"...Mmm..."
From under the soft duvet, Yun Mengxi let out an unconscious whimper, struggling reluctantly to wake from her sleep.
So tired...
Her body felt heavy, like she had just finished a long marathon, and even lifting her eyelids felt strenuous.
Her consciousness was groggy, as if wrapped in a thick fog called remnants of old dreams.
She subconsciously raised her hand to rub her eyes, but her fingertips touched a cold dampness.
Tears?
She paused, a bit bewildered.
Why... am I crying?
Is it because I had a sad dream?
Yun Mengxi tried to recall, but her mind was empty, with no specific content about any dream, only a vague, heavy sadness lingering in her heart.
Like a sponge soaked in water, clogging her up and making her feel a bit panicked.
This inexplicable emotion made her dazed, and she couldn't help but start pondering the reason for her tears.
Perhaps it's because the pressure of the concert is too great? Or maybe I'm subconsciously worried about tonight's performance?
Forget it.
She habitually attributed these "abnormalities" to pre-performance nervousness and lack of sleep.
Anyway, this occasional low mood was "business as usual" for her.
"Mengxi? Time to get up. If you don't get up now, there won't be enough time for makeup," Liu Zhuohua's gentle urging came from outside the door.
Yun Mengxi buried her face deeper into the soft pillow, dragging out her tone with a heavy nasal voice, mumbling a plea like countless times in the past.
"Sister Liu... let me sleep for five more minutes... just five minutes... okay..."
Her voice carried the huskiness of just waking up and a trace of exhaustion from the depths of her soul that even she hadn't noticed.
She didn't know what had happened, didn't know the world had been torn apart and forcibly stitched back together, didn't know someone was trembling in fear over her "five minutes" of lingering in bed.
She just closed her eyes, curled up in the warm quilt, trying to dispel the inexplicable palpitation and sadness, welcoming this "new day" that seemed no different from usual but had already stepped into a weird loop.
Amidst Liu Zhuohua's helpless compromise of "only three more minutes," Yun Mengxi finally struggled to get up.
While washing up, looking at her slightly pale face and the faint dark circles under her eyes in the mirror, she once again blamed that inexplicable fatigue and residual palpitation on pre-performance nervousness.
Arriving at the dining room, Liu Zhuohua had already placed the meticulously prepared breakfast on the table.
Low-calorie vegetable salad, perfectly pan-fried chicken breast, and a small portion of her favorite... open sandwich with double cheese.
Yun Mengxi's eyes lit up instantly, like a cat that stole a dried fish.
She looked up at Liu Zhuohua, who was organizing the counter with her back to her, as if nothing had happened. But this "indifference" seemed quite deliberate instead.
Full of gratitude, Yun Mengxi playfully stuck out her tongue at Liu Zhuohua's back and quickly, guiltily gave a thumbs up.
She knew Liu Zhuohua could definitely see her actions through the mirror on the counter.
Because she had already seen the usually dignified and steady Sister Liu reveal a quite pleased, enigmatic expression!
Sister Liu is really cute.
She sat down and took small but satisfied bites of that exceptionally fragrant sandwich.
A warm current of mutual understanding and gratitude flowed in the air, and even that inexplicable sadness seemed to be diluted a bit by this warm breakfast.
After enjoying breakfast and getting into the nanny van heading to the Pearl of the Sea, Yun Mengxi habitually took out her phone and lazily scrolled through the news, wanting to see if there were any pre-concert reports about tonight.
But placed on the homepage were several red-labeled breaking news items. Yun Mengxi's attention was instantly attracted, and she clicked on those breaking news items.
[Breaking: Several Business Tycoons and Economic Criminals Arrested One After Another Last Night, Suspected of Involvement in Major Cases!]
["Arahato" Strikes Again? Mysterious Armor Suspected of Participating in Crackdown on Transnational Economic Crime Group!]
[Anonymous Source Reveals Large Amount of Insider Trading Evidence, Financial Markets May Trigger Shockwaves...]
The accompanying pictures were some blurry photos that seemed to be surveillance screenshots or long-distance shots. One could vaguely see an armored figure with black, purple, and green colors, as well as scenes of some mosaic-covered, well-dressed but wretched-looking people being taken away.
"Eh?" Yun Mengxi tilted her head slightly, a bit puzzled.
Arahato... She remembered this was a quite popular tokusatsu hero. As a singer who had once performed the impression song for the Homu IP, she had some understanding of Homu's "competitor."
But... how could a tokusatsu work be related to cracking down on economic crimes?
And such a big move, catching so many people in one night?
Yun Mengxi took another look and was surprised to find that it wasn't even one night, but this morning!
She subconsciously wanted to click in to look closely, but Liu Zhuohua sitting next to her had already leaned over.
"Mengxi, how does your throat feel? Your voice sounded a bit hoarse last night. I prepared new throat lozenges. Do you want to have one? Also, for those few transitions in the opening song, do you want to go through them again on the way?"
Successfully distracted, Yun Mengxi was immediately pulled back to reality.
"Ah, okay, thank you, Sister Liu." She took the throat lozenge and temporarily put the news about "Arahato" and the arrested dignitaries behind her.
After all, those things sounded very distant from her, like things happening in another world. They seemed like two parallel lines that would never intersect with her concert, her stage, and her singing.
She put down her phone and began to hum tonight's songs softly, her mind completely immersed in the world of music.
Outside the car window, the city was still bustling and peaceful, with traffic weaving through.
After arriving at the Pearl of the Sea, guided by the staff, Yun Mengxi quickly went through the entrance process.
After confirming everything was correct, she returned to the exclusive dressing room and truly began the final preparations before going on stage.
Liu Zhuohua deftly helped her manage her hairstyle while conducting the final makeup adjustments.
Yun Mengxi faced the mirror, coordinating with Sister Liu's movements while chatting with her, trying to alleviate the inexplicable trace of nervousness growing in her heart.
"Sister Liu, do you think... for the chorus part of that new song, I always feel the breath transition could be smoother?" She frowned slightly, her body swaying unconsciously, trying to match the beat in her mind.
"It's already very good," Liu Zhuohua skillfully clipped up a tuft of hair, then used her body to steady Yun Mengxi's slightly swaying body.
Her voice was as gentle and affirming as always, so normal that Yun Mengxi couldn't help but start doubting again if there was something wrong with herself.
"I know how many times you practiced. It's absolutely no problem. Just don't be too tense and enjoy the stage."