Chapter 16: The Cosplay Conundrum

“Zhong Tian, how are you feeling? Are you tired?”

In a noodle shop near the comic con venue, Zhong Tian and his three companions awaited lunch.

“Tired, so very tired,” Zhong Tian replied to Lin Yu. “Honestly, the most draining part is chatting with all those extroverted fans. I’m just a child who’s barely over one hundred and ninety months old; why must I endure such tribulations?”

Zhong Tian slumped over the table. “Good thing everything sold quickly, or I’d still be stuck there until past eleven. Ugh—”

“But you must have made quite a bit of money, so it’s a trade-off, wouldn’t you say?” Jiang Nanjin remarked.

“Indeed, it seems substantial. The editor apparently calculated it for me, but I didn’t pay much attention,” Zhong Tian said, rising and waving to Li Jianren.

Li Jianren understood his unspoken request, allowing Zhong Tian to rest his head on his lap.

“My neck is killing me after bowing my head to sign all morning.”

The thought of continuing the signing in the afternoon filled Zhong Tian with dread.

‘Ah, so exhausting.’

Having signed for an entire morning, Zhong Tian no longer felt nervous facing the crowds; he had grown completely numb to it. He simply wished for the signing event to conclude swiftly…

‘Wait a minute!’

‘Once the signing ends, won’t it be time for cosplay?’

‘Oh, no, anything but that!’

Zhong Tian slammed his fist onto Li Jianren’s thigh.

“What am I going to do about the cosplay?”

“What cosplay?” Jiang Nanjin took a sip of hot tea. “Is Zhong Tian going to cosplay?”

“Yes… it’s sort of work-related, I suppose…” Zhong Tian mumbled feebly. “But I don’t even know what character I’m supposed to portray yet…”

“What’s there to be afraid of? Just do it!” Lin Yu chuckled. “It’s just cosplay, Zhong Tian. It’s not like you haven’t done it before.”

“…It’s different this time,” Zhong Tian sighed. “This is a super huge comic con, you know…”

‘Too many people!’

Zhong Tian couldn’t quite handle being the focus of so many gazes.

“Ah, the boat will naturally straighten when it reaches the bridge,” Zhong Tian said, closing his eyes with an air of detachment. “Let tomorrow’s me worry about it.”

Just then, the four friends’ orders arrived.

“Three beef noodle soups, one stir-fried beef ho fun.”

Li Jianren raised his hand. “The stir-fried beef ho fun is mine.”

“Alrighty.” The boss set down their four lunches. “Enjoy your meal.”

Zhong Tian glanced at the time; it was only just eleven. That meant he could go back for a quick nap and a brief rest after eating.

A moment later, Zhong Tian finished his beef noodle soup, grabbed a tissue, and wiped his mouth. “Well, I’m planning to head back to rest for a bit. I won’t be able to join you for more wandering around.”

“Okay, see you this afternoon.” Jiang Nanjin made an OK gesture, watching Zhong Tian leave the noodle shop. She then turned her gaze to Lin Yu.

“Aren’t you going back?”

Upon hearing this, Lin Yu’s movements as she ate her noodles stiffened.

“…No, I’m not tired…”

“Haha, why are you getting shy now?”

“……”

“When I found out you two were living together this morning, I thought you had finally decided to take action,” Jiang Nanjin said, leaning back in her chair and withdrawing her gaze. “But you still couldn’t bring yourself to take that step, could you?”

“Mm.”

“As a friend, all I can do is cheer you on.”

“……Mm.”

****

Time quickly passed, and it was now 1:20 PM, with the afternoon signing session set to begin in ten minutes.

Zhong Tian arrived punctually at the venue, taking his seat five minutes early.

The line for the afternoon session seemed to have not diminished in number compared to the morning. In fact, it appeared even longer than before.

Concurrently, the quantity of bound volumes had also increased significantly.

Zhong Tian took a deep breath and patted his own cheeks.

‘Since it’s work, I should do it diligently. Not to mention, these people in front of me are all fans of my manga.’

‘Come on, me!’

“I’m so tired…”

This was the first thing Zhong Tian uttered upon returning to the lounge after the signing session concluded.

Even though the workload was far lighter than drawing manga, why did it feel more exhausting than drawing manga? Zhong Tian couldn’t understand, so he chose not to try.

