After dropping out of school, I chose to join a girls' band.

Every seat seemed to be waiting for the audience to arrive, but at this moment, the entire audience area was empty, with only Peach standing there.

Her gaze shifted to the stage, where the curtain was tightly closed. The heavy red curtain concealed the scene behind the stage, giving it a mysterious and secretive feel.

The air was filled with a musty smell, mixed with a faint dusty scent.

Peach took a deep breath and murmured softly, "Is this the theater from my dreams?"

She walked into the aisle of the audience seating area, trying to find a way to the stage. However, after looking around, she couldn't see any stairs leading to the stage.

The silence around her made her uneasy, and the sound of her footsteps echoed clearly in the empty theater.

"Because... the stage hasn't even started yet, and the actors haven't taken their places."

A familiar male voice rang in Peach's ears. She turned around in surprise and saw the familiar giraffe standing behind her in the audience.

"Whoa?!!" Peach screamed, taking several steps back, clutching her chest tightly with both hands, her eyes wide with terror.

Her breathing became rapid, her heart pounded, and her face turned pale instantly.

Although she was prepared for the possibility of giraffes appearing, being prepared is one thing, but actually seeing a giraffe is another.

She tried to calm herself down, took a deep breath, and attempted to composed herself.

The giraffe lowered its head slightly. "Nice to meet you, or is it a pleasure to meet you again?"

Peach gradually calmed down, and her breathing slowly returned to normal. She stared at the giraffe, her brows furrowing slightly, a hint of confusion and doubt flashing in her eyes: "So, the culprit behind my strange dreams is you after all?"

The giraffe lowered its eyes slightly and then said, "No... Momoko Kurosawa, it is you who craves the stage, it is the stage that is calling you."

"Is the stage calling me?" Peach heard this and turned her gaze back to the stage. The heavy red curtain remained tightly closed, and the lights above did not react at all, showing no change whatsoever because of her arrival.

However, Peach's heart told her that the giraffe was right. She truly longed for this stage; she had a premonition that her most magnificent performance with Light would take place on this stage.

Peach took a deep breath and felt a surge of power welling up from the bottom of her heart. She couldn't help but take a step forward, walking towards the edge of the stands, getting closer to the stage.

"So... how do we get the stage to open?"

"The stage cannot be a one-man show with only the protagonist. Only when all the actors are ready will the stage of this audition be opened."

--------------

Meanwhile, Yue and Kui had reached the end of the stairs. In front of them was an old, rickety gondola elevator.

"It seems that if we want to continue down, we can only take this." Yue carefully examined the gondola elevator, reached out and gently touched the edge of the gondola, the metal making a slight vibration sound.

Aoi stood to the side, looking somewhat frightened. She gripped Yue's arm tightly, her eyes filled with unease and worry, her voice trembling slightly: "Is this... really sturdy? It won't break halfway through, will it...?"

Yue noticed Aoi's nervousness, gently patted her hand, and gave her a reassuring smile: "Don't worry, Aoi, it should be fine... no big problem. If it really doesn't work, I can go down first, and then you can come down, Aoi."

Yuri Aoi quickly shook her head. "I'd rather go down with you, Tsuki-chan... I feel like I'd be even more scared if I went down alone."

Yue held Kui's hand, and the two stepped into the gondola elevator together. The gondola began to descend slowly, and although it swayed a bit, it was generally stable.

Kui peeked down and her breathing quickened. Her palms sweated slightly, and she quickly pulled her head back, gripping Yue's hand tightly. She dared not take her eyes off Yue's face, as if only in this way could she feel at ease.

"Aoi...you're not afraid of heights, are you?" Tsuki asked tentatively, looking at Aoi's frightened expression.

Hearing Yue's words, Aoi forced a bitter smile, her voice trembling slightly: "Yes...yes, I'm a little afraid of heights..."

Yue's heart tightened, but she remained calm and smiled at Aoi, saying, "Don't worry, Aoi, we'll be there soon. Close your eyes, don't look down, focus on my voice, okay?"

