Am I a Kamen Rider or the real young master who was switched at birth?

As Ye Yang pulled the Kabuto King card out of the driver, the light blue energy barrier around the arena slowly descended.

Magenta light particles faded layer by layer from the edges of the dark red armor. The rhinoceros beetle horn on the helmet turned into fine specks of light and dissipated in the air. The sky-blue compound eyes flashed one last time, and then the entire armor disappeared.

Only the boy in the magenta shirt with slightly messy hair remained standing in the center of the field.

He put the cards back into the card holder, then patted off the non-existent dust from the camera on his chest, and walked calmly off the stage.

Then the crowd surged down from the stands and gathered around him from all directions like a tide.

Several girls in the front row ran even faster than Wang Yu had sprinted. One of the girls with pigtails was holding up a support sign that read "Up from Dry Ground." When she ran, the cartoon Decade helmet on the sign swayed back and forth, almost hitting the back of a boy next to her on the head.

Several music fans in the back row, who had followed the music all the way from the rehearsal hall to the arena, were not to be outdone.

They were still clutching the makeshift support fans they had made outside the rehearsal hall, with the words "Hu Yanbin, you made me cry" written on them. The fans were now crumpled from being squeezed, but they didn't care at all. As they pushed forward, they shouted in Ye Yang's direction, "Idol, that kick you just made was so cool!"

Before Ye Yang could even say "Everyone calm down," he was completely surrounded by this group of people at the arena exit.

Just moments ago on stage, he was the Kamen Rider who sent Wang Yu flying with a Rider Kick. Now, he has a marker that someone handed him, several cell phones recording videos are dangling in front of him, and his ears are filled with screams and questions.

A short-haired girl stood on tiptoe, trying to stick her hand holding the support fan through the gap in the crowd, her voice high-pitched and urgent:

"Ye Yang! Ye Yang! I'm your fan! I've been listening to your song 'Small Town Girl' on repeat for weeks! Today in the rehearsal room, I heard you sing 'Take Everything You Want,' and I just burst into tears! Could you sign my fan? Just next to 'Hu Yanbin, You Made Me Cry'!"

Ye Yang took the fan and pen, bowed his head and signed "Ye Yang" on the crumpled fan surface, then drew a crooked smiley face next to his name.

He smiled and handed the fan back. The short-haired girl took it with both hands, glanced down at the crooked smiling face, and then let out a very high-pitched scream.

She jumped up and down several times while holding the fan, and shouted to her companion who was recording the video next to her. He even drew a smiley face on her face. She said she wanted to go back and buy a frame to put the fan in.

Immediately afterwards, another tall and thin boy peeked out from the crowd.

Holding up his phone case, he spoke very quickly: "Ye Yang, I'm a fan of your Kamen Rider transformation. I've been following you ever since you defeated that spider monster on the street. I watched the slow-motion replay of your new armored Rider kick several times. Could you sign your name on the phone case, right next to the camera, so I can see it every time I take a picture?"

Ye Yang took the phone case and pen and wrote his name with utmost sincerity next to the camera.

After receiving the autograph, the boy held the phone case in front of him with both hands, and with an expression like he had received a family heirloom, he told the person next to him that he would never change his phone case again. He would just change his phone when it broke, but he would keep the phone case forever.

Several more voices rang out simultaneously from the crowd.

"Me too! Me too! I saw on the forum that you were going to duel with Wang Yu, so I ran straight over from the rehearsal hall! I screen-recorded the replay of your Transcendental state just now! Could you sign my clothes? I just changed into this school uniform today, and I won't wash it after you sign it!"

"Ye Yang, are you a better singer or a better fighter? I can't tell anymore. Which is your main skill? Or are you just an all-around, indiscriminate brute force?"

Ye Yang took one pen after another and quickly signed his name on clothes, phone cases, textbooks, support signs, and a crumpled napkin handed to him by someone.

