Wah wah, facts proved it: it was truly no easy feat for two socially awkward strangers to meet up, difficult in every sense of the word!
Fortunately, Yezi and Little Qiu had been online friends for many good years. Thanks to that, even though this was their first time meeting in person, there was no awkward stiffness between them.
By now, Ye Zhibai had shooed away the sparrow and called for Guang Yu to catch up with the main group. She walked shoulder to shoulder with Little Qiu toward the ticket entrance at the front gate of the Comic-Con venue.
During this time, Little Zhibai kept sneaking covert glances at the girl beside her.
Ye Zhibai had never imagined that with her current height of just over five foot three, she would one day be able to look down at an adult!
In her mind, Little Qiu’s image had to be at least somewhat more developed than Sister Liang’s voluptuous maturity—maybe not quite as curvaceous, but at least on the level of her own Eromanga Sensei avatar: definitively loli but not quite full girl.
But look at the real Little Qiu standing there right now.
She was a purebred loli from head to toe!
Really, if Guang Yu was four foot nine, then Little Qiu was probably just scraping four foot one or so. Ye Zhibai, from her relatively “high-altitude” vantage point, could draw this conclusion from her frequent observations of the two lolis flanking her.
Of course, Ye Zhibai couldn’t exactly say any of that out loud.
It was a matter of politeness—speaking it might earn her a leaping knee strike from Little Qiu.
But no matter how stealthy those glances were, with enough of them, how could they possibly go completely unnoticed?
A helpless glint suddenly flickered in Little Qiu’s cherry-pink eyes, and she came to an abrupt halt.
Amid the bustling crowd, she adjusted the large headphones hanging around her neck, then used one hand to pull the stray strands of cherry-colored hair from under the headband. Tilting her head slightly upward, she peered at Ye Zhibai’s face—half-hidden under a baseball cap and a mask that made it hard to make out her features.
“Hey, Yezi, hold up a sec.”
“Hm? Tired from walking?”
“?”
“Go ahead, what’s up.”
Wah, sorry, just look at this big mouth of mine! What I wanted to say was your legs are so short, with your high step frequency and tiny strides, you must take way more steps—isn’t that exhausting after just a few dozen meters? I’m really just concerned, not trying to be rude!
Little Qiu had no idea what her good online friend was really thinking.
She just wanted to lay out one extremely, extremely, extremely important principle before they started exploring the Comic-Con!
Three “extremely”s to emphasize just how crucial it was!
“Yezi, I think we should get this straight first. To be honest, don’t you think I’m super short? Like… um… like a dwarf winter melon, a little stool, or a curbstone?”
“Nope.” Little Qiu was being harsh on herself, but Ye Zhibai still had to mind her manners—just in case this was some kind of trap.
“Tch, I said be honest! Yezi, you’re not this boring online—can’t we just be straight with each other?”
“Fine, if you put it that way… yeah, among winter melons, you’re definitely the kind that needs a little stool to be picked.”
“You stinky Yezi!! What did you say?! I’m not that short, am I?! I-I’m at least four foot one… ah, no, with height-boosting shoes, I can hit four foot eleven!”
Sorry!!
But you told me to be honest!
Isn’t this honest enough? This big mouth of mine is super honest!
Watching this “Dwarf Winter Melon” who’d demanded honesty but broke first, Guang Yu laughed her head off.
“Hahaha, that’s hilarious! Ye Zhibai, look at your online buddy—such a little squirt! And what a temper!”
Alright, alright, Guang Yu, if you even reached four foot eleven, I’d think you had the right to say that.
Lolis need to stick together—no infighting. Sixty steps laughing at fifty? You’re both six of one and half a dozen of the other. Mocking others is just mocking yourself, you know, Guang Yu.
Luckily, Little Qiu bounced back fast. After just a few seconds of defensive foot-stomping, she regained her cool confidence. Turning to face Ye Zhibai, she patted her flat, endless little chest with her palm. With her youthful face, she flashed an adult-level steady smile.
Oh ho, and dimples too.
“Yezi! Let me reintroduce myself. ‘Autumn Wind Rises’ is my online handle, real name Su Yuqiu, starting senior year of high school this semester! The point I want to make is: don’t let my height or looks fool you. Even if I look like this, I’ve got the maturity and social skills of an eighteen-year-old. So please don’t hesitate or treat me like a kid—we’re the same age!”
“Of course, I get it.”
