Chapter 92

Page Forty-One: Xiao Yedi’s Trouble

“Ahh!” She roared like an upright groundhog. It seemed that Xiao Yedi, Gongyong Xiaojī’s editor, was in grave danger.

“Oh no! The chief editor said that if I don’t complete this task, I’ll be sent to dig potatoes in Siberia…”

Wow, is your publishing house really that Soviet?

“Calm down, calm down. Is there really no way for the author to attend the book signing? What’s the reason?” Because Xiao Yedi was panicking like a small animal, Marika hurriedly tried to comfort her and offered suggestions.

“In any case, let’s talk to them first and explain the situation. They should understand, right?”

Before Xiao Yedi could respond, a staff member shook his head and sighed, saying, “Actually, Teacher Xiao Yedi has never met the author in person. They have only been in phone contact with the author’s brother.”

Dian Tian wiped sweat from his forehead and made the worst possible deduction: “So, the so-called new young female author might just be a gimmick?”

“That’s impossible!” I waved my hand, my face showing an inexplicable confidence, and firmly stated, “Gongyong Xiaojī is a real young female author!”

“It’s not certain…” Xiao Yedi, who had to endure being patted on the head even at nearly thirty, shook her head, seemingly not believing my words. She looked down and glanced sideways at the ground.

“In fact, I have some doubts too. I’ve been an editor for many years and can tell a person’s experience from their work. Gongyong Xiaojī’s writing is so meticulous that it’s hard to imagine a sixteen-year-old girl could write such things. But since the book sells well, I haven’t paid much attention.”

This editor actually doubted her own author.

Thinking about Xiao Cangyu hiding behind Brother Fengwu, timidly sticking out her head and introducing herself with a submissive tone, “I am Gongyong Xiaojī, please take care of me,” my heart melted, and I thought how great my sister was! My sister!

… Although such a scene would never happen, to be honest, Xiao Cangyu’s personality wouldn’t be very likable in reality.

“It’s different. Haven’t they said that introverted children often become geniuses?”

“Oh? Young man, do you know Teacher Gongyong Xiaojī? There’s nothing mentioned about her personality in the book!”

Seemingly capturing some crucial information, Xiao Yedi suddenly lunged forward, grabbing my collar. Despite being a petite woman, she had surprising strength that almost pulled me down.

“As for meeting her, I have indeed met her. Gongyong Xiaojī is indeed a young girl, and she has social anxiety. But getting her to attend the book signing… I might not be able to help, as I’ve only met her once.”

Although we went to the Water World together, it was through Xiaohaitang. I didn’t get to talk much with Xiao Cangyu, and besides, there was “little sister-obsessed bodyguard” Brother Fengwu around her. Approaching her would trigger his alertness.

Xiao Yedi’s hair tuft swayed happily upon hearing the first half of my sentence but drooped lifelessly after hearing the second half.

Dian Tian kept fiddling with his phone, seemingly searching for some information.

“Some radical readers said they will destroy the exhibition booth and send wreaths if they don’t see Teacher Gongyong Xiaojī tomorrow… Should we call the police?” But he thought for a moment and retracted his words, dismissing it with disdain, “But these are all keyboard warriors. They might not even have read the book and just follow others in criticizing it. I’ve seen plenty of such people.”

Xiao Yedi regained some composure, reluctantly saying, “But these keyboard warriors’ messages will be exploited by unscrupulous media. To eliminate negative news, Gongyong Xiaojī must appear and clear things up.”

Marika frowned after flipping through Dian Tian’s phone messages.

“In any case, let’s make a call first. This matter is difficult to handle alone with just your publishing house, isn’t it? And negative public opinion affects more than just the publishing house. It also impacts the author and the book sales.”

As Miss Marika said, this wasn’t something that could be solved solely by public relations.

Xiao Yedi nodded. Since it was a publishing house matter, she took her phone and ran to a corner to make a call, her long hair tuft drawing circles against the wall.

