Rain Crow, School, the Past

"Since you don't have school the day after tomorrow, why not invite your girlfriend over for dinner?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I said no."

Xia Ningzhi wrapped her arms around Ke Mingqing's shoulders from behind and chattered on. "Come on, will it kill you to let your big sister see what your girlfriend looks like? Xiao Li told me she's some young lady from Japan. I'm dying of curiosity!"

"Whoa, a Japanese young lady? Our A-Qing has really made something of himself."

Ke Linye said with a smile as he read.

"Exactly." Xia Zili unscrewed the cap and took a sip of chilled water chestnut refreshment. "He's done amazingly well. A few days ago, he had a one-on-one showdown with a Super-species criminal on the school bus. The whole school knows about his heroic exploits now."

"The school bus? When did that happen?" Ke Linye raised a brow.

As Xia Ningzhi relentlessly pestered Ke Mingqing, she turned to her eldest brother and asked, "Huh? Didn't Dad tell you?"

Ke Linye fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. "No. Looks like I really have been excluded by all of you."

"Here, I even saved the video. Our A-Qing is an internet celebrity now."

Teasing him, Xia Ningzhi pulled her phone from the pocket of her denim jacket, opened the saved video, and eagerly handed it to Ke Linye.

Ke Linye took the phone from her. As he added another playing card to the "pyramid" on the table, he quietly watched the school bus boy on the screen, armed with a flashlight and an art knife.

"Seriously, are you guys done yet?" Ke Mingqing finally snapped, shoving away Xia Ningzhi, who clung to him like a haunting spirit.

"Why are you so mad?" Xia Ningzhi said. "We're just worried about you."

Ke Mingqing fired back at machine-gun speed. "You have to meddle in that school bus crap, and you have to meddle in my girlfriend too. Why don't I just stay home forever and never go out again?!"

"Fine. Then never go out for the rest of your life," Xia Zili said sarcastically.

Ke Mingqing turned and shot her a vicious glare.

"Then will you support me?"

Xia Zili suddenly turned her face aside and muttered softly:

"...That wouldn't be impossible."

As she spoke, she lifted the bottle of water chestnut refreshment and took a light sip of the cool drink.

While they were talking, the pyramid of playing cards on the table suddenly collapsed. One card after another fell onto the tabletop, scattering everywhere.

The clattering sound swept through the entire living room.

Ke Mingqing, Xia Zili, and Xia Ningzhi all turned to look.

Ke Linye said nothing. He watched the video of the school bus incident on the phone Xia Ningzhi had given him while gathering up the scattered cards.

Did Big Brother notice that something was off about what I did on the school bus?

Ke Mingqing's heart stirred slightly.

"Looks like someone's in trouble. Big Brother's definitely about to lecture you too." Xia Ningzhi leaned close to Ke Mingqing's ear and gloated. "Get yourself mentally prepared."

"It's fine. Some people are just asking to be lectured," Xia Zili said blandly.

Ke Mingqing paid them no mind. He lowered his head to pick up a playing card by his feet, quietly observing his brother's expression from the corner of his eye.

"This thing is called the Ant Freak, right..." After a while, Ke Linye suddenly spoke. His face was expressionless, and it was rare to see him so calm, like a doll.

Ke Mingqing nodded. "Yeah. It looks pretty disgusting."

"Mm... at least it's memorable, isn't it? My memory may be poor, but if I see him again, I'll definitely remember this."

Ke Linye curled his lips into a faint smile and spoke casually, though a deep, shadowed light flowed through his clear eyes.

Only then did Ke Mingqing realize that his brother had not noticed anything unusual about him. He was concerned about something else.

Big Brother isn't going to go to the prison and tear that Ant Freak to pieces, is he?

Ke Linye had been about to watch the video a second time, but after thinking it over, he decided against it and returned the phone to Xia Ningzhi.

Then he suddenly added, "Oh, speaking of Rain Crow, he saved your second sister and me before too."

Xia Ningzhi froze and turned toward him with a startled look. "You and Second Sis? When was this? How come we never knew?"

Ke Mingqing took a sip of his drink and said through the bottle, "Looks like our whole family has some kind of connection with the Dread Crow Man. He really is the hardest-working superhero around. Don't tell me he'll save our kids someday too?"

Xia Zili quietly turned her head and pricked up her ears.

"Your second sister and I were still in elementary school then. It was during the sports meet. She came to my classroom to find me, and the two of us were the only ones there. Then a group of criminals suddenly rushed into the school building. They held guns to A-Xue's and my heads, threatening the police into clearing a path for them."

Ke Linye spoke unhurriedly as he put the cards back into their box.

"Wow, does everyone in our family have some kind of terrible luck magnetism?"

Xia Ningzhi shook her head in amazement and gave Ke Mingqing a meaningful glance. Ke Mingqing raised a middle finger at her.

"Can you two shut up and let Big Brother finish?" Xia Zili sighed.

"The police and those bandits remained in a standoff for a long time. All the students in the school were evacuated to the field, and only your second sister and I remained in the entire teaching building." As Ke Linye reached this point, he slipped the cards into the pocket of his trench coat.

"And then?" Xia Ningzhi held her breath and eagerly prompted him. "That sounds so dangerous. How did you escape death?"

Ke Linye took a bottle of cocktail from the refrigerator and twisted off the cap with a crack.

"Then Rain Crow came," he said slowly. "He descended from the sky like an evil ghost. Flocks of crows fell from above, whipping up a black tornado. The world went dark in an instant. Those criminals were swept into the wind. A-Xue and I couldn't see anything; we only heard several gunshots and cries of agony from within the storm. But the flock of crows shielded us at the center. They cawed hoarsely, their red eyes fixed directly on the two of us.

"Because of that, your second sister and I are still Rain Crow's fans to this day. His reputation has worsened over the past few years, and people say he uses excessive violence in law enforcement. But we both believe he did nothing wrong. He's simply getting older and starting to lose his edge, so he can only resort to harsher, more violent methods than before to prove to those evildoers that he isn't old yet—that he can still protect this city."

Having said that, Ke Linye took a sip of his cocktail, his eyes smiling.

Xia Ningzhi was left dumbfounded. Xia Zili exchanged a look with her.

The sisters were both thinking that they had never known about such a past. Their mother was an airhead with terrible memory, so that was one thing—but why had their father never mentioned a word of it either?

Ke Mingqing was the only one who showed no reaction. He said in a strange, mocking tone:

"Wonderful. Amazing. So touching. I'm practically crying."

As he spoke, Ke Mingqing walked to the corner of the living room under the gaze of the other three and took out the two Rain Crow fan T-shirts that had been hidden away overnight. Then he returned and silently handed the shirts to Ke Linye.

Under Ke Linye's puzzled gaze, Ke Mingqing gave his shoulder a meaningful pat.

"Come on, bro. The 'Crow-Crow Fan T-shirts' Dad bought last night can finally see the light of day again. This is the passionate bond between father and son."