correspond to her typical behavior at all.

Something was wrong with her; in general there was a strange mood in the air. At least between her and Eve. What irritated him most, however, were Hilary's dark looks - he had always thought she and Leylan were good friends. Understand women ...
> Her hands ... she only crosses her fingers when she is nervous, extremely nervous. Does she have stage fright? No, that would be the laugh of the century, Leylan and stage fright!
What is it then? <

He didn't take his eyes off the young woman next to him, the fact that Leylan didn't even notice his intense gaze showed him how much the nervousness was clutching her.

"What could make Leylan Lao in such a panic? ..." he muttered to himself, barely audible. The tall woman, who was conscientiously about to powder his nose, raised her eyes in amazement and looked at him questioningly: "I beg your pardon?"

The thoughtful expression of his crimson eyes vanished, leaving the field to a highly mocking one. In an icy voice he remarked: "I cannot remember speaking to you."

She quickly lowered her eyes and ran her hand even faster over the tip of his nose; his mocking look was fixed on her flickering eyes and she dared not reply; she felt too ridiculous.> What a fool, ts ... back to Miss ´Dispersion - at - night´. So what is it that makes you feel so insecure. Did she have an argument with Eve? Or is it scared of the reporters? Well, she's not really open-hearted either, but what question should she be afraid of? <
His thoughts drew ever larger circles on the lake of contemplation until ...
'Damn it, it can't be ... it can't be'
It fell like scales from his eyes, as he knew about Leylan's professionalism and her talent at being able to sell the biggest crap to anyone. He also knew that she couldn't avoid THIS question - she was in a serious bind.

Once the problem had been recognized, it was now up to him to weigh up: Should he help her or, smiling smugly, leave her to her unpleasant fate?

The make-up artist's face reappeared in his field of vision and his lips curled into a smug smile.

~
"I warmly welcome you all to our press conference today. On my left: Max Tate, Leylan Lao, Tala Ivanov and the well-known team leader Kai Hiwatari."

There was roaring applause.

"And now on my right: the three-time world champion Tyson Granger, Ray Kon and the manager of the team, Hilary Tashibana."

Again thunderous applause, whereby Tyson insisted on distributing kisses.

"Please sit down!" Hissed Ray and pulled Tyson very roughly back into his chair.

"Please now ask your questions.", Mr. Dickenson opened the conference and sat down in his seat with a friendly nod.

Leylan sat bolt upright in her chair, gauged the few meters to the emergency exit with his eye and roughly estimated the time it would take. She knew that there was no other way out than to run away. An ironic sounding voice in her head whispered, "You're good at it."

> Great, now I am mocking myself. <She felt the gaze of the reporters as they were dying to quench the general curiosity and when the first one raised his hand, her stomach literally turned.
"What will the line-up look like for the new season?"
Relief.
Her stomach returned to its normal position. It was clear that the most explosive question would not be answered at the beginning - after all, the conference was being recorded and the audience wanted to be fidgeted for as long as possible.

It was a matter of course for Kai who replied: "There will be five of us competing - it is still unclear whether one of us will take care of the reserve bank."
"Who exactly is the team?"
Again Kai's icy voice cut through the air: "Max Tate, Tala Ivanov, Leylan Lao, Tyson Granger and me, Kai Hiwatari."

Excitement among the reporters.
"The question that follows: Why is Ray Kon not part of the party?"
Ray exchanged a quick look with the team leader and then answered calmly: "I am ... prevented. I would like to leave it at that."
"What does 'prevented' mean in this case?"
A defiant-eyed young man didn't seem to take Ray's implicit reprimand very seriously, so he asked.

Ray was about to answer when Kai came before him: "We won't give any further information - thank you."

One look and the rebellious man fell silent, closed his mouth again and scribbled busily on his notepad with a sour expression on his face. Ray's lips played a slight grin and he threw a grateful look over at Kai, who responded with a curt nod.
"Is it true that Max Tate's mother had cancer?"
He had expected it and yet it caught him off guard, his carefully prepared answer suddenly vanished and left him desperate. Leylan caught Max's misery at a glance and leaned over to him, as inconspicuously as possible.

