The city's breathing had turned strange and sluggish today, yet beneath that lethargy, a burst of vitality erupted within its streets.
For the countless young people trapped in this concrete jungle, the notice of a "mandatory suspension of work and school for one day" didn't bring panic initially. Instead, it brought the dizzying sensation of having a winning lottery ticket drop out of the sky into their laps.
This was especially true given it was happening in Sapphire City, a place with a pace so fast it was suffocating.
This brief liberation from the crushing pressure caused their repressed energy to bottom out and rebound with a vengeance.
"Hey! Did you see? City-wide holiday! For real?!"
"The company group chat just @everyone. Non-essential posts are all working from home, and the office building is on lockdown... I've been working here three years and I've never seen anything like it!"
"Schools are closed too! They said it's to cooperate with some city-wide safety inspection? Who cares, I don't have to rush for my 8 AM class!"
"Haha, I earned a day off! I was grinding games until 4 AM last night, perfect time to catch up on sleep!"
"Sleep? Are you stupid! Yun Mengxi's final concert is tonight! People were crying about not getting tickets before, but maybe scalpers are refunding or people can't go now! Check the ticketing app, quick!"
On social media, [Sapphire City Mandatory Rest Day] and [Yun Mengxi Starry Sea Dreams Final Show] sat side-by-side at the top of the trending list in an eerie juxtaposition.
Initial shock and speculation were quickly drowned out by a more practical discussion—how to spend this sudden, blank check of a day?
The homebodies contentedly drew their curtains, ready to enjoy some rare peace and slumber.
Food delivery orders spiked briefly in the morning, then tapered off as more restaurants and shops hung up signs reading "Closed to Cooperate with Inspection."
On the streets, the usually surging flow of traffic and people was noticeably thinner. However, an unusual "density" was gathering elsewhere in the city.
On the subway lines leading to the Pearl of Sapphire, the carriages were packed with young people whose vibe was vastly different from the usual commuters.
They wore bright fan gear, sported flashing headbands, and clutched glow sticks and LED signs. Their faces were beaming with excitement and anticipation, their chattering voices drowning out the noise of the train.
"Luckily my hand speed is fast! Sniped a nosebleed seat from a reseller the moment I saw the news about the holiday!"
"Me too! I thought I'd never see it in this lifetime... This holiday came at the perfect time!"
"Why the sudden city-wide holiday though? It's kinda scary."
"Who cares! Being able to see the concert is a win! It's Mengxi-chan's last show, we gotta go hard!"
"I heard a lot of shops outside are closed, glad I brought snacks and water..."
"The convenience stores near the theater seem to be open? Let's check later."
In the plaza and streets surrounding the theater, the crowd gathered like colorful iron filings drawn to a magnet, growing denser by the minute.
The fans who arrived early clustered in small groups, sharing snacks, trading homemade or purchased merchandise, and lining up to take photos with the massive concert poster on the theater's exterior wall.
A restless, festival-like atmosphere filled the air, washing away the faint unease and confusion caused by the lockdown and commercial stagnation elsewhere in the city.
The number of patrolling police and plainclothes security was noticeably higher than at any previous event. They wore solemn expressions, scanning the crowd vigilantly, though they did not interfere much.
This invisible pressure formed a subtle standoff with the fans' excitement, yet unexpectedly maintained a surface-level order.
Some of the sharper young people sensed something was off.
"There are so many cops today..."
"I heard something happened downtown. Roads are closed, and there are armored vehicles?"
"Is it related to the holiday? Gives me the creeps..."
"Don't overthink it! We're here for the concert! If the sky falls, the tall guys will hold it up!"
In the gaps of these conversations, the drone of helicopter rotors—distinct from the usual city sounds—could occasionally be heard. As they swept rapidly over the city, they drew cries of awe from the inexperienced youth below.
Those near the main roads could even see military trucks and vehicles with special livery passing silently, moving with clear purpose.
But these details were soon drowned out by the flood of excited discussions about the idol, the performance, and this surprise holiday.
For the vast majority of the young people gathered here, this was a peculiar day off the beaten track, an unexpected "gift."
And the Pearl of Sapphire, the only stage shining brightly tonight, became their sole destination for venting pent-up emotions and finding resonance and solace.
Undercurrents surged beneath the calm, mundane chatter, yet they had not yet broken the surface.
Everyone was being pushed by an invisible force toward a night destined to be anything but ordinary.
The crowd converged into a slow-moving, colorful stream at the ticket gates.
Twilight was approaching, and the lingering heat of the day had not yet dissipated, mixing with the scent of excited body heat and cheap hairspray.
On a normal day at this hour, they might have just squeezed off a commuter train, or been staring at unfinished spreadsheets in an office, or hurriedly eating dinner at a fast-food joint.
But today was different.
"I never thought... I'd see a concert under the sunset instead of rushing home in the evening rush hour," a young man in a shirt with a loosened tie remarked to his companion.
He was still carrying a laptop bag, clearly having come straight from the company.
"Tell me about it. I was supposed to work OT on the third draft of a PPT tonight. Boss suddenly said 'dismissed' in the group chat. I stood there for ages before I processed it." His companion rubbed his sore neck. "Who cares, let's party first! I camped for three months to snag this ticket."
Nearby, a group of students huddled together, chattering:
"I haven't written my lab report yet... whatever, tomorrow!"
"I had a tutor appointment, but the parent said their kid's school is out too, so the lesson is canceled, but they still paid me! Free money!"
"It feels like a stolen day... I feel a little guilty, but it feels super good!"
There were also quiet, solitary figures in the queue.
A girl wearing glasses, looking somewhat exhausted, silently scrolled through her phone. The screen displayed unread work group messages and a half-finished online course progress bar.
She looked up at the dazzling lights on the theater's exterior, sighed softly, and then, as if making a resolution, switched her phone to silent mode and stuffed it deep into her bag.
Tickets checked, they entered the venue. The massive circular space swallowed the individual voices, turning them into a buzzing background hum.
People found their seats according to their ticket stubs, like ball bearings dropping into preset grooves in a precision instrument.
After finding their spots, the first thing many did wasn't to sit down, but to hold up their phones, taking photos of the empty stage, the brilliant lighting rigs overhead, and the densely packed seats around them to post on their Moments, captioned with similar sentiments:
"An unexpected day off!"
"Mengxi-chan, I'm here!"
"In this moment, I feel alive."