Touching the Extraordinary

Xi Nian couldn't focus on a single class all day. The moment school let out, he hurried back home.

But just as he reached the doorstep, he stopped abruptly.

Would something that had remained unchanged for over a decade really be altered by an old photograph?

This thought inexplicably flashed through his mind, making his heart clench. He stood still, his eyes fixed on the tightly shut, silent door.

About ten seconds passed.

The winter chill kept blowing in from the stairwell outside, yet the palm gripping his keys was sweating. Just as he steeled himself to unlock the door, it suddenly clicked open from the inside.

A woman stood at the entrance—flawless by even the harshest standards.

She looked about twenty-eight. Her black hair was neatly tied up, exuding an air of refined intellect. Her lightly made-up face was exquisite, without a single blemish. Her eyes were like a snapshot of a clear blue sky, and above them, slightly heroic black brows arched gently.

She wore a loose, stylish white long shirt and dress pants at home, hinting at her graceful, tall figure. What truly inspired admiration was how her regal, queen-like aura blended effortlessly with a natural, casual demeanor.

Nobility and ease.

These two completely different temperaments didn't clash; instead, they merged into a subtle, perfect whole.

Xi Nian instinctively addressed the woman before him: "Aunt."

"Come in."

Diana Prince didn't ask why Xi Nian was standing outside. Instead, she bent down slightly, drawing a perfect curve from the back of her neck to her lower hips, and took out a pair of house slippers from the shoe cabinet by the door, placing them on the mat in front of Xi Nian.

"Aunt, I..."

Xi Nian opened his mouth, feeling he shouldn't hide anything from the woman before him—this had been an unchanging truth for sixteen years. But for a moment, he didn't know how to start.

"Eat dinner first." Diana seemed to see through him, cutting off his words as she turned and walked into the living room.

Xi Nian felt a wave of relief. He hung his schoolbag on the hook by the door, changed into his slippers, and followed her inside.

In the living room, warm lights glowed.

Two plates of spaghetti on the dining table were steaming hot. Beside them were beef sauce, chili oil, and a pitcher of cold boiled water. Diana and Xi Nian, one tall and one small, sat down across from each other and silently tackled their dinner.

"Spaghetti again?" Xi Nian muttered under his breath, eyeing the all-too-familiar meal as if forgetting the earlier heavy atmosphere.

Unexpectedly, his aunt across the table replied with a cool, expressionless face: "Be grateful you have anything to eat at all. Don't be picky."

"Yes, ma'am."

Xi Nian put on a pained expression and quickly picked up his fork to dig into his colorful spaghetti.

His aunt was flawless inside and out, but she had no talent for cooking. So the taste was, as always, just average.

Yet eating this now brought back memories of his childhood.

He remembered back then, his aunt couldn't cook at all.

"Cough, cough."

Xi Nian ate too fast and choked. Diana, who seemed to have been watching him, immediately stood up, came over, and gently patted his back. "Eat slower," she said, casually handing him her own water glass.

Xi Nian took a big gulp of warm water, and the tightness in his chest eased.

So he decided to just get it out: "Aunt. This morning, someone slipped a photo into our house."

As he spoke, he placed the photo from his pocket on the table and recounted what had happened at home that morning.

Diana wasn't surprised. She listened quietly, though a faint ripple passed through her eyes when she saw the black-and-white photo.

After Xi Nian finished, Diana put the photo away, returned to her seat, and said gently, "I know who slipped you the photo. I'll handle this. Don't worry about it from now on."

"Okay."

Xi Nian had no doubt his aunt could handle everything. But with pure concern and curiosity, he asked, "Aunt, the person in that photo wearing the strange armor..."

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

Diana's cool face turned serious. She paused to gather her thoughts, then spoke earnestly: "Yes, she was—my grandmother. She passed away a long time ago. I heard she once helped the military fight against a mysterious force during World War I."

"A mysterious force? Could it be the legendary gods?" Xi Nian's eyes widened in surprise. The most widespread theory about the cause of World War I was the God of War!

Diana shook her head. "That was all too long ago. I only heard about it from my mother when I was little."

She paused. "Besides, there are no such things as gods in this world."

"That's true." Xi Nian breathed a quiet sigh of relief. At most, aliens had appeared now, and that was still within the realm of scientific understanding.

Diana also breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"I made plans with a friend. I'll need to go out for a while—might be back late." Diana said softly, picking up her water glass for a sip. She noticed Xi Nian staring intently at the glass in her hand.

"What's wrong?" Diana set the glass down, curious.

"Nothing, nothing at all." Xi Nian shook his head. He had just suddenly thought of something.

He had used his aunt's glass earlier, and now she was using it again.

Wasn't that an indirect kiss?

An indirect kiss with his aunt wasn't a big deal. When he was little, they used to bathe together all the time. That was also a major reason why girls rarely caught his attention now.

It was like being intoxicated by a master's masterpiece every day—everything else just felt a bit bland.

But now, a question arose.

Would indirect kissing trigger [Lord of Kin]?

Xi Nian couldn't help but wonder.

He hadn't tested his superpowers yet, only knowing the three prerequisites to activate [Lord of Kin]:

It required the opposite sex.

Physical contact.

And an exchange of liquid medium between them.

Xi Nian's aunt was naturally of the opposite sex—in fact, a flawless specimen of it.

As for intimate contact, did that pat on the back earlier count?

The main issue was the liquid exchange. Even if there had been any exchange, it would have been neutralized by the water in the cup.

So, it should be fine, right?

Xi Nian was distracted, mulling over this question until the simple evening meal ended.

"Don't wait up for me. Get to bed early on your own." Diana spoke in a tone like she was coaxing a child, which left Xi Nian both amused and exasperated. He replied, "Got it. Watch yourself out there. Our city doesn't have a permanent superhero."

Currently, only the three economic powerhouses—New York City, Gotham City, and Metropolis—had Iron Man, Batman, and Superman stationed there respectively, simply because those heroes lived locally.

"Relax, I've always been lucky. You, on the other hand, take good care of the house and don't go running around." Diana winked, leaving him a reassuring smile, then stepped into her winter high-heeled boots and walked out the door.

The house fell into silence once more.

Xi Nian stared at the closed door, his heart feeling oddly empty. He began replaying their earlier conversation.

"Is the photo incident really just going to blow over like that?" Xi Nian murmured to himself.

If the meaning behind that photo truly was just about his aunt's grandmother, then what was the intention of the person who slipped it into the house?

"This matter doesn't seem that simple." Xi Nian was a bit dazed as he gathered his dishes, when suddenly he heard a sharp, explosive crack.

Startled, Xi Nian snapped back to reality and looked down. His pupils contracted sharply.

The water glass in his hand had shattered completely, as if it had endured a violent force beyond its capacity. Shards of glass clattered and scattered across the floor.

"The glass? No, it's my body..."

Xi Nian's palm was completely unharmed. Instead, he felt an unprecedented surge of strength in his hand, a sensation that he could crush and destroy anything.

An illusion? Or a mistake?

Stunned, Xi Nian looked at the metal fork and knife in his other hand. His fingers moved slightly, and under the naked eye, the metal utensils rapidly bent and deformed.

On the handle of the fork, a clear, visible indentation of a fingerprint was pressed into the metal.

Every move, every gesture, radiated the extraordinary!

"Huh?" Xi Nian was completely dumbfounded.