After I finished describing the situation, Mai-chan chuckled and said:

“Pfft. Don’t tell me you don’t have any other female friends, little Chang Kai?”
(Mental shockwave effect, echoing in my brain.)

She clearly didn’t mean anything by it, but… ouch. That one hit deep.

Huh? Why am I crying?

Ugh. I hate this. I can’t stop the tears.

As if to silently encourage me to hang in there, Xiao Yao gave me a firm pat on the shoulder. It was just enough to keep me going.

“Mai-chan—”

“Hey! Don’t call me that!”

I stared at her dead-on, which made her visibly uneasy.

“Our high school… is an all-boys school.”

“…Oh. Sorry.”

I mean, she was a guy once too. Some things, no matter how painful, don’t need to be spelled out to be understood.

I wiped my eyes, swallowed my tears, and pulled myself together.

“Anyway, the reason I wanted you two to meet now is to avoid any confusion when the signing event starts.”

Xiao Yao nodded—she got the message.

Mai-chan, on the other hand, looked like she was ready to bolt. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back to the publisher’s booth to observe how the signing flow works.”

Other authors’ signing events had already begun over at the publisher’s area, and Mai-chan kept sneaking glances at the big display booth next door. She looked pretty antsy.

I decided not to hold her back.

“Go on then. You’re not planning on blowing your cover, are you?”

“I got it, I got it! I’ll make sure to stay in character as Miyanaga Kohime. It’s my way of repaying the readers for their support, right?”

Lei Meow Meow’s whole philosophy had clearly gotten through to her. She seemed far more relaxed now, none of the tension from earlier lingering.

“I’m glad you’re thinking that way. Just don’t add any more made-up backstories, alright? Piling on lies will crush you in the end.”

I’ve been learning that one the hard way lately—when one lie needs another to cover it, things get complicated real fast.

Sometimes I wonder… would it just be easier to come clean?

Seeing how serious I was being, Mai-chan nodded solemnly.

“I’ll discuss everything with Sayocho first. See you this afternoon, Xiao Yao-chan—you’ll be there, right?”

“I’ll definitely be there, Mai-chan.”

The way Xiao Yao said Mai-chan—she really emphasized it.

“Stop calling me that already!”

Once Mai-chan had left, Xiao Yao gave me this blank, unreadable look. It made me nervous.

She’s way smarter than me. Of all the people here, she’s the one I really shouldn’t underestimate.

“Xiao Yao, you should go back and help out too… by the way, is ‘Yan Yao’ a name you picked for yourself?”

Xiao Yao shook her head slowly. “No, Rinka gave it to me. Sounds way better than ‘Liuliu,’ doesn’t it? So I just went with it.”

“Actually, yeah, it suits you. Speaking of which, where is Rinka?”

“She went off on her own. Said she didn’t want to help out at the booth.”

“Thanks for showing up to help today. I’ll treat you guys to a big meal later~”

By big meal, of course, I meant asking Wu A Qing T Lan M for funds.

“No need to thank me.” She let out a little grunt, then hefted that oversized scythe of hers back onto her shoulder and walked off without
looking back—leaving me with her solitary, cool-as-ice silhouette and the infinity-symbol hair loop bouncing behind her.

[Fast forward]

By lunchtime, Rinka still hadn’t returned.

The backstage area was pretty cramped, and someone had to stay at the booth to keep an eye on things, so Wu Qinglan decided we’d eat in shifts. Thankfully, the delivery lunch boxes were in a thermal container, so they’d stay warm for a bit.

My group for the second lunch round was me, Flash, Lei Meow Meow, Tian Xi, and Miss Marika.

I had barely sat down when a pink twin-tailed cosplayer ran into the backstage area—some magical girl I didn’t recognize.

She wore a white-and-pink layered dress with ruffled trim and loads of lace, white knee socks, and red high heels.

This fluffy-like magical girl was definitely not one of the magical girls from Magical Girl Paradise. If I remember correctly, she’s the main character from some pretty famous magical girl anime.

“Madoka-chan!”

Flash shouted in excitement—one second he was holding a lunch box, the next he had his DSLR in hand and had teleported to the girl’s side.
Oh right. The anime was Magical Girl Madoka, wasn’t it?

