Chapter 8-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
"My name is Zhao Mei. Thank you for saving me."
Li Yixin, holding her phone, screamed silently, her eyes practically glued to the stunningly beautiful close-up of the character's face.
The detailed lashes cast a soft shadow on his rose-colored cheeks. His green eyes shimmered, and his messy black hair clung to his face. A slight smile on his lips made him seem gentle and mysterious.
After admiring the new character's beautiful face, she clicked on the comments to scream with everyone else.
[Aaah! My destined husband has appeared!]
[A little girl-ish boy?]
[One second ago: Which idiot made Little Percy get hurt? One second later: Percy, let go, let me save him!]
[Such a fated meeting. I'm investing in this new CP(couple pairing).]
[ The cliché hero and his delicate wife! Old Uncle, you're getting better at marketing your products!]
"Old Uncle" was what readers called the creator of this manga. As a poor student, Li Yixin couldn't help but give Old Uncle a 10 yuan gift.
This character had really captured her heart. A mysterious, handsome black-haired boy holding a white cat—she was completely defenseless against him!
Even though he had accidentally caused Percy's injury, it wasn't a serious one, right?
She couldn't help but continue scrolling down.
"Ahem, I'm Percy."
Percy was the first to snap out of his daze, his gaze examining the mysterious boy in front of him.
"Is this your cat? It's very cute, but don't take risks in the Demonic Domain. It's easy to get yourself in trouble."
Zhao Mei lowered his eyes without speaking, only the white cat in his arms let out a dissatisfied meow.
Percy immediately regretted his words. To many, pets were family. His condescending advice must have made the boy feel wronged.
He was about to say something to comfort him when Zhao Mei looked up, his gaze on the injury on Percy's arm.
"I'm a healer. Let me see your wound."
Percy was stunned for a moment, then extended his arm.
A warm current wrapped around the stinging wound. In the past, when he paid high prices to get treatment at ability user clinics, the rapid healing process was always painful. But this time, the healing was exceptionally comfortable, as if it soothed his restless heart.
Percy's eyes suddenly flew open. This feeling was very familiar. The last time, at the Sei Curia...
"You're—"
"It's healed so fast? You've got some skills!"
A lively girl peeked her head over.
"Thank you, little brother. Oh, he's also hurt."
A burly boy pulled over his arrogant companion. The blond boy pushed him away.
"Hey, I don't need treatment for a small scratch like this!"
Just as Percy was about to ask about the boy's identity, his boisterous teammates surrounded him, interrupting him.
He looked helplessly at Zhao Mei, who just gave him a reassuring smile.
"It's already healed. Does anyone else need treatment?"
The young people quickly gathered together, introducing themselves. Upon learning that these were the famous Cloud-Soaring Squad, Zhao Mei showed a timely expression of surprise and admiration.
"The newspapers have been reporting on you lately. You're from the worst academy in the lower district, and you won first place in the city-level ability user team competition in the first stage."
"In the second stage of the national competition, your record even surpassed the Royal Academy. That's incredible."
Hearing the boy's direct praise, the squad members grew shy.
The blond Roy snorted, "The Royal Academy is just a bunch of pampered young masters. It's only normal to surpass them, isn't it?"
The lively Lucy flipped her high ponytail, full of energy. "The Divine Academy topped us in this competition. We must surpass them in the third stage!"
"But the third stage includes a special section with external aid. We'll have a hard time since we can't find a suitable helper..."
The burly Caleb raised his hand. The mountain-like boy was the most thoughtful and worried one in the team.
Percy subtly glanced at the smiling Zhao Mei, who fit in perfectly with the Cloud-Soaring Squad, listening intently to his teammates' complaints.
External aid? Their team happened to be missing a healer.
Percy interrupted their chatter, his expression calm with a hint of nervousness.
"Zhao Mei, are you interested in participating in the competition?"
"The Ability User Academy Competition is held every three years. High-ranking students are highly sought after and can easily enter central organizations, with a bright future ahead."
Zhao Mei blinked his emerald eyes.
"I am, of course, aware of the benefits of participating in the competition. I'm just curious about one thing—are you participating for a bright future?"
Percy first lowered his head in silence. After a long while, the black-haired boy's expression was unprecedentedly serious and earnest, his gaze fixed on the curious Zhao Mei.
"We are fighting for the lower district, for the brightness and equality of the entire Holy Sei Empire."
"Only by going through this competition and constantly climbing up will we have the power to change all of this."
The black-haired boy stood tall, bathed in the brilliant sunlight, looking dazzling.
Zhao Mei's eyes widened slightly, as if he was shocked by Percy's words.
He was silent for a moment, then extended his hand.
The boy's smile was bright, and his emerald eyes shimmered.
"I like your ambition. Let me join you!"
The scene froze with the two boys shaking hands spiritedly. Their teammates cheered joyfully, welcoming their new companion. This picture, full of passion and hope, would undoubtedly become one of the most iconic scenes in King of the Demonic Domain.
Of course, the readers watching the manga at this time had no idea that this iconic scene would one day become a scene of their demise.
Outside the manga.
Li Yixin, holding her phone, screamed again. Yay! Her new love-at-first-sight character had joined the protagonist's team, which meant he would have a lot of screen time in the future!
She finished the chapter with a lingering feeling, took a few screenshots, and eagerly opened the forum to join the discussion about the new character.
Zhao Mei had only appeared for one chapter and was too mysterious besides his pretty face and super healing ability. Was he also from the lower district? Which academy was he from? Why was his name Zhao Mei? Was there any special meaning to the name?
Li Yixin was itching with curiosity, wishing she could lock Old Uncle in a room and make him draw every day.
