Around a little past eight, a sneaky-looking head suddenly popped out from around the corner of the exhibitor’s entrance.

She was wearing a mask and sunglasses, but no hat—her messy seaweed-like hair instantly gave her away.

As she glanced around, her eyes landed on me. She scurried over in tiny, hurried steps, but clearly wasn’t used to the chunky platform boots on her feet. She stumbled and nearly fell flat on her face.

“Pfft!” I clapped a hand over my mouth, unable to hold back my laughter.

Still, clothes do make the girl—done up like this, Mai-chan actually looked really cute.

Though, honestly, she was getting into character way too fast. It had only been one night, and she was already in a short skirt and thigh-high socks?

“Morning, little Chang Kai! You came to pick me up?”

“Yeah, though you’re slightly earlier than I expected.”

“Hehe, a reader gave me a lift.”

She scratched her head shyly, then added with a hint of pride:

“It was a girl, by the way! On a motorbike. Super cool!”

I screamed internally.

So what if it was a girl?! Big deal! Just wait till you’re back to your scruffy male self and see if she still likes you!

“Oh—is that Sayocho-sensei?”

It was only then that Mai-chan noticed someone hiding behind me.

Sayocho, who was barely 1.5m, was crouching behind me like she was trying to eavesdrop. She peeked around my side, wide-eyed and curious—like a cat.

Tangerine used to do the same thing—half-hidden, spying on me. I used to suspect she was an alien from the Meow-planet sent to observe humans.

“I truly apologize for having you worried due to my circumstances.”

“So you’re Miyanaga Kohime?”

Sayocho squinted, adjusting her glasses. The sunlight bounced off her lenses with a blinding glint—right into my eyes.

“You’re not quite what I imagined. You don’t look like someone with social anxiety… Are you really Kohime-sensei?”

“It's her, 100% authentic ! Social anxiety is something that can be overcome!”

Mai-chan seemed to really like this editor who was even shorter than her new girl form. The way she looked at Sayocho had a hint of fondness—typical of a professional sis-con. Does she like every petite girl she sees?

Even though she’s already tiny herself!

“That seaweed hair really does look like your brother’s… but—your words slipped up! When did you ever meet me? And why are you calling him ‘little Chang Kai’? Hmm?”

Veteran editor that she is, Sayocho caught the inconsistency in Mai’s wording right away and fired off a sharp volley.

No way Cangyu would’ve seen Sayocho before when she hadn’t left her room yesterday. Besides, in the chat logs, she calls me “Brother Kai.”

“Oh, that? We’ve got security cameras at home! I watched the whole conversation yesterday. And the name—I’m just used to hearing my brother say it. I don’t talk much, so sometimes I mess up… Sorry, Brother Kai, I guess that was rude. You’re not mad, right?”

I blinked. “Huh? Oh, no, it’s fine.”

As expected of a seasoned novelist—Mai could spin a lie so naturally it was scary. Then she tossed an apology my way to shift the focus and stop Sayocho from digging deeper.

Sayocho nodded with a thoughtful “Ah, I see,” seemingly convinced.

She turned to me. “Anyway, since I’ll be managing a big booth today, I’ll probably be busy. Can I ask you to stick with Kohime-sensei for a while?”

I gave her a confident pat on the chest. “Leave Xiao Cangyu to me. I’ll take good care of her.”

That probably came off the wrong way.

Mai-chan whipped her head toward me with a sharp glare, eyebrows twitching. She bared her teeth in mock anger… except it was way too cute to be threatening.

Even though Mai-chan’s the one who wrote the novel, she submitted it under Feng Cangyu’s name. So in legal terms, “Miyanaga Kohime” is Cangyu, and Sayocho’s records definitely list it that way. So calling her Xiao Cangyu today should be fine, right?

Still… what must it feel like to roleplay your own little sister?

“I’m alive…”

As soon as we stepped into the cool, air-conditioned venue, Mai-chan let out a sigh of relief, tugging at her T-shirt collar to get some air.

“All the other authors are already here. Since Kohime-sensei joined in last minute, we’ll need to rework the signing schedule.”

“Ah, sorry to trouble everyone.”

“No trouble at all. You coming saved my life. Compared to being shipped off to Siberia, this is nothing.”

“Siberia? Anyway, I’m free outside of my signing slot, right?”

“Sure, but once you’ve been on stage, readers might start recognizing you.”

Sayocho pulled a tiny notebook from her dress pocket and scribbled something down.

“Here’s the plan—I’ll try to schedule you for the afternoon. That way you can walk around in the morning and see how the others handle their signings.”

