Global awakening! My Kamen Rider identity has been exposed!

Chapter 27 Bath Towel?

After Jiang Lan entered the kitchen and took over the cooking, Iz and Xia Muhua each found a place to sit down. The two sat side by side at the dining table, the atmosphere subtly quiet, but their eyes were unconsciously drawn to the kitchen, waiting for the results of Jiang Lan's cooking.

Izzy rested her elbows on the table, her hands gently supporting her cheeks, her eyes curving into crescent shapes, her anticipation almost overflowing as she stared intently at the busy figure at the kitchen doorway. The thought of soon enjoying Jiang Lan's homemade meal brought a slight smile to her lips, and her fingertips unconsciously twisted the tablecloth, unable to conceal her joy.

Xia Muhua, standing beside him, appeared much calmer. Her elbow rested on the edge of the table, her fingers lightly tapping her chin. Her gaze was fixed on Jiang Lan, her eyes filled with a mixture of inquiry and uncertainty, as if she were pondering something. After a moment, she suddenly turned her head to look at the excited Iz beside her, and teased in a low voice, "Iz, I didn't expect Jiang Lan to be so handsome when he's serious. No wonder you're so hung up on him and keep mentioning him to me."

Upon hearing this, Izzy panicked instantly, as if she had been caught red-handed, her cheeks flushing slightly. She hurriedly waved her hands in protest, "I've only told you a few times, I don't mention it often! Don't talk nonsense—" As she spoke, she secretly glanced towards the kitchen out of the corner of her eye, afraid that Jiang Lan would overhear their conversation. Her heart pounded, and she secretly prayed that Jiang Lan hadn't noticed them.

Seeing that Jiang Lan was still busy at the stove and seemed unaware of their conversation, Izzy secretly breathed a sigh of relief, raised her hand to pat her burning cheeks, and secretly regretted that she always talked about Jiang Lan's trivial matters in front of Xiao Hua in private. If the person in question heard her, it would be too embarrassing.

Before long, a rich aroma wafted from the kitchen, carrying the fresh and savory flavors of the ingredients, gradually spreading across the dining table and whetting the appetites of the two. Soon, Jiang Lan came out carrying several plates of home-style stir-fries. The dishes on the plates were brightly colored and steaming hot, making them look incredibly appetizing.

"Wow—it smells so good!" Xia Muhua was the first to pick up her chopsticks, took a bite of food, and her taste buds were instantly enveloped by the delicious flavor. Her eyes lit up, and she repeatedly gave Jiang Lan a thumbs up, her tone full of admiration, "Jiang Lan, I never expected that a grown man like you could cook so well!"

She felt secretly ashamed. The fried rice she had just made was practically a black, mushy paste, dry and bitter, almost impossible to swallow. Compared to the delicious food in front of her, it was worlds apart.

"I didn't expect Jiang Lan's cooking skills to be so good, then I won't be polite." Iz said with a smile, her tone full of joy. She couldn't wait to pick up her chopsticks and take a bite. After chewing carefully, her eyebrows and eyes instantly relaxed, and her face was full of satisfaction.

"So delicious!" The delicious taste spread on her tongue, and Izzy blurted out, "If only I could eat Jiang Lan's cooking every day—" As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly came back to her senses, her pretty face instantly turning red, and her heart skipped a beat—had she said that too bluntly, and it was easy for people to misunderstand!

She subconsciously looked up at Jiang Lan, only to meet his gaze. His deep eyes held a mischievous glint as he looked at her with a half-smile. Izzy's cheeks flushed instantly, her face turning a deep red, even her ears burning. She quickly lowered her head, unable to meet his eyes any longer, her heart pounding with panic: Oh no, could Jiang Lan have really misunderstood?

Just then, Xia Muhua wolfed down a large mouthful of rice, swallowed it, and then looked at Jiang Lan with a slurred expression, asking the question that had been on her mind: "Speaking of which, Jiang Lan, aren't you a super-rich second-generation? Why are you renting a house from the Iz family?"

"???" Jiang Lan raised an eyebrow, her tone full of surprise. "Who told you I'm a super-rich second-generation heir?"

Izzy, standing nearby, quickly chimed in, "Jiang Lan really doesn't have much money—"

"Can you afford a supercar if you don't have money?" Xia Muhua frowned, clearly somewhat disbelieving.

