"This place that is still open for business is definitely not a serious café.

Similarly, anyone who wants to go to a café to drink coffee is definitely not a serious person.

Karun stood at the entrance of the café, looking at the neon sign hanging above:

[Magical Fingers and Beautiful Sky]

In his mind, he "translated and understood" the name of the sign to be:

[Magical Paradise]

The waiter at the entrance greeted them and Neo ordered a coffee.

The waiter looked at Neo and Karun, slightly surprised, but immediately said:

"Understood, I will arrange it for the two of you."

The coffee room is on the second floor, and although the space inside is not large, it is deep.

At the entrance are two small sofas and a coffee table, followed by a washroom with a bathtub, and further inside is a round bed, and beyond that is a long sofa against the floor-to-ceiling window.

On the floor in front of the long sofa, a cushion is thoughtfully placed.

The lights in the room are in a dark red tone, very mysterious, and there are many photos of glamorous stars hanging on the walls, with a teasing expression.

Karun sat down on the sofa at the entrance, reached out and lifted the coffee cup, and found that not only was the cup covered in old sugar stains, but there were also cigarette butts stuffed inside.

The waiter handed Neo a roster with the names of the coffee servers.

Neo sat down on the sofa with the roster and said to Karun, "I treated you to drinks during the day, and now it's your turn to treat me to coffee."

"Okay, Captain."

"Well, that's settled then. Eight from this page, plus a fruit platter and drinks. Oh, do they serve coffee here?"

"They do."

"Add a pot of coffee."

"Alright, sir, are you sure you want eight of them?"

"I'm sure."

"Alright, sir, please wait a moment."

The waiter went out to arrange it.

"By the way, did you bring Rael?" Neo asked.

Karun shook his head.

"It's a coincidence, I didn't bring Rael either." Neo smiled slightly, "If we can't settle the bill, I can only leave you here."

The waiter pushed open the door and eight heavily made-up beauties walked in, bowing to Karun and Neo who were sitting on the sofa.

"Good evening, gentlemen. We're delighted to serve you."

"Mm." Neo gestured to the surroundings and said, "Clean up this place within fifteen minutes, and consider your service done."

The eight beauties were stunned.

At this moment, the manager came in and ordered, "Do as the guests say."

The eight beauties began to clean the room.

Karun watched this scene and found it somewhat amusing, but still beckoned to the manager.

"Sir, do you have paper and pen?"

"Sure."

Karun wrote down the phone number of Pavarro Funeral Service on the paper and handed it to the manager:

"Please call this number and tell them that the young master is here and ask him to bring money."

"Alright, sir."

The manager guessed that it must be a young master who came to play, and young masters usually don't like to carry money with them.

After watching the beauties finish cleaning the room, the manager led them and the waiter out. Then, the manager returned to the front desk and picked up the phone, dialing the number on the note.

"Hello, Pavarro Funeral Service is delighted to serve you."

"... "Manager.

...

Karun poured coffee for himself and Neo, adding two sugar cubes to each cup, and then stirred gently with a spoon.

Neo took a sip of coffee, put down the cup, and looked at Karun, asking, "Is it starting now?"

"If you're ready, Captain, we can start now."

Neo leaned back slightly on the sofa, hands in his pockets.

Karun knew that this was a defensive posture.

"Should I start?" Neo asked.

"I can ask," Karun replied.

"Alright, you ask."

"Captain, are you currently facing some difficulties that cannot be directly resolved?"

"I think it can't be considered a difficulty, and currently, I haven't found a reason to resolve it."

"In other words, its existence is acceptable to you?"

"Yes, I am trying to approach and understand it."

"Has it always been like this?"

For the full version, visit pawread dot com.

"No, to be precise, it started after Elisa's death."

"Before Miss Elisa left, was this issue also present?"

"Yes."

"How did you deal with it at that time? Did you reject it or deliberately ignore it?"

"I ignored it."

