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Thankfully, thanks to Guo Yu getting them friend and family tickets, Zhou Xueyin and Kang Siyin were standing not far from the stage. Though the spot was a bit off to the side, it didn't hinder their view of the performance.
The competition venue was rather basic. Aside from the judges and guests who had seats, the rest of the audience was either seated on the floor or standing in spots where they wouldn't be in the way.
The first group to take the stage was a Naruto Ninja Group that was full of mishaps, but luckily, their act belonged to the comedy genre. So, these incidents of wigs falling off and performers tumbling could be seen as part of the comedic act.
The second to appear was, surprisingly, another Naruto group?
That made sense, Zhou Xueyin had seen more than five Narutos, eight Sasukes, and ten Sakuras while she and Kang Siyin were walking around the venue earlier.
Of course, there were other popular characters as well, such as Neji, Tenten, and others. Though the cosplayers' appearances weren't bad, they still fell short of the original.
But this group now on stage could literally be described as characters come to life from the manga, with each member's portrayal being a 100% accurate!
Compared to the previous group, it was like heaven and earth, no comparison, no harm done! Zhou Xueyin felt goosebumps all over.
Not only were the characters accurately recreated, but the mini-theater performance was also incredibly well arranged.
Every move, every smirk was identical to the animations!
When the performance ended, the audience erupted in thunderous applause.
Zhou Xueyin and Kang Siyin couldn't help but clap vigorously as well, this Naruto group's cosplay was probably an unprecedentedly perfect rendition of the anime.
"This Naruto group is really something else!" Zhou Xueyin exclaimed excitedly to Kang Siyin.
"Right? Who would have thought a 'worker's anime' could produce such an amazing cosplay?" Kang Siyin nodded in agreement.
"Ay, it's Shanshan's turn next! Why do I feel more nervous than they do?" Zhou Xueyin's hands felt icy cold.
"Me too, feel my hands, chilly cold." Kang Siyin and Zhou Xueyin held hands, and indeed they were both at the same temperature.
"Yinyin!" In the noisy environment, Zhou Xueyin thought she heard someone calling her, a male voice?
Who could that be? Zhou Xueyin couldn't pinpoint the source of the voice at the moment.
"Stop looking..." It turned out to be Wei Jingzhu. She hadn't expected him to come and watch the cosplay competition as well.
"What a coincidence, you guys came too?" Zhou Xueyin saw that it wasn't just Wei Jingzhu, there were two other guys with him; one was a chubby guy with glasses, and the other was so handsome it was almost embarrassing to look straight at him.
"Oh right, let me introduce them. This is Zhao Kai and that is Li Ranxu; both are my roommates," Wei Jingzhu introduced his classmates, "We're here to cheer for Xiaoding today!"
"Xiaoding might win best of show today, no other guy dares cross-dress wearing so little!" Zhou Xueyin said with a giggle.
"Of course, that's our Xiaoding!" The handsome guy named Li Ranxu spoke with pride.
"Alright, back to the show!" Zhou Xueyin motioned for quiet as the music started.
The plan was: lights out on the stage, Yao Shanshan makes her entrance, spotlight turns on, and then the solo dance.
But because the venue was so brightly lit and had no way to go completely dark, they had to proceed with the dance as is.
The atmosphere, the feeling, the momentum—all seemed significantly reduced.
However, the good thing was Yao Shanshan performed the beautiful dance flawlessly. Without the lights going completely dark, it didn't seem to have much of an impact after all.
After Yao Shanshan had finished dancing, He Tong joined her onstage for a story-driven interaction.
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Next up was Ding Wuping's turn on stage.
No sooner had he stepped on stage than the guys behind Zhou Xueyin started howling to set the ambience.
You have to admit that with his cross-dressing costume on, it was really hard to tell if he was male or female. After performing a lively dance, the atmosphere in the audience ignited in an instant, the crowd clapping and chanting with the beat.
"Incredible! If you hadn't told me he was a guy, I would never have guessed! That figure, so many girls would be envious!" Regardless of whether others were envious, Zhou Xueyin certainly was.
"Yinyin, you're not bad yourself..." Kang Siyin said softly, "Although... but... I guess I'm pretty envious too..."
"Xiaoding! You can do it!" Li Ranxu shouted loudly.
That shout inadvertently turned all the eyes towards him.
What followed were whispers: Who's that? So handsome! With such height, he could play Byakuya from 'Bleach'...
Hearing this, Zhou Xueyin looked back and thought that indeed he could cosplay Byakuya, though Byakuya was even more aloof than him.
After Ding Wuping finished his hot dance, a small play adapted from a game story came up.
The final scene had He Tong lifting Yao Shanshan in a princess carry, taking her off the stage.
No wonder Mi Lu fought for this role; turns out she wanted He Tong to princess carry her. That woman's little schemes were just all too obvious.
After Yao Shanshan and the others left the stage, Zhou Xueyin hurried backstage with Kang Siyin to welcome them, followed by Wei Jingzhu and his two roommates.
"Yinyin, Yinyin, how was it? How did I dance?" Yao Shanshan asked nervously as soon as she saw Zhou Xueyin.
"Perfect! Perfect! Our Shanbao was the best of the entire show!" Zhou Xueyin hugged Yao Shanshan, comforting her.
"Shanshan, you danced incredibly well! I never imagined you only practiced for a week!" Kang Siyin also offered her praise.
"Yinyin, who's that super handsome guy behind Xiaojing? Do you know him?" Li Jiniang grinned slyly as she moved closer, her eyes obviously taken by Li Ranxu.
"That? Xiaojing's roommate, Li Ranxu, want to meet him?" Zhou Xueyin teased, raising her eyebrows mischievously.
"With a handsome guy around, do you take me for a nun? Hurry! Pass me his contact," Li Jiniang urged Zhou Xueyin.
"Alright, alright, I'll call Xiaojing over." Zhou Xueyin made her way through the crowd and pulled Wei Jingzhu over, "Jixiang wants to meet Li Ranxu..."
"How about this then? After the show ends, shall we all go out for a meal?" Wei Jingzhu suggested.
"Ah? Guo Yu said that after the show ends, the whole group is having a meal together…" Yao Shanshan said hesitantly.
"Then let's do it together, I'll go talk to Lao Guo!" Zhou Xueyin dashed off once again.
"Lao He?" Yao Shanshan, after getting off the stage, had only been catching up with Zhou Xueyin and the others, completely neglecting her boyfriend, and now she suddenly remembered to ask about his post-show plans.
At that moment, however, He Tong was nowhere to be found.
"Alright, alright! The teams who are done, please don't linger backstage… please return to your dressing rooms…" The staff began maintaining order backstage.
"Shanshan, are you going to continue watching the show, or are you going to change first?" Kang Siyin asked, as Yao Shanshan looked around.
"Let's go change first… It wouldn't be good if someone asks for photos…" Yao Shanshan was one of those who absolutely wouldn't take photos offstage, knowing her condition would be the worst after performing and could leave an embarrassing record.