Chapter 236
Across the river from the Water City Financial City, the stadium plaza was bustling with activity. The excitement and cheers of the light show ahead lingered for a long time. Many people stood along the riverbank, eager to get the best vantage point to capture the cheers.
The night was hazy and starry, and a small drone hovered above the river. The staff, who were supposed to be recording the light show, saw the crowds gathering at the stadium. They couldn't help but steer the drone off its pre-planned course and circle overhead, acting as a small gift for the buyer.
Near Lin'an Stadium, a dazzling array of colorful light signs crisscrossed the landscape. Along the river, however, a continuous, long, purple dragon converged. Excited fans held up their light signs and posed for photos with the lavish supporters behind them.
The early start of the light show also attracted many nearby residents. Unlike those who came down in their pajamas to simply shoot a video and leave, the stadium was also crowded with more Ji Shao fans who came from nearby.
When they learned that their fan club would be recording a support video at 10 o'clock, in addition to checking in to support, many people came with light boards.
When Zhou Xiao and the others emerged, they saw their fan base had actually grown, not decreased. Fans from other groups around them had dispersed after gathering for the photoshoot. Some fans remained, but not many.
Therefore, the area around the stadium at this moment can be said to be a real sea of purple. Even if there are light signs of other colors, they are all eroded and swallowed up by this purple without hesitation.
In front of the iron fence, a group of people were gathered in the support area previously occupied by Ji Shao's support club. Zhou Xiao looked over and saw someone who seemed to be surrounded by the crowd.
"Ah, it's Sister Digital!" Zhu Jian, who was walking in front excitedly among the three, suddenly had his eyes lit up when he saw a figure in the crowd, and he immediately trotted over.
The girls surrounded by the crowd looked up at the sound and quickly gave Zhou Xiao and the others a smile. Zhou Xiao met Shuo's eyes and smiled back.
The president, who Zhu Jian had always mentioned, was actually a tall, short-haired woman in real life, looking quite capable. Zhou Xiao also recognized the two people standing next to her number: Cheese and Miracle, the offline representatives of the fan club.
As Zhou Xiao approached, she overheard Digital sharing her experiences in the "enemy camp" with her fellow supporters. Her tone was excited but also tinged with disbelief. "I originally wanted to be a camera tool, but seeing Xiao Shao on the float, who was so attentive to everyone, I couldn't help but respond. I didn't expect him to see the small sign; the light was completely obscured by the larger sign next to it."
"But this time I found that Yan Shu's fans were a little bit unsteady. I don't know if it's because they are too devoted or just CP fans, but when they saw me shouting Xiao Shao, they followed suit!" Shu, who was surrounded by several people, couldn't help laughing. "Later, the small group around me followed suit and shouted Ji Shao, although I know many people wanted to attract Xiao Shao's attention to get autographed merchandise. But you have to say, it was really fun at that time."
Cheese, who was standing by, patted Number's shoulder and said sternly, "It seems we need to review the group tickets in the future, to prevent bad apples like you from appearing in our group ticket area in the future."
When Cheese said this, many people nearby were so happy they couldn't straighten their backs. There's no requirement to get group tickets for a fan club; basically, you just need to follow the artist on Weibo. You can even buy more tickets for your friends, which is why there are other fan clubs' signboards in the group ticket area. They're either over-selling or scalping tickets.
Digital's camera perfectly captured the halftime light stick support at their own concert. Unlike their fan zone, which was entirely filled with purple light sticks, other fan zones had a few other light sticks mixed in. Although the director caught the digital holding the small light stick, it didn't cause much of a stir.
Zhou Xiao watched the group of fans chatting but didn't bother interrupting them. Instead, she switched accounts and posted two clips of Ji Shao's solo performance on CCTV's May Day special program. She had edited the clips long ago and had saved them in her drafts folder.
After clicking send, Zhou Xiao and Li Mo greeted Zhu Jian. They then headed towards the riverbank ahead, where the best vantage point for watching the cheers was.
