Little Pink Starfish

Yuan Yuanyuan followed the guy slowly toward the front. Sure enough, up ahead was the anime convention. There was already a huge crowd gathered. As soon as Yuan Yuanyuan arrived at the entrance, her vision went dark.

A rough count revealed four or five people already dressed in Yuan’s costume right at the entrance… It was like a mass wardrobe malfunction. Yuan Yuanyuan started wondering if some cosplay shop had put Yuan’s outfit on sale—how else could there suddenly be so many people wearing the same thing?

Ah… back in her broke student days, she used to see this kind of cosplay crowd too—it always came down to being poor…

Only ultra-popular characters ever attracted this level of cosplay duplication. She thought of characters like the Lady from Jian Wang 3 or the Grass Daddy when Onmyoji first blew up. Staring at the scene before her, Yuan Yuanyuan felt a strange sense of surrealism. There was only one thing that came to mind—

Was it me who’s gone mad… or the world?

“Um, hi there—can I take a picture with you?” As she stood there, a group of girls walked over and asked her. Yuan Yuanyuan’s face twitched slightly. “Hi there…?”

Ugh… Back in her day, she’d also called cosplayers “gege” and “jiejie.” It was a bit cringey, sure, but you got used to it. Still, being called “gege” herself today…

Yuan Yuanyuan suddenly fell into a philosophical spiral.

Could it be… she was so used to being called “old man” that even though she usually complained about it, she now found it weird to be called “young”?

As she wrestled with the realization that she might be turning into a masochist, she still posed for the photo with the girls. Then she was suddenly pushed toward the ticket gate, where a cheerful young woman beamed at her and said, “Tickets are 50 yuan each.”

“…Alright.”

Ha! Joke’s on you—I brought cash! Yuan Yuanyuan pulled out a 50 from her pocket. The girl tied a wristband onto her hand, and suddenly she felt like this was all part of some strange and magical adventure. Seriously, who would believe this if she told them?

She and the guy walked into the venue. Yuan Yuanyuan remembered her last time at a con—it involved a full-on fight. This convention was even bigger than that one. She wandered around, not knowing what to buy. Somehow, she felt weird just standing among the crowd…

But what exactly felt weird… she couldn’t quite say. She thought, If only I could convince myself this outfit was just a cosplay. But she was too used to wearing it daily—it didn’t feel like a costume anymore.

Still, Yuan Yuanyuan stood out like a crane among chickens.

“Hey, what do you think—did that guy put on foundation or not?” Her ears perked up—someone nearby was talking about her.

“Probably not… Otherwise how is his skin tone so even?”

“Hard to say. I’ve seen real pros—when they do makeup, it looks just like bare skin…”

“I’m not sure about the foundation, but there’s definitely no blush, no eyeliner, no fake lashes.”

“Really? How can you tell?”

“…Intuition.”

“Did he do anything to his eyes at all? Doesn’t seem likely… but they look done.”

“His hair’s just… his real hair, right? Where’d he even get that cut?”

“Damn… So this guy barely prepped and still wipes the floor with every cosplayer here…”

“There’s another good-looking guy cosplaying Yuan over there, but the makeup’s so heavy it’s uncomfortable to look at.”

Yuan Yuanyuan glanced in that direction and froze for a second…

That handsome guy was staring straight at her… eyes full of an inexplicable hatred.

Please, don’t be like that, bro. You’re actually really good-looking. There’s no need to compete with me, okay? Yuan Yuanyuan gave him a quick scan and then, totally unfazed, looked away.

—Even if she said she didn’t care, her inner peacock was already spreading its feathers.

Yuan Yuanyuan continued walking. The cosplayer who had brought her earlier had fallen behind, but soon caught up again.

“Man, you’ve got such a presence. I feel so much pressure standing next to you,” the guy said.

By now, Yuan Yuanyuan had fully entered acting mode. Her face went blank and aloof. She pointed at a vendor stand selling merchandise and asked, “What’s that?”

“…Huh?” The guy was stunned. Yuan Yuanyuan took the chance to scan the booth. Holy crap, lucky bags for 30 yuan?! I wanna buy them all! That’s so cheap…

…But in her current “in character” state, there was no way she could buy them.

She swallowed her desires like blood and struggled between impulse and restraint about 800 times before finally forcing herself to say her next line: “Why are they printing people on the bags?”

