Two Sides of a Coin

"I think it's more surprising that you agreed to participate in the film." Mobius, who had returned to his original childlike appearance, sat on the back of Mei, rubbing his smooth forearm with his fingers with great interest.

Mei, who had been Mei by long-term wit and banter, was not to be outdone. "Aren't you the same?"

"Such a short film..." Kosma was also sitting in the second row, hesitated to say something, but when he saw Griseo beside him still looking normal and innocent, he shook his head and said nothing.

Such short films are not good for Griseo ... I wanted to say that, but seeing that Griseo seemed to be able to tell, I decided not to go through with it.

"Huh? I was supposed to have a role? Oh no, I mean the [Conductor]'s role." After a brief silence, the [Expert] Vill-V, looking bewildered, leaned back in her chair indifferently. "But Elysia did ask me to make something interesting, it's just that the [Conductor] didn't use it."

Kevin and Sue didn't participate in their discussion; they just sat in the last row chatting amongst themselves. Hua and Pardo were the same. Pardo was excitedly holding those old game cartridges, while Hua simply watched the credits of the short film quietly.

"Eri, is this alright..." Eden, sitting on the other side of Elysia, asked Elysia after taking a sip of strong liquor without saying a word.

"Huh? My good Eden, what are you talking about?"

"Why does it have to be Lin? According to your original script, the plot shouldn't be like this."

"Perhaps it's because..." Elysia lowered her head, a bitter feeling lingering in her eyes, "Every story has a protagonist, but Lin Cong has never been the protagonist in a beautiful story."

Eden did not speak, his lips lightly touching the rim of the cup.

"By the way, aren't three people missing?"

Mei looked around and realized that three people seemed to be missing.

"Lin, don't you care?"

What do you care about?

"Elysia's script..."

"It's okay, it's just one of her many jokes."

Lin picked up the Fire Moth badge from the ground. It was an extremely rare misprinted badge, with the burning moth printed on both sides. However, coincidentally, the emblem printed on the back was the golden emblem that should have been given to the Fire Moth after twenty-five years.

Elysia had mentioned it to him and even made a bet that she would definitely get it. However, what she didn't expect was that the badge Lin received after his Hypervariable Surgery happened to be this unique misprint, thus winning the bet ahead of time.

A twist of fate, just like his life, and like theirs.

Sakura stood behind him, hesitantly watching his back. Perhaps she was overthinking it; the man remained remarkably calm and showed little emotion.

In the darkness, Aponia watched him stroke the badge in silence.

"She used to look for novels I'd read, some just boring stuff to kill time, but she must have memorized them and turned them into this cheesy script, even with a clichéd happy ending..."

Lin gently fastened the buckle around his neck, and with a click, he removed his helmet. He turned around to look at the group of people who had appeared behind him at some point.

"But I don't hate it."

He curled the corners of his mouth into a smile, and smiled at the world.

Christmas Special Behind-the-Scenes Footage Complete

"Lin, you today..."

Klein on tiptoe, but his folding fan still couldn't reach the table.

Lin looked at Vill-V, who was holding the camera, and at her prompting, he attached the wire harness to Klein.

"..."

"..."

"After I finish my next scene, I'll go to work," Klein said after a moment of silence. "I don't want to see how it turns out."

"Senior Elysia..." Lin read from the script.

"Pfft..." The pink-haired girl covered her mouth and chuckled.

Under Lin's calm gaze, Elysia composed herself and said seriously, "Ahem... let's continue."

"Senior Elysia..."

"Pfft... Hahahaha, I can't take it..." Elysia laughed so hard she clutched her stomach and rolled on the ground. "Lin, it's so cute when you're just wearing a mask and you're delivering your lines so seriously."

"..."

Can I kiss you?

"Cannot."

"Can I still do this?" Mobius looked down at his somewhat unfamiliar body. It had been a long time since he had seen Lin from this perspective, where he didn't have to look up at him too much.

"..."

"Hehe, you seem pretty excited."

"..." Lin glanced at the wicked smile on her face and said indifferently, "No."

In terms of excitement, she, a marginal figure who rarely participates, is more enthusiastic than him, though she herself would never admit it.

"Was that scene real or fake?" Mobius asked abruptly, looking down at his script.

"... What do you mean by true or false?"

Lin frowned. It's just acting, why ask if it's real or fake?

"Hmph, you think this kind of trick will scare me... Even if it were true..."

Lin took the script, glanced at the part about Mobius, and after a moment of contemplation, handed his own to Mobius.

