Chapter 99: Side Story 1: Starting a Comic Convention Adventure from Scratch
PS: This side story is unrelated to the main plot. It's about the three girls spending their vacation at a comic convention. Written purely for fun, so you can skip it if you want.
"Ah-choo!"
Far away in Shanghai, Yu Wanwan suddenly sneezed.
"You just got off the phone with Pu Tong and now you're sneezing. What's going on with you?" asked Yi Zhi Xuenai.
She stared at Yu Wanwan with sparkling anticipation.
Stare—
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Yu Wanwan glanced at her cautiously.
Somehow, she was certain the girl was plotting something.
"I'm thinking... what cosplay would look best on you!"
"I'm not cosplaying. I'll go with you to have fun, but I've never done cosplay before!" Yu Wanwan shook her head in refusal.
"That's such a shallow way to think!" Xuenai protested. "Yuxi and I are both cosplaying. Are you really going to betray us?"
"Lin Yuxi is cosplaying too?" Yu Wanwan tilted her head toward Lin Yuxi.
"She said she'd pick something relatively normal for me," Lin Yuxi explained. "Actually, I'm quite interested in cosplay. In traditional dance, we also dress up as characters to tell stories."
"I've always wanted to visit a convention. Since I live in Shanghai, every convention is practically right next door—but because of my identity, I've never been able to attend."
At the mention of comic conventions, even Lin Yuxi looked genuinely excited.
For Yi Zhi Xuenai, a convention was simply a gathering of anime fans and cosplayers.
But for Lin Yuxi, it was an entirely unfamiliar world. Just as she cherished formal balls, she was equally curious and excited about experiencing this kind of unique gathering.
Meanwhile, Xuenai was already plotting how to recruit Yu Wanwan.
A girl this pretty not trying cosplay would be such a waste!
"I've... never been to a convention," Yu Wanwan admitted sheepishly.
Although she came from a wealthy family, she actually had very little freedom to go out. In many ways, she was practically a shut-in.
"It's okay! I'll pick something perfectly normal for you. Nothing weird, I promise!"
"I... I'd better not."
Yu Wanwan was obviously tempted, but she still couldn't make up her mind.
Xuenai decided to use her ultimate weapon.
There was only one reason capable of convincing Yu Wanwan.
"Pu Tong absolutely loves anime and cosplay! If he saw you in cosplay, he'd probably be too excited to sleep!"
"...Why bring him up?"
Yu Wanwan frowned, but her heart couldn't help itching a little.
"It's okay if you don't cosplay," Lin Yuxi hurriedly mediated. "Let's just go have fun together! We can take lots of pictures of cute cosplayers and send them to Pu Tong. He'll regret not coming!"
"...Huh?"
Everything else was fine.
But that?
That was completely unacceptable.
Even though Yu Wanwan knew Lin Yuxi was trying to trick her, she suddenly found herself wanting to try cosplay.
In a way, cosplay wasn't so different from acting. Both relied on costumes and makeup to bring a character to life.
Besides...
It wouldn't be bad if someone got to admire her.
"...Maybe I'll give it a try?"
"I've been waiting for you to say that!"
Xuenai grinned triumphantly.
Only then did Yu Wanwan realize...
She had boarded a pirate ship.
Xuenai was practically a veteran in the cosplay community and knew plenty of people. Finding costumes for the three of them wasn't difficult.
Lin Yuxi was tall and elegant, so Xuenai chose a classic maid outfit for her.
The black-and-white dress perfectly complemented her graceful temperament, making her look as though she'd stepped straight out of an anime.
"Wow... that's really nice."
Yu Wanwan's eyes lit up.
She decided to trust Yukino's professional judgment.
"Here, this one's yours."
Xuenai tossed her a JK school uniform.
It was even the type people wore casually in everyday life.
"You're still a beginner, so let's keep it simple."
"That's it?"
Yu Wanwan felt that high-level cosplay might be too much for her, but...
A JK uniform?
They were everywhere already.
Wasn't that too ordinary?
How was Pu Tong supposed to be impressed by something so common?
"Oh? Not satisfied?" Xuenai laughed mischievously. "Looks like we'll have to raise the difficulty."
Just as Yu Wanwan wondered what she would pull out...
Xuenai produced a pair of cat ears.
"Ta-da! Cat-ear JK girl!"
Yu Wanwan accepted them with an odd expression.
Apparently this was the extent of Xuenai's imagination.
Still...