Karun nodded and said, "Did Miss Elisa's departure take away the last defense in your heart? I mean, this persistent issue that has always been present."

Neo spread his hands and said naturally, "I think, after losing a piece in my heart, I should find something to fill it."

"Can it be filled by it?"

"Not sure, I am trying to verify and approach it."

"Then let's personify it and make a metaphor. What can it be compared to? A long meal that takes a long time to finish? A mysterious and charming woman? A thick and heavy book?"

"A book."

"What kind of book? According to what I said, is it 'thick'?"

"Both wide and thick."

"It can also refer to the content."

"It doesn't fit either. Like a book, it's not that captivating, nor does it make me forget to eat, drink, or sleep, but I can reach out to turn a few pages in my spare time."

"So, are you looking at it from an observer's perspective?"

"Yes, otherwise, for something that doesn't belong to me, can I have a strong sense of identification?"

Karun picked up the coffee, took a sip, and put it down. Then, he leaned back on the sofa, looking at the captain sitting across from him, his eyes filled with contemplation.

Through their previous conversation, Karun had a feeling that his original understanding of the captain seemed to have deviated from the starting point, and the result of this initial deviation was that the further they went, the more absurd it became.

"What's wrong?" Neo asked. "Is the problem serious?"

Karun frowned and said, "You're not lost."

"Huh? Who said I was lost?"

"You... are playing."

Upon hearing these words, Neo's eyes widened immediately, staring at Karun.

At this moment, Neo's upper body sat up straight, his hands naturally hanging down, like a standing cobra.

Karun maintained his original posture, only in this way could he lower the other party's guard.

It's not that the captain is guarding against me, in fact, it can be seen that the captain is actively trying to accept psychological counseling. But human nature is universal in many ways, and Karun understands that he just hit the captain's innermost secret with his words.

The desire to protect the deepest secrets in one's heart far exceeds the desire to protect one's body with clothes.

Gradually, Neo began to relax his body, picked up a piece of cut orange and brought it to his mouth, eating it while saying:

"I believe now that not all psychologists are scammers."

"Just because I know a little about you, Captain."

"You've been observing me all along?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Why?"

"I don't have many people around me, and interesting people are even fewer."

"Oh, I see."

Neo pointed to the fruit platter and said, "The fruit is fresh."

"Okay." Karun also took a piece of orange and placed it in front of him, not eating it, but wiping his fingertips that touched the orange with a tissue.

"You said it right, I might really be playing, just like you said you were observing me. In fact, I am also observing it."

Saying these words, Neo reached out and pointed to his chest.

Karun noticed that the captain did not point to his own face.

"Now, there are probably two possibilities."

"Yeah, tell me."

Karun poured the remaining half cup of coffee into the beer glass next to it, and the two different colored liquids began to merge.

Neo asked, "Do you believe in fate, Karun?"

"It depends on the situation."

"I appreciate Pavarro's persistence and principles, and then he recommended you, albeit not in the form of a recommendation letter.

And the shop where you made a mask with Pavarro's face is actually the same shop I chose."

"It's really a coincidence."

Neo took out a ring from his pocket and put it on his finger. This ring was not made of plastic.

"Have you always been curious about what kind of face is under this mask?"

"Yes."

"Alright, this is my first bet."

After Neo put on the ring, it emitted a faint light, and he was also covered in a layer of light. Karun understood that the mask had been taken off.

Karun's gaze immediately moved to Neo's face, and at the same time, Neo turned around to face Karun, presenting his face in front of Karun.

"How... is this possible..."

Karun took two steps back.

"Are you surprised?" Neo "smiled" and said, "It seems that you are quite satisfied with my first bet."

In front of Karun, Neo's face... was like solidified blood, which instantly brought to Karun's mind the scene of Mr. Pavarro cutting his own face skin with his nails that night.

"The material used for the mask you had Lemaire make... is it made of...?"

Neo nodded.

"That's right, it's my own face skin."

---

To be continued!