After changing into her clothes, Yao Shanshan, along with Li Jixiang, taking a suitcase, found Zhou Xueyin and Kang Siyin in the audience area, and watched the performances that followed the competition together.
However, Yao Shanshan's timing couldn't have been worse; she just happened to come out during the intermission.
Even though it was intermission, the host was still keeping the atmosphere alive, "Did everyone enjoy the performances just now? Now is the break time, and as you all know, our judges for this competition are all celebrities from the Cosplay circle. I heard that we have Mi Lu, last year's Guangzhou competition winner, here today. Wouldn't everyone like to see her perform live?"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
"Who wouldn't want to? They would be a fool!"
The audience started to jeer together.
"No way..." Zhou Xueyin and the other three chorused in agreement, singing a different tune.
They really didn't want to watch Mi Lu's performance; just looking at her costume made it clear that she was there to ruin Yao Shanshan's moment.
While there were no written rules stating that judges or guests could not clash with competing cosers, there was a tacit understanding to avoid the same works.
Yet, Mi Lu brazenly took the stage in Yuna's outfit and performed the same music and dance as Yao Shanshan.
Even after finishing the dance, He Tong, who was cosplaying as Tida, joined her on stage for some interaction.
What was even more excessive was that Mi Lu, in front of the whole audience, asked He Tong to give her a princess carry and then proceeded to kiss him heatedly on stage.
The audience erupted in catcalls and screams.
"What the...!" Zhou Xueyin stared at the stage, dumbfounded.
"Bastards! A pair of sluts!" Li Jixiang yelled at the two on the stage.
"..." Yao Shanshan stood there stupefied, unable to believe the scene before her eyes.
"Sluts deserving of dogs, everlasting as the heavens and earth! Let's get out of here!" Kang Siyin pulled Yao Shanshan up, ready to leave.
"Four years... My four years of love, just fed to the dogs! Waaah..." Yao Shanshan suddenly burst into tears, unable to stop herself.
"Motherf***ing son of a b****... What a d*****bag!" Zhou Xueyin was furious and ready to storm the stage to confront He Tong.
"Don't make a scene... after all, we're in a public place. Don't forget who you are!" Li Jixiang promptly held Zhou Xueyin back.
"No... Jixiang, aren't these two shamelessly showing off in public? Has He Tong forgotten that his girlfriend isn't Mi Lu?" Zhou Xueyin was still furious and wanted to go up on stage and curse the pair right then and there.
"Ahem..." Li Jixiang cleared her throat and then shouted loudly, "He Tong, have you forgotten that the person you gave a princess carry to half an hour ago is your actual girlfriend?"
As soon as Li Jixiang's words left her mouth, the audience area instantly buzzed with movement, and everyone turned to look in their direction.
After shouting, Li Jixiang quickly had everyone crouch down, as standing was just too conspicuous.
"I'm not squatting down! I'm the legitimate girlfriend! Why should I be afraid of being found out?" Yao Shanshan stood defiantly.
"Right, Shanshan makes sense! Stand up!" Zhou Xueyin pulled Li Jixiang and Kang Siyin up as well.
Li Jiniang shouted so loudly that the host couldn't possibly have failed to hear, and he asked Mi Lu with considerable gossip, "Oh? I thought Mi Lu had found her true dragon? What's the relationship between you two then?"
"Hey, wasn't I just cosplaying as Yuna? I saw a Tida and just pulled him over to use. I didn't expect him to have a girlfriend, sorry~ eh heh~" Mi Lu stuck out her tongue, lightly tapped her head with her fist, and made a cute gesture.
"Oh~ so that's the case! You'll have to do some investigating before making your move next time! I almost told all the female cosplayers to keep an eye on their men." The host smiled politely but not without awkwardness, "Alright, the interlude is over, let's start the second half of the contest!" The host watched Mi Lu and He Tong leave the stage and then proceeded with the next part of the competition methodically.
"Bullshit, she doesn't know! I think she just wanted to steal the nest! Acting as if nothing happened!" Zhou Xueyin was still furiously swearing.
Probably aware that his relationship with Mi Lu had been exposed, He Tong hurried over to Yao Shanshan's side as soon as he got off the stage.
"Shanshan... I didn't know..." He Tong hadn't even finished his apologetic words.
"Slap!" Yao Shanshan forcefully slapped him across the face, "Get lost! We're breaking up! I don't ever want to see you again!"
Having said that, she picked up her case containing her cosplay outfits and left the audience area, with Zhou Xueyin and the others quickly following.
"Shanshan, it's not what you think..." Although He Tong was slapped, he still followed desperately trying to explain.
"Shut up! I don't want to hear it! You were kissing on stage, what is there to explain?" Yao Shanshan didn't stop walking, she kept her head down, tears streaming as she walked out of the venue.
"Shanshan..." He Tong still wanted to hold onto Yao Shanshan, but he was stopped by a group of girls who, unaware of the truth, wanted to take a photo with him.
"Excuse me, could we take a photo with you, Tida?"
Upon hearing that the girls wanted to take a photo with him, He Tong immediately abandoned the pursuit of Yao Shanshan and hurried to pose with a professional smile for photos with the girls.
When he looked up to find them again, they had disappeared into the crowd.
"Tsk... what a hassle. And Mi Lu, why did she have to kiss me in front of everyone! This just made me waste my breath trying to explain to Shanshan... What's wrong with living in peace..." He Tong annoyed, rubbed his wig.
In fact, Zhou Xueyin and the others hadn't gone far, mainly because Yao Shanshan was so upset that she just squatted on the ground, unable to stop crying.
Guo Yu promptly found them, clueless to the atmosphere and asked, "Eh? Didn't we agree to have a meal together after the event? Why are you guys leaving already?"
"Are your two holes on the nose just for breathing? Can't you see how upset Shanbao is?" Zhou Xueyin was full of rage, looking for someone to vent on, and Guo Yu happened to be the perfect target.
"What happened? Who bullied Shanshan?" It was then that Guo Yu noticed Yao Shanshan squatting on the ground, crying her eyes out, and he was genuinely distressed.
"Hmph... who else could it be..." Li Jiniang scoffed contemptuously and spoke disdainfully.
"What happened?" Guo Yu, still unaware of the situation, looked at everyone for answers.
"Come on, do you really not know? Or are you pretending to be confused on purpose?" Zhou Xueyin pulled Guo Yu aside and told him about what had just happened on stage.
"It's my fault, this is all my fault... I shouldn't have agreed to let Mi Lu join my group..." Guo Yu reflected on himself.
"The problem is, what good does regret do now? You know there's no medicine for regret... Alright, go handle your group, we'll take care of comforting Shanshan." Zhou Xueyin really felt like giving Guo Yu a good beating.
"I still have to go on stage to receive an award... Let's leave after getting the award. Is that okay?" Guo Yu asked Zhou Xueyin pleadingly; he was trying everything to keep Yao Shanshan from leaving, but he had no time to comfort her.
"Alright, alright, I'll ask Shanbao. If she agrees, we'll stay..." Zhou Xueyin said impatiently.