Are You Trying to Mark Me? (GL, ABO) - Chapter 26
On the agreed Saturday morning, Yu Ran finished washing up and changed into an early winter outfit. Since it was almost December, and she hadn’t been outside for a long time, she was a bit unaccustomed to the cold weather.
Tying up her hair, Yu Ran heard Min Wenyi coming down the stairs, still talking on the phone. She opened the door while speaking.
“Thanks.”
Yu Ran vaguely caught the voices of Min Wenyi and someone outside. She peeked out but didn’t get a clear look at the visitor. Instead, she saw Min Wenyi close the door while holding two books.
“What did you buy?”
Curious, Yu Ran looked at the books in Min Wenyi’s hand and asked, “You bought books?”
“Yeah,” Min Wenyi replied casually. “Scripts for a TV drama.”
Yu Ran glanced at the package in her hand, a bit confused but didn’t ask more since she wouldn’t understand even if Min Wenyi explained.
“I’m going out today,” Yu Ran said. “Are you eating now or later?”
“Either’s fine. When will you be back?”
“Probably in the afternoon.”
Min Wenyi frowned unhappily. “Why so long?”
Yu Ran gave a sheepish smile. She had to sell her notebooks and could only do it after the venue closed.
“Because I have other things to do,” Yu Ran said, finishing tying her hair. “I’m heading out.”
Min Wenyi replied casually and sat on the sofa, opening the package to find a brand-new book titled How to Get Along Peacefully with Omegas.
Outside, Yu Ran knocked on Lu An’s door.
“It’s time to go,” she said. “Wasn’t it supposed to start at 8:30?”
Before she finished, the reddish-brown door clicked open.
“Let’s go.”
Lu An appeared, wearing a long wig, a wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses, a mask, and a scarf—completely bundled up.
Yu Ran stared. “…What are you planning to do? Rob a bank???”
Lu An pushed up his sunglasses and said in a deep voice, “I’m a star, okay? Dressing like this when going out is normal.”
Yu Ran was really annoyed. If he’s a star, why go to crowded places? Isn’t that just asking for trouble?
“Why don’t you just sell online?”
“That wouldn’t have the same vibe!”
Yu Ran shook her head in disbelief. “Alright, let’s go downstairs then.”
The two of them walked down together, Lu An waddling like a penguin in his bulky outfit. They chatted on their way to the garage. Meanwhile, Min Wenyi sat on the balcony reading, casually noticing Yu Ran walking downstairs.
Yu Ran was wearing a khaki wool coat, making her easy to spot.
But the bulky guy beside her…
Was that Lu An?
Min Wenyi frowned in confusion. What were these two up to?
She glanced at the book she had just put down, then after some thought, decided to quietly follow them and see.
At the exhibition center, Yu Ran was tiredly pushing a small cart and found Lu An’s booth. She stacked a pile of books on the table.
Lu An was clearly experienced here—moving quickly to set up signs, pull banners, and lay out tablecloths.
After chatting friendly with some neighboring vendors, he finally sat down at his spot.
Yu Ran looked at him and curiously asked, “Do you… do this kind of thing often?”
She meant writing those ‘little emperor’ novels, printing the books, and personally selling them.
Lu An adjusted his oversized sunglasses, hiding most of his small face, and said coldly and proudly, “I’ve been writing for five years. Of course it’s common.”
Yu Ran did the math—he was still under 19, so he must have started this ‘not suitable for children’ stuff at around 13 or 14.
She couldn’t help but feel stunned. Kids these days are into some big stuff.
Still, since she promised Lu An to help sell the books, she had to take it seriously.
Even though the main character was basically her, she had to pretend not to notice.
But maybe it was just her imagination, Yu Ran felt that some of the girls buying books kept sneaking glances at her.
“How much is this?”
A tall, thin girl came up and asked quietly, “Can I get it signed?”
Yu Ran nodded with a smile. “58 yuan each, and I can sign for free.”
The girl flipped through a book she’d already opened but kept glancing at Yu Ran.
“Um,” the girl hesitated, then asked, “Sorry to bother you, but what’s your name?”
Yu Ran was speechless.
Next to her, Lu An’s voice dragged out the syllable in his name, “An… Lu…”
“What’s wrong?” Yu Ran broke into a cold sweat but kept a polite smile. “Is there a problem?”
