Background Music 1

“Bang!”

Someone fired a ceremonial cannon overhead, and colorful confetti stored in the golden trumpet fluttered down, settling on Rachel’s deep chestnut curls.

“Hey! You must be a freshman this year, right?” The person who fired the cannon jumped down from a nearby flower bed, extending a friendly hand and promptly grabbing Rachel’s suitcase. “Need an experienced senior to show you around campus? Our sprawling campus is huge—if it weren’t for someone like me who knows it well, you might get lost after just a couple of circuits.”

Rachel plucked the colorful confetti off her eyelashes. “Uh, okay, thank you, senior.”

*

The annual freshman enrollment season at Origami University was also the prime time for club recruitment.

The entire campus was festooned with decorations—between the classic Pinoconi-style neon signs hung vibrant banners, and the banners themselves were somewhat haphazardly arranged, even the palm trees in the flower beds leaned this way and that.

The club booths lining the paths were fairly orderly—if you overlooked the piles of prizes stacked like small mountains and the balloons bobbing at varying heights. Many upperclassmen energetically waved flyers and loudly shouted their clubs’ names: “Don’t miss out! Join us and you’ll neither suffer losses nor be tricked!”

A lively advertisement board featuring a painted portrait of the owl principal bounced and jumped, getting kicked aside by the enthusiastic senior leading the way. It tumbled to the ground, stars spinning around it.

“My name’s Montana, I’m a year ahead of you and currently work in the student council—so introducing the campus to you freshmen earns me credits. Honestly, I highly recommend joining the student council after enrollment. It’s the fastest way to rack up credits, and you get noticed by the professors sooner…”

“Alright, the girls’ dorm is right here,” Montana said with a smile, pointing to the line of students waiting before the dorm supervisor. “Go on, make sure you snap up a spot on a higher floor. The Harmony College likes to practice their performances in the courtyard downstairs, so the lower floors can get noisy. Of course, you could always go back to reality to sleep—but the beds there aren’t nearly as good as the ones here.”

She waved at Rachel, the pink hem of her skirt swishing. “If you want to explore campus this afternoon, just find me anytime. The school festival’s pretty fun.”

*

Rachel lugged her suitcase, clutching the key given by the dorm supervisor, and pushed open the dorm door.

Starting university was really exhausting, especially since she had only managed to buy a third-class ticket on the spaceship traveling to Pinoconi.

The berth in the cabin was cramped. Glancing at the bed in the dorm—it was narrower than the school’s single beds and quite noisy. Throughout the journey, she hardly managed an hour of decent sleep.

But now… she had finally arrived here: Origami University.

Rachel set her luggage down on the floor, pulled out a chair, and sat for a while. The bright sunlight streamed warmly through the window, bathing her in its glow.

At last… she had carved out a path for herself.

Origami University, after all, was a prestigious school. As long as she studied hard and worked diligently at internships, she was sure to find a job. With a job, she could repay her student loans and gradually get her life on track.

As a traveler through time, who had crossed into the interstellar era, Rachel’s past eighteen years had been far from easy.

A runaway father, a sick mother, and the death of her grandmother when she was five had cut off the family’s last source of income—the old lady’s pension.

But Rachel had not despaired.

Relying on the maturity of a soul in her twenties that belied her youthful appearance—and the local government’s poverty subsidies—she had stood out as a top student on a planet so ordinary it barely ever made interstellar news. She had targeted Origami University, known for graduates whose salaries ranked among the highest across the galaxy, and successfully enrolled here.

The hardships of the past were behind her, but new challenges lay ahead. Rachel knew her struggle was not over; in this university teeming with overachievers, she’d have to work twice as hard to maintain her full scholarship and continue her studies.

Her green eyes lit up instantly, energized as if injected with adrenaline. She jumped up, rolling up her sleeves, and began organizing her belongings.

She hadn’t taken Montana’s advice. Instead, she requested a dorm room on the first floor.

After all, if she couldn’t sleep, earplugs could help—but the difference in accommodation fees between the first floor and the higher floors couldn’t be solved with just a pair of earplugs. Besides, students with a bit more financial leeway tended to avoid the busy first floor, so the rooms there, though large enough for two, only had one bed.

