Lucas had been busy planning out the future direction of Vine. He’d even been considering the ambitious goal of breaking into the Chinese market, a feat that even Facebook hadn’t managed. But he knew it would be complicated.
After several days in New York dealing with business matters, Lucas decided to et Marshllo in person. They’d agreed to et as their personas in New York Square.
Lucas donned his Lucid outfit - a white plain mask and an NY cap, along with a jacket and modern getup. In the bustling New York square, he blended in perfectly. Nobody gave him a second glance.
"Where could he be?" Lucas muttered to himself, weaving through the crowd. He and Marshllo had agreed to et in character, but in the sea of people, spotting a guy in a marshmallow helt wasn’t as easy as he’d thought.
Then he saw him - a figure with a marshmallow head, hunched over so portable DJ equipnt. Lucas approached from behind and asked, "Marshllo?"
Marshllo spun around, his trademark helt gleaming in the sun. "Lucid!" he exclaid, his voice muffled but excited.
Lucas chuckled. "What’s up! You seem to be having the ti of your life here."
Marshllo laughed, his hands still moving over the equipnt. "Just playing music," he said, as a catchy beat filled the air around them.
He gestured to a few people standing nearby. "This equipnt was actually from them. Just borrowing it."
The group nodded at Lucas, looking curious about the masked newcor.
Marshllo handed the equipnt back to the DJs and turned to face "Lucid". Even through the mask, Lucas could sense Christopher’s scrutinizing gaze.
"I really wonder who’s behind the Lucid mask," Marshllo mused.
"Funny, I was thinking the sa about Marshllo," Lucas countered smoothly.
Marshllo chuckled. "Just an ordinary DJ - and not nearly as popular as you." As they began to walk, he added, "I really like your songs, by the way. ’Kiss ’ was fantastic."
Lucas nodded appreciatively, then dropped a bombshell. "Thanks. It’s weird though, because from what I know, you’re already pretty famous. Your remixes are quite popular on SoundCloud."
Christopher’s step faltered. "Famous? When did I beco famous?"
"Don’t you rember? As Dotcom?" Lucas said, feeling Christopher stiffen beside him. "Your remixes are quite popular on SoundCloud."
Christopher stopped abruptly, his marshmallow head swiveling towards Lucas. "How did you know that?"
Lucas paused, realizing he’d struck a nerve. "Hey, you seem surprised."
"Of course I’m surprised," Christopher’s voice trembled slightly. "There’s no way you could know I’m Dotcom."
"How did you find out?" Christopher asked cautiously.
Lucas laughed, trying to ease the tension. "Hey, don’t be afraid now."
"How can I not be?" Christopher’s voice was tight as they resud walking. "Since you know about Dotcom, you must know who I am."
"That’s right," Lucas confird softly.
Christopher’s next words ca out in a rush. "Are you a private investigator? Or did you hire one? I made damn sure to keep my identity hidden as Marshllo. I don’t understand how you found out, and I certainly don’t want to collaborate with soone who’s investigating my whole life."
Lucas could hear the seriousness in Christopher’s tone. "Let’s have a talk in a quiet restaurant. Do you know one?"
Christopher paused before responding, "Actually, my friends and I just found a good place. Let’s go there."
Lucas nodded, following Christopher’s lead.
As they settled into a quiet corner of the restaurant, Christopher leaned forward. "So, you wanted to talk about sothing important, I suppose?"
Lucas nodded, his decision made. "Since I knew your identity, it’s only fair I reveal mine to you. I think it’s the right thing to do."
Christopher shrugged, removing his Marshllo helt. "And how did you actually get to know ?"
Lucas sighed, knowing he couldn’t reveal the true source of his knowledge. "Actually, it’s quite complicated... I just guessed it out. Your remixes as Marshllo are quite similar to Dotcom’s style."
He continued, choosing his words carefully, "So when I ntioned ’Dotcom’, I was just guessing. I wasn’t entirely sure, but your reaction gave it away."
Christopher chuckled wryly, running a hand through his hair. "Dang, so I gave it away myself?"
"Kinda," Lucas chuckled, the sound muffled behind his mask.
They hailed a taxi and headed to a quiet restaurant Christopher knew. As they entered, Lucas noticed the place was completely empty.
"Here it is," Christopher said, gesturing around the deserted dining room. He turned to Lucas, a hint of suspicion in his voice. "I don’t understand why you’re being so secretive about your identity - unless..."
He paused, studying Lucas’s masked face. "Unless you really are Lucas Knight, like the dia’s been saying?"
Lucas just smiled beneath his mask as they sat at a table. He glanced around the empty restaurant. "Hey, why aren’t there any other custors here?"
Christopher shrugged, "Yeah, I think it’s a failing restaurant-"
He was cut off as a waiter, noticing their arrival, rushed over eagerly. "What are your orders?" he asked, thrusting nus into their hands.
Christopher ordered a classic New York pastrami on rye, while Lucas pointed at the nu and said, "I’ll have this," indicating a Reuben sandwich.
The waiter nodded and left quickly, leaving Lucas and Christopher alone once again, the tension of Lucas’s impending reveal hanging between them.
"It feels like we’re VIPs here. We’ve got the whole place to ourselves," Christopher remarked, glancing around the empty restaurant.
