### Chapter 22: Promotion
Night Sakura Mirror was over the moon after joining the theater group.
Night Lan witnessed this heartwarming scene not far away and felt an urge to rush over and say congratulations.
“Oh~ the Rising Sun Theater Group has a new member, how delightful! How absolutely delightful!”
However, this was just a tiny bit of joy.
The pressing issue at hand seemed to be the theater group’s future.
Every theater they tried to perform in had rejected the Rising Sun Theater Group, leaving them with very few options.
In this era, performers weren’t exactly waiting in line for the likes of them; it was pretty competitive out there.
Even without the Rising Sun Theater Group, theaters could still fill their schedules with other performing troupes.
As long as there’s a steady audience, performance organizations would come knocking.
More fame for the performers meant more income for the theaters; it was a classic win-win situation.
Unfortunately, the Rising Sun Theater Group had lost their biggest performance channel.
As a result, the group leader dreamed of developing their own theater, a community-run establishment.
The current theaters were essentially exclusive to the rich; it was a challenge for normal folks to even get a ticket, which were absurdly expensive—hence, being called “semi-upper class” wasn’t without reason.
If they could establish a grassroots theater, they could lower ticket prices and draw in more people.
While they might not rake in big bucks, that was perfectly fine.
The members of the Rising Sun Theater Group didn’t unite because of wealth; their greater desire was to perform, showcase their unique skills to the audience, and bask in the applause and cheers that represented recognition—ah, sweet inner satisfaction!
Some members even had plenty of money; they joined the troupe just for better performance opportunities.
With survival worries behind them, it was all about dreams now.
Aiming to become a top-notch theater group with thousands of loyal fans was their sole objective.
Then, the group leader led the troupe members to start cleaning up the dilapidated theater.
Night Lan stood by, watching and not intervening.
This was their story of struggle!
It felt so inspiring!
One could almost expect a comeback story that would lead to their glorious peak!
Just thinking about it made Night Lan giddy.
“Mmm~ I can already picture it!”
Right now, Night Lan was like a little ghost, observing the troupe members tidying up the abandoned theater up close.
Time ticked on.
Even while doing backbreaking work, the troupe members complained very little and were even having fun amidst the toil—now that’s rare!
Night Lan was darting around in secret, completely unbothered by boredom.
Her inner thoughts could probably be summed up as: “Wah, I wish I could chat with the seniors! The Enthusiastic Singer is singing while working — his voice is so stirring! Is he belting out a motivational battle song?!”
“And then there’s Thousand Faces — even though he’s just a skinny, handsome youth, he doesn’t have that spoiled brat vibe. Must be from a big family, huh? His thoughtful demeanor almost makes me sway! Thankfully, I’m a loli con and only have eyes for cute lolis.”
“Mmm~ And then we have Dance Fairy — just too cool! Every move she makes feels like dance, so graceful! Just so graceful! Utterly graceful!”
…
These were probably the excited voices within Night Lan’s head.
On the surface, she seemed calm and silent, but inside she was practically bursting with admiration for her seniors, like a little intern in fan mode.
If she were to be compared to an animal, she’d be like an exuberantly wagging little husky.
Maybe.
Time flew by, and eventually, the troupe leader and crew managed to tidy up the neglected theater somewhat.
Though it wasn’t quite sparkling clean, it was much better, even if some facilities couldn’t be completely fixed.
For those, the troupe would have to get creative.
Like, you know, doing the repairs themselves.
Simple facilities could definitely be fixed by them.
The rundown stage could be set up a bit, and anything beyond repair would just need to be tossed out and replaced.
Lots of things needed a makeover.
At least they had quite the reserve of funds from their past activities, so a little bit of spending wouldn’t hurt.
If they were going to develop their exclusive theater, they wouldn’t hold back on financial resources.
Night Lan continued watching, and if they didn’t finish on the first day, she’d come back to observe on the second day.
After her energy ran out, she’d send Night Star to take over.
As time passed, a few days rolled by.
The members of the Rising Sun Theater Group finally managed to refurbish the abandoned theater.
While it couldn’t rival the fancy ones out there, it looked quite decent.
Night Lan and Night Star observed from afar, lost in thought.
“Mmm~ Is this really how the original Rising Sun Theater looked back then? I can’t wait to see everyone perform inside! Is it happening soon?”
As Night Star contemplated this, she definitely heard the group leader’s plans.
He was currently discussing the upcoming performance with the troupe members.
“The theater is fully set up; now we only need an audience! This time, our show will be open to everyone—anyone can come! Are you all ready?”
The troupe members were visibly excited; it seemed their pent-up desire to perform was bursting to break free.
“Then let’s get to promoting! This formerly abandoned theater has no regular audience, so we’ll have to attract people through promotion. They need to know this theater exists before they’ll come! For our inaugural performance, we won’t charge for tickets, and I think you can all handle that.” The group leader said in his usual gentle manner.
Of course, the troupe members had no objections.
Thousand Faces smiled and said, “This is great! I know this one too: using the free entry gimmick to draw in a crowd—easy peasy, right?”
“Exactly,” the group leader nodded in affirmation.
After that, they discussed the performance schedule, setting it for the following afternoon to evening.
Once those details were set, the troupe members rushed out to promote.
Night Lan and Night Star secretly followed along, eager to see how the troupe members promoted.
Basically, they performed their talents in crowded places to draw people in, then loudly advertised the theater’s location and the time of the upcoming show.
I must admit, this promotional method was surprisingly effective.
Night Lan and Night Star were left in awe the entire time.
For a socially anxious loli like Night Lan, this level of promotion was like a doomsday self-sabotage!
Let’s face it, this method suited these social butterflies in the troupe. If Night Lan had joined in, she probably would have just awkwardly stood on the sidelines, wanting to melt into the ground!
Soon enough, evening rolled around.
The troupe’s promotional efforts concluded, and now it was just a waiting game for tomorrow.
Night Lan and Night Star returned to their little home to rest up, maintaining a good mental state for the day ahead.
A night passed.
As usual, Night Lan and Night Star got up, ready to check out the theater.
“By now, plenty of folks must know about the Rising Sun Theater’s existence. I wonder how many will come to see the show? I just hope I won’t get trampled…”
Night Star mumbled softly as she stepped out the door.
