As one of the top anime conventions in the country in terms of both scale and popularity, C City's anime convention at the sprawling G District International Convention Center was now packed inside and out with crowds of people. Two-dimensional enthusiasts from S Province and across the nation had filled every visible space, leaving no gaps.
Various outdoor and indoor anime and gaming activities, ignoring the summer heat, provided great entertainment for Zhong Jing and Jiang Yao.
What made them feel secretly proud was that when Jiang Yao emerged after changing into her JK uniform in the venue's restroom, she immediately sparked wild pursuit from countless otaku along the way.
Unlike pure cosplay performances, and without needing to strike deliberate poses, her nearly 100% accurate recreation of a certain anime heroine's appearance caused camera flashes to go off constantly.
Especially when passing through an outdoor cosplay performance area, Jiang Yao's appearance clashed with some of the girls inside, naturally resulting in their "total defeat," with all the attention focused on the light golden-haired girl walking alongside a tall young man.
From initial habitual embarrassment and dodging to eventually becoming completely natural about it, Jiang Yao felt she had experienced the most ceremonial public activity of her life.
Unlike his previous carefree and casual solo anime convention visits, this time Zhong Jing exhausted himself throughout the journey, pushing through crowds and protecting her to prevent the girl beside him from being swallowed up by the chaotic masses during their stop-and-go progress.
At noon, the few restaurants inside the venue were also packed. Only thanks to Zhong Jing's stamina were they barely able to snag seats at a fast food restaurant.
Two hamburgers, a box of chicken wings, plus a box of egg tarts went straight down Jiang Yao’s throat. The light golden-haired girl, cheeks bulging as she chewed and still licking her fingers, was completely satisfied.
Then picking up a super-large cup of iced cola and gulping it down with a series of satisfied "glug glug glug" sounds, her squinting, blissful expression once again drew intense attention from several neighboring tables of otaku.
Using strange smiles and intense stares, Zhong Jing suppressed a wave of obviously suggestive gazes before grabbing a stack of napkins and placing them in front of Jiang Yao.
"I was starving to death... This anime convention really has so many people, we probably couldn't finish touring it in a whole day..."
Accidentally catching another phone camera flash taking secret photos, Jiang Yao's face reddened slightly as she lowered her head to eat her final sweet treat of ice cream: "Zhong Jing, actually this is my first time coming here. I could never afford scalped tickets before."
"Hmm? So what did you do before?"
Zhong Jing pulled out his phone, looking down at the photos of Jiang Yao he'd managed to take, his smile never fading.
"I dropped out in my second year of high school. My first job was moving bricks at a construction site."
"Oh?"
"I wasn't mentally prepared. It was too exhausting. I only lasted less than half a month before running off to become a delivery courier."
"Huh?!"
"Later I felt it had no future, so I went to a hydroelectric station construction site and learned to operate excavators. No license, but I guess it counts as a skill."
"What?!"
"Later I got injured and didn't dare continue. After resting for a month, I started delivering takeout..."
The girl in front of him spoke confidently while Zhong Jing gaped with a bewildered expression.
"Let me guess... did you eventually just go ahead and join the military to defend the country?!"
Zhong Jing really couldn't understand Jiang Yao's bizarre mixture of truth and fiction, so he decided to start making wild claims too.
"Hey! That's exactly right, you get it! I had a blast firing all kinds of guns and cannons!"
Jiang Yao also half-truthfully fabricated stories, completely immersed in a state of extreme relaxation.
"Let me tell you, I've played with the most powerful guns..."
Before she could finish saying "played," suddenly the girl in front of Zhong Jing trembled all over, then a visible flush rose from her collar, directly climbing up her face until even her ears were completely red.
"You... what's wrong?"
Zhong Jing also sensed something was amiss and quickly leaned forward, showing concern.
"Give me your jacket... don't just stare, hurry!"
Jiang Yao's face changed from completely red to alternating red and white, her voice suppressed to a whisper.
Zhong Jing was stunned, then after a few seconds suddenly thought of something. He quickly grabbed his suit jacket from the chair back and handed it over, while standing up to block one side of the girl's seat, shielding her from any possible onlookers.
Jiang Yao quickly wrapped Zhong Jing's suit jacket around the outside of her JK skirt, then with a flushed face, grabbed her clothing bag and rushed out of the restaurant.
Walking to the outdoor smoking area not far from the restrooms, Zhong Jing finally lit his first cigarette of the day, squinting and looking toward the restroom direction.
How was there no warning? Damn, wasn't it supposed to come tomorrow or the day after?
In a certain restroom stall, Jiang Yao was dying of embarrassment. She used up almost half a roll of toilet paper before barely managing to clean up, though the beautiful JK skirt was unwearable. Fortunately, the outfit she'd worn when leaving home was still in her handbag.
Opening her handbag and rummaging through it several times, she finally sat on the toilet in despair.
Damn... I didn't bring any!
Jiang Yao was both embarrassed and angry, punching the stall wall and startling the girl in the next stall.
She quickly pulled out her phone to call Jiang Yan, but then realized her sister should still be at W District Children's Welfare Institute. Without one or two hours, she definitely couldn't make it over, so Jiang Yao dejectedly lowered her head again.
Turning toward the side wall, she fantasized about whether the girl next door could solve her problem. But after opening her mouth several times, she was too embarrassed to speak up.
Opening her extremely simplified phone contacts, her eyes finally landed on the four characters "Outlaw Maniac."
Going all out today!
"Zhong Jing, go buy me that thing quickly!" On the phone, Jiang Yao's voice was very low.
