Yun Feng turned and left after a brief exchange, leaving only the exquisite lunch.
It was made by Yun Mengxi's favorite restaurant, with flavors and dishes that she favored the most.
But her brother's strange expression weighed on Yun Mengxi's heart like a heavy stone, making this carefully prepared lunch lose its taste.
She forced herself to eat a little, but all she felt was the food being blocked by the gloom in her chest, accompanied by a faint feeling of nausea.
This feeling that she might vomit at any moment made Yun Mengxi dare not continue eating, so she could only gently push the lunch box away.
"Mengxi, are you feeling unhappy? How about... I accompany you for a walk outside? Breathe some fresh air and relax?"
Liu Zhuohua didn't persuade Yun Mengxi to eat more, but just packed up the lunch box and made a concerned suggestion.
Yun Mengxi shook her head after a moment of hesitation, her voice a bit muffled: "No need, Sister Liu. I... want to be alone for a while and prepare by myself."
She needed space to digest the unease and organize her chaotic thoughts.
In the past, when she faced pressure or felt wronged, she often chose to be alone and resolve it herself. Liu Zhuohua knew this.
Looking at Yun Mengxi's slightly lowered profile, Liu Zhuohua sighed inwardly and didn't try to persuade her anymore.
She checked the items in the dressing room carefully and instructed softly, "Alright then, I'll be right outside. Call me anytime if you need anything." Then she tiptoed out and closed the door.
The huge dressing room was left with only Yun Mengxi and her reflection in the mirror, exquisite in makeup but with eyes revealing confusion and pressure.
She walked to the mirror, supported herself on the edge of the dressing table with both hands, and took a few deep breaths, trying to expel the stagnation in her chest.
"Yun Mengxi, you can do it."
She said to herself in the mirror, word by word, "This is the stage shared by you and your brother, the dream you have prepared for countless days and nights.
"Brother... he might just have encountered some troublesome matters at work. Don't let these things affect you..."
She closed her eyes, trying hard to recall the smooth feeling during rehearsals, the surge of emotion when the melody played, trying to use her love and sense of responsibility for the stage to cover up that inexplicable fear.
Love... responsibility...
She found responsibility, but love...
"Sing well, dance well, bring out your best state... as long as I do these..." She murmured to herself, cheering herself on.
However, her mind uncontrollably slid towards dark assumptions—what if... what if I mess up?
If I make mistakes due to poor condition, letting down all expectations, letting down my brother's expectations... the criticism from the media, the disappointment of fans, and my brother's potentially even heavier expression...
Just imagining it made her heart sink a few notches further.
Just then, a faint commotion came from outside the door. It seemed like Liu Zhuohua raised her voice to speak to someone, her tone filled with astonishment.
"What?! Outside... riots? This... will the concert...?"
The following words became indistinct, seemingly mixed with the rapid and serious conversation of others.
"...Risk assessment..." "...Police have intervened..."
"...Instructions from superiors, the performance goes on as usual, but security will be fully upgraded..."
Riots? Concert might be canceled? Police taking over security?
Separated by a door, the information was blurry, but like a stone thrown into the lake of her heart, it stirred up bigger ripples.
Yun Mengxi's heart tightened suddenly.
Sapphire City... something happened? Serious enough to require a large police force?
Almost subconsciously, Yun Mengxi recalled the urgent news she saw when rushing here this morning.
Was my brother's heavy expression just now also related to this?
The premonition of unease tightened like cold vines.
Various abnormalities almost indicated that this was no longer a simple "accident." She almost wanted to open the door immediately and ask for clarity.
But just at this moment—
Ding-a-ling-ling—!!
The preset alarm reminding her of the concert opening rang piercingly, breaking the silence of the dressing room and interrupting her thoughts off guard.
Time was up.
There was no extra time to explore what the commotion outside the door meant, no chance to soothe the increasingly strong unease in her heart.
The pointer on the schedule pushed forward ruthlessly, pushing her to the juncture where she must go on stage.
Yun Mengxi hurriedly turned off the alarm, looking at herself in the mirror as if suddenly pushed onto the race track.
She wasn't ready yet...
Her heart began to "fall" completely at this moment, without ropes to pull, lift to support, or a fulcrum to stabilize her body.
She was like a person falling off a cliff, waving her arms helplessly, unable to even control her own body.
Weightlessness... has always been a feeling that humans naturally resist.
Slap—
She slapped her cheeks hard, forcibly pressing all doubts, fears, worries about her brother, and confusion about the unknown events outside the door back to the deepest part of her heart.
"Don't think about it... can't think about it..." She covered her burning face and whispered to herself, her eyes gradually replaced by a nearly desperate focus.
"Now, only the stage. Only singing."
Nothing was more important than this concert... It was not only the ultimate goal of her hard work for so long, but also the final stage of the dream her brother had given up for himself.
She must do her best... she had to do her best!
She could only do her best.
She checked her makeup and in-ear monitors one last time, trying hard to raise a brilliant and standard smile befitting the idol identity of "Yun Mengxi" in the mirror, even though the smile didn't truly reach her eyes.
Then, she turned around, clenched her slightly sweaty palms, and walked step by step towards the dressing room door, towards the stage where light converged but seemed to hide an unknown storm.
All energy must be invested in this moment.
As for other things... talk about it after singing.
Yun Mengxi took deep breaths, trying to slow down her heartbeat by increasing the oxygen content in her body.
She walked out of the dressing room and, surrounded by Liu Zhuohua and other assistants, walked to directly below the stage.
She gently lifted the hem of her long dress and stepped onto the lift platform that would soon send her onto the stage.
Before the lift platform started, Yun Mengxi took one last deep breath, trying to displace all the unease in her lungs.
Even though her mood was still as heavy as lead at this moment, she had completed her psychological construction—or rather, she had completed a forced focus bordering on self-hypnosis.