Private bathroom, bed, desk—if there were a kitchen, this could almost be called an apartment.

How wonderful.

She hung out a few changes of clothes and smiled broadly once more, then took a deep breath of the warm, sunlit air.

Though campus life was just beginning, she was already falling in love with Origami University.

*

Even though in dreams the dorm didn’t require a thorough cleaning—just putting things in their proper places—it was still tiring.

Rachel set an alarm and collapsed onto the freshly made bed.

Before exploring campus with Senior Montana in the afternoon, she needed a nap to restore her energy.

What did it feel like to sleep in a dream?

Rachel had no experience, but it felt somewhat similar yet different from when she entered dreams through a dream device.

She still sensed waves gathering around her, pulling her gradually into the ocean’s depths. Her body felt no pressure, completely relaxed. Faint, indistinct sounds floated in her ears, like hypnotic white noise.

But this time, after the brief white noise, she heard a song:

Outside the window, the night flows with dazzling light

Don’t forget to close your eyes to truly wake

You play a role, changing your guise

How am I to guess the riddle’s end?

...

This song is really beautiful.

Dream-Rachel thought, feeling as if she had lived through this song before—probably before her time travel. The singer’s voice was very familiar; she must have grown up listening to this artist. Perhaps before she fell to living on grants and scholarships, she had once fought tooth and nail with everyone around her to snatch tickets to this singer’s concert.

Who was singing this song?

Her subconscious?

She hadn’t thought about her pre-time-travel life for a long time. What was this—?

The alarm clock rang.

The familiar vibration jolted Rachel upright. In recent years, it was precisely this kind of spirit and skill that had helped her survive fierce competition among students across an entire planet.

The song in her dream hadn’t finished, and Rachel felt a tinge of regret. It was truly lovely—if she were hearing it for the first time, she would have called it stunning.

She swung her legs off the bed, not dwelling on the dream, grabbed a small loaf of bread, and messaged Montana while nibbling.

Rachel chirped: Senior~

Rachel chirped: [Puppy peeking sticker]

Rachel chirped: I’m here!

*

Montana was an extremely enthusiastic senior.

Soon she was standing outside the girls’ dormitory, waving eagerly when she spotted Rachel. “Over here, over here!”

She warmly linked arms with Rachel. “Let’s hurry. Guess who I just saw at the student council? Miss Robin! And her brother, Mr. Sunday!”

There were probably very few people in the entire universe who didn’t know Robin. The world-renowned cosmic superstar, releasing classic, catchy new songs every year. She was also a kind philanthropist, a pacifist who frequently appeared in the most dangerous war zones, using her influence to protect children, elders, and women in conflict areas.

Moreover, she was a distinguished alumna of Origami University.

“And I heard she’s holding a talk for students this afternoon. They’ve kept it under wraps until now to avoid fans gathering near campus,” Montana said excitedly. “Let’s go together!”

*

The student council’s information was accurate. Led by Montana, Rachel took a seat in the front row of the talk.

Of course, they weren’t fast enough to get the very best seats and ended up slightly off-center, with a partial backstage view.

When Miss Robin stepped lightly onto the stage, Rachel cheered along with the other students. Amid the thunderous applause, she spotted a gentleman quietly standing backstage, smiling as he watched Robin.

Behind him hung a solemn halo, wings near his ears, dressed in a neat pale outfit, with features somewhat resembling Robin’s.

There was no doubt this was Mr. Sunday.

He seemed to sense Rachel’s gaze and turned his head to look in her direction.

In the brief instant their eyes met, a crisp snap echoed—like someone snapping their fingers sharply—and suddenly a bright light struck Rachel’s mind. She heard a rhythmic, powerful voice, even louder than Robin’s:

Young man, there's no need to feel down

I said young man, pick yourself off the ground

I said young man, 'cause you're in a new town

There's no need to be unhappy

Young man, there's a place you can go

I said young man, when you're short on your dough

You can stay there, and I'm sure you will find

Many ways to have a good time

It's fun to stay at the YMCA

...

Rachel: Huh?

Rachel: Wait, what?! This is—