“Hey, Xinglan, why don’t you go try it out?”
“Aren’t you a huge fan of Eternal Star? I bet you’d answer way more than me. Plus, the staff said there’s a mysterious grand prize if you get all of them right!”
“No way!”
“I don’t want to answer any questions about that person!”
“Please, Xinglan? Pretty please? If we win the grand prize, we’ll be rich!”
Ye Xinglan ignored Da Tianxin’s pleading and looked reluctant, but Xiaoxi got interested. She wanted to see what kind of questions they’d ask about her.
So Xinglan was reluctantly dragged by the two to the quiz booth. Xiaoxi looked confident.
Even if Xinglan couldn’t answer, Xiaoxi was there. How could Xinglan know Eternal Star better than she did?
After a short wait, Xinglan started answering. The first questions were easy—things like Eternal Star’s transformation traits and how many forms she had. Xinglan answered without even thinking.
Seeing her answer so easily, the staff member quickly increased the difficulty.
“As everyone knows, the direct cause of the Divine Summon Order’s downfall was Eternal Star’s complete defeat of her archenemy, the Blood Moon Witch. What part of the Blood Moon Witch’s body did Eternal Star’s final blow injure to defeat her?”
This was already a tough question. Normal fans wouldn’t pay attention to which specific body part Eternal Star hit in each fight, right?
But Xinglan’s face turned pale. With a pained expression, she instinctively covered her lower abdomen.
“She stabbed her waist!”
Xinglan gritted her teeth. “About ten centimeters to the right of her lower abdomen!”
The surrounding fans gasped. Xinglan had answered way too quickly. How could a normal fan remember such a detail so clearly?
“N-next question. How many total battles have Eternal Star and the Blood Moon Witch fought?”
“182 times!”
“C-correct…”
The staff member was sweating. He’d had to look up the answer himself. Honestly, he never thought anyone could answer that, let alone so fast.
Xiaoxi coughed lightly. Damn. If she had to answer that question herself… she wouldn’t have known.
Looks like Xinglan really did know Eternal Star better than her.
A moment later, the big prize ball at the booth burst open with a bang, streamers flying and bells ringing.
The staff handed over a grand prize ticket. Xinglan’s face was expressionless, like a top student acing an exam.
“C-congratulations. As the first challenger to answer all questions correctly, this is your mysterious grand prize. The prize details will be announced later.”
“Whoa, nice job, Xinglan!” Da Tianxin shook Xinglan’s arm excitedly. “I didn’t know you knew Eternal Star that well. You totally got her down!”
Xiaoxi thought to herself that yes, in a way, Xinglan’s understanding of her was indeed… thorough. Mm.
“But don’t be too sad, Xiaoxi,” Da Tianxin suddenly turned to comfort her. “No matter how much Xinglan likes Eternal Star, she definitely likes you more~”
Why would she be jealous about that?
Not only did Xinglan not like Eternal Star, but why would she be jealous of herself?
The three wandered around a bit more. But Xiaoxi wasn’t just playing.
She took the chance to observe the live house’s layout. The structure wasn’t complicated. The only place she hadn’t checked yet…
Xiaoxi’s gaze shifted to the rest room door by the stage. So far, nothing seemed wrong at the doujin convention. That left only the rest room and backstage.
Xiaoxi also sent the current situation to the astrologer. When she looked up, most of the crowd was gathering toward the stage.
Da Tianxin glanced at her phone. “It’s almost time for Eternal Star to go on stage… Ah, you two go ahead.”
“What’s wrong, Sweet Xin?”
“I’m going to hand over the fan gifts to the staff.” Da Tianxin hefted the big bag on her back. “I’ll be back soon. Save me a good spot!”
Hearing that the gifts were about to reach Eternal Star, Xinglan’s lips started to curl up, but she avoided Xiaoxi’s gaze and forced them back down.
They took only a few steps toward the stage when they ran into an unexpected person at the quiz booth.
Qingluan, holding a big bag of merchandise, saw Xiaoxi and her face immediately soured. But since Xinglan was next to her, she couldn’t act out.
“What a coincidence?” Xiaoxi raised an eyebrow, noticing the first prize ticket in Qingluan’s hand. “I didn’t know you were such a fan of Eternal Star.”
Given the difficulty of those questions, getting first prize meant you were a pretty dedicated fan. Actually, Xiaoxi was already surprised Qingluan was here at all.
“Hah, don’t think everyone’s like you and cares about this stuff. I crammed for two days just to take the quiz.”
“Since this opportunity is rare, buying extra merchandise here to resell later will fetch a good price.”
Xiaoxi was stunned. So Qingluan had come for that reason?
Even though Xiaoxi didn’t see herself as an idol, she definitely disliked this kind of behavior—using Eternal Star’s name to cheat money.
“But wouldn’t that just rip off other Eternal Star fans?”
“Aren’t you acting like a scalper…”
“Tch, aren’t you being too nosy?” Qingluan cut off Xiaoxi impatiently. “You’re not Eternal Star. Why do you need to fight for her fans?”
“A dog catching a mouse—just meddling…”
Qingluan rolled her eyes and left. Xiaoxi quickly grabbed Xinglan, who was about to explode.
They had a more important reason to be here today.
Qingluan clearly wasn’t at the level to be involved in the Association’s operation.
Better not start extra conflict with her.
Xiaoxi hurriedly pulled Xinglan to the front of the stage to grab a spot.
The fans were really enthusiastic about Eternal Star’s appearance.
In no time, people packed around them. Someone even held up an Eternal Star banner.
Xiaoxi held Xinglan’s hand to keep from being separated.
She was still thinking about the fake’s upcoming appearance when Xinglan suddenly gripped her hand tight.
Amid the noisy crowd, Xinglan spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear.
“Xiaoxi, do you think… everyone here hates me?”