Chapter 8: The Return of Tianlanxing: Frenzy, Fury, and a Father’s Dilemma

Her makeup smeared, eyeliner and mascara streaking her face, yet she seemed utterly oblivious to the camera’s gaze.

“I truly believed I would only ever see her in those antiquated recordings for the rest of my life.”

Sobbing intermittently, she turned to the camera, showcasing the entire wall of posters adorning her room.

“You must understand, Tianlanxing is not merely a legend from the Golden Age; she is the most formidable magical girl! She is not just a hero, but a symbol of an entire era!”

The live stream’s bullet comments scrolled wildly across the screen.

[In this lifetime, I’m crying myself to death in the company bathroom.]

[Wait for me, those ahead! My boss is asking why I’m working on my knees.]

[A concert, please, I beg you! I’d trade ten years of being single for just one ticket!]

[Sister Ji, don’t cry! I’ll send you rockets (TL Note: A virtual gift in live streaming platforms)! Lady Tianlanxing will surely see our devotion!]

For a moment, the screen was ceaselessly bombarded with gift effects like “rockets” and “super warships,” threatening to crash the phone.

****

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of Starlight Entertainment Group in Linhai City.

The atmosphere in the top-floor conference room was fervent.

General Manager Wang, a man past fifty, slapped the conference table with such fervor that the water glasses rattled.

“An opportunity! A monumental opportunity!”

His face flushed crimson with excitement, and even a few strands of his usually immaculately coiffed hair had fallen out of place.

“She’s returned! Our cash cow… no, our deity, she has returned!”

With trembling fingers, he instructed his assistant to retrieve a photograph of a contract that had been encrypted and sealed away for seventeen years.

On the massive projection screen, the yellowed contract was clearly displayed for everyone to see.

“Everyone, open your eyes wide and see this clearly!”

General Manager Wang pointed to the very last supplementary agreement in the contract, his voice hoarse from shouting.

“The ‘Twin Stars’ final farewell tour concert, signed seventeen years ago

—she still owes us one performance!”

The entire conference room instantly erupted into a clamor.

“My heavens, General Manager Wang, if this actually happens, won’t our company’s stock price immediately skyrocket tenfold?”

“Tenfold? You gravely underestimate Tianlanxing; this will be nothing short of deification!”

Just as everyone was immersed in their blissful fantasies of the future, a young employee, recently hired, timidly raised their hand.

“Um, General Manager Wang, if I may interject.

What if… Lady Tianlanxing is unwilling?

Surely we… can’t take her to court for breach of contract, can we?”

The moment the words left their lips, a deathly silence descended upon the conference room.

The next second, General Manager Wang snatched a folder from his side and hurled it with full force.

“You imbecile! Are you an utter imbecile?! Get out!”

The young employee stumbled back from the impact, clutching their head and daring not to speak.

“You dare to sue our deity?

That is sacrilege!

It is disrespect to an entire era!

Pack your bags and get out of here right now!”

Having finished his tirade, General Manager Wang took a deep breath, adjusted his tie, and his face once again transformed into one of fervent zeal.

“Listen closely, everyone.

We are not going to collect a debt; we are going to ‘reverently welcome’ her.”

His voice was imbued with a sense of the sacred.

“Mobilize all company resources, approach Lady Tianlanxing with the utmost sincerity, and implore her to fulfill the dreams of all her fans, do you understand?”

Everyone shouted in unison: “Understood!”

Everyone understood that once that dream was fulfilled, money would simply flood in.

****

Linhai City GSA Headquarters, Aegis Tower, 153rd floor.

Inside a minimalist, futuristic office, Director Zhou Huaian gazed at a colossal screen.

Upon it, a single line of glaring red text read: Target Area Signal Lost, Data Irrecoverable.

A subordinate stood respectfully behind him.

“Director, all surveillance equipment at the site was destroyed when the Void Abyssal Beast (TL Note: A type of monster) appeared.