Aoi nodded and closed her eyes, but she still held Yue's hand tightly, her fingertips turning slightly white, showing her inner tension and unease.

"Peach...Aoi risked so much danger to come find you, I hope nothing bad has happened to you."

Finally, they landed safely, and the sudden fall they had worried about did not happen at all.

"We've arrived, Aoi, you can open your eyes now."

Yue breathed a sigh of relief, took Kui's hand, and gestured for her to open her eyes.

Kui slowly opened her eyes and saw the spacious underground space in front of her. She took a deep breath and felt a sense of security as she stood firmly on the ground, finally relaxing a little.

Just then, lights suddenly illuminated the previously dimly lit passageway. It began with a soft hum, as if some mechanical device had been activated. Then, a dim yellow light bulb flickered faintly overhead, emitting a crackling sound before suddenly blazing brightly.

The lights gradually came on, their brightness illuminating the ground before them. Each lamp emitted a soft hum, its gentle, warm light gradually dispelling the darkness of the passageway.

As the first light came on, the second light followed, making the same "click" sound, and then the third and fourth lights, the lights lighting up one after another like dominoes.

Each light that turns on is accompanied by a brief, crisp "click" and a momentary flicker, as if confirming its existence.

Beams of light gradually extended to the end of the passage, forming a bright path, as if guiding them forward.

As the last light came on, a large gate at the end of the passage was also illuminated. The sign on the gate stood out prominently in the light, its ancient yet exquisite patterns seeming to tell of its glorious past.

Yue and Kui both looked up at the same time, their eyes fixed on the signboard.

Yue looked up at the sign, read the English words aloud, and frowned slightly, a hint of confusion in her eyes: "Theatre? Why is it here..."

Momoko's roommate, Yuri Saki, promptly added, "Momoko said this morning that she dreamed about a giraffe and a stage."

Yue also remembered that Taozi had indeed mentioned this matter this morning, but she hadn't taken it too seriously. But now it seems that Taozi's dream might be true.

"So the reason she was acting so strangely today is because of her dream this morning?"

Yue frowned, recalling the dreams they had mentioned during their conversations.

In fact, Yue is quite sensitive about dreams.

Her family had mentioned dreams and paranormal events before, but she hadn't taken them seriously at the time.

When she was little, her mother used to tell her mysterious stories, omens in her dreams, and signs of paranormal events by her bedside.

She always believed that we live in a materialistic age, and that strange and bizarre things are impossible. She thought they were all nonsense and didn't listen to any of them, just giving them perfunctory answers.

“Many times, dreams foreshadow what is about to happen or what is happening now.” Her mother, Hinasaki Miha, said these words, which echoed in her ears.

Yue looked away from the signboard, her expression complex and regretful.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, but a wave of regret welled up inside her: "If I had known this would happen, I should have listened carefully when Mom and the others told those ghost stories. Maybe they would still be useful now."

"Aoi, let's go inside and find peaches." Yue placed her hand on the doorknob.

Aoi nodded, and seeing Yue's action, she also placed her hand on the door. The two of them pushed together to open the heavy wooden door, and the hinges made a jarring creaking sound, announcing their arrival.

--------

As Yue entered the audience seats, her gaze was immediately locked onto the giraffe.

The giraffe's towering neck and enormous figure stood out conspicuously in the dimly lit theater; Yue saw it almost as soon as she entered.

"I never thought there really were giraffes..." Yue exclaimed in her heart.

What shocked Yue even more was that after hearing the door open, the other person turned around and slowly said, "Good evening, Hinasaki Yue-san, Yurisaki Aoi-san."

"The giraffe... it spoke!?"

Her eyes widened, her brows furrowed slightly, her mouth opened but no sound came out, her breathing became rapid, and her heartbeat quickened, as if she could hardly believe what she was seeing.

"Ah! Yue, Kui! What brings you here?"

Because the giraffe was so eye-catching, Yue overlooked Momoko Kurosawa standing by the stage.

At this moment, Peach was waving to them and asking, her face showing a hint of excitement and surprise.