“Thank you so much.”

“Since you’ll need to handle the arrangements, I’ll head back to the Witch’s Workshop booth first.”

“Take care, young man! Don’t forget to come pick up Kohime-sensei later!”

I can’t wait to see when Mai-chan and Liuliuzi meet. They both thought the other had flaked, yet they’d reunite in a completely unexpected form. Maybe flaking each other is just fate in disguise.

By the time I got back to the Witch’s Workshop, half an hour had passed since I left.

Inside, the yellow and blue magical girls had already changed into their costumes. They sat on stools just outside the backstage area. The yellow magical girl, Lei Meow Meow, was flipping through Magical Girl Paradise, while casually chatting with the blue one, Miss Marika.

No signs of Wu Qinglan—probably off handling something.

Well Lei Meow Meow definitely is a youthful bishoujo herself, but Marika was Wu Qinglan’s kouhai and already pushing thirty. Yet thanks to Rinka’s makeup magic, she looked every bit the radiant 17-year-old.

Lei Meow Meow’s personality is pretty black-and-white—she can’t stand flirtatious types like Wu Qinglan but gets along great with dependable types like Marika. They were chatting so freely they didn’t even notice me approach.

“Ahem ahem.”

I coughed on purpose.

“Oh, it’s you, young man? Where’d you run off to?”

“Went to help Sayocho pick someone up. The others aren’t ready yet?”

“Not yet,” Marika shook her head.

Her natural wavy golden brown hair was hidden beneath a blue wig. Just changing her hair color gave her a completely different vibe… honestly, kind of dumb-looking.

If stupidity had a color, it’d definitely be blue.

“Rinka’s still braiding Xiao Yao’s hair. Scarlet-chan’s helping Xiao Xi fix her outfit.”

“Huh? Who’s Xiao Yao?”

“The girl you brought with you? Yan Yao?”

Took me a second to realize—turns out Yan Liuzhuan had adopted a girl name too. Makes sense, though—“Yan Liuzhuan” doesn’t exactly sound like a name a girl would have.

“I’m used to calling her by her nickname. Forgot her real name for a moment.”

Marika’s comment got a follow-up from Lei Meow Meow, still not looking up.

“Just like you thought—Xiao Xi’s outfit was too tight, so that little tailor girl’s fixing it. Looks like it’s gonna take a while.”

As she spoke, Lei Meow Meow smoothed out the wrinkles on her white thigh-highs. The movement was natural, but when she noticed me watching, her face turned beet red. Her ruby eyes narrowed with bashful annoyance.

“Don’t stare at my legs!”

She kicked me in the shin with her long boots. It hurt like hell.

“Ow ow ow—it was just a glance!”

“A ‘glance’ that lasted ten seconds?!”

“Isn’t it worse on stage? You’ll have a whole crowd staring!”

“That’s different!”

“I thought I was your fan, but now I’m heartbroken. Turning anti!”

“Y-you’re just l̲u̲s̲t̲i̲n̲g after my body anyway!”

“No way! I genuinely love your voice!”

“You two sure get along well,” Marika clapped her hands in admiration.

“We do not!?” x2

Just then, the door creaked open again, and the black magical girl—Liuliuzi, aka Xiao Yao—walked out silently, her giant scythe in hand. When she noticed me, she gave a little spin, showing off.

“Took a while with the hair. How’s it look?”

The black magical girl had an infinity-shaped hairband. Since Xiao Yao’s real hair was already smooth and straight, she didn’t need a wig. Rinka must’ve spent a lot of time braiding that.

“Looks amazing! Rinka was right, this role fits you perfectly.”

A small smile tugged at her normally blank face.

“That’s good… Can I get a copy of the manga?”

“Sure, take whatever you want,” Marika pointed at the shelf lined with merch.

“You’re helping out—one little manga’s nothing. Want big sis to autograph it?”

“Thanks. I’d feel irresponsible cosplaying a character I know nothing about.”

Xiao Yao gave a polite nod of thanks. Lei Meow Meow clearly agreed with her sentiment—she waved the half-read manga in her hand.

“You have some serious commitment right there! That’s the same reason I started reading it too. Didn’t expect it to be this intense though—totally my kind of story!”

“But the yellow one dies first, you know?”

I blurted it out without thinking, having already finished the volume.

“Huh?”

Lei Meow Meow froze, then jumped up like a cat with its tail stepped on. She grabbed her prop gauntlet and lunged at me in a rage.

“Chang Kai!! You [Redacted] !! You [Redacted] spoiled it for me!”