The Byoukidere Is Her Sweetie-Chapter 242 - Yun Sheng and Xu Fang recognized each other on

Chapter 242: 242: Yun Sheng and Xu Fang recognized each other, on the same stage (1 update of 5,000 characters)

Chapter 242: 242: Yun Sheng and Xu Fang recognized each other, on the same stage (1 update of 5,000 characters)

After the interlude, the climax was supposed to come, but at that moment, the voice abruptly ceased.

Gradually, the fans also fell silent. The accompaniment continued to play, and after more than ten seconds had passed, Xiao Yusheng still hadn’t started singing again or interacted in any way; he was gazing fixedly at one spot, lost in thought.

Since his debut, he had held six concerts, and this was the first time he had made a mistake in the middle of a performance.

The fans below waited in silence for a moment, then began to shout his name.

“Xiao Yusheng!”

“Xiao Yusheng!”

“Xiao Yusheng!”

“…”

One call after another, rhythmic and exhilarating.

Xiao Yusheng’s previously still eyelashes trembled slightly, and he came back to himself. He raised his hand to signal the band behind him to stop, and after the accompaniment faded away, the fans quieted down as well.

He walked to the front of the stage and bowed to the audience, “I’m sorry, I made a mistake.”

The fans were all shouting that it didn’t matter.

“Xiao Yusheng!”

“Xiao Yusheng, you can do it!”

He returned to the stand-up microphone in the center of the stage and turned to the band, “Would you please start over again.”

The accompaniment began anew, and as he started to sing and play, his gaze roamed over the crowd and finally settled; afterward, it never strayed again.

“Xu Fang.” Fang Lixiang’s throat was already hoarse from shouting.

Zhou Xufang responded, “Hmm.”

Fang Lixiang shouted louder, “Xu Fang.”

“I heard you.”

Fang Lixiang even louder, “Xu Fang!”

With the surrounding noise too loud, Zhou Xufang could only yell back, “Hey!”

The two faced each other, their conversation like one was on top of a mountain and the other at the bottom. Fang Lixiang at the top shouted, “Yun Sheng seems to be looking over here.”

At the bottom of the mountain, Zhou Xufang responded, “Yeah, yeah.”

The person at the top always felt like the person at the bottom couldn’t hear, and yelled as if their life depended on it, “I said,” she called out loudly, “Yun Sheng seems to be looking at us!”

Zhou Xufang replied, “I heard you.”

Fang Lixiang asked, “What?” Oh, she can’t hear me, she yelled her lungs out, “I’m saying Yun Sheng he—”

Zhou Xufang cut in, “I heard you!”

The atmosphere on-site was too heated; all the interaction had to be shouted.

During the mid-concert break, a guest singer took the stage, and Xiao Yusheng temporarily left.

He was changing clothes and touching up his makeup when his manager, Yang Xi, approached. Yang Xi was tall and sturdy, a northerner with a heavy accent.

“What was that just now?”

Sitting in front of the makeup mirror, with his eyes downcast and his mind elsewhere, he said absently, “I made a mistake.”

Nearly half a minute had passed without finding the rhythm again; it was a significant mistake: “You’ve never made a mistake before.” And such a big one at that. Yang Xi asked him, “Is your throat uncomfortable?”

His mind seemed to be somewhere else, and in his generally calm and unruffled eyes, there was a slight ripple, “No.”

The emperor is not in a hurry, but the eunuch is anxious to death. Yang Xi pressed on, “Neither the sound system nor the equipment had issues. How about the in-ear monitors, were they functioning properly?”

“Hmm.”

His response was noncommittal and without explanation.

Xiao Yusheng was typically not very talkative and had a solitary personality. But he was self-disciplined and had almost never caused Yang Xi any concern; this time, though, something seemed off.

“So why did you stop singing all of a sudden?”

Xiao Yusheng sat with his head lowered, his bangs covering his eyes and brows: “I forgot the lyrics.”

It was the first time he’d forgotten the lyrics.

Forgetting lyrics wasn’t critical, but what mattered was, “Why didn’t you pass the microphone to the fans when you forgot the lyrics?” At that moment, all he needed to do was pass the mic and call out ‘Let’s sing it together.’

“Yun Sheng, lift your head.”

He raised his head to let the makeup artist do their work: “I forgot.”

Yang Xi was speechless.