"I don't know either," Izzy tilted her head, looking confused and bewildered, and said blankly, "Jiang Lan seems to have suddenly become rich—"

Upon hearing this, Xia Muhua's delicate brows furrowed even more. She looked up at Jiang Lan, her eyes filled with seriousness: "Jiang Lan, suddenly becoming rich in such a short time, you wouldn't have gone to participate in a memory exploration, would you?"

Jiang Lan was taken aback, a barely perceptible hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. He hadn't expected Xia Muhua to be so clever, guessing the truth so quickly. He remained silent, tacitly acknowledging the guess.

Seeing that he was unwilling to say more, Xia Muhua did not press him further. After all, everyone has their own secrets. Like Izzy, she had never paid attention to things like memory exploration, so she naturally did not know that this seemingly ordinary man in front of her had now become the most watched core figure in the Federation's memory exploration field.

In this world, those willing to participate in memory exploration fall into two categories: one is those who are desperate and struggling to survive, and want to try their luck through memory exploration; the other is those who seek excitement and fame, and are ambitious individuals who attempt to enhance their strength and foundation by awakening past life memories.

Iz and Natsume clearly fall outside these two categories. They come from wealthy families, have no worries about food or clothing, and experience neither pressing survival pressures nor ambitions to venture out into the world. They are content with their peaceful lives. Moreover, exploring memories is extremely risky; a slight misstep could lead to a mental breakdown, turning them into incapacitated fools. Why would they risk such an ordeal to delve into those unknown past events?

"To be honest, I'm a little curious about what kind of person I was in my past life—" Xia Muhua said thoughtfully, stopping her chopsticks mid-eat. She then turned to Iz and suggested with a smile, "Iz, why don't we sign up for that memory exploration too?"

Before Izzy could respond, Jiang Lan interrupted, her tone carrying an undeniable tone of dissuasion: "Izzy, you should probably give up. You're already a bit slow; if you go to participate in the memory exploration, you might just become demented."

He secretly pondered that he absolutely could not let Izzy participate in the memory exploration. If she knew that her past life was nothing more than a Humagear created by humans, not a true human, given her naive nature, she would probably question the meaning of life and suffer a complete mental breakdown.

The same goes for Xia Muhua. If she were to learn that her past life was Akilela, whose hands were stained with blood and who had killed countless people, even if she were later exonerated, given her current state of mind, she probably wouldn't be able to bear those heavy sins. She would most likely collapse mentally in the early stages of her memory awakening and eventually become demented.

"I'm not stupid—" Iz pouted and retorted softly, then turned her head away in a huff, no longer looking at Jiang Lan, though her ears were still slightly red.

Seeing this, Xia Muhua couldn't help but laugh. She ruffled Iz's hair and joked, "I was just kidding. Let someone else do the memory exploration. I don't want to become an idiot."

The meal was warm and lively. After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, the task of clearing away the dishes and washing them naturally fell to Iz and Xia Muhua. Jiang Lan watched their busy figures, breathed a sigh of relief, and turned back to her room.

Lying on the bed, Jiang Lan's mind was a jumbled mess, a jumble of thoughts that made it hard for him to calm down. He remembered the comments he had seen on the forum, where everyone was frantically speculating that he was inextricably linked to the civilization gap in this world, and some were even convinced that the core truth of the civilization gap was hidden within him.

Jiang Lan himself was baffled. Before transmigrating, he was just an ordinary person, living a mundane nine-to-five life. But since transmigrating to this world, everything had changed drastically. His past life was actually Kamen Rider Kuuga, the one who protected the world.

The truth behind the collapse of Blue Star civilization—could it really be related to him? If the truth is exposed, how should he face the Federation's higher-ups? Should he tell them that he was just an outsider who accidentally traveled here, and that the so-called truth actually had nothing to do with him? If he did that, probably no one would believe him.

As Jiang Lan was lost in deep thought and feeling troubled, time slipped by unnoticed, and it was already past eleven o'clock. He rubbed his throbbing temples, slowly closed his eyes, and decided to put aside these worries for the time being and rest.

Just as he was about to drift off to sleep, he suddenly heard Izzy's soft, slightly shy voice through the door, carrying a hint of barely perceptible panic: "Jiang Lan—you—you could get me a towel and bring it to the bathroom?"

Hearing Izzy's words, Jiang Lan felt as if she'd been pricked by a needle. She immediately jumped out of bed, her heart pounding and her mind blank. A bath towel—brought to the bathroom? Was Izzy—wanting her to watch her shower?