The "Starlight" of Myawaddy
Old Wang was assigned to be in charge of the park's evening light show. Calling it a light show was an exaggeration; it was just a few flashing LED lights, changing colors monotonously, barely enough to provide some psychological comfort to those with poor "performance." Old Wang was a lighting technician by trade, tricked from a production crew to this Myawaddy in northern Myanmar. Every day, he mechanically repeated operations with no technical content, having long lost the passion he once had for lighting design.
But today, his fingers were trembling slightly, not from electric shocks, but from seeing a familiar figure. It was "Star," a female celebrity who was once incredibly famous, now standing in front of the "Performance Ranking" in a cheap uniform, head bowed. Her makeup was smudged, her eyes hollow, completely different from her glamorous image on the screen.
Old Wang was jolted. Memories of late nights working in the production crew, designing lighting plans, and coordinating her movements for filming flooded back. He suddenly had an idea; perhaps he could use lights to send a message. He remembered that Star once said their crew’s lighting code was cool.
He adjusted the light's frequency and color. Three short, two long, three short, that was their crew's code, meaning "be careful."
He observed Star’s reaction. Star didn’t seem to notice, still looking down. Old Wang repeated it several times, starting to get anxious. Just then, Star suddenly raised her head, a glimmer of light in her eyes, and slowly extended her right hand, making a gesture that would only appear in a movie. She used her index and middle fingers to make a "V" sign.
Old Wang was stunned for a moment, then understood the meaning. This gesture meant "received," but he didn't understand why Star made this gesture. Did she also want to send him a message?
After making the gesture, Star lowered her head again, no longer looking at the lights.
In the following days, Old Wang sent the "be careful" signal every day, but Star did not respond again. Old Wang thought Star might have given up, or perhaps she didn't recognize him at all. He was very disappointed, even a little self-deprecating about his sentimentality.
Until a month later, a team of police suddenly arrived at the park. They controlled the entire park with lightning speed and began to rescue those trapped.
Old Wang was also in the group being rescued. He saw Star from afar. This time, Star raised her head, a faint smile on her face. She walked towards Old Wang, extended her hand, holding a note. It read:
"Thank you for the reminder, Old Wang. Actually, I joined them a long time ago. This is the freest place here; performance is the most important thing."
Old Wang looked at the note and suddenly understood. Their crew's code was "be careful," while Star’s gesture was the local "V," representing "victory." And he, in his foolishness, had been sending useless signals for so long. It turned out his cautious concern was, in her eyes, just a ridiculous joke.
The flashing LED lights still changed colors monotonously, just like the unchanging rules here.