While signing autographs, he tried to maintain order and said somewhat helplessly, "Please don't push, one at a time. I only brought one pen today, so finish this one before moving on to the next."

But the crowd showed no signs of dispersing; on the contrary, it grew larger and larger.

Several students who had just squeezed in from outside the arena had obviously come after seeing the real-time battle reports on the forum. They were carrying lunch boxes from the cafeteria. As soon as they entered, they saw Ye Yang surrounded by people. They quietly put their lunch boxes on the seats next to them and joined the queue.

Just after Ye Yang finished signing the cover of a pink notebook handed to him by a girl, he looked up and took a breath. His gaze swept across the crowd, and he suddenly saw several familiar figures at the edge of the crowd.

Fang Qing stood on the outskirts of the crowd, still holding the pencil she used as a conductor's baton. Her high ponytail was squeezed and slightly crooked, but she didn't care at all, and was tiptoeing to look inside.

Standing next to her was the short-haired guitarist from earlier; his guitar was still on his back, not yet put back in the rehearsal room.

The keyboardist stood next to the buzz-cut guitarist, his round-framed glasses slipping down to the tip of his nose from the crowd, and he was trying to hold them up with his hand to prevent them from falling off.

The drummer stood at the very back, his two drumsticks still tucked into his back pocket, with only the tips sticking out, his gaze fixed intently on Ye Yang.

Ye Yang quickly waved to them, signaling them to come over.

When Fang Qing and her group squeezed through the crowd, the buzz-cut guitarist's guitar case was almost knocked off. While protecting the guitar, he told the people next to him, "Be careful, be careful, this is my girlfriend, don't touch it."

After squeezing her way to Ye Yang, Fang Qing took several deep breaths, then pointed with her pencil to the still-smoking crater in the center of the arena, and said in a tone that was a mixture of admiration and speechlessness:

"We saw the news on the forum that you were going to duel Wang Yu, so we came straight from the rehearsal hall. We thought you were just here to talk back and that was it, but when we got there, Wang Yu had already been defeated, and they started playing the replay. Do you know how long it takes to run from the rehearsal hall to the arena?"

"We heard cheers halfway through the race and thought the competition had started, but when we ran in, Wang Yu had already flown out. Good grief, you treated him like a ball. You're really something, you just blew everyone away in the rehearsal hall and then came to the arena to kick people. Today, the school forum is all about you."

The buzz-cut guitarist placed his guitar on the empty chair next to him and added in an extremely serious tone:

"You wouldn't believe it, we arrived just in time for the big screen to replay your knight kick. Fang Qing dropped her pencil when she saw the slow-motion replay, the keyboardist almost dropped his glasses, and the drummer said two words—'Awesome!'"

"You know drummers never praise people. Last time I played what I thought was my best solo, and he just said 'not bad.' And what was the weight of that knight's kick again—nineteen tons! But seriously, are you a professional singer or a professional soldier now?"

"I just spoke with a speed-type trainee, and he said your neural reaction speed in a hyper-synchronous state has surpassed that of their department's instructors. If a singer can outrun an instructor, how are they supposed to teach students in the future?"

Before Ye Yang could answer, the fans around him who hadn't gotten autographs yet started chattering and pushing forward again.

"Ye Yang! I love your poem 'Jiangnan'! I still don't understand what all those circles mean, can you tell me?"

"Do you like 'Sunny Day'? I always want to cry when I hear the chorus, 'But the wind just keeps blowing'!"

"I prefer the Decade form! That big white X is so cool!"

"Kabuto King is so cool! Did you see that replay of his Time Rise? He turned his back to the enemy and then kicked! That move must have been specially practiced!"

"So, do you think Ye Yang sings better or fights better?"

"They're all amazing! Don't let them divide the fanbase!"

"I'm not split! I just want to ask Ye Yang himself which one he thinks is more powerful!"

