Chapter 09

On a weekend, at the entrance to the comic convention, Echizen Ryoma was already waiting. Because it was the weekend, he was wearing only a simple sports jacket and sweatpants. He stood out among the various, exaggeratedly dressed men and women, attracting quite a bit of attention.

Although he thought his attire was normal and that everyone else's attire was not normal, being seen as standing out from the crowd made him feel abnormal...

He pressed his hat down, trying to reduce his presence by blocking other people's sight.

Little did I know, there were more people looking at him...

"that……"

Echizen Ryoma looked up and saw a girl wearing a tights, holding a baseball bat and dressed as a clown.

He subconsciously took a step back and cleared his throat, "...What's the matter?"

The clown girl didn't answer him, but just looked at him closely, and sighed as she looked at him, "Wow - your skin is so good, it looks like you don't even have any makeup on... Is the head real? It really looks like it..."

Echizen Ryoma:?

"Like what?"

"It looks a lot like Echizen Ryoma!"

When it comes to this, the girl's eyes light up instantly, and she immediately takes out her phone and opens her screen.

"Look, they really look alike! Are you also a fan of Ryoma SAMA? Isn't he super cool? He's a tennis player who's been very popular lately..."

Echizen Ryoma was stunned, then he lowered his head and glanced at the girl's cell phone screen.

Well, it's a picture of him from last year's national competition.

But what the hell is Ryoma SAMA?!

Seeing that Echizen Ryoma didn't say anything, the girl continued, "If you are also a fan of Ryoma SAMA, why don't we add each other as friends to expand our circle? We also have a national fan group for Ryoma. Do you want to join us?"

"…No."

The girl persisted, "Well, can I take a picture with you? Your cosplay is really similar! It's just that your height is a little different. You should be taller than the real Echizen Ryoma..."

Echizen Ryoma:?

So, is there a possibility that he has indeed grown a lot taller in this year?

Ryoma Echizen thought speechlessly, and when he was about to open his mouth to reject the girl's request, another familiar voice interrupted.

"Come on, let me take a picture for you~"

Looking in the direction of the voice, I saw a girl wearing a blue and white sailor suit and orange twintails, looking at Ryoma Echizen with a smirk on her face.

*

It is better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early.

As soon as I arrived, I heard the girl say, "Your cosplay is really similar! It's just that the height is a little different. You should be taller than the real Ryoma Echizen..." I almost spit out the food I had eaten the night before with laughter.

This kid must be very concerned about it. When he was in school as a kid, he would get angry every time his height was mentioned... To prevent him from getting even more angry, I took the initiative to speak up and smooth things over.

"It's just a photo. You're not the real Echizen Ryoma anyway~"

I blinked at him a few times, hinting wildly, as if I were to tell the whole world that you are Echizen Ryoma if you turn against me. This way, he would be surrounded by people...

I thought secretly in my heart as I looked at the otakus around me who were eager to come up and take a photo with him.

“…”

He adjusted his hat again and whispered,

“Just one photo.”

The girls clapped their hands happily, "Great!"

I helped them take a photo and sent a backup to myself (+5000 yen), and the girl left satisfied. To prevent more people from pulling Ryoma to take pictures, I took him to a corner of the venue and bought him a mask at the store.

At first, the boy was unwilling to take it.

In the end, I had to remind them fiercely, "If you don't want to bring it, then don't bring it. If people gather around to take pictures, it won't be my fault! Don't blame me then!"

"Hey, hey, hey, who's responsible for me being in this state? Is this what you meant by bringing me out to the world? To a comic convention?"

Even though he complained about me like this, he still put on the mask obediently, and then stared at me with a pair of cat eyes, as if he was looking at an alien.

"Also, why are you dressed so strangely?"

Now it was my turn to get mad. "What's so weird about this? This is Pop! Pop!!!"

He just looked at my excitement indifferently and replied: "What? I haven't heard of it..."

Never heard of...

Never heard of...

Never heard of...

These four words were like a heavy punch hitting me.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?!"

I squatted in the corner, looking hopeless and weak as I answered him, "It's okay, I just need to calm down. I often feel out of place in this world because the characters I promote are too unpopular..."

Echizen Ryoma: “…”

*

At the same time, Sadaharu Inui, who happened to pass by the entrance of the venue, saw at a glance the cat-eyed boy standing out from the crowd, and the girl dressed as a POP girl beside him.

Well, it was Ryoma Echizen standing with a beautiful girl he had never seen before, and they seemed to be behaving very intimately.

Well, it is confirmed that Ryoma Echizen is secretly dating a beautiful girl he has never seen before.

Well, so Echizen Ryoma secretly started dating without telling anyone!

Having quickly reached a conclusion in his mind, Inui Sadaharu quickly pulled out his cell phone and began calling each team member one by one.

"Moshimoshi, is that Kikumaru? I'm dry, um, I was at a convention and saw Echizen Ryoma and his girlfriend... Yeah, although she was cosplaying as Popko, a character from a gag manga, she was very cute..."

