Childhood Sweetheart Gwen

A winter morning.

Feathery snowflakes scattered from the heavens into every corner of the metropolis. In the early dawn, when the sky was barely bright, Washington, as a world-class city, had already stirred to life. Figures of students and office workers shuttled through streets freshly cleared of snow.

Honk honk!

A local police car rolled slowly to a stop at the curb of a residential neighborhood. The door opened, and a cute blonde girl hopped out of the back seat, schoolbag in hand.

"Gwen, slow down. Your water bottle."

From the driver's seat, Officer George, dressed in full police uniform, got out and chased after her. He held a thermos in his hand, his tone softening with affection as he looked at his beloved daughter: "Are you sure you don't need me to drive you to school? The roads are slippery, and it's still snowing."

Gwen took the thermos, tucked it into her bag, and refused crisply: "No need. I brought rain gear and I'm wearing slip-proof boots."

"But—"

Officer George wanted to say more. At that moment, Gwen's eyes suddenly lit up, her cheeks flushing with joy and excitement. Like a rabbit, she bounced up and down, waving her arm vigorously toward a spot: "Xi Nian! Over here! Over here!"

"I knew it," Officer George sighed inwardly. He turned and, sure enough, saw a familiar teenage boy appear at the street corner.

Hearing his name called, Xi Nian looked up, spotted the pair, and smiled as he greeted them: "Gwen, Uncle George! Good morning! What a coincidence, running into you again!"

He knew them well.

Gwen, full name Gwen Stacy, was a girl his age who lived in a nearby neighborhood. As kids, they'd attended the same nursery, then elementary school, middle school, and now the same high school—childhood friends with deep bonds. Her father was a local officer with some reputation and authority, overseeing public safety in their district. His full name was George Stacy.

"Yeah, what a coincidence." Gwen's eyes curved with unstoppable laughter.

The snow around them was white and crystalline, but Officer George's face was a little dark.

A coincidence? As if!

She'd clearly timed it, hitting this spot just to run into him.

Of course.

He'd never expose his daughter's little girlish crush—he'd protect it. Besides, he'd looked into Xi Nian's family background ten years ago. The boy was pitiful and kind-hearted.

"Ah! Xi Nian, why aren't you wearing a hat or holding an umbrella!"

Gwen exclaimed in surprise, quickly closing the distance to Xi Nian. Before he could reply, her hands were already brushing the frost and snow from his hair and eyebrows.

"Rushed out the door. Forgot," Xi Nian said with an unconcerned smile, setting aside the chaotic thoughts churning in his mind.

"You still need to keep warm! What if you catch a cold?" Gwen puffed her cheeks in mock anger, which only made her look more playful and cute.

Without overthinking it, she took off her own fluffy hat and placed it on Xi Nian's head, then cupped her warm hands over his slightly cold face. To outsiders, this would seem like a very intimate gesture, but to the two who'd grown up together, it was so routine it carried no special meaning.

"It's cold out. Let me drive you both to school," Officer George said, unable to watch any longer.

Gwen didn't answer. Instead, she looked up at Xi Nian.

"The school isn't that far. I'll just—"

Xi Nian started to refuse, but feeling Officer George's sharp gaze, he changed his mind and nodded: "Then thank you, Uncle George."

Gwen smiled too and added: "Then we'll leave it to you, Dad."

"You're welcome."

Officer George puffed out his chest. For his beloved daughter, he'd clearly resigned himself to being a tool!

Soon, the police car started up, merged onto the main road, and headed toward the high school.

Inside the warm, heated car.

Gwen and Xi Nian sat together in the back seat. After getting in, Xi Nian stared out the window at the winter streetscape rushing by, his expression and gaze occasionally drifting into a daze.

Suddenly, a gentle, soft hand grasped his. Xi Nian turned to see the girl's face full of concern.

Gwen asked him: "Xi Nian, how are you today? Are you feeling unwell? You look so preoccupied."

"I—" Xi Nian didn't know how to begin.

What had been weighing on his mind since leaving home was, of course, the photo that had been shoved under his door. He'd opened the door to check afterward, but the mysterious person who'd left it was long gone, leaving behind only a pile of strange puzzles.

