Chapter 11. Livestream
As soon as the glass door closed behind Juwel, the sales clerk, who had been trying to keep a professional expression until now, finally could not hide her emotions.
Her facial muscles twitched, and her eyes sparkled as if charged with electricity. She pulled her phone out from the pocket of her apron with trembling hands, almost dropping it. Her fingers swiped quickly across the screen, opening her fanpage immediately – Lảm Nhảm chuyện Zbiz, a page specialized in updating news and analyzing entertainment drama, now with over thirty thousand followers.
Within a minute, a new post was published:
[MIDNIGHT BREAKING NEWS – DON'T ASK ME WHY I SCREAM!!!
Everyone… I just met someone, saying "someone" is wrong, I should call him a celestial being descended to the mortal realm 😭😭😭
I am not 100% sure, but those eyes… that striking aura… that platinum hair with golden shine… I cannot help but believe I am this lucky!!
Does anyone remember this artist? He became famous for his visuals that were shockingly unreal, like stepping out of a painting!!
📎 (Attached is a super old viral photo – last year a fan took a picture of Juwel bowing and smiling, wearing a white shirt, sunlight slanting over his eyelashes, the kind of beauty beyond gender :))))
Today I met him in real life wearing dark clothes and a full mask, but that visual… how could I forget it 😭!!!]
Although the style of the post sounded somewhat excited, in reality, she was not as excited as it seemed. Clearly, she was only excited because she had just seen a celebrity, but her attitude did not resemble that of a normal fan.
Below, the comment section began to flood. Nighttime was indeed the moment when emotions surged. Partly, it was also because of Juwel's striking looks. Male, female, any gender had to pause for at least three seconds to admire him.
[Juwel? Honestly, anyone who has ever seen his CGI-like face… I wonder if he's still that beautiful lately. Haven't seen him active recently.]
The female clerk immediately replied: [Yes! I don't know if it's because he doesn't photograph well, but he looks much better in real life than in pictures!]
[This page again? All I see is mouths with words stuffed in and gossiping. Don't trust it.]
Seeing this comment, the clerk was instantly angry. She only fabricated news because the page's interactions were poor. She was not a professional journalist who could get hot scoops like others. She checked the clock. It was around 10:20 pm, more than half an hour until closing time.
Due to many scandals, Juwel's image was not great, but he had many beauty-focused fans. Some even said that Juwel did not need to do anything; just showing his face already contributed value to the entertainment world.
Therefore, his absence caused regret among many beauty fans. If the entertainment world only required appearances, Juwel's beauty would dominate the rankings.
After receiving his bag and a farewell from the clerk, Juwel nodded in acknowledgment and left the store. As soon as he stepped outside, he smelled the wind carrying the scent of blooming hoa sữa. The bag in his hand rustled every time he moved.
In the dim shadows of a quiet street corner, Juwel stopped. He did not rush home. Going back meant seeing that bastard's face again. He did not know whether he had gone to sleep or was still absorbed in reading.
It reminded Juwel of a time when he had to watch that bastard all day and night. Of course, even when he saw him in person, he could not act carelessly. He was very cautious and usually traveled with a group, not alone. His daily behavioral patterns were easy to recognize. He could read at any time, and Juwel could feel his thirst for knowledge. Whenever that happened, Juwel could not help but recall how he had also been so eager for knowledge as a child.
He had once been described as more of a scholar than an heir to a noble family. Later, people rarely said he resembled a scholar as before. A person could change so much that even they could not believe it.
The fact that he and Corvos had replaced the original owner of the body was a big question. Juwel was not fond of fairy tales. He did not know much about such topics. The fables and fairy tales he read as a child were now vague memories.
As Juwel reasoned at first, he did not think this world would resurrect a large number of deaths, but that had not been verified. If there were more than two cases like his and Corvos's, the chance of finding an answer would be higher.
On the other hand, Corvos might still be hiding something related to the truth to exceed the limits that Juwel had set, in order to fully take control of the body.
Thinking this, he could not afford to fall behind Corvos. He needed to know everything before Corvos realized anything.
