Chapter 142: Love and Fearlessness

Shen Jixing stood frozen in place.

The roar of the crowd was like a tidal wave, crashing against his eardrums and his heart over and over, utterly shattering his predetermined fate.

Someone had once told him: "I raised you, so you belong only to me. To leave is to betray."

The salvation he found on that snowy night had transformed into a golden cage, descending from the sky to imprison him for a lifetime. Freedom and gratitude had been tearing him apart; for a long time, the only thing he had truly wanted to abandon was perhaps himself.

Shen Jixing was the only person he had ever hurt.

Now, standing under the spotlight, more dazzling and vibrant than anything else, Zhou Yili shouted with all his might, leading thirty thousand people to tell him—

"The sea is wide for fish to leap, the sky is high for birds to fly."

His little white bird was born to be free.

Amidst the starlight filling the venue, Shen Jixing’s eyes met his.

Zhou Yili was laughing, breathless, sweat dripping from his blue-tipped hair. Shimmering stars seemed to circle him, and he held a silver-blue microphone to his lips.

"I don't need to teach you anything," Zhou Yili said.

The audience looked curiously in the direction of his gaze.

It was Shen Jixing, the only one standing on the high platform of the private box. Dressed in minimalist snow-white casual wear, he looked like a snowflake in the dark night, a solitary star, gazing quietly at the brilliant figure on stage.

Zhou Yili did not shout at the top of his lungs this time. He only smiled, thousands of broken stars dancing in his eyes, his tone gentle.

"Like me, you possess both love and fearlessness."

Shen Jixing’s heart jolted. He abruptly turned his gaze away, shielding his eyes with his long lashes.

The lights in the auditorium dimmed instantly. Music and dry ice flooded the stage, and the screaming of the crowd reached a roar. Zhou Yili sprinted across the extension stage, took a guitar from the band, and became the focal point, letting everyone feel the surging energy of his world.

They went wild for him, screaming for him.

Shen Jixing slowly lifted his slightly reddened eyes. Looking down at the vibrant, leaping figure on stage, his eyes shimmering with moisture, he gave a faint smile. "He’s got endless energy every single day."

But he understood that he had lost long ago. From the very first meeting, he had lost completely.

Shen Jixing had always been a person of propriety, but that day, standing across the courtyard filled with blooming flowers, he had heard the sounds of an argument coming from the front hall. Driven by an inexplicable impulse, he had walked over without stopping and collided head-on with the furious youth.

"I refuse to learn the pi—" The youth’s voice suddenly cut off, his gaze fixed on him, stunned and heart-struck.

"Are you arguing?" Shen Jixing asked, lifting his eyes politely, a faint smile flickering in them.

In the long, boundless stretch of his life, it had always been he who longed for Zhou Yili. He had turned a ring into a hexagram necklace, never taking it off, and transformed that aborted romance into a brand upon his soul, accompanying him through every lonely, bitter night.

"Maybe someone," Shen Jixing murmured, lowering his eyes with a soft smile, "is my love and my fearlessness."

"Ahhh!!!"

Sheng Que was screaming until his voice went hoarse, waving his glow stick and jumping about in the fervent atmosphere, until his waist gave out and he had to be helped into his seat by Fu Chen.

Fu Chen rubbed his waist with one hand. "You're pathetic."

Sheng Que hissed, still clutching his glow stick. "Can you blame me?"

Fu Chen was stunned. "Who else would I blame?"

"Blame Zhou Yili!" Sheng Que retorted immediately. "Did he eat gunpowder today? How is he not tired after dancing for so long???"

Sheng Que turned to ask Shen Jixing, "Brother Shen, is his stamina always this good?"

Shen Jixing: "..."

Shen Jixing looked at him with a cold, indifferent gaze. "What did you say?"

Sheng Que wisely zipped his mouth shut.

