The next day, Su Xiaocheng—who had originally planned to spend the whole day lazing around at home—unexpectedly received a message from Youzi: Xiaocheng, if you have time, bring Xiaowei and come to the branch office. We need to hold a review meeting.
The moment she saw the message, Su Xiaocheng took Su Xiaowei and headed straight out the door to the branch office.
In the last operation she had nearly gotten herself killed, so for this review meeting she wanted to look at least a little proactive.
They rushed over in a flurry and pushed open the door.
Youzi looked at the two of them in mild surprise.
“Isn’t there still half an hour left? Why are you so early?”
“Big Sister said that since we already white-gave in the fight, we should at least show up early for the meeting,” Su Xiaowei explained while tidying her wind-blown hair.
“Xiaowei, you didn’t have to say that.” Su Xiaocheng’s face fell.
Before long Xiaobai and Lu Yinxi also arrived, and the meeting officially began.
Youzi read out the contribution percentages as usual.
“For this operation the contribution split is: Xiaolu 60%, Xiaowei 20%, me 10%, Xiaobai 10%. Any objections?” As always, she had slightly lowered her own share.
“None.” ×4
“Good. Let’s begin the review.”
Although they called it a review, there wasn’t actually much to discuss.
Everyone had done their best.
Su Xiaowei had even awakened her own Inherent Domain, and while Su Xiaocheng had admittedly underperformed, facing two A-ranks at once left her with no real options.
“Finally, there’s one more piece of news I need to share,” Youzi said as the meeting drew to a close.
“Although the reinforcement Magical Girls were intercepted by the Witch Church, Blazing Sun still achieved a major result.
The Envy Deacon who tried to stop her was taken out on the spot.”
Lu Yinxi looked surprised.
“Blazing Sun? She came to support us this time too?”
Blazing Sun was a veteran A-rank Magical Girl who had been famous for years.
Many people speculated she already had the qualifications to advance to S-rank and was only missing the right opportunity—after all, S-rank witch disasters weren’t exactly common.
“That’s right. With this, the Witch Church should rein themselves in for a while.”
Youzi popped a piece of chocolate into her mouth, looking noticeably more relaxed.
“Then everyone should come watch my concert tonight,” Lu Yinxi said, pulling out the tickets she had prepared in advance.
“Sounds good. I like concerts~”
***
Su Xiaocheng stared at the long line of people stretching into the distance and finally got a real sense of just how popular Lu Yinxi was.
“Wasn’t this concert only announced a single day in advance? How are there so many people?”
“Big Sister, Xiaolu has been the hottest teenage idol singer for the past two years,” Su Xiaowei said. Ever since Lu Yinxi had accepted her, the “bad woman” nickname had disappeared, replaced by the much more affectionate “Xiaolu.”
“Xiaocheng, over here!” Youzi called from the side. Under her lead the group slipped through the staff entrance and entered the venue without having to wait in line.
They took their seats in the front row and waited patiently for the concert to begin.
Compared to the four of them sitting calmly, the fans around them were far more excited.
“This is Xiaolu’s first concert in Anning City, right?”
“Yeah. I heard she’s actually from Anning City, but she always performs in the big cities.”
“Wait, Xiaolu is from Anning City?”
“That’s right. Anning City is where the Lu Corporation started.
As the Lu family’s only heir, of course she’s from here!”
“But didn’t they say the Lu Corporation headquarters moved to Lin’an?”
“You don’t know? The Lu Corporation basically has dual headquarters—one in Anning City and one in Lin’an. Strictly speaking, Anning City’s status is even more special…”
***
Listening to the fans chatting around them, Su Xiaocheng asked, “Did Xiaolu really used to go out of town for all her performances?”
“Outside cities have bigger crowds, so the magic power recovery is better. And since Anning City is her stationed area, she usually only holds concerts here when things are really urgent. Xiaolu says that if she performs too often in one place, the effect gets weaker,” Youzi explained.
“So that’s how it is. Xiaolu has it tough too,” Su Xiaowei said.
Snap!
The lights in the venue went out. Spotlights lit up the stage as Lu Yinxi and her band rose into view from below, lifted by the stage mechanisms.
“Xiaolu Xiaolu, we’re with you all the way!” The fans finally saw their idol and began cheering wildly.
“Good evening, everyone! The first song tonight, Genius Idol Girl, is for all of you!” Lu Yinxi greeted the crowd with full idol energy.
Her gaze lingered on Su Xiaocheng for a moment and she gave a playful wink.
Song after song, the atmosphere in the venue grew hotter and hotter.
After finishing another performance, Lu Yinxi spoke into the microphone.
“I’m really happy that everyone could be here tonight. Thank you to all the fans who came to watch!”
“Woooooo!!!”
“By a wonderful coincidence, today is also a very special fan’s birthday, and she’s here with us right now. Could everyone please wish her—and every fan celebrating their birthday today—a happy birthday?”
The spotlight suddenly swung over and landed on Su Xiaowei.
Su Xiaowei looked startled. “Eh? There’s a segment like this?”
The band promptly began playing the birthday song, and thousands of fans joined in a massive chorus.
“Happy birthday to you…”
When the song ended, Su Xiaowei took the microphone handed to her by staff and said gratefully, “Thank you everyone. I’m really touched by all your well-wishes. I hope the rest of your days are filled with happiness too!”
After the little interlude, the concert continued smoothly.
Before long it was time for the finale.
Lu Yinxi thanked the fans one last time.
The stage lights slowly dimmed as the stage mechanisms prepared to lower everyone back down.
“Wait!”
Under the puzzled eyes of the entire audience, a long-haired woman ran up onto the stage from the stands.
Seeing who it was, Lu Yinxi frowned.
Security noticed the sudden situation and began moving toward the stage, but they were still a short distance away.
“Xiaolu-chan!” The woman dropped to her knees in front of Lu Yinxi and reached out to grab her.
Lu Yinxi took a discreet step back, avoiding her hands. The woman settled for clutching the microphone stand instead.
Looking at the woman she had only worked with a few times, Lu Yinxi kept her tone as cold as possible.
“Wang Ya, what are you doing? You should have moved on by now, right?”
“Why? Why should I move on? We got along so well back then—rehearsing together every day, so happy… and then you suddenly left? It’s just too weird!” Wang Ya spoke with a mix of sorrow, confusion, and disbelief.
Lu Yinxi was inwardly speechless.
They had only done a few joint performances together—purely professional business partners.
For some reason Wang Ya had become obsessed.
“Eur-nii-chan, I want us to start over!”
Lu Yinxi took another small step back.
She couldn’t understand why a few ordinary collaborations had turned her into some kind of heartbreaker in this woman’s eyes.
She would have to explain things to Xiaocheng later so there wouldn’t be any misunderstanding.
“Wang Ya, the collaboration is over. The appearance fees and profit shares were all settled clearly. You don’t need to do this.”
“Why is it over? Xiaolu-chan, I’ve been working hard this whole time for our next concert. Why would you say something so cruel?”
“Please calm down. No one asked you to do any of that. I have no plans to hold a concert with you. This is my final warning—if you continue to harass me, I will consider sending you a lawyer’s letter.”
Lu Yinxi chose her words carefully, afraid that tomorrow’s headlines would contain something strange.
The venue security finally arrived and tried to escort Wang Ya off the stage.
“Wait, don’t take me away!”
Wang Ya grew emotional, and the guards hesitated to use force.
“I really care about you. Without you, I…”
Lu Yinxi signaled the security to hurry up and remove her.
“What do I have to do for you to come back? I’m willing to do anything if it’s within my power! I really…”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.