Chapter 18: The Reluctant Grand Finale

“Manga Hall fans, everyone! The long-awaited ‘Manga Artists’ Cosplay’ event is about to begin!” On the most prominent main stage of the comic convention, the host, microphone in hand, announced with fervent excitement, “Next, eight popular manga artists will make their unique entrances one by one!”

“Yay!!”

Below the stage, the Manga Hall fans were buzzing with enthusiasm, each person holding a phone or a DSLR camera, eagerly awaiting the chance to capture the manga artists’ cosplay.

“Woohoo!—”

“Hurry up and come out, we can’t wait.”

“Sodayo!”

Hearing the shouts from the audience, Zhong Tian trembled uncontrollably.

“W-why do I still have to go on stage? This is completely different from what I imagined!”

Zhong Tian’s hands were shaking from nervousness.

He hadn’t been this nervous even when performing on stage for the New Year’s Day celebration in junior high.

“Relax, you’re just going up to do a walk-through, then you’ll come down to interact with fans. It’ll be over in about an hour.”

“I don’t think so,” Zhong Tian shook his head vigorously, “No, no, no!”

“Now, please welcome our first manga artist—” The host’s voice, amplified several times by the microphone, made Zhong Tian’s entire body shudder, “Teacher Shunqi!”

“Shunqi, you old scoundrel!!”

“Holy cow, Kuriyama Mirai! It’s cross-dressing! Shunqi, my wife!”

“Next up is our second artist—Teacher Yuki!”

‘How is it going so fast!!’

“Teacher Yuki is also cross-dressing! My Tom…”

“It’s Laffey!! So cute!”

“Our third artist is our beautiful girl manga artist—Teacher Qingwu!”

“Wow! Teacher Qingwu!”

“Teacher Qingwu is cosplaying Vinnie! So cute and accurate!”

Lin Chu patted Zhong Tian’s shoulder, who was on the verge of collapsing, “Don’t worry, you’re the grand finale~”

“I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die—”

Zhong Tian squatted down, clutching his head defensively.

“Appearing fourth is Teacher Aoye!”

“Hahahahaha! Why is Teacher Aoye carrying a hot water bottle as they come out!”

“Damn, isn’t that Makoto?”

“That’s outrageous, damn.”

“Our fifth artist is Teacher Mubai!”

“Damn, why is it a pumpkin head costume?”

“Damn, why are they jumping out?”

“Damn, why is there music too?”

“Damn, it’s Mafudi’s passionate speech.”

Although the act was absurd, and the audience was laughing heartily, Zhong Tian couldn’t crack a smile at all.

“Sixth, we have Teacher Mei!”

“Woah, it’s Akiyama Mio!”

“How come basically all the male manga artists are cross-dressing, damn, and they all look pretty good.”

“Perhaps it’s Manga Hall’s corporate culture.”

‘Ahhh!’

‘Stop talking!’

“Seventh, and our final artist! It’s our Super High School Level Beautiful Girl Manga Artist, Teacher Kezhong!”

‘Ahhhhhh!!’

“You can do it, Teacher Kezhong~”

With those words, Lin Chu gently pushed Zhong Tian, and he stumbled two steps forward, ascending the stage.

Then, he froze in place.

His face was rigid as he looked out at the audience, and only by steeling himself did he manage to take one slow step after another.

Zhong Tian’s entrance caused a noticeable hush to fall over the audience for a moment.

After that brief silence, a thunderous wave of cheers erupted.

“So beautiful!—Teacher Kezhong’s cosplay is truly stunning! You’re practically an angel! I saw your Ayanami Rei, how about we cosplay together in the future, let’s do it together! Let’s become famous cosplayers together!!”

‘Where did this C-circle TKK (TL Note: A slang term likely referring to an overly enthusiastic or ‘too crazy’ fan within the cosplay community.) come from!’

“I was born just to meet you!!!”

‘Hey! That homo in the audience, look closely, I’m cosplaying Ayanami Rei, not Shinji Ikari!’

“Teacher Kezhong! I like you!!”

‘How is someone confessing amidst all this chaos!’

Zhong Tian knew, without even looking, that his face must be incredibly flushed.

He felt as if steam was rising from his head. (Of course, the battle suit he was wearing was genuinely quite hot.)

Nevertheless, Zhong Tian tried his best to control his facial expressions, maintaining the image of a silent girl.

‘No one is allowed to talk to me!’

“And now, it’s time for the interaction segment with our manga artists!” The host shouted, raising the microphone, “Fans, please maintain order! Teachers, please!”

‘…I actually think this stage is quite nice right now. Can I just stay up here?’

Zhong Tian watched as the other manga artists descended from the stage one by one, happily interacting with their fans. He, however, remained rooted in place, his face devoid of expression.

“Teacher Kezhong?”

The host, standing nearby, lowered the microphone and whispered to Zhong Tian, “Um, it’s the interaction segment now.”

“Mm.”

Zhong Tian replied, his expression still rigid.

‘Damn it, don’t rush me. Do you have any idea how I’m feeling right now?’

Zhong Tian reluctantly made up his mind and jumped down from the not-so-tall stage.

He was immediately surrounded by fans.

Perhaps it was due to Zhong Tian’s aura as a cold-faced beautiful girl; despite being surrounded, people politely left a small clear circle around him.

‘Good, everyone is quite sensible.’

Zhong Tian mentally praised everyone for maintaining their distance, then glanced at Teacher Mubai next door.

Over there, people were already dancing the same routine around the speaker Teacher Mubai had brought.

‘Well, I suppose it’s true that a manga artist gets the fans they deserve.’