"Lie! Think something - just lie down the blue of the sky if necessary!", she whispered to the still frozen Max. Her highly immoral words seemed to 'wake up' him strangely, a determined expression appeared on his face and he seemed to pay no attention to Leylan's words. He said in a firm voice:" Yes, it Right. My mother has cancer and things are not looking good right now. At first I wanted to hide it from the public to protect my mother from all the photographers, but now ... I think it is best to come out with the truth and plead with all of you to give me and my family a rest during this difficult time allow."

Everyone, including his team, looked astonished at the blond Blader - none of those present had expected such a grown-up address. The otherwise always happy Max now looked more like a young, serious man whose top priority was to protect the family.

"Lying is not always the optimal way. Even if the truth takes some effort - in the end you are better represented."

His voice was so low that only Leylan could hear him. She would have loved to have been carried away to a discussion on the spot, but this was probably the worst possible moment for it. Even a disapproving snort had to hold her back; After all, Max shouldn't think she hated the truth entirely.

The audience, however, liked his answer - very much, in fact.

Almost every one of them wore a warm smile on their face and you would think they had just had an epiphany.
> What idiots. Leylan thought, snorting inwardly. She wasn't sure why she suddenly condemned Max and his 'followers' - after all, the truth is a virtue. Possibly because the lie often got better for her and she was aware of the common disadvantages of truthful answers.

She had nothing against the fans, but she hated the excessive research of the media, which is why she felt a clear antipathy for any reporters.The secret of Max was now out, so there was only Leylan left. The thought of getting caught in the crossfire of questioning journalists gave her a distinct stomach ache and again called her nervous streak on the scene.

But it should stay exciting.
The attending representatives of various newspapers and TV stations continued with less spectacular questions about the training, the blades, team climate etc. until a question was raised that made Leylan sit up and take notice:
"Kai Hiwatari- how do you relate to Leylan Lao?"
Kai's displeasure with such a private and also extremely delicate question could be clearly seen, the look from crimson eyes seemed to want to impale the reporter in question. But Kai wouldn't be Kai if he didn't master this situation in a relaxed manner. A haughty expression made his noble features shine and he replied coldly: "I would leave out the term ´relationship´, it just distorts the essentials unnecessarily. Leylan Lao and I are teammates, nothing more. We work together and inevitably live in a house. I forbid any kind of intimate speculation as far as possible. "

Zack- that had sat. But not only the reporter seemed speechless in the face of such clear words, the rest of the team also gave Kai one or the other nervous glances in surprise. Leylan, on the other hand ... Leylan just stared at the table in front of her, his eyes blank and expressionless. Although he was only a few inches away from her, it seemed to her that worlds were suddenly separated. It had stung her heart as he played down their relationship to one another so succinctly, more than that - he declared it null and void, for never having been there.

And although she knew inwardly that he was not able to fully deny everything that had happened between them and probably still existed, it hurt her, something pulled painfully together on the verge of bursting.She pretended to be a complete idiot, took herself to court as hard as she could be so sentimentally and inappropriately affected; but as much as she judged herself for her reaction, she also knew how true it was.

> Damned truths - give the hell out of it! she cursed inwardly.

She apparently completely escaped the fact that the questioning had long since been continued.
"Miss Lao? Leylan Lao?"
Her name made her startle and her gaze wandered confusedly into the audience when a young, ambitious-looking journalist raised her hand and caught Leylan's gaze. Perfectly draped mahogany-colored hair, a tailor-made dark blue costume, pale pink lips, sparkling teeth and eyes as bright blue as the most beautiful midday in summer - in short, a predator among reporters.

And then she knew: this time there would be no escape.
With her lovely smile on her face, she reminded Leylan, curiously, of Eve, an almost perfectly played amiability under which merciless determination lay hidden. The young journalist gave Leylan an attentive look and clearly enjoyed seeing all eyes on her; paused unnecessarily and repeated her question, which Leylan must have missed the first time.
"What surely interests us all: Where have you been, Miss Lao, all along? I mean, after all, you were undetectable for 3 ½ years, almost disappeared and I think I speak for everyone