Unconsciously, Juwel's hand touched his coat pocket, where his phone lay silently. A thought flashed through his mind. He pulled out the phone.
Juwel turned on the screen, the pale blue light reflecting on his serious face. He was not good at using it, a fact that irritated him a little, but he needed it now. Juwel raised the phone and spoke, his voice low: "Reincarnation"
The phone hesitated for a moment and returned a result… completely wrong. A string of unrelated keywords appeared. Juwel frowned and tried again, this time pronouncing more clearly: "Reincarnation."
The result was still unsatisfactory. Perhaps he was standing in a place too noisy. The beeps and horns of surrounding vehicles prevented the phone from accurately catching his voice.
Juwel exhaled sharply, his eyes showing impatience. He was not used to using a touchscreen keyboard, so relying on voice seemed more effective. But clearly, even the tool he thought could help was now betraying him.
Juwel found a quieter spot to stand and tried again.
"Rein…carn….tion" ("reincarnation")
Finally, the search results appeared as he wanted. Juwel carefully scanned the information displayed on the screen.
"Tái sinh is a concept in Buddhism, referring to samsara, to the return of a soul in another body," Juwel murmured, eyes glued to the screen. However, this information was too vague and not really useful for the situation he was investigating.
Accidentally, Juwel clicked on related tags like "xuyên không" (crossing worlds), "trọng sinh" (rebirth), "chuyển sinh" (reincarnation). The new results surprised him. As he started reading a few posts, he realized these were concepts in novels. Usually, the character is reborn in the body of someone who has died.
However, his case was different.
Juwel recalled the previous conversation with Corvos. He had asked very clearly about the condition of the original body owner before he crossed over. Corvos confirmed that the original body owner was still alive, even healthy, only with minor ailments. Doubting Corvos's words would be pointless at this moment.
So this ruled out the possibility that the original body owner had died. But if that was the case, why did he appear in this body?
Juwel continued scrolling through other posts with related tags, but the content all revolved around similar plotlines, offering no additional useful clues.
Perhaps he should approach more carefully.
Juwel tried searching with keywords like: "sudden personality change," "person looks like another but is different," "second consciousness in the body."
The results led to medical and psychological terms: cognitive disorder, multiple personality, temporary psychotic syndrome, post-traumatic obsession.
His heart pounded. A strange concept gradually took shape.
If the original owner of this body had never disappeared, it was very possible that person was still here, inside this body, but forced into a deep corner of the subconscious, sleeping in a long, endless dream, in a place where the "true consciousness" was still waiting for a chance to return.
Reading the analysis of this condition and ways to treat it, Juwel found it more credible than trying to find some wizard in this world. But just as he wanted to make a psychological appointment, he stopped.
He did not know what prevented him from doing it. The thought in his mind was not clear at all.
Although these hypotheses were more believable, they did not guarantee there were no other possibilities. Juwel should not act thoughtlessly or hastily. Perhaps he should find some related books to read first before consulting a real expert.
He closed the phone screen and tucked it into his coat pocket.
The atmosphere was slightly chilly, and the breeze made him shiver. Juwel suddenly remembered the pack of cigarettes he had just bought. Silently, he pulled one out of his coat pocket and brought it to his lips. The match head flared in the dark, the tiny sparks flickered and then went out as he lit the cigarette. The weak light gradually faded, leaving only the tiny glow at the tip of the cigarette, small but enough to illuminate his face, his blue eyes reflecting the flame, transforming into a brilliant reddish-orange. Everything around him became hazy, obscured by the thin veil of smoke.
Juwel exhaled a stream of white smoke, hazy like his mood at that moment. Under the dim light of the cigarette, his face looked alluring and elusive, a quiet and strange beauty of a person untouchable. The smoke danced around him, a seductive waltz of loneliness, of thoughts that could not be shared.
Nicotine began to fill his lungs, sharpening his mind. Juwel relaxed his body, letting himself merge with the cold night.