…
On the second floor of the stadium, two figures stood in front of the glass windows. One of the men, still in his performance costume, held up his phone, steadily recording the light show across the street. They were Ji Shao, who had just come off the stage, and his assistant Chen Shenju.
At this moment, Ji Shao should be in the dressing room waiting to remove his makeup. When he closed his eyes to rest, he heard the staff in the stadium mention the light show that was still playing in the Water City Financial City opposite.
Chen Shenju, standing nearby, suddenly thought of the light show preview that fans had captured on Ji Shao's chat last night. He quickly switched apps and entered the chat to see the massive cheering.
Glancing at Ji Shao who was resting next to him, Chen Shenju picked up the camera he had prepared nearby and planned to film the support himself. Unexpectedly, as soon as he stood up, Ji Shao on the sofa also straightened up.
The young man's makeup was already smudged, and the air was still filled with the scent of Fengyoujing. Seeing the assistant pause, Ji Shao curled his lips and smiled, "Let's go, brother. By the way, let's find out where the best viewing experience is."
Chen Shenju, who originally didn't want to disturb Ji Shao's rest, didn't say much. He quickly walked out and asked the staff who were not far away for the route to the best viewing spot. Then he returned to the door and greeted Ji Shao, who was still rubbing his temples with wind oil in the house.
No one in the dressing room noticed their disappearance. In fact, aside from the sounds of makeup removal, the room was completely silent. Everyone, whether sitting in the makeup chairs or sprawled on the sofa, had fallen asleep from exhaustion. As time went on, some even began to snore softly.
After a moment, Ji Shao, who was standing in front of the glass window taking pictures, couldn't help but turn his head and said, "Brother, your camera is almost hitting me in the face."
Chen Shenju stepped back sheepishly, chuckling. He fiddled with his camera, and when he saw Ji Shao had already put his phone back in his pocket, he quickly stopped him, saying, "Hey, try that pose again, and I'll put it in the vlog."
Huayao assigned the members a concert vlog during concert preparations. However, instead of assigning professional personnel to film the event, they simply gave everyone cameras and let them do it themselves. They said it was to help the members master a new skill, though everyone knew the work would be burdened by the assistants.
Ji Shao said nothing, silently taking the camera from Chen Shenju and recording the light show across the street through the glass. He couldn't put on a show just for the sake of a vlog, treating it like a two-way encounter with fans, even if he had been filming a show of support just a moment before.
Looking at the light show across from him, he suddenly remembered the big screen at the front of the stadium before entering. Since he had already decided to authenticate his support, he shouldn't miss out on anything else.
Just when he was about to turn around and tell Brother Ju to ask the driver to stop at the door so he could clock in, Ji Shao saw Chen Shenju, who was filming him with his phone, taking a half step back and half squatting, looking extremely professional.
Being caught by Ji Shao, Chen Shenju wasn't embarrassed at all. With a sly grin in his cheerful voice, he said, "Haha, phones are still easier for me to use! What are you looking at me for? Hurry up and take a picture! There are so many fans here today!"
He was also a little confused as he watched the crowd gathering below. He couldn't help but look at his own artist, "Hey, why are there more and more people?"
…
There were many people by the river, but Zhou Xiao didn't think about squeezing in. Seeing the happy smiles on the faces of the fans around her, this was also one of her original intentions for cheering.
"Okay!" Li Mo smiled happily, holding up the light stick handed to her by her colleague. In front of her was Zhou Xiao, who was filming her with a camera. The two of them didn't bring any light sticks when they came over, but a fan who had just finished taking photos handed it to them when they saw them preparing to take a photo.
After returning the light board to the enthusiastic coworker, Li Mo came to Zhou Xiao's side and looked at the photos in her camera. Even though he knew Zhou Xiao's skills, he couldn't help but be amazed by himself in them. Li Mo hugged Zhou Xiao's arm and said excitedly, "Xiao Xiao, your photos are really great!"
