Chapter 272
Under the spotlight, the last member, after completing their solo, left the stage via the elevator. Now, the stage was empty except for the glow of the spotlights.
"Hiss!" Electronic interference sounds were emitted from the four large screens, and after attracting the attention of all fans in the venue, behind-the-scenes interviews and documentaries of each NINE STAR member began to be played.
The documentary shows the members practicing in the practice room. Zhou Xiao noticed that in the corner, there was a young man with a hat brim pulled down low who never stopped training. He was in the background of most of the members' interviews.
The familiar figure, the repetitive movements, the sweat-soaked clothes and the high-precision practice made Ji Shao's fans in the venue recognize at a glance that the man in the corner was undoubtedly Ji Shao.
Zhou Xiao understood why. Simply practicing dance during his private time on set wasn't enough for Ji Shao. In the documentary, he was 100% focused when practicing with the band. Even when the others were taking a break, he was still poring over the tape, relying on precise timing to the song.
Crying, exhausted, and broken, the members lay on the cold, dark practice room floor, weeping silently. This was another use for the brim of the hat, hiding the broken side of themselves. Practice until their eyes were exhausted and lifeless, and the pressure weighed on everyone's shoulders like an invisible mountain.
"Anything you want to say about our first anniversary?" the interviewer pointed the microphone at Ji Shao. The camera's camera focused on an empty room, containing only a young man sitting on a stool and a projection screen behind him.
Ji Shao touched the ground with one foot, turned around, glanced at the documentary behind him, and after a moment's thought, said, "I've had a very fulfilling year. After forming the group, we've received a lot of attention..."
"Can you say I'm a little tired?" Ji Shao quipped, his head tilted, his hand resting on his chin. Then, his eyes fixed earnestly on the camera, the interviewer's camera reflected in his clear pupils. "But this is what I should do. I want to give back to my teammates and all the fans who love me."
As the theme song of NINE STAR's group variety show "Crazy Travel Show" sounded, the screen showed the members' embarrassing looks as they climbed snow-capped mountains, chased the aurora, etc.
"Crossing mountains and rivers, searching for beautiful scenery..." The prelude to the group variety show's theme song, "Flight Notes," quietly began. This is a magical song for standing meditation, and in the documentary, it embodies the youthful vigor and high-spirited fighting spirit. However, as the final song of the concert, it was imbued with a sense of farewell.
The interview and documentary ended, and as the screen went dark, a line of blue text appeared in the center of the big screen: "Please cooperate and turn off the light sign."
At the concert, fans, receiving the instructions, silently turned off their lights. The light sticks dimmed one by one, and they gradually relaxed. The director cut to the audience, where a dot of light sticks suddenly swayed in unison in the darkness. Compared to previous concerts, this moment seemed remarkably peaceful.
There was movement on the stage, a slowly ascending elevator. The members, dressed in the same crisp white suits from the official concert photos, their slim waists and long legs nearly turned the fans in the audience into screaming chickens.
Wearing a crisp and stylish suit fabric, Ji Shao on the stage was slowly adjusting his tie, which he didn't have time to do, with a rare sense of elegance and elegance.
"This is the last song," Captain Wu Yanyan spoke first. He looked at the swaying light sticks in front of him and said with a nasal voice, "This song 'Flight Notes' is for everyone! If you can sing, sing along with us!"
The prelude to "Flight Diary" was quite long, giving each member of the stage ample time to say a few words. When the director focused the camera on Ji Shao, he narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Someone left their light board on! I caught you! Be good and turn it off!"
The director was extremely obedient. After a quick shake of the screen, the director quickly found the light board Ji Shao mentioned. The girl holding the light board suppressed her excitement and first made a heart gesture to Ji Shao before frantically turning it off.
The audience immediately erupted in good-natured laughter. This interlude did ease the atmosphere quite a bit, but in the end, no one could resist the power of the song performed by the members.
When the climax sounded, the air column machine, central control and stage design all worked together. As the high notes exploded, fluorescent ribbons fluttered from the center of the stage to the surrounding areas.
