In yet another of City X's many commercial buildings, the lights went out, signaling the end of another workday.
"Man, have you seen this new toy from E-soul?"
"Yeah... my son is already crying to have one of those."
"I told you to make him a Smile fan, their products don't have the same market value as the other top 10 heroes."
"Whatever, at least he's not a fan of The Johnnies, their toys are always sold out."
"Hey, did you see that? DragonBoy announced he's going to compete for the top 10."
"Ha! I doubt an aggressive guy like him will get there. I'd rather bet on Nice, that way we'll come out ahead."
"Hey! Want to go to the new bar on the corner?"
"No way, I'm going to rest today..."
The people who were finally going home chatted casually with their coworkers.
Except for a young man with dark brown hair, wearing a black jacket, white shirt, blue pants, and white sneakers, with his employee badge still visible around his neck, he was finishing putting away his belongings from his desk.
Finally finished for today... I'd better go before-
"LIN LIN!" shouted a voice, calling out to the poor employee.
Shit... too late.
Lin Ling turned around, a little apprehensive about the person calling him.
"Hello boss, is something wrong?"
Her boss, Cheng Yaojin, an old man who never seemed to lose his angry expression, at least not in front of Lin Ling.
"Here, this is yours." Cheng handed him a folder with something Lin Ling knew he wouldn't like.
"It's not..."
"Treeman's campaign requests for March. The requests involve Nice and Moon as a couple and also separately. I need the material on my desk in a week."
"What?! Already?! The February campaign is still underway and has the potential to last most of March, according to the polls."
"Treeman is dissatisfied with the results of the February campaigns. Nice is stuck in 15th place in the rankings, and even with the tournament postponed to year 41, Treeman won't stop until his greatest hero reaches the top 10."
"Okay..." Lin Ling accepted with a weary sigh.
He can't remember the last time Treeman slowed down. Every month it's the same situation: large campaign orders, followed by countless revisions and adjustments to achieve the perfect result, worthy of the perfect hero, Nice.
So many sleepless nights, and it seems like he'll never get a better result...
"Now go, you have a lot of work ahead of you."
I always have a lot of work.
Leaving the building, Lin Ling walked down another busy street in City X. Even at night, the streets glowed with the kind of advertising he worked with every day. Heroes are created by people's trust, so the more attention a hero receives, the more chances they have to rise in the rankings and compete in the big tournament, where only the top 10 fight to decide who will be the new X, the number one hero.
Lin Ling still hopes that one day he will become a hero, so that he can help people and motivate them, just as his Goddess Moon does for him.
"Anyone can be a hero, even someone ordinary like me..." he says in a soft, dreamy voice as he looks at a large advertisement on one of the many screens in City X. It is an advertisement featuring each of the top 10 heroes of today.
This attracts strange looks from people passing by.
For now, I'd better worry about not missing the subway.
He left a little hastily, embarrassed by the scene he had caused.
On the crowded subway, he scrolled through the social media app Fomo on his phone, looking for something to distract him or, hopefully, find new posts from Moon, sometimes finding good ideas that way.
But then he saw a post that caught his attention.
BIG SHOW IN A FEW MINUTES.
Idol heroine Lucky Cyan is about to start another one of her shows. Inside the stadium, fans scream nonstop, eager for another incredible performance that she is capable of delivering.
Polls indicate that, at this rate, Lucky Cyan may finally break out of 7th place in the rankings and compete for a spot in the top 5.
What? Another one? Hasn't she been doing a lot more shows lately? I'm sure I've seen even more commercials with her in the last month.
Lin Ling isn't a big fan of Lucky Cyan, but he can't deny how amazing she is. Her songs move everyone in City X. It's impossible not to know someone who has heard one of her songs.
"She seems like she's from another world he." Muttered to himself, remembering how special heroes like her are.
Next station...
"Ah! I'm getting off here!"
The subway woke him from his reverie, reminding him of his stop.
Now, on a bus less crowded than the subway, he took the opportunity to examine Tree Man's requests.
Treeman advertising campaign
Request No. 98: This time, Moon's part is Treeman's own beauty products and sportswear.
Request No. 99: Nice's part is to promote Treeman's new real estate developments and its new line of hair gel.
Request No. 100: The couple's part is a campaign in partnership with a restaurant chain. The best choice would be to simulate a passionate encounter between them...'
Lin Ling read and reread each part that involved the requests and requirements of what needed to be in the commercial and what could not be in the commercial.
Gradually, his eyes grew heavier until he couldn't take it anymore and fell asleep...
"Hey, wake up... Hey... Wake up... WAKE UP!"
"Huh!? WHAT? WHERE... am I?" Lin Ling woke up startled.
"You have to get out, the bus broke down and I can't leave you here." The bus driver warned him with a stressed grimace.
