Chapter 43: Weekend Ghost Stories
As one of the most well-known anime conventions in the country, C City’s anime expo, held at the expansive G District International Convention Center, was packed with crowds. Enthusiasts from Province S and across the nation filled the venue, leaving no empty spaces in sight.
Various outdoor and indoor anime and gaming activities ignored the summer heat, much to the delight of Zhong Jing and Jiang Yao.
Even more gratifying was when Jiang Yao entered the venue after changing into her JK outfit, eliciting countless fervent glances from the otaku crowd.
Unlike the purely natural live-action COSPLAY that requires no deliberate styling, her outfit almost perfectly replicated the image of a certain anime heroine, causing a flurry of camera flashes.
Especially when passing by a certain outdoor COSPLAY stage area, some girls collided due to Jiang Yao’s appearance, resulting in quite a disastrous fallout.
The audience focused on a slender, blond girl walking alongside a tall young man.
From an initial wide-eyed, startled expression to a calm acceptance, Jiang Yao felt she had gone through several public events.
Unlike her previous carefree experience of attending conventions alone, this time Zhong Jing had exhausted himself protecting her from the bustling crowd, ensuring she wasn’t swallowed up in the chaos.
At noon, the few restaurants inside the venue were also packed, and they only managed to squeeze into a fast-food place thanks to Zhong Jing’s stamina, grabbing a table.
The blond girl, serious as she sat there, was devouring two burgers, a box of chicken wings, and a bowl of rice, cheeks stuffed and fingers licking.
Picking up an oversized cup of chilled cola, she gleefully enjoyed it, capturing the intense attention of several nearby otaku.
With a strange grin, Zhong Jing suppressed a wave of knowing looks directed at them and set a stack of food down in front of Jiang Yao.
“I’m starving… There are so many people at this convention, I’m afraid we won’t finish exploring in a day…”
Accidentally locking eyes with a terrifying glare, Jiang Yao’s cheeks flushed slightly as she looked down to nibble on a bit of ice cream, muttering, “Zhong Jing, really… It’s my first time here, I couldn’t even afford scalper tickets before.”
“Hmm? What were you doing before?” Zhong Jing asked, pulling out his phone to admire the numerous photos of Jiang Yao, his smile unwavering.
“I dropped out in my second year of high school. My first job was hauling bricks at a construction site.”
“Oh?”
“I wasn’t prepared for it; it was too exhausting. I only lasted less than half a month before I switched to being a delivery person.”
“Hmm?!”
“Later, I felt it had no future, so I went to a hydroelectric power station, learned to operate an excavator — no license, but it’s a skill, I guess.”
“Ah?!”
“Then I sustained an injury, couldn’t continue, took a month off, and started doing food deliveries…”
“Uh…”
The girl in front of him chattered away, while Zhong Jing sat wide-eyed, utterly astonished.
“I mean… Did you end up joining the military to serve your country?”
Zhong Jing couldn’t comprehend Jiang Yao’s bizarre yet somewhat believable story, so he whimsically shot off ideas.
“Hey! You got it! I did, I got to fire all sorts of weapons.”
Jiang Yao whimsically collaborated, relaxing entirely into the moment.
“I’ll tell you, I’ve tried the best guns…”
Before she finished that thought, the girl suddenly trembled, and a visible flush crept up from her collar, painting her cheeks red, even her ears flushed.
“What… What’s wrong?”
Zhong Jing sensed something was off and leaned in, showing concern.
“Give me your jacket… Don’t hide it, hurry!”
Jiang Yao’s face shifted from bright red to a mix of red and white, her voice dropped low.
Zhong Jing, after a few seconds of thought, quickly grabbed his blazer and handed it over, standing up to shield her from prying eyes.
Jiang Yao quickly wrapped the jacket around her JK skirt and, blushing furiously, grabbed her bag before dashing out of the restaurant.
Reaching the outdoor smoking area not far from the restroom, Zhong Jing finally pulled out a cigarette and, smiling, gazed towards the bathroom.
…How is it there’s no sign? Didn’t she say she was coming tomorrow?
In one of the bathroom stalls, Jiang Yao was nearly at her limit, using up nearly half a roll of paper to clean up, but her beautiful JK dress was definitely out of the question; luckily, the outfit she wore today was still in her bag.
Opening the bag, she rummaged through several times, finally sitting on the toilet with a face full of despair.
Ah!
Jiang Yao, both embarrassed and angry, hit the stall wall in frustration, startling another girl in the adjacent stall.
Hastily pulling out her phone, she intended to call Zhong Jing but suddenly realized he was still at the W District Children’s Welfare Institute. He wouldn’t be back for at least two hours, prompting her to slump down in defeat.
Turning to face the stall wall, she imagined whether the girl next door could solve her predicament. But after several attempts at speaking, she felt too shy to say a word.
Scrolling through her simplified contacts on her phone, her gaze landed on the words “Lawless Rascals.”
Today, I’m going all out!
Zhong Jing, hurry and help me buy that! Jiang Yao’s voice dropped even lower on the phone. “What? There’s no paper in the bathroom?” Zhong Jing responded, slightly bewildered.
How clever.
“What… Feminine products! Quick! Buy them and bring them over!”