“You really get it?!” Little Qiu lit up with surprise!
“Mm-hm.”
Don’t let appearances deceive you—I’m a grandmaster when it comes to that lesson.
Guang Yu looks so harmless, but she’s the mortal enemy of every plant in the yard. The cactus’s tragic death at her hands is still fresh in my mind.
Delighted by Yezi’s understanding.
But… Su Yuqiu also felt a bit uneasy.
Yezi was so outgoing online, but in real life…
Hm, she felt totally the opposite.
Not outgoing at all—super terse, and her tone was cold!
Ye Zhibai: Not terse, I’m scared! If I talk too much, I might call you a dwarf winter melon again, and I’d be the one getting beat up.
But that chill wasn’t even the coldest part for Su Yuqiu. The real issue was…
—They were about to enter the venue, and she still had no idea what Yezi looked like?!
Her silver hair was gorgeous, and her figure was great, but come on, take off the mask! Why so guarded? I’m not a bad guy!
This lack of trust… it made Su Yuqiu feel a little uncomfortable.
Just then, Ye Zhibai was introducing herself.
“My handle, you know: A Piece of White Leaf. Real name Ye Zhibai. We’ve known each other a while now, so please take care of me going forward.”
“Oh… yeah, yeah. Ye Zhibai… pretty name. Yeah, likewise. But Yezi… I don’t see much sincerity from you.”
“Hm?”
“Mask, hat—you won’t even let me see your real face. So mysterious… ah! Are you some undercover celebrity or something? Though I doubt it…”
“I’m not, but I have my reasons. It’s not convenient to take off the mask.”
“If there’s a reason, then no helping it. But…”
Little Qiu didn’t give up. She tried probing a bit more.
“Just let me peek? Get familiar with your face?”
It was a perfectly reasonable request.
Meeting an online friend in person and not even knowing what they look like? Might as well keep chatting online!
Wah wah, Su Yuqiu had planned so much for today, but now it felt like zero involvement, zero real sense of meeting her friend!
No helping it…
The Head Maid had warned: unless absolutely necessary, don’t reveal your true face.
But she’d already seen Little Qiu’s real look, and the girl was so earnest. Hiding like this wasn’t fair.
Ye Zhibai glanced around and spotted a wide wall nearby, plastered with Comic-Con promo posters.
Inspiration struck. “Let’s go over there.”
“Over there?” Su Yuqiu glanced back, puzzled. “What for? We need to head into the Comic-Con!”
“Didn’t you want to see what I look like? You stand against the wall, I’ll stand against you, and then…”
“You against me…?!”
Oh no, I didn’t mean anything illegal—hear me out!
“You stick to the wall, I’ll face the wall, and only let you see my face. That work?”
“Uh… I really don’t get it. This mysterious? What do you even look like that you’re so cautious, Yezi?”
“Hard to explain. Anyway, hurry up.”
“Okay…?”
In that moment, Su Yuqiu was confused, baffled, utterly perplexed.
But just a few dozen seconds later…
With Su Yuqiu pressed against the corner wall, Ye Zhibai standing in front of her, removing her baseball cap to let her silver hair cascade freely, then hooking her slender white fingers under the mask strings to pull it off her face—revealing her true features to Little Qiu.
In those big cherry-pink eyes reflected an endless vision of peerless beauty.
At that moment, Su Yuqiu understood everything.
Sorry, Yezi, I shouldn’t have pushed you to take off the mask. Please put it back on.
Here, let me help you with the baseball cap…
Hiss… even on tiptoes, she couldn’t reach the top of her head!
Bend down a little, would you!
After a grueling half-hour line for Comic-Con entry, the duo of Ye Zhibai and Su Yuqiu—plus one invisible Guang Yu—finally made it into the main hall of the Giant Dome Comic-Con.
So soon!
The venue thrummed with the addictive BGM of “Geili Geili Ai,” instantly immersing Ye Zhibai in the atmosphere of 2D culture.
Look—Guang Yu’s tail was already swaying to the beat!
Cosplayers in all sorts of outfits streamed by, exhibit areas dazzling the eyes with variety.
Over a hundred meters away at the main stage exhibition area, some dance girls were heating up the otaku dance, echoed by the glow sticks waving in the hands of the dense crowd of guys below the platform.
Orderly yet lively, chaotic but controlled.
All of this… was so novel to Ye Zhibai and Guang Yu!
