Want to Take You to New York

It was seven thirty in the morning.

Xi Nian stood in front of the mirror, watching his pupils shift from the cat-like vertical slits back to the normal brown of a human.

He tried holding a new bar of soap in his hand, but unlike last night, no tentacles emerged to consume it.

His Essence Devourer ability seemed to have vanished.

Xi Nian breathed a sigh of relief, but this unexpected incident also gave him a deeper understanding of his own power—Lord of Kin.

Twelve hours.

If he exchanged bodily fluids directly with someone of the opposite sex, Xi Nian could possess their abilities for half a day. Compared to the previous four hours, the duration of the effect was a full threefold increase.

Beside him, the young, sleepy Essence Devourer cub, Little Huang, looked at Xi Nian in front of the mirror with a strange expression. In its unique senses, Xi Nian, who had become a 'fellow kin,' had reverted back, causing it some disappointment.

If I bite him again, will he turn back into one of my own kind?

Little Huang was tempted.

As if sensing its intention, Xi Nian sternly warned, "Little Huang, you can't just bite me anymore. Otherwise, I'll punish you by not letting you eat for a day!"

"Meow~" Little Huang, in the form of a little orange cat, immediately drooped its ears and wagged its tail, looking dejected.

Aunt had already left.

Xi Nian was bored but also somewhat pleased as he half-reclined on the living room sofa.

Too many things had happened these past few days, and he preferred this kind of relaxed, normal life as an ordinary person.

Whoever wanted to save the world could do it; he wasn't a superhero.

After lying there for a while, Xi Nian picked up his phone and started scrolling through Facebook.

He didn't realize how much it would shock him until he started browsing…

It wasn't just a shock; Xi Nian was completely stunned!

He had thought the discussions and topics would gradually die down in a day or two.

Unexpectedly, the buzz surrounding the Washington incident from a couple of days ago was escalating online. Related news reports were overwhelming, and it was developing into a shocking level of public discussion! Many people had even taken screenshots of the videos from when he fought in his female disguise—mostly from behind—and turned them into all sorts of avatars, profile pictures, or memes!

Xi Nian held his breath, staring at the screen, and after a long while, he finally exhaled, "What the heck."

The only fortunate thing was that Xi Nian hadn't exposed his true identity that night. He had also seen the on-site videos circulating online and in news reports, but they were either too far away and blurry, or they only captured his back.

No one knew that the new superhero, the Silver-Haired Goddess, who had slain the monster Abomination, was actually an ordinary Chinese middle school student, and a male one at that.

The only ones who knew the truth were Aunt Diana, Spider-Woman, and the now-dead Abomination.

However.

Looking at his photos in female attire flooding every corner of the internet, Xi Nian's toes nearly dug a hole through the sofa.

What do you call a massive social death experience? This was it!

Xi Nian quickly opened Twitter, his usual communication app.

When he saw the posts from his classmates on Twitter, almost all of them saying things like "I want to be the sword the Silver-Haired Goddess holds" and "I publicly declare, I am a fan of the Silver-Haired Goddess," his last shred of luck completely vanished.

And what was with this comment from a classmate: "I want her to step on me"?

Then, a male teacher from his class had quietly changed his Twitter avatar to Xi Nian's photo in female attire, showing a bit of admiration.

Xi Nian's mouth twitched.

It's hopeless, this world is hopeless!

He started contemplating whether to destroy the world or move to another planet to live!

Xi Nian had a look of utter despair.

Just then, a private message suddenly arrived on Twitter.

Xi Nian, limp on the sofa, listlessly opened it.

Gwen: "What are you doing?"

Xi Nian: "Self-isolating."

Gwen: "???"

She quickly sent another message: "Okay, I'm not mad at you anymore."

Xi Nian was speechless; he didn't even know why she was angry this morning.

Gwen: "But, you have to promise me one thing!"

Xi Nian: "What is it?"

"Accompany me to New York."

"New York?" Xi Nian was taken aback.

Washington and New York weren't very far apart; the straight-line distance was only about three to four hundred kilometers. With convenient transportation like trains and buses, it could be reached in as little as three hours.

But they were different cities. Even for shopping, it seemed unlikely they'd travel that far, right?

Xi Nian: "Are we going to buy something?"

Gwen: "Of course not! Did you forget? At the end of this semester, in January next year, the class is organizing a group trip. The instructor has already decided on New York as the destination. As class president, I want to take advantage of this current break to go there and plan the route and stuff."

Fearing Xi Nian would refuse, Gwen quickly added, "You know, it's not very safe for a girl to travel alone..."

"Alright," Xi Nian agreed.

Gwen: "Then it's today. Let's meet at the train station at ten later! We'll go early and come back early!"

"Today?" Xi Nian frowned. He had thought Gwen would go after Christmas, but she had set it for before.

Then again, Christmas Day and the few days after were for family dinners, so it wasn't good to travel far.

Thinking this, Xi Nian was about to get up from the sofa to prepare for the trip, but he received another private message on Twitter.

This time, it wasn't from Gwen.

Kara: "Senpai, good morning."

It was from the junior he had added yesterday, Kara Danvers.

"Good morning," Xi Nian replied. "Sorry, I forgot to reply yesterday. I've thought about it seriously, and you're a very nice girl, but I have absolutely no experience with relationships or dating, so I can't accept your confession."

Beep, simp card sent.

Xi Nian let out a sigh of relief, but before he could put down his phone, another message came through: "Then let's try going on a date!"

A date?

Xi Nian didn't quite react.

Before he could reply, Kara's messages continued to come in on Twitter: "How about today?"

The train station.

Xi Nian had a bit of a headache.

In front of him, two girls stood facing each other – naturally, Gwen and Kara.

Gwen was wearing her usual beige jeans and black boots, paired with a well-fitting hooded jacket. Her bright blonde short hair made her look both capable and exude a rare coolness for a girl. To use the common school slang, she was a total "A-list" older sister type!

As for Kara.

The first time Xi Nian and Gwen saw her, they almost didn't recognize her.

Today, Kara wasn't wearing her usual black-rimmed glasses, nor had she tied up her hair. Her slightly curly, dark blonde hair cascaded down to her shoulders and lower back. When she slightly lifted her head, her youthful and sweet girl's face was revealed. She wore a pair of white canvas shoes. Although her outfit was still an ordinary jacket and pants, with no extra adornment, her natural beauty still made her a very youthful and pretty sweet-type girl!

The presence of two beautiful girls with different styles standing together immediately drew the attention of many travelers at the station.

However, when the travelers saw the young man standing between the two girls, their expressions quickly turned to one of shared righteous indignation and sorrow.

What a disaster!!