Chapter 8: The Anime Convention
When people think of anime conventions, the first things that usually come to mind are all kinds of cosplay, anime dances, and buying or selling merchandise from their favorite anime series.
Besides that, there are also autograph events for anime idols, voice actors, and writers.
As a long-time user of Li-Station, Li Nuo had often dreamed of one day standing on an anime convention stage and singing as a virtual anime idol.
Of course, it was only a dream.
With his timid personality, there was no way he could actually do it.
Today was Sunday, the day he and Zhou Qikuan had agreed to visit the convention together.
However, Zhou Qikuan had sent him a QQ message the previous night, asking him to stop by his house before heading to the convention.
He refused to explain why.
Still, since Zhou Qikuan had paid for the ticket, Li Nuo agreed.
Zhou Qikuan's house was located in the center of the city.
And it was a standalone villa.
Li Nuo had already heard at school that Zhou Qikuan's family was rich, but seeing it with his own eyes was still shocking.
There was a private swimming pool, a private movie theater, and many other luxurious facilities.
The expensive decorations and countless rare collectibles left him dazzled.
Following the family butler, he walked for nearly ten minutes before finally arriving at a beautifully designed building.
After the butler went inside, Zhou Qikuan eventually came out.
Looking at him, Li Nuo clicked his tongue.
"I never expected it. Turns out I'm the clown here."
"What are you talking about? What clown?"
"You never told me your family was this rich."
"I did tell you. My family is in business."
"What kind of business?"
"Real estate."
Hearing Zhou Qikuan casually say something so outrageous almost made Li Nuo want to punch him.
Real estate was not just some ordinary business.
Before, he had assumed Zhou Qikuan was simply a rich second-generation kid.
Who would have thought he was actually the young master of a truly wealthy family?
"Forget that. Come inside already."
Seeing Li Nuo standing there in shock, Zhou Qikuan grabbed him and pulled him inside.
The moment Li Nuo entered, he was stunned again.
The entire building was filled from floor to ceiling with anime merchandise and figurines.
Some of them were limited editions and custom-made collector's items worth a fortune.
A true anime fan's collection could probably buy a house, Li Nuo thought.
"Stop standing around and come here."
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
"You'll find out."
Completely confused, Li Nuo followed him deeper into the building.
When they arrived at a room and Zhou Qikuan opened the door, Li Nuo immediately understood.
The room was filled with cosplay costumes.
At that moment, he finally realized what Zhou Qikuan wanted.
"You want me to wear a cosplay outfit and go to the convention with you?"
"Hehe, yep."
"Then why didn't you just say so? Why make it such a mystery?"
"Because if I told you directly, you'd definitely refuse."
"What are you trying to say?"
While Li Nuo was still confused, Zhou Qikuan ran to a costume and pointed at it.
"I want you to wear this one."
Li Nuo followed the direction of his finger.
Then he froze.
Because the outfit was...
A girl's costume.
Well, not exactly.
Actually, it wasn't even a female anime character.
It was the costume of Felix Argyle from the anime Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World.
A character who looked like a girl but was actually a boy.
The moment Li Nuo realized Zhou Qikuan wanted him to cosplay a feminine male character, countless complaints exploded inside his mind.
He swore that even if he died, died outside, or died alone in the middle of nowhere, he would never agree to such a thing.
"Nuo, why aren't you saying anything?"
"What exactly do you want me to say?"
Li Nuo stared at him with a face full of resentment.
"Uh... if you really don't want to, then forget it."
Zhou Qikuan felt uneasy under that glare.
"I treated you as a friend. What do you treat me as?"
Li Nuo suddenly shouted.
"I was thinking that if you agreed, I'd let you pick some figurines from my collection as gifts. I didn't expect you to care this much. Sorry, sorry!"
Seeing Li Nuo so angry, Zhou Qikuan immediately apologized.
"What did you just say?"
"Sorry, sorry."
"The sentence before that."
"I didn't expect you to care so much?"
"The one before that."
"I'll let you pick some figurines and keep them?"
"Deal."
"...Huh?!"
"But I get to choose them myself, okay?"
"Of course. As long as you like them."
……………………………
Jinhe Plaza
Inside the convention hall, Li Nuo was filled with regret.
Wearing the Felix cosplay outfit, he wondered how he had ever agreed to this.
Looking at the line of people waiting to take photos with him, his head was starting to hurt.
How was he supposed to enjoy the convention like this?
Was his precious Sunday really going to be spent taking pictures with strangers?
After another round of photos, Zhou Qikuan, dressed as Kirito from Sword Art Online, said excitedly,
"See? Just like I predicted. You're perfect for this costume. It's a hundred percent accurate."
"Please shut up."
"It's a shame you're wearing a mask. Why not take it off?"
"Get lost."
Take off the mask?
No way.
Li Nuo still wanted to be able to show his face in public.
If someone he knew saw him wearing this outfit without a mask, his life would basically be over.
Unfortunately, according to Murphy's Law, the thing you fear most is often what happens.
Just as they were heading deeper into the convention, a girl dressed as Sinon (Sword Art Online) skipped over and tapped Zhou Qikuan on the shoulder.
"Hi! Want to take a picture together?"
The moment Zhou Qikuan turned around and saw her, his heart nearly stopped.
To him, she looked exactly like Sinon had stepped out of the anime.
He swore this was the girl of his dreams.
Could this be... love at first sight? he thought.
"O-Of course! I'd be honored!"
His heart was beating so hard that he could barely speak properly.
"Great! I hope you don't mind if I call one more person over."
"N-Not at all."
The girl dressed as Sinon turned toward the distance and waved.
"Ran'er! Over here!"
The moment Li Nuo heard the name "Ran'er," his heart skipped a beat.
No way... it can't be that much of a coincidence, right?
When the other girl arrived, dressed as Asuna Yuuki, Li Nuo's face immediately turned pale.
It was her.
An Ran'er.
Again.
Why am I so unlucky? Why do I keep running into her?
Why is a girl-group idol even at an anime convention?!
An Ran'er quickly recognized Zhou Qikuan from school.
Then she noticed the cat-girl cosplayer standing beside him.
Although he was wearing a mask, he somehow looked familiar.
At that moment, Li Nuo lowered his head and silently prayed.
Don't look at me.
Don't look at me.
Don't look at me.
Unfortunately, some things cannot be avoided.
By now, An Ran'er was already almost certain.
She walked directly over to the cat-girl cosplayer and whispered into his ear:
"Classmate Li Nuo, I really didn't expect this. So you like wearing girls' clothes."
If someone happened to walk past at that moment, they would have seen a perfect statue of Felix Argyle standing completely frozen in place.