In short, he was just tired.

“Teacher Kezhong, you’ve worked hard,” Editor Lin Chu said, sitting down beside Zhong Tian as soon as she entered the lounge. “From the current perspective, this signing event has been very successful.”

“That’s wonderful.”

Zhong Tian yearned to lie flat on the sofa, but several unfamiliar manga artists and editors were seated nearby, leaving him with no courage to actually do so.

“Teacher Kezhong, do you think the upcoming event will also be a great success?”

A single strand of hair on Zhong Tian’s head twitched.

‘Here it comes…’

“That, uh, cosplay event, right…?”

“Exactly!” Editor Lin Chu chuckled. “With Teacher Kezhong cosplaying as such a cute JK (TL Note: Japanese slang for ‘joshi kōsei,’ meaning high school girl, often referring to the fashion style), our popularity is bound to skyrocket!”

“……Can’t I not do it?”

“No, no, your fans are really looking forward to it!” Lin Chu said, tucking a bulging bag into Zhong Tian’s arms. “We’ve already bought your cosplay costume for you. Since it’s custom-made, it’s not only expensive but also non-returnable.”

“……”

“Try it on tonight~”

Zhong Tian picked up the bag, at a loss for what expression to show Lin Chu.

‘I’m exhausted; let’s just end it all.’

****

Due to the larger quantity of bound volumes in the afternoon, it was quite late after the signing session. Consequently, Zhong Tian did not go to dinner with Lin Yu and the other two, instead finding a small restaurant at random, eating a simple meal, and then returning to the hotel.

Zhong Tian glanced at the bag in his arms.

Truthfully, he still held a tiny bit of anticipation in his heart.

But only a tiny bit.

It felt like opening a blind box. Although he knew with one thousand percent certainty it contained women’s clothing, it was, after all, a cosplay costume, and it had been custom-made at a considerable cost.

‘It should be quite high quality, then.’

Back in the hotel, Zhong Tian turned on the light, sat on the bed, and carefully opened the bag, taking out the clothes inside.

‘Hmm?’

‘Isn’t this Rei Ayanami’s plugsuit from Evangelion?’

Zhong Tian unwrapped the packaging and spread the plugsuit out on the bed.

‘Wow!’

The quality was incredibly high. Both the surface and details of the plugsuit were very faithful to the original, and by touch, it seemed to be a really good fabric.

Zhong Tian turned it over and examined the plugsuit thoroughly.

‘Could he really own something so cool?’

‘Wait.’

Zhong Tian, suddenly realizing the issue, put down the plugsuit in his hands and fell into deep thought.

First, it was a bodysuit.

Secondly, he was a boy.

So, a bodysuit plus a boy—what would happen?

He looked down at himself, speechless for a moment.

‘How was he supposed to wear this?!’

‘Wouldn’t something bulge out?’

‘Unless…’

He rummaged through the bag.

Indeed… there it was: a tucking garment (TL Note: A specialized undergarment or device used in cross-dressing or cosplay to conceal male anatomy.)

The specialized cross-dressing item for femboys that Zhong Tian had once wanted to buy but had always refrained from purchasing due to embarrassment.

Zhong Tian pressed a hand to his forehead, setting the item aside.

‘How thoughtful you are, Editor Lin Chu.’

He took out the other items from the bag.

First, the wig.

‘It was the long-haired version!’

Zhong Tian nodded in approval; he also preferred the long-haired Rei Ayanami. However, the sheer volume of hair was quite excessive, and he felt it might be a bit uncomfortable to wear.

Beyond the wig, there were a few small props.

‘Well then, he might as well try it on.’

****

‘Hmm…’

Zhong Tian looked at himself in front of the full-length mirror, his cheeks slightly flushed.

The plugsuit was quite comfortable to wear and fit perfectly. His body’s contours were beautifully accentuated by the plugsuit.

The more he looked, the more embarrassed he felt, covering his face with his hands and squatting down.

‘Isn’t this like being completely naked…’

Although it looked great, and even quite cool, was it really okay to wear this to a comic con? He felt utterly insecure.

Zhong Tian now greatly admired those who dared to wear tight-fitting suits to comic cons.

‘Perhaps he should find a way to escape this.’

He stood up, intending to grab his phone and discuss it with Editor Lin Chu.

A soft click—

The door opened.