Well, the kid forgot the lyrics for the first time; maybe he lacked experience.

Yang Xi massaged his forehead, feeling a bit of a headache coming on, “This is definitely going to make headlines tomorrow.” The titles will probably be along the lines of a concert disaster.

This would probably become the first scandal for Xiao Yusheng, the flawless singer-songwriter.

He didn’t seem to care much, tilting his head back to get some makeup touch-ups, his chin’s contour smooth and defined: “After the guest singing, is it interaction time?”

Leaning back like that, the light hitting his face, he looked like a porcelain doll, delicate and fragile.

“Yeah,” Yang Xi knew he disliked fan interactions the most and reassured him, “You don’t need to say much, just let the fans request songs, and you sing them.”

Suddenly, he turned his head, his usually calm eyes now brimming with light, as if something was stirring amidst the clamor, “Can I invite her to come on stage?”

Yang Xi was startled, “Her?”

He looked away, “The person requesting the song.”

In the mirror, his eyelashes, slightly drooped at the front, quivered gently.

Yang Xi didn’t notice anything amiss and answered, “She doesn’t need to come on stage, just hand her a microphone.”

He hummed in acknowledgment and said no more.

Outside, the guest singer’s song was nearing its end.

Assistant Duan Xiaoguang entered and asked, “Are you ready?”

The makeup artist gave an OK sign.

Duan Xiaoguang checked the time, “Twenty seconds until you’re on stage.”

Xiao Yusheng took a sip of water, moistening his throat, then headed to the backstage lift area.

The next song was a duet between Xiao Yusheng and the guest singer.

As the intro just began, Duan Xiaoguang noticed something off, “Brother Yang, Yusheng’s condition doesn’t seem right.” Duan Xiaoguang observed the stage and grew increasingly concerned, “He isn’t looking at the guest singer at all,” not a single glance, utterly no interaction.

The guest singer looked his way several times without a response, finally retreating resignedly.

Even from such a distance, Yang Xi felt the awkwardness, “What’s with him today?” Probably, this too would hit the headlines, something like ‘ignores seniors, eyes full of contempt.’

Duan Xiaoguang observed for a moment, “He seems to be looking in one direction the entire time.”

Yang Xi followed Xiao Yusheng’s gaze, “Where is he looking?” It seemed to be the VVIP section.

VVIP section.

“Xu Fang,” Fang Lixiang leaned in to whisper to Zhou Xufang, “Why do I feel like Yun Sheng has been looking our way the whole time?”

Yeah, Zhou Xufang felt the same.

The girl sitting in front of them was excited, “Oh my god! Yun Sheng is looking at me!” In her excitement, she high-fived her companion, “He keeps looking at me, ah ah ah ah—”

Her companion: “…”

The girl waved her light stick, “Yun Sheng! Yun Sheng, I love you!”

Her cries were hysterical.

The song ended, but that girl was still shouting, her energy drained, looking like she was about to pass out.

Xiao Yusheng thanked the guest singer, who waved and left the stage; it was time for the interactive session of the concert. Xiao Yusheng looked at the crowd below, “Now, I will pick a fan to request a song.”

The fans’ hands were almost flailing off.

At times like these, they look to see who’s the most enthusiastic, whose light stick is unique, which girls or boys stand out.

“Me me me!”

——From the scream of the girl sitting in front of Fang Lixiang.

The girl was wearing a jacket covered in Xiao Yusheng’s photos, fortunately, Fang Lixiang didn’t have trypophobia.

“Yun Sheng! Yun Sheng, over here!”

“Pick me! Pick me! Pick me!”

The girl was nearly frantic, and indeed, Xiao Yusheng seemed to be looking in that direction.

“He looked over, he looked over, ah ah ah ah ah!!” The decibels peak when a girl screams.

Zhou Xufang instinctively leaned back a bit.

Sensing her movement, Jiang Zhi noticed, “Is it too loud?”

“Just a bit.”

Her ears were too sensitive, that girl in front had been too excited, and since the concert started, her screams hadn’t stopped. The prolonged exposure to the high-pitch was making Zhou Xufang’s eardrums slightly uncomfortable.

Jiang Zhi covered her ears, “Is it a bit better now?”

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His hands were cool.

Zhou Xufang nodded, placing her hands inside her sleeves, and covered Jiang Zhi’s hands with her sleeved arms.