Looking at her phone, then glancing at the people going in and out of the women’s restroom, Jiang Yao felt a rush of urgency.
What am I waiting for?
Run! Dash! Jump!
Zhong Jing sprinted fast toward the convention center’s exit, weaving through the flowing crowd, drawing complaints and regrets.
In just a few minutes, he burst out of the exhibition center, darting into the nearest convenience store. Without caring about brand or specifications, Zhong Jing grabbed one of everything from the shelves.
Don’t ask! Just covering all bases! There’s bound to be something suitable for her.
Another sprint, and he ran back to the entrance of the venue, but unfortunately, the convention tickets were single-use, and Zhong Jing found himself blocked outside.
“Dude, how much? I’ll pay you. Is a thousand enough?”
A messy-haired teenager said, and Zhong Jing put on a friendly expression.
“Sorry, I…”
“Thirty!” Zhong Jing was starting to lose his patience.
“Here, take the ticket!”
Zhong Jing promptly pulled out his phone to scan and transfer money, and the ticket squeezed into the entrance.
Minutes later, panting heavily, Zhong Jing finally arrived at the restroom door, bent over, utterly exhausted.
“Not here yet? Leftmost, third stall!”
On the phone, Jiang Yao was almost in tears.
“How… How am I supposed to find the third stall?!”
Hitting the end call button, Zhong Jing stared at the entrance of the women’s restroom, watching the various girls of all shapes and sizes go in and out, feeling on the verge of losing it.
Without further thought, Zhong Jing blocked a girl who looked like she was dressing up: “Hey, little lady, can you help me bring this bag in? It’s the leftmost, third stall. Thank you!”
“Sorry, big guy, but I’m a boy, I can only go to the men’s restroom.”
The young boy, resembling a middle schooler with a sweet smile, ended the conversation.
“I…”
Zhong Jing’s expression became increasingly stiff.
…
At dusk, two different SUVs nearly arrived simultaneously at a high-end villa community in District Q.
In police uniform, Meng Huai and Zhong Jing, dressed casually, appeared at the door of their villa simultaneously.
“Son, you’re back.”
A whole day at the convention had left Zhong Jing’s face a mix of excitement and fatigue as he spoke, pulling out a pile of colorful packaging and various anime posters from the car trunk.
“You’re not a kid anymore, still playing with these things?”
“Hehe, I just like it. My big brother isn’t into this scene, so he thinks it’s all childish.”
It was quite rare for Meng Huai and Zhong Jing to engage in conversation as they walked side by side into the villa’s main hall, each showing different expressions.
On the sofa in the main hall, their father, Zhong Hai, was reading a newspaper.
“Have you eaten?”
Seeing his two sons walk in side by side, surprise flickered in Zhong Hai’s eyes, but he still calmly set down the newspaper and removed his glasses.
“Dad, you suddenly called us back today. What’s the matter? Where’s Mom?”
Zhong Jing glanced at the cold face of Zi Pao Jing Hong Zhang Wu Yi, seated on the sofa, wanting to glance further away.
“She went to a friend’s house for a gathering.”
Zhong Hai’s gaze swept over both his sons, repeatedly inspecting them as if trying to memorize every detail about them.
The elder brother, Meng Huai, was tall and handsome, resembling their late mother, Meng, aside from his height.
Zhong Jing looked like a younger version of himself, charming and suave.
As he watched, a barely discernible twitch appeared at the corner of Zhong Hai’s mouth.
“If there’s nothing to clarify, I’ll be on my way. I’ll be attending training out of town next Friday for about a month, I still have to prepare.”
Seeing their father lost in thought, Meng Huai furrowed his brow and grabbed his belongings, preparing to leave.
“Sit down, I’ll finish before you go.”
Zhong Hai gestured for him to stay seated with a downward motion of his hand, stopping his eldest son.
“Early next month, the granddaughter of the Kurumi Financial Group in Japan, Kurumi Haruko, will come to C City to study. Our relationship with Mr. Kurumi has evolved from a business partnership to over fifteen years of friendship; we might as well consider ourselves old acquaintances. Therefore, Miss Kurumi will occasionally stay at our house.”
“Tomorrow, I’ll have someone prepare the first-floor side hall, increasing the bathing and changing space to make it Miss Kurumi’s guest room. If you have any personal items still in there, please retrieve them as soon as possible.”
With that, he cast a glance at Zhong Jing.
“Tomorrow? Is it really that urgent? The side hall is filled with my models, and there’s still so much gym equipment; I won’t have time to put them anywhere else!”
Zhong Jing paused, his expression slightly troubled; the second floor already had guest rooms, so why disrupt the large side hall for this?
Unlike Zhong Jing’s complaints, Meng Huai merely nodded at their father, then headed upstairs to sort out his belongings from the side hall, though probably without much in there.
Though Mr. Kurumi is Japanese, he has a deep-rooted appreciation for Chinese studies and has been friends with our family for years. He trusts the Zhong family. Miss Kurumi comes from a prestigious family, and the guest rooms are too small for her comfort. If you can’t manage to tidy up, I’ll have someone pack your things and store them in the basement.”
Not allowing his whimsical son to argue, Zhong Hai finished speaking and headed outside, intending to take a walk.