Touching the Extraordinary

Xi Nian could not focus on an entire day of classes. As soon as school ended, he hurried home.

But when he reached the door, he suddenly stopped.

Could something that had remained unchanged for over a decade really change because of an old photograph?

The thought flashed through his mind for no reason, making Xi Nian's heart suddenly clench. He stood where he was, his eyes fixed on the tightly shut, silent door.

About ten seconds passed.

Winter air kept pouring in from the stairwell outside. Though Xi Nian clutched his keys, his palm was beginning to sweat. Just as he made up his mind to open the door, it suddenly clicked open from the inside.

A woman who was flawless under even the harshest scrutiny stood in the doorway.

She looked to be only around twenty-eight. Her black hair was neatly tied up, giving her an exceptionally intellectual air. Her lightly made-up face was exquisitely flawless, and her eyes resembled reflections of an azure sky. Above them, her slightly heroic black brows rested softly.

She wore a loose, fashionable long home shirt and trousers, revealing a hint of her graceful, tall figure. What inspired genuine admiration, however, was how her queenly nobility was mixed with a natural, carefree ease.

Nobility and ease.

At that moment, those two utterly different temperaments did not clash. Instead, they blended together with subtle perfection.

Xi Nian instinctively called out to the woman before him, "Auntie."

"Come in."

Diana Prince did not ask why Xi Nian had been standing outside. Instead, she crouched slightly, the line from the back of her neck to her hips forming a perfect curve as she took a pair of house slippers from the shoe cabinet beside the door and placed them on the rug before him.

"Auntie, I..."

Xi Nian opened his mouth. He felt he should not hide anything from her—this had never changed in sixteen years—but for the moment, he did not know how to begin.

"Eat dinner first." Diana seemed to see through him. She cut him off and turned to walk into the living room.

Xi Nian immediately relaxed a little. He hung his schoolbag on the hook beside the door, changed into the slippers, and followed her into the living room.

Warm lights illuminated the living room.

Two servings of spaghetti steamed fragrantly on the dining table. Beef sauce, chili oil, and cooled boiled water sat beside them. Diana and Xi Nian, one grown and one young, took their seats across from each other and silently worked through their dinner.

"Spaghetti again," Xi Nian muttered softly as he looked at the all-too-familiar meal, as though he had forgotten the heavy atmosphere from before.

To his surprise, Aunt Diana's cool face remained stern as she replied, "You should be grateful you have food at all. How dare you complain?"

"Yes."

Xi Nian pulled a bitter face and quickly picked up his fork, dealing with his colorful serving of spaghetti.

His aunt was perfect inside and out, except she had no talent for cooking. The taste was as ordinary as ever.

Yet eating it now made Xi Nian recall his childhood.

Back then, his aunt could not cook at all.

"Cough, cough."

Xi Nian ate too quickly and accidentally choked. Diana, seated across from him and seemingly watching him all along, immediately stood up, came over, and gently patted his back. "Eat slowly." She casually handed him her own cup as well.

Xi Nian gulped down some warm water, and the tightness in his chest immediately eased.

So he simply blurted it out in one breath. "Auntie. This morning, someone slipped a photograph into our home."

As he spoke, Xi Nian placed the photograph from his pocket on the table and told her what had happened that morning.

Diana was not surprised. She quietly listened to him, though when she saw the black-and-white photograph, a faint ripple flashed through her eyes.

After Xi Nian finished, Diana put away the photograph and returned to her seat. In a gentle voice, she told him, "I know who put the photograph there. I'll handle this. You won't need to worry about it from now on."

"Okay."

Xi Nian had no doubt that his aunt could handle anything. Still, with simple concern and curiosity, he asked, "Auntie, the person in that photograph wearing that strange armor..."

"Since you want to know, I'll tell you."

Diana's cool face turned solemn. After gathering her thoughts, she spoke seriously. "That's right. She was actually—my grandmother. She passed away a long time ago. I heard that during World War I, she once helped the military fight against a mysterious force."

"A mysterious force? Could it have been the gods from the legends?" Xi Nian's eyes widened in surprise. The most widely circulated story about the cause of World War I involved the God of War!

Diana shook her head. "Those things happened too long ago. I only heard my mother mention them when I was little."

She paused. "Besides, what gods could possibly exist in this world?"

"That's true." Xi Nian quietly let out a breath of relief. At most, aliens had appeared now. They were still within the bounds of what science could understand.

Diana quietly let out a breath of relief as well.

"I arranged to meet a friend. I'm going out in a little while and might come back late," Diana softly explained. She picked up her cup and took a sip, only to find Xi Nian staring intently at the cup in her hand.

"What is it?" Diana set down the cup and asked curiously.

"Nothing. It's nothing." Xi Nian shook his head. He had merely suddenly thought of something.

He had just used his aunt's cup, and now she had used it again.

Did that not count as an indirect kiss?

An indirect kiss with his aunt was not a big deal. When he was little, Xi Nian and his aunt often bathed together. That was also one major reason girls still had trouble catching Xi Nian's attention.

It was like being enchanted by a masterpiece every day. When he looked at other works afterward, they always seemed somewhat dull.

But now, there was a problem.

Could an indirect kiss trigger Lord of Kin?

Xi Nian could not help thinking about it.

He had never tested his superpower. He only knew the three prerequisites for activating Lord of Kin:

It required someone of the opposite sex.

There had to be physical contact.

There had to be an exchange of liquid through a medium.

His aunt was naturally of the opposite sex—and an utterly perfect one at that.

As for intimate contact, he did not know whether her patting his back just now counted.

The most important part was the exchange of liquid. Even if there had been one just now, it would have been diluted by the water in the cup.

So it should be fine, right?

Xi Nian absentmindedly pondered the question until their light dinner was over.

"Don't wait up for me. Go to bed early on your own," Diana said in the tone one might use to coax a child, making Xi Nian both amused and helpless. He replied, "Got it. Be careful out there. Our city doesn't have a resident superhero."

At present, only the three major economic capitals—New York City, Gotham City, and Metropolis—had resident superheroes: Iron Man, Batman, and Superman respectively. This was also because they themselves lived in those places.

"Don't worry. I've always been lucky. You, on the other hand, stay home and don't run around." Diana blinked, leaving him with a reassuring smile. She changed into her winter high-heeled boots and left the house.

The house fell silent once more.

Xi Nian looked at the closed door, his heart inexplicably empty as he began recalling their earlier conversation.

"Did the matter of the photograph really just end like that?" Xi Nian murmured.

If the message behind that photograph truly only concerned his aunt's grandmother, then what had the person who slipped it into their home been thinking?

"This seems more complicated than it looks." Xi Nian absentmindedly cleared away his dishes when he heard the crisp sound of something suddenly shattering.

Xi Nian jolted. When he came back to himself and looked down, his pupils abruptly contracted.

The cup in his hand had shattered completely, as though it had endured a violent force beyond what it could withstand. Glass fragments clattered across the floor.

"This cup? No, it's my body..."

Xi Nian's palm was completely unharmed. Instead, he felt that the strength in his hand had become unprecedentedly powerful, as though he could crush and destroy anything.

Was it an illusion, or a hallucination?

Still stunned, Xi Nian looked at the metal knife and fork held in his other hand. His fingers moved slightly, and before his eyes, the metal utensils rapidly bent and warped.

A clear fingerprint indentation appeared on the handle of the metal fork.

Every movement revealed the extraordinary!

"Huh?" Xi Nian was completely dumbfounded.