Kikumaru Eiji's voice came from the phone. "What is the comic character Popko? But—Echizen Ryoma? Damn, are you sure you're not making a mistake this time? Ah—I'm going to get dessert and I'm busy right now. Please observe and don't make another mistake!"

“Beep, beep, beep—”

The call was hung up.

But he didn't get angry with Lei, instead he made the next call, this time it was to Oishi Hideichiro, who was known as the tennis club's nanny.

"Moshimoshi, Oishi? I was...yes, I saw Echizen Ryoma and his girlfriend on a date at an exhibition...yes, that's right, although she..."

"Hey, are you sure? But Echizen is already a high school student, so it's normal for him to fall in love. As long as it's not a love triangle or a love quadrangle, and it doesn't affect his studies and training, it should be fine... Tell him to be serious about relationships and treat girls well..."

It was really long-winded. Inui Sadaharu hung up the phone indifferently and started the next call -

"Moshimoshi, Minister? I saw Echizen and his girlfriend on a date at a convention..."

“Beep, beep, beep—”

Before he could finish, a busy tone came from the other end of the phone.

As expected of a minister...

In the end, he called almost all the regular players in the tennis club, but no one came out to watch the show with him. He was secretly feeling sorry for it, but suddenly he remembered that he seemed to have forgotten to call someone.

It’s Fuji Shusuke!

Thinking of this, he took out his cell phone and dialed the other party's number.

Along with the "beep-beep" sound on the phone, the other party's cell phone ringtone also rang in reality. Because his ringtone was very special and he was the only one in the team who used this ringtone, Inui Sadaharu remembered it very clearly.

Most importantly, the sound source seemed to be not far away from him...

Inui Sadaharu looked back in the direction of the sound, and Fuji Shusuke was standing three steps behind him, squinting his eyes and looking at him with a smile on his face.

"Fuck, are you looking for me?" He raised the ringing phone in his hand, and the next moment he answered the call, "Moses Moses, fuck, are you looking for me?"

Why would you answer the phone when you're already right in front of me...

Inui Sadaharu calmly hung up the phone, then asked the question that would make him regret for the rest of his life: "Fuji, why are you here?"

"...Why am I here... Shit, what do you think?"

Fuji Shusuke threw the question back to him, but his eyes passed over himself and looked at a place not far behind him, where Echizen Ryoma was playing and fighting with the orange-haired girl.

--...my childhood sweetheart... suddenly announced she had a boyfriend...

--No, my girlfriend had a bit of insomnia yesterday, so I spent some time with her... Of course, I also reviewed some key points...

The scattered gossip gradually pieced together a complete story in his mind. Inui Sadaharu's eyes widened instantly. For the first time in his life, he hated his proud associative and reasoning abilities so much.

Could it be that Echizen's childhood sweetheart is Fuji Shusuke's... But judging by Echizen's behavior that day, he didn't seem to know about this... So this story is most likely -

Ryoma Echizen finally reunited with his childhood sweetheart some time ago, but Fuji Shusuke caught up with his childhood sweetheart without Echizen's knowledge. Obviously, Echizen's feelings for this girl are not as simple as he said. In addition, Fuji Shusuke appeared here and did not visit the comic exhibition with the two of them, which means that Ryoma Echizen and the girl may not know each other's relationship.

That's why when Fuji knew that the two of them were going out on a date alone, he would quietly follow them...

Summary: Without knowing it, Echizen is trying to steal Fuji's love! Fuji is secretly following him, trying to defend his love!

Upon realizing this, Inui Sadaharu almost gasped. He turned around and met Fuji Shusuke's eyes. The moment their eyes met, the other party suddenly opened his eyes, and his ice-blue eyes, like the winter sea, stared at him intently, just like a lion staring at its prey.

For a moment, Inui Sadaharu's hair almost stood on end.

But the next second, Fuji Shusuke returned to his usual smile, his eyes narrowed into a crescent shape, revealing his true emotions. He said:

"So, you should have the answer...as to why I'm here."

Inui Sadaharu's hand was trembling slightly as he held the phone. He had to let the club leader know about this big news. If he didn't handle it properly, there would be internal conflicts... He didn't want the tennis club to disband the next day when he returned home... He had to do something!!!

But at this moment, Fuji Shusuke spoke again in a hushing gesture, "So, can you keep this a secret for me? ?"

His smile was very dangerous, the kind that would definitely lead to severe revenge if you didn't answer properly!

Gan Zhenzhi swallowed subconsciously, nodded very stiffly, and tried to say in a nonchalant tone: "Well, I will keep my mouth shut."

And in his heart...

There was no time to mourn his misfortune, as Echizen was the next to go to the battlefield! (No)

Good luck, Echizen.

*

After helping Ryoma Echizen disguise himself (meaning putting on a mask), I pulled him around and started walking among the coser ladies, and Ryoma became an emotionless photo tool.

However, this guy's photography skills are really not good, and he has almost no aesthetic sense. Nine out of ten photos he takes are unusable, and the one that he takes is barely usable.

"Ryoma, your filming is really terrible."

The more I flipped through my photo album, the worse my expression became and the harsher my tone became.

"It's absolutely impossible to find a girlfriend with this technique. How did you take this photo of me looking like a dwarf?!"

