Chapter 29: Use your cheat code on her!

Zuo Xi didn’t know how she got home.

She only remembered walking, crossing the street dyed orange by the sunset, passing the bubble tea shop she had recommended to Qin Huan, walking by the bookstore with the nice owner, and turning into the alley that hid the amazing takoyaki.

By the time she came to her senses, she was standing in front of her rented apartment door.

Her fingers fumbled in her bag for a long time before finding the key, and she missed the keyhole several times before inserting it.

Zuo Xi leaned against the door, slowly sliding down to sit on the floor.

She hugged her knees and buried her face in her arms.

That voice echoed in her mind again.

“Huanzi~ Did you miss your master?”

Master…

That person called themselves Qin Huan’s master.

Zuo Xi’s nails dug into her palms, but she felt no pain.

‘No, wait.’

‘Why does she care so much?’

Qin Huan was just her fan, even though she was her only fan, even though she was her first real fan, even though she had gathered the courage today to ask “Why do you want to form a band?”

And Qin Huan had given her a very warm answer…

But that’s all.

Qin Huan had her own life, other friends, and even someone who could call themselves “master”—none of that had anything to do with Zuo Xi.

She was just the idol Qin Huan liked. Just an idol…

“I know…”

Zuo Xi buried her face deeper, her voice muffled in her arms.

“I know that, of course…”

‘But why does it hurt so much?’

That word kept spinning in her mind.

‘Master master master master master!’

What she cared about wasn’t the title itself, but the way that person could so naturally and intimately call themselves “master.”

While she was just “the idol Qin Huan liked.”

‘No, wait.’

‘What is she thinking? Why is she thinking this?’

Zuo Xi jerked her head up, her pupils trembling in the darkness.

She was just the idol Qin Huan liked!

That was the proper distance between an idol and a fan.

This was the correct relationship.

‘But why…’

‘Why does she feel so unwilling?’

“No, no, no…”

Zuo Xi shook her head vigorously, her hair flying.

“I shouldn’t be like this…”

Zuo Xi curled up on the cold bathroom floor, burying her face in her knees.

From the hallway came the sound of a phone vibrating.

She slowly lifted her head, her eyes a little red and swollen.

Supporting herself against the wall, she stood up, walked back to the hallway, and picked up the phone that had fallen on the floor.

The screen showed several unread messages, all from Qin Huan.

[Xi Jiang, did you get home?]

[About what happened today… I can explain. Can I tell you in person during rehearsal tomorrow?]

[Xi Jiang, please don’t be angry…]

[Cat crying .JPG]

Zuo Xi stared at the screen for a long time.

Then, she slowly typed a line.

[I’m not angry~ See you tomorrow, Qin Huan~]

She turned off the phone screen, and in the darkness, her own face was reflected.

The “Zuo Xi” in the mirror was gone.

In its place was the face of her own smiling reflection in the screen.

Just like the smile she had given Qin Huan before turning away on the street today.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Hide your true self, put on the perfect mask.”

“Then, make sure everyone can’t see your true form.”

“When the time is right…”

“Take her and make her something that belongs only to you.”

[Visual Deception: Activated]

[Current Development Level: 5%]

[Ability Description: Can change the image of oneself in the eyes of a specified target, or change the image of the specified target in their own eyes.]

[Trigger Condition: Being alone together for a long period of time.]

[—Shh, this is our little secret.]