Was that photo really taken during World War I? And the woman in the photo, who looked exactly like his aunt in battle armor—who was she?

His aunt's mother? No, World War I was nearly a century ago. By generation, it might even be his grandmother's mother.

If he asked Gwen's father for help, could he find the person who'd slipped that photo in?

Xi Nian hesitated, then said: "I'm fine. Just a little cold."

"Then you won't be cold like this." Gwen switched to holding Xi Nian's left arm with both hands. At this distance, they could clearly feel each other's body heat.

Officer George, driving, glanced at the rearview mirror and nearly lost his composure.

Watching his own tender, fair cabbage willingly deliver itself to the pig—even if that pig was clean-cut and someone he'd watched grow up—was probably something no father on earth could tolerate!

Wait.

As a man who'd been through it, Officer George's mind stirred. Watching the pair through the mirror, his daughter's intentions were obvious to anyone. But this kid didn't seem to have that idea at all!

Mm. As a father, that was even harder to take.

A police car pulled up on the road in front of the middle school gate. When Gwen and Xi Nian stepped out of the vehicle, they immediately drew the gazes of quite a few students.

It was only then that Xi Nian took extra notice.

Today, Gwen was wearing a new beige down jacket, with a form-fitting handmade sweater underneath. Her long legs were tightly wrapped in white jeans, and on her feet were a pair of black knee-high boots that made her look even taller. The body of this sixteen-year-old girl exuded youthful vitality, paired with a bright and dashing crop of golden blonde hair and a delicate, petite face—in others' eyes, she was simply—awesome!

Having grown up together since childhood, Xi Nian was already used to it.

It was only now, seeing the envious and jealous reactions of the other students, that he suddenly realized Gwen seemed to be pretty popular at school.

"Gwen, you should let go of my arm," Xi Nian said.

"No, this way it's warmer."

Gwen hummed in response, hugging his arm even tighter, so much so that Xi Nian's right arm was completely buried in a soft warmth.

Compared to the ultimate softness of cotton candy, there was also an indescribable kind of resilience?

Xi Nian himself naturally had no such thought.

But the students nearby had reddened eyes, roaring inwardly: "Damn it, let go, aaaaah!!!"

"If you don't let go, I'm going to be killed by their stares," Xi Nian said with a wry smile. If looks could kill, he'd probably have died countless times by now.

"You dared to threaten an armed thug with your bare hands back in elementary school, and you're scared of this?" Gwen covered her mouth with a silvery laugh, finally releasing Xi Nian's arm, her face belatedly flushing a bit.

"Stop bringing up my dark history," Xi Nian said, the corner of his mouth twitching. Back then, in his chuunibyou phase, he'd just watched a historical documentary about Captain America and thought he had the potential to be a superhero.

If the police hadn't arrived in time back then, he'd probably have already reincarnated into a third life.

Having lived sixteen years as an ordinary person, Xi Nian, a reincarnated individual without any system cheat, had completely come to terms with it.

How many naturally gifted superheroes were there, really? In the current global population of five to six billion, the ones who had truly stepped onto the stage of the era as superheroes were only a handful: Captain America, Iron Man, Batman, Superman!

Among them, Superman was still an alien (Kryptonian).

"It's not that I'm afraid of trouble."

Xi Nian ignored the furious students and walked into the relatively warm school building corridor, glancing at the girl beside him as he teased, "Of course I don't mind, but I think—it's not great for you. Aren't you pretty popular? I heard you're almost running for number one here."

"Where did you hear that?!" Gwen couldn't help but spit back.

But in that instant.

Gwen suddenly realized that being childhood sweethearts wasn't always a good thing.

Sometimes, once a relationship was set in stone for a long time, it was hard to subtly change it.

As Xi Nian and Gwen walked past the school building corridor, in a tenth-grade classroom, a girl wearing glasses sat in the last row by the corner seat, staring blankly out the side window, her gaze subtly following Xi Nian as he moved along the corridor.

"Kara, what are you looking at?"

A female classmate leaned over to the desk, asking curiously.

"Nothing." Kara Danvers quickly averted her gaze.

"Really?" The female classmate was half-doubtful, following the direction of Kara's gaze, but could only see a clean white wall.

The thick wall blocked the outdoor corridor, making it impossible to see anything passing by outside.