Chapter 277: The Grand Prize, Meow?

“Xiaoxi, do you think… everyone here hates me?”

Ye Xinglan’s voice was very soft. The surroundings were noisy, and for a moment Xiaoxi even doubted whether she had heard correctly.

“See, that person who asked the question earlier also said that the Blood Moon Witch is the eternal rival of the Eternal Star. Since everyone here is a fan of the Eternal Star, they should hate me, the Blood Moon Witch, right?”

In the crowded flow of people, the two were pressed tightly together. Ye Xinglan still stared straight at the stage, her tone calm, but she slightly tightened her grip on Xiaoxi’s hand.

“Why do you suddenly think that? What about… aren’t there people buying doujinshi of the Eternal Star and the Blood Moon Witch? Don’t overthink it, Xinglan.”

“Normal people wouldn’t like that kind of thing. That’s just a very small minority. The other fans… no, actually, most people are hostile to the Blood Moon Witch, I know that.”

Ye Xinglan sounded a bit dejected. Xiaoxi suddenly realized that the rich girl must have seen those marketing accounts about the Blood Moon Witch online in the past couple of days, right?

Come to think of it, although she intentionally tried to keep Xinglan away from those things, she couldn’t stop her from using the internet.

In fact, as the Eternal Star herself, Xiaoxi knew best that Ye Xinglan had never committed any unforgivable crime.

The Blood Moon Witch had never killed anyone, let alone the fact that she had been under the control of the Divine Summon Order at the time.

The Divine Summon Order was a cult organization. Its lower-level members were believers brainwashed by the rhetoric of “God blesses mankind,” and Ye Xinglan, as their Saintess, had a status more like a religious mascot within the Order.

As “the Saintess sent by God to guide the people,” in order to maintain her image, the Divine Summon Order naturally wouldn’t order Ye Xinglan to commit any atrocities.

And as the strongest human-shaped weapon of the Order, what they most often commanded the Blood Moon Witch to do was to deal with troublesome Magic Girls.

That was why Xiaoxi had clashed with her so many times. If you counted, the one who had been injured the most by Ye Xinglan was actually Xiaoxi herself.

Otherwise, if Ye Xinglan were truly a villain, no fan would ship such an absurd pairing as Blood Moon Witch × Eternal Star.

But Xiaoxi opened her mouth, yet couldn’t say a single word of comfort.

It was perfectly normal for people to reject the Blood Moon Witch, who had once belonged to the Divine Summon Order.

Even as the Eternal Star, she couldn’t change that. At this moment, all the comforting words that came to her mind felt so pale and weak.

“But it’s okay if others don’t like me. Even if everyone hates me, as long as Xiaoxi likes me, that’s enough.”

Suddenly, half of her body felt the weight of someone leaning on her.

Ye Xinglan gently rested her head on Xiaoxi’s chest, and her tone instantly returned to its usual carefree cheerfulness.

Xiaoxi’s heartbeat suddenly quickened in Ye Xinglan’s ears. This trust brought an indescribable guilt that surged through Xiaoxi’s heart.

Of all times… right when Xinglan’s heart was most vulnerable. If she let the rich girl know that she was the Eternal Star right now, she would definitely be very disappointed, right?

If she could wait until this turmoil passed…

The hesitation in her heart vanished in an instant. Xiaoxi recalled how Ye Xinglan had taken the initiative to reveal her identity to her back then.

So she had to tell Ye Xinglan herself. Xiaoxi didn’t want to betray that trust, and she didn’t want to drag it out any longer.

In the silence, the crowd ahead suddenly erupted into a wave of cheers, instantly drawing the attention of both of them. Accompanied by staff, the “Eternal Star” had slowly walked onto the stage.

So she came?

Xiaoxi was fully alert, sizing up the fake on the stage. The other had dressed up in the Eternal Star’s [Venus] form, and it was convincing enough to pass for real.

There was also a magical power reaction on her, which seemed to be a deliberate imitation of the state after a Magic Girl’s transformation.

Ye Xinglan also perked up instantly, her eyes locked onto the “Eternal Star’s” movements like a predator spotting its prey.

“Xiaoxi, Xiaoxi, that bastard really showed up.”

The “Eternal Star” gracefully walked up to the microphone.

But before she could speak, the lights in the live house suddenly went out with a pop, plunging the scene into darkness.

Xiaoxi immediately went on guard, almost transforming on the spot, thinking that the Divine Summon Order had finally bared its fangs and was about to make a move.

But the next second, a light from the stage direction attracted everyone’s attention.

The “Eternal Star” held the [Venus] form’s Starlight Staff in her hand. The tip of the magical wand glowed with a soft, starlike light, like a burning sparkler.

“First of all, I want to thank everyone for coming to this fan club meeting—”

“…Xiaoxi? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Ye Xinglan looked worriedly at Xiaoxi, whose expression had suddenly changed, not understanding why her little girlfriend had such a strong reaction.

Xiaoxi suddenly realized why Ye Xinglan hadn’t been able to see through the fake on stage before.

Using the Starlight Staff to light up the place was a trick she herself could do; it wouldn’t be hard to imitate. But at the moment the fake made her move, Xiaoxi sensed something—

The “Eternal Star” on stage had a magical power fluctuation exactly like hers.

Even as the real one, she couldn’t tell any difference. To achieve this level… could it really be considered a simple fake?

The fake’s speech on stage had nothing special about it—just polite words thanking everyone for their support. But as Xiaoxi stared at the person on stage, the more she looked, the more dazed she felt.

She couldn’t help but think back to when she used to attend events with the rest of her team.

The fake’s every word and action was exactly the same as hers back then.

If not for the fact that Xiaoxi herself was the real one, she wouldn’t have been able to confirm that the one on stage was a fake Eternal Star.

Xiaoxi finally understood why the Divine Summon Order dared to impersonate the Eternal Star so fearlessly.

If she, the real one, weren’t working for the Association’s Six Seats right now, the Association would definitely not be able to tell that this Eternal Star was a fake.

The speech ended quickly amidst Xiaoxi’s shock. Then a staff member stepped forward and took the microphone.

“Before the Eternal Star’s autograph session, there’s one more thing—I’m sure everyone has already participated in the live Q&A session, right? Someone has already received the final mysterious grand prize! Now, let’s reveal the prize!”

“Before the autograph session, the winner of the grand prize can go backstage and have some alone time with the Eternal Star!”

The next second, several strong spotlights converged on Xiaoxi and Ye Xinglan’s position in the audience.

“Let’s congratulate this fan~”

For a moment, envious gazes came from the surrounding fans. But Xiaoxi, standing in the middle of the spotlights, had a grim expression, showing no joy at winning.

It was a trap. No wonder there was such a quiz game about familiarity with the Eternal Star.

It seemed that this whole thing had been aimed at them from the very beginning.