenly came from the hall next to her.

The noise interrupted the girls' conversation and attracted their attention, causing them to all look away and gaze at the wide-open main door of the venue at the intersection of the corridor not far away.

Reaching the main entrance, Lin Xiaolu looked curiously into the venue. She first glanced at the vast crowd, then at the stage under the spotlight. To her surprise, a figure that seemed somewhat familiar stood on the stage:

--It's Larkspur.

After receiving the hair accessory, Larkspur was called onto the stage under the pretext of "inviting a lucky audience member to speak."

If possible, she would never have wanted to receive this somewhat abrupt gift in front of everyone, much less put herself in the spotlight for such a strange reason. Unfortunately, by the time she realized that this might have been a premeditated act by Asō Madoka, it was already too late.

The moment she received the hair accessory, she became the focus of attention for the surrounding audience, everyone wanting to see the true face of this "lucky one".

When it was discovered that the girl who received the hair accessory appeared to be a young child, some people immediately had the idea of tricking her. Some asked Larkspur if they could see it, while others asked Larkspur if she would be willing to exchange the hair accessory for a bag of candy... The incredibly enthusiastic fans, driven by the concert atmosphere, swarmed over, even startling Bai Jingxuan was standing to the side.

Just as the situation seemed to be spiraling out of control, on stage, Asō Madoka, having finished her previous performance, neither continued singing nor left to prepare for the next song. Instead, she turned her gaze to where the Larkspur was, and with a bright smile, began to speak:

"Thank you all for coming to see my performance today. This is my first time holding a concert in Fangting City, Donghua Prefecture. I didn't expect Fangting to be such a warm and welcoming city. To be honest, I feel a little overwhelmed!"

"I just happened to see that the little fan who received the hair accessory seemed very excited and wanted to say something, so let's welcome her up on stage!"

Upon hearing this, the fans in the audience cheered appropriately. Even the group of audience members who had previously tried to trick the hair clip into handing it over had to give up after hearing the description of "little fan" and could only applaud helplessly.

Only the "little fan" at the center of the conversation, who received the hair accessory, opened and closed her lips in disbelief.

"Excitement"? When exactly did I show such emotions?

She had no idea what Asō Madoka was planning, but having been her teammate for many years, she knew all too well just how unreliable this seemingly glamorous "Queen of Pop" was.

If Larkspur were to assign a personality label to each of the former members of the Fangting City Squad, then the label for Asō Madoka would definitely be "confident," or more accurately, "Self-centered."

Asō Madoka will not hesitate to make herself happy first if something makes her happy or is beneficial to her, even if it might bother others.

Unlike Su Shengzi, another member of the team who also acts independently, if Su Shengzi is completely immersed in her own world and doesn't care about the opinions of others, then Asō Madoka is simply going her own way after weighing the pros and cons.

That's why Larkspur is now unsure what the other party is really up to.

With the die already cast and the issue brought up in this setting, she had no choice but to go on stage. Finally, under the slightly worried gazes of Bai Jingxuan and Xia Liang, she walked up to Asō Madoka with droopy eyelids.

Standing under the slightly glaring spotlight, Larkspur raised her hand slightly to shield her eyes from the light and looked at the woman in front of her: after more than a decade, she finally saw her old friend up close once again.

However, Margaret was not looking at Larkspur at this moment. Instead, she was still holding the microphone, smiling, and interacting with the audience below the stage.

Following her gaze down to the audience, Larkspur looked at the massive, dark crowd. The roar of the crowd, like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing against the stage, made the nighttime venue seem like a black tide, washing over the isolated island of the stage. Just standing there would probably be enough to make some timid people's legs go weak.

Meanwhile, the fans closest to the stage, whose faces were clearly visible to the Larkspur, were gazing at her with eager anticipation and longing in their eyes.

Am I being treated as a fan representative?

The Larkspur couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Clearly, these fans were expecting her to represent the "Fangting City fans" and express their warm welcome, affection, and other fervent emotions.

Unfortunately, although Larkspur is standing here, he can hardly be considered a fan or devotee. If you were to quantify a fan's level of admiration for "Mary," Larkspur would probably have to stand in the last row.

Feeling the fervent emotions of the audience below, Larkspur pursed her lips and glanced at Asō Madoka, only to see that the other had also turned to look at her. Asou Madoka waved to the audience on stage, signaling them to "listen quietly," and then, like a kind older sister, handed the microphone to Larkspur. All her actions were incredibly smooth, but her face still wore the professional smile of a "singer," as if she were wearing a mask, completely concealing her true self.

It seemed that Asō Madoka had no intention of revealing any extra information on stage, and even tried to pretend that she didn't know her at all, which reassured Larkspur somewhat. So she composed herself, improvised a speech from the perspective of a "fan," rehearsed what she was going to say in her mind, and forced herself to speak, forcing herself to be uncomfortable:

"Mary... welcome to Fangting City. Everyone likes you very much, and we hope you will like Fangting City too."