It wasn't the best photo spot, with people coming and going in front and behind her. But looking at the photo, Li Mo suddenly felt the beauty of the crowds. Every shade of purple in the photo, like her, was filled with passionate love for Ji Shao.
Zhou Xiao didn't let Li Mo film her. Instead, she turned around and raised her camera to take a photo with the light show across the street. After the photoshoot was over, she saw a message from Zhu Jian saying their fan club was preparing to film a light board support video.
Because it was far from the river, the two of them returned quickly. However, when they arrived, someone was already waiting by the iron fence. There was even a speaker playing Ji Shao's songs on loop.
There were quite a few people singing along, but during the rap and high notes, there was a noticeable silence. Then, the audience erupted in laughter. As if they had a perfect rapport, whenever the difficulty level got even slightly higher, they would all just laugh at each other in a friendly, joyful atmosphere.
Zhou Xiao pinched her cheeks, which had become sore from laughing, and out of the corner of her eye she saw two figures on the second floor of the stadium. Because of the height of the floor, they were a little unclear, but she felt a sense of familiarity.
"Hey, what are you looking at?" Li Mo next to him leaned over to look, looking in the direction Zhou Xiao was looking, but she didn't see anything and was still a little confused.
The stadium had been temporarily closed at this time, and many fans who had stayed inside to pick up ribbons were persuaded to leave one after another shortly after Zhou Xiao and his group left.
"Look at the two figures above the character 'An,'" Zhou Xiao whispered, her eyes already glancing past the locked gate. Above the five glowing white characters "Lin'an Stadium" was the stadium's second floor.
The only people who could stay inside at this time were Huayao staff or NINE STAR members, besides the staff. This was why there were so many fans at the scene. In addition to filming support videos, they also wanted to see if they could have a chance to see them off after work.
Because of the backlight, the outline of the shadow on the glass was not very clear. But after Zhou Xiao's hint, Li Mo felt more and more that one of them was Ji Shao. She was extremely excited and whispered to Zhou Xiao, "Could it really be Ji Shao? Is he here to check in and support?"
More and more fans arrived, and many had already noticed the two figures on the second floor. But no one dared to speak out, as they couldn't see clearly, so it could be anyone. So they could only communicate quietly.
The fangirls who still had the leisure to join the crowd guessed that Zhou Xiao was the only one left; everyone else was busy crying with their companions. Tonight's concert was trending like crazy, and the fangirls were rushing to edit photos and videos, maybe even a few more would hit the trending list.
Zhou Xiao paused for a moment, raising her camera before finally pressing the shutter. As her friend waited, she nodded slowly as she watched the silhouette captured in the camera. Given her familiarity with Ji Shao, she knew it was definitely Ji Shao. As for the person next to him, it must be his assistant.
Fans who also saw the figure also had their doubts, but due to the lighting, the photos they took were not clear. In addition, the fan club leader had already started to direct them to a pre-selected venue for a group photo, so they could only put their doubts aside.
Many of the attendees were new to the live event, and while listening to the instructions, they would also provide guidance to their newcomers on how to hold the light sticks. Looking at the orderly crowd, Zhou Xiao felt that the excitement outside the venue didn't need this extra boost. Why not just consider this a surprise from Ji Shao for all his fans?
"Xiaoxiao, come and stand here!" Zhu Jian in the crowd saw the two people standing there in a daze, and thought that they didn't hear the command clearly, so he called out to them again.
Zhou Xiao looked at Li Mo and said with a smile, "Just let him quietly watch our support from up there."
Li Mo turned her head and looked. The two figures were still standing in front of the glass window. She knew who Zhou Xiao was referring to, so she nodded vigorously.
The drone rented in advance by the fan club was controlled by technicians and flew from the stadium with the exterior lights turned off to the flashing light show opposite.
Countless purple signboards gathered on the ground between the two. The purple sea rolled and surged in the night, and the words "Ji Shao" never stopped for a long time.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