Cigarettes were not unfamiliar to him. Each puff eased a little of the chaos in his heart and brought a fleeting sense of relief, though temporary.
But solitude could not be soothed.
The cigarette was just a temporary escape, a brief oblivion before the persistent pain he could not avoid.
He held the burning cigarette between his fingers. The ash created a smoky mist that drifted through the air.
He stared into the distance at the cars still moving relentlessly on the street, the engine noise blending with the wind to create a hurried rhythm. It seemed as if he had completely detached from the flow of the world.
The night embraced him. The light smoke from the cigarette softened his usual sharpness. In that moment, Juwel looked like a part of the darkness: quiet, silent, yet somehow captivating.
This moment was unintentionally captured by a camera.
[I am dumb. Can someone tell me who that is?]
Reply: [Really? Although Juwel's idol career isn't very prominent, he often appears in those cosmetic ads.]
[Juwel!! My handsome one!! Remember the group PRINZE?]
[Oh my, even each eyelash seems to ponder along with the picture… all beings are equal when seeing his beauty.]
[That figure would look good even with a sack over it… he is a bit short, probably because he's an Omega.]
[Short what, he's m8. And his figure is proportioned, so he looks insanely good.]
[Who believes the height idols report, they always add 5 cm.]
[Believe it or not, its not my job!]
[Hey, I still feel a little different, maybe he looks more handsome when he's sad.]
[He was handsome before too, but in a different way, this face is always beautiful.]
[Can you zoom in a little? It's a bit blurry.]
The story began fifteen minutes ago, when the female convenience store worker read a series of comments like "she's lying" or "making up news." She couldn't hold it in anymore, so she closed the store early to chase after and prove to everyone that she wasn't lying. The more she chased, the more confident she became that after this, her fanpage would gain more followers. Even if Juwel's career had flopped, he was still an outstanding figure in the entertainment world.
She used her phone to livestream, but thanks to her filming skills, it wasn't too bad. What surprised her was that Juwel was smoking.
No one was prepared for that moment. Juwel had none of the polished looks or staged persona of a performer on stage, as their fans might expect. There was only a figure leaning against a streetlamp, quietly bowing his head while his fingers held the cigarette gently, as if afraid to break something even softer than smoke.
There was no stage light, only the pale streetlights and a few whispers of wind. Yet every movement of his made people unable to look away, as if they were watching a scene from a black-and-white silent film with the soundtrack playing only in their hearts.
The female worker swallowed. She knew her video would go viral.
Comments teasing and flirting spammed the screen.
[Look at him look at him look at him!!]
And then… wish came true.
Juwel turned his head.
His gaze carried no sharpness or irritation. It was like he knew someone was watching him.
Blinking as if struck by electricity, the female worker froze. Her mind went blank for a brief second.
By now, the cigarette in his hand had gone out without her noticing. Juwel stared at the thin remaining wisp of smoke, his mind filling with even more thoughts.
Just as Juwel was about to pull his mask back on to leave, something rolled to his feet. Snapped out of his wandering thoughts, he bent down. It was a small green apple, rolling mysteriously to the tip of his shoe.
A small apple cart somewhere had tipped over, scattering apples all over the ground. An elderly woman with silver hair stood nearby, fumbling to gather the spilled apples.
Then she looked up at Juwel and, without hesitation, asked for his help. Her voice carried a certain urgency.
"Girl, help me pick up the apples near my feet," she said kindly.
Juwel was momentarily surprised when she called him "girl" (cháu gái), but he didn't feel the need to react strongly or correct his gender. Such trivial matters were unimportant to him. Moreover, he knew the chance of meeting this elderly woman again in the future was extremely low.
In this situation, drawing attention was not something he wanted.
There was nothing to explain, nothing to argue against. The old woman did not seem embarrassed or worried, so Juwel felt that remaining silent was the most appropriate response.
He helped the old woman lift the apples onto her cart.
"Thank you, young lady…" she said.
He only nodded lightly before turning to leave without saying another word.
The camera lens continued following Juwel until it seemed that he realized he was being secretly filmed, and then it stopped.