Zhou Xueyin, who had thought she'd lose sleep, was soon snoring heavily as soon as her head hit the pillow.
However, although she slept, it wasn't very soundly; all her dreams were about Yinghaiwei Company taking the money and running.
The next morning, Zhou Xueyin woke up even earlier than her alarm clock.
The first thing she did after crawling out of bed was to turn on her computer to check if Yinghaiwei's website had been restored.
'Site Announcement'
'Recently, a few malicious individuals have spread rumors that Yinghaiwei is about to take the money and run.'
'Now, we at Yinghaiwei Company solemnly declare that we are a legally registered company and will not engage in any fraud! The service outage yesterday was due to a massive power failure in the server's area, preventing users from using our products normally. We have dealt with it as quickly as possible. To ensure that such situations do not recur, we will have someone on duty 24 hours a day. Please rest assured when using our other online products!'
'To those with ulterior motives, we would like to say, we will not pursue legal action this time. But if it happens again, we'll see you in court!'
When Zhou Xueyin saw this announcement, the heart that had been hanging finally fell.
"Phew... if that's the case, then I'm relieved," Zhou Xueyin said as she opened the forum, and the page loaded smoothly.
All was well, so Zhou Xueyin stretched and climbed back into bed to continue catching up on her sleep.
"Yinyin, Yinyin, time to get up!" Kang Siyin tapped on the side of Zhou Xueyin's bed, "Come take a look at the forum!"
"Huh? The forum?" At the mention of this, Zhou Xueyin sat up abruptly.
She was a bit groggy now, not quite sure if she had indeed confirmed this morning that the forum was safe or if she had dreamt it.
"Yes, the forum! Come take a look!" Kang Siyin said before running off, not giving Zhou Xueyin any time to confirm the situation.
Yawning and making her way to her work area, Zhou Xueyin turned on her computer and saw the forum was still perfect: "What's up with the forum? I thought it was all good now?"
"Yeah! It's exactly because the forum is fine that I called you to see it!" Kang Siyin said, relieved, "Wasn't it not opening at all before we went to sleep last night? I was worried all night and didn't sleep well."
"I checked it first thing when I got up...so I went back to sleep feeling at ease. Besides, Yinghaiwei has released an announcement, did you see it? I think we can use their space with confidence now!" Zhou Xueyin spoke with composure.
Free of the threat of the service provider potentially running off at any moment, Zhou Xueyin boldly posted her recent street photography achievements on the forum.
Meanwhile, Mi Lu was continuously helping Yao Shanshan correct mistakes during dance practice, aiming for a flawless performance on stage.
Since the cosplay competition was at the military museum, which was close to Zhou Xueyin's house, on July 31st in the afternoon, the four girls brought over Zhou Xueyin's old computer and stayed at her place.
Although her father had some critiques and comments about the current data on the forum, he still fully supported Zhou Xueyin's startup venture.
Early the next morning, the four of them went to the competition venue.
Mi Lu, also dressed in Yuna's cosplay costume and cosplaying as Tida, was seen from a distance, flirting with He Tong in the makeup area and laughing together, looking every part the official couple.
Team leader Guo Yu came over to greet them, "You guys got here pretty early..."
"Hey, thanks to staying at Yinyin's place, otherwise we would've had to get up early," Yao Shanshan gratefully looked at Zhou Xueyin.
"It was no trouble at all," Zhou Xueyin said with ease, "Old Guo, let me ask you, the consultant isn't going to perform today as well, is she?"
"She's been promoted... to a judge." Guo Yu spread his hands helplessly, "I'm not one to talk, but she really is unreliable! As soon as she arrived, she said she wanted to steal Shanshan's role. We all felt she wasn't suitable. Next thing we know, she's somehow... um, got hooked up with the organizers and snagged a judge's spot..."
"Er... She's not going to target our Shanbao, is she?" Li Jiniang asked worriedly.
"She probably won't... after all, Old He is in the group too..." Guo Yu realized he might have slipped up, and quickly corrected himself, "After all, we've already practiced together so many times before, right..."
'That's not necessarily the case...' Though she didn't say it out loud, Zhou Xueyin still exchanged a knowing look with Li Jiniang, understanding each other's thoughts.
"Shanbao, you're here! How's the dance coming along? Mi Lu said that if you can do a duet with me, it will score extra points for our team!" He Tong hurried over as soon as he saw Yao Shanshan arrive.
"Ah? Really? I'm someone with absolutely no talent for dancing; a solo dance is already painful enough, let alone a duet? Forget it..." Yao Shanshan waved her hands frantically, at this moment wishing nothing more than to go on stage later without tripping over her own feet and falling.
"Yeah, Old He, let's not make it too hard for people," Guo Yu intervened peaceably, "With Xiaoding as our pillar, playing Liuku in drag is already eye-catching enough. We don't need to take risks with Shanshan."
"Hmph, heh... Whatever, you're the team leader, we'll listen to you," He Tong scoffed dismissively.
"Alright, you guys do your best! I'm going to take a walk with KK inside the venue, see if we can spot some business opportunities." Actually, on her way to find Guo Yu, Zhou Xueyin had seen quite a few anime-related booths. If she could strike a deal with them and promote on her forum, maybe it could make the content more diverse.
"When did she become such a workaholic?" Guo Yu asked Yao Shanshan, seemingly puzzled.
However, no one answered his question. Li Jiniang was applying Yao Shanshan's makeup, He Tong was fiddling with something out of boredom. The other team members were also busy with their preparations, while Mi Lu had gone to report to the event committee.
Everyone in the Cosplay area was making last-minute preparations for their upcoming performances.
Zhou Xueyin and Kang Siyin strolled aimlessly around the venue. Although they had attended quite a few small conventions before, this was their first time at such a large-scale event.
To her surprise, there were so many booths from the anime industry, she even spotted a booth from a domestic comic publication she used to buy in elementary school, which filled her with nostalgia.
Although the stroll didn't yield any special gains, Zhou Xueyin still took plenty of photos, at least these could populate the currently empty forums.
When the two returned to the performance area, the official Cosplay competition had just begun.
Yao Shanshan's team was the third to perform, which wasn't a small amount of pressure. Yao Shanshan kept taking deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves.
Luckily, He Tong stayed by her side the whole time, which greatly reduced her anxiety.
Although it seemed that way, Zhou Xueyin and Kang Siyin in the audience area saw something else: He Tong and Mi Lu were exchanging ambiguous glances from a distance.