[This doesn't make sense. You want to get a haircut, and it's considered a major OOC. Why was cross-dressing resolved with only 5 action points?]
The system grumbled. Even without a physical body, Ye Zheng could imagine someone pacing around her, mumbling to themselves.
Ye Zheng had changed back to her original attire. Her shiny black hair fell smoothly over her white dress, making her look completely harmless.
She sat quietly in the carriage, once again in her familiar Saintess guise.
[Ah, I've found it. It's because the manga platform noticed the high popularity of "fujoshi bait" and gave Old Uncle some KPI (Key Performance Indicator) for it.]
[No wonder. Even the female protagonist is allowed to be used for "fujoshi bait" now!]
Ye Zheng, who had been resting with her eyes closed against the soft cushions of the carriage, opened her eyes, a hint of confusion in them.
"fujoshi bait, what exactly does that mean?"
[Open the forum and look at the posts about Zhao Mei, and you'll understand the term.]
The system advised.
Ye Zheng took out her phone and opened the mysterious forum app.
[Zhao Mei Fan Club Assemble!]
[New Character Discussion Thread~]
Two posts marked 'hot' immediately popped up. Ye Zheng's eyes showed a momentary surprise. In a short time, these two threads already had several hundred replies.
She clicked into the posts, her expression becoming even more confused.
[Look at this face, all the momo in the world want to kiss it (image attached)]
[Baby, you're a cute, little girl!]
[Black hair, green eyes... like a little ghost. I want to haunt Babe-Mei forever...]
[Hugs for Babe-Mei!]
Ye Zheng's brows furrowed. She held her phone as if she were studying a world-class problem, her expression growing more and more serious.
"...The readers have seen through my disguise?"
When she was in the manga's storyline, she could feel the pull of the plot forcing her actions. For example, when Percy invited her to join the protagonist's team, she could only agree according to the plot, unless she had enough action points to change the story.
She knew when she was in the manga's plot, so she could ensure her cross-dressing wouldn't be exposed.
But why had the readers not only seen through her female identity but also shown a bizarre fondness for it?
According to the original plot, readers were very resistant to her, the weak and powerless, beautiful-but-useless, suddenly-appearing female protagonist.
[Ah, it's because they think you're a boy that they call you that.]
[This is 'nisu'(fan term, means "shaping" a male character into a feminine, cute persona) and 'momo.' Many people like to like boys as if they were girls.].
Ye Zheng held her head. The Saintess, who could navigate the upper-district nobility with a harmless and gentle image while also skillfully manipulating the lower-district riots, felt her brain was not quite sufficient for the first time.
She tried to understand the logic of these readers from a higher dimension.
"Because they think I'm a boy, they like me as a girl or a sister."
"But why don't they just like a girl directly?"
Ye Zheng asked a profound question.
She clicked on the manga app again and carefully re-read the newly released chapter.
"Aside from the gender and appearance, this plot is no different from the original."
The creator hadn't included any scenes of her fighting, only Percy's brilliant sword strike and Zhao Mei's admiring gaze.
"Since they like feminine traits, why do they prefer Zhao Mei over Ye Zheng, the real girl?"
The system was also a bit confused. It wanted to scratch its head in confusion but realized it didn't have a head.
[Maybe because they like a male appearance with a female inner self?]
[These types of readers often say one thing: treating a male as a female is the highest compliment you can give him. They don't like the male character, but the gentle soul of the female creator inside.]
Ye Zheng pointed at the forum where everyone was calling the creator "Old Uncle," her expression becoming even more incredulous.
"So, the readers like the gentle soul of this 'Old Uncle'?"
The system was silenced by its host once again.
With Ye Zheng's limited understanding of the real world, she was unable to explain this strange phenomenon.
She continued to scroll through the forum, trying to understand the meaning of "rotten meat."
[Old Uncle is marketing a new CP again. People who ship Percy with everyone would be happy again...]
Ye Zheng found new, unfamiliar words. She quietly took a breath, prepared to witness a new world, and solemnly clicked into it.
After reading hundreds of posts, she gradually understood everything.
"'PeRoy' refers to the pairing of Percy and his blond teammate, Roy."
"'PerSy' is the pairing of Percy and the Crown Prince, Sykes."
The latest "'PerMei'" is the pairing of her Zhao Mei identity and Percy.
And all these combinations had a romantic connotation.
"So, this 'CP' is an abbreviation for 'couple pairing'?"
The system asked strangely, [The creator kept things simple and didn't set up English in this world. How do you know that English word?]
Ye Zheng just smiled and didn't answer, quickly changing the subject.
"I understand now. Fujoshi bait is using the ambiguity between males as a selling point."
"The CP of Zhao Mei and Percy seems to have a lot of discussion. System, what's my popularity score now?"
The system glanced at the backend casually, then was immediately shocked by the data.
[5000 popularity points!]
[That's 50 action points!]
The popularity had increased tenfold in a short time, and the data was still rising at a terrifying rate.
The system was overjoyed. Its host had played her cards well!
But then it became worried. Ye Zheng was just cross-dressing; she wasn't a real male 'Baby-sis.'(昧/Mei is same pronunciation with 妹/little sister)
When she really becomes 'Baby-sis' as in the female character, would these Zhao Mei fans still accept her?
Author's note: Don't worry, countless 'Mommy fans' will come to kiss her then.
(By the way, the number of bookmarks grew so much today. I managed to squeeze in this chapter between traveling. Thank you, everyone!)
Translator's Note: There are many slangs in this chapter so it took me a while to fix them. This chapter is satirizing the audience who love men over women and related weird bahavior like nisu and momo, it's a very common phenomenon in many Chinese fandom, both showbiz and ACG area. As for the reason, you know, misogyny.
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