"Broken down?" He looked around and realized he was the only passenger left. "Wait, how long have I been asleep?"
"I have no idea. The bus broke down about 30 minutes ago, and I just noticed you here."
"You've got to be kidding..." Lin Ling sighed at this situation.
Getting off the bus, he realized it wasn't that far from home.
"At least it's not too bad to keep walking—"
His optimism was interrupted when he felt raindrops falling.
"What bad luck..."
Lin Ling walked quickly through the rain with an umbrella, trying to get home as dry as possible.
The weather forecast earlier didn't mention any rain today, it's unlikely that it would be wrong like this.
Lin Ling let his imagination run wild, thinking that something might have interfered with the change in weather.
Okay, four more blocks and I should be home...
Turning another corner, he stopped at an unexpected sight.
What?
It was a girl, she was a few meters ahead of him, lying on the sidewalk.
She was wearing a short dress with white and green details.
Is she a cosplayer?
Seeing a Lucky Cyan cosplayer is far from absurd, especially on the night of her show.
The show... it must have been canceled because of the bad weather, she'll get sick if she stays out in this rain...
Lin Ling couldn't just leave a girl alone in the rain, a hero would never do that.
Approaching the girl, he noticed how fragile she looked.
Okay... you can do this.
Slowly approaching the girl, he put a small smile on his face to appear as friendly as possible to her. Stopping in front of her, he used his umbrella to stop the rain from falling on her.
She raised her head in response to his action.
"Need help?-"
Lin Ling then realized that the situation was more sensitive than he had thought.
Is she crying!?
His smile disappeared after this revelation. He thought she was just someone who wasn't prepared for the rain, but the girl seemed to be in terrible shape.
At the same time, he noticed something that looked like tiny black particles disappearing from around her.
What was that?
Turning his full attention to the girl, he realized that she was staring at him, as if she were trying to figure something out about him.
Lin Ling was now embarrassed. His idea of acting like a hero to resolve the situation peacefully had gone down the drain. Even so, he had to act. He crouched down to the girl's level, handed her his umbrella, and helped her up.
She's freezing.
He decided to use his own jacket to cover her, in an attempt to help her against the cold.
The girl did not reject it, she clung to the jacket, but without showing any strong reaction.
"Do you live nearby?" Lin Ling asked, wanting to resolve this as quickly as possible.
The girl shook her head weakly in denial.
"Okay... is there anyone I can call? A relative or friend?"
She took a few seconds to answer that question, but it ended up being another no.
"Okay..."
This isn't good. There's no hospital or shelter nearby, and the rain shows no sign of stopping anytime soon.
"I'm going to call the police... they should be the best option for—"
Lin Ling was about to make the call when the girl grabbed his arm with all the strength she had at that moment.
"Please... I just don't want to go back there."
The girl spoke in a low voice, her tone fearful.
Lin Ling began to wonder if she was shivering from cold or fear.
What do I do!? It was out of the question for him to just leave it at that.
Lin Ling thought as hard as he could to find a solution to help the girl, but his accumulated fatigue prevented him from doing so effectively.
A light bulb lit up above his head, just like in the comic books he read. He had a stupid idea, but it was the only option that occurred to him at that moment.
"I could take her to my place..." Lin Ling ended up blurting out his stupid idea.
He noticed the girl's eyes widen for a moment at his words.
Now Lin Ling had a frightened expression on his face. For a stranger to approach and say something like that was definitely the wrong thing to do.
"I-I swear it's not like that! I just thought you could at least rest and get out of the cold—"
To his surprise, in the middle of his explanation, the girl nodded weakly, accepting his stupid idea..
.
.
.
.
.
"What?"
In the middle of a dark room, a door could be heard slowly opening, bringing a little light into the place.
"Where's the switch?" a voice said impatiently.
"Oh, here."
Light now flooded the room, revealing it to be a simple apartment.
"This way, come in." Lin Ling led the girl into his apartment.
Cyan raised her head slightly to look at the place she was in.
After the entrance was a living room with a sofa, in front of it a small table, and then in front of that a small TV. Looking further ahead, at the back of the room was a small table for four people and access to a simple balcony. On one side of the room were three doors, probably the rest of the rooms in the apartment.
The most noticeable thing was the mess of papers everywhere, some packages of what looked like instant food and cans of energy drinks scattered all over the place.
But for Cyan, there was one more thing that stood out about this place.
It's small...
She remembered how big her floor in the heroes' tower was.
Cyan stared blankly at it all, not knowing exactly how to feel.
"Sorry for the mess, I don't have much time to clean up..." Lin Ling replied with a nervous laugh, he clearly never expected visitors.
Silence was the only response he received..
.
.
.
.
"Okay... stay here, I'll get some... towels." Lin Ling headed toward the back room, leaving Cyan alone with her thoughts.
