Looks Pretty Silly

Though Joanna was reluctant, she obediently let go and sat down beside him.

Up close, the years had changed her quite a bit.

The little girl who had once worn nearly every emotion on her face was growing into her features. Soft golden hair fell over her shoulders, and her fair skin and finely shaped features gave her a distinctly Western appearance.

Even at her young age, it was clear she would grow up to be strikingly beautiful.

Vought had clearly factored that change into its plans. Lin Mo was not surprised, either. With a father that good-looking, how could the daughter be anything less?

Powerful abilities, a perfect image, and the ease in front of a camera that came from years of training—together, they made her the flagship hero Vought dreamed of, the perfect product.

"They made me say I love this country again."

Joanna leaned against him, absently winding a strand of golden hair around her finger.

"Mm. I heard."

"Did I sound like I meant it?"

"You did."

Lin Mo answered without hesitation.

Joanna's lips curved slightly. She seemed pleased with his answer.

The teacher said I did well, too."

"Isn't that good?"

"It's different."

She shook her head.

"He said it was good because the me on camera met their standards."

"When you say it's good, you really mean it."

Lin Mo glanced at her.

Joanna had grown a great deal over the years.

She no longer showed every like and dislike as openly as she had when she was little. She quietly cooperated with lessons she disliked, and when an instructor told an obvious lie, she no longer called it out at once.

In front of Vought's researchers, she had even learned to control her breathing, expression, and movements.

But whenever she returned to Lin Mo's side, the emotions she had hidden came back.

That was both reassuring and worrying. She was still willing to show him her true self, but her dependence on him had never really faded.

"Lin Mo."

Joanna suddenly called his name.

"What is it?"

"Did you like the me on the screen just now?"

Lin Mo recalled the footage they had played at the end of training.

A blue uniform, a red cape, golden shoulder armor.

On the screen, Joanna stood before the American flag with a warm, resolute smile, as though she had been born to stand there and receive the cheers and adoration of countless people.

It was a remarkably polished image of a hero.

"You looked pretty."

Joanna blinked.

"Just pretty?"

"A little unfamiliar, too."

"Why?"

"Because her smile was too perfect."

Lin Mo reached out and gently touched the corner of her mouth with a finger.

"That isn't how you smile when you're actually happy."

Joanna touched her face without thinking.

"Then how do I smile?"

"A little sillier than that."

The room suddenly fell quiet.

The smile slowly vanished from Joanna's face. She stared at Lin Mo without expression.

"You're calling me silly?"

"I said you look a little silly when you smile."

"Is there a difference?"

"Of course."

Lin Mo explained with a perfectly straight face, "One is a judgment of your intelligence. The other describes your expression."

Joanna stared at him for several seconds, apparently deciding whether he was just trying to placate her.

Then she suddenly grabbed his cheeks with both hands and tugged hard.

"Then you look silly right now, too."

"Let go."

"No."

"The cameras are still on."

Joanna paused.

Her gaze flicked almost imperceptibly toward the camera in the corner.

The next instant, she released him and sat properly again as if nothing had happened. The gentle smile her teacher had just taught her even appeared on her face.

The change was seamless.

Lin Mo watched her, his gaze sharpening slightly.

That split-second reaction was enough to show how aware Joanna had become of the cameras.

She knew when she could show affection and when to hold back. More than that, she knew what kind of person the people on the other end of the cameras wanted to see.

"What's wrong?" Joanna asked softly when she noticed him looking at her.

"Nothing."

Lin Mo shook his head.

"I was just thinking how much you've improved."

"I can control it really well now."

She still wore that faint smile as she spoke.

But Lin Mo knew her control extended beyond Heat Vision and her strength.

It included her emotions, her resentment, and even her hostility toward Vought.

She could remain calm before Edgar and Vogelbaum, as though she had long forgotten how Vought had used Lin Mo to force her into compliance.

But she had not forgotten. She had simply kept it all in her heart.

Lin Mo had once asked her, almost by chance, whether she still hated the researchers.

Joanna had only shaken her head. It was not until they were out of the cameras' view that she calmly said something.

"I don't need to hate them."

"I just need to remember what they did."

Only then had Lin Mo truly realized that those years of research had changed Joanna far more deeply than he had imagined. Without him there, she would never have been so compliant.

Vought thought she had learned obedience. In truth, she had learned to pretend.

"Training's over for today, right?" Lin Mo asked.

"It is."

Joanna nodded. Then she seemed to remember something, and her eyes brightened.

"They said I did well today, so I get an extra half hour of free time."

"What do you want to do?"

"Go out."

"Where?"

"The observation area on the third floor."

Joanna leaned closer and lowered her voice.

"Someone brought in a potted flower yesterday."

Lin Mo was surprised.

"A flower?"

"Mm."

"It's yellow."

Joanna gestured carefully.

"It has green leaves, and a very faint smell."

The Research Center was not entirely without plants.

Some experimental areas held carefully selected potted plants used to test how superhumans reacted to pollen, plant toxins, and natural scents.

But such things rarely appeared anywhere Joanna could reach freely.

"You want to see it?"

"I've never touched a real flower."

There were forests in her history textbooks and grasslands in the promotional videos.

Sunlight, blue skies, and city parks often appeared in the background of her hero rescue lessons, too.

But to Joanna, those were only images. She knew what a flower was, yet she had never touched a petal.

Lin Mo was quiet for a moment, then stood.

"Let's go."

Joanna immediately rose with him.

"You'll take me?"

"You have an extra half hour of free time. We can't spend it sitting here."

"They might not let us touch it."

"Then let's go look at it first."

Joanna reached out naturally, about to take Lin Mo's hand.

But halfway there, she noticed the camera indicator still glowing in the corner.

Her hand stopped.

Then she drew it back as though nothing had happened.

Lin Mo noticed.

He said nothing. As he passed her, he took her hand himself.

Joanna froze for an instant.

The calm expression she had maintained for the camera cracked.

"Weren't we going to see the flower?" Lin Mo said.

"Stay close."

Joanna looked down at their joined hands.

After a moment, her fingers tightened gently around his.

"Mm."

She did not look at the camera again.

They left the training room along the familiar corridor.

Walking beside Lin Mo, Joanna thought eagerly of the little yellow flower she had never touched.

To Vought, her future belonged to the cameras, the applause, and all of America.

But to Joanna, the world was still very simple.

A real flower.

Half an hour of freedom.

And Lin Mo holding her hand.

Those things mattered far more than the seemingly perfect future on the screen.