But Sheng Que wasn't entirely wrong. Zhou Yili was definitely acting strangely tonight. Shen Jixing had seen his concerts before; back then, he was younger and more arrogant, but never this manic.

It was like—

Sheng Que: "A peacock spreading its tail."

Fu Chen: "A lion courting."

Sikong Xiu: "The moonlight returning home."

After speaking, he looked at Xiong Xiong, who was quietly waving his glow stick with excitement. Xiong Xiong made a sound, and though he didn't quite understand, he tried to join in: "An's little bird ice skating."

Shen Jixing: "..."

Not one of them was normal.

His gaze fell on the man on stage. Though exaggerated, it seemed that was indeed the reason. Every time Zhou Yili had a highlight moment, he would subconsciously look toward his direction. It was just that the auditorium was too dark, and he couldn't find where Shen Jixing was, so he could only silently look away.

Shen Jixing curled his lips in a helpless, quiet smile.

"Quite cute."

As the concert neared its end, the program list that had been released earlier had finished, yet Zhou Yili remained seated in the center.

"Actually, there is one more song. It was originally the lead track of the album, but I took it out before the final release."

A wave of astonishment rippled through the venue. A lead track, removed midway?

Zhou Yili sat quietly under the spotlight, his shirt sprinkled with stardust, his long legs slightly touching the floor in front of the stand-up microphone. A lazy, familiar smile played on his lips.

"Its name is—'The Unfalling Star'."

It was as if a bell had been struck in his memory; Shen Jixing’s eyelashes trembled slightly. Vaguely, he recalled a clothing tag on one of Zhou Yili’s outfits with a shooting serial number labeled "Unfalling Star," but there had been no news of this song until the album came out.

"This is its first time being heard, and perhaps its last."

"Because it doesn't belong in my life."

"Because—" Zhou Yili paused, his lips curling into a lazy smile, "I'll tell you at the end."

Gentle, quiet music flowed from his fingertips, accompanied by a lyrical tone Zhou Yili had never used before. His style had always been distinct, full of wild, untamed vitality. This was the first time it was so calm and sorrowful.

"The moonlight flows in the dream,
Returning once more to the place we first met.
The galaxy ripples at the horizon, the piano melody pierces my heart.
Afraid to look back, yet unwilling to forget...

I see the moon hanging forever in the sky,
But waking up, it is still a void of emptiness.
It turns out that not all persistent longing,
Has an echo..."

The boisterous crowd was rarely this quiet, staring blankly at the person under the spotlight. It turned out that even the most flamboyant and passionate little lion had once had his own unrequited love.

As the final note faded, Zhou Yili stood up to bid them farewell. Amidst the grand celebration lay a lonely void, and the crowd screamed to hold him back.

"You haven't told us why you won't sing it again! Waaah, don't go, don't go!"

Zhou Yili took the microphone from the stand. The stage lights enveloped him; he was drenched in sweat, yet the smile in his eyes never dimmed, possessing the courage to break through all worldly constraints.

"Because my persistent longing—" Zhou Yili’s voice echoed throughout the entire arena. "—must have an echo!"

Fireworks and golden foil ignited under the night sky. The final regrets dissolved into thin air within his voice, and that hot, arrogant figure offered his final blessing.

"I hope that all the persistent longing in this world—" He cupped his hand to his ear, listening to the thunderous cheers of the crowd.

"—must have an echo!!!"

Golden foil filled the sky, blurring his vision. Zhou Yili looked toward the figure on the high platform. He could no longer resist the itch in his heart; he wanted to hide the person away, yet he wanted to show him off to everyone.

"Baby?"

The single word sent the entire crowd into a frenzy.

Shen Jixing’s figure suddenly appeared on the large screen, and the melancholy of the concert's end was completely washed away. Shen Jixing was aloof and indifferent, but he didn't like to be a killjoy.

He took the silver-white microphone and looked at the mischievous, roguish figure on stage.

"Then I wish everyone, may all your wishes come true."