The viewers of the live stream fulfilled their end of the bet. Fortunately, Liu Zilang was way too young to be realistically considered a father. Hence, the viewers did not receive too much psychological trauma when they sent messages of "daddy" to his satisfaction.
While posting messages in recognition of Liu Zilang's 'ten hit combo', someone started posting about 'calling this thief their father'.1
Soon after, the bullet screen was filled with messages of, "I admit that this thief is my father"…
Seeing the barrage of messages on the bullet screen of his channel, a 'kind fatherly smile' appeared on Liu Zilang's face.
'You've grown up, my sons!
'Your father is pleased!'
After that, Liu Zilang and Qin Xuanxuan chatted for a bit. The audience in the live stream channel then found out that this girl in a Pikachu costume was Liu Zilang's senior in college…
"Scam!"
"A bare-faced scam!"
"You roped a familiar friend into this!"
The bullet screen was instantly filled with angry messages demanding justice.
Liu Zilang was not going to press on the advantage. After waving goodbye to Qin Xuanxuan, he continued on his tour with his fans around the convention hall, deliberately ignoring the bullet screen.
As the day went on, more and more people arrived at the arena. Soon, they were walking shoulder to shoulder.
It was going to be impossible for Liu Zilang to continue his procession with his entourage.
Even if he wanted to, the security staff would come and break up the crowd.
It was too easy to cause undesirable incidents.
His followers were understanding of the situation when Liu Zilang explained it to them. In any case, they had already got what they came for, which was to meet Liu Zilang face to face.
They found a plot of empty land outside the arena and dispersed after a round of group photos.
As for Liu Zilang, he continued streaming with his phone on a selfie stick, walking around the halls.
Soon, he arrived at the Cosplay Section of the arena.
Before the live concerts that were to take place later that evening, the Cosplay Section was by far the most crowded area of the event.
Liu Zilang went around for a bit, trying to look for Zhang Xiaotong and Misaka Mikoto.
He did not know if they were still in the changing rooms or if they were somewhere else.
Just then, he heard a commotion and a flurry of camera clicks coming from near the stage that was diagonally in front of him.
"Wow, that Platelet is so cute!"
"Why is she wearing a mask though?"
"Maybe that's Xiaotong-chan from Douyu? I heard that she's here today."
"I wonder what she looks like though, she has never taken off her mask on stream."
"Eh? I've seen the girl in the Red Blood Cell costume before. That's Menhera-chan!"
"…"
Liu Zilang quickly went past the crowd and arrived at the scene.
In the "Cells at Work" corner of the Cosplay Section, Misaka Mikoto and Zhang Xiaotong were in costume.
Zhang Xiaotong was wearing a long blonde wig, a loose sky-blue dress, and black boots that had white trims. A yellow bag was also slung over her shoulder.
She was already petite-sized. In such a loose costume, she looked even smaller, like a cute grade-schooler.
Misaka Mikoto who was next to her exuded a different aura.
She wore a fiery red cap and wig, a red jacket, and below that was a pair of jean shorts and red boots. Her fair and slender thighs were exposed.
His silly disciple had always worn a black hoodie and sweatpants at home. She did not show even a tiny bit of extra skin in her everyday wear.
Liu Zilang took a closer look.
'Wow, that costume is really well done, ah, no, those legs are really something…"
After thinking of that, he discreetly shifted his smartphone camera upward.
The people in the live-stream channel had been drooling over Misaka Mikoto's figure.
They suddenly realized that her legs were gone from the screen.
"Where are my legs?"
"Those long, slender legs!!"
Many viewers left angry messages on the bullet screen, accusing Liu Zilang of keeping it all to himself. They all threatened to unsubscribe from his channel.
Liu Zilang pretended not to understand what they were talking about. He took another sideways glance at Misaka Mikoto's long legs.
"What do you want to see? I'm already streaming, right?" Liu Zilang pretended to be puzzled.
Just then, Misaka Mikoto who was on the stage stretched out her index finger and poked at Zhang Xiaotong's masked cheeks.
Zhang Xiaotong closed her crescent-shaped eyes slightly, her bashful face was abnormally cute in that instant.
The viewers of the live-stream channel immediately forgot about Misaka Mikoto's long legs when they saw that scene. They left messages on the bullet screen about how cute Xiaotong-chan's Platelet was, some of them even feigned heart attacks.
'Eww!
'So gross!'
Liu Zilang pouted in disgust. He turned around to see that his surroundings were packed with people.
Many people from other stages in the Cosplay Section had seen a crowd form at the "Cells At Work" corner, and they had come over out of curiosity. They remained there and even more people were attracted.
In the blink of an eye, Zhang Xiaotong and Misaka Mikoto had stolen the limelight of the Cosplay Section.
People were snapping photos with their smartphones and cameras. It was rare that a Platelet and Red Blood Cell pair resembled their original characters so closely. Not to mention, they were so adorable together.
Meanwhile, the other stages in the Cosplay Section became deserted as a result.
The other cosplayers felt both admiration and envy.
Drama happens wherever people are. The two-dimensional world isn't an otherworldly utopia.
The cosplayers were mostly streamers and uploaders who were present by invitation. They were used to being showered with attention from their fans and followers. Hence, they could not bear such abrupt cold-shoulder treatment.
One of the cosplayers was BaoEr, a caster in the Attractive Section of Douyu. She was dressed in the costume of a fairly well-known anime character.
On her stream, she had an attractive face because of video filters. However, her face was a lot less convincing in real-life because of the lack of real-life filters.
She had only managed to attract a small crowd.
After Zhang Xiaotong and Misaka Mikoto appeared on stage in costume, her audience count dropped to zero…
A woman's envy is a scary thing. Once activated, they might lose their minds.
On her live-stream, she grumbled to her viewers.
"Looks like 'Cells At Work' is very popular now, I should've come dressed in my other costume today.
"But whenever I cosplay, I always show my face. What's the point of cosplaying if you don't even show your face?"
She did not specifically name anyone in her complaint, though the meaning behind her words was well-implied.
Zhang Xiaotong was the only streamer in the MAG section, or even the entire of Douyu, to have such a large following despite not showing her face.
Her fans had always joked that she was a 'headless knight'. She always wore a mask when she uploaded dance videos on the site and when she joined offline gatherings.
Some Douyu viewers wondered if she wore a mask to obscure her average looks. Some people with disingenuous motives had even posted articles and 'photographic evidence' in the forums of Douyu and Baidu.
Zhang Xiaotong had always ignored those rumors. Her channel was mostly about her cute voice and singing talent. Her fans still loved her and such news never gained a foothold.
Who would have expected…
An envious rival streamer's careless comment to set off a chain of events…
… Chinese idiom. It usually means 'to betray one's principles
