Chapter 46: The Tour

Ever since Tsukimiya Reina took time off and left, a long time had passed.

Chen Zi'ang had once again adapted to the rhythm of getting off work alone, after all, he had lived that way for many years in the past.

Standing inside the light rail carriage, his gaze passed through the window, seeing that the huge pillar billboard outside had already been replaced with a giant poster of Xia Zili.

The composition of the poster was quite clever, revealing only the left half of her face, yet it still did not detract from her breathtaking beauty, her facial features as exquisite as a sculpted work of art.

On the other side were the headline characters:

Kiritani Maki’s Concert Tour, opening tonight in Shinjuku Ward.

"A concert tour, huh..." Chen Zi'ang sighed.

If a Budokan concert was the prologue to becoming a legend, then a concert tour was the milestone where the legend truly shone—it meant that, based on the results of the previous concert, Budokan could no longer accommodate the massive number of fans willing to buy tickets to see her, so regional tour performances were necessary to maximize box office revenue.

Chen Zi'ang used his phone to check online, and sure enough, it was just as expected.

The opening concert was in Shinjuku Ward. It was said that the ticketing website crashed the moment it opened, and then immediately showed that tickets were sold out.

Under normal circumstances, fans would have already rioted outright. Fortunately, this time it was a tour, with a show in Mikawa Ward tomorrow and another in Heian Ward the day after, so everyone was calmly waiting for the release of the next batch of tickets.

Putting aside the fans' various elaborate ticket-begging behaviors, the opinions of media professionals were relatively unanimous: they believed that Kiritani Maki had basically reached the pinnacle as a diva of the music industry and was destined to become the superstar of this era.

Even the skeptical media pundits only questioned whether planning a tour across five administrative districts right out of the gate might be too risky.

One had to bear in mind that the first day in Shinjuku Ward, the second day in Mikawa Ward, and the third day in Heian Ward were the three most densely populated major districts in Beiji.

Once these three days of performances concluded, fans who wanted to buy tickets might have already bought them. If the subsequent Gunma Ward and Haguruma Ward ended up with unsold tickets, it might instead become a blemish on her resume.

However, this sentiment was quickly bombarded with counter-arguments: netizens from Gunma Ward and Haguruma Ward stated that they advised others to mind their own business.

Some netizens even produced data claiming that, based on statistics from Kiritani Maki's past concerts, up to 30% of fans attending a concert for the first time would go on to purchase a second ticket.

Leaving aside whether this data was true or not, many people had already expressed their intention to run across all five locations this week, striving to successfully check in at every single concert.

Some news reports even stated bluntly, "We are honored to live in the same era as the Diva."

Of course, running to five different places to sing for five consecutive days was also a heavy burden on Xia Zili's physical stamina, coupled with the fact that she had recently come over to help take care of his younger sister... Remembering this made Chen Zi'ang feel even more apologetic.

Although there was nothing he could do to repay her for the time being, human relationships still needed to be maintained. He might as well first wish her success in her concert tour.

Chen Zi'ang drafted a congratulatory message and sent it to [Good at Singing].

He didn't really expect the other party to reply in a second like Reina did; after all, she had her concert tour finale tonight and must be busy as hell right now... But unexpectedly, just two or three minutes later, [Good at Singing] replied to his message:

"Are you coming tonight?"

Chen Zi'ang hesitated for a moment, then replied:

"I didn't manage to get a ticket, haha / smiley face. Do you know how hard it is to grab your tickets online?"

[Good at Singing]: I know, so I saved two tickets for you. You can bring your sister along.

[Are There Any Urban Legends]: Then I'll ask her if she wants to come.

In the dressing room backstage at the concert, Xia Zili looked at her phone and slowly typed out a line of text:

"If possible, please do come. Your support is very important to me..."

She stared at it for a long time, only to feel it was too formal and might bring unnecessary pressure to the other person. So Xia Zili deleted them one by one, pondered deeply for a long time once more, and slowly typed out two words:

"Okay."

Thinking for a moment, she added a smiley face emoji, sent it, and then tossed her phone into the bag beside her, zipping it shut along the way.

She couldn't think about it anymore.

Xia Zili rubbed her face hard, then stared blankly at her own reflection in the mirror.

If she kept thinking about it, her head would be filled with "Will he come?", which would definitely affect her state after taking the stage.

"What's wrong?" Xia Qingyu walked into the dressing room, tossing her work bag onto the sofa nearby. "You look absent-minded."

"Do I?" Xia Zili asked with a guilty conscience.

"Just like a little puppy waiting endlessly for its master." Xia Qingyu walked up behind her, resting her arms on the back of the chair. "You really don't need to worry so much, Zili."

She looked at her younger sister in the mirror, her gaze filled with a gentle smile:

"You've already done very well."

"Has Sister been listening to my songs lately?" Xia Zili asked innocently.

"Of course, I've been listening all along." Xia Qingyu picked up the rolled-up poster on the table and unfolded it for a glance. "The poster turned out well this time. Who designed it?"

"The advertising agency Norika-san contacted," Xia Zili complained. "We shot for the entire afternoon, and I was practically falling apart from exhaustion."

"After all, they need to capture your best side," Xia Qingyu said softly. "Besides, you are also very good at displaying your charm and elegance. Zili, you were born to be a big star."

Xia Zili felt a bit shy hearing her sister praise her, but she quickly broke into a sweet smile and asked:

"Then will Sister finish watching my concert tonight?"

"I will," Xia Qingyu sat down on the sofa behind her. "It'll be a good way to relax."

"Is Sister experiencing something unpleasant at work?" Xia Zili was very sensitive and immediately sensed the fatigue in her tone.

"Just dealing with a bunch of idiots," Xia Qingyu pressed her glabella, seeming to endure something as she rubbed it forcefully.

"Oh." Xia Zili paused for a moment. "Then did you meet anyone worth paying attention to?"

"Why do you ask that?" Xia Qingyu immediately frowned.

"I mean," Xia Zili quickly explained, "not everyone could be an idiot, right? There must be someone a bit smarter, don't you think?"

"No," Xia Qingyu sighed. "I can only say there are some worth molding, but the majority are fools who don't even realize how foolish they are, and on top of that, they fly into a rage when it's pointed out to them, leaving you without even the slightest inclination to save them."

"I see." Xia Zili was silent for a moment before saying, "Is there a possibility that it's not because everyone else is too stupid, but rather that Sister is too smart?"

"Perhaps," Xia Qingyu said indifferently. "Ignorance or not has never been the problem; being so ignorant that you lack even self-awareness is what makes it truly hopeless."

"Let's not talk about these vexing topics. Has the makeup artist arrived yet?"

"On the way," Xia Zili replied. "She said the makeup and styling might still need to be coordinated with Norika-san."

"I don't like overly alluring styles," Xia Qingyu began typing on her phone. "I'll let Hoshino Norika know. As for the kind of thing where they asked you to shoot a swimsuit photobook last time, blacklist them directly and never cooperate again."

"Got it." Xia Zili smiled sweetly once more.

In the entertainment industry, many things were inevitable. But her greatest fortune was having an elder sister who protected her from start to finish, shielding her from all malicious probings, which was why she held an almost unreserved trust in her sister.

Of course, the reason she said "almost" was because she also had her own little secrets.

For instance, she didn't plan to reveal her affairs with Chen Zi'ang to anyone at all.