A black van rolled beneath the enormous Starlight arch. At first, nobody knew who was inside. Then the rear door opened and a slim heel touched the pavement.
Someone near the barricade gasped. "Wait—"
Aria Lin stepped out. For approximately half a second, the crowd seemed to forget how lungs worked.
"ARIAAAAAAAAA!"
The scream tore across the entrance.
Aria straightened beside the van, smoothing one hand over the front of her outfit as hundreds of phones shot into the air. Camera shutters erupted from the press section, rapid and relentless, flashes bursting white against the afternoon light.
"ARIA! LOOK HERE!"
"JIEJIE!"
"OVER HERE!"
"ARIA LIN, I LOVE YOU!"
Aria turned towards the barricade and lifted one hand in greeting. The crowd screamed harder, then another figure practically bounced out behind her.
Xiao Mei and the reaction doubled.
"XIAO MEIIIIII!"
"OH MY GOD!"
"MEI'ER!"
Xiao Mei's entire face lit up. She pressed both hands to her mouth and blew an enormous kiss towards the crowd. "Mwah!"
Chaos. Fans surged against the barricades—not enough to break them, but enough for security to brace immediately.
Xiao Mei blew another kiss. "Hello! Mwah! Mwah!" She waved both arms. "Hiii, everyone!"
"STOP! I'M GOING TO DIE!"
"XIAO MEI, MARRY ME!"
"ME FIRST!"
Xiao Mei laughed so hard she nearly doubled over.
Aria glanced at her. "You're encouraging them."
"I love them!" Xiao Mei was already heading towards the barricade.
A security guard instinctively moved with her. "Miss Xiao—"
"Oh!" She had spotted a fan holding an enormous sign covered with photographs from some of her earliest campaigns. "You have that one?" The girl's eyes immediately filled with tears.
Xiao Mei pointed at one particular photograph. "That's ancient!"
"I'VE FOLLOWED YOU SINCE THEN!"
"Come here!"
Before security could protest, Xiao Mei leaned across the barrier and wrapped both arms around her. The surrounding fans completely lost their minds.
"AHHHHHHHHH!"
"SHE HUGGED HER!"
"XIAO MEI!"
"I WANT ONE!"
"ME TOO!"
The fan stood frozen in Xiao Mei's arms, apparently experiencing temporary death. When Xiao Mei finally pulled back, she immediately took the girl's phone and leaned in until their cheeks touched. Click, Xiao Mei looked over her shoulder.
"Aria!"
Several metres away, Aria paused midway through signing something and looked up.
"Come here!" Xiao Mei waved more aggressively. "ARIAAAA!"
With the resigned patience of someone accustomed to this nonsense, Aria walked over. The fan looked seconds away from fainting. Aria stepped beside her and the girl made a tiny choking noise.
Xiao Mei raised the phone. "Smile!"
Click.
The fan immediately covered her face. "I'm going to die."
"Please don't," Aria said. "That would make this considerably more complicated."
The people around them burst into laughter.
Someone farther down the barricade suddenly called, "ARIA!"
Aria turned.
A young woman was holding up a silver tiara.
Aria looked at it, then stepped closer and lowered her head. The girl froze. Her hands began to shake.
"GO!"
"PUT IT ON HER!"
"SHE'S WAITING!"
"I'M TRYING!"
Laughing nervously, the fan reached across the barricade and carefully settled the tiara onto Aria's head.
Aria remained bent forward until it was secure, then she straightened. The silver tiara glittered beneath the entrance lights.
Xiao Mei's jaw dropped. She threw both arms into the air. "QUEEN ARIA!"
The crowd exploded.
"QUEEEEEEN!"
"YOUR MAJESTY!"
"ARIA LIN!"
"BOW, PEASANTS!"
Aria closed her eyes, Xiao Mei was already losing it. Someone actually bowed, then another person did.
Within seconds, half the section behind the barricade was dramatically bowing.
Aria looked over them.
And, with perfect composure, lifted one hand in a small royal wave. Catastrophe. Phones shook. People screamed. Xiao Mei grabbed Aria's arm and folded in half laughing. The clip was online before they had even reached the main entrance and they were far from the only arrivals.
