Blue and Red / 40. Can Those Who Sleep Be Drowned in Sweet Dreams?

Just then, there was a knock at the door. The middle-aged man instinctively assumed it was the recipient, so he walked towards the door, replying, "Coming, coming, this is what I wanted to send..."

"..." Then, the middle-aged man who raised his head saw several burly men surrounding the door, wearing sunglasses and looking at him.

"Hi..."

He said hi.

"Hi!!!" XN

They said hi.

Directed by Robert B. Weide

(On how many movies Robert B. Weide directed)

Chapter 224 Blue and Red

In the past, the so-called Windsong Festival would often involve some priestesses dancing around...

In modern times, only anime/manga characters cosplaying as shrine maidens have remained.

In the past, it was common to hire famous singers to perform songs and dances.

They danced and sang some supernatural songs.

In modern times, they became virtual singers.

It's like... Holy crap! Hatsune Miku!

That's pretty much it.

The world changes, and it's hard to say whether it's for better or worse, but there's no doubt that... the Windsong Festival has entered the public's aesthetic sensibilities.

It has become a festival enjoyed by people of all ages.

For many young people, it's a large-scale cosplay event... In today's world, many traditions need to change with the times.

Most people have a few roles they'd like to try out, and ultimately they'll choose the one they're most satisfied with.

But often it's associated with "popular seasonal" characters.

For example...

This person is cosplaying a student, holding a magic book, and surprisingly, the resemblance is quite good; the face and body shape are also very similar.

A crowd of people surrounded her, taking pictures and expressing their admiration and amazement at the cosplayer.

"Wow, that's awesome..."

"It's so similar! It's exactly like An..."

"It's very accurate."

"It's a pity that Grea isn't here."

Hearing the voices around her and the praise from those around her, the girl smiled shyly.

She is a student at Windflower Girls' High School...

Her roommate originally wanted to cosplay as Grea, and had even bought the costume, planning to have a great time at the Windsong Festival, but then...

My teacher dragged me to participate in a women's cycling race (sad).

Then, from behind her came a clear, melodious girl's voice—

"Hey, Cong Yu... isn't that a character from your comics?"

Then, a male voice responded to her--

"Idiot, your voice is too loud... Besides, it's 'a character from a comic I'm reading,' okay? I'm not Teacher CY."

"Huh? But aren't you...?"

Before Yaochuan Guang could ask any more questions, Lantian Zhu pulled him back, saying, "Little Guang... you'd better not say anything."

Although he didn't quite understand, Yaochuan Guang, who was holding Xiao Cui's hand, still obediently nodded to show that he understood.

Then, the group continued walking inside, curiously looking around.

It attracted a lot of attention.

"Huh? It's Magical Girl Shining☆Channel and Blue Sky ☆Channel, and this little girl is also... is she some kind of magical girl character?"

Wow! The accuracy is amazing!

"It's so pretty!"

"Hmm, but I saw an even more accurate version of Shining☆chan over there before, look... I even added Linx--"

"..." Yaochuan Guang: "???"

A more accurate recreation... me?

Why? Isn't my reproduction 100% accurate?

"Ha... So this is what cosplay is all about. Don't make it hard for them. Some things can be interpreted in a hundred different ways by a hundred different people."

Cong Yu explained simply that although she was dressed to pretend to be herself, the outfit, consisting of a coat, mask, and hood, didn't look very authentic.

Surprisingly, not many people approached them to chat.

Because his handsome face was covered, there were even fewer people trying to chat him up than usual... It was surprisingly quiet.

I suddenly had the idea of going out like this from now on.

"Huh? What do you mean by 'a hundred people have a hundred different imaginations'?"

Yaochuan Guang looked somewhat puzzled, while Lantian Zhu helped explain, "It means... only a few people have actually witnessed your battle, and even if they did, you were moving rapidly or casting spells at that time."

"Most people get to know you based on videos and their imagination, judging the structure of your outfit and the material of the fabric."

"So, the you they imagine... might not be the real you, and right now you don't seem particularly noticeable or special."

Lantian Zhu stretched lazily as she said this, then added, "However, wandering around taking pictures here isn't very interesting. Let's go check out the booths over there... and find a place to sit down."

There's nothing really going on, but wanting to see the booth is a lie; the real purpose, more than anything, is to find a place to sit.

Little Lan is like this: at home, she usually stays on the sofa watching TV and playing on her phone... just like her middle-aged father.

But if we consider age...

Lantian Zhu could indeed be a middle-aged person.

Because I don't usually drink, go clubbing, sing karaoke, or go to bars, I'm a very honest middle-aged man. So I don't plan to add any cosplay Linx... I don't have that need.

