Cloud You, sixteen years old this year, currently has no troublesome parental issues.
In fact, in a way, he even kind of hopes to have the trouble of being scolded for revealing too much about himself during a mixed doubles match.
He does not want to hide his identity from his companions.
Cloud You fully understands a simple truth: one lie inevitably requires countless other lies to cover it up.
The longer that lie lasts, the higher the price to pay when the truth is finally revealed.
Look at Cloud Li and Lin Zhifeng—aren’t they both just forcing themselves to keep up the pretense?
Having seen through everything at such a young age, he definitely doesn’t want to follow in their footsteps.
…Besides, his own problem is even bigger.
Not to mention Kamen Rider, just take the Magical Girl side of things: no matter how you look at it, he’s a nearly adult male.
Even if his body completely changes into that of a girl after transformation, his inner self-identity remains male.
With this careless closeness to the other genuine Magical Girls (emphasis on the last two characters), isn’t that inappropriate?
If someone found out he was actually a male high school student, his career as a Magical Girl would be over.
So rather than passively risk exposure, it’s better to take the initiative from the start and explain!
Cut off the danger of having his identity revealed before it even has a chance to begin!
Yet, every time he tries to confess his true identity to them, he runs into all kinds of problems.
Whether it’s his Magical Girl teammates or his Kamen Rider teammates, they all seem uninterested in each other’s true identities…
Every time he tries to make a solemn self-introduction, he is interrupted with various excuses.
Cloud You tried to tell teammate A that he was Legend.
Teammate A coldly cut him off:
“Don’t care. Don’t bother me with useless stuff. Tell me after I win.”
Cloud You tried to tell teammates B and C that Camellia is actually a boy.
Teammate B, sweating profusely, interrupted:
“Camellia, even with a layer of magical separation, our friendship is sincere and unshakeable, so let’s talk about this later!”
…This shouldn’t be happening, right?
Lin Zhifeng’s former Magical Girl companions remain very close friends even after the burdens have lifted.
Every year they take time out to travel together, and they probably plan to live in the same nursing home when they’re old.
Why is it so distant with him?
As for Cloud Li… well, according to the officially authorized Manga Epic, his Second Rider Wind seems to no longer exist?
That manga was abruptly cut off right when Wind fell before Epic, due to huge controversy, and hasn’t been updated since.
Thinking about some things Cloud Li said to him and the fact that he’s never seen anyone like Wind around Cloud Li in recent years, Cloud You always felt this was a sore spot and never dared to mention Wind in front of him.
Even without the theoretically closest Second Rider, Cloud Li still has many juniors with good relations.
Cloud You has seen them at Cloud Li’s company.
Judging from their attitude, these juniors clearly know the equation Epic = Cloud Li.
As for telling Lin Zhifeng he is actually Kamen Rider Legend… that would be no different from directly saying Epic is Cloud Li.
After all, Epic and Legend’s good relationship is obvious, but Epic and Cloud Li have never appeared together; these connections don’t stand up to careful scrutiny.
Conversely, telling Cloud Li about his Magical Girl identity is the same.
So, Cloud You was heavily bribed (a full bucket, double portions) to keep this secret.
This is called a double win—Cloud You wins twice.
Cloud You sighed, touched the antique-style watch on his wrist, and picked up his bag before heading out.
After breakfast, Cloud Li and Lin Zhifeng each drove to their respective companies, while Cloud You took the bus to school.
Actually, his school isn’t far from either company or home; after all, when they chose the house and work locations, they considered Cloud You’s schooling.
It would be possible to give him a ride along the way… but if they made a habit of picking him up and then suddenly switched to someone else, it would be suspicious.
So most of the time, he commutes by himself.
It’s like they’re starring in a spy movie.
The difference is that spy movies last one hour and fifty-three minutes, while these two have been acting for 365 days a year—and they seem to enjoy it, perhaps a unique pleasure between them.
Fortunately, today seems peaceful.
Up to the moment Cloud You safely arrived at school, he hadn’t received any urgent messages from anyone, so he should be able to attend classes without incident.
He entered the classroom before morning self-study time.
Only half the students were there, some resting on their desks, some stuffing breakfast into their mouths, others hurriedly copying homework—truly a microcosm of life.
Cloud You stands 176 cm tall, which isn’t particularly tall for a northern city high school.
His class uses a seat rotation system, and this month he was assigned to the second-to-last row by the window.
He slung his bag over his shoulder and wove through the crowd of quirky classmates toward his seat, just catching two students whispering at the back of the classroom:
“Did you see this week’s Weekly Report?”
