Chapter 161 Cosplay

Summer was nervously riding the special bus to the anime convention, the wheels rolling towards the destination, the sound of the old engine and the bumps were in sync.

The bus and the view outside were filled with various cosplays. She wasn't unfamiliar with such an environment, but today was different. Today might be the day she takes a step she's been avoiding, but one that she knew would come eventually.

The air conditioning inside the crowded bus was working hard to cool everyone down. As they neared the stop outside the convention center, Summer took out a makeup mirror to check her makeup. The sunlight reflected off the glass, highlighting her flawless white skin, delicate nose, and cherry lips. Her colored contacts and eyelashes gave her an appearance that was almost like an anime character.

When the bus reached the stop, she and another radiant girl got off. The crowd seemed to add to the heat. The restless feeling that had been with her since they discussed their plans last night grew stronger. She fanned herself with her small hand.

"Summer, don't be scared when the time comes." Her companion, a girl named Hannah, said to her.

"Yeah." Summer replied softly, her small hand clenched tightly.

Hannah, who was surveying the crowd, heard Summer's faint response and turned back to give her a comforting smile, "It's only the afternoon, there's no need to be so nervous."

As they walked, two men with cameras approached them, asking if they could take a photo.

Hannah happily agreed, letting go of Summer's hand. She struck a pose that matched her cosplay character and flashed a smile that could melt anything.

The man holding up the camera adjusted his thick glasses and looked at Summer. Seeing two beautiful cosplayers right away, he couldn't miss the opportunity.

Summer quickly nodded and faced the camera. The man wanting to take a picture smiled shyly, hiding his gaze behind the thick, oily glasses as he pointed the deep, mysterious lens at Summer, with a mysterious smile on his face.

Summer tugged at the hem of her skirt uncomfortably. Her skirt today was very short, and she pouted cutely.

…

"Thank you."

"You're welcome~"

"You guys look great in your cosplay ~"

"Really? Haha ..."

Summer was her name in the circle. She was a student, and perhaps her other profession could be called a cosplayer.

She had been in the circle for half a year. The process of her naive entry didn't matter anymore. What mattered was that the quiet and shy girl who came from the countryside to study in the big city wasn't isolated in the self-contained ecosystem of girls.

Other kids from the countryside had been separated out, living transparently in the class, walking, studying, and eating alone in groups of three or five in the school.

Summer was lucky. Her accidental cosplay helped her integrate into the ecosystem, distancing herself from that pathetic group in the prestigious school. Especially the boys, who helped pull her out of the void when they saw her photos.

Yes, that void. If you didn't join the ecosystem right away, it would be hard to join later. From then on, whether you were in the class or not made no difference. After being welcomed, Summer was still troubled about how to distance herself from her old-fashioned classmates, but they automatically separated themselves out of self-pity. Just as she had observed in the past, there was no resentment, no surprise, just a pitiful withdrawal into the corner like dust.

Summer is not stupid and understood that what she was doing wasn't right. But even if you don't see yourself as dirt, when everyone else sees you that way, in this world, you become dirt. People should be positive and strive to do meaningful things and live a good life. However, she was just living on school, and her entire social circle was confined to this limited space, which was her current life.

People strive to move upwards. She had moved from a small rural area to the bustling city, learning a lot beyond textbooks—makeup, dressing, subtle changes in tone, and a few effective gestures and expressions. Her mindset had changed as she was pushed along in life. Although her naturally quiet and cat-like personality was hard to change completely, she had become more assertive and experienced in familiar fields, like a seasoned city dweller.

For instance, cosplay allowed her to have good memories in the school, helped her understand men, made her beautiful, and even earned her money.

After posing for another round of photos with passersby, Summer and Hannah entered the cool venue with the tickets given by the exhibitors. They would smile on stage at a few events and walk around specific areas, earning a stable income in this ecosystem.

But she had still borrowed money in this high-consumption mega-city. It's for chatting with her best friends, or for cosplay photoshoots. If one wants their photos to become 'legendary cosplays', they would need good post-processing, and post-processing costs money. Moreover, she didn't accept free help.

In the end, for the sake of life, she took a different yet similar path, one she accepted. And Hannah, her senior, was there to help her this time.

Amidst the crowd, some visitors smiled, others exclaimed at seeing things from the screens come to life. Summer watched the hardcore fans in the cosplay circle spending large amounts of money on low-cost merchandise with slight confusion.

She diligently caught up on anime, not out of love, but out of necessity, much like watching her mother farm when she was younger. However, when certain videos played their background music and dreamy scenes appeared, and countless bullet comments flew by saying 'No regrets in this life for loving the 2D,' she couldn't understand. This misunderstanding gave rise to a bit of resentment and absurdity.

Even someone as quiet and meek as her, who rarely spoke loudly, sometimes wanted to shout, 'What's there to toast to, you brats!'

People wore all kinds of unconventional clothes, scraps of fabric that couldn't be worn in everyday life. Some characters she recognized, like Umaru, Mikasa, and Taiga, but many she didn't. Despite half a year of catching up on anime, it was impossible to recognize all the popular ones. Whenever she pulled out a stack of unfamiliar shows on a bullet comment website, she felt it was a colossal waste of time. She couldn't finish watching all the anime, couldn't finish farming, and was baffled by obscure niche shows that were supposedly popular. Hundreds of episodes of One Piece and Bleach, and endless, disgustingly cute harem shows.

However, in the past six months, Summer seemed to have found a bit of enjoyment in watching anime. As she walked through the Doujinshi area, she picked up a Naruto-themed item.

'People might know reality as it is, but they still indulge in fictional stories and characters. At least the paper characters are pure.' Summer gently touched the lines on the paper, her face flushing. On the cover was an ANBU wearing a fox mask, and the brief appearance of the ANBU uniform in the manga had already sparked numerous imaginations among readers.

Without any specific reason, this contradictory girl unknowingly began to place her youth in fantasies, becoming a fan of Raiden Hattori. She researched countless materials and tirelessly browsed forum analyses, experiencing useless joy and sorrow, but savoring it.

It's a pity that Summer's passion was limited to this one new hit series, and she only had a superficial understanding of the countless other works.

But fortunately, being knowledgeable and loyal to Anime didn't determine her reputation in the circle. It didn't matter if she didn't recognize the rented costumes. After all, looking good and wearing less was already enough.

She remembered that fashionable outfits in conventions often went unnoticed, but if she cosplayed as Yuzuriha Inori, the Otakus would flock to take her photos.

'Heh, Otakus are so disgusting.'

…

"Otakus are so disgusting!"

In the Doujinshi area, Julia looked at David dragging Logan around and sneered disdainfully.

Nicholas, who was also pretending to be nonchalant while browsing the small books at the stall, blushed.

"But disgusting is disgusting." Julia's tone suddenly changed. She rubbed her hands together, looking at the colorful small books around this area with glowing, "Doujinshi books, let's go!"