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Applause is easy to fake.
Silence isn't.
That's why I watched the room instead of the stage.
When Yueyin finished singing, the last note lingered longer than it should have.
No one clapped immediately.
Not because they disliked it.
Because they were processing it.
People leaned back in their chairs.Someone exhaled slowly.A girl in the front row wiped her eyes, surprised at herself.
Then the applause came.
Not loud.
But sincere.
Measured.
The kind that didn't come from obligation.
Yueyin bowed quickly and left the stage.
Her hands were shaking when she reached me.
"…Was it bad?" she whispered.
I shook my head. "No."
"That pause—"
"—meant they were listening," I finished.
She blinked.
Then smiled.
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The real reactions came after.
Not during.
People talked as they stood up.
"That song was original, right?""She didn't over-sing.""It felt… honest."
Honest.
That word came up more than once.
A man approached us near the exit.
Not important-looking.
No badge.
No business card.
"I don't usually stay for the full set," he said awkwardly. "But I did today."
Yueyin froze.
"Th-thank you."
He nodded. "Keep singing."
Then he left.
No advice.
No promises.
Which made it real.
Xiaoyu watched everything quietly.
She didn't rush to Yueyin.
She watched the crowd.
Later, when we were outside, she spoke.
"They didn't talk about her looks," she said softly.
I raised an eyebrow. "Good."
"They talked about how she made them feel."
That mattered more than numbers.
Online reactions came slowly.
No spike.
No explosion.
Just comments appearing over hours.
"I heard her live today.""She sounds steadier in person.""Does she perform often?"
A few new followers.
Not thousands.
Just dozens.
But they stayed.
They commented again the next day.
Yueyin reread every message that night.
She pretended not to care.
She cared a lot.
"This one says my breathing improved," she said, pointing.
I nodded. "It did."
"And this one says I was nervous."
"You were."
She pouted. "You're supposed to lie."
"I'm your manager."
She laughed.
A little shaky.
But real.
The system flickered once.
[Audience Engagement Increased:]Retention rate above baseline.
I closed it.
Didn't need it.
I'd already seen the signs.
Before bed, Yueyin knocked on my door.
"…Thank you," she said quietly.
"For what?"
"For not letting me rush."
I looked at her.
"You did well today."
She smiled.
Small.
Proud.
Not spoiled.
Later, a message from Xiaoyu arrived.
"They listened."
I replied.
"That's the hardest part."
She sent another.
"And you watched everything."
I paused.
Then typed.
"Someone has to."
That night, I understood something important.
Fame doesn't begin with noise.
It begins when people choose to remember you.
And tonight—
A few people did.
That was enough.
For now.
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