“Not now—take pics later. I’m starving.”

“Madoka” turned Flash down flat. Then she looked over at me.

“Is there a lunchbox for me?”

I instinctively pointed to the large thermal container. She tugged off her white gloves, shoved them in her pocket, and opened the lid.

“Ooh, still hot!”

Wait. Who are you?

I stared at her in confusion.

Everyone else eating in the room was also watching her.

This girl, who had suddenly appeared, took a boxed lunch and looked around for a seat. Not finding one, she plopped herself down on a square makeup case in the corner.

That was the one Rinka had brought this morning.

I hesitantly called out, “Rinka?”

“Yeah?”

She looked up mid-bite, a few grains of rice still stuck to the corner of her mouth.

That’s when everyone else finally realized what was going on.

This new magical girl… was actually Rinka.

The makeup blurred her facial features just enough that paired with the wig, we couldn’t recognize her right away.

Thinking about it now, I should’ve guessed. Xiao Yao was at the entrance and didn’t stop her, after all. She could recognize Rinka even if she were reduced to ashes.

“Why are you all staring at me?”

“You put that outfit on and we didn’t recognize you… Here.”

Tian Xi handed her a bottle of water with a smile, even unscrewed the cap for her.

“Seriously? Is it that much of a difference? …Ah, thanks.”

Rinka took a couple gulps, then added, “I was wandering around just now and saw a booth selling pre-made cosplay outfits. After seeing you all suited up this morning, I wanted to try it out too… So I got one. How do I look?”

“You look great. You’d look great in anything.”

I quickly threw out a compliment, but apparently, I hit a nerve.

“Ugh, hearing you say that doesn’t make me any bit happy!”

Miss Marika leaned over and ran a hand over the fabric of the dress, propping her chin in her hand.

“Pretty good quality. Doesn’t fit quite right, though—have Scarlet-chan make some adjustments for you later.”

The bust area was noticeably flat and saggy, but Miss Marika didn’t mention it—an act of mature kindness, really.

After lunch, the convention entered its second wave of visitors. While not as crowded as the morning, Lei Meow Meow wasn’t about to waste the chance. Fully rested and well-fed, she gave another powerhouse performance that drew in a fresh crowd to the Witch’s Workshop booth.

“If only she’d join our circle,” Miss Marika sighed, clearly impressed by her vocals. “We really need a pro-level singer like her.”

“But she says she hates the captain, so there’s no way she’d ever join.”

“Why not just replace him, then?”

“No can do. The circle can’t function without him.”

So Wu Qinglan is actually important. Funding, maybe?

Next, the magical girls went around the convention venue parading in a group.

With their top-tier looks, the girls drew in a wave another of photographers with their DSLR cannons. Rinka’s spontaneous cameo ended up inspiring a bunch of magical girl cosplayers to join the parade too…

Wait a sec!

That demon-themed magical girl zombie with the chainsaw—can someone escort her out?

And the blonde granny with the parasol—please respect the age range of the character!

And the one yelling “Dragon Slave”—uh… okay, fine, you can stay.

And that’s Jaina with a stack of Hearthstone cards—you too, out!

Basically, the parade morphed into a chaotic blend of characters, many of whom definitely weren’t magical girls. What started as a niche cosplay parade ended up looking like a magical girl army… pretty sure this is going to blow up on Weibo and across otaku social media.

Miss Marika had to leave partway through, though—she had her own signing event to prep for.

Speaking of signings, Miyanaga Kohime’s event was also coming up in the afternoon.

Mai-chan hadn’t told me the exact time—it depended on Sayocho’s arrangements.

But I wasn’t particularly excited. Whether it was the female oriented piece Dreamlike Fragrance or the long lines of fans, neither appealed to me.

I’d probably just stand at a distance, snap a few photos for Cangyu, and call it a day. If I really wanted an autograph, I could just ask her for one after things wrap up.

Why bother, you ask?

Well… Miyanaga Kohime is kind of a big name. Who knows? Maybe someone out there would be willing to pay a pretty sum for her signature.