After leaving home, Xiao He remained somewhat silent.

At this moment, Lao Qi and Xiao Chen also walked over.

“Brother Xiao, heading back now?”

Xiao Chen asked.

Since this return trip was for work, Xiao He hadn’t planned to stay at home but rather to stay directly at a hotel outside.

Now that he had visited his parents, it was time for him to go back.

“Yeah, let’s go back.”

Xiao He wiped his face, trying to lighten his heavy mood.

Returning to the hotel and resting briefly, Xiao He then headed straight for the birthday party venue.

This birthday party was arranged at a stadium, covering a total area of 80,000 square meters.

During his school days for physical fitness tests, Xiao He had come here many times for training. The track field back then was still a somewhat dark red. It wasn’t until recent years when the economic situation improved a bit and the city focused on developing sports projects that the entire venue was repainted. Not only did the running track become exceptionally bright and vibrant, but even the faded, whitish spectator seats around the perimeter were replaced with brand-new chairs. The central soccer field was lush and green with thriving grass, presenting a scene of flourishing vitality.

However, this visit was even more different from usual. The large stage needed for the birthday party had already been set up here. Huge stage structures rose from the ground, several bulky sound systems and lighting equipment stood in their designated positions one after another, and seating areas with chairs and benches had been arranged around. Many areas below the stage were specially laid with red carpets for the convenience of guests coming and going. In the distant spectator areas, dedicated cleaning staff were meticulously washing each section, ensuring not a speck of dust would mar the upcoming use.

A massive truck drove in through the stadium’s main entrance.

“Back up, back up, back up—”

Staff members directed the truck to its parking spot. Once the truck was properly parked, they walked up and opened the large doors of the truck’s cargo compartment.

Immediately, a small crane truck that had been waiting nearby drove over and began assisting with unloading.

“Careful, you must be careful—”

Xiao He stood to the side watching for a while and realized the truck was delivering stage props for “Twelve Mirrors.”

Looking at those huge props, Xiao He couldn’t help but feel a tremor in his heart and followed up with a few reminders: “Pay attention to safety.”

If one of these things toppled over, it would be disastrous.

Xiao He was somewhat afraid of his own event-prone constitution now; he really didn’t want any problems to occur at his birthday party.

“Okay.”

Xiao Chen nodded, then turned to relay the reminders to the staff.

Xiao He, meanwhile, continued inspecting the birthday party venue.

In the afternoon, Xiao He began rehearsing.

–

In the blink of an eye, the Spring Festival passed, and the birthday party truly arrived.

This day was the last day of the Spring Festival holiday, the day before Valentine’s Day, and also Xiao He’s birthday.

Although this birthday party was just an ordinary, unremarkable day for many people who didn’t follow Xiao He, for many Little Box fans, it was an incredibly important day.

—For Zhou Bowen, it was also a very important day.

“Group Owner! Little Black! Hehe—”

Lin Zhuwan waved her hand cheerfully and then successfully gathered with familiar group friends from the chat.

“Little Wan! You guys made it!”

Group Owner Xi Han gave a hearty laugh. Her gaze paused almost imperceptibly when it landed on Zhou Bowen, then she stepped forward, linked arms with Lin Zhuwan, and happily cooed: “Thanks for the ticket, Little Wan! Otherwise, as an unlucky African Chief like me, I’d only be able to squat outside watching the livestream again.”

“No problem! We just happened to snag one extra, so of course it goes to one of our own!”

Then Lin Zhuwan looked around left and right but didn’t see the wealthy and influential Azure Sky Cloud Crane from the group. “Huh? Azure Sky Cloud Crane didn’t come?”

If you asked who was the most mysterious in the group, it was definitely Azure Sky Cloud Crane. As one of Brother Xiao’s early fans, her combat power and financial power were unquestionable. Many people in the group were curious about her real-life situation.

“She’s still abroad recently, not sure if she can make it back in time. She’s been crying in the group chat for days.”

Xi Han explained helplessly.

“I see…”

Lin Zhuwan also felt a bit regretful.

But soon, she shifted her attention along with everyone else.

“The program schedule is out! They say Xiao He will even perform a stage play live!”

“Ah? What? Really?”

“Look in the group chat! So many people are posting about it. I’m so looking forward to it.”

“It’s called ‘Twelve Mirrors’? Such a strange name, hard to imagine what the live performance will be like.”

“Could it be an adaptation of ‘Twelve Sins’?” Zhou Bowen, standing to the side, couldn’t help but interject.

“What’s that?”

“A detective novel. The protagonist is a patient with multiple personalities.”

Zhou Bowen was quite fond of reading detective novels, so he was relatively familiar with the story of “Twelve Sins.” He immediately gave everyone present a brief rundown of the plot.

“Wow, that sounds like it could be really interesting!”

Sure enough, everyone became very interested after hearing it.

“Awesome, Brother Xiao is amazing! Is he preparing to perform twelve personalities by himself?”

“Probably twelve actors will each portray one personality,” Xue Yiwei explained. “I’ve watched some stage plays before. For the sake of stage presentation, it’s usually ultimately performed by twelve actors. Otherwise, it’s a very difficult thing for one person to simultaneously portray twelve different roles on stage.”

Some plot points might be presented through dialogue between the main actor—representing the primary personality—and actors portraying the other personalities from a distance, highlighting the switches between different personalities on stage and indirectly showcasing the character’s dissociative identity disorder.

This kind of stage presentation makes it easier for the audience to understand the plot and character settings without becoming overly confusing. It’s also a more performer-friendly format.

So don’t get your hopes up too high in advance!

Xue Yiwei wasn’t exactly worried that others would be disappointed. After all, they came here to celebrate Xiao He’s birthday; whether the performance was good or bad, it would be a memorable event for them.

But what if some uninformed people intentionally spread rumors here and there, saying Brother Xiao was preparing to perform twelve personalities by himself? That would instantly raise the expectations of many casual observers outside, putting Brother Xiao under immense pressure. If the performance effect wasn’t good, he would definitely face widespread mockery.

After hearing Xue Yiwei’s explanation, everyone was startled and then also grew concerned.

Right! What if such a misunderstanding arises? Could it affect Brother Xiao?

“Quick, look online!”

Dong Nizhen looked at her phone, her expression quite unpleasant.

“Some marketing accounts have reposted the program schedule! And they’re specifically highlighting the original plot of ‘Twelve Mirrors’! Now many people really think Brother Xiao is preparing to play twelve roles by himself!”

Everyone immediately pulled out their phones, including even other Little Box fans nearby who were quietly waiting in line but hadn’t actively joined the conversation.

When they heard the sharp voice of a marketing account host in a video on their feed, gleefully mocking and predicting Xiao He’s imminent failure, many became furious.

“Damn it! Marketing accounts should just die!”

“I’m begging for a tutorial on how to make marketing accounts universally despised!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep