The Greatest Showman #1039 - Stars Shine

It's not your typical Renly, so unfamiliar.

Sitting quietly on the high stool, holding a guitar, he sang to his heart's content, letting his emotions run wild—loss, loneliness, and confusion released instantly in the rawness of the song.

No longer hiding, no longer restraining, no longer suppressing, no longer calm.

That roar full of bitterness and despair burst out with the release of rock and roll spirit, firm and tough, but for the first time, it showed the fragility and wounds in the heart. He lost the mask of elegance and calmness, lost the poisonous invulnerability—the armor of the invasion. Renly stayed where he was, trying to be strong, silently remembering.

"Yes, I care."

Such a simple lyric smashed all lines of defense.

Standing in the crowd, Lauren Messler burst into tears, unable to stop the flood of emotions that slammed into her chest, causing dull pain. Staring at Renly, who was broken before her, she couldn't express her mixed emotions. She just wanted to tell him: yes, she cares too.

Even the faintest ray of light was part of the night sky; and this ray of Renly's really lit up her life, and she cared so much that she could barely breathe.

So, Lauren raised her right hand high, turned on her flashlight, and cast a beam of light on the stage.

That faint light, in the sparse and bright sunlight of the early morning, seemed insignificant, quietly lost in the vast halo, as if it did not exist at all. In the huge universe, it is even smaller than dust, empty and forgotten.

However, this was not the only ray of light.

First Robin Helzer, then Lauren Messler, then Tessa Britton... more and more lights. Slowly, they spread over the entire square.

Paul Walker left the studio and stood on the doorstep, holding his phone high, illuminating the stage with a beam of light, followed by Jennifer Lawrence, Alexander Skarsgård... the entire "Edge of Tomorrow" crew all appeared on the steps at the door, united as one.

Ellie Cross stood on the right side of the stage, covering her mouth tightly, but she still couldn't stop the tears and broken emotions. She turned to her husband, her chin raised, excited yet emotional. "That's Heather, have you seen it? That's Heather's light, someone cares, Derek, someone cares."

Derrick Cross gritted his teeth, but he still couldn't control his emotions. His eyes filled with tears, and he didn't move, lest the tears break free. He remembered the night, the night that belonged to Heather, when Renly stepped onto the stage of Pioneer Village and sang loudly, "Go on," with a bright smile on Heather's face as if she owned the whole world.

Now, she did have the whole world.

The rays of light, more and more, gradually converged into one piece. The bright and dazzling cream-yellow rays of light filled every corner of the line of sight little by little. The pale golden sunlight seemed to fade as all the rays of light gathered, like a beam of skylight from above, stirring up billions of starlights and shrouding the center of the stage. The dazzling rays of light were so intense they almost blinded everyone's eyes.

At that moment, Rockefeller Plaza really burst out with radiance. One thousand people, ten thousand people, twenty thousand people... Countless faint rays of light, those insignificant rays of light, condensed together and became the sunlight of the sky, illuminating the whole world—so magical, so wonderful.

Sitting cross-legged in front of the TV, Rooney Mara finally understood the meaning of the sentence: "Who cares if another light goes out, in a sky full of stars."

On the night of the Oscars ceremony, the humming tune evolved into the melody of the stage. It was so beautiful it made people want to melt. With open arms, you could own the world.

Through the small screen, Rooney traced Renly's handsome brows in detail, a touch of sadness and melancholy over them. Sadness and heavy emotions bound her, like the shackles of the soul. The sigh and helplessness of death were like smoke and fog, always lingering. People often think that pain will pass with time, but sometimes, it doesn't.

After that tiny ray of light disappeared, after that dim star fell, the world is still the world, the revolution is still the revolution, gravity is still gravity—it seems nothing has changed. But for some, their world was turned upside down, torn apart, and would never be the same again.

Rooney curled her legs, wrapping her hands around her knees, resting her chin on her knees, and watched Renly silently. One after another, the musical symbols danced and jumped lightly on the tongue, showing a hint of bitterness and loneliness, but left a sweetness and happiness behind, hidden in the singing, with wings of freedom soaring freely.

In the depths of her eyes, a touch of sadness flickered briefly, followed by a shallow smile, outlining the shape of happiness. She saw it, saw the billions of stars in the audience, the dazzling light that could eclipse the day, and saw the group of Don Quixotes who raised their right hands.

Renly, too, couldn't help but tilt his head slightly to the side, his lips curling into a subtle smile. He quietly enjoyed the touching moment that belonged to that man.

After roaring, Renly let out a soft breath, opened his eyes again, and continued to sing, "If they say, who cares if another light goes out..."

At this moment, the lights in front of him became clear. One after another, the stars—ranging from the glow of fireflies to the brilliance of the moon—slowly connected into a vast sea. The milky-yellow ocean was so vast and majestic that even the sunlight above the sky was eclipsed, filling every corner of sight and blurring everything, leaving only a dazzling halo that illuminated the entire sky.

Renly's voice trembled slightly, emotions crashing into his chest. Every lyric came from the depths of his soul, awakening all the memories once more. The surging emotions felt like waves. Without any time to react, his eyes welled up.

Renly steadied himself, trying his best to control his voice, and continued singing: "Under the billions of stars in the sky, they are twinkling, twinkling..."

But in just one breath, the entire Rockefeller Plaza transformed into a vast ocean of starlight. The magnificent light stretched to the horizon. Renly's voice choked in his throat, unable to continue. He had to pause, adjusting his emotions before he could continue: "Who cares about the end of someone's time, if we're only a drop in the ocean, let's hurry up, hurry up."

The dark tide surged, shaking every musical note. Renly's voice trembled, almost unsupportable, with every gentle quiver describing his emotion at this moment.

He had once thought no one would care, no one would care about a girl named Heather Cross, whose life was forever fixed in the winter of New York. She and Sisyphus, walking alone, immersed in their own world, silently moving forward.

But he was wrong.

The dazzling sea of light in front of him was majestic and vast, even more expansive than the universe itself. Each beam of light was weak and small, but together, they formed a starry sky that overshadowed the sun. He believed Heather was in it, a tiny beam of light that accompanied him unswervingly, continuing forward.

At that very moment, Renly's emotions collapsed. Standing on the stage, helpless, dazed, lost, and flustered, "Who cares..." The song broke off, the guitar stopped. Renly closed his eyes in embarrassment, ruthlessly suppressing the turbulence, and hurriedly apologized: "Sorry."

Lauren bit her lower lip tightly and raised her right hand. The lights on her phone flickered like a blinking star. She tried her best to suppress herself, offering the simplest yet most touching way to express inner support.

Every starlight was a heartbeat answering Renly's call; every starlight was an important existence that made the sky full of stars; every starlight was a Don Quixote pursuing dreams and embracing freedom.

Then, the world flickered, and the starlight filled the sky, overshadowing everything. Even the white-collar staff in the high-rise buildings fell into shock and silently took out their phones, turning on the light and projecting it from top to bottom.

At this moment, Rockefeller Plaza was the center of the world.

Renly took a deep breath, lowered his eyelids, and began to play the guitar again, singing in a deep voice, his hoarse voice outlining a trembling expression in the brilliance of the sky: "Who cares if another light goes out, yes, I care."

The graceful, moving melody, like a spring, gurgled softly, with faintly nasal singing, holding the weight of the soul, whispering softly: "Yes, I care."

The music lingered in the square, and even though the melody ended, the turbulent waves deep in his heart had just begun.