On stage, Xiao Yusheng’s voice was soothing as he gently asked, “The girl in the third row wearing the green down jacket, can you come on stage?”

Third row, green down jacket…

Fang Lixiang froze for three seconds, looking left and right, finally pointing to herself in disbelief, “…Is it me?” Her eyes were wide open, an indescribable feeling, like winning a massive lottery.

Gazes from all directions fixated on the stage.

Fang Lixiang was about to scream—

The handsome boy on stage looked on with a calm focus and slowly said, “The gentleman in the green sweater, and the girl in the green down jacket beside him.”

The gentleman in the green sweater was Jiang Zhi, and the girl in the green down jacket—

Was Zhou Xufang.

Jiang Zhi immediately lifted his light board to block the camera.

“I can’t go down there,” the flurries of snow were intermittently lifted by the wind, Xiao Yusheng stood in the middle of the stage under the lights, amidst the clamor around him, his gaze still tranquil, “Can you come up here?”

His tone was very earnest.

Below the stage, fans urged someone to go up.

Jiang Zhi didn’t like this unexpected twist, as it made him feel passive. He covered Zhou Xufang’s face with his hand: “Do you want to go up?”

Zhou Xufang nodded.

It was no longer a question of wanting to go up or not but rather that she couldn’t decline. With so many eyes watching, if Zhou Xufang didn’t go up, she might make the headlines tomorrow.

Jiang Zhi put the mask on her: “I’ll wait for you here.” He moved the light board away, “Go on.”

She agreed, stood up from her seat, and was led by staff over to the stage.

Xiao Yusheng stood waiting above, gripping the microphone a little tighter. When she got on stage, she seemed not quite accustomed to the strong stage lights, squinting her eyes slightly, and stood about four or five meters away, not too close.

“You,” he began, then remembered to lift the microphone he was holding, “what’s your name?”

She said, “My surname is Zhou.”

She didn’t want to reveal too much on camera, only giving her last name.

Xiao Yusheng stood sideways, looking at her, silent for quite a while, as the snow continued to fall, thin sweat running down his temples.

The stage was silent.

The crowd below, incessant.

“Why isn’t Yun Sheng speaking?”

“He must be nervous, our Yun Sheng has always disliked interacting with people.”

“Yun Sheng, you can do it!”

“You’re the best!”

“…”

Fans occasionally shouted a few words of support.

A voice came through the microphone, clear and melodious: “What song would you like to hear?”

Zhou Xufang said, “Any will do.”

Watching him from this distance, she felt increasingly that he resembled that lean and young boy, especially the eyes, which were unusually bright and clear.

Xiao Yusheng moved a chair in front of her, which was the one he sat on when he played and sang by himself. Because he had been standing for a while, a thin layer of snow had settled on the chair, which he wiped off with his sleeve: “Is it okay to sit here?”

Zhou Xufang nodded, preferring to sit sideways to avoid being in the camera’s view.

Once she was seated, Xiao Yusheng picked up the guitar from the ground and turned to report a song name to the accompanist.

Zhou Xufang had heard this song before. It was very suitable for a snowy day, with warm yet sad lyrics. She enjoyed Xiao Yusheng’s songs because they had stories within them.

Snow falling from the heavens, the boy on stage slowly sang: “By the banks of Alce’s lake, spangled with moonlight, where the rain has fallen, I search for you in the azure sky…”

Fang Lixiang also hummed along, her voice trembling as if she were about to cry.

The girl in front of her—the one who had been screaming all night—finally quieted down: “Why sing this song?” Her eyes brimmed with tears, “This song makes me cry every time I hear it.”

Her companion remarked, “I see that Yun Sheng’s eyes are red.”

“It looks like he’s crying.”

The girl felt tears welling up as well.

This was a slow tune, from the first note until the last, the audience below was silent, either listening quietly or softly singing along.

As the last note faded, the place erupted into clamor, with thunderous applause, the fans chanting Xiao Yusheng’s name in unison.

“Xiao Yusheng!”

“Xiao Yusheng!”

“Xiao Yusheng!”

“…”

He put down the guitar, walked over to the chair, bent down, and embraced the girl sitting there. His hands didn’t touch her, they hung in the air, fingers curled, red from the cold.

“Are you 017?”

Zhou Xufang’s voice was very soft, inaudible to ordinary people.

