Goji Berry Tea in the VIP Viewing Seats

Outside the Flamebearers' Academy's No. 1 auditorium, the glow of fan signs churned the night sky into a multicolored mess.

"Seven figures for a scalped ticket, and seats reserved for employees' friends and family? Is there no justice?"

A student who had failed to get a ticket pressed his face against the tightly shut glass doors, leaving a white mark on the tip of his nose.

"I told you, stop pushing. Lady Flying Snow Velvet won't like fans who cut in line."

Meanwhile, in the secluded service passage behind them, Zhou Yu wore a yellow vest marked "Utilities Maintenance." With a toolbox in his left hand and his right hand in his pocket, he strolled along as if out for a walk.

Linnai followed behind him, her eyes shining.

Linnai: (☆ω☆)

"Bro, from today on, you're my real brother from different parents."

"Don't call me bro. Call me boss."

Zhou Yu didn't even look back.

Sigelica brought up the rear, shoulders hunched as she turned her head this way and that, checking every corner.

"Is this really okay? This is fraud. Professor Moning will make us retake professional ethics."

"Come on, what are you afraid of?"

Zhou Yu stopped in front of a door marked "Stage Equipment Area" and pressed his gold faculty card against the sensor.

Beep.

The light turned green.

He pushed open the soundproof door, and white dry-ice fog surged out, mixed with a wave of heat from the sound equipment's electrical current.

"I'm here to inspect the wiring, and you're interns assisting me. It's honest work, got it?"

"Teacher Zhou, how many times have you practiced that story?"

Linnai was the first to dart inside.

"No practice needed. The Logistics Department persona is convincing all on its own."

Zhou Yu led the four of them backstage and shut the door firmly behind him.

People in work clothes came and went, but not one of them gave the group a second glance.

He walked around several enormous prop cases and pulled aside the curtain leading to the audience seats.

"Wow."

Linnai poked her head out, her mouth hanging wide open.

Right in the center of the front row was an area cordoned off with red velvet ropes, with complimentary drinks and limited-edition merchandise on every seat.

"Zhou Yu."

Chisaki pushed up her glasses, their lenses reflecting the stage lights.

Chisaki: (¬_¬)

"These seats have the best acoustics in the entire venue. They're reserved exclusively for members of the academy's Supreme Council."

"Oh, perfect."

Zhou Yu stepped over the velvet rope, plopped down, and set his toolbox on the floor.

"The council members all have diarrhea today and can't make it, so we'll enjoy it for them."

"How do you know they have diarrhea?"

Sigelica's voice rose half a pitch.

"I don't, but there really was a little something extra in their tea caddies."

Zhou Yu waved to the others, who were still standing.

"Sit down. What are you standing around for? There won't be any seats left when more people arrive."

Sigelica stared at the gold-lettered plaque reserving the seats for the council, her legs trembling.

Sigelica: (╬_╬)

"My written self-criticism is going from six thousand characters to sixty thousand."

"Xixi, look."

Dania had already sat down. She picked up the glow stick on her seat and turned it around in front of her eyes.

"Does it light up?"

The deafening roar and flashing signs around her left her a little dazed, and her little hand clutched the glow stick tightly.

"Of course it does. When Lady Snow Velvet comes out, we'll wave them together."

Linnai pulled several fan headbands out of her bag and, without waiting for a response, put them on Dania and Sigelica.

Sigelica said they were childish, but obligingly lowered her head.

Bang.

Every light in the auditorium went out at once.

In the darkness, the glow sticks formed a sea of stars.

Screams pierced the dome.

A spotlight struck the center of the stage. A platform slowly rose, revealing a figure in a silver half mask and layers of pink skirts.

Her long pink hair shimmered in the beam, and she lit up the entire stage.

Dania's eyes went wide.

Dania: (´•ω•`)?

"Good evening, everyone at the Flamebearers' Academy."

The voice behind the mask filled the venue through the speakers, brimming with energy beneath its electronic texture.

"Let's create a miracle together again tonight."

"Aaaah, Lady Snow Velvet, I love you!"

Linnai's scream nearly burst Sigelica's eardrums.

The drums exploded, and the concert officially began.

Sigelica complained about the noise, but snatched the high-intensity glow stick Linnai offered her and waved it clumsily along with the crowd.

At the very heart of the frenzy, Zhou Yu fished a stainless-steel thermos out of his toolbox.

He unscrewed the lid and blew across the opening. A few goji berries swirled on the surface of the water.

He leaned back in his seat and took a sip, looking just like a retired old man sitting on a park bench listening to someone play the erhu.

Zhou Yu: (￣.￣)

Dania looked at the dazzling idol onstage, then at the audience waving their arms around her, before turning her head.

"Zhou Yu, aren't you going to wave?"

"I'm responsible for providing logistical support."

He shook his thermos.

"Moral support."

Dania hesitated, then raised her glow stick, copying Linnai.

Her timing was completely off, and her movements were stiff, but she waved it with utmost seriousness.

The pink point of light joined that sea of stars called passion.

Between songs, Flying Snow Velvet playfully winked at the front row.

Dania stopped waving.

Her cheeks burned.

"Your idol noticed you."

Linnai leaned over, her tone sour enough to pickle vegetables.

"I've been waving for three years without getting a single glance, and this is what you get on your first visit?"

"Maybe her timing was so ridiculously off that she stood out."

Chisaki added another jab from the side.

Zhou Yu put down his thermos, took out the "Temporary KPI Assessment Form for Dania During Her Time at the Academy," and wrote a line under evening activities.

Assessment result: the positive effect of music on appetite remains to be observed.

However, its effect on the happiness index is significant.

As soon as his pen touched the paper, he stopped.

His gaze passed over the crowd and landed on an inconspicuous fire exit at the back of the auditorium.

The door there was open a crack.

The screen of the old digital watch on his wrist flashed.

A pixel-art skull icon appeared for an instant, then vanished.

Zhou Yu: (﹁_﹁)

He looked away, unscrewed his thermos again, and took a sip.

"This kind of spiritual nourishment..."

His voice was completely drowned out by the tremendous sound.

"The side effects seem a little excessive."