Ye Yang signed a notebook that had been handed to him and returned it to a female student wearing glasses. Then he looked up, smiled at everyone, and said:

"No need to be so specific. When I'm singing, I'm an online singer; when I'm fighting, I'm a Kamen Rider; and normally, I'm just passing by. You can like whichever version of me you prefer, it's all me anyway. But I have to go eat first today, otherwise it'll get cold. There's a rehearsal this afternoon, you can come to the auditorium to watch."

The crowd erupted in laughter and even louder cheers.

The boy holding the "Up from Dry Land" support sign excitedly held it high, saying that he would definitely sit in the first row in the afternoon and hold the sign up in front of him so that he could see it.

Fang Qing smiled and shook her head as she watched Ye Yang being surrounded by a group of fans.

She tucked the pencil back behind her ear, then took a step forward and spoke in an extremely natural tone:

"Big star, would you like me to show you around the school? It's not too crowded yet, so a few of us in the band can show you around—the library, the practice hall, the little pavilion on the back hill, these are the most worthwhile places to visit on our school."

"Besides, you just fought such a big battle, you must be hungry. After you're done shopping, it's perfect to go to the cafeteria. The braised pork at our school cafeteria is the best among all the military academies in the Federation."

Lin Xingran was standing to the side watching Ye Yang sign autographs for fans with an extremely proud look when she heard Fang Qing's words. She instantly became alert as if an alarm had been triggered.

She took a step forward, then crossed her arms in front of her chest, a bright but wary smile on her face, and said in a tone that carried a subtle sense of territoriality:

"No need, no need! Thank you, Senior Fang Qing! Your band has to rehearse this afternoon, right? Time is tight, so we won't trouble you. The three of us sisters can take Ye Yang around. Anyway, we've been studying at this school for several years, so we know best where the fun places are."

"Besides, the cafeteria—we were planning to take him there anyway. He knows about braised pork; my older sister already told him. Ye Yang, where do you want to go? Tell me, and your second sister will take you!"

Ye Yang glanced at Fang Qing, then at Lin Xingran. Fang Qing's expression remained calm, but a vein behind her ear twitched very slightly.

Lin Xingran's smile grew even brighter, but her fingers danced lightly in the air, as if she were playing a fast etude that only she could hear.

The two girls smiled at each other across him, but there was an indescribable sense of rivalry in the air.

Ye Yang suddenly felt he should say something to ease the tension, but after thinking for a long time, he could only manage to say, "Um—where's the cafeteria? I'm hungry."

Lin Ying peeked out from behind her second sister, her silvery-white eyelashes fluttering gently in the light.

She didn't join this invisible contest, but simply added in a gentle tone:

"The braised pork in the cafeteria is really delicious. Last time, my second sister ate three servings by herself after training, and the instructor said she was refueling."

Lin Xingran was stunned for a moment, then turned to Lin Ying and shouted in a shocked tone as if she had been betrayed by her own people, "How do you still remember this from so long ago?"

Lin Ying smiled slightly but did not answer. However, she secretly glanced at Ye Yang over her second sister's shoulder and saw Ye Yang saying to her, "Then save me a seat later."

Her ears turned slightly red, and then she pulled her face back behind her second sister, only revealing half of her face.

Outside the stadium, the afternoon sun was filtering through the leaves of the plane trees.

Ye Yang was escorted out of the arena by the three sisters, followed by a group of fans who refused to leave.

Several girls followed at a distance, holding up their phones and recording. In the video, Ye Yang was tilting his head and listening to Lin Xingran talk about which dish in the cafeteria was the best, and he would occasionally turn around and wave at them.

Lin Xingran walked at the front, her hands naturally behind her back, a smug smile on her face:

"Ye Yang, after your Knight Kick just now, there was a third-year senior next to me looking at me with a particularly shocked expression. Do you know who he is? He's the one who won several sprint championships at the inter-school sports meet last time, the number one speed-type awakener in the entire school."

"He looked at me with that 'What kind of monster has grown in your family?' look—oh my, that feeling was even happier than if I had won the competition myself!"