The so-called Weekly Report is a series of videos made by Yuluo Lianyi, the biggest fan UP Master of Kamen Rider, dedicated to gathering Kamen Rider news and updating weekly.
Besides his own exclusive material, anyone who films Kamen Rider footage can submit it to him, and Yuluo Lianyi pays bonuses to those whose submissions are used.
This series has maintained stable viewership since its first episode three years ago and cultivated a loyal fan base—one that includes Cloud You’s classmates.
In the past, when hearing others discuss the show, Cloud You might have considered joining in.
After all, many of the people featured in the videos are either people he’s known since childhood or acquaintances.
He understood them well and even won second place in the Kamen Rider Quiz thanks to this knowledge.
However, this year, he lost the ability to participate in such discussions.
Even if he hears the topic, he can only quietly take out his book and zone out.
“I watched it, I watched it! Legend’s new form is so cool it made me cry!”
A bespectacled male student pushed up his glasses, barely hiding his excitement.
“I told you a new form would come out this week! You owe me the King’s UR Red Shard Card!”
Next to the glasses guy, a round, muscular boy grumbled reluctantly while rifling through his bag,
“Damn… you were a whole week earlier than I guessed? Legend’s efficient!”
Hearing that familiar keyword, Cloud You’s gaze on his textbook faltered.
This is exactly why he can no longer join the discussion.
Hearing his codename and strength debated by acquaintances in front of him is awkward.
He managed to keep a neutral expression thanks to all the times he had covered for his parents over the years.
Otherwise, he would have fled the class by now.
Luckily, classes were just rearranged this year.
Many classmates were new to him, so his unusually silent attitude on Kamen Rider topics didn’t arouse suspicion or force anyone to drag him into bragging about their own skills…
Otherwise, he would definitely lose control of his expression.
Earlier this morning, Lin Zhifeng and Cloud Li probably felt the same when they came across their own videos.
Glasses guy Zhang Han and chubby Yuan Bing continued their heated debate:
“But they still didn’t beat Chaos this week, so he got away. Legend’s definitely the tank king. Honestly, I think Glory and Legend’s coordination isn’t quite there yet. If their synergy was maxed, maybe Chaos wouldn’t have escaped…”
“Tough second riders aren’t rare. It’s way better than before. What’s the rush? And I heard Glory blocked an attack for Legend, got injured, and couldn’t give full power. Can’t help it.”
A figure strode quickly toward Cloud You as their conversation went on.
Finally, he slammed a notebook heavily onto Cloud You’s desk, the loud bang interrupting their talk and drawing many students’ eyes.
Cloud You looked up to see Lu Xun frowning.
His fierce gaze wasn’t aimed at him but at a startled Zhang Han.
“This is a classroom. Aren’t you here to study?”
Zhang Han sneered, knowing that this frequently absent yet good-looking classmate hates this topic.
That scowl wasn’t the first time.
“No, Lu Xun, you hate Kamen Rider. Doesn’t mean others can’t like it!”
“Exactly!”
Lu Xun ground his teeth unhappily,
“Who said I was talking about that? Besides, Glory was already…”
He was about to say Glory got injured and couldn’t fight at full strength, and that blocking that attack was unavoidable, not some kind of tsundere behavior.
However, the large motion reactivated a hidden bruise on his body, making his face twist in pain and cutting off his words.
Zhang Han and Yuan Bing, full of momentum, finished their sentences with uncommon tacit understanding, snorted loudly, and circled around Lu Xun back to their seats, completely at ease and oblivious to Lu Xun’s expression change.
Cloud You opened his mouth to try to smooth things over but quickly realized there was no chance to intervene or save Lu Xun’s image.
He silently averted his gaze.
He knew very well that Zhang Han and Yuan Bing were missing a crucial point: Lu Xun doesn’t hate Kamen Rider at all.
In fact, Lu Xun is a true, hardcore Kamen Rider fan.
Pulling out his super-topic badge on Tieba and his household buckle model belt would probably shock those two for a whole year.
In the Kamen Rider Quiz, the one who scored 99 points and took first place—surpassing Cloud You’s 98—was Lu Xun.
Unlike Cloud You, who gained some insider knowledge from meeting real people and cheating a bit, Lu Xun relied entirely on his passion, trying every method to collect intelligence from various channels.
His 99 points were undoubtedly more hard-earned and valuable.
The question Cloud You got wrong but Lu Xun answered right was:
Epic’s least favorite food, the correct answer being eggs.
This still puzzles Cloud You—if Cloud Li hates eggs, why do they eat one nearly every morning?
You Understand Epic Better Than I Do?
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