My only unhealthy hobby is reading comics and spending money.

If you were to convert him to a male, he would actually be a very pitiful guy.

What? This is totally me?

Yes, that's true.

If we disregard job and income levels, and assume that even if the gender were reversed, one would still be living with a "good brother" or a "beautiful woman."

"Eh? I'd really like to add other Shining☆Chan Linx characters..."

Yaochuan Guang said this, she, pulled by Lantian Zhu, also pulled Xiao Cui, gesturing for Cong Yu to follow. "Wait a minute... Hey? There are so many people cosplaying as you--"

Lantian Zhu: "..."

"That's cosplaying as Blue Sky ☆Jiang, not me!"

Lantian Zhu corrected her, then shifted her gaze forward, and then...

... He froze for a moment, then stood still.

Yaochuan Guang, who was being pulled along, stopped and greeted the passersby ahead, "Teacher Hong, are you here for the Windsong Festival too?"

At this, Hong, who was walking and looking at her phone, was stunned for a moment, and then looked at Yaochuan Guang... and Cong Yu, who was following behind Yaochuan Guang and the others at a leisurely pace.

"Oh, Yaochuan? Hello, and hello to this little girl too... And good morning, Cong Yu."

As Hong said this, an amused smile appeared on her face. She was once again happy that she could openly refer to Cong Yu as "classmate": "Yes, I'm also from Wind City, so of course I wouldn't miss Windsong Day."

What a coincidence!

Yaochuan Guang blinked, then happily struck up a conversation with the school nurse. "Is Ms. Hong also a native of Wind City?"

Upon hearing this, Lantian Zhu immediately looked at Hong, awaiting her reply.

"Oh, right."

Hong laughed and patted Yaochuan Guang on the shoulder, "I heard you don't know anything about the Windsong Festival, so let Cong Yu show you around today!"

With that, Hong bid farewell to the three of them.

"..." It's not Central City after all?

As Lantian Zhu thought this, she rubbed her eyes, feeling a strange sense of familiarity, but she couldn't recall where she had seen it before.

"Little Guang... who is that Teacher Hong?"

To Lantian Zhu's question, Yaochuan Guang simply replied, "She's our school's health teacher... and she's very close to Cong Yu."

Are you close to Cong Yu...?

Lantian Zhu seemed lost in thought.

Chapter 225 Will the Sleepers Drown in Their Sweet Dreams?

Comic conventions are something like that.

Actually, Cong Yu isn't very interested... Yes, although he makes a living from comics, he's not very interested in comic conventions.

After all, in this day and age, the real "anime/manga" is mostly about staying at home and being a shut-in.

Cong Yu is currently living in a rather awkward era...

Four or five years ago, anime conventions were a bit more straightforward, without so many hidden agendas or convoluted activities. There weren't so many self-proclaimed "anime fans" who knew nothing about anything except the "hottest anime of the season."

If we wait a few decades, the environment will be more similar to the era that Cong Yu is familiar with.

The number of people who stay at home has increased unexpectedly.

But by the time of Cong Yu...

Everyone will stay at home obediently. 50% or more of people will stay in their own "Threshold Private Space" from birth until death.

Randomly matched gene births, Federation child support, takeout food, video work, home entertainment, towed away and incinerated, cyber tombstones.

A person can live their entire life in their own home, even in their own room.

At that time, comic conventions didn't matter much anymore.

Going back a bit, even those in the anime/manga community know they're a niche group. So they don't flaunt it, and random people don't get involved.

Further on, you'll find yourself surrounded by true "homebodies," so there's no need to single anyone out... Staying home to watch anime is pretty much the same as watching a movie.

Therefore, the era that Cong Yu is currently in is an awkward one, stuck in the middle.

However...

Although he had read about it in books, he was only now truly understanding it... In fact, virtual singers were already very popular at this time.

Thinking this, Cong Yu looked at the stage, where a twin-tailed, green onion-shaped songstress was projected into the darkness by a virtual imaging device.

There were quite a few onlookers around.

Cong Yu herself rarely watches anime... because from a future perspective, the anime tropes of this period have basically been completely deconstructed and analyzed.

However, he usually enjoys listening to music.

The direction of music in this world... seems to be quite different from what he knew, and he hadn't had much contact with music in his previous life.

Let's find something new and enjoy ourselves.

Cong Yu, chin in hand, sat in his seat, listening to the songstress on stage singing music he had probably never encountered in his previous life.

The style of the piece has a bit of a Jin feel to it... The overall tempo is very fast, and the first note of each measure is rushed.

The guitar has very little distortion, sounding somewhat powerless. However, the clean tones are crisp, and the rhythm is rather "freestyle." (In English...)

Um... it was "Fuxk".