He turned back to Lucas, curiosity evident in his voice. "So... Are you gonna reveal who you are?" A hint of amusent crept into his tone. "You can’t exactly eat with that mask on, right?"
Lucas chuckled softly. Without further ado, he reached up and removed the mask.
Christopher’s eyes widened in shock, his jaw dropping open. Lucas waved his hand in front of Christopher’s face, then snapped his fingers near his ears. Christopher blinked rapidly, coming back to reality.
"You... You’re really Lucas Knight!" Christopher exclaid, his voice a mixture of awe and disbelief.
Lucas chuckled again, grateful for the empty restaurant. This revelation could have caused quite a stir otherwise.
"Am I dreaming?" Christopher asked, still looking dazed.
"Want to slap you?" Lucas offered jokingly.
"Ah, no, no," Christopher quickly shook his head. "It’s just... unbelievable, that’s all."
Lucas’s expression turned serious. "I hope you won’t treat differently just because you know I’m a celebrity. We’re just two music artists collaborating, right?"
Christopher nodded vigorously. "Of course, of course." He paused, then added, "But I have to ask... The reports say you’re not under any record label anymore. Are you independent now?"
Lucas nodded, "Yeah..."
"What? Labels can’t afford you anymore?" Christopher asked, genuine curiosity in his voice.
"It’s not that," Lucas explained. "They just won’t accept my conditions."
Christopher nodded thoughtfully. "I see... No wonder when I listened to ’Kiss ’, I got the feeling it was you singing. And indeed it was."
Lucas shrugged modestly.
"So, will you continue to hide your identity as Lucid? Or will you reveal it soday?" Christopher pressed.
Lucas raised an eyebrow, a smile playing on his lips. "Are you sure you’re a DJ and not a reporter?"
Christopher laughed sheepishly. "Haha, just excited, that’s all."
As Lucas and Christopher were deep in conversation, the waiter returned with their als. Suddenly, he did a double-take, his eyes widening in recognition.
"Is... Is that you, Lucas?!" The waiter exclaid, nearly dropping the plates.
Lucas and Christopher exchanged amused glances.
"Oh my god! Can I have a photo?!" The waiter asked, his voice trembling with excitent.
"Of course," Lucas agreed good-naturedly. As they posed for the picture, he leaned in and whispered, "Don’t spread the word in the kitchen, alright? It could get ssy."
The waiter nodded eagerly, "Yes..." Though his face betrayed his desire to share the news with his coworkers.
Unable to tear himself away, the waiter lingered nearby, watching in awe as Lucas took his first bite.
"Hmm... This tastes pretty good," Lucas muttered, savoring the steak.
Christopher grinned. "Right? That’s why I brought you here. This place has great food despite the lack of custors."
The waiter chid in, "It’s because we lack promotions. Plus, this location isn’t ideal - there are fancier restaurants nearby, so people go there instead."
"That’s too bad," Lucas said, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. "People need to know about this place."
Christopher and the waiter looked confused for a mont before realization dawned on them.
Lucas pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of himself enjoying the al. He looked up at the waiter, "What’s the address of this place?"
After getting the details, Lucas quickly composed a tweet with the photo, the restaurant’s na, and address. "Co here, guys. This restaurant has so tasty food!" he typed and posted.
"Alright, we should get going," Lucas said, turning to Christopher.
"Already?" Christopher asked, surprised.
"If you don’t want to deal with a crowd, then yeah, we should go," Lucas explained, standing up. He patted the waiter on the shoulder. "We should head out. Good luck."
"Thank you, Lucas..." the waiter replied, his voice thick with emotion.
Lucas nodded, then exited the restaurant with Christopher, leaving their als half-finished.
As soon as they left, the waiter rushed back to the kitchen, unable to contain his excitent any longer. "Guys, you wouldn’t believe it, I just t Lucas Knight!"
The chefs barely looked up from their stations, while the manager stifled a yawn. "Hey, Jason, stop daydreaming and get back to work."
"It’s the truth!" Jason exclaid, fumbling with his phone. "Look, here’s proof!" He thrust the device towards his colleagues, the photo of him and Lucas displayed on the screen.
The kitchen staff gathered around, squinting at the image. The manager raised an eyebrow, an amused smirk playing on his lips. "That’s interesting. I didn’t know you were so good at photo editing, Jason."
Jason’s face fell as he realized his coworkers didn’t believe him. He was about to protest further when the kitchen door swung open.
"Excuse ," a custor called out, "Is Lucas Knight still here?"
The kitchen staff froze, all eyes turning to Jason.
Jason chuckled wryly, "He just left, actually."
The custor nodded, undeterred. "Well, we heard the food here is good. We’d like to place an order!"
As if a dam had broken, more custors began streaming in. The once-quiet restaurant suddenly buzzed with activity.
The manager’s jaw dropped as he watched the dining room fill up. He turned to Jason, eyes wide. "You... you weren’t kidding?"
Jason grinned triumphantly. "Told you so."
Outside, Lucas and Christopher hurried away, both grinning at the unexpected turn of events.
"That was pretty cool of you," Christopher said, glancing back at the restaurant.
Lucas shrugged, a small smile playing on his lips. "It’s the least I could do. Good food deserves recognition."
---
Read advanced 90 Chapters on my p-a-treon/NewCor714.
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