“Puff——”

He laughed out loud, looked at the photo, then looked at me.

"He was originally a dwarf."

I:?

You're taller than me, so that's a big deal, right? If you're that impressive, why don't you compete with basketball stars who are two meters tall?

"As for finding a girlfriend... Hey, you still haven't explained the boyfriend thing to me?! What's going on with that?"

I didn't expect him to bring this up, so I stammered, "That's just the way it is... I just have a boyfriend..."

He frowned, "Who is it?"

"Why do you care so much?"

I can't just tell him that he's my online crush. If I say it, he'll definitely laugh at me!

He burst out laughing again, then looked me up and down and said, "...Don't lie to me, you don't even have a boyfriend!"

That look seemed to be saying, how can you find a boyfriend like this?

He immediately aroused my competitive spirit, and I began to gush endless praise for Senior Cactus. "My boyfriend is amazing, okay? He has a great personality, a beautiful voice, and excellent grades. He always wins awards in the city math competitions... Haha, I remember you were terrible at math too... And he's multi-talented, he plays a lot of musical instruments... He likes small animals and plants (specifically referring to cacti)... And, he can play tennis just like you. No, he's much better at it than you are!"

I admit that the last sentence is a bit exaggerated. After all, Senior Cactus did post something related to tennis, but I don’t know how powerful it is.

But what I know very well is that Ryoma Echizen has been a very strong tennis player since he was young. Back when he was in the United States, he always won the first place in the youth group in the nearby area. He is a truly talented tennis player.

But, it's just talk, who can't do that?

Echizen Ryoma laughed in anger, "Oh? Really? If you're really good at playing tennis, then I really want to see it..."

As he spoke, his eyes suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure, but it vanished in the blink of an eye. Just as he came to his senses, he realized the girl who had just stood before him was gone.

Echizen Ryoma:?

He looked around and finally saw me and another long-haired girl kissing in a corner.

It’s pipi beauty——

My sharp eyes caught Pippi Mei who flashed by in the crowd, and then I chased after her. In front of Echizen Ryoma's surprised eyes, I was the first to punch Pippi Mei. Of course, it was a light punch without much strength, and then I asked -

"Are you angry?"

Pipimei shook her head cooperatively, "No."

The majestic, obviously masculine voice, coupled with the sweet and lovely appearance, left a great shock on Echizen Ryoma's innocent heart.

I punched her again, "Are you angry?"

Pipi shook her head and said, "No."

After happily repeating this for several rounds, I finally took out my phone and sincerely pleaded, "Can we take a photo together, Pipi Mei?"

"Okay Pop."

Ryoma Echizen: You guys are really cool in the 2D world.

*

After taking some photos with Pippi, I pulled Ryoma Echizen to continue. Actually, after walking around, I had almost collected enough stamps of my favorite characters. I planned to treat Ryoma to a drink as a thank you for coming to the comic convention with me on the weekend.

At this moment, the stage of the comic exhibition began to get lively. It was the dancers invited by the organizers. The dancers were wearing red ancient costumes and dragging long sleeves. They waved in the air in beautiful arcs accompanied by beautiful melodies.

We stopped not far from the stage and watched for a while. Echizen Ryoma suddenly asked me, "Are you still dancing?"

I was stunned for a moment, then shook my head. "No, I'm not dancing anymore. I'm old and my bones are hard. I can't dance anymore."

This is the truth. I haven't stretched for a long time. My tendons have become stiff and I feel like I can't do many movements.

Echizen Ryoma said 'Oh' and then said, "Let's go. Aren't you going to treat me to a meal?"

"What's the point of treating you to a meal? I'm just treating you to a Fanta!"

"Stingy."

He muttered to himself.

Seeing that he was no longer obsessed with the topic of my dancing, I secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but my palms were wet.

After walking out of the venue, I sat alone on a bench by the roadside. I assigned Ryoma Echizen to go to a vending machine in the distance to buy a drink. I had nothing to do so I started playing with my phone.

Because I hadn't been paying attention to the messages on my phone, I realized that Senior Cactus also left me a message.

[Cute Cactus: Is the Comic-Con fun?]

I immediately replied -

I love Fujiya so much! It's so fun! I even ran into my recommended couple and took a photo with Pippi Mei!

I love Fujiya: [Photo][Photo][Photo]

I casually sent him a few photos taken on the spot, including a photo of me and Pippimei. Of course, I had already blurred myself with layers of mosaics, so you definitely can't tell that it was me.

【Cute cactus: looks very interesting! 】

[Cute Cactus: But if you don't have an umbrella, remember to go home early. The weather forecast says it's likely to rain soon.]

I was just about to reply how I knew whether I had an umbrella or not, and then I suddenly felt the sky darken, and raindrops as big as beans began to fall slowly.

Oh my god, is Senior Cactus' mouth blessed?! Whatever he says comes true!

I stood up in a panic and looked around. Echizen Ryoma had not returned yet, and there was an umbrella on the bench behind me.

There was only a lonely sky blue umbrella on the empty bench.

I:?

Is this really a gift from nature?