“…Huh?” The guy was utterly lost.

Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t expect an answer. After ten seconds, she turned and walked off, hands in pockets. The guy stood there dazed for a moment, then quickly chased after her. “Wait up! Don’t go yet!”

They wandered further into the venue. High above them on metal wires were hand-drawn masks—foxes, cats, girls of all kinds. After looking around for a while, the guy beside her leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Ah… I get it now. You’re super method, huh? Damn, I really feel outclassed. From now on, I’ll study under you. You’re a real master.”

Yuan Yuanyuan picked up a mask, turned to look at him. She was a full head taller, so she lowered her gaze slightly. Then said, “Don’t look at me so close. I can’t take it…”

“Why are you calling me a master?” she asked while paying for a fox mask.

“Because your cosplay’s too realistic,” the guy said. “Honestly, it doesn’t even feel like cosplay. More like… you’re a real actor in costume. Your hair’s real, your makeup isn’t overdone… Master, you’re amazing. How do you even look so much like Yuan?”

He chuckled lightly. The sound was soft, pleasant—like a small brush gently scratching at the heart.

He suddenly looked up—but the person before him had already put on the fox mask, tilted to cover the upper half of her face, leaving just a small portion visible.

Those eyes that looked uncannily like Yuan’s in the manga were now hidden. The guy felt a strange sense of loss. But then the masked figure pointed to a nearby stage and asked, “What’s going on over there?”

The guy turned and took a look. “Ah… That’s today’s grand finale. A famous anime club is putting on a stage play. It starts at two. See all those people gathered around?”

Yuan Yuanyuan walked closer and saw the stage banner, which had the Demon Chronicles manga cover printed on it. She turned and asked, “It’s Demon Chronicles-related?”

The guy froze for a moment, then grinned knowingly. “I get it, I get it. You’re a master actor—staying in character till the end.”

He moved closer and said in a serious tone, “This… is basically modern theater. A group of people performing a play on stage, and this one’s about Demon Chronicles. But please, for the love of god, don’t go up there and crash the scene. It’s all fake, just a performance.”

…What kind of nonsense is that? Yuan Yuanyuan nearly laughed out loud, but kept her face blank and nodded like she understood.

Suddenly, the crowd erupted. The actors had arrived. Through a gap in the curtain, she could see them in costume. The audience in front spotted them and started screaming.

She looked at the actors and immediately knew what scene was coming. So she asked, “What are they performing?”

“Today’s scene is the fight between Faning and Yuan. Then Yuan falls from the sky and disappears,” the guy explained.

…Yuan Yuanyuan looked up. The actors playing Faning and Yuan Yingli were standing at the stage entrance, even waving to the crowd. There were only a few of them, but she could recognize them right away—their outfits matched the exact ones from that day. The casting was so on-point.

She scanned the group but didn’t see Yuan—maybe he was still changing.

Just then, her companion exclaimed, “It’s starting!”

The stage lights dimmed, music swelled. The actor playing Faning stepped out to thunderous applause. Yuan Yuanyuan watched silently from behind her fox mask.

Despite the plastic-feel cosplay outfit and synthetic wig, this Faning had… a certain presence. As expected from a well-known group, the acting was solid. From his expressions to his parting promises as he knelt—everything felt spot on.

Then the play moved into the fight scene. The background music grew tense. At one moment, the BGM shifted dramatically, and a figure stepped onto the stage.

A man in black, fully costumed, makeup complete, wig in place. The moment Yuan Yuanyuan saw him, she thought internally, “Yoooo~”

As soon as he stepped on stage, the crowd exploded. The noise was thunderous—no other character had gotten this kind of reaction.

Yuan Yuanyuan even heard the two girls beside her scream so hard their voices cracked. Their arms waved wildly, screaming like it was a rock concert. Even those who hadn’t been that excited were infected by the energy and joined in.

The place turned into a live show. Amidst the deafening cheers, Yuan Yuanyuan suddenly felt like she was back in college, seeing some hotshot at a convention for the first time.

She turned and saw that the guy next to her was screaming too. She shook her head and smiled, then looked back at the stage.

The actor playing Yuan was incredibly professional. Even with the chaos below, he acted like he saw nothing at all.

He walked to center stage—and the music swelled violently.