Truth be told, it was Su Yuqiu’s first Comic-Con too.
But right now, Su Loli had no room for novelty.
Frankly, she was utterly crushed!
Ye Zhibai turned her head and immediately spotted Little Qiu, her lips pursed in a pout. Beneath her cherry-pink fringe, Little Qiu fixed her with a gaze full of deep “resentment.”
“What’s wrong?”
“You damn Yezi… and you even ask what’s wrong? Fine… let me tell you the words I most want to say right now.”
Su Yuqiu took a deep breath.
She waited for a moment when no one was around, then thrust out her little finger, pointing straight at Ye Zhibai!
And then she delivered the line she’d been dying to say.
“You beautiful girl! You damn normie! Just explode already!!”
“!”
Damn! Who are you calling a beautiful girl?!
Don’t throw words like that at me!
Sure, my current appearance might fit the bill, but my heart can’t handle that kind of hit! And I sure as hell don’t accept that label!
With one hand, Ye Zhibai deftly grabbed the back of Guang Yu’s collar, keeping her from bolting off and causing trouble for the exhibition area. At the same time, she fired back a clever response to Su Yuqiu’s anguished judgment.
“No way, Little Qiu. You’re one too—way cuter than I imagined. If anyone’s a beautiful girl, it’s you.”
“Wah, don’t worry about my feelings! Anyway, with my build, I’ll probably never grow tall. I’ll be a dwarf winter melon forever… No! Don’t change the subject. Yezi, you’re not lying to me online, are you?! You said your family was poor, that you had no friends and were all alone. But look at you, you infuriating world-class beauty with your classic aloof vibe! You even scored in the provincial top fifty on the Gaokao! You’re a total big-time normie! I feel so duped. The internet’s so shady—no trust, big shots bullying newbies! Ah, I can’t… suddenly feeling all inferior. Give me a sec, just a sec.”
Thanks for turning your accusations into compliments like that. How magical.
Family being poor? That was before… Times change, and that’s not my fault.
We can’t stop the tides of the era.
But Little Qiu kept calling her a “normie,” and Ye Zhibai wasn’t having it!
She resolved to set the record straight.
“No, I didn’t lie to you. Maybe… family-wise, things have gotten a bit better these past couple years. But as for being a normie? That has absolutely nothing to do with me. I can say that with certainty.”
“Sounds like Versailles to me, but it’s fine, Yezi. I get it. Who says the 2D Anime Exchange Group can’t have real-world success stories? I’m serious—you don’t have to worry about hurting us netizens’ feelings. Life’s full of shocks like this, but luckily I’ve armored up. My defenses aren’t low; I can take a hit.”
“It’s really not Versailles. I don’t have that kind of twisted hobby.”
As she spoke, a faint wave of sadness rippled through Ye Zhibai’s pale purple eyes.
It was barely noticeable amid the frost in her gaze, but it was there.
You call me a normie?
Then listen to my life story first, and rethink your words. Okay?
“Here’s the thing. I only recently started being able to study properly. Before that, I got hit by a car… ahem, flung through the air a few times—once, I mean. So I was laid up in the hospital for ages. I haven’t been home from the hospital that long. Oh… and when I said I had no friends, that wasn’t entirely wrong back then. But I’ve just made my very first friend in life, and we’re still solidifying that friendship.”
That wasn’t even the worst of it.
Ye Zhibai recalled her most “painful” experiences. She tilted her head back to gaze at the towering ceiling of the venue and continued.
“At home, my closest family member terrorizes me daily with all sorts of stuff—scaring me, messing with me. It’s a whole bag of awful memories. And me? I end up bedridden for an entire day at the drop of a hat, barely able to move. No freedom at all; I have to ask permission to go anywhere. And… even the cat we keep at home won’t behave. I try to grow some flowers, and it chews them up. I take a sip of water, and it knocks over the wasabi jar, then struts around all proud, no regrets.”
“Little Qiu, for a person like me… do you really think I’m a normie?”
“……”
What a soul-piercing question.
Ye Zhibai’s account wasn’t scary in itself.
What was scary was that it was all true (certified).
Su Loli rubbed her little face, looking adorably dazed. A flicker of sympathy swirled in her cherry-colored eyes.
She wanted to say something, but the words wouldn’t come.
Finally, she slipped on her Bluetooth earbuds.
And tapped play on her favorite song.
—A Person Like Me.