Vehicles continued flowing through the VIP lane. Doors opened. Names travelled through the crowd like electricity.
A singer appeared and was immediately greeted by hundreds of fans singing the chorus of his oldest song.
Three actresses from a recently completed historical drama arrived together and deliberately recreated one of their promotional photographs while fans screamed posing instructions from behind the barricades.
An idol group stepped out in matching jackets.
The volume became unbearable. Somewhere near the west entrance, a comedian took one look at the enormous crowd waiting for him and tried to climb back into his van.
His manager caught him by the sleeve and dragged him out. The fans howled. Then another vehicle arrived.
The door opened, and Xu Qi'an stepped out first.
The reaction was immediate.
"XU QI'AN!"
"QI'AN!"
"XU'ER!"
"IGNITE!"
Xu Qi'an paused beside the vehicle, momentarily caught by the wall of sound. YangLing emerged behind him. Somehow, the volume increased.
"YANG LING!"
"LEADER, WE LOVE YOUUUU!"
"IGNITEEEEEE!"
"LEADER IS HERE!"
Yang Ling adjusted his jacket and glanced towards Xu Qi'an. "Ready?"
Xu Qi'an looked out at the sea of light sticks, phones and banners. Somebody near the front was holding an enormous cut-out of his face. Another fan had somehow printed his face onto a pillow. The fan proudly raised it higher and his mouth twitched.
Yang Ling followed his gaze. "Why do they always use that photo?"
"I look hot. That's why." Xu Qi'an blushed.
"QI'AN! LOOK HERE!"
Both men turned.
A storm of camera flashes erupted.
The members of Ignite had barely taken ten steps before fans started calling their names from every direction.
Yang Ling lifted a hand and Xu Qi'an followed.
The roar chased them all the way to the entrance. Minutes later, another familiar car appeared.
This time, Chen Yu stepped out.
Sunglasses on. Clothes immaculate. Expression suggesting he had arrived fully prepared to be admired. The crowd obliged with him
"CHEN YUUUUUU!"
Chen Yu stopped. Slowly lowered his sunglasses, then looked at the fans over the rims.
The screaming became feral.
Chen Yu grinned. "Hiii, Starlighters!"
Nil stepped out behind him. A completely different section of the crowd erupted.
"MANAGER NIL IS HERE!"
"OUR HONEY!"
Chen Yu's head snapped around. Excuse me? Someone screamed again.
"NIL, YOU'RE SO HANDSOME!"
Chen Yu turned towards the barricade. "Who said that?"
Nil caught him around the waist before he could investigate. "Keep walking."
The people nearby collapsed into laughter.
Chen Yu twisted in his hold, still searching the crowd while Nil physically steered him towards the entrance. "I heard that!" More laughter followed them inside. By then, the Starlight grounds had become a world of their own.
The smell of grilled meat, caramelised sugar and fried snacks drifted between the walkways, occasionally swallowed by expensive perfume whenever another group of celebrities passed. Bass from the performance stages pulsed beneath everything, a constant vibration underfoot.
LED screens washed faces in blue, violet and gold as daylight slowly faded.
Fans and celebrities crossed paths everywhere.
An actor stopped beside a booth because someone challenged him to a game. A model signed the sleeve of a fan who had apparently forgotten to bring anything else.
Two idols stood surrounded by children, handing out merchandise. An actress crouched on the pavement to help a fan repair a broken light stick.
Everywhere, phones were raised, everywhere, someone was laughing. And beneath all the excitement, security remained tight.
Barricades divided the busiest routes. Uniformed guards stood at every major entrance while additional security moved discreetly through the crowds.
Bags were checked before anyone entered restricted areas. Staff monitored the walkways and redirected people whenever one section became too congested.
When fans pressed too hard against a barrier, security stepped in immediately.
"Please move back"
"Everyone please stay back"
Most listened.
Celebrities had enough space to approach fans without being overwhelmed, and fans could interact without the atmosphere becoming dangerous. For all the screaming, chaos and occasional threat to everyone's eardrums, Starlight remained controlled.
Just barely.
Near the central plaza, Aria was still wearing her tiara.
Xiao Mei had apparently decided it was permanent. "You can't take it off."
