Chapter 16 (3)

 A Vision of Stars

The next morning, Bo Ziren found a reply from Cheng Jingbo. She noticed it had been sent at five A.M and was just one short line.

[Cheng Jingbo: Tell me what you think about the book in person.]

She scratched her head, feeling some regret in her heart for her eagerness last night. She had felt very energetic after reading the book and had sent him a text about her thoughts with no regard for the late hour. It was only after she’d sent it that she realized it was one o’clock in the morning. She reprimanded herself silently, before pulling the quilt to her face and falling back to sleep. If it wasn’t for her alarm, she would not have woken up again that morning.

Later in class, Bo Ziren felt very sluggish, and almost fell asleep, to the utter delight of Zhu Mingwen, her classmate sitting next to her. “You also take naps during class? It took a hundred years to see you like this. Did you stay up all night?”

Bo Ziren shook her head in a daze.

“No, I was reading a book.”

“You bookworm. Don’t read too much. Have you ever read the article that says the more a woman reads, the lower her IQ gets? It’s better to go out for a run and play outside while you’re young.”

Zhu Mingwen paused for a minute, before continuing.

“There will only be two classes tomorrow afternoon. Why don’t you accompany me to deliver the goods after class?”

Zhu Mingwen did retailing in her spare time, and she would deliver the products of the company she worked for to customers within the city.
Bo Ziren was about to refuse, when Zhu Mingwen added one more detail. The delivery address she was going to was the University of Finance and Economics.

“It just so happens that they have a campus winter star show competition tomorrow, and they’ve invited an internet celebrity band to be the judges. We can stop by and watch the excitement.”

“Are you sure it’s the University of Finance and Economics?” asked Bo Ziren.

“Yup.”

“Then I will go with you.”

The campus star show competition held by the University of Finance and Economics turned out to be a huge event. There were names of various sponsors posted at the school gate. After Zhu Mingwen and the buyer met up and completed the exchange, she rushed off to watch the competition.

The show was on a temporary stage in the campus’s central square. The space was large enough to cater to a group of models walking down a catwalk.

The time for the competition had not begun yet, but there was already a circle of people around the stage. Zhu Mingwen squeezed in with determination, turning back only to urge Bo Ziren forward. Bo Ziren felt a little helpless. She was not interested and had not come here to watch the show.

Zhu Mingwen was quickly able to squeeze herself to the first row, but Bo Ziren stayed where she was. She realized it was now too late to turn around and try to sneak away.

Just then a group of fans in bright, orange uniforms swarmed over to cheer for their idol band. Bo Ziren thought she would be able to stand still and ride out their wave, but she was pushed forward by the crowd. Before she knew it, she found herself in the front row.

The competition started with a performance from the Internet celebrity band, lasting fifteen minutes. Their show caused the atmosphere to become extremely hyped. When the upbeat dancing music ended, the lead singer stepped forward, and enthusiastically addressed the group of students.

“Do you want to watch me perform some magic tricks?”

“Yes!” the audience shouted.

“I need an assistant. Who wants to be a volunteer?”

“I do!”

Bo Ziren felt like her eardrums were about to explode from the sheer amount of yelling coming from all around her. In the pandemonium, she was sure she must be hallucinating when she saw the simply-dressed lead singer bend down affectionately and point in her direction. She was barely able to hear him say, “The female student in the blue down jacket. Can you help me?”

From behind him came the sound of rumbling mountains, and to Bo Ziren’s bewilderment, she was vaulted onto the stage.

“It’s very simple, there’s no need to be nervous. Please help me first by checking and making sure that these cards are just an ordinary set of playing cards.”

Bo Ziren dumbly accepted the cards, lowered her head to check, and nodded.

“Please choose one card, and show it to our friends in the audience, but make sure you don’t let me see the card you’ve chosen.”

The lead singer turned around.

Bo Ziren was not interested, but she couldn’t see a way to get off the stage. Submitting to her bizarre fate, she followed through with his request to get it over with.

After picking her card, she listened to his instructions,  placing it back into its original place. When the lead singer turned around, he found the card she had chosen using a trick, and with a flourish, the card’s pattern changed into a picture of his face. The audience screamed enthusiastically, rushing forward in their excitement.

The vocalist thanked Bo Ziren, then politely asked her to step down. He began to address his fans again, leaving Bo Ziren to wonder how to get off the stage. The path in front of her was blocked, so she turned to try and exit off the left corner.

She didn’t expect to step off into space though, and she felt a jolt of fear shoot through her as her foot was met with empty air. Her centre of gravity went off-kilter as she waved her arms feeling herself start to plummet down.

Surprisingly, she did not fall to the ground.

A hand snaked around and grabbed her waist just in time. Taking advantage of the momentum, she let herself fall back into the spacious, warm arms behind her, accidentally stepping on the person’s trouser leg. When she tried to turn around to see who it was, she couldn’t get a grip on her footing, and instead lost her balance again, clunking her chin against the person’s chest. She gritted her teeth in pain while the arms around her held her up firmly and gracefully.

The person spoke, with a low, familiar voice,  shot through with an undercurrent of excitement. The voice seemed to be holding back a smile. She raised her head, and for a second she saw the noon stars described by Hideki Yukawa. No, it was even better than that.

“This student,” he said solemnly. “Don’t patronize your feelings when you see an idol. Make sure to pay attention to safety.”

“…”