It really was Iris!
Chen Shi marveled inwardly.
In fact, he had already had his suspicions when he saw Iris and Tonio.
Now, he was all but certain.
These two were the very same people who had appeared in the movie.
They just seemed a little older than Chen Shi had imagined, probably fourteen or fifteen.
Then Chen Shi took off his mask and said with a smile, "Hello, nice to meet you. My name is Chen Shi."
Cynthia also took off her mask, her voice warm. "Hello, I'm Cynthia."
Iris froze. Her eyes widened as she stared blankly at the two of them without their masks, disbelief filling her gaze.
When she failed to respond, Chen Shi gave her a friendly wave. Looking slightly puzzled, he asked softly:
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
"Ah... ah, n-no, no! I, I-oh!"
Only then did Iris seem to snap back to her senses. Her face quickly turned as red as a ripe apple.
Then, as though she had suddenly remembered something, Iris dashed over to Tonio and said urgently:
"Tonio, look! Look! Your idol is here!"
Tonio had been completely absorbed in what he was doing. Hearing Iris call out, he turned around in confusion.
He saw that the two strangers from earlier had taken off their masks and were smiling at him.
Tonio froze for a moment, then his eyes went wide, his face instantly lighting up with surprise and delight.
"Professor Chen Shi!!"
"Is it really you?"
Tonio ran over excitedly, intending to shake his idol's hand. But something seemed to occur to him, and he vigorously wiped his hand on his clothes before hesitantly extending it.
"H-hello, Professor Chen Shi. I-I'm a fan of yours. My name is Tonio."
"I've carefully studied every paper you've published."
Chen Shi