Chapter One: The Bear Who Wouldn't Take Off Its Head

When Xu Xinghe received the offer to join a world tour, he was singing “Sleepless Galaxy” in the basement of a shopping mall for a mattress store three days from bankruptcy. Seven years ago, the song had made him famous. Now his audience consisted of three people sheltering from the rain, a sleeping security guard, and a recorded voice announcing a discount beside the escalator. The speakers died during the chorus. Xinghe finished the last line anyway and listened to his bare voice strike the metal shutters. His phone rang. “The Luminous World Tour. Twelve cities. Opening act,” his manager, Old Tang, said in one breath. “One condition. You have to look after the sponsor's mascot.”