These words caused Asō Madoka to take two steps back in a rather exaggerated manner, covering her mouth as if she were very happy. "Really? You like me a lot?"

The Larkspur gave a blank "hmm".

Asō Madoka then pointed the microphone at the audience, covering her ears with her hands like a lively young girl. "Is what she said true?"

"Real!"

The fans chanted in unison.

"Thank you! I'm so happy!"

With a bright smile, Asō Madoka winked knowingly and skillfully at the audience. "Thank you all! I love you all the most! So I'm dedicating this song to you as a gift, your favorite <Sophia's Love Letter>!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the band on stage immediately began playing the intro to the song, and the spotlights, which had been somewhat glaring, changed color from a blinding white to a soft pink.

Then, during a break in the prelude, Asō Madoka led Larkspur to the side of the stage, and with an incredibly fake, business-like smile, said, "Of course, I like you too."

"Ha..."

Completely baffled, Larkspur grinned and gave a dry laugh, taking it as a response to the other person's words.

However, before she could make any further moves, she felt Asō Madoka's face suddenly move much closer, and then she felt a soft touch on her forehead.

The sensation lasted only a moment, but the Larkspur immediately understood what it was, causing its entire body to tense up.

This is a kiss.

A kiss on the forehead looked like an affectionate gesture between an older sister and a younger sister, so much so that the audience didn't think much of it.

Of course, this didn't stop envious and jealous audience members from shouting wildly, nor did it stop fans who felt they had seen a gentler side of their idol from screaming hysterically. Just this one action was enough to make the cheers from the audience almost shake the entire venue.

The shouts also reached outside the venue, bringing Lin Xiaolu, who was still chatting with the mysterious trio, back to her senses.

Then, it turned into the scene that Lin Xiaolu saw.

Every concert must eventually come to an end. After hours of revelry, including three encores, singer Asō Madoka's tour concert in Fangting City finally came to a close.

Even after the performance ended, many fans in the audience remained immersed in the fervent emotions, chatting excitedly with each other.

Of course, this is also because this is the last show of Asō Madoka's current tour. Fangting City is the last stop on her tour route. After this stop, the concert will come to an end, and for a long time to come, the fans in attendance will probably not be able to enjoy such a wonderful performance again.

Multiple factors combined to keep fans from leaving even after three encores, as they lingered in the venue to savor the last moments of excitement.

Larkspur are naturally not included.

In fact, she couldn't wait to rush backstage, drag Asō Madoka out, and ask her what she was up to, or rather, what was going on in her head.

A simple kiss on the forehead is a small matter... probably a small matter, but doing it in front of everyone changes the nature of the situation entirely. What's the reason for this? Just a perverse sense of humor?

Holding Bai Jingxuan and Xia Liang's hands, Larkspur walked solemnly outside the venue and quickly spotted Lin Xiaolu in the crowd. After Lin Xiaolu and Jiang Yuan parted ways, Cui Que quickly grabbed Lin Xiaolu and stormed into the depths of the venue.

Having witnessed the entire incident, Xia Liang had a general idea of what was going on, so she simply followed Larkspur with interest. However, Lin Xiaolu clearly hadn't grasped the situation yet. Seeing Larkspur's unusual behavior, she finally couldn't help but ask:

Where are we going?

"Go find someone," Larkspur said without turning his head.

"Who?" Lin Xiaolu blinked blankly.

"The one who was singing on stage just now." Larkspur's voice was completely flat.

"That singer? Why?"

Lin Xiaolu followed closely behind Larkspur, and upon hearing this answer, she couldn't help but quicken her pace and run to her side. "Did you notice anything amiss on stage?"

"... well."

Larkspur sighed, though it was unclear why. "It's not that something's wrong, it's just that I know her. In fact, I came to the concert today specifically to confirm her identity."

"Huh? Ah! So that's how it is?" Lin Xiaolu said in surprise, belatedly realizing what was going on.

"That means the star of today's concert, the singer named Asō Madoka, is actually our senior."

Having received confirmation from Larkspur, Xia Liang finally spoke up, explaining to Lin Xiaolu, "She was also a magical girl from Fangting City, and she was your teammate, little senior."

"So, Larkspur's teammate... wait, how did you know?" Lin Xiaolu looked at her with some confusion.

"It's obvious, especially since your dad showed us old photos of the Fangting City Squad."

When asked the core of the question, Xia Liang remained calm and casually explained, "Didn't you notice that the singer looks a lot like one of the people in the photo?"

"You even remember something like this?"

"Hmph, you need to have a keen eye for detail when it comes to the things around you."

The two chatted about trivial things and followed Larkspur all the way to the inner circle of the venue, the backstage area of the concert, where the staff were resting.

The long, narrow corridor stretched towards the back of the stage. Several lounges with nameplates were closed, and a few security guards stood solemnly on duty.

