Halfway through the second verse, Sandrone, sitting below, quietly made a hand gesture.
Her little robot moved.
The lights around the stage gradually dimmed, replaced by a warm yellow spotlight that steadily shone on Varesa.
The light was soft, Varesa stood in it, her light blue dress tinged with a gentle hue.
The wind god statue stood quietly behind her.
The lights at the four corners of the square seemed to follow her voice, flickering on and off.
--It's Sandrone tune.
She didn't tell anyone else, but she changed the wiring of the lights overnight, so that they would follow the scene and the presence of Varesa.
Bai You only found out about this two days ago when she accidentally saw her lying in front of the screen with Sandrone eyes.
Bai You, standing in the background, turned her head and glanced at her.
Sandrone stared intently at the screen, his lips pressed tightly together, but his eyes remained fixed on the stage.
Bai You glanced at her and glared at her. "What are you looking at me for? Listen!"
Bai You hummed in agreement and quickly turned back.
Then, Odette came on stage. When she emerged from behind the curtain, someone in the audience let out a soft "Oh."
Odette wore a light-colored dance costume and stood on the wooden planks of the stage.
She didn't look at the audience, but walked straight to a spot diagonally behind Varesa and stood there.
The two people looked at each other.
Just one glance.
Then, as the music began, Odette's body went limp, following the rhythm.
She jumped very lightly.
Like a leaf on the water, blown by the wind. Her arm rose and fell; her toes touched the wooden board and then spun away.
Bai You knew that these two had worked together countless times in the theater.
But she had never seen them like this before.
In the theater, Varesa said that they no longer felt comfortable performing.
The dignitaries sat in the audience, watching the play while discussing their business.
Applause is a courtesy, cheers are a show of status.
But at this moment--
Sitting below the stage at this moment are an old woman, a woman holding a child, and a waiter at the tavern.
They were the young men of the Knights of Favonius, and the crew members in the last row who had shouted themselves hoarse.
They had no status, no pomp and circumstance.
They were just listening.
This is the purest kind of concert.
Odette jumped halfway through, then opened her eyes and glanced at the audience.
She saw the little baby in the front row with pigtails, who, without her noticing, had raised her little hands above her head and was clapping along to the rhythm.
She suddenly laughed.
Varesa was singing in front when she heard the almost chaotic dance steps behind her.
Her voice trailed off with a barely audible hint of a smile.
Neither of them turned around.
But that moment of coordination was more seamless than any performance they had ever given in the theater.
Then, when Varesa sang the climax, her voice rose—
Someone in the audience, I don't know who, started humming along softly.
It was a young man, his voice trembled slightly, and he was humming off-key.
But the people around him heard it and started humming along.
Next to it, one, two, ten, one hundred.
Bai You stood in the backstage, listening to so many people speaking in all sorts of accents and off-key tunes.
Quietly and uncoordinatedly, they hummed the same tune as the person on stage.
Suddenly, she felt a stinging sensation in her nose that she could barely hold back.
She squatted down and buried her face in her knees.
Tears fell onto the wooden board, seeping in little by little.
Columbina stood beside her, who had been looking up at the moon, and then sniffed.
"Sand got in my eyes," she said in a hoarse voice.
"Hmm," Bai You responded listlessly.
"It's just sand."
"Hmm."
Under the shade of the tree, the boy wearing the green hat had placed his zither on his lap at some point.
He didn't pluck the strings; he just held it and listened.
He closed his eyes when he heard the whole audience humming along.
--He's been in Mondstadt for so long.
But he had never heard a song sung like this before—by so many people, off-key, out of tune, yet so earnestly.
He smiled softly in the wind.
"You sing so well," he said.
The last song, the intro starts...
Varesa's hand holding the microphone paused almost imperceptibly.
She lowered her eyes and smiled slightly.
Bai You saw it then.
Then she spoke.
The sound was softer than any of the previous songs.
When she sang that most tender line, she glanced up.
The night sky over Mondstadt was clear and clean, with only a few stars scattered about.
Bai You followed her gaze—and suddenly she understood.
She showcased her vocal talent to the fullest, hitting incredibly high notes, and sang it to everyone in the audience.
Halfway through her song, she suddenly raised her hand and beckoned towards the side of the stage.
Bai You was taken aback.
"Come here," Varesa said.
The sound wasn't loud, but the wind carried it to every corner of the square.
Bai You's tears were still on her face. She pointed at herself, looking bewildered.
"... Me?"
Someone in the audience laughed first, followed by a small, soft, and gentle murmur of laughter.
Varesa smiled too. She waved to Bai You again.
"Just you."
Bai You stumbled and bumped onto the stage.
She ran to Varesa's side, panting, her face flushed with embarrassment.
Varesa reached out and pulled her close.
He made her stand next to him.
Then he bent down, faced her, and finished singing the last verse.
That song was originally meant for everyone.
But in the last part, Varesa's gaze remained fixed solely on the top of the head of the person in her arms.
Everyone in the audience listened quietly until the end.
No one felt neglected.
--Because they all figured it out.
The singer on stage delivered the best part of her voice in this song.
At this moment, everything was left intact to the little girl beside her, whose eyes were red from crying.
The last note fell.
The square remained silent for several seconds.
Then, a thunderous applause erupted.
Someone was shouting, "One more song!" Someone was wiping away tears. The little girl with pigtails was being held high above her mother's head, her little hands clapping.
Varesa straightened up.
She removed the microphone from her lips and let it hang at her side.
She didn't speak immediately.
She simply turned around, faced the audience, and bowed deeply.
Then her gaze passed over the applause, over the crowd, and landed on the slit in the side curtain.
It landed in the direction Bai You had just run off in.
Finally, it landed on the Bai You next to it.
The corners of her mouth curved slightly.
--That touch was very light.
It was so light that only the Bai You standing closest to it could tell.
No one knows what she's laughing about.
Perhaps even she herself cannot explain it clearly.
She simply felt that the wind was lovely, the lights were perfect, and the people in the audience were wonderful that night.
And next to her was Little Bai You, who had just run up and was crying her eyes out.
She's the best.