Under the dense shade of the sycamore trees, the sudden and familiar ringtone of a phone, like a stone dropped into a calm lake, made both Marinette and Alya pause.
This was Paris's exclusive "Akumatized Person Alert" ringtone, sharp and urgent. Every time it rang, it meant that somewhere in the city, another lost heart had been captured by darkness.
Marinette subconsciously looked towards the cafe not far away.
Sunlight streamed through the glass window, gently outlining the figures of Jaden and Rose.
She saw Jaden also pick up his phone, but he merely glanced at the screen before placing it back on the table. Then, he picked up a delicate macaron and offered it to Rose's mouth.
His movements were unhurried, as if the piercing alarm was nothing more than a car horn sounding accidentally on the street.
Rose also saw the notification, a fleeting flicker of worry crossing her face, but under Jaden's gentle gaze, that worry quickly melted away. She obediently opened her mouth and accepted his feeding.
This scene made Marinette feel as if something was lodged in her chest, making her anxious.
"They... why are they not reacting at all?" Marinette's voice was a little dry.
"Let's see what's happening first." Alya's expression also grew serious. She quickly pulled out her phone and opened the emergency notification officially released by the city government.
An Marinette and An Alya, on the other hand, looked bewildered. Their phones remained silent, clearly, this alert system did not cover "tourists" from parallel worlds.
"What happened?" An Alya leaned over curiously.
Alya turned her phone screen towards her. On it was a bold red headline: "Emergency Alert: Unidentified Akumatized Person spotted near Champs-Élysées. Citizens are advised to stay away from the area."
"Woah!"
An Alya's eyes lit up with that unique gleam a reporter gets when discovering big news.
"You actually have official announcements here? That's so professional! It's much faster than relying entirely on my blog back home. Champs-Élysées... is it far from here?"
"Not too far, but not close either." Alya pointed to the location on the map. "What? You're not thinking of..."
Before she could finish, An Alya had already excitedly stood up straight and began stretching her wrists and ankles.
"Of course I'm going to the scene! This is first-hand information. I have no intel on the Akumatized Person in this world. Alya, I'll leave An Marinette in your care for now. I'll be right back!"
With that, she rushed out like a gust of wind, her figure quickly disappearing into the crowd.
"Hey!"
Alya reached out, but only grasped thin air.
She helplessly lowered her hand and grumbled in the direction An Alya had left, "Doesn't she know that's dangerous? Is she crazy? Actively rushing to the scene?"
She turned to An Marinette, asking with an expression that said, "You have to side with me," "Is the me from the other world... always this reckless?"
An Marinette's face showed a bitter smile, a mix of helplessness, a headache, and a hint of imperceptible habit.
"Yes."
She nodded. "Although our world's Ladybug — has warned her countless times, you know, your personality... once the passion for news ignites, it's like an out-of-control train, no one can stop it."
An Marinette's thoughts drifted back to her world.
Countless days and nights, she had been fighting against Alya's damned dream of being a reporter.
She had to contend with all sorts of troubles created by Hawk Moth, while also being distracted by trying to stop Alya from rushing to the front lines of battle to do a "live broadcast" with her phone.
That feeling of mental and physical exhaustion surged up again at this moment.
She glanced at Marinette, who had once again fallen into self-doubt and jealousy, then looked at the two still-sweet individuals not far away. A thought formed in her mind.
She could no longer let this world's self fall into such a passive and painful situation because of an Akumatized Person.
"Marinette." An Marinette suddenly spoke, grabbing Marinette's arm and leading her to a slightly secluded corner.
Alya watched their retreating figures, scratching her head in confusion.
"What's going on?" She muttered softly. "No way? Does the other Marinette also have 'Akumatized Person Stress Syndrome'? She's fine hearing the name normally, but wants to find a place to hide as soon as she sees an official notice?"
In the corner, Marinette looked at An Marinette, puzzled.
"Listen, Marinette."
An Marinette's expression was unusually serious. She looked directly into Marinette's eyes, her gaze sharp and firm, very much like when she transformed into Ladybug. "The Akumatized Person, leave it to me."
"What?" Marinette was a little startled.
"Your current state isn't suitable for battle. Your heart is in disarray."
An Marinette pointed out incisively.
