Late at night, in Lü Heng's bedroom, he stood hunched over, scattering a handful of glutinous rice at his bedroom door while muttering to himself, "Glutinous rice isn't a coarse grain. It nourishes water, so..."
"So it repels zombies," a voice chimed in beside him.
Lü Heng nodded. "Right. And next... next... next..."
He froze mid-sentence. He was alone in his bedroom—how could there be another voice?
Trembling, Lü Heng slowly turned around. He clearly saw 'Invincible Bro' sitting on his bed, gazing at him with a gentle smile.
Without a doubt, it was Sparkle's clone.
After nearly breaking character from laughter during her last prank as her real self, she had opted to use a clone again this time.
'Invincible Bro' stood up from the bed, his hands clasped behind his back, leaning forward slightly. If a cute girl struck this pose, it might seem alluring, but on a burly man...
Lü Heng's stomach churned. He hastily retreated two steps, crushing the glutinous rice he had just scattered, backed against the door, and fumbled for the doorknob. "Dude, wait! Let's talk this out! No need for violence!"
Invincible Bro didn't give chase. Instead, he stood his ground, sighed, and said, "Ah, back at the Bureau of Anomalous Investigations, when you confronted me, I didn't dare admit it. You understand why—it wasn't exactly appropriate to reveal something like that in front of everyone."
Though Sparkle hadn't been present at the time and didn't know the specifics, it wasn't hard to guess what had happened.
She continued, "Actually, there's something I've been hiding from everyone at the Bureau... from all of you..."
"Wh-what is it?" Lü Heng stammered nervously.
"The truth is... I'm a girl. I've just been using a special artifact to disguise myself as the boy you all know."
As she spoke, Lü Heng noticed countless cracks spiderwebbing across Invincible Bro's body, like a mirror on the verge of shattering. The next moment, with a soft snap, Invincible Bro vanished. In his place stood an utterly adorable girl.
Sea-blue hair cascaded down her shoulders, framing eyes as brilliant as sapphires. Lü Heng froze in place, completely stunned.
What's going on?
Invincible Bro turned into a beautiful girl?!
So... she's not gay after all!
A beautiful girl likes me?!
"For various reasons, I had to disguise myself as a boy. This is my true form," the Sparkle Clone said softly, lowering her head and shifting uncomfortably.
Her posture remained unchanged—hands clasped behind her back, torso leaning slightly forward—but now Lü Heng found her utterly adorable, a far cry from the nauseating revulsion he'd felt moments before.
Not that this was surprising. Who in this world wasn't swayed by appearances?
The clone advanced step by step, and with each step, Lü Heng swallowed hard. By the time they stood less than ten centimeters apart, she had stepped onto the sticky rice scattered at the doorway.
This... isn't this moving a little too fast? I'm not ready!
Well, actually, maybe it's not so bad?
What should I do now? Should I hug her?
While Lü Heng was lost in thought, the clone had already placed her hand on the doorknob, pushed the door open, and walked out.
"I... that's all I wanted to say. See you... tomorrow!" Blushing fiercely, the clone scurried out the front door without looking back.
In truth, this prank had glaring flaws. For instance, how had "Invincible Pretty Girl" suddenly appeared in Lü Heng's bedroom? And let's not forget that both Lü Heng and Invincible Bro were in the same Chat Group. Lü Heng could have exposed the ruse instantly with a simple ping to Invincible Bro.
But at that moment, Lü Heng, who had never been in a relationship before, was completely consumed by the bliss of being confessed to by a beautiful girl. His mind could process nothing else, his IQ plummeted, and he completely overlooked the first glaring inconsistency.
As for the Chat Group? If a beautiful girl had just confessed to you and shyly left, would you immediately go online to private message her and ask what she was doing earlier?
The next morning, Lü Heng strode into the Bureau of Anomalous Investigations, a faint shadow beneath his eyes hinting at a sleepless night, yet his energy and spirits were remarkably high.
He approached Invincible Bro, who had just arrived. Having learned from past mistakes, Lü Heng avoided speaking in public and instead pulled him aside to a secluded corner.
Invincible Bro looked utterly bewildered. "Uh... what's gotten into you now?"
Lü Heng took a deep breath and declared with utmost seriousness, "I accept your confession! I... I actually like you too!"
As the saying goes, "A man chasing a woman is like scaling a mountain, but a woman chasing a man is like piercing thin paper." Clearly, a woman's chances of success in confessing to a man far outweigh those of a man confessing to a woman.
Previously, Lü Heng had felt nothing for Invincible Bro. But after seeing his irresistibly cute "true form," agreeing to the confession felt like the natural thing to do.
Invincible Bro's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. "Huh?! Huh?!"
Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Bureau, Yu Lin froze in her tracks, an ice cream cone in hand. Though she was some distance away, her exceptional hearing as a Dragon Lady allowed her to catch every word of Lü Heng's confession without missing a beat.
Splat!
Yu Lin's jaw dropped in shock, completely oblivious to the ice cream slipping from her hand and splattering on the ground.
Meanwhile, Invincible Bro broke out in goosebumps the moment he heard Lü Heng's confession. Every hair on his body stood on end. Without hesitation, he retaliated with a friendly face-shattering punch to Lü Heng's cheek.
Wham!
About twenty minutes later, the entire Bureau of Anomalous Investigations gathered around. After another round of explanations—or rather, a public roasting—Invincible Bro sighed in exasperation. "Seriously, can't you use your brain for once? How could I possibly teleport into your bedroom? And based on your description of that blue-haired, blue-eyed girl... isn't she this one?"
Invincible Bro pulled out his phone and displayed a picture. The girl in the image bore an uncanny resemblance to the one Lü Heng had seen the previous night.
However, next to the blue-haired girl on Invincible Bro's phone was a small caption:
SSR Support Character: Sea Maiden Gofelia. Limited-Time Rate-Up Event Now Live!
Lü Heng: "..."