For her, the thing she looked forward to most each day was opening Dragon Ball. The story was fresh and fun, but more importantly, Vitas had drawn every stroke especially for her.
"No rush. It's still early tonight. I'll draw a few more pages."
"Really?!"
Hearing that he could draw more tonight, Clarice's eyes instantly shone like two little lamps switched on.
Three chapters made three volumes, each over thirty pages long. Together with the two volumes he had drawn before, they totaled over a hundred and sixty pages.
She hugged the thick comic books, their edges stitched with thread and their covers made of cardboard, smiling so broadly she could barely contain it.
The sight made Chen Xiao's lips curve too. He reached out and pinched her soft cheek. "All right, rein in that smile. Once you finish these, I'll draw some more."
"Head back and get to bed early."
"Okay. Good night~"
But just as Clarice reached the door, she suddenly stopped. After a moment's hesitation, she asked softly, "Vitas... why are you so good to me?"
Having wandered from place to place with her adoptive father since childhood and seen all the coldness of the world, the girl knew full well that pies did not fall from the sky.
Even if something did fall, it would be a lump of iron that left your head split and bleeding.
She had been secretly uneasy all along, afraid that Chen Xiao's kindness was only a facade hiding some ulterior purpose. After all, they shared neither blood ties nor any past friendship.
Caught off guard by the question, Chen Xiao paused, then smiled at her. "Do I have to have a reason to be good to you?"
Clarice froze. "Don't you?"
"Well... if you want a reason..." He paused and gave it serious thought. "Clarice, you really are very likable. Does that count?" He laughed first himself.
"If my being good to you makes you nervous instead, just think of it as me finding you cute and pretty, and planning to marry you when you grow up."
"Doesn't it make sense when you think of it that way?"
"Everything I'm doing now is an early 'bet,' slowly building up our feelings. Once you grow up, nobody else will be able to win you away from me, right?"
Clarice had spoken out of the blue, bringing Chen Xiao's steps to an abrupt halt.
But in an instant, he had worked out the unease in her heart and simply laid bare his original intention in approaching her.
Sometimes, though, the truth was precisely what people refused to believe.
Just like now: Clarice had not taken Chen Xiao's later confession seriously at all. As she left, what kept echoing through her mind was still the line he had blurted out:
"Do you have to have a reason to be good to someone?"
She stood there, momentarily dazed, as though something had gently struck her heart and left it feeling a little hollow.
This completely contradicted the understanding she had confirmed time and again in books and reality: people were selfish by nature, their greed insatiable, their hearts cold.
Yet those words were like a spark falling into the world she habitually kept frozen.
After Clarice left, Chen Xiao shook his head gently and sighed. "So young, yet so weighed down by her thoughts. That's no good. She's scared away all the liveliness her childhood should have had."
With that, he closed the door behind her.
Actually, when they first met, he really had entertained the idea of raising Clarice little by little, like keeping a quiet, perceptive cat, until she naturally became the person closest to him.
But as time passed, the caution beneath the girl's maturity and the keen perception beneath her obedience had quietly softened a hard shell somewhere in his heart.
Now, he only wanted to protect her so she could smile more, sleep more soundly, and live more easily.
It felt much like looking after a sister a few years younger than himself.
As for whether this "sister" might become something else in the future... who could say?
He shook his head, shook those stray thoughts away, turned off the light, and lay down.
With a thought, the Virtual Battlefield unfolded.
The sky was leaden gray, the surroundings deathly silent, with nothing but a stretch of barren, scorched earth. Chen Xiao appeared out of thin air.
As usual, he selected easy mode and set pain to one hundred percent.
The next second, the middle-aged man in black who had knocked him down within three seconds appeared again, expressionless and empty-eyed.
Chen Xiao watched him without rushing to fight. First, he steadied his breathing, sank his shoulders and hips, and slowly adjusted his rhythm.
After the morning meeting, he had skipped the classroom and returned to his dorm to turn on his computer and search for information on Eastern martial arts.
But no matter how much he searched, everything on Xingyi, Bagua, and the like consisted of form demonstrations and breakdowns of moves-skeletons without flesh. What he wanted was that breath, that force, that strength running through the entire body.
That was only to be expected.
Why would the true essence of a martial art be freely posted on a website? He should have thought of that sooner. In the end, he could only give up.
Still, being unable to learn ready-made secret teachings did not mean the road was blocked.
Once he understood that so-called "force" was merely focusing the mind through will, guiding qi with intent, and using qi to drive strength, twisting all the body's muscles, bones, and sinews into a single rope, only a narrow gap remained in that doorway.
And there was only one key to pushing it open: actual combat.
His pupils suddenly contracted, and he pressed "Start."
The instant the command registered, the man opposite him underwent a drastic change in presence, like a savage beast that had lain dormant for ages suddenly opening its eyes.
The earth beneath his feet exploded!
Almost simultaneously, the ground beneath Chen Xiao's feet shook violently too. He tore through the air like an arrow loosed from a bow, lunging forward at two hundred meters per second!
Bang!
