Chapter 7: The Announcer Returns
Night Star shoved all her worries aside and prepared to head out.
Her daily world was pretty much limited to her house and the Rising Sun Theater. Beyond that, she really had nowhere else to go.
After stepping out, Night Star wandered over to the neighboring door and knocked on it.
Ding-dong!
“Is Mo Tu there?”
However, she waited for quite a while but heard no response from inside.
Night Star pondered for a moment and continued, “If you don’t come out, I’ll turn you into a loli!”
But even after saying this, the room remained silent.
Night Star was certain now.
“Hmm… he must be out of town, White Yuan mentioned that Mo Tu had taken leave. Could he have gone on a holiday? I bet he’s off having fun.”
Night Star muttered to herself, figuring she would have to wait and find out later.
She now needed to head over to the theater to see Lotus and check out her latest puppet show. That was just another day in her routine.
—
Earlier that morning,
The Rising Sun Theater was visited by an uninvited guest who received a rather enthusiastic “welcome” from all the theater members.
A cute black-haired loli stood at the entrance, smiling and greeting each group member. “Long time no see, everyone! Do you still remember me?”
The theater leader, gentleman, and the Fraudster remained silent.
The puppet master looked puzzled, completely unaware of this girl.
The singer, however, seemed to be biting back laughter, looking extremely uncomfortable.
Lotus pulled on the theater leader’s sleeve, asking, “Leader, who is this girl?”
The leader hesitated before slowly replying, “If I’m not mistaken… You should be the announcer, right?”
Lotus was completely shocked.
“What!? So the announcer is a little girl?!”
The gentleman adjusted his hat.
“If my memory is correct… The announcer shouldn’t look like this.”
The Fraudster smirked.
“But her soul is indeed that of the former announcer. This much can’t deceive me. But why does she look like this now?”
Mo Tu responded with a bitter smile.
“Well, it’s a long story. Something bad happened, but please don’t worry about trivial matters.”
The leader asked, “So, do you have any business coming back to the troupe?”
Mo Tu smiled cutely. Despite being a loli for the first time, she adapted perfectly and displayed her unique charm.
“Of course! Might I ask, could I rejoin the troupe, Mr. Leader? Suddenly, I’ve developed a renewed interest in the theater. I want to serve as the announcer again and contribute whatever small efforts I can.”
The leader fell into deep thought and finally nodded.
“Welcome back, Announcer.”
“Thank you, respected Leader.”
Then the Fraudster moved closer to Mo Tu.
“Since you want to rejoin, it means you’re ready, right?”
“Just start.”
In a second, Fraudster’s powers enveloped Mo Tu’s body, altering her essence instantly; her inner stars transformed into star eclipses. An eerie aura resembling the other troupe members spread forth.
This way, she didn’t need to expend extra energy to resist the eclipse contamination.
Plus, becoming a star eclipse wasn’t all that bad; at least her soul remained intact.
Otherwise, she’d truly be a star eclipse now.
Suddenly, Fraudster grabbed the collar of Mo Tu’s robe and hoisted her up.
“Announcer, you’re more pleasant-looking now than the you I remember. How about sticking with this appearance forever?”
Mo Tu groaned internally and gave an unpleasant smile.
“Fraudster, your actions are uncouth. I am a lady now, could you let me down and we talk properly?”
At this point, the gentleman chimed in.
“The announcer’s right. Rude behavior is never well-received.”
Fraudster glared at Mo Tu and then glanced at the gentleman.
“Announcer, you’re effortlessly appropriating gentlemen’s etiquette, just as in my memories.”
“Do I? I think what I said was pretty normal,” Mo Tu replied, playing dumb.
Fraudster didn’t press further and gently put Mo Tu down.
“Alright, next, get acquainted with the new troupe members, Puppet Master and Audience Performer. They are both lovely ladies, just like you.”
“I know that already. No need for Fraudster’s concern.”
“Okay, if you say so.”
With that, the leader, gentleman, and Fraudster retreated into the shadows, restoring the theater to its original quiet state.
Mo Tu looked at the snickering singer and asked, “Why are you still laughing, Singer? It’s making me feel terrible.”
“Haha… because… because you look really adorable now, and I can’t help but laugh given how much has changed.”
Mo Tu laughed helplessly.
“Guess this is karma.”
Hearing this, the singer remarked, “Well, it serves you right. Who asked you to provoke the Audience Performer when she was drunk? That was your karma.”
“Guess it’s my own fault.”
“Are you going to ask the Audience Performer to revert you?”
“Nah, for now, I’m fine. This form lets me do more interesting things, like rejoining the troupe.”
The singer pondered briefly.
“You are one weird person, Announcer. Facing such a situation without panicking at all. ”
“Just because I’ve already freaked out.”
After a pause, Mo Tu added, “Singer, the Audience Performer doesn’t know about this, right?”
“Yep, she probably did it subconsciously. So she might not know.”
“Please keep it secret for now, don’t let her know about my current condition.”
“Why?”
“Just don’t want her to gloat. I’m afraid she’d mock me and give me a humiliating title. If possible, I’d rather avoid that.”
“But surely, it won’t stay hidden for long?”
“Let it be. Eventually, when it comes to light, then so be it.”
The singer thought for a moment and nodded. “Fine, considering how pitiful you look right now, I’ll help you keep this a secret temporarily.”
“Thanks, Singer.”
“No need to thank me.”
Their friendly discussion left Lotus a bit dazed, unable to follow their conversation.
The sudden appearance of the Announcer truly shocked everyone.
Lotus hadn’t fully processed it yet when a voice rang through the theater channel.
“Lotus, I’m here!”
Upon hearing the voice, everyone knew that the Audience Performer had arrived.