Xiao Yusheng removed the microphone from his collar, “It’s been an awfully long time, 011.”

Zhou Xufang smiled.

Having an idol who was a friend from the past was a delightful thing.

Fans below the stage were screaming wildly.

Xiao Yusheng let go, stepping back to a polite distance, and picked up his guitar again. He said, “There’s snow on the ground, it’s slippery, so walk slowly.”

Zhou Xufang nodded and walked down the stage, stepping on the half-melted snowy water. Midway, she looked back, and the boy on the stage was standing still, smiling faintly.

That person who rarely smiled looked particularly attractive when he did. The desolation in his eyes sprouted buds, gained color, and was no longer so bleak.

The liveliness on stage continued, and Xiao Yusheng had already invited the second fan to join him. It was a fan from the top seats who chose a more upbeat song.

After Zhou Xufang sat down, Jiang Zhi brushed the snow off her head. “Is it him? The boy from the lab.” He had seen the storm of emotions in Xiao Yusheng’s eyes.

Zhou Xufang glanced at the stage, “Yes, it’s him.”

“What did he say to you?”

“He said it’s been an awfully long time.”

It indeed had been an awfully long time, time enough for youth to shed its rawness, growing into adulthood.

The snow was getting heavier. The boy on the stage had put on a green raincoat. Jiang Zhi stayed with Zhou Xufang until the concert’s second half was over. By the end, Fang Lixiang had gone hoarse from shouting.

The trio had just reached the exit when Zhou Xufang stopped.

“What’s wrong?”

There were many noises behind them, and Zhou Xufang listened for a while, “Someone is calling for Miss Zhou.”

Jiang Zhi looked back, and indeed, someone was catching up.

“Miss Zhou,” it was a young gentleman, tall and thin, who had run hurriedly and was still out of breath. He asked Zhou Xufang, “May I take a moment of your time?”

Zhou Xufang didn’t answer.

Jiang Zhi asked her, “Do you know him?”

She shook her head.

“I am Xiao Yusheng’s assistant.” Duan Xiaoguang briefly introduced himself and showed his work badge. He then said to Zhou Xufang, “Yun Sheng can’t come out, could you please come with me?”

Zhou Xufang looked at Jiang Zhi.

Jiang Zhi spoke for her, “Not alone, my girlfriend has to be with me.”

Duan Xiaoguang wasn’t sure what Xiao Yusheng wanted with the girl he had interacted with. He was simply instructed to make sure she was brought over.

After a moment of thought, Duan Xiaoguang asked the girl’s boyfriend, “Would it be alright to take a bit of your time as well?”

Jiang Zhi still wanted to confirm Zhou Xufang’s wishes, “Shall we go?”

Zhou Xufang thought for a moment, then nodded.

Jiang Zhi said to Fang Lixiang, “I’ll call someone to pick you up.”

Fang Lixiang quickly gestured no need, “No, no, I can go back by myself.” Her emotions were surging at that moment; she had a premonition that her idol and her best friend definitely had some connection.

Zhou Xufang and her partner were already being led away by Xiao Yusheng’s assistant. Fang Lixiang immediately pulled out her newly purchased phone and sent a message to Zhou Xufang on WeChat.

Fang Lixiang: “Xu Fang, Xu Fang.”

Fang Lixiang: “Autograph!”

Fang Lixiang: “Help! Me! Get! An! Autograph!”

Zhou Xufang: “Okay.”

Fang Lixiang: [Love you] GIF.

Zhou Xufang: “.”

Fang Lixiang: [Finger heart] GIF.

Zhou Xufang: “.”

This unbearable OCD.

Fang Lixiang stopped sending images; otherwise, Zhou Xufang could keep sending periods till dawn. Fang Lixiang adjusted her mask and scarf, ready to leave.

Someone called her from behind, “Fang Lixiang?”

Completely out of reflex, Fang Lixiang immediately turned around.

The other person, like her, was wrapped up tightly and looked surprised to see her, “It is really you.”

Fang Lixiang kept her composure, “It’s not.”

“I have recognized you.”

The person had a stylish dress sense, clearly not an ordinary person, and wearing so much cover, probably someone from within the industry. Fang Lixiang hadn’t been officially in the industry for long and didn’t have many close friends yet, just a few superficial acquaintances, so she didn’t intend to have a ‘reunion’ and firmly denied, “You’ve got the wrong person.”