With a little curiosity, she decided to take a closer look at the place.
Going to the first door near the entrance, she found what appeared to be the kitchen. Like the living room, it was simple, but again a mess, now with dirty dishes in the sink, which was the most noticeable thing.
Is it common for apartments to be like this...?
At the end of the kitchen was the entrance to a small laundry room.
Leaving the kitchen, she found Lin Ling looking for her.
"Oh, there you are..." He was holding towels and some clothes in his hands.
"Here... you can use these. The bathroom is through the middle door. You can leave your wet clothes outside and I'll put them in the wash. I'll leave some slippers for you."
She accepted them with a curious look at the clothes he handed her. They were the same as the ones he was wearing.
Lin Ling, noticing her reaction, became nervous about what she might be thinking.
"I'm sorry about that, I only have this type of clothing."
The girl just nodded as she walked to the bathroom.
Lin Ling sighed with relief when she disappeared from view. All of this was an unusual situation for him.
Inside the bathroom, nothing remarkable again, it was simple and even smaller than Cyan had expected.
Living in the heroes' tower had really set her standards too high.
Cyan noticed some more colorful products in the bathroom stall.
Moon Shampoo, teleport your hair to another world
Stamped on the bottle label was a blonde woman with a ponytail, wearing a white outfit with gold details and a shiny purple flower in the middle.
Moon was posing and smiling, just as Cyan always did.
Cyan lowered her head at the thought of this woman being like her, not a person, but a brand to be used by others.
Maybe... this is my destiny...
"Okay, that should be fine." Lin Ling was in her room, finishing tidying it up as best she could for the visit. It was a very simple room, with only a wardrobe and a bed, the highlight being the posters of her goddess.
I should have taken those down too...
You could see some full trash bags tied up in a corner of the room.
I really have to take more time for cleaning.
He thought tiredly about the fact that he had to find time for that.
"Hm?" Hearing the sound of footsteps, he saw that the girl was now standing in front of the bedroom door, her hair still dripping with water.
"So... are you feeling better?" He asked a little awkwardly. She was wearing his clothes, and it was noticeable how big the shirt and pants were on her.
And in response, the girl remained silent with her head down.
He tried not to let a strange look cross his face, it was a situation he never imagined he would be in.
Until he heard a sound of something snoring?
The girl placed her hands on her stomach and lowered her head even further; she certainly didn't want to do this.
"Hungry? Wait here, I'll get you something." Lin Ling walked past her with a small smile.
Cyan walked over to the bed and sat down, pulling her knees close to her chest and lowering her head.
The sound of rain outside the window was the only thing she could hear..
.
.
.
.
I shouldn't have run away... I won't escape this...
She looked at her own wrist, where a high number rose and fell incessantly.
They trust me... I am what they believe me to be.
Her eyes were clouded. As long as people believed in her, she would never cease to be a hero.
"I'm back."
She ended up hiding her wrist with his return.
He had a packet of instant noodles in one hand and a glass of water in the other.
"Sorry, it's the best I have at the moment."
Lin Ling had a faint smile on his face.
But to his surprise, the girl quickly grabbed the noodles and began eating as if she hadn't eaten in days.
She was really hungry.
Lin Ling began to think seriously about how she had gotten herself into this situation.
This is far from something as simple as a plan to run away from home for a night to see a concert in secret from parents... at least that's what I thought.
Lin Ling mentally scolded himself for letting his imagination run wild and already thinking of a reason for her to be in that situation.
And then he noticed an important detail.
Wait, her hair... isn't it a wig or dye!?
It's not entirely uncommon for people to have different hair colors like this, but an insane thought crossed his mind.
She couldn't be the—
*cough*cough*cough*
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the girl coughing, she had definitely eaten too quickly.
"Hey, here." He handed her the glass of water.
Finishing her drink, she let out a sigh of relief and satisfaction. It was a simple meal, but very good for her.
Realizing the scene she had made in front of him, the girl became a little stiff and embarrassed.
"I'm sorry—"
"Stop it." He interrupted her, and she let out a curious look as to why he had done so.
"Here." He took something out of his pockets. "These are yours, right?" It was the medicine she had received earlier from Dr. House.
"I found it in your clothes. It's throat medicine, right? So don't strain yourself talking to me, just focus on resting so you can get better."
She also saw the card with the doctor's number on it, but unfortunately, because of the rain, the number was smudged.
Handing her the medicine, she took a pill and swallowed it with the rest of the water she had left.
"Okay." He got up, picking up the glass and the empty packet of noodles.
"We'll talk about all this tomorrow."
The girl lay down on the bed, while he was already near the door, ready to leave.
"Thank you..."
"Hm?" He looked at the source of the sound and saw that the girl was already asleep.
With a smile on his face, Lin Ling left, closing the bedroom door behind him.
"Good night."