[We're done for! Little Grandchild's cover has been blown!]
[Old Liu is a legend! Logic bomb! One-hit kill!]
[No wonder he's a seasoned criminal investigator. Old Liu strikes, and Little Grandchild's disguise crumbles instantly!]
[Old Liu: The truth is clear! You're not a woman!]
[You could say Little Grandchild is still too green compared to Cifera. How could he miss such a glaring vulnerability?]
[Didn't Old Liu say it's because he can't empathize with women's feelings? I bet Little Grandchild is a virgin who's never even held a girl's hand!]
[Ha! That tracks. He's just a Chuunii kid hopelessly lost in his power fantasy of being a domineering CEO. How could he ever understand women's hearts?]
[But let's be real, his crossdressing game is on point!]
[He's probably Lu Yue's biggest fanboy. His room is probably plastered with Lu Yue's photos, which explains how he can imitate her so perfectly.]
Right now, as Liu Shanhe dissected him with surgical precision, Lu Yue's face contorted into a maelstrom of conflicting emotions.
Shock, annoyance, the humiliation of having his secret exposed, and... absurdity!
Lu Yue found it absurd because he realized both possibilities Liu Shanhe had analyzed were completely correct! Combined, they perfectly captured his true situation.
Yet to others, these two possibilities seemed contradictory and incompatible.
This gave Lu Yue an absurd feeling, as if his very existence had been split into two halves, with one half being denied.
But this sense of absurdity vanished almost as quickly as it appeared. Lu Yue remembered he was facing Liu Shanhe, a microexpression expert. Had Liu Shanhe gleaned something else from his reaction?
Could he even have figured out that Lu Yue was Lu Yue?
If so... a way to break the stalemate might have emerged! But...
As Lu Yue wrestled with his thoughts, Liu Shanhe, just as he had suspected, wasn't as confident as the audience imagined. Instead, he was stunned.
Observing Lu Yue's reaction, Liu Shanhe realized that the woman felt absurdity upon hearing his words.
And the reason wasn't that his deduction was wrong, but rather that it wasn't correct enough? Or perhaps... not complete enough?
Aside from the second possibility, could it be that the first one... actually seemed right to them?!
This was utterly bizarre! How could two diametrically opposed possibilities simultaneously elicit a "confirmed" reaction in someone's microexpressions?
This defied his understanding entirely!
Could he have been mistaken?
Or was the other party playing possum, deliberately toying with him?
Even someone as experienced as Liu Shanhe was momentarily stunned.
Lu Yue caught Liu Shanhe's brief expression of confusion.
He knew he couldn't hesitate any longer. Before the other man could fully unravel the truth, he needed to strike first.
He absolutely couldn't let the "Grandchild of the Phantom Thief" identity be confirmed!
Otherwise, he'd be eliminated immediately!
By comparison, the secret that "Lu Yue is a man" was shocking and would undoubtedly cause endless trouble, but at least it would prove he was the "real Lu Yue."
This would give him a much better chance of deceiving his way through and staying in the competition, allowing him to continue his rivalry with Big Sister Cifera!
When faced with two evils, choose the lesser!
Lu Yue understood this principle all too well.
Having made up his mind, Lu Yue took a deep breath, his expression hardening with resolve.
The polished facade of a supermodel completely vanished from Lu Yue's face, replaced by a complex expression blending humiliation, a desperate gamble, and utter frustration.
This wasn't an act; these were his raw, unfiltered emotions.
His voice suddenly shifted, shedding all traces of feminine affectation to reveal his natural male timbre. He nearly growled:
"Old Liu, enough!
"Your earlier guesses were spot-on—except for that goddamn 'Grandchild of the Phantom Thief' bullshit!
"I confess! I am indeed a man!
"But I'm also Lu Yue!
"Listen carefully: the supermodel Lu Yue you all know has always been a man!
"That's why I don't give a damn about that worthless diamond! To me, it's just a pretty rock!
"And I couldn't care less about career highlights or peak moments! Modeling is just a job to me!
"To be honest, if you hadn't insisted I was the Grandchild of the Phantom Thief, I wouldn't have bothered explaining any of this!
"But I'll be damned if I let you treat me like the Grandchild of the Phantom Thief!"
