THUD.
The cellphone fell from Li Tian's hand as he stood up from his chair in shock. In fact, he wasn't the only one. There were gasps and screams echoing around him from both the people present and the people on tv.
.....
Moments before..
He wasn't planning on actually watching his northern rival tonight. He had had about enough hearing about the perfect girl. He lately felt his inflated ego slowly wearing thin, damaging his bolstered up pride that he had once started with.
Unfortunately, watching Yingxue perform was like a daily ritual for the population in the North, especially now that it was her touring season. Almost every person he'd met here had gone to her concert at least once.
He was currently finishing up another photoshoot for Huaxia's Teen Vogue Magazine Summer edition which should have gone on for a few more hours. However the crew had wanted to start and finish up early to enjoy the rest of Yingxue's concert, which he couldn't decline. Unfortunately for everyone, due to a small difficulty, there ended up being a slight delay. Nevertheless, they still decided to display the start of her performance on the big screen.
Even down South with how popular he was, it was never to the point where it seemed like a cult. He couldn't help but feel the difference.
However, unwillingly he was slowly understanding why.
He was waiting for his cousin manager, Meilin, to finish up with the studio management. While scrolling down on his phone, Yingxue's instantly distinguishable voice started resounding throughout the whole room. There were no words spoken, just her humming supernaturally with the accompanying music. At that moment, no one spoke. The room was quiet so they could all enjoy the wondrous blessing to their ears.
Li Tian didn't want to enjoy it.. but he did.
His eyes quickly darted towards the screen in front of him but neither he nor anyone else in the room could see her. Their eyes slowly searched around the dark stage but their efforts ended in vain.
It wasn't long until the rhythm of the music made subtle changes, a clear indication of Yingxue's coming appearance. Li Tian, along with everyone else stopped what they were doing to watch the performance.
Lights danced around the stage like snow. Seeing it on tv was amazing enough. Seeing it live must be magical.
The lights suddenly stopped flickering about and instead started flowing down the walls like snowflakes, the production that went into the performance seemingly impeccable. A single spotlight focused high up above to reveal a fairy like beauty standing at the top while singing her heart out ethereally.
Li Tian felt his heart stop. She really was beautiful.
He wasn't the only one that felt that way. Everyone in the room felt their breaths taken away by the goddess before them.
They had seen her many times before. Even Li Tian had seen her perform on stage a few times but somehow, the mood this time was different. It was like she had a different aura to her.
Was she trying to do something different?
Suddenly, the music stopped. Yingxue stood there with an otherworldly smile playing on her lips. Seconds later,
"Catch me."
She jumped.
THUD.
Li Tian dropped his phone and stood up in shock.
"Oh my god!!" "What the!" "Yingxue!!"
The people around him gasped and screamed in surprise. Even he couldn't control his calm.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฅ!? He thought in bewilderment. Did she actually mean for the audience to catch her!?
However, they soon saw Yingxue soaring down through many wide ribbon strips, thought to be decorations hanging down from the ceiling. Her movements were elegant and obviously well practiced.
Li Tian noticed her hands softly gripping the silk-like ribbons at fixed intervals, clearly showcasing her talent and professionalism. He admittedly couldn't do the same.
Yingxue twisted and swung herself through the ribbons, singing the entire time. You could see her flushed face through the screen but it didn't make her seem tired at all. Instead she radiated an aura of excitement and thrill, something not many people could achieve.
Her performance broadcasted skill, talent, hardwork and beauty. If there were words to describe Yingxue as an artist, it would be ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ.
Seeing a side of her he knew he couldn't compete with, he felt his confidence cracking. Despite that, he still had his pride, unshakeable like a mountain since birth still standing. Maybe there were cracks or holes forming, but that wasn't enough to make it crumble.
Li Tian let out a deep breath. Fine. He'd let her have this win. Despite his deep ego, he knew there were times where he should just face the lost. Of course he would only admit this to himself and no one else.
He picked up his fallen phone and chose to walk out, only taking one last glimpse at Yingxue's larger than life expression.
He lost a few fights... But he hadn't lost the war just yet.
.....
"Why didn't you wait for me?" Li Meilin asked as she opened the car door. She looked around to make sure there was no one close by before sitting into the driver's seat. "Really, Xiao Tian, everyone would have wanted to say goodbye."
"Oh really," he answered without looking up from his phone. "I'm pretty sure they were too focused on Yingxue instead."
"Well can you blame em?" Meilin sighed. "What she did today was amazing."
She revved up the engine and started driving Li Tian home. The entire time, she talked about the photoshoot and subsequent jobs to come, as well as many of the deals he had to look through. His free time slowly seemed to be decreasing, and if not for school, maybe he would have no time to himself at all. He didn't respond to any of her remarks, instead choosing to stay quiet, as if in deep thought.
After a while, "Hey, Meilin?" he said.
"Mmm?"
"Cancel all jobs for the next few weeks."
"What??" she burst in surprise, almost jamming on the breaks. "Why??"
"I want to focus on school.. and training," he stated decisively. A small smile played on his lips as he looked out the window.
.....