Chapter 197 - 195: Do You Want to Hear the Truth or a Lie?

Chapter 197: Chapter 195: Do You Want to Hear the Truth or a Lie?

"Brother Zhang, I think you’re misunderstanding. I’m looking for a decent person, not one of those girls who uses cosplay as an excuse to hook up."

"That’s a nice thought." Zhang Zhe smiled. "But reality is harsh."

"Let me give you an example."

"So, you meet a cosplayer who’s great in every way."

"You two really hit it off. She’s accepting of all your weird ideas, and she doesn’t even get mad when you act up once in a while."

"She’s willing to get intimate with you, doesn’t mind your clumsiness at all, and even encourages you, saying that one minute is already great."

"She lets you look at her phone, check out her social circle, and even tells you how many boyfriends she’s had."

"And just like that, after knowing each other for two months, she suggests getting engaged."

"My friend, look me in the eye and tell me, would you get engaged to her?"

"Of course I would," the caller said decisively. "If a girl like that really exists, I could accept it even if she has a sordid past, as long as she’s willing to change."

[Bro is all about universal love.]

[As long as she hasn’t had kids, I’d be okay with it too.]

[To be fair, we in the anime world care more about the soul anyway.]

[Honestly, a girl like that could basically be canonized as a saint in the cosplay scene.]

"That’s nice." Zhang Zhe kept smiling. "And then, just as you’re starting to plan the engagement, she ghosts you."

"She sends you a message telling you it was all a ’mission from her master’."

"She’s a Contracted Beast."

"!!!" The caller was shocked. "That’s something out of a novel, right? How could that happen in real life?"

"Reality can be even more absurd than that."

"A girl like that is actually one of the better ones. At least she’s mentally stable."

"You’d be singing a different tune if you ran into one who ’plays the violin’."

"What does ’playing the violin’ mean?" The caller didn’t get it. "Brother Zhang, were you part of that scene before?"

"No, don’t make stuff up."

"’Playing the violin’ is like making decorative cuts. It means taking a blade and cutting your own legs or arms. The more cuts you have, the more badass you are."

"You’ve been to anime conventions, haven’t you noticed?"

"No."

"You’ve definitely seen it. Think carefully," Zhang Zhe explained. "Aren’t there people who have flesh-colored stickers on their bodies?"

"Oh," the caller said, realization dawning. "I thought those were to cover up tattoos."

"Some are, some aren’t."

"Next time you’re at a con, if you see someone with one of those cover-up stickers, just go rip it off and you’ll see."

Zhang Zhe had a pretty good idea of this guy’s level now.

He was probably the type of otaku who only dares to watch quietly at conventions, not even bold enough to ask for photos to ’collect’, and at most just buys some merchandise.

"Look, my friend, let me put it this way: the cosplay scene is second only to the BDSM scene."

"Things get really, really wild."

[So true. I see drama from that scene all the time.]

[A lot of them are just kids with zero self-control or common sense.]

[Brother Zhang, you must have really been in that scene before, right?]

[It can’t be that bad, can it? I cosplay too, how come I’ve never run into this stuff?]

"Let me make one thing clear: this is all stuff a friend of mine who used to be into photography told me."

"I’ve never been involved, I’ve only seen it."

"Sometimes you can’t help it. People post things in group chats, and since I have really fast hands, by the time I realize what I’ve clicked on, it’s already too late."

"Now to answer the viewer’s question."

"Why haven’t you run into this stuff even though you cosplay? Because you’re not in the scene."

"How can someone who can’t even get enough likes to get a free pass to a convention be considered an insider?" Zhang Zhe said, spreading his hands.

Actually, it’s very simple to tell if someone is part of the cosplay scene. You just have to see if they need to buy their own ticket to get into a convention.

The easiest way to get into a con for free is to apply for a "freelance pass."

You post a screenshot of the convention info on your QQ Zone, collect likes and shares, and once you hit a certain number, you can apply.

