The taxi's taillights quickly vanished at the end of the street, leaving Kuchiba Hiro standing alone in the cool evening breeze, clutching a handful of bills.
The moment he had pulled open the back door, the driver, who recognized him, looked as if he had seen a ghost, floored the gas pedal, and bolted like a madman without even giving him a chance to explain.
A crack finally appeared on Kuchiba Hiro's perpetually icy face, and the corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.
For the first time, he deeply doubted his own facial features—did he really look like such an irredeemable villain? Even if the 'him' in the light screen had killed people, that was something that happened in another timeline; what did it have to do with the current him?
This was likely a side effect of the light screen's deliberate rendering of those bloody scenes; the visual impact was so intense that his face had become directly equated with being 'brutal' and 'dangerous.'
This inexplicably reminded him of a social news story he had seen on TV before. An actress's reputation was ruined in real life because she played the role of a domestic abuser too convincingly, leading to repeated failures in blind dates, and she even wept about it on a program. At the time, he only thought it was absurd, but now that it was his turn, he finally experienced the frustration of such an undeserved calamity.
Sighing, Kuchiba Hiro gave up on the idea of paying, stuffed the bills back into his pocket, pulled up the mask he had just 'braved many dangers' to buy at a convenience store, and walked toward the apartment complex where he lived.
As he passed the security booth at the entrance of the complex, the two security guards sitting inside drinking tea, smoking, and chatting recognized him at a glance. After all, he had lived here for so many years, and they saw each other every day; even with a mask on, his build, hairstyle, and unique temperament could not be hidden from acquaintances.
However, familiarity did not equal closeness. Kuchiba Hiro usually didn't like to talk, rarely interacted with others, and had no friends. In the eyes of his neighbors and the security guards, he was at most a 'familiar stranger'—they knew such a person existed, but they didn't understand him at all.
Once the light screen appeared, this thin sense of familiarity was instantly overwritten by immense fear, directly upgrading him to a 'dangerous familiar stranger.'
Seeing Kuchiba Hiro pass by, the two originally relaxed security guards instantly stiffened as if someone had pressed a pause button. They straightened their backs, their eyes darting around as they didn't dare look at him directly, and a tense atmosphere filled the air.
Kuchiba Hiro didn't bother to pay attention to their little thoughts and walked straight into the complex. But the further he went in, the more he noticed something was wrong.
Were there... a bit too many cars parked in the complex today? It wasn't peak commuting hours or a holiday, so where did all these strange vehicles come from?
An inexplicable sense of unease quietly crept into his heart. He quickened his pace and walked toward his apartment building.
The closer he got, the clearer a noisy, market-like clamor became.
When he turned the last corner and reached the small public flowerbed area in front of his building, the sight before him caused his face to instantly darken with exasperation as he froze in place.
The small open space was actually swarming with people, packed so tightly that not even a drop of water could trickle through! All sorts of influencers holding phones for live streams and reporters with professional cameras and microphones were surrounding a person in the middle, several layers deep, bombardment them with various questions.
And the person surrounded in the middle, who not only showed no sign of annoyance but instead looked radiant, talked with great enthusiasm, and even wore a proud expression—was none other than his father, Kuchiba Ta!
Without exception, all those questions revolved around him—Kuchiba Hiro.
From 'What is Mr. Kuchiba Hiro's usual personality like?' and 'How did you raise such a... uh... special son?' all the way to 'Does he have any hobbies?', 'What does he like to eat?', 'Has he ever dated anyone?', 'What type of girl does he like?'... the questions became increasingly private and ridiculous.
And Kuchiba Ta was telling them everything he knew without holding anything back, as if he couldn't wait to expose his son's entire history to the world!
"Oh, my biggest worry is that this boy won't be able to find a girlfriend in the future!" Kuchiba Ta slapped his thigh, looking both worried and honored. "Don't look at him that way, my son has many virtues! He can cook! His skills are excellent! He can even write books! Though I don't know what he writes... he's also a good singer! He's truly adept with both the pen and the sword, a cut above the rest! Did you see him slaughtering everyone in the light screen? Those moves, he learned them all by reading books! Impressive, right?"
At this moment, a reporter who just wanted to see the world burn squeezed forward and asked loudly, "Mr. Kuchiba! Then what kind of girl does your son actually like? Give us a scoop!"
Hearing this, Kuchiba Ta became even more energetic. Without even thinking, he blurted out the revelation, his tone carrying a bit of 'my son has good taste' bragging: "Him? Don't be fooled by his cold exterior, he has very high standards! He likes the kind that's... well... plump, mature, and sexy! A hot and charming body! As for personality... preferably more cheerful and lively, with a bit of that... hehe, you know, sultry spark!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the scene fell silent for a moment, followed by an even louder burst of clamor and laughter!
The reporters and influencers were like sharks that had caught the scent of blood, reaching a peak of excitement instantly!
"Breaking News! The Fiery Aesthetic of a Cold-Blooded Killer! So he's into that!"
"'Killer's' Dating Standards Exposed! Father-Certified: Preference for the Sexy and Hot Type!"
"Gap Moe! The Cold Transcendent's Heart Longs for Passionate Big Sisters!"
All sorts of sensational headlines and wild remarks began to pour out from these self-media practitioners, their cameras and microphones almost shoved into Kuchiba Ta's face.
Kuchiba Hiro, hiding on the outskirts of the crowd, listened to those increasingly ridiculous fabrications and watched his father, who was still talking non-stop and exhibiting him like a rare animal. He felt a surge of blood rush to his head, and his cheeks and the tips of his ears turned uncontrollably hot under his mask!
Dad! I treated you as my own father and told you my inner thoughts, and this is how you sell out your son?! I might be a bit cold, but I still care about my reputation!!!
"Don't say another word! Shut up!"
A low growl, suppressed with extreme shame and anger, suddenly drowned out the noise of the scene.
Everyone looked toward the sound and saw a tall youth wearing a mask and cold eyes standing on the outskirts at some unknown time.
"It's Kuchiba Hiro!"
"The man himself is here!"
The reporters and influencers were stunned for a moment, but then, instead of being afraid, they swarmed forward even more excitedly! After all, his father had just personally torn his 'cool Killer' filter to shreds. At this moment, in their eyes, he looked more like an ordinary teenager suffering from social humiliation after his privacy was exposed by a parent; his danger level seemed to have significantly decreased.
"Kuchiba-kun, is what your father said true?"
"Do you really like mature women with hot bodies?"
"Can you talk about your ideal type?"
Various microphones and phones were almost poked into his face.
Kuchiba Hiro's face was ashen, and he turned a deaf ear to the noise. He forcefully pushed through the crowd and walked up to his father, who was still oblivious and had an expression of 'my son is back, just in time for us to be interviewed together.' He grabbed his father's arm and almost squeezed out two words from between his teeth:
"Go home!"
Without allowing for any argument, he forcibly pulled Kuchiba Ta, who was still happily waving goodbye to the reporters, and wretchedly broke through the crowd's encirclement. He quickly ducked into the building entrance, completely cutting off all the noise and flashing lights behind them.
They left behind a group of unsatisfied reporters and influencers, as well as the explosive news about the 'Cold Transcendent's Shameful Dating Standards' that was about to start spreading like wildfire across the internet.