We were unable to capture any images of Tianlanxing, nor can we trace her true identity through residual starlight energy.”

Zhou Huaian remained silent for a long moment before finally turning around.

He appeared to be a man in his fifties, possessing an inherent authority that commanded respect without the need for anger.

“Seventeen years…” he murmured softly, a sigh escaping him.

“I truly didn’t expect her to actually return.”

He loosened the meticulously fastened collar of his shirt, a rare display of relaxation for him.

“Xiao Li, do you know something?”

A nostalgic smile played on the corners of Zhou Huaian’s lips.

“When I was young, the very first legitimate album I ever bought was hers.”

“I must have had that song, ‘Star’s Wish,’ on repeat for an entire month back then.”

Xiao Li, his subordinate, gaped in astonishment, utterly unable to reconcile the iron-fisted director before him with the star-struck youth Zhou Huaian described himself as.

However, that hint of a smile quickly vanished.

Fanboy Zhou Huaian went offline; GSA Director Zhou Huaian came back online.

His gaze sharpened, becoming incisive.

“Transmit my orders.”

“First, classify the Sacred Sakura Academy incident as top secret, activate the ‘Star Veil’ protocol, and seal off all channels that could potentially reveal her identity.

I do not wish for any unauthorized personnel to disturb her.”

“Second, find her at all costs.

Remember, our purpose is solely cooperation.

Inform her that GSA needs her, and this era needs her just as much.”

“Utilize the highest level of authority, and exhaust every possible method to recruit her!”

“Understood!”

****

Night fell.

Inside Gu Qing’s small apartment.

He had finally reverted to his adult male form.

The after-effects of not having transformed for so long were far more severe than he had anticipated; his body felt as though it had been disassembled and then haphazardly pieced back together.

Every single one of his joints throbbed with pain.

He lay sprawled on the sofa, scrolling through his phone with an expressionless face.

The screen’s glow illuminated his face, etched with existential weariness.

#TianlanxingReturns#

#PublicDemandsTianlanxingConcert#

#StarlightEntertainmentToReverentlyWelcomeTianlanxingBackWithUtmostSincerity#

The string of eye-catching headlines gave him a splitting headache.

“Damn it all…”

Gu Qing let out a groan and tossed his phone aside.

What in the hell was all this?

The entire world was in a frenzy for him.

Yet, for Gu Qing, this was no legendary return; it was nothing short of monumental trouble.

He swayed as he rose to his feet, contemplating a bottle of alcohol to numb himself.

But the moment his hand brushed against the whisky bottle, his movement halted.

Gu Qing recalled Su Wanning’s earnest instructions.

That’s right, I need to be a good father to Qianqian now.

Perhaps I should drink less from now on.

Gu Qing returned the alcohol to its place and closed the refrigerator door.

He stood in the darkened living room, gazing out at the city’s clamor, a flood of mixed emotions washing over him.

The world yearned for a hero.

His daughter needed a father.

His true desire, however, was to be an idle man with not a single care in the world.

“This is truly infuriating,” he muttered under his breath.

****

The following morning.

After much deliberation, Gu Qing decided to seek out Qin Lan.

Though that woman was rigid in her ways, she was, at the very least, a trustworthy old comrade-in-arms.

He truly felt he owed her an explanation for his unannounced departure seventeen years ago, making a meeting between them a good idea.

Yet, how to approach her presented a significant problem.

Going to GSA Headquarters as Gu Qing would expose his true identity, which was certainly out of the question.

What about going as Tianlanxing?

He certainly didn’t want to be paraded around for the entire world to gawk at like a monkey again.

Gu Qing retrieved the Heart Stone, the very coin, from his pocket.

The world only knew Tianlanxing.

However, no one realized that the other side of this coin allowed for transformation into different forms.

He recalled a long time ago, Su Wanning playfully pinching his cheek, laughing so hard her entire body trembled.

“Qing, this form of yours is utterly useless except for being cute.

You can’t fight, your strength is minimal—what else can you do besides being adorable?”