Zhou Xiao reached out and caught a ribbon in the shape of a chinaberry flower with a purple fluorescent hue. When she raised her camera and pointed it at Ji Shao on the stage, he too was reaching out and carefully catching a blue star-shaped ribbon.
Amid the exclamations of the fans in the audience, we learned that the ribbons this time featured the members' symbols. For example, the neem flower represented Ji Shao, and the stars represented NINE STAR.
The square stage where the nine people stood began to spin. Zhou Xiao could vaguely hear Ji Shao, who was holding up the microphone, looking towards the stage in front and saying softly, "Thank you for coming to see me."
As the stage rotated once, the nine members on stage had formed a circle, shoulders linked. Led by their captain, they turned around and bowed deeply to the fans on all sides of the stage.
When the elevator had completely submerged everyone's heads, Zhou Xiao spotted a hand raised high, making a half-heart gesture. This was the last fanshake of the entire concert, belonging exclusively to Ji Shao and Tiao Si.
…
Zhou Xiao, finally emerging from the Cultural and Sports Center Plaza, felt the heat outside and quickly pulled out a small electric fan. Illuminated by the colorful signboards in the plaza, she quickly found her friends waving at her from the right railing.
"Xiaoxiao, I've been waiting for you! Let's go to the big staircase to shoot a support video!" Zhu Jian put the phone back into his pocket, took Zhou Xiao's hand and walked towards the place Cheese told her.
Behind them were Qi Sisi, who was arranging ribbons as she walked, Dong Xiaoyu, who was taking pictures of the surroundings with her camera, and Li Mo, who was so excited that she almost bared her teeth. Zhu Jian, with the momentum of a single leader, led the group towards their destination.
Drones flew back and forth along the way, filming the offline support activities of various groups. When we reached the grand staircase, the dazzling sea of lights gave everyone a complete shock.
The Cultural and Sports Center's incredibly long staircase was now packed with people. Looking up from the ground, a photo like a sea of spirits poured down from the heavens looked like a sea of spirits. I knew there were so many of us, but even at this sight, I couldn't help but sigh.
In front of the grand staircase, Cheese, holding a loud speaker, saw the group and quickly pushed them to the front. "Okay, everyone's almost here! We're ready to film! New fans, please flash your light tags! You must flash your light tags!"
The loudspeaker was needed to deal with the noisy environment. When everything was ready and the filming began, Zhou Xiao, who was about to shout out the cheers, saw an unexpected guest in front of him and joined in the fun with his camera, recording the purple sea at the moment.
"Chen Shenju?" Is he here to help Ji Shao record? Zhou Xiao pondered inwardly. But she didn't say it out loud. After all, if she did say it now, Chen Shenju would never be able to escape from the crowd safely.
After the drone flew back and forth three times overhead, Cheese nodded emphatically and then said, "Okay! Thank you all for your cooperation. Please leave in an orderly manner and don't rush! Finally, those interested can go to Xindong Teacher's flower wall later to pick up some ancient-style acrylic round peripherals! Quantities are limited, first come, first served! Flowers from the other two flower walls can also be collected by queuing up!"
The crowd, originally about to go home, suddenly erupted in excitement, desperately shouting "Surroundings!" "Surroundings!" You should know that fans who were watching the flower wall offline and had nothing better to do had already counted the number of acrylic discs on the wall. There were hundreds of them!
After the fan club's repeated warnings, the fans regained some composure. They quickly and orderly left the area and rushed towards the flower wall.
"Let's go too!" Hanging the speaker on the strap of his bag, Cheese looked at Zhou with a smile and said.
Zhou Xiao had no objection. She had discussed this acrylic disc with Cheese beforehand. Huadu was letting everyone take it away, so why couldn't the acrylic disc, which could be removed piece by piece, be used?
By the time the group reached the flower wall, they had already spontaneously split into three lines. The destination and priority were obvious, with the first line heading for the circular wall.
"Help! It's fluorescent!" "Ahhhh, it's so beautiful I'm crying!" "Don't bother lining up! There are only a few hundred. Go line up the flowers!" "..." The disc in question would have been rather ordinary in daylight, after all, its beauty requires close inspection. But at this moment, the distinct and clear depiction of the ancient-style Q-version Ji Shao on the disc was its most striking feature!