For a complete beginner like herself, cat ears plus a JK uniform were just within her comfort zone.
Not too plain.
Not too embarrassing.
"What about you?" she asked.
Both Lin Yuxi and Yu Wanwan were curious what Xuenai had prepared for herself.
"I'm a veteran otaku. You think I'd dress like amateurs like you?"
Without another word, Xuenai pulled out an enormous fluffy tail.
Both girls jumped in surprise.
Yu Wanwan reached out and touched it.
It had straps and buckles—it would simply be fastened around the waist.
Soon, Xuenai brought out the rest of the costume.
The first thing they noticed...
...was a pair of dragon horns.
"What's that?"
"You wouldn't know even if I told you. A dragon girl."
She paused.
"...A loli."
Yu Wanwan and Lin Yuxi exchanged glances.
Well...
She certainly suited a loli character.
The good news:
She perfectly resembled one.
The bad news:
She perfectly resembled one.
"Don't look at me like that!"
Xuenai stomped her foot indignantly.
"I'm just making full use of my natural advantages!"
"By the way... there won't be crazy fans at the convention, right?"
After all, they were celebrities.
Public events always required caution.
"You really don't understand anime nerds."
Xuenai smiled.
"Otaku are fearless online but incredibly shy in real life."
Even so...
Better safe than sorry.
Yu Wanwan quietly called her father and requested a few plainclothes bodyguards to follow them.
Money solved everything.
Although Yu Zhongheng wasn't thrilled about his daughter attending a comic convention...
After thinking about it...
As long as Pu Tong wasn't there...
Anywhere was acceptable.
Once they finished dressing up, the three girls couldn't help laughing.
Sunglasses?
Check.
Face masks?
Check.
Safety shorts?
Check.
Fully equipped.
"Let's take a picture first!"
Yu Wanwan had everyone remove their masks before gathering together for a selfie.
"Sending it to Pu Tong?" Lin Yuxi asked suspiciously.
"N-No...
I'm just keeping it for myself!"
Laughing and chatting, they climbed into the car and headed toward the International Convention and Exhibition Center.
"...I'm getting nervous."
Yu Wanwan suddenly felt terribly embarrassed about the cat ears on her head.
She should've stuck with the ordinary JK uniform.
"Relax! It's nothing serious."
Xuenai waved casually.
"The hardest part is probably signing autographs. Think of it as a fan meeting."
"Get lost!"
Yu Wanwan was now certain she'd boarded a pirate ship.
After getting out of the car...
The endless queue outside the venue left them speechless.
Xuenai had expected it.
Lin Yuxi and Yu Wanwan, however, were completely stunned.
"It's okay!"
Xuenai proudly waved her VIP ticket.
"We can use the VIP entrance!"
"I see..."
Yu Wanwan nodded without mentioning that even the bodyguards secretly following them also had VIP tickets.
To Yu Zhongheng...
Anything that could be solved with money wasn't a problem.
Even behind sunglasses and masks, the three girls attracted countless glances as they entered.
Once inside...
They fell silent again.
The convention was packed.
Golden Week had drawn an enormous crowd.
Yu Wanwan quietly snapped a photo to preserve the breathtaking scene.
Following the flow of people, they arrived at the graffiti wall near the entrance.
"Want to write something?"
Xuenai expertly explained.
"You can leave a wish, draw something... whatever you like."
Yu Wanwan and Lin Yuxi looked around.
Most messages were simple wishes.
"Hope I get a girlfriend this year."
"Ten-pull, double SSRs!"
"Let's write something too," Lin Yuxi suggested.
"Sure."
Xuenai drew Doraemon.
Lin Yuxi wrote four elegant characters:
"Dance with grace and versatility."
Yu Wanwan wrote:
"A story that began with twenty centimeters of distance."
"...What does that even mean?"
Yukino frowned.
"I don't get it."
Lin Yuxi seemed to understand something...
But wisely chose not to comment.
As they continued walking, the crowd gradually dispersed.
"So where first?" Yu Wanwan asked.
Neither she nor Lin Yuxi had ever experienced anything like this.
Naturally...
Xuenai took command.
"Do either of you play mobile games?"
Both shook their heads.
"Then we can skip the mobile game booths."
Like a seasoned guide, Xuenai led them through various ACG booths.
While Yu Wanwan and Lin Yuxi admired cute merchandise...
They noticed Xuenai staring at...
...rather suspicious items.
"What are you looking at?"