People who aren’t social, don’t hang out in the scene, and don’t add a ton of friends would have a hard time collecting enough likes and shares.

And those who have to buy their own tickets are basically just dabblers.

These kinds of amateurs are all different, so there’s no point in discussing them as a group. Zhang Zhe had seen plenty of rich kids who liked to cosplay, and they were perfectly normal.

The girl this caller was looking for was, naturally, someone who was truly in the scene.

Because he believed a girl from the scene would be accepting of an otaku like him.

That line of thinking wasn’t wrong. Forget being an otaku—people in that scene would even accept a big eater like Liangzi, as long as you were willing to buy her pretty clothes.

But whether the guy, in turn, can be accepting of a girl from the scene is another question entirely.

"My friend, take my advice. Forget about marrying a cosplayer. But if you want to spend some money to find a Contracted Beast, that’s an option."

"That’s the mainstream way to play in their circle."

"It doesn’t even cost that much."

"And if you don’t even want to spend that money, then go learn photography."

"Photography is good. You should learn it. Get a photographer’s certification, hang out in the scene for a while, and you’ll be completely disenchanted with them."

"That way, when you leave the scene, you’ll at least have an extra skill."

[Thanks, Brother Zhang. I’m going to learn photography right now.]

[Photography is great and all, it just really takes a toll on your body.]

[It’s actually not that interesting. After you’ve done it a lot, it’s easy to lose interest in the opposite sex.]

"Then I..." The caller stammered for a moment after hearing Zhang Zhe’s words, as if trying to organize his thoughts.

After a long pause, he managed his next sentence: "Then what if I look for an anime fan who’s not in the scene?"

"I don’t think you’ll be able to find one," Zhang Zhe said, shaking his head responsibly. "If you could find one on your own, you would have already."

"There are so many girls at conventions. If you were just a little more outgoing, you could at least get a WeChat to chat with someone, no problem."

"But... you can’t take that first step, can you?"

"That’s right," the caller admitted, clearly pained. "I paid a Matchmaker to help me find someone before. The girls she found did like anime, but they all thought I was boring."

"You’re counting on a traditional Matchmaker?" Zhang Zhe shook his head.

"What does a Matchmaker know about the anime world? Even I wouldn’t dare say I understand it."

"You’d have a better chance posting a personals ad in the comments section on Bilibili than having a Matchmaker help you."

"If you ask me, you should be bugging your classmates, alumni, and contacts within the scene."

"Send them red packets and ask them to set you up with someone."

"Just try to have a couple of proper relationships first," Zhang Zhe advised. "The state you’re in right now, you’re still a long way from marriage."

"Honestly, unless it’s a ’mission from her master’ or she’s just trying to squeeze you for cash, I really can’t imagine why any girl would want to be with you."

[That’s brutal, Brother Zhang.]

[He’s so young, he shouldn’t be thinking about marriage this early anyway.]

[He should just find an open-minded girl. Why does she have to be an anime fan? It’s not like they’d necessarily like the same shows.]

[A marriage is happy when two people have something in common. I don’t see a problem with this guy looking for another anime fan.]

[If you ask me, he should just pay to have some fun and forget about it. When it comes to marriage, it’s better to find someone from a similar background.]

Perhaps prompted by the chat comments, the caller suddenly adjusted his line of thinking and asked Zhang Zhe:

"Brother Zhang, in that case, what kind of normal marriage partner could I find?"

"Do you want to hear the truth?" Zhang Zhe asked in return.

"Of course, but I want to hear the comforting lies too."

"Alright. First, let me ask you: are you more of an anime fan, or more of a homebody?"

"Probably a homebody," the guy said after thinking for a moment. "I wasn’t always into anime; that’s a hobby I developed later on."

"Okay, I get it."

"If you want the comforting lie, it’s simple: find a girl from a similar family background who also likes being a homebody."

"But if you want the truth..." Zhang Zhe cleared his throat. "If you really plan on being a homebody your entire life, it’s best not to get married at all."