The Eve of the Concert

The night before the concert, Central Hospital, Room 707.

"Mom, slow down."

Knight supported her mother as they walked two laps around the ward.

Half a month had passed, and her mother's health had improved astonishingly. Her complexion was rosy, her steps steady—even the nurses clicked their tongues in amazement. At this rate of recovery, they said, she might be able to leave the hospital after another evaluation.

Even the hospital director was stunned.

Although the director didn't know that Li Qi was Knight, her mother's room had been arranged personally by the Association, so he didn't ask any questions.

"All right, all right. Your mother isn't made of paper." Her mother shook off her hand and walked steadily to the window herself. "But what about you? You're going onstage tomorrow, yet instead of rehearsing at the Association tonight, what are you doing here?"

"Rehearsal's over." Knight draped a coat over her shoulders. "It was on the way, so I came to see you."

"On the way?" Her mother shot her a glance. "The hospital's in the east of the city, and the Association's in the west. That's quite a detour."

Knight: "..."

No one knew her better than her mother. She had seen right through her with a single jab.

Her mother didn't press the issue. She simply led her daughter to sit beside the bed, then pulled something out from beneath the pillow—a concert ticket, its corners slightly rounded from wear. Clearly, she had looked at it countless times.

Front row.

"Tomorrow, I'll be sitting right here." Her mother pressed the ticket to her chest.

She had thought she would never get to see her daughter shine again, but she hadn't expected heaven to give her another chance.

She had to cherish it.

"Mom..." Knight's throat tightened.

She heard herself say,

"Don't worry... I won't let you down tomorrow."

"I promise."

Yet the moment the words left her mouth, her heart gave a faint, uncertain tremor.

Really... would she not let her down?

Late that night, on the hospital rooftop.

Knight stood alone in the night wind, gazing at the brightly lit city below.

Nearly everyone in the city would be focusing their attention on her.

Those gazes held expectations... As Love would put it, they were the citizens of Our City's love for her.

Of course, there were also hostile gazes.

"Whatever you sense, unless we give the order, you are not allowed to move."

Old Wei's words were like a nail driven into her heart.

She understood.

She was the star of the concert. Only with her onstage could she keep the hearts of countless spectators steady... Once she left the stage, the audience below—and those watching the livestream—would surely panic.

What happened? Even Knight, the star of the show, had to stop the concert?

People would be puzzled, then begin speculating, and grow increasingly uneasy...

Those intense emotions would gather together, bringing unforeseeable consequences.

The risk was immense.

But if they succeeded, it would also give the citizens unparalleled confidence.

Look! This is our Magical Girl!

How dazzling she is!

But...

The Association had already concluded that tomorrow's battle would absolutely not be easy.

Knight gripped the railing tightly, her knuckles turning white.

Could she really hold herself back? Could she stand onstage and watch her companions face danger—even a crisis between life and death?

As if possessed, she raised her head and softly called toward the night sky:

"...Love."

The wind swept across the rooftop, offering no response.

"Love, are you there?"

She didn't even know why she had called that name.

Perhaps it was because Love always appeared in the most unbelievable places. Perhaps it was because Love had once said, "Everyone loves you because you're always there." Perhaps she simply wanted to ask someone—

Can I do it tomorrow?

"Love!"

She raised her voice slightly.

"I have a question I want to ask you!"

The night sky remained silent.

The starlight was sparse, and Flowing Cloud slowly drifted across the moon. Not a single spark appeared.

There was no pink skirt, no starry eyes, no familiar, "I felt your call."

Knight stood on the rooftop for a very long time.

At last, she lowered her eyes and gave a self-mocking laugh.

"Of course."

"You said you only came for 'love.' What does a little confusion of mine have to do with love?"

She turned and walked down from the rooftop.

"...Tomorrow, I'll bear it myself."

At the other end of the city, at Yang Chen's home.

Yang Chen lay on his bed, staring wide-eyed into the darkness.

He had heard it.

Those three calls, not one missed, had all struck his ears.

He had also heard clearly what was wrapped in Knight's voice—confusion, unease, and a trace of stubbornness that refused to show weakness.

He had nearly sprung out of bed.

But his hand stopped the moment it touched his chest.

The small bedside lamp was on.

He turned his head and looked at his reflection in the mirror—his long hair spread across the pillow, his profile so soft that no edges could be seen.

His previous transformation had made the changes even more pronounced.

He still wasn't ready to let "Yang Chen" say goodbye to the person he cared about.

"...I'm sorry, Knight."

Yang Chen gazed at the ceiling and spoke softly.

"It's not that I don't want to answer you."

"It's that I really can't transform whenever I want anymore."

"Unless it's a special situation... I can't do it even once."

He rolled over and buried his face in the pillow.

"You'll have the answer to your question tomorrow."

"Because you're Knight."

On that same night, many people across the city were still awake.

The Association's command room was brightly lit.

Masked Heroine spread the deployment map across the table and held a red pen and a blue pen, running through the possibilities again and again: What if the enemy entered through the underground pipelines? What if they detonated a bomb from within the crowd?

Celestial Star accompanied her with a folder of materials, checking everything against it until dawn, while Ranger slept beside them with glow sticks in her arms, sprawled at odd angles.

Well, it seemed Ranger had at least gotten some sleep.

At Chen Qianqian's home, she carefully packed two glow sticks into her bag, then held her ticket up to the light and examined it three times before falling asleep, completely satisfied.

And in an unknown basement somewhere in the city, rows of unidentified black devices were undergoing their final adjustments.

Their indicator lights flickered eerily, like a field of dormant, icy eyes.