Chapter - 6010

Tawanna was exceptionally polite to Claire. The two took many photos together and added each other as friends on WeChat.

Charlie noticed Tawanna’s enthusiastic attention towards Claire, but he didn’t dwell on it.

Once Tawanna finished her makeup, her styling team began confirming the arrangement of costumes for the evening's performance and worked out the details for her costume changes.

Feeling bored, Charlie decided to step outside on his own.

At that moment, all the staff were busy with preparations for the performance. A large electronic clock loomed backstage, not displaying the current time but counting down to the show’s start.

With two hours left on the countdown, the audience began to enter the venue.

A sizable number of staff members pre-checked tickets outside the entrance. They weren’t tasked with ensuring the consistency of the person, ID, and ticket; their main role was to allow ticket-holders to pass through while keeping those without tickets outside the secure area.

This strategy significantly reduced the pressure on the ticket-checking process.

At that point, more than a dozen ticket inspection lanes had been established in various sectors. Different seating areas required inspection at designated lanes, effectively segmenting the crowd to prevent a bottleneck at any one entrance.

The face recognition system was also crucial in this situation. Domestic audience members used their ID cards to check tickets and perform face recognition, while international attendees utilized their passports for the same purpose.

Most attendees managed to smoothly pass through and entered the performance venue in an orderly fashion with their tickets.

A few individuals who had privately traded tickets were denied entry because they failed to meet the requirements for verifying their identity against their tickets. Some even attempted to stir trouble to gain access but were met with swift support from the Aurous Hill police, who promptly removed any disruptors.

By 6:30, the majority of the audience had entered and taken their seats.

Tawanna’s music started playing at the venue, serving as a warm-up.

In that moment, passionate fans sang along with exuberance.

At 7:00, with half an hour remaining before the performance, Tawanna completed her makeup and began taking deep breaths and doing vocal exercises. This “vocal warm-up” is said to be essential for quickly preparing one's voice for the best performance.

Simultaneously, the massive LED screen, dozens of meters high, lit up.

A promotional video for Tawanna’s global tour played on the screen, featuring a mix of performance clips, candid moments, rehearsal footage, and travel snippets from various shows.

For her fans, this content was invaluable, prompting many to pull out their phones to capture the moment, with some fans even moved to tears.

At 7:20, all the band members and dancers were poised backstage, ready to take the stage. Tawanna, dressed in a dazzling performance outfit, also prepared to go on.

Interestingly, while the band members entered the stage from the end of the T-stage, Tawanna made her way to the front of the T-stage to take a concealed elevator from there.

The interior of the T-stage was a vast hollow space. Charlie felt like a miner in a mine, surrounded by supporting steel frames, with a narrow passage that required bending over to navigate.

At the end of this passage was a circular elevator. Under the guidance of staff, Tawanna quickly made her way to the base of the elevator.

Claire felt nervous but excited, and a bit curious, so she pulled Charlie along to join her in the experience.

The circular lift platform measured just over a meter in diameter. Tawanna knelt on one knee in the lift, with the T-stage looming overhead. To prevent fans from noticing any details, the top was covered with opaque paper, ensuring that the surface of the T-stage looked uniform from the audience’s perspective, creating a surprising effect when she appeared.

With Tawanna kneeling on one knee on the lift platform, all preparations were made. Finally, the stylist checked her makeup and hair one last time, and upon confirming everything was perfect, made an “OK” gesture and stepped back from the lift platform’s safe zone.

Tawanna’s assistant handed her a silver wireless microphone adorned with crystals. The microphone was on, but the sound engineer had yet to transmit the volume to the main stage, meaning even though she held it, no sound could be heard outside.

As she took the microphone, her assistant reminded her, “There are just two minutes left in the countdown to the opening.”

Tawanna spotted Charlie and Claire amid the crowd, waved to them, and smiled, “I’ll be up soon. You two can wait for me behind the T-stage—I’ll come back after I finish singing the second half of the first song.”

Claire clenched her fist and encouraged, “You’ve got this!”

At that moment, Charlie felt a bit awkward. His embarrassment stemmed from his inability to appreciate Tawanna’s performance costume, which consisted of a long-sleeved, fitted sequined top resembling a superhero outfit, with a pair of connected briefs forming a one-piece.

Tawanna was not wearing stockings, and with her lower half in a bikini style while kneeling, Charlie found it challenging to look her way. After all, modesty is an important cultural consideration in China.

Noticing his gaze drifting above her head, Tawanna waved at him and said, “Mr. Wade, see you later!”

Charlie nodded awkwardly and replied, “Okay, see you later!”

Turning to Claire, he whispered, “What kind of outfit is she wearing? A long-sleeved top with briefs? It seems a bit odd.”

Claire felt a touch embarrassed too and whispered back, “It must be a personal style choice. I really have no idea what you’d call that.”

Charlie pondered, “But how is that supposed to be worn? Do you put your legs in from the collar and pull it up?”

“Exactly,” Claire explained. “It’s similar to how one would wear a one-piece swimsuit.”

Then, recalling something, Claire added, “I bet it was inspired by swimwear!”

Charlie questioned, “Should we call it a long-sleeved bikini?”

“Oh, come on…” Claire gently nudged him, “Don’t say such things in case someone overhears.”

At that moment, the speakers began blasting the thunderous opening music.

The fans' cheers and shouts grew even louder.

With 20 seconds remaining until the start, the introduction to Tawanna’s hit song filled the venue.

The staff then shouted excitedly, “Fifteen seconds left!”

Tawanna bowed her head, one hand on the microphone, the other touching the ground.

As the music swelled, the staff lost their ability to communicate, resorting to holding up five fingers.

“Five, four, three, two, one!”

The elevator suddenly activated, propelling Tawanna onto the T-stage at an exhilarating speed. She pushed through the paper sealing the exit with her back.

The moment the paper was pushed away, Charlie caught sight of the spectacular fireworks bursting outside.

At that instant, the audience's screams reached an ecstatic crescendo!