Chapter Fifty-Five: The Renminbi Player

Yang Xiaoyang had posted quite a few videos. Ning Shuyi sorted through them and could roughly determine that this girl’s popularity had been steadily rising for over a year. Judging by the video titles, the content was mainly divided into two kinds: making costumes and props, and applying makeup and styling hair.

Ning Shuyi searched and found one particular video that had an especially high number of comments. She clicked it, curious to see what made this episode stand out, what had attracted such a flood of responses.

Yang Xiaoyang herself appeared in the video, seeming livelier than in her photos, with less of that cool and aloof aura. In fact, the goddess-like aura in her photos was so striking that, compared to the still images, the video seemed to lose a bit of its charm. Nevertheless, the content of Yang Xiaoyang’s videos was quite impressive. Even for someone like Ning Shuyi, who had never been involved in the cosplay world and was here only by chance, having done just a bit of homework, she found the videos highly watchable.

In this particular video, Yang Xiaoyang was making a dress. It seemed she was recording the video while simultaneously live-streaming, interacting with her fans in real time. As she carefully cut fabric and crafted various decorations, she would occasionally glance at her phone screen, read some messages aloud, and respond to them while continuing her work.

Obviously, this video wasn’t a full live stream. After all, making a piece of clothing—even just the basic shape—involved cutting and sewing, which was a slow process. With most people’s patience online nowadays, few would stick around for the whole thing. So Yang Xiaoyang cleverly used some speeding-up and editing tricks, quickly passing over the boring steps and keeping the highlights of her handiwork or the most engaging conversations with her fans.

After watching, Ning Shuyi realized that the surge in comments wasn’t due to the extraordinary quality or impressive sewing skills, but rather to a particular question from a fan during the fabric-cutting phase. Someone had asked: with so many beautiful and well-made costumes and props available on the market—whether for cosplay or traditional styles—why did she insist on making every outfit and prop herself? Was it out of passion, or simply for the sake of the videos?

This question seemed to touch a nerve with Yang Xiaoyang. Her usual calm demeanor shifted after she read the question aloud; she became noticeably more agitated.

“I don’t believe money is omnipotent. You shouldn’t think that everything can be solved just by spending, nor should you assume that the expensive, high-end things you buy automatically make you superior to those who make their own costumes and props,” she said, her voice rising a little, hands braced against her work table, staring at her phone in the live stream. “If you love cosplay, you should know that many top cosplayers abroad make their own costumes and props.

We don’t love cosplay just to put on pretty clothes, wear nice makeup, and stand outside to catch people’s eyes, do we? If that’s all you want, you might as well put on a fancy dress and go model at the train station—why pretend it’s cosplay?

The true charm of cosplay lies in creating from what’s at hand, using your own two hands to bring your favorite characters to life in the real world! Makeup and costumes are never the real measure. What matters is how deeply you understand your character, whether you can capture their essence, inside and out, and truly bring them to life—that’s what we should strive for!”

Realizing she was getting too heated, she paused, smiled, and softened her expression. “Sorry, I got a bit worked up there—did I scare anyone? I just love cosplay so much, and I really can’t stand some of these new ‘cash players,’ so I’m sensitive about it.

Long-time fans know that when I started, my skills in making costumes and props weren’t great. Even styling my own hair and doing my makeup wasn’t very satisfactory. But I never gave up. I kept improving, kept learning—from copying to designing my own outfits. I can’t claim to be amazing, but I’ve definitely made progress since then.

That, to me, is what real passion is—the basics of loving anything! Because I love it, I improve, I put my heart into it. That’s the original intention for all of us!

Some people come into this circle with impure motives. Maybe they want to show off their bodies and attract attention, or maybe, lacking the looks or physique to stand out, they rely on spending money to be ‘cash players,’ flaunting their equipment to show off wealth.

I hope no one asks me again why I don’t just buy things. If you enjoy watching those soulless, factory-made products, go follow the cash players for your fix—don’t trouble someone like me, who powers through with genuine passion!”

With that, the topic passed, and Yang Xiaoyang continued making her outfit, narrating the process and occasionally interacting with her live audience.

Clearly, her words had sparked a huge debate. In the comments below, Ning Shuyi saw that most were discussing her tirade against the “cash players.” With over three hundred thousand followers, she naturally had plenty of support for her viewpoint. Many fans loudly praised her speech:

“Goddess, as always, extraordinary—talented, true to herself, love it!”

“She’s beautiful, kind, and skilled—love her so much! She’s absolutely right, unconditional support!”

“No fault with the blogger! Those flashy, superficial cosplayers are the worst. No understanding of the characters at all—putting on a royal robe, still just a clown!”

“Those ‘equipment people’ are just like those show-offs in certain books, disgusting!”

“I actually get where the ‘equipment people’ are coming from! My problem isn’t money, it’s not having Yang Xiaoyang’s skillful hands. If I had her talent, I’d make everything myself, and it’d look better than anything store-bought!

Besides, not everyone has Yang Xiaoyang’s looks and figure! The less fortunate just make more noise—don’t pay them any mind, let them dance their own dance!”