Be a villain? Was such an absurd thing possible?
"Of course it is. Think about it: if you're a villain, then later when you monitor Kevin or find evidence to strike at this 'hero,' you won't have a psychological burden," Chiaki said leisurely, chugging cola. Her bare toes were small and delicate as she propped them up on her desk. Leaning back in her soft chair, she looked up at the silent helmeted man and smiled brightly. "And if he's the real culprit, then MEI is an accomplice. Dealing with both at once is a hassle, right? Plus, with their influence, evidence might not even work. You'll definitely need to drive a wedge between them."
Sowing discord, breaking up a loving couple—and they were Lin friends.
"Only a villain would do such a thing, right? You don't need to justify it with justice or the greater good. You're just a bad guy, so you use bad guy methods."
Lin clenched and unclenched his fist. He inhaled the filtered air and looked down at Chiaki, who was smiling faintly at him.
Having "exposed herself," she no longer hid. She wasn't the fearful girl from before, nor the coldly mocking hacker. Lin could feel an aloof aura and a temperatureless smile rushing out from her without reservation.
Willful, cold, and malicious—yet more real.
She was giving Lin advice, and Lin didn't refuse. He faithfully played the "villain," thinking about how to strike at his old friend.
The birth of a villainous alliance seemed so easy.
A little instigation, a few whispers, a bit of catching at shadows, and finally, a "kind" reminder—it's very easy to lead someone in a different direction, isn't it?
Of course, Chiaki knew Lin couldn't truly become a villain, and Lin naturally wouldn't commit atrocities. All of this was just to make his own heart feel better.
Even if a friend is a bad person, a "good" person finds it hard to act. So, one might as well treat themselves as a bad person too.
Yes, all of this was just to... feel a little better inside.
"By the way, I've been curious since I saw the files—is there some secret romantic gossip between the three of you?"
Lin glanced at her strangely, not quite understanding.
Chiaki counted on her fingers, muttering: "Like, you and MEI knew each other before you met Kevin, but you were an 'iceberg' type just like her, so you could only watch as she was snatched away by Kevin... or something."
"No." Lin shook his head honestly.
He had indeed known MEI before he met Kevin, but there wasn't a speck of romance between them. It was more like a connection between members of a weird club, occasionally discussing topics others found incomprehensible.
"Don't be so loyal to your iceberg persona. Tell me more about you guys; I'm very interested."
In such a high-pressure situation, she could actually use the phrase "very interested"?
"...The reason Kevin and I met was MEI."
"Oh~" Chiaki elongated the sound, sounding very surprised. "And then? Did you guys fight over her and become friends? Or..."
"Why must it be MEI?"
"A combo of two guys and one girl makes it hard not to let one's imagination run wild."
"..."
...
"This is our reporter bringing you the latest..."
The voice of the news channel her father loved to watch in the morning echoed in the hall. The aroma of a bountiful breakfast drifted into her nostrils amidst her mother's shouting. Rubbing her eyes, half-awake, she walked down the stairs and sat at the dining table, picking up a soup spoon while being lectured by her mother: "Up late again?"
She stared blankly at her reflection in the soup—a face full of calm, just like those boring news reports, seen everywhere and no different from the rest.
At the end of the day, do people really care about things happening to others that don't involve them? Even if people see or hear about someone else's tragic encounter, they usually just offer a hypocritical "How tragic," right?
In the end, it's all indifference, isn't it?
Counting the stains on the edge of the table wet with soup, listening to her mother scolding her father for not eating faster, she woodenly lifted the spoon to her mouth, swallowing the bland soup.
Was she unfortunate? No, no, no. Her parents married with the blessings of both families. She was the crystalized happiness of two clans. Whether it was her father's side, her mother's side, or the parents themselves, they all doted on her. The family was wealthy, her parents rarely argued, and her grades were excellent.
Add to that the delicate features she inherited from both parents, and she was quite popular among her peers.
Many envied her. Even the most malicious and jealous people couldn't find a single flaw in her, and her graceful personality didn't make people feel uncomfortable.
If this was happiness, she was surely one of the happiest people in the world...
Was that really true?
At this moment, she wanted to flip the table in front of her, smear those exquisite breakfast items across the walls, grab a chair to smash the noisy TV, and tell her babbling parents to shut up!
Even better, she could throw her schoolbag into the furnace and burn it to ash, then rush into school to mock those classmates who only dared to look at her with envy but never dared to speak up, and have a shouting match! No, an all-out fight! Pulling hair, tearing clothes! Just like a shrew in a TV drama!
Yes, she could do that. She could do that right now. So she placed her hands on the edge of the table, vowing that if her parents said one more word, or if the news reporter reported one more boring story, she would flip the table!
She—
"I'm full."
"Hmm? Full already? Then go to school. Do you need me to drive you?"
"No thanks, Father."
A perfect smile—it must be a beautiful, moving smile that showed no hint of darkness.
Then, she picked up her bag and left the house.
By the time she realized she had this hidden side to her personality, she had already spent over a decade wandering through this unchanging life.
Whether it originated from a monotonous existence or she was born this malicious, it was unknown.
At first, she found it hard to believe she could have such terrifying thoughts.
She wanted to destroy the life that so many dreamed of.
Sounds like " boast humbly " literature, doesn't it?
But the truth was, she eventually accepted it.
Both the boring life where you know what will happen tomorrow by living through today, and the darkness in her heart so thick it could suffocate a person.
How long would this form exist? To what extent would the dark side of her heart expand?
Sooner or later, it would swallow her whole.
Because this was the "correctness" that no one could pierce through, so...
No matter how much time passed, it wouldn't change...
No matter who it was, no one could save her...