"Hello, I need to find someone."

Stepping forward, the Larkspur uttered a startling statement.

Seeing several young girls run into the inner area, shouting things like "Let's go in and find someone," like fervent fans, one of the security guards initially looked puzzled, then tried to shoo them away. However, before he could speak up, another security guard beside him seemed to realize something, pulled him back, and whispered something in his ear.

After speaking, the security guard, though still puzzled, said nothing more. After a moment's hesitation, he simply nodded to Larkspur, letting her in.

With Larkspur's keen hearing, he could naturally hear the whisper, "Miss Mary instructed that if any little girls dressed in strange clothes come to her, just let them in."

Without arguing with the security personnel, Larkspur continued leading the three girls straight in, and soon found the rest room marked with the name "Asō Madoka".

Even more noticeable than the name were the three other girls standing against the wall in the hallway outside the door.

The three girls looked to be around the same age as Lin Xiaolu and the others. More importantly, Larkspur recognized all of their faces—they were all magical girls from Bai'an City.

She had briefly worked with these magical girls in Bai'an City when she went there to search for clues about the disappearance of the investigation team.

Larkspur saw the group, and the group naturally saw Larkspur in turn. The blonde girl in particular, upon seeing Larkspur, instinctively covered her forehead, as if recalling some unpleasant memory.

Of course, it wasn't just Larkspur who recognized these people; Lin Xiaolu reacted as well. She immediately realized that these were the three people she had encountered in the corridor earlier, the ones who looked somewhat familiar.

"What are you doing here?" the question blurted out.

"Us? We're staff here. What are you doing here?"

The blonde girl in the middle immediately retorted, but after seeing the Larkspur beside her, her arrogance diminished slightly, and her question became less confident, "Wait, why are you following...?"

She stopped speaking at this point, whether she had forgotten the Larkspur's name or was simply afraid to say more, it was unclear.

Seeing that she stopped speaking halfway through her sentence, another girl wearing glasses could only sigh helplessly, stepped forward, patted her on the shoulder, and turned to Larkspur, saying:

"Hello, Inspector, it's been a long time. I'm White Thistle from Bai'an City. Are you here today to see your mentor?"

"Who is your mentor?" Larkspur asked.

"Your mentor's code name is 'Margaret'." White Thistle paused. "She said you should be familiar with this code name, so she had already instructed us to tell you to wait outside if we saw you."

"Is she also a magical girl from Bai'an City?" Larkspur asked again.

"As for her mentor... well, not entirely."

White Thistle replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "However, this is not something we students can discuss casually. Please ask her for clarification."

"What's there to hide... It's just a matter of using my name in Bai'an." The blonde girl finally managed to squeeze out a sentence, but as soon as she finished speaking, White Thistle glared at her, and she immediately shut her mouth in a huff.

This abrupt and seemingly nonsensical conversation left Lin Xiaolu completely bewildered. She couldn't understand how Larkspur had suddenly become so familiar with several "strangers" from her memories, and from their conversation, it seemed that Cui Que was quite knowledgeable about magical girls.

She first looked at the trio in front of her, then looked at Xia Liang for help. After finding that Xia Liang was also a little confused, she could only look at Larkspur and tug at Larkspur's sleeve.

Larkspur glanced at her with a somewhat helpless look.

"Let's put other topics aside for now and start by introducing ourselves."

Understanding what Lin Xiaolu meant, Larkspur could only turn sideways and spread her hands to indicate to Lin Xiaolu and the other two. "This is the current Magical Girl Squad member of Fangting City."

Then, turning to Lin Xiaolu and the others, he extended his hand to the magical Magical Girl Squad from Bai'an City: "These three are from Bai'an City, a city near Fangting. I met them when I went to Bai'an on a business trip."

After her explanation, the girls who were still somewhat unaware of the situation finally understood what was going on. Not only Lin Xiaolu, but also Bai Jingxuan and the taciturn girl from Bai'an City looked like they had just realized what was happening.

"Ah, I see. Hello."

Hello everyone!

After understanding the situation, they naturally exchanged pleasantries. Led by Xia Liang and White Thistle, the magical girls greeted each other awkwardly but somewhat politely.

White Thistle is meticulous, the blonde girl is casual, the taciturn girl speaks softly, Xia Liang is kind, and Bai Jingxuan is earnest.

The way each person greeted the others was different, but among them, there was one who was the most unique.

That's Lin Xiaolu.

After learning that the mysterious girls in front of her were actually magical girls from the neighboring city, and combining this with the inexplicable sense of familiarity she had felt earlier, she finally understood why the blonde girl looked somewhat familiar.

After figuring out the other person's identity and recognizing who they were, she instinctively raised her hand, pointed at the blonde girl, and without even saying hello, called out:

"Ah, you're the one who bathed in the slime of Aberrant Beast!"