"Children shouldn't ask!"
Xuenai answered righteously.
After all...
Fan-made doujin books clearly weren't something the other two would appreciate.
She alone would enjoy them.
"Why are there so many embarrassing products..."
Yu Wanwan glanced around.
The posters...
Body pillows...
Mouse pads...
Everything seemed unbelievably shameless.
As a complete newcomer, she'd never seen anything like this.
Why did a mouse pad have such an overly revealing anime loli printed on it?
...Did Pu Tong actually like this kind of thing?
They didn't buy anything.
Only Xuenai browsed all kinds of strange merchandise with great satisfaction.
Eventually they reached the cosplay area.
There, they finally removed their masks and sunglasses.
Yu Wanwan glanced toward the bodyguards subtly blending into the crowd.
Nothing to worry about.
"That cat-ear girl looks like Yu Wanwan..."
"No way. Wanwan isn't into anime."
Two college girls watched from afar.
The more they looked...
The more convinced they became.
"Wait...
If that's Yu Wanwan...
Then aren't those Lin Yuxi and Yi Zhi Xuenai beside her?"
Only then did they realize the seriousness of the situation.
"YU WANWAN!"
One of them finally couldn't contain her excitement and shouted.
The voice wasn't especially loud...
Yet somehow it spread like ripples.
Soon...
A commotion erupted.
People all around realized...
Those three really were Yu Wanwan, Lin Yuxi, and Yi Zhi Xuenai.
Even vendors from nearby booths abandoned their stalls to watch.
Three celebrities attending a comic convention together...
That was huge news.
Xuenai had attended before.
But for Lin Yuxi and Yu Wanwan...
It was a first.
Even if anime fans didn't pay much attention to show business...
Pretty girls were still pretty girls.
Yu Wanwan felt her cat ears growing hotter and hotter.
As though they'd become real.
Of course...
She knew it was only psychological.
"Xuenai came again this year!"
someone shouted.
"I did!
And I brought two friends with me!"
Oddly enough, although Xuenai was usually shy, she became remarkably outgoing in this environment.
Her fans might constantly comment online:
"I'm Xuenai's dog!"
But offline?
Most didn't even dare ask for a photo.
Otaku were like that.
"Wanwan!"
A young man suddenly called her name.
"Yes?"
She instinctively answered.
"Where's Pu Tong?"
Yu Wanwan froze.
How was she supposed to respond?
"Are you dating Pu Tong?" he continued.
"No."
She smiled.
It was the truth.
"Great!"
The young man immediately sighed in relief.
"Pu Tong can only be my husband!"
"...?"
The entire area exploded with laughter.
Only someone that outrageous could say something like that.
Yu Wanwan was stunned.
She'd mentally prepared herself to compete with Pu Tong's female fans.
Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined she'd also have to compete with his male fans.
As the crowd kept growing, convention security quickly stepped in.
Causing trouble wasn't their intention.
After taking a few photos with fans and signing several autographs...
The three girls left under the protection of security staff.
They had only explored for half a day.
Considering the growing attention they were attracting, they decided to head home early.
"So?"
Xuenai proudly crossed her arms.
"Pretty fun, right?"
She could clearly tell that both Lin Yuxi and Yu Wanwan had enjoyed themselves.
"It was fun."
Lin Yuxi smiled.
"But the maid outfit you picked was way too hot."
During Golden Week, Shanghai's weather was already quite warm.
Many summer cosplay outfits were sweltering, even with cooling patches.
"Oh?
You think this maid outfit is too conservative?"
Xuenai grinned wickedly.
"Next time I'll prepare something much more revealing."
"If I wore something revealing, at least it'd be worth looking at."
She glanced at Xuenai.
"You, on the other hand..."
"What exactly do you mean by that?!"
Feeling personally attacked, Xuenai immediately started arguing with her.
Yu Wanwan ignored their playful bickering.
Sitting quietly in the corner...
She typed away on her phone.
She was sending every photo she'd taken at the convention...
To a certain deskmate.
Then she typed one final message.
"Next time, you have to come too. It's a promise."
Happy 520, everyone!
I don't really have anything special to give you all, so I wrote this little side story instead.
This story has nothing to do with the main plot, which is why I placed it in the side stories.
The male lead has his own story, but the other characters have lives of their own as well.
I really love these characters, so I wanted to write this little extra chapter for them.
I love you all!
— Er Er Er Er Er Er
(End of Chapter)
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