Seeing this, Marika waved us over and said, “Alright, you two go back to Commander for now. We still need help with setting up the booth, right? I’ll take care of Xiao Yedi here.”

Dian Tian, who was already a bystander, nodded and went back, pulling the cart with him.

“Then, Miss Marika, I’ll check in later.”

Strictly speaking, this matter had little to do with me, but since Xiao Cangyu was a friend of Xiao Haitang, friends of friends were my friends. I had to get involved to avoid gossip from Xiao Haitang later.

“Hold on, what’s your name, young man?” Marika stopped me.

“Chang Kai.”

“Oh? No, I meant your codename.”

I pursed my lips. Why did everyone in this club act like this?

“Since you all call me young man, my codename can be Young Man. It sounds normal and is easier to accept.”

I returned to the Witch Workshop booth, where Wu Qinglan was distributing drinks from a box to the members, rewarding them. Seeing me return, he threw a bottle of drink to me from far away. Fortunately, he was quite accurate, making it easy to catch.

It was a bottled Vitas Lemon Tea. This drink was quite addictive, but I felt that the boxed version tasted better.

Then, Wu Qinglan, hunched over, leaned close and hooked his arm around my shoulder, as if he had something to discuss with me.

He seemed to have sprayed some perfume, as his scent was quite pleasant—causing my face to flush and my heart to race. Sh*t, why am I blushing and feeling my heart race for a man?

“Xiao Kai… Are we friends?” He smiled falsely.

Danger! My danger radar was going off at full volume. Something was off with Wu Qinglan’s words!

I frowned and glared at him warily.

“What do you want?”

“Don’t be so tense. I won’t sell you out.”

“But my intuition tells me you’re planning to trick me.”

He pointed happily at the already set-up small stage.

“I told you, we have a cosplay performance and comic book signing tomorrow.” Seeing me nod, he continued, “In fact, the cosplayer group we originally hired can’t come tomorrow due to some issues.”

With him saying this, even I understood that he wanted me to step in as a cosplayer.

“Do you want me to fill in? No way! Do you think I’m stupid? The main character of your manga is all magical girls!”

“It’s the twenty-first century, can’t boys play magical girls?”

“But there aren’t any boy magical girls in your book!”

I shook my head like a rattle drum, but Wu Qinglan wasn’t giving up. He held my shoulders firmly and lowered his head sincerely.

“Please! It’s too late to find someone else, and online cosplayers are often deceiving.”

His face was close to mine, and the pleasant scent came again. This was the first time I had seen him up close.

Wu Qinglan’s skin was fair and smooth, his narrow features somewhat fox-like but still handsome. In other words, he had a rather feminine face, which meant he was somewhat similar to me.

“If I say I want to wear women’s clothes, why don’t you do it yourself? And your club has over forty people. Can’t you find a few girls to cosplay? Why do you need to hire external cosplayers?”

Seeming to hit a nerve, he covered his face and squatted down, sobbing painfully.

“Though there are over forty people, only eleven of our members are female. Not all of them are suitable for cosplay, and those who are willing might not come… So tomorrow, our club can only muster two people, including Marika and a little girl who couldn’t make it today.”

“How many do you need?”

“The main team of ‘Magical Girl Heaven’ has five members. Even if both of us dress up as girls, we still need one more person.” He stood up and clapped his hands. “In other words, if you can find three pretty girls, you won’t have to dress up yourself, Xiao Kai.”

“No, you can’t use words to manipulate me. Even if I can’t find three girls, there’s no reason for me to dress up.”

“I didn’t want to resort to this because it would taint our friendship with money…”

Wu Qinglan seemed to have made a decision, spreading his palm wide and wiggling his slender fingers.

“Fifty dollars!” he shouted loudly.

“Fi-Fi-Fi-Fi… Ugh… Even if you pay me, I won’t dress up!” I bit my tongue, regaining my composure.

“Hourly wage!”

“Eh!”