Chapter One: Prelude to the Concert

In 2016, at the Seoul Olympic Gymnastics Arena, the world’s top superstar, Chen Zhe, was about to launch the first stop of his world tour. From here, he would embark on a two-month-long journey of concerts across the globe.

At the entrance to the arena, a large group of people quietly surrounded a girl wearing a fan support uniform, with a pile of support materials behind her, as if waiting for her to speak.

“Everyone, this is Zhe’s first concert, and it’s also the first group event for our Zhe Young Support Club from China. I hope you’ll all perform well—let’s not lose to the Korean support club!” The girl punched her fist energetically as she addressed the members gathered around her.

“No problem! Don’t worry, President!” The support club members responded in unison, their voices clear and coordinated, as if they’d rehearsed countless times, regardless of their gender or age.

“Good, just like that—keep up the energy! Everyone, come collect the support items our club prepared!” Satisfied with their response, the girl nodded, stepped aside to reveal the support materials behind her, and gestured for the members to take them.

“Mengsha—President, some of our members didn’t manage to get tickets. What should we do?” As Yun Mengsha was directing the distribution, a timid, bespectacled boy approached. After calling her by name and receiving a glare, he quickly corrected himself.

“Some people still don’t have tickets? Hmm… Ping Sheng, you take those members and try to find some ticket scalpers.” After a moment’s thought, Mengsha assigned the task to Li Qixu, who was the most proficient in Korean among them. Ping Sheng was his nickname and online handle, based on the name of his girlfriend, Chen Pingsheng.

“Me?” Li Qixu pointed at himself in surprise, unable to believe it.

“Yes. Among the club’s leaders, aside from me, your Korean is the best. But I have to supervise here, so you’ll have to go.” Seeing his disbelief, Mengsha explained patiently and gestured for him to notice the orderly distribution of support items under the other leaders’ direction.

“All right, I’ll take those without tickets to look for scalpers.” With no other option, Li Qixu nodded and accepted the task.

——Ticket Hunt——

Li Qixu, now in charge of ticket hunting, led six or seven club members among the fans waiting to enter, asking around about scalpers. After half an hour of fruitless searching and just as he was about to give up hope, he finally got a lead from someone who seemed to be a fan club member.

“Kamsahamnida! You really helped us out!” Upon getting information about the scalpers from an unremarkable middle-aged man, Li Qixu bowed deeply in Korean fashion, expressing his gratitude. After all, this man had done their club a great favor.

“No problem, go quickly!” The man waved them off, urging Li Qixu and his group to hurry before the tickets were all sold.

“Okay, we’ll go now!” With a quick farewell, Li Qixu led the group toward the direction the man had indicated.

“Zhiyong, what are you doing?” As the middle-aged man watched Li Qixu and the others leave, a hand landed on his shoulder, snapping him out of his reverie. His body tensed with instinctive vigilance, but when he heard the deep, magnetic voice behind him, he relaxed again.

“Brother Jing, what brings you here?” Turning, Quan Zhiyong faced the man who’d tapped him—a thirty-something with a buzz cut and tanned skin, exuding a unique masculinity.

“What were you up to just now? I heard those young people calling you ‘ajusshi’.” Zhou Jing withdrew his hand, rubbing his chin with a puzzled look.

“Sigh, it’s probably because I look older than I am! I’m actually younger than you, but whenever we’re out together, people think I’m at least ten years older! By the way, weren’t you helping backstage? Why are you out here?” Zhiyong sighed, running a hand over his forehead. He’d long since given up trying to explain this to people.

“Ah Zhe asked me and those rascals to hand out some water to everyone, to thank you all for helping maintain order.” Bending down, Zhou Jing took a bottle of mineral water from the box at his feet and handed it to Zhiyong.

“Those rascals—you mean Bai Fan and the others?” Taking the bottle and gulping it down, Zhiyong immediately thought of the group who were always hanging around with Chen Zhe.

“Who else could it be?” Zhou Jing felt his blood pressure rise as he remembered the chaos those friends tended to cause, massaging his temples with a hint of exasperation.

“Haha, those kids haven’t changed a bit over the years—nothing like their dads.” Zhiyong laughed, recalling all the bizarre antics those boys had pulled at gatherings with their fathers, his memories vivid even after three or four years apart.

“True, they’re really nothing like Brother Chen and the others. But they’re good kids—just a little mischievous sometimes.” Comparing the boys’ behavior to their fathers’, and recalling the trouble they caused, the frantic attempts to sort it out, and their lively calls of “uncle” to him, Zhou Jing couldn’t help but smile.

——Support Club Group Photo——

By the time Li Qixu returned with tickets—purchased from scalpers at a steep price—there was less than an hour before admission. The support club members were ready to take a group photo as a memento of the event.

“Everyone, quiet down for a moment, I have something to say!” Checking her phone and seeing that less than an hour remained, Yun Mengsha cleared her throat and clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention.

“Admission is soon, so let’s stop chatting and take our group photo. This is Zhe’s first solo concert—a moment worth commemorating.” Satisfied as everyone turned to her, Mengsha announced the final pre-entry event: the group photo.

“President, should we take it now? I thought it was after the concert?” A bespectacled young man, clearly an experienced concert-goer, scratched his head and asked sheepishly.

“Yes, because this is Zhe’s first solo concert, we decided to take a group photo before entering, as a keepsake. Then we’ll take another after the concert.” Noticing the curious looks from others, Mengsha raised her brows and explained.

“Oh, you really thought of everything, President!” Enlightened, the young man nodded, and the others also looked reassured.

“All right, any other questions? If not, let’s start!” With everyone satisfied, Mengsha nodded slightly, her tone steady, as if inviting them to resolve all doubts at once.

“No more questions, President!” That seemed to be the only concern; with her explanation, all confusion was gone.

“Great! Then let’s take the photo and get ready to queue up!” Giving a spirited wave of her fist, Mengsha declared it was time to begin.

Once everyone was ready, Mengsha found a Korean fan from Chen Zhe’s support club and asked her to take their group photo.

Though the photo session was lively and full of mishaps, with plenty of laughter, the group managed to finish just in time to queue for admission.