#ST★RLIGHTFESTIVAL2026
#STARLIGHTBEIJING
#CELEBRITYARRIVALS
#WHOAREYOUWAITINGFOR
The hashtags had occupied the trending charts before breakfast. Outside the festival grounds, thousands of fans were already packed behind barricades.
Light sticks. Banners. Handmade signs.
Phones. Cameras with lenses large enough to observe another planet.
Someone had brought a cardboard cut-out of Sima Li. Someone else had dressed theirs in a wedding veil.
A group of Xiao Mei fans had arrived wearing matching pink jackets with her name printed across the backs.
Aria Lin's fan club had somehow organised themselves into neat sections and distributed professionally printed banners.
Zhang Yichen's fans occupied an entire stretch of barricade. Elegant banners bearing his name rose above the crowd. They looked suspiciously organised.
Then there were Mo Fei's fans. Purple. Everywhere. Purple signs. Purple ribbons. Purple light sticks. Purple wigs.
Someone had arrived wearing a giant purple cat costume.
Nobody knew why, yet It had already been interviewed twice.
A man somewhere in the crowd screamed back, "HE DOESN'T WANT YOU!"
"WHO ASKED YOU?!"
Security stared straight ahead. It was too early for this and the main gates hadn't even opened.
Across the road, vendors were doing excellent business selling unofficial merchandise at prices that should probably have been investigated by the government.
Photocards. Posters. Bracelets. Fans.
Keyrings.
Banners. Someone was selling bottled water with celebrity faces stuck to the labels. Chen Yu's face was on sparkling water. Nobody had authorised this. It was selling extremely well.
Online, things were considerably worse.
The official Starlight Festival livestream hadn't even started and millions of people were already waiting.
[LIVE CHAT]
: HAS ANYONE SEEN MO FEI???
: I HEARD SIMA LI LANDED FORTY MINUTES AGO!!!
: ARIA LIN AND XIAO MEI ARE ALREADY THERE. EVERYBODY STAY CALM.
: HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO STAY CALM???
: ZHANG YICHEN HASN'T BEEN SPOTTED YET.
: NEITHER HAS MO FEI AND HE'S OPENING THE SHOW TOO
Screenshots immediately escaped the livestream chat. Gossip accounts picked them up. Then the entertainment bloggers arrived.
STARWATCH CHINA: Several major stars have already arrived in Beijing ahead of today's Starlight Festival.
Three minutes later— Another account posted photographs of Su Feiyu leaving her hotel.
Within seconds—
: SU FEIYU LOOKS INSANE.
: THE DRESS???
: QUEEN.
: IS ZHANG YICHEN ATTENDING TODAY?
: WHY ARE YOU ASKING ABOUT THAT MAN UNDERNEATH HER PICTURES?
: BECAUSE THEY'RE STARRING IN SAVE THE DAMNED TOGETHER??
: BEHAVE YOURSELVES BEFORE THE FANDOM WAR STARTS.
Too late. The fandom war had started. One actor adjusted his sleeve.
#LIWEIWRISTWATCH began trending.
An idol sneezed.
Three fan accounts uploaded slowed-down footage.
A famous actress stepped out of her car and glanced towards someone outside the frame.
Within six minutes, bloggers had produced eleven theories about who she had been looking at.
The entertainment industry had abandoned reason. It was Starlight Festival Day.
Inside the grounds, things were only slightly more controlled. At the heart of the event centre stood the main stage.
Huge. Brilliant and Impossible to ignore.
Rows upon rows of seats stretched before it. Cameras were positioned everywhere, lenses trained towards the stage from every conceivable angle.
Technicians moved beneath the platform checking cables and lighting rigs.
Dancers rehearsed behind closed curtains. Managers hurried through corridors clutching schedules. Stylists carried garment bags like emergency medical equipment.
"Where's Artist Seven?"
"Sound check!"
"Move that camera!"
"Has Sima Li arrived?"
"Oi move your butt out of the way"
"Ten minutes!"
"Someone get me a coffee"
"Hey! Were you paid to laze around? Move! Come on!"
The coordinator looked up sharply from her clipboard. "Where is Sima Li? He's on in ten."
Three assistants immediately checked their phones. Nobody answered.
The coordinator stared at them, then slowly closed her eyes.