"You stay here and discuss countermeasures with Alya, think about how to win your beloved 'Jaden' back from someone else. I'll be right back."
These words, like a clap of thunder, echoed in Marinette's mind.
Such a direct goal, spoken by her other self, made her blush and her heart pound, but more than that, it was an unprecedented feeling of excitement and relief.
"Really? You really... Thank you so much, An Marinette!"
Marinette excitedly clasped her hand, the light of hope rekindled in her eyes.
"Don't thank me so soon."
An Marinette didn't let go. Her gaze became inquisitive, as if trying to see through all of Marinette's deepest secrets. "Before I go, you have to honestly tell me. How far have you and him actually progressed? Also, what's with the kiss?"
At the mention of the word "kiss," Marinette's cheeks instantly flushed crimson.
She stammered, her gaze flickering.
"Those... those... were real..." she admitted softly.
"Real?"
An Marinette raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. "Those seemingly flawless plans, those intimate contacts, they were all real?"
"Well... there was a little bit of... exaggeration in them..." Marinette's voice grew fainter and fainter.
"How much?" An Marinette pressed, giving her no chance to evade.
"About... half?"
An Marinette gave her a look that said, "Try again."
"Uh... okay... ninety percent..." Marinette's voice was almost inaudible.
Seeing the knowing expression on her other self's face, she knew she could no longer hide it. She decided to just spill the beans, telling everything like pouring beans from a bamboo tube: "The kisses were all when I was in my Ladybug identity, and those dating plans, how to create opportunities for intimate contact, all of those were Alya's ideas to help me.
However... Jaden himself was also very proactive..."
Hearing this, An Marinette's lips finally couldn't help but curl upwards.
It was a complex smile mixed with triumph, amusement, and an
"I knew it" expression.
Last night, the seemingly intimate relationship between this world's Marinette and Jaden had made her feel an unprecedented sense of frustration.
And now, she finally knew that it was all just a carefully planned illusion.
She felt that all the face she had lost yesterday, at this moment, had been fully recovered.
"I see."
She released Marinette's hand, patted her shoulder, and said in a relaxed tone,
"Then I understand. Don't worry, I'll handle things here."
With that, she turned and, with light steps, ran in the direction where the Akumatized Person had appeared, leaving Marinette alone, covering her face in exasperation.
"It's over... it's all over..."
She thought despairingly, "Not only in this world, but my image in the other world has completely collapsed too..."
"Don't be discouraged, Marinette."
Tikki poked her head out of her crossbody bag and whispered comfortingly, "Perhaps this is a good thing.
Now that An Marinette is going to stop the Akumatized Person, you can focus on your issues with Jaden without any worries, can't you?"
Marinette paused, thinking Tikki made sense. She took a deep breath, composed herself, and returned to Alya's side.
But she didn't know that An Marinette's fighting style was completely different from hers.
After everything was over, when she learned how An Marinette and Cat Noir had "dealt with" the Akumatized Person, her face would turn incredibly ugly.
But that was a story for later.
She returned under the sycamore trees, and just as she was about to speak to Alya, she noticed that someone else had appeared beside Alya.
A girl with short blonde hair and blue eyes was looking at her with curiosity.
It was Rose!
Marinette's heart first skipped a beat, then was filled with immense excitement.
Oh my goodness Alya was so efficient! How long had it been, and she had already tricked Rose away from Jaden?
She excitedly wanted to rush up and give Alya a big hug, but her gaze shifted. When she saw Jaden and another "Rose" across the street in the cafe still smiling at each other, the atmosphere sweet, the bubble of excitement in her mind popped with a "bloop," instantly shattering.
"Oh..."
She drew out her voice in disappointment, immediately understanding, "This... this must be An Rose from the parallel world."
"What else?"
Alya rolled her eyes at her, annoyed, and looking at Marinette who had returned, teased, "Oh, today's 'Akumatized Person Stress Syndrome' didn't act up, did it? You actually didn't find a place to hide?"
"I did not!" Marinette retorted, blushing, her voice lacking conviction.
"'Akumatized Person Stress Syndrome'? What's that?"
An Rose asked curiously, blinking her innocent blue eyes.
"Actually..."
