The most direct and simplest way to trigger the Lord of Kin ability was probably kissing, right?
It fulfilled the prerequisite of intimate contact while also providing a medium for fluid exchange.
With the thought of giving it a try, Xi Nian looked at the peacefully sleeping Gwen. He lightly braced his hands against the bed and leaned closer.
He moved within a certain distance.
Facing that doll-like, delicate face so close at hand, Xi Nian could feel the warm breath she exhaled brush against his face, accompanied by an incredibly enticing sweet fragrance.
At that moment.
Our classmate Gwen was pretending to sleep.
When she had rushed home from Abomination's battle zone late last night, she had happened to find her mother knocking at the door. Gwen, still wearing her Spider Suit, had nearly been exposed. Fortunately, she had promptly made up an excuse about not feeling well and hadn't opened the door. This morning, she had also used that excuse to stay home and recuperate.
Although she had been injured in yesterday's battle, with her physique, any injury that wasn't life-threatening would heal quickly.
It was just that Gwen had never expected—
Xi Nian would skip class to visit her, and her mother would even shove him into her room. With no other choice, Gwen, having been sold out by her own mother, could only pretend to be asleep. As for why her forehead showed symptoms resembling a fever, it was entirely because—from the moment Xi Nian entered her room alone, her body had been continuously heating up.
Right now.
Though she couldn't open her eyes because she was pretending to sleep, even without using her Spider-Sense, Gwen could clearly feel it—Xi Nian, sitting at the edge of her bed, had suddenly leaned toward her, and his gaze had remained fixed on her face. No, it should have been on her lips!
H-Hey, hey, hey???
What was going on?
The girl was a little dumbfounded. On the surface, she made no sound, while her hands beneath the comforter remained clenched tight.
At the same time, a trace of hesitation flashed through Xi Nian's eyes. His movements paused before he finally lowered himself completely.
Gwen's body stiffened slightly.
A faintly warm, subtle touch landed on her forehead, then vanished the instant it appeared.
Xi Nian quickly straightened back up. Feeling a little guilty like a thief, he glanced at the tightly shut door, then touched his lips with his fingers. A lingering, undeniable burning sensation remained there.
What am I doing?
Xi Nian gave a bitter smile. Though they were childhood friends, and even best buddies, she was still a girl. Kissing her on the lips was something he couldn't do, right?
Still, judging from the heat on Gwen's forehead, which had risen a little more, there was no doubt that she really had a fever.
Feeling somewhat guilty, Xi Nian reached out and tucked the blanket around Gwen.
Then, something caught his attention.
They were Band-Aids.
The three Band-Aids had originally been covered by the blanket. When he tugged it, they fell out from beneath it.
"What are these?" Xi Nian picked up the Band-Aids and found signs that they had been used. Yet the adhesive areas were extremely clean, without the slightest trace of blood or dust.
He suddenly remembered their childhood.
Gwen had loved sticking Band-Aids on herself, especially across the bridge of her nose. She would deliberately pretend to be injured, pat her flat chest, and declare that she would be the boss who looked after him.
"Band-Aids won't do anything for a cold, you little fool." Xi Nian smiled, slipped the three Band-Aids into his pocket, and slowly opened the door as he left the girl's room.
"Huh, so soon?"
Outside the door, Mary, who seemed to have been standing guard and eavesdropping all along, was clearly surprised.
Thick black lines spread across Xi Nian's forehead as he emphasized, "Auntie, I really just came to visit a sick friend."
"Is that so?" Mary sighed, looking obviously disappointed.
Ma'am, what exactly were you expecting?!
Xi Nian couldn't even find the strength to complain. After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Mary Jane, he declined her repeated attempts to make him stay and fled Gwen's house in something of a panic.
Neither Xi Nian nor Mary knew that, inside the tightly shut room—
Almost the instant Xi Nian left and closed the door, the beautiful girl who had been pretending to sleep sprang upright in bed. Her face was flushed crimson as she panted heavily, both hands covering her scorching cheeks, which were still growing hotter. Yet actual steam rose first from the spot on her forehead that Xi Nian had touched.
As though her brain had crashed, the girl stared blankly for several seconds before frantically throwing off the blanket and searching through it.
"They're gone... The Band-Aids are gone..." Gwen was so embarrassed that she was nearly in tears.
Those three Band-Aids had naturally been the ones she had peeled off herself last night while changing out of her Spider Suit—when she wore the skintight suit while moving around outside, her body would sweat, and wearing ordinary underwear such as a bra would make her feel unbearably hot, stuffy, and uncomfortable.
But going without anything wasn't ideal either.
So every time Gwen wore her Spider Suit, she used three Band-Aids on her body.
Because she had been in such a hurry when changing out of her suit last night, she hadn't had time to destroy the Band-Aids, so they had been left on her bed.
"Don't tell me Xi Nian really took them?!"
The moment Gwen imagined those three Band-Aids falling into Xi Nian's hands, she buried her head beneath her pillow like an ostrich. Steam hissed from the back of her head.
"I-I can't face anyone anymore!"
On the way back home.
Xi Nian had just stepped out of the residential elevator when he saw numerous workers in identical uniforms, without any visible company logo, going in and out of his home.
In the living room, which was being renovated with almost terrifying efficiency, an elderly gentleman with graying temples and a suit stood there, calmly directing the workers as they renovated and replaced the furniture.
When he saw Xi Nian enter through the doorway.
The old gentleman immediately removed his hat, gave a slight bow, and greeted him with polite friendliness. "You must be the young master of the Prince family?"
"Young master?"
Xi Nian froze slightly. This was the first time in his life that anyone had addressed him that way.
He didn't know whether to nod or shake his head. "I'm Prince Xi Nian."
"Then I was correct." The old gentleman's eyes were deep as he smiled warmly. "My name is Alfred Pennyworth. It's a bit difficult to remember, so you may call me Butler Alfred from now on."
"This is my business card." As he introduced himself, he immediately reached into his suit pocket and politely offered Xi Nian a black business card with both hands.
Xi Nian accepted it, feeling that the man's manners were almost excessively proper. He was clearly only a butler, yet he possessed a noble air that seemed ingrained in his bones. At the same time, his neither servile nor overbearing demeanor instinctively inspired goodwill.
That was not something that could be easily feigned. It was something only a great family could cultivate over more than a decade, perhaps even several decades.
The information on the business card in his hand happened to confirm that.
The card clearly bore the words: "Wayne Industries"!
Before you continue