A dull, thunderous crash erupted as their fists slammed together.
Savage!
The shock wave instantly drove all the air out from between them. Chen Xiao felt an utterly condensed force smash straight into him. His internal organs shuddered, a sweet, bloody taste rose in his throat, and his body involuntarily slid half a step backward.
Their base attributes were exactly the same, yet he had still lost by a narrow margin in a contest of pure strength.
But he immediately lowered his center of gravity, bent his knees slightly, and let a low roar roll from his throat. "Again!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Like two primordial beasts, they remained rooted to the spot, meeting fist with fist in one head-on clash after another.
Their strength collided so violently that the air warped and folded, sending rings of transparent ripples sweeping outward with a deafening roar.
Just as the nineteenth exchange of punches ended, Chen Xiao's vision went black, and his consciousness was forcibly ejected from the battlefield.
Huff, huff, huff!
On the bed, his eyes snapped open. His face was deathly pale, his chest heaved, and he gulped down air.
Yet the corners of his mouth slowly lifted. He closed his eyes and sank back in...
That night, he died seven times in the Virtual Battlefield before exhausting his mental energy and falling into a heavy sleep.
And the results were plain to see: from being unable to withstand nineteen punches at first, he had progressed to enduring fifty-seven. With every punch, he could bring the strength of his upper body, spine, and legs together in a coordinated burst.
Only one final bit remained before he could truly connect his entire body.
Sure enough, actual combat was the strictest teacher.
And death always taught the harshest lessons, and made them stick the longest.
Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters stood on the outskirts of Westchester, New York.
Right beside the Hudson River, with shady green trees lining the way and clear river water, it enjoyed beautiful scenery.
As the bus headed toward the city, Chen Xiao sat by the window with his eyelids half lowered, looking listless.
Today was a rare outing day. Quite a few students had signed up, and with the two teachers leading them, the bus was packed.
Yes, just one bus.
Among the school's several dozen students, many Mutants looked different from ordinary people. Some had scales, some had tails, and some simply had nonhuman forms.
Under those circumstances, they naturally could not head into crowds, lest they cause a disturbance.
So those allowed into the city were mostly children whose abilities were stable and whose appearances were no different from ordinary people. Across all three grades, there were only about twenty.
Most of them were Level Two Delta Class. Their abilities were stable but limited in strength, making them the "safest" group.
For this outing, everyone received three hundred dollars in spending money to buy whatever they liked.
It did not sound like much, but converted to nearly two thousand RMB, it was actually quite generous.
"Once we get to Westchester, we'll go here first." Clarice held a map open with one hand and a watercolor pen in the other, carefully marking their route on the paper. "This stationery store is really big. Then, just around the corner, there's the Christmas dessert shop Kara recommended."
"She said their sundaes are really substantial, and their fruit-and-cream cakes smell wonderful too..."
Her voice was light, her tone serious, as though she were planning something important.
Meanwhile, Kitty, who had originally agreed to go with them, was sitting opposite them, engrossed in conversation with another female Mutant.
Ah...
Chen Xiao let out a long yawn, his gaze drifting lazily over the view outside. Faint light shimmered on the river, and weeping willows swayed gently.
It was overcast today, with no rain, force-five winds, and a pleasant temperature. It really was good weather for an outing.
But to him, a day without the sun always felt a little less alive.
Just then, Storm stood up from her seat beside the driver. "We've entered the city. We'll arrive at Qiluoge Station in five minutes."
The teachers leading this outing were Storm and Wolverine.
"Remember, everyone: after you get off, you must stay within three kilometers of the city center, and you must travel in groups of at least two."
"Keep your communicators with you. They have built-in positioning systems. If you encounter danger, the school can pinpoint your location immediately and mount a swift rescue."
"Students under ten will come with me to the amusement park. Mr. Logan will remain on standby aboard the bus. You can come to him whenever something comes up."
"Your free time begins when you get off and ends at four o'clock sharp this afternoon. Make sure you assemble on time..."
As Storm delivered her reminders, the bus slowly entered the bustling city and finally came to a smooth stop at the designated platform. As soon as the doors opened, the students sprang eagerly to their feet, anticipation written all over their faces.
Clarice gently tugged Chen Xiao's sleeve and reminded him in a quiet voice, "Vitas, we're here."
Chen Xiao let out another long yawn, his eyelids half lowered, and said lazily, "Let everyone else go first. We're in no hurry."
"Oh."
The girl nodded obediently, paused, then asked softly, "Vitas, are you really sleepy?"
He waved a hand and answered casually, "It's nothing. I just fought seven fights in my dreams last night. Every time, I got pinned to the ground and beaten pretty badly. My head's still a little foggy."
"..." Clarice froze for a moment.
Beaten to death seven times in his dreams? Could it really be that absurd?
By then, almost everyone had left the bus, and only then did she and Chen Xiao stand up and head toward the door.
Just as he stepped onto the stairs, Logan suddenly spoke from the back row. "Vitas, keep an eye on your communicator signal. If anything happens, we might need you to step in."