"..."

Upon seeing the completely different plot twist that followed, Mobius's smile froze on her mature face.

After taking a deep breath, Mobius put down the script and glared fiercely at the calm-faced Lin, his expression menacing. "You didn't actually take this seriously, did you?"

"No."

"Bang!"

Chrono kicked the door to pieces and stormed in, shouting angrily:

"Get out of here, all of you!"

Elysia stood up from under the bed, rubbing her forehead. "Chrono, you need to be gentler, don't be so rough."

"Ha, I doubt his brain can hold that much," Mobius scoffed dismissively, having stopped acting.

"Hmph! Why so many formalities! Didn't you want me to kick you all out? What, is the next thing to do, a fight? Let's start with you."

Mei's lips twitched as she said to Kevin beside her, "I've discovered that Chrono's ability to play dumb is surprisingly high."

"He just lacks patience," Kevin said calmly. "Oh, and go get another cake."

"Why?"

"The shell and rope in my hand have both broken from the cold."

"Aponia, what are you doing?"

"Lin... this is a rehearsal..."

"... No, there is no such plot at all."

Lin was held expressionlessly in Aponia's arms. Because of the position, he couldn't breathe at all, and when he tried to break free, he was held tightly.

A foot clad in black stockings gently stepped on his toes.

"I'm about to tell a lie... I'm so sorry... Lin..." Aponia intertwined her fingers, her eyes lowered, confessing, "Please forgive me..."

"Let me go, Aponia."

"Why did our destinies meet here...?"

"Aponia".

"If this is an intertwined thread of fate..."

"..."

"Phyllis, are you sure everything's okay?"

Hua looked at the excited Pardo with concern. She weighed Pardo's small body in her hand and thought about how to kick out a kick that looked painful but actually didn't use much force.

"No problem, Hua, go ahead and give it a try," Pardo chuckled. "Remember to give me those games later, hehehe..."

"Why were we given this role? It wasn't necessary."

"I remember Elysia that if the same plot happens one after another, it will reduce the audience's patience and sense of novelty, so she asked us to be some kind of seasoning... Oh well, I don't really understand anyway, so why not just go in front of the camera and try it out?"

"You really have a positive outlook."

Hua saw Sakura pacing back and forth in the distance, her expression somewhat unreadable. She called out in confusion, "Sakura?"

"What's wrong?" Sakura stopped walking, her expression disappearing.

"It's nothing, I just think you seem a little nervous."

"Does it...?"

"Don't be nervous, we're just filming for ourselves."

"Phew... you're right, it's just lines."

What lines?

"It's nothing, it'll be your turn soon, get ready."

"Wait a minute, we're not done filming yet."

After the shout of "Cut!", Lin, who was lying on the ground, opened his eyes and found that everyone else had scattered like birds and beasts, leaving only Elysia standing in the same spot. He raised an eyebrow and stood up.

"Ahem!" Elysia coughed deliberately, then said with a smile, "Filming is perfectly wrapped up. Now we're just waiting for Vill-V to edit it into a movie."

"Isn't there still a lot of plot to come?" Lin thought that there were still a lot of scripts and plots that hadn't been performed yet, but the Elysia let them go and didn't choose to continue acting.

"Lin, sometimes stopping at the right place is the best."

"... But in the current situation, we generally call it a failed project."

"Okay, to be honest, even I'm starting to have trouble keeping up the act." Elysia smiled slyly. "I bet a few people feel the same way."

Lin Shen nodded in agreement. "The lines are indeed a bit awkward."

"So please forgive us for lying."

"It's nothing..."

"Alright, alright, stop talking." Elysia smiled and held up her finger to cover Lin's mouth.

"Lin, sometimes, there are things that can only be said through 'lies.' Some of them are mixed in with 'lies,' and some are 'lies' on their own."

"But the paradox is that the person who says these things both wants to be noticed and doesn't want to be noticed, because once the underlying meaning is exposed, the liar will have nowhere to hide and no way out."

Don't you think people like that are adorable?

Lin thought for a few seconds, then said, puzzled, "I don't understand."

Are there lies that both want to be discovered and don't want to be discovered?

What are the thoughts of someone who tells such a lie?

"Then try to think about who told you the truth during this performance, who was vague, and who used the lines to reveal their true intentions."

"But I think everyone would be too kind as to lie to you."

Elysia smiled brightly, just like before.

Chapter Twenty-One: Two Sides of a Coin