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Join the ServerAs Zhong Tian had anticipated, the newly opened shopping center was teeming with people.
The sheer multitude, a veritable sea of humanity, instantly halved Zhong Tian’s enthusiasm.
Lin Chu, however, appeared utterly brimming with excitement, pulling Zhong Tian along as they wandered everywhere.
“Is there anything you need to buy?” Lin Chu asked, “Like daily necessities?”
“There isn’t really anything I need to buy…”
“You must need shampoo and body wash, though. The hotel’s quality isn’t very good, you know.”
“It’s fine, I brought my own.”
“Oh, alright then. How about some snacks?”
“Mm.”
“What do you want to eat?”
“Hmm… Editor, you decide.”
“Grilled sausage, then?”
“Sounds good.”
“Here, grilled sausage. Open wide, ah—”
“Ah? I’ll do it myself, I’ll do it myself.”
“Aiya, why can’t you let me enjoy the feeling of feeding you?”
“Huh??”
Zhong Tian realized he truly wasn’t adept at handling people like her.
Lin Chu chuckled, a wide, joyful smile spreading across her face. “You’re blushing, aren’t you? Come on, let me see.”
“Alright, let’s stop right there.”
Zhong Tian took the grilled sausage from Lin Chu’s hand, turned away, and began to eat it silently.
“You’re much more fun to tease than your sister~” Lin Chu suddenly hopped in front of Zhong Tian, watching him take small bites of the grilled sausage.
Zhong Tian averted his gaze.
“I’m suddenly curious, Little Zhong, do you like girls or boys?”
Zhong Tian nearly choked on his grilled sausage.
He shot a glance at Lin Chu. “I am, for the time being, still a boy.”
“Aside from you, I’ve never met a boy cuter than a girl,” Lin Chu said with a laugh. “Even if you were with a boy, I feel like it wouldn’t be out of place at all.”
“…That’s absolutely impossible.”
“So you’re only interested in girls, then?” Lin Chu said, taking a step closer, to a distance where they were almost kissing. “Little Zhong, do you like older girls?”
Startled, Zhong Tian held his breath, instinctively pulling back a little.
Editor Lin Chu revealed a faint smile.
“You…”
“Wow!”
“Ahhh! !”
The sudden shouts from behind him made Zhong Tian whirl around and jump, directly colliding into Lin Chu’s embrace.
“Little Zhong, good afternoon.”
“Lin Yu?” Recognizing the newcomer, Zhong Tian was surprised. “What are you doing here?”
“Why can’t I be here?”
Zhong Tian let out a long breath, patting his chest to calm his racing heart. “Next time, please don’t scare me… You know I can’t handle things like that…”
‘Hmm,’ (Zhong Tian took two seconds to calm down.)
‘Wait,’ (He noticed the softness against his back.)
‘Ah!’ (Zhong Tian practically leaped out of Lin Chu’s embrace.)
“There’s no need to be shy, I actually wanted to keep holding you~”
Zhong Tian looked at Lin Yu, then at Lin Chu, a distinct feeling that something was amiss.
The same surname, similar personalities, and their appearances seemed somewhat alike…
Wait a minute…
Zhong Tian focused on Lin Chu, activating his mind-reading ability.
A golden flash shimmered, and Zhong Tian’s brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
“You two… are you cousins?”
“Oh? Little Zhong actually guessed it! Wow, that’s amazing, truly amazing.” Lin Chu clapped her hands.
“So, today’s afternoon plan was arranged by Lin Yu, wasn’t it?” Zhong Tian turned to meet Lin Yu’s eyes. “Contacting the editor to bring me here, creating an ‘accidental’ encounter…”
Lin Yu winked at Zhong Tian, as if admitting everything.
“Even…”
‘That question just now, you asked it on Lin Yu’s behalf, didn’t you?’
This thought, Zhong Tian kept to himself.
“…It’s nothing.”
‘This mind-read has revealed some unsettling information.’
Zhong Tian continued to gaze at Lin Yu, momentarily speechless.
‘You still haven’t let go, have you…’
“Wow, Little Zhong, you have the potential to be a detective!” Lin Yu said, her hands behind her back, a bright smile gracing her pretty face. “You’ve guessed everything correctly!”
‘Rather than guessing, it felt more like he had simply seen the entire truth laid bare…’
A wave of headache assailed him, and Zhong Tian clutched his head, staggering before regaining his footing.
Thankfully, it was just a headache.
“Well then, I won’t be accompanying you any further,” Lin Chu waved goodbye to both of them. “I’m quite busy and need to get back to work. The rest of the time is for you young people.”
For a moment, Zhong Tian wanted to ask Lin Chu to stay, but he knew she genuinely had work, and he couldn’t selfishly delay her.
He was left alone with Lin Yu after all…
The information gleaned from his recent mind-read made Zhong Tian feel incredibly uneasy.
Zhong Tian truly didn’t want things to escalate to the conclusion he envisioned.
‘Why don’t you understand, Lin Yu? Why don’t you choose to truly think things through?’
Zhong Tian looked up, smiling at Lin Yu. “Well then, I’ll leave it to you from now on.”
“Isn’t there anywhere Little Zhong is interested in?” Lin Yu asked with a smile. “In this shopping center?”
“There are, but I’m giving you the choice.”
“…Are you upset?” Lin Yu’s wide smile softened into a gentle one. “Because I privately arranged your schedule? Or was it scaring you just now? Or…”
“No, no.” Zhong Tian shook his head. “I just genuinely don’t know what to do.”
“In that case, let’s go sit at that bubble tea shop. You and my cousin have been wandering for quite a while.”
“Alright.”
“One lemon tea, less ice, and one mango sago.” Lin Yu placed the order, then sat down across from Zhong Tian.
“Little Zhong, you’re attending a book signing tomorrow, right?”
“Mm.” Zhong Tian replied. “Yes, I’m quite nervous about it.”
“Tomorrow morning, Jianren and Nanjin will both be at the comic convention. What time does your signing start? We’ll go buy two copies.”
“It’s being released in two time slots: from 8:30 AM to 11:30 AM, and then from 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM.” Zhong Tian opened the file Lin Chu had sent him on his phone. “That’s the plan.”
“Are there any arrangements for the day after?”
“Apparently, there’s a fan interaction event, but I don’t know the specifics yet…”
“Oh, this interaction event, I might have a clue about it.”
“Hm?”
Lin Yu took out her phone, opened the Mantang app, and navigated to an event interface.
“Look at this event, ‘Want to see our manga artists’ cosplay?'” Lin Yu handed her phone to Zhong Tian. “For this event, you leave a comment under your favorite manga artist’s section, stating the character you want to see, and then Mantang’s official team will select one comment and have the manga artist cosplay that character.”
“By the way, I left a comment on your section. I voted for Shiro, the one from *No Game No Life*.”
“Ah?” Zhong Tian was dumbfounded. “Why didn’t you discuss such a big matter with me beforehand!”
“You might have to ask your editor about that.”
Lin Yu took the drinks from the server, inserted a straw into Zhong Tian’s, and pushed it towards him.
“Perhaps it’s because they knew you might resist, so they chose to act first and inform you later?”
‘……’
‘Somehow, that feels more like your style.’
‘What am I going to do?’
Zhong Tian looked at the over a thousand comments under his section, feeling utterly caught between a rock and a hard place.
To cosplay at the comic convention… and most likely cross-dress.
To be honest, Zhong Tian, who had a touch of social anxiety, was genuinely intimidated.
Although it should be voluntary, it wouldn’t be good to disappoint his fans…
‘I…’
Zhong Tian sighed.
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