It's worth noting that Sparkle had changed out of the Japanese-style yukata she had initially appeared in. She now wore a white sailor uniform with a black jacket, paired with a knee-length black pleated skirt.
Her feet were clad in round-toed leather ankle boots, with plain white socks that barely reached her ankles. Between the hem of her skirt and the tops of her boots, her slender, charming calves were exposed.
Before leaving, Sparkle had briefly tried on the white stockings Firefly kept in her room. While they didn't look bad, she felt they didn't quite suit her.
It wasn't that white stockings were unattractive; everyone has their own style. For instance, Firefly looked adorable in them, while Sparkle, with her bare legs and feet, exuded a more alluring and captivating beauty!
Returning to her appearance, Sparkle now wore round, non-prescription glasses. Her long, straight black hair cascaded freely down her back, reaching her waist.
At first glance, her entire ensemble gave off an impression of quiet composure, demureness, and impeccable manners.
Come to think of it, all three of her current personas had relatively long hair, which was quite troublesome to maintain. But she had long since grown accustomed to it. If her hair were suddenly shorter now, she might find it rather unsettling.
Sparkle, maintaining her "psychological invisibility," left Robin's house. Her mission was to complete the remaining fraction of her Elation percentage, and her plan was... to make movies!
This had been her idea for a long time: to use her Ability to quickly "copy-paste" classic films from her Previous Life, creating complete replicas in an incredibly short amount of time. By bringing elation to audiences, she could earn the Elation percentage she needed.
However, as she began preparing to put her plan into action, she realized there were other complications. For instance, she was an undocumented resident. How could she release her films? This wasn't as simple as uploading a video to a streaming site with a single click; the process was far more complex.
And how would she handle promotion and distribution? After all, even the most brilliant film could flop if no one knew about it.
As the saying goes, "Good wine needs no bush." But what was the point of a movie becoming a hit months or even years after its release? By then, it would have been pulled from theaters, and the film itself wouldn't earn a penny.
Sparkle couldn't help but think of Van Gogh. During his lifetime, his paintings were worthless, but after his death, each one sold for an unimaginable fortune. Of course, none of that benefited the artist himself.
It seemed like so many painters and musicians only achieved fame posthumously, with others reaping all the financial rewards.
But weren't problems meant to be solved?
As for the identity issue, Sparkle could simply find a director and replace them, but that felt a little unethical.
Time for a different approach. She could propose a deep collaboration with a director—preferably an inexperienced newcomer with little track record. She already had the script, actors, and special effects, and she'd give the director full credit for the film's success. She couldn't believe anyone could resist such an offer.
For publicity, she'd have Robin sing the theme song. The resulting buzz would be explosive!
With her strategy clear, the next step was finding the right candidate.
Sparkle strolled along the familiar street. She had walked this road countless times before, but always as Robin. This was her first time here as Sparkle.
Just as Sparkle was pondering where she might find such a rookie director, a figure came into view: Lü Heng, clad in his Bureau of Anomalous Investigations uniform.
Hands in his pockets, earbuds in place, he strolled leisurely down the street, whistling softly—clearly on routine patrol.
In truth, the Bureau had so few personnel that relying on patrols to uncover cases was a slim hope. Their usual method was to await assignments and rush to the scene.
However, since the Dragon Nation's Bureau only handled Dimensional Rifts and Evolver disturbances, periods of downtime were common. During these lulls, Lü Heng would shamelessly try to rope his colleagues into playing games at the office. His blatant goofing off had earned him countless ejections from Zhong Wanhong, a recurring punishment for slacking off on duty.
Strictly speaking, this wasn't a patrol at all, but rather a punishment for slacking off at work.
But that wasn't the point. The real issue was that seeing a familiar face naturally sparked a mischievous impulse in Sparkle.
After a moment's contemplation, she transformed into Invincible Bro, rounded a corner, and marched straight toward Lü Heng.
"Huh?" Lü Heng froze for a moment when he saw Invincible Bro. He took off his headphones and asked, "Weren't you supposed to be mopping the floor back at the bureau? What are you doing here?"
Mopping the floor? Seriously? So Invincible Bro is the opposite extreme? When he's bored at work, he just makes up extra tasks for himself? Sparkle thought to herself. She cleared her throat. "That's not the point. I saw you sneak out and made up an excuse to follow. I needed to talk to you alone."
"What's up?" Lü Heng scratched his head. "Just spit it out. Why does it have to be private?"
"This is extremely important! No one else can know!" Sparkle tried to look slightly bashful, but she couldn't pull it off.
Just thinking about the line she was about to deliver made the corner of her mouth twitch uncontrollably. Holding back a laugh was already pushing her limits!
Damn it, I should have sent the Clone... she thought ruefully.
Lü Heng, still oblivious to the gravity of the situation, wore a curious expression. "What's this?! Did you find another fun game? Seriously, that galgame you recommended last time was amazing, especially the main heroine..."
"I like you!"
"Right, when her affection meter maxes out, she even confesses herself..." Lü Heng trailed off, then froze, his expression shifting to confusion. "Wait, what?"
Sparkle struggled to suppress a giggle, keeping her head bowed as she solemnly declared, "Actually... I'm gay, Lü Heng. I've liked you for a long time! I know you might not accept these feelings, and I don't need an immediate answer. Just being able to confess right now is enough for me... pfft..."
Before she could finish, Sparkle clapped a hand over her mouth and fled without looking back, leaving a stunned Lü Heng standing rooted to the spot.
"...Huh?"