In the opera house, most of the students attending early classes had already left, leaving only a few scattered figures in the hall. Tang Xin searched for the girl's silhouette, but the girl seemed to have vanished after saying farewell to Ms. Fandony.

Finally, she spotted Xu Xiaoyou emerging from the crowd.

"Where did you go just now?" Tang Xin asked.

"It's nothing, just some personal matters." Xu Xiaoyou replied casually.

Upon hearing it was personal, Tang Xin didn't ask further and began walking towards the outside of the opera house with her luggage.

Xu Xiaoyou followed silently.

Perhaps it was just her imagination, but ever since she returned from that underground temple, it felt like she was drawing many more glances her way...

Most were curious, though some could be described as wary.

Was there something unusual about her?

But she seemed no different from earlier; if asked what she had been doing in those two hours... Xu Xiaoyou's face slightly changed at the thought.

A student council member stopped, coincidentally colliding with someone coming from the opposite direction. He squinted slightly after apologizing, and then walked towards Xu Xiaoyou's direction.

"All the paperwork is done; I won't be coming back here for a long while." Tang Xin paused and looked back.

She took Xu Xiaoyou's hand and whispered:

"You, stay close to me."

Though odd, the various anomalies had made her aware of the lurking danger in the air.

Xu Xiaoyou came closer to Tang Xin, sensing a coolness spreading throughout her body, as an invisible water barrier flowed over her skin, enveloping her.

Xu Xiaoyou suddenly felt the tide-like oppressive air retreat.

"Ladies."

The student council member stopped behind them.

"Don't look back, You." Tang Xin spoke softly.

She turned around with a smile, maintaining a normal expression:

"Is there something wrong, senior?"

The student council member hesitated momentarily, reassessing the blonde girl before him, feeling an inexplicable strangeness.

How peculiar...

Just now he distinctly sensed the presence of a mysterious creature on this person, but suddenly he couldn't feel it anymore. Was it merely his imagination?

The academy had experienced incidents where members of the Ascetic Sect carried forbidden objects with special traits, launching terror attacks.

Therefore, they tended to be sensitive concerning such matters.

"Ah, well... it's nothing, pardon the interruption."

The student council member apologized sincerely.

"Have a pleasant day."

...

On the returning bus.

The vehicle cruised smoothly,

as Xu Xiaoyou leaned against the window, the scenery outside rolling past her eyes, she said:

"Thank you."

"Mm." Tang Xin responded succinctly.

"Aren't you even a little curious?" Xu Xiaoyou chuckled. "You felt it too..."

Before Xu Xiaoyou could finish, Tang Xin leaned forward and placed her finger against her lips, looking earnestly at her:

"Shh."

"Everyone has their own secrets; I have mine too."

"Secrets are an essential part of friendship. If you delve into every secret, you can't be friends."

"If You ever needs anything, you can come to me for help. Although I can't perform the High Tier Baptism Technique, I can still use a water barrier to hide the aura."

Xu Xiaoyou suddenly realized she didn't quite understand the girl's personality in front of her, at least until just now; she had seen a completely different side of the girl.

The bus drove onward towards the end of the street, its shadow elongated and colored golden by the sunset.

Two days quickly passed.

In her room, Tang Xin looked distressed, clutching her knees tightly, gazing at herself with light makeup in the mirror.

Under the simple makeup, the girl's face appeared much more exquisite—her thin lips painted with lipstick, her brows softly and naturally shaped, and her eyes brighter, reminiscent of a refreshing breeze through a summer forest.

Seeing her reflection, Tang Xin felt a bit dazed, thinking she truly resembled an ugly duckling suddenly transformed into a swan, her appearance changed so drastically compared to before, yet her demeanor remained dull.

Tang Xin shook her head and patted her face.

What was she thinking? She must pull herself together!

Today was the day she would perform on stage!

She couldn't let You's expectations down and needed to bravely take the first step towards her dream.

With these thoughts, she nodded resolutely and clenched her fists in front of her, boosting her morale.

Outside the window, the three Yaoxing stars gradually descended, the sunset drawing its curtain and painting half the sky red.

With the performance time drawing nearer, Xu Xiaoyou's figure still hadn't appeared, Tang Xin felt increasingly anxious, biting her lip.

She tried calling Xu Xiaoyou, receiving only the busy signal tones, it seemed her curtain was offline.

Checking the time, there were only ten minutes left until the performance, and Queen's Park was crowded, with thousands of people in the park, including preschool teachers with children wearing expressions of innocent wonder, students brimming with youthful energy dressed fashionably, discussing the latest celebrity albums.

Beside the stage in Queen's Central Square, the crowd was as numerous as waves, dark human silhouettes rising and falling constantly with multi-colored stage lights converging on the stage's center, people's fervent gazes following.

Everyone anticipated a rising star would debut on stage tonight!

Tang Xin's heartbeat raced, pounding against her chest, all sorts of noises invading her ears, preventing her from calming down and thinking clearly.

Time ticked by, approaching the performance time with less than three minutes remaining, Tang Xin's mind blanked out, continuously dialing Xu Xiaoyou's phone, only to receive busy signals.

"Where have you gone..." Tang Xin bit her lip, her face a bit pale.

At this crucial moment, she couldn't contact the girl, almost as if she vanished into thin air today, unreachable all day. Whenever she wanted to ask about the concert details, she could only receive the replies left by the other party.

—Everything's the same.

What should she do?

Should she go on stage as planned when the time comes?

And then what? Start singing, but which song?

How she wished the blonde girl could appear beside her at that moment, offering some guidance, even if just by holding her hand, reassuring her not to be nervous and leading her onto the stage...

At that moment, Xu Xiaoyou's call notification appeared on the curtain, Tang Xin clung to it like a lifeline, her trembling fingers tapping to connect.

"You, I..."

"There's only two minutes left until the performance, right?"

It was a pre-recorded message.

Even so, it brought Tang Xin some comfort.

At least the other party wasn't irresponsible enough to leave her alone here, making her embarrassed by herself.

"Tang Xin, do you trust me?"

She froze; the curtain's voice persisted.

"If you trust me, head to the location I mentioned. It's at Queen's Park XXX, near the stage. Can you see it? There's a small ice cream vendor nearby."

"After you arrive, just start performing normally, sing the song you like."

"Wait, You." Tang Xin didn't understand what the girl meant.

The curtain communication was disconnected.

At such a critical moment, suddenly telling her this—this address didn't seem to be the stage's location either. But with time running short, she couldn't afford to dwell on it; she picked up her bass and ran towards the location the girl mentioned...

...

Seeing the scene before her, Tang Xin froze.

Streetlight, road, greenbelt, stone block, it all looked nothing more than an ordinary, easily overlooked corner of the park.

She had checked repeatedly, the address was correct.

This was the stage the girl promised and had carefully prepared for her.

Tang Xin gritted her teeth, spelling out word by word:

"Xu, Xiao, you!"

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