A sleepless night.
Xi Nian lay in bed, almost watching the darkness outside his window gradually give way to the cold light of dawn.
After all, too many things had happened last night, and they had been far too thrilling. The supernatural mysteries he had experienced surpassed everything from his sixteen years of life combined.
There was also the matter in the bathroom.
When his aunt had brought up his awakened superpower, Lord of Kin, she had shown neither disgust nor opposition to his use of the strange ability. On the contrary, she had helped him consider and figure out the activation conditions and limits of Lord of Kin, looking as though she wanted to find an opportunity for him to experiment with it. Her interest in researching it had been extremely strong.
So, it was not that Xi Nian could not hold himself back. The theory had simply been too tempting. The part beneath him had unconsciously raised its hand, as if it wanted to participate and offer its own opinion.
Xi Nian did not know whether his aunt had seen it while she was rinsing the foam from his hair.
He only remembered what his aunt had said in the bathroom at the end.
"Xi Nian, what kind of person do you want to become?"
"You do not need to answer that question yet. When the time is right, I will give you a chance to choose. No matter what you choose, I will support you from behind."
Xi Nian had thought about it all night, yet he still could not understand what choice and support his aunt had meant.
What choice? How would she support him?
Or rather, Xi Nian did not dare think in that direction—his superpower, Lord of Kin, could only truly display its effects with the help of a woman possessing supernatural abilities. And that so-called help required a series of 'harsh' activation conditions, making it more like a passive skill.
Without a suitable supernatural woman nearby to help him, it could not be used as a conventional ability.
So, the support his aunt had mentioned could not possibly be...
Recalling how his aunt had proactively suggested that "liquid is the medium; the more medium there is, the stronger the effect," Xi Nian felt his body heat up again. That was the real reason he had not slept all night.
Fortunately.
Worried that Xi Nian might suffer aftereffects from his ability, his aunt had reported it to the school early in the morning and taken a day off for him.
By coincidence, Xi Nian learned from the school that Gwen had also taken the day off.
The image of the half of Spider-Woman's face revealed last night flashed through his mind.
After some thought, Xi Nian suggested to his aunt, "Gwen caught a cold. I'll go check on her after lunch."
Diana naturally knew Xi Nian's childhood friend as well, and she immediately agreed. "That works. She lives so close by anyway."
She surveyed the messy, wrecked living room. "Later, I still need to arrange for someone to come over and repair the living room, then replace the furniture."
"Won't that cause any trouble?" Xi Nian asked worriedly.
The shattered footprints left on the living room floor, the astonishing crater, and the furniture and windowsill he had smashed through by force—anyone with eyes could tell that these were not ordinary damages from daily use. If they connected it to the robbery that had happened downstairs across the street last night, they might expose something.
"It won't."
Diana remained composed. Dressed in an exceptionally refined white shirt and trousers, she said elegantly and calmly, "I have some connections. I know what kind of people to find for this."
"That's good." Xi Nian finally relaxed, though he was also curious about what sort of connections his aunt meant.
After lunch.
Xi Nian changed into a winter coat and headed out for Gwen's home.
He only had to cross a pedestrian street, less than a hundred meters away, before reaching the neighboring residential complex. The guard on duty recognized him too and greeted him as he opened the gate. "Little Xi Nian, it's been a while since you last came by, hasn't it?"
"It has. It's been quite a while."
Xi Nian shrugged. It had been fine when they were younger, but in recent years, Officer George had guarded against him more and more as if he were a thief. Xi Nian had even suspected that he might have some kind of criminal gene that had put him under surveillance.
He soon arrived at Gwen's door with practiced familiarity, but when he pressed the doorbell, Xi Nian suddenly felt a little uneasy.
Fortunately, perhaps his luck had finally improved. A gentle woman's voice came from inside. "Coming."
The door opened.
The person who entered Xi Nian's view was a middle-aged woman around thirty-eight. Though faint wrinkles had appeared at the corners of her eyes, her figure was still graceful and well-maintained. Her lively features bore a strong resemblance to Gwen's.
She was Gwen's mother, Mary Jane.
"Xi Nian, you're here!" In complete contrast to Officer George, Mary was delighted when she saw Xi Nian at the door. She directly pulled him inside. "Quick, it's cold outside. Come in first."
"I heard Gwen was sick, so I came to visit her." Xi Nian changed into house slippers on the carpet and glanced around the room.
"Don't worry." Mary seemed to know what he was looking for. She blinked and said, "Gwen's father went out last night and hasn't come back yet."
"Ah, well..." Xi Nian did not know what to say.
Ma'am, the way you said that... No, those words are dangerous!
Mary continued, "Gwen woke up with a fever this morning. I already gave her some fever medicine, so she should be lying in bed asleep now."
"In that case, I should head back first." Xi Nian looked toward Gwen's tightly shut bedroom door. "I shouldn't disturb her rest..."
"What disturbance?" Mary waved a hand, cutting him off as she urged, "You came at exactly the right time. Hurry in and see her!"
Mary pushed Xi Nian to Gwen's bedroom door and gave him a meaningful reminder. "Don't worry. The room is well soundproofed. Even if something happens, no one outside will hear it."
"Um, I only came to visit her," Xi Nian corrected her, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"Of course. Of course you're only visiting her. A thorough visit. Just don't let yourself get infected." Mary's implication could not have been stronger. She opened the door and pushed Xi Nian inside, then thoughtfully closed it behind him.
Was she really Gwen's biological mother?
Xi Nian smiled bitterly, suddenly feeling that Officer George was comparatively normal. He looked up. Gwen's room was still much like he remembered: clean, tidy, and filled with a faint fragrance. There were quite a few dolls, unmistakably a girl's room, though many more photographs had been added to the bookshelf.
Hm? Many of them were pictures of him with her, including precious photos that even he had never developed.
Xi Nian could not help taking a few extra looks before turning his gaze toward one corner of the room.
The golden-haired girl looked just like Sleeping Beauty, lying quietly beneath a snow-white duvet. Her small, delicate nose and lips breathed evenly, though her baby-soft pale cheeks were faintly flushed.
Xi Nian walked to the bedside and called softly, "Gwen? Gwen?"
Gwen did not respond, as if she were deeply asleep.
After confirming several times that his hand was not too cold, Xi Nian gently brushed aside her golden hair and placed his hand on the girl's forehead. A slight burning warmth passed into his palm.
Though the temperature was not very high, she really did have a fever.
Xi Nian silently withdrew his hand. He had come to visit Gwen for one reason—to check on her illness—and for another, to find out whether Gwen had any connection to the Spider-Woman he had encountered last night.
Now, it seemed he must have seen wrong.
That made sense. How could Gwen, his childhood sweetheart, possibly be that formidable Spider-Woman who swung through the city's skies?
Xi Nian shook his head.
But.
When his gaze fell upon the girl's slightly parted lips nearby, rosy and glistening more than usual—perhaps partly because of her fever—he suddenly froze.
A thought surfaced in Xi Nian's heart as if possessed.
Why not test it and find out whether he had seen wrong?
Before you continue