Zhou Xiao and Qi Sisi looked at each other, and everyone rolled up their sleeves enthusiastically and immediately plunged into the offline distribution craze.
…
After an unknown amount of time, the flowers and round plates covering the wall had been cleared away. Zhou Xiao set up a table and asked Cheese, who was still sorting the flowers, "Do you need our help?"
Cheese, who was sweating profusely from exhaustion, waved his hand and said, "You guys handle your own affairs. I have plenty of people here!"
Zhou Xiao uttered an "eh," then turned back to help everyone pack up the last of their belongings. Things like the planks for the flower wall didn't need to be disposed of; staff would contact nearby scavengers to haul them away and sell them.
"Oh!" Qi Sisi straightened up and clapped her hands. Suddenly, her eyes caught sight of a dog lurking nearby. She immediately alertly called out to Zhou Xiao, who was skillfully bundling up the garbage, and whispered, "That guy seems to be watching us. Xiaoxiao, do you want to call security?"
Zhou Xiao craned his neck to look over. Oh, a familiar face. He simply waved at the man, took off his gloves and set them aside, introducing him to Qi Sisi, "He's Chen Shenju, Assistant Shao, have you forgotten?"
As Ji Shao's assistant, he and Song Xiao often appeared in Ji Shao's work and home photos at the film and television city. Because in NINE STAR, Chen Shenju was considered the most qualified assistant and one of the few staff members who was not scolded.
Chen Shenju, wearing a baseball cap, greeted the gathered fans. Then, looking at Zhou Xiaoshi, his eyes became more serious. "Thank you all for your support, teachers. Thank you so much! Xiao Shao asked me to ask if you have a car to take you back home. If not, we can arrange one for you!"
Zhou Xiao's eyebrows curved, "Yes."
In fact, they hadn't even called a taxi yet. Just now, the fans who remained at the scene had agreed to meet up for dinner at a nearby 24-hour hot pot restaurant after the scene was cleaned up. But the kindness was appreciated.
Chen Shenju nodded and said nothing more. Instead, he took out a few photos from one of his jacket pockets and handed them to Zhou Xiao.
With the help of the light, Zhou Xiao noticed that the other person's pocket was slightly bulging, and she immediately made a judgment. She took the autographed photo from Chen Shenju and thanked him earnestly.
"There are five!" After receiving the autographed photos handed over by Zhou Xiao, Zhu Jian simply pushed them and knew that this number was specially prepared for them by the assistant in front of him.
"This was specially signed by Xiao Shao. It's not convenient for him to come over. He asked me to distribute it to everyone, but the quantity is not large." Chen Shenju explained with a smile and prepared to leave to the other side.
At this moment, he saw Zhou Xiao, after hearing what he had just said, pull out an autographed photo and hand it to him. "I have enough spots for tomorrow's meetup. Give this one to the offline black worker."
The "black workers" Zhou Xiao mentioned are fans who often help out for free offline. In her opinion, the meaning of the autographed photos delivered by her and by Ji Shao is completely different for the black workers.
Chen Shenju was stunned for a moment, then the smile on his face returned, and he said helplessly, "Teacher Zhou, it's not that I don't want to accept it. Ji Shao signed a TO for every station that came to the scene. If you don't accept it, I can't give it to others~"
"Swish, swish, swish" Zhu Jian, who was carefully flipping through the autographed photos, actually saw the TO signature on the last one and then handed it to Zhou Xiao.
"Besides, I counted. Excluding the ones left for the fans, there's still some left for you guys here!" Chen Shenju waved his hand and continued, "As for the remaining autographed photos, I'll have to ask the girl from the fan club to help me divide them up."
Seeing that the other party was about to leave, Zhou Xiao suddenly asked, "Can you customize a dedicated earphone monitor and hand microphone for Ji Shao?"
"This..." Chen Shenju thought Zhou Xiao was asking the agency to customize it for Ji Shao, and he also knew about the unexpected incident of the earphone monitor malfunctioning tonight. He was a little embarrassed. "I'm not sure about this. It depends on how the company arranges it..."
Zhou Xiao shook his head, interrupted him and said directly, "No, I want to send it."
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