After the two of them stepped onto the stage wearing costumes carefully designed by Xu Nuo, the atmosphere in the audience practically soared to its peak.
Screams erupted like a boiling kettle, echoing through the venue nonstop.
“What the heck is that? Damn, that’s awesome!”
“Weren’t these two just getting all cozy earlier? I think they’re cosplaying as an angel and a demon, right?”
Jiang Ling wore a pure white long dress that extended from her neck down to her knees. The length wasn’t short, leaving only a sliver of unadorned calf exposed—slender and fair, her ankle looked so delicate it could be circled with just one hand.
An air of innocence and grace radiated from her, but the wings on her back didn’t seem cumbersome; instead, they looked especially light, adding a playful touch to the divinely angelic outfit.
Meanwhile, Lin Xiaoyu’s outfit was bolder than Jiang Ling’s. The black-and-red color scheme was sultry and striking.
A tight, short top outlined her figure perfectly, while her shorts paired with black suspender stockings drew every eye.
Her hair, streaked with black and white, was topped with little devil horns, further highlighting her tall and alluring presence.
The two of them took their positions amid the enthusiastic cheers, and as soon as the opening whistle of “Trouble Maker” sounded, the already feverish atmosphere rose to an unprecedented climax.
The entire song was full of ambiguity and sensuality, with plenty of physical contact that made the audience squeal and shout—some of them might as well have plastered “So sweet, just get married already” across their foreheads.
During the chorus, Lin Xiaoyu lifted Jiang Ling’s arm, slowly moving along her delicate, fair skin. When their gazes met and they nearly kissed—only to cleverly miss each other—the screams reached a new high.
In the audience, Song Meng watched the pair’s intimate movements with her arms crossed, a flicker of unreadable meaning passing through her eyes. Her fingers tightened slightly against her sleeve.
She took a deep breath and told herself… this is just a performance.
Elsewhere, in a barely noticeable corner, Lin’s mother watched the stage performance with a complicated expression fixed on Lin Xiaoyu.
Not being familiar with what a “comic convention” was, Lin’s mother had done her homework at home and arrived at the venue quite early. She stood in the corner and watched Lin Xiaoyu’s performance from start to finish with utmost seriousness.
Having always been by Lin Xiaoyu’s side as she practiced dancing, Lin’s mother easily noticed—
The smile on Lin Xiaoyu’s face was happier than she had ever seen before.
At least, not in recent years.
Lin’s mother rummaged through her memories and finally fell silent.
She stared at Lin Xiaoyu on stage, eyes sparkling and graceful in her dance, for the first time wondering if she had been too quick to judge.
While Lin’s mother was lost in thought, the stage performance gradually neared its end.
They hadn’t prepared anything too shocking or over-the-top for the finale. Instead, they simply stood side by side, left and right, with Lin Xiaoyu naturally putting her arm around Jiang Ling’s shoulder as the music came to an abrupt halt.
After a brief silence came an explosive cheer.
“That was so amazing! My eyes were born to see something like this!”
“Before watching, I was unimpressed. After watching, I’m drooling like a dog that’s starved for seven days—I need to know everything about this girl group in the next minute!”
NOVA fans, even more than passersby, were beside themselves with excitement.
“Yes, these are my Mommy and my Mama. I was born tonight.”
“I’m a die-hard Xueling shipper! But these two are great too… Oh, whatever, I’ll just ship everything for a balanced diet!”
After the performance, Lin Xiaoyu and Jiang Ling left the stage as planned.
Jiang Ling took off the nearly falling wings behind her and looked a little nervously at Bai Xue, who was waiting for them below the stage: “How did we do?”
“Don’t you know just by looking at the audience’s reaction?”
Bai Xue smiled and tapped her forehead. “When are you going to be a bit more confident? You both did outstandingly well—even better than during practice.”
“Ah, that’s a relief!”
Hearing this, Jiang Ling relaxed, as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
Lin Xiaoyu simply looked at her with gentle eyes, saying nothing more.
After the stage, Xu Nuo and Bai Xue were busy handling merchandise sales, while Fang Wannan and Mo Ran prepared to stroll around the venue.
Jiang Ling had wanted to take Lin Xiaoyu out to look around as well, but when she glimpsed Lin’s mother standing by the door out of the corner of her eye, her heart tightened. She knew this moment had to come.
Lin’s mother approached silently. Jiang Ling, bracing herself, glanced at Lin Xiaoyu beside her and found that she looked calm and steady, showing no sign of discomfort. Only then did Jiang Ling breathe a sigh of relief and mutter quietly, “I’ll step out first. You two talk. Just call me if you need anything.”
As the saying goes, even a wise judge can’t settle family affairs; as an outsider, Jiang Ling really wasn’t suited to get involved.
Watching Jiang Ling leave, the room was left in an odd, heavy silence between the two.
No one spoke for a long time until Lin’s mother finally opened her mouth.
“You look very happy.”
Outside the door.
After leaving, Jiang Ling even thoughtfully closed the door behind her, not wanting anyone to overhear the mother-daughter conversation.
Just as she turned around, she found Song Meng standing right in front of her, making her jump back half a step in surprise. She clutched her chest, “Jeez, you scared me! When did you get here?”
Hearing this, Song Meng raised her eyebrows slightly and shook the full set of merchandise in her hand. “Came to find you right after I bought the merch. Not going to give me an autograph, superstar?”
“Hmph, it’s not business hours right now.”
Jiang Ling snorted playfully and, in high spirits, pulled out a marker. “But for you, Miss Song, this superstar can make an exception.”
Song Meng unfolded her fan for Jiang Ling to sign.
As she watched Jiang Ling sign her name in cute handwriting, Song Meng asked with a soft laugh, “How come you’re giving me special treatment? Is it because I’m your girlfriend?”
“Ahem!”
Jiang Ling coughed twice on the spot, quickly stuffing the signed fan back. Her voice was a little muffled, “Just pretending, that’s all. You make it sound so real.”
For some reason, whenever Song Meng brought up words like “girlfriend,” Jiang Ling always felt an indescribable, complicated emotion stir inside her.
Seeing this, Song Meng didn’t insist on her admitting anything, but instead changed the subject: “My parents want to go for a picnic in a couple of days, and they want me to bring you along.”
After a pause, she added, “How long has it been since you last visited Xiao Ling?”
That made Jiang Ling feel guilty at once, her voice growing meek: “I-I’ve just been busy!”
But when Song Meng’s gaze grew more dangerous, Jiang Ling hurriedly added, “Picnic, right? I’ll go, just let me know when…”
“I just remembered I still have things to do, so let’s talk later!”
Sensing danger, Jiang Ling quickly tried to make her escape while Song Meng was distracted.
But before she could even take two steps, Song Meng easily cornered her, lifting her face from where she was looking down and trying to dodge.
“After the performance, what exactly were you doing behind the fan?”