The curtain has fallen on the Shenzhen Revue Starlight Only stage, drawing a wonderful full stop to this summer. A minor hiccup before the show only added a touch of fantastical charm to this journey. This summer, the Fox-Cat Duo achieved great success with a perfect attendance performance record; standing on stage and hearing the cheers from the audience made all the nonstop rehearsals and running around completely worthwhile.
Today on stage, I managed to hold my composure, portraying a cool, handsome "Banana-niisan" for three whole minutes in this Nana Daiba cosplay. The price of maintaining that cool aura for those few minutes on stage was spending the entire morning consciously suppressing my smiles. In reality, when Xiaye isn't being goofy, she actually has quite an impressive commanding presence. Today's stage was thoroughly exhilarating, especially during the partner scenes with Mahiru Tsuyuzaki; that brief instant where we exchanged smiles at the stage wings dissolved all tension, leaving only unspoken chemistry and sheer enjoyment on stage.
I must give a special shout-out to Shiguang's baton and hammer toss and catch. Tossing and catching handcrafted props live on stage naturally carries risks, demanding exceptional precision in timing and force. The moment the hammer traced an arc through the air and was caught firmly, the energy in the entire hall surged straight into the chorus climax. In the frame where the shutter caught the catch, the expression on my face was sheer ecstatic delight—an authentic look of surprise that cannot be faked. Looking back at the preview photos later, the shot of the hammer and stage lights converging had incredible atmosphere.
Listening to "Yoki na Ittousei" (Joyful First-Magnitude Star) and "Star Divine", it felt like the ending credits to this long journey, bringing countless unforgettable memories flooding back. Remembering the long-awaited sumimi awakening at Guangzhou Bang-Only, the scene of the Fox-Cat Duo's first meeting, the "try not to laugh" challenge and clever choreo at Guilin Bang-Only, plus that sweat-drenched sister duo stage in the Dongguan typhoon weather, and the two consecutive days of demanding singing, dancing, and flower-scattering moments at Guangzhou Revue Starlight Only. Station after station passes on the train, but the Fox-Cat Duo is always headed to the next stage.
It was likely the seed planted while watching Revue Starlight that made me love sparkling stages so much, and why I fell in love with stage photography. I adore how lights, expressions, vocals, and dance moves click in sync, frozen into an instant under the catalyst of the camera shutter. Though there are often hazy regrets of missed focus alongside unpredictable mishaps and surprises in the next second, it is precisely these uncertainties that make it so addictive. That must be the adrenaline that drives me to retouch photos the very day an event wraps up. Looping the day's setlist in my headphones while reminiscing over stage moments acts as an overtime pass soothing post-con withdrawal.
I truly love the Fox-Cat Duo's stage. Shiguang and Xiaye's singing and dancing skills are already impressive, but what moves people even more is their pure, profound love for these characters as ordinary individuals—singing the songs they love, making their passion undeniably contagious. I hope to see the Fox-Cat Duo sing more songs of their own choosing in the future, witnessing even more touching, thrilling moments. I hope that years later, looking back on these words and photos, I will still unhesitatingly say: this was an unforgettable summer.