Lu Yue grew increasingly agitated:
"Fine, the reason I initially refused to participate in the fashion show was a lie! The real reason is—I'm a massive fan of your show!"
"I've been fucking waiting for the China Region competition to start, and with a show this spectacular, how could I possibly miss the live stream for work?
"Let's be real—watching the live stream is the only way to truly experience this show. What's the point of watching the replays? Spoilers everywhere!
"The reason I later agreed to participate in the fashion show was exactly what I said earlier: I'm a massive fan of Contestant Cifera!
"I wanted to witness her spectacular theft of the Starry Light firsthand at the auction, all while posing as a runway model.
"I knew you old fools like Old Liu would suspect me, but I never imagined you'd brand me as Contestant Cifera's lackey! That stubborn, clownish loser—Night Shadow, the Grandchild of the Phantom Thief!"
As Lu Yue spoke, his expression twisted with contempt, though a hint of disappointed exasperation lingered beneath the surface:
"Oh, by the way... the Pursuit Team couldn't see his performance, but let me tell you: to us viewers, he's nothing but a clown now!
"That's right, just a clown! Ha ha, it's pathetic!"
"Do you know? During the debut ceremony, Night Shadow was the first contestant to appear, confidently declaring himself the Grandchild of the Phantom Thief, acting like he was the king of the world.
"At the time, I was completely fooled by him, thinking he must be some kind of master martial artist.
"But later, Contestant Cifera thoroughly taught him a lesson, proving just how terrible my judgment was!
"Back then, I even felt like a complete clown for blindly believing in Night Shadow! He was the king, and I was the fool—ha ha ha!
"From then on, in this competition, I only supported Contestant Cifera, and Night Shadow became my most hated enemy!
"And now you're suggesting I'm him? I can't take it anymore!
"I'd rather confess to the entire nation that I'm a damn pervert who's been dressing as a woman for over a decade than be mistaken for that damn clown!"
Lu Yue had completely lost control, his voice erupting into an unrestrained roar, trembling uncontrollably. It was as if his deepest wounds had been ripped open, the fury and humiliation so raw it was suffocating.
Boom—! ! !
Lu Yue's brutally honest self-analysis exploded like a nuclear bomb in the small room!
Liu Shanhe's pupils dilated instantly. Even with his vast experience and sharp perception, the bizarre, shocking, yet perfectly coherent "truth" that explained every microexpression and logical vulnerability paralyzed his mind for a moment.
All his thoughts converged into a single realization: So that's it!
That's why he was indifferent to the Starry Light! That's why he overlooked the female perspective! That's why his fleeting expression was a blend of two possibilities!
Because he was a man, yet he was also the real Lu Yue!
Not only were Lu Yue's microexpressions utterly convincing, but Liu Shanhe also considered the fact that this confession was being broadcast live nationwide. Even if it was for the sake of the show, the "real Lu Yue" could potentially sue her for defamation and win.
After this segment airs, the "supermodel Lu Yue" would likely be forever associated with terms like "psychopath," "crossdresser," and "drag king." Even if the truth were clarified later, those associations would never completely disappear.
This is just a variety show. There's no need for them to go to such lengths to deceive me, right?
Similarly, judging by Liu Shanhe's observation of Lu Yue's microexpressions, the man genuinely loathed the Grandson of the Thief. The genuine frustration and disappointment in his eyes perfectly matched the reaction of someone who had turned love into hatred.
It was clear that Lu Yue was truly enraged and humiliated by the claim that he was the Grandchild of the Phantom Thief.
If his true identity really is the Grandchild of the Phantom Thief, and he's humiliating himself so thoroughly just to fool me... and doing it so sincerely...
Then this guy is either being far too ruthless with himself, or he's just plain foolish.
To be honest, if the other party had gone to such lengths for a variety show, Liu Shanhe thought he deserved to be let off the hook this once.
With this thought, Liu Shanhe exhaled and his face returned to its usual kindly, grandfatherly smile.
"Congratulations, you've convinced me. Let's conclude this interrogation here."
In that instant, the live stream erupted into a chaotic sea of meaningless characters and exclamation points!
Everyone was stunned by the mind-boggling twist—that Night Shadow was Lu Yue himself—and the audacious stunt of Night Shadow savagely attacking his own identity. The sheer audacity of the stunt left viewers' scalps tingling with disbelief.