Yue finally recovered from the shock of discovering that the giraffe could talk; her brows were still furrowed, and a hint of disbelief lingered in her eyes.

Upon hearing Taozi's question, a hint of helplessness and reproach appeared on her face.

"Of course it's because someone was still wandering around the school after school and didn't leave," Yue said somewhat irritably, her voice carrying a hint of reproach, but more so concern.

Peach had a smile on her face, and her eyes sparkled with excitement.

She raised her hand and scratched her head gently, looking a little embarrassed: "I'm sorry, I just wanted to confirm something in the dream, I didn't expect to actually find this place."

Looking at Taozi, Yue's reproach gradually faded, replaced by a helpless concern. She sighed softly, walked to Taozi's side, and patted her shoulder: "Don't make us worry next time, Taozi."

Hearing this, Peach's smile widened. She nodded, a hint of emotion flashing in her eyes: "Thank you, Yue, Kui. Thank you for coming to find me."

Aoi stood to the side, a hint of relief in her eyes. She smiled and said to Momo, "As long as you're alright, we were worried about you the whole way."

After confirming that Peach was alright, Yue began to study the underground theater and the giraffe beside her.

Her brows were furrowed, her eyes filled with deep doubt and curiosity as she looked around, her gaze sweeping across every corner of the theater.

"Speaking of which, where exactly is this place? What's the deal with this giraffe? Peach, have you figured it out?" Yue's voice was tinged with urgency and anxiety.

“I’m not quite sure either, but Mr. Giraffe is saying that the stage is calling me.”

Her voice held a hint of confusion and hesitation, as if she was still processing everything she had heard. Her fingers gently stroked her chin, her gaze wandering aimlessly, appearing somewhat lost.

Yue finally turned to look at the giraffe beside her, and after hesitating for a long time, she asked, "Mr. Giraffe, could you tell me more about this stage?"

"of course."

The giraffe nodded.

"This stage is where the audition is held to select the top star. The selected stage girls will be paired up to participate in the revue, and the final winner will become the top star. Lin Meng a weeping h 侕（三）冥寺鸠旗_珊泗tar has the goal of going to the stage he wants."

Yue muttered to herself the words the other person had just said, "audition...revue...topstar?"

Although she roughly knew what these words meant, knowing them was one thing, and actually understanding them was another, just like how she couldn't understand the giraffe's words at all.

She remembered the props placed next to the stairs when she and Aoi walked down the stairs. "Could it be... that this event has been held many times before?"

"Hinasaki Tsuki, your guess is correct." The giraffe nodded, confirming Tsuki's idea. "The props you just saw are the best evidence of your seniors' revue performance on this stage."

Side Story: Seisho Prequel - Side Story 8: Join the Student Council (Part 1)

Outside the teaching building, the night was as dark as ink, and the campus was quiet and peaceful. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, and the occasional call of a few night birds broke the silence. A few dim streetlights cast long shadows of the three people, making them appear somewhat deep and mysterious.

Peach stretched and loosened her body, her tone tinged with surprise and ease: "Wow~ I really didn't expect there to be a place like this underground in Shengxiang."

Kui, standing to the side, looked somewhat confused, her brows furrowed slightly, and her eyes revealing a hint of bewilderment and curiosity.

She gently raised her hand, scratched her head, and looked somewhat bewildered: "Um... I never expected that such a supernatural phenomenon would actually happen."

Yue remained silent. Rather than worrying about the underground stage of Shengxiang, she was more curious about what Giraffe had mentioned before: that the audition had been held more than once.

Although Giraffe didn't reveal which year's seniors conducted the audition, Yue made a rough guess based on the achievements of Seisho's seniors after graduation, but she felt that the answer was a bit off.

If what the giraffe said is true, the winner can gain the spotlight from others and thus go to the stage they want.

In her imagination, such a senior should at least be an international superstar actor, and the students of the same class should not have achieved anything. However, she searched for seniors from ten different classes on her phone but did not find anyone who met her requirements.

Yue couldn't help but ponder this matter, "Couldn't this audition have gone on for a full ten years without taking place?"