"Now we have everything we need—Big Sister is the student council president and national champion, I am the best at fire control, Lin Ying is an S-class potential ice-type, and you are a Kamen Rider, an online singer, and a powerful demon king who can rise from the ground."

As she spoke, she became even more proud. She raised her neck, looked at the sun hanging in the sky, and revealed a radiant smile:

"Our Lin family's current status is unmatched among all the aristocratic families in the Federation. Would you like to come to our school more often? You've already accepted the performance, and after the open day, many people will definitely want you to come again."

"Next time you come, I'll take you to that secret training ground in the back mountain, the one even our instructors don't know about. I usually hide there when I skip class; it's super secluded, no one will ever find out."

Lin Yumin walked beside him and added in a calm tone, "The instructor already knows the location. I helped him pinpoint it when you were slacking off at the training ground behind the mountain last time."

Lin Xingran froze as if she'd been put on pause, then turned and shouted in a tone of utter disbelief, "Big sister, you actually betrayed me?!"

Lin Yumin ignored her and continued walking forward, a faint smile appearing on her lips.

Ye Yang walked in the middle, and Lin Ying walked beside him, keeping the same pace as him, quietly walking side by side with him in the dappled afternoon shadows of the trees.

She wanted to say that she had seen him surrounded by so many people in the arena, and she felt a little overwhelmed by the crowd.

But then she thought about how he was the first person to wave to her when he got back, and a smile quietly crept onto her lips.

Lin Xingran suddenly remembered something, moved closer to Ye Yang, and asked in a curious and excited tone:

"Ye Yang, that last line you said, 'The sun shines because it can even illuminate dust,' was that something your grandmother taught you? Is your grandmother a hidden master in the orphanage?"

"Like Qin Buwen, who seems like an ordinary person on the surface, but was actually quite an extraordinary figure in his youth? The way you pointed your finger at the light on stage just now, and that line—'Grandma said'—was so pretentious, the whole arena went wild!"

"I was standing next to the fence when several senior students I didn't know were asking me who my grandmother was and whether she was a relative of the Lin family."

Ye Yang waved his hand and said casually, "That's not my grandmother. She's the grandmother of the Heavenly Dao Chief."

The three sisters stopped at the same time and turned to look at him. Lin Xingran was the first to speak and asked who the Heavenly Dao Chief was. Why did this name sound even more protagonist-like than Long Aotian's?

Ye Yang thought for a moment, then said in a mysterious tone, "The one who walks with the sun."

The three sisters were silent for a moment, then Lin Xingran covered her mouth with her hand and exclaimed, "This character is so cool! The Supreme Commander of Heaven, who walks the way of Heaven and is in charge of everything, and his grandmother can actually say such philosophical things. How strong must he be?"

Lin Ying also took the initiative to ask, "Is he a friend you know? Is he also a Kamen Rider? Has he come looking for you like Daiki Kaito did?"

Ye Yang shook his head and said, "No, he's not in this world. I just know the name. His armor is very cool. The Kabuto King armor was passed down from him."

Lin Xingran said in a tone that was both confused and admiring:

"Ye Yang, this is too outrageous. You know the seniors of Kowloon City, you know that Zhongqi is a thief, you know that Kabuto King was passed down to you by the Heavenly Dao General, and Hu Yanbin taught you to compose music in your dream—how do you know everyone? Just how many people do you know that we don't know?"

She moved closer to Ye Yang, staring at him with an eye like she was checking his background.

Ye Yang smiled but didn't answer. He simply raised the magenta camera on his chest and snapped a picture of the three of them.

The photo popped up, with a very faint magenta ghosting at the edges.

In the scene, Lin Xingran is leaning close to him, gesturing with both hands, refusing to back down; Lin Yumin stands beside him, holding her forehead; while Lin Ying stands at the very edge of the frame, looking directly at him.

He put the photos in his pocket, patted the camera on his chest, and said softly to them, "Let's head to the cafeteria, or the braised pork will be gone."