"What thing? No toilet paper in the restroom?" Zhong Jing was somewhat confused.
"Damn... sanitary pads! Hurry! Bring them over as soon as you buy them!"
"..."
Looking at his phone, then turning to look at the figures going in and out of the women's restroom in the distance, Jiang Yao's urgent urging from seconds ago left Zhong Jing completely stunned.
What am I thinking about?
Run! Charge! Move! Step! Jump!
Zhong Jing ran toward the venue exit at extreme speed, flying through the crowded venue and causing waves of complaints and curses.
In just a few minutes, he rushed out of the convention center and dove into the nearest convenience store. Not caring about brands or usage periods, Zhong Jing directly grabbed one of everything from the shelves!
Don't ask! When in doubt, use indiscriminate firepower coverage! There's got to be something suitable for her!
Another hundred-meter sprint back to the venue entrance, but unfortunately anime convention tickets were one-time use only, and Zhong Jing was blocked outside.
This won't work.
A few minutes later, the panting Zhong Jing finally appeared outside the restroom, bent over gasping for air, exhausted.
"Buddy, how much money. Sell it to me. Is a thousand enough?"
Stopping a pimply teenage boy clutching a ticket, Zhong Jing showed an urgent expression.
"Sorry, today I'm..."
"Three thousand!" Zhong Jing was getting impatient.
"Bro, the ticket's yours!"
Zhong Jing quickly pulled out his phone to scan and transfer money, grabbed the ticket and squeezed into the entrance checkpoint.
"Haven't delivered it yet? Left side, third stall!"
On the phone, Jiang Yao was about to collapse from waiting.
"How... how do I go in and find the third stall?!"
Hanging up the phone, looking at the various girls of all heights and sizes going in and out of the women's restroom entrance, Zhong Jing felt he was the one about to collapse.
Not caring anymore, Zhong Jing directly stopped a small girl dressed in sailor uniform in the corridor: "Hey~ little beauty, help deliver this bag inside, third from the left, thanks!"
"Sorry, big brother, I'm a boy. I can only go to the men's restroom."
The convincingly cross-dressed middle school trap smiled sweetly and politely declined.
"I......"
Zhong Jing's expression gradually froze.
At dusk, two different SUVs arrived almost simultaneously at a high-end villa complex in Q District.
Meng Huai in military uniform and Zhong Jing in casual clothes both appeared in front of their family villa.
"Big brother, you're back too."
A full day of anime convention activities left Zhong Jing's face showing a mixture of excitement and fatigue. As he spoke, he pulled out a large pile of flashy packaging and various two-dimensional posters from his car trunk.
"You're not a child anymore, why are you still playing with these things all day?"
"Hehe, this is just my thing. Big brother isn't in this circle, so of course you think it's kid stuff."
Meng Huai and Zhong Jing had an extremely rare conversation, walking side by side into the villa's main hall on the first floor, their expressions different.
On the main hall sofa, their father Zhong Hai was reading a newspaper.
"Have you both eaten?"
Seeing his two sons walk in side by side, a flash of surprise crossed Zhong Hai's eyes, but he still calmly put down the newspaper and removed his glasses.
"Dad, why did you suddenly call us both back today? What's up? Where's Mom?"
Zhong Jing glanced at Meng Huai's expressionless face as he sat in a corner of the sofa, then looked around with a smile.
"She went to a friend's gathering."
Zhong Hai's gaze swept back and forth over his two sons, looking many times as if trying to memorize every detail of his sons' appearances.
His eldest, Meng Huai, was tall and handsome. Except for height, his appearance resembled his deceased birth mother Meng Xiang more. His second son, Zhong Jing, looked more like Zhong Hai himself when young–dashing and handsome.
Looking and looking, an imperceptible twitch appeared at the corner of Zhong Hai's mouth.
"If there's nothing to explain, I'll leave. I need to attend out-of-town training next week for about a month, and I still need to prepare."
Seeing his father lost in thought, Meng Huai frowned and grabbed his military cap, preparing to get up.
"Sit down. I'll finish speaking before you leave."
Zhong Hai's palm made a downward pressing motion, stopping his eldest son's attempt to rise.
"Early next month, the granddaughter of Japan's Tsuruumi Financial Group president, Tsuruumi Harume, will come to C City to study. Mr. Tsuruumi and I started with a business partnership, and now, our friendship has exceeded twenty-five years - we're old acquaintances. So Miss Tsuruumi will occasionally visit and stay overnight at our home from now on."
"Tomorrow, I'll have people clear out the side hall on the second floor, add a bathroom and dressing room, and convert it into Miss Tsuruumi's guest bedroom. If you have any personal items still there, remove them as soon as possible."
After speaking, he specifically looked at Zhong Jing.
"Tomorrow? No way, that urgent? The side hall is full of my models, plus so much exercise equipment. I don't have time to find new places for everything!"
Zhong Jing was stunned, looking troubled. "There are already guest rooms on the second floor, why make such a big fuss over the large side hall?"
Unlike Zhong Jing's complaints, Meng Huai simply nodded to his father Zhong Hai and walked up the second floor stairs, planning to inventory his belongings in the side hall, though there probably weren't any.
"Although Mr. Tsuruumi is Japanese, his family has deep traditional Chinese learning, and he's been an old acquaintance for many years. He trusts our Zhong family very much. Miss Tsuruumi is from a prestigious family - the guest rooms are too small for comfortable living. If you can't pack in time, I'll have people box everything up and put it all in the basement."
Not allowing his overly playful son to argue, Zhong Hai finished speaking and walked outside, planning to take a walk.