Alya was just about to vividly describe Marinette's past "glorious deeds" when Marinette frantically clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Nothing, nothing!" Marinette quickly interjected, changing the subject, "An Rose, why are you here?"
An Rose's gaze drifted towards the cafe across the street, her eyes filled with undisguised envy and longing.
She watched her counterpart in this world, smiling so happily and radiantly under Jaden's gentle gaze.
"Honestly."
An Rose clasped her hands together, resting her chin on them, Her tone like she was making a wish, "The other me is so happy. I really wish I could meet such a good boy too."
Her voice carried a hint of girlish melancholy and sweet fantasy.
She took out her phone and snapped a photo of the two in the distance. In the picture, Jaden was gently wiping a cream stain from Rose's mouth with a tissue, the scene as beautiful as a painting.
"You will, you will."
Alya immediately comforted her, while not forgetting to cheer for her own "camp" here, "Once your world's Jaden also comes to France, you'll definitely have a chance too!
As long as you make the first move, there'll be no problem! Hmph, anyway, in our world, having our Jaden is enough!"
By the end Alya's tone was full of pride and possessiveness, as if Jaden was the common property of all the girls in their class.
"But... how do we get back?"
An Rose's single sentence, like a basin of cold water, extinguished Alya's newly ignited excitement.
This question made Alya and Marinette fall silent simultaneously.
Alya frowned.
She thought that no matter how big the problem was before, as long as Ladybug finally shouted "Miraculous Restoration," everything would return to normal.
But this time, the Miraculous Restoration had failed.
It repaired what the "Timebreaker" had damaged, but it didn't send these people from the parallel world back. Had Ladybug's power... gone wrong? A shadow fell over Alya's heart.
Alas, who knows when it will be fixed.
Marinette's thoughts went deeper.
She thought of what Tikki had said last night after taking the broken Rabbit miraculous pocket watch to Master Fu.
Master Fu couldn't explain the reason either, only telling her to wait and see, to take things one step at a time. This filled her with unease.
In the suffocating silence, the cafe across the street remained peaceful and serene.
Rose did show a hint of worry due to the alarm on her phone and the commotion around her. She subconsciously grabbed Jaden's arm, her body trembling slightly.
"Jaden... it's an Akumatized Person..."
"Don't be afraid."
Jaden clasped her cold little hand in his. His voice was gentle and steady, carrying a power that could soothe all panic. "The Akumatized Person is still far from here.
Besides, have you forgotten who is in Paris?"
He gestured with his eyes towards the sky,
"Ladybug and Cat Noir will handle it. We just need to wait here."
His gentle persuasion and the composed calmness on his face were like a shot of adrenaline, instantly injected into Rose's heart.
Yes, with him by her side, what was there to fear?
She nodded, leaning back against the chair, contentedly enjoying this hard-won sweet time.
On the other side, the atmosphere in the shadows was growing more intense.
An Rose took out her phone and sent all the photos she had just secretly taken of Jaden and Rose to An Juleka, who was far away on the Seine River boathouse.
Soon, An Juleka's message came back, with a string of excited emojis: "The you and him in this world look very happy."
On the boathouse, An Juleka showed her phone screen to Juleka beside her.
Juleka looked at the screen at her best friend and the man who made her heart flutter. There was no jealousy in her heart, only full, sincere blessings.
She and Rose were best friends, and she also loved Jaden.
In her opinion, if she could be with her best friend, accompanying the man she deeply loved, that would be the happiest thing in the world.
She knew Rose wouldn't abandon her for love, and she also believed that the gentle Jaden wouldn't either.
On the other side, An Rose put away her phone contentedly, while Alya, as if suddenly remembering something, also quickly pulled out her phone.
"Oh right! I almost forgot!"
She said, operating rapidly on the screen, instantly creating a new chat group.
[Group Chat Name: Jaden Conference Room]
[Group Members: Alya, Marinette, Mylène, Juleka, Alix]
The moment the group chat popped up, Marinette asked doubtfully, "Alya, what are you doing? Shouldn't we be..."
Before she could finish, she saw Alya rapidly typing and sending the first message in the group, directly @-ing Alix.
[Alya]: @Alix! Where are you?! What happened to you? Why is Rose dating him today?! Did you give up our male lead?! Come out and explain.