“No, no,” the girl said. “It’s just that I suddenly remembered a photo Min Wenyi posted on Weibo—her and her assistant—and the figure looks a lot like you.”
Looks a lot like you…
Looks a lot like you…
Like you…
Girl, that’s not just like her — that’s actually her!
Yu Ran broke out in a cold sweat, forcing a bitter smile. “I’m not her. You must have the wrong person.”
“Right, how could she really come here selling fanfiction?”
After saying that, he took out money to pay Lu An, asked him to sign, and left.
“Lu An!”
Yu Ran grabbed his scarf in frustration. “Give me back the scarf, the hat, and the sunglasses!”
Lu An held on tight, refusing to let go. “What do you want to do? I’m a big celebrity, I can’t go without these things!”
Is being a celebrity even the issue here?
Which celebrity would go write fanfiction about her friend and her assistant?
Although Yu Ran was an Omega, at that moment she exploded with energy and forcibly pulled Lu An’s scarf and hat off his head and put them on herself.
Lu An covered his nearly falling wig and said angrily, “You’re so mean…”
Yu Ran still cared about Lu An’s identity and didn’t remove his sunglasses or mask. Wrapping the scarf around herself, she silently scolded him thousands of times in her head.
Meanwhile, the girl who just bought the fanfiction met up with her friend at the door.
“Guess what? I think I just saw Min Wenyi’s assistant,” the girl said to her friend.
“But she said she’s not,” her friend smiled and took her hand, walking on. “Probably a mistake. Besides, how would she really come? Min Wenyi is so busy… Ah!”
Suddenly, the two bumped into a tall figure.
Min Wenyi looked down at the two student-like girls, bent to pick up her hat, and asked, “Who did you just see?”
The two stared at Min Wenyi blankly, then remembered she was asking them something and said, “We saw your assistant…”
Min Wenyi paused, put on her hat, and asked, “Can you tell me which way?”
The girl pointed to where they had just bought the book and asked dazedly, “Are you… Min Wenyi?”
Min Wenyi didn’t answer, just glanced at her and turned away.
“Wait, it’s Min Wenyi!”
At that moment, a few bystanders nearby suddenly shouted, “A big star!”
Yu Ran, still mentally scolding Lu An, suddenly noticed the doorway growing crowded. She turned and asked, “Who’s coming that’s such a big deal?”
Lu An flipped through his own stuff and said, “It’s normal for more famous people to come to a convention, but the big names I like don’t come here…”
Right then, people at the nearby booth looked excited, like they’d just seen something amazing.
“Did you hear? A celebrity is here!”
A little girl next to Yu Ran said, “And she’s a top-tier star. Everyone’s crowding for autographs.”
Lu An glanced sourly at the crowd and muttered unhappily, “If I took off my sunglasses and wig, I’d cause a commotion too.”
As the crowd grew, Yu Ran felt uneasy and restless, like a runaway horse. When she saw someone running over again, she told Lu An, “I’m going to check.”
Lu An grabbed her hand, confused. “What’s there to see?”
You have a big star beside you, and you want to go look at this small-time celebrity at a comic convention?
Yu Ran glanced that way but decided to pull her hand free. “I’ll be right back.”
The entrance was packed.
People were packed three layers deep inside and out, making it impossible to squeeze in. Yu Ran was short, and a few tall guys blocked her view, so she couldn’t see what was happening inside.
“Excuse me,” Yu Ran grabbed someone and asked, “Who’s here?”
“Min Wenyi.”
Yu Ran froze. “The Min Wenyi who acts in movies and TV shows?”
“Besides that Min Wenyi, who else would it be?”
Bang!
Yu Ran’s mind exploded!
Why was Min Wenyi here???
Didn’t she know her status? She couldn’t even leave her house usually — how could she come to such a crowded place???
Just thinking about Min Wenyi being pushed around made Yu Ran’s whole body chill.
“Move, move!”
Yu Ran pushed through the crowd, trying to get in. Right now, Min Wenyi could only rely on her!
The tightly packed crowd ignored Yu Ran. No matter how she tried, she couldn’t get through.
Her hat was lost somewhere in the crush. Sweating heavily, she reached out to grab something but was suddenly grabbed by a slender, delicate hand on her arm.
Min Wenyi pushed through the crowd, threw off her sunglasses, and said to Yu Ran, “Run!”