"Understood, Teacher Logan."
"Vitas, Clarice!"
Just as they stepped out of the car and Clarice was about to pull Chen Xiao away, she spotted Kitty waiting by the roadside with a bright smile.
"Clarice, I'm shopping with you two today."
The girl obediently murmured her agreement, stole a glance at Kitty, then quickly glanced at Chen Xiao before giving Kitty a faint, polite smile.
"Clarice, doesn't the school provide stationery?"
Standing outside the largest stationery store in Westchester City, Kitty looked in mild puzzlement at the dark-haired girl leading the way.
Clarice spoke very softly. "I want to buy a loose-leaf binding machine and pick out a few book covers."
"...What's that thing for?" Kitty was even more puzzled.
The corners of Chen Xiao's mouth lifted slightly. "Probably binding manga."
"Manga?"
Clarice sighed inwardly. She had not wanted anyone to know about this, but since Chen Xiao had inadvertently let it slip, she could only smile with her lips pressed together and add sweetly, "Vitas drew it. It's called Dragon Ball."
"Vitas can draw manga too?!" Kitty was visibly startled.
Of course, the character sketches he had casually doodled that day did not count.
Fortunately, Kitty did not ask any more questions, and Clarice quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, as the three of them wandered around Westchester, Scott walked alone into the underground base back at school.
His voice was low. "Professor, I'd like to take a trip."
Professor X's tone was gentle. "Where are you planning to go?"
"Alkali Lake."
The professor paused briefly. That was the site of the X-Men's last bloody battle, and where Jean Grey had fallen.
Ever since then, Scott had grown quieter by the day, his eyes always seeming veiled in mist.
Three years had passed.
Professor X sighed silently.
"Go ahead. Stay safe, and keep in touch with me."
He did not stop him. He knew this was the longing Scott had suppressed for far too long, until he could no longer hold it back.
After saying goodbye to the professor, Scott returned to his room for a change of clothes, slung a canvas bag over his back, mounted his motorcycle, and rode out through the school gates.
Alkali Lake lay on Canada's border, more than two thousand kilometers from the school in America.
After buying the book covers and sharing sundaes and cream cake at a dessert shop, the three followed Kitty to the busiest shopping district downtown.
As a satellite city near New York, Westchester bustled with traffic and throngs of pedestrians.
Wearing a plain white T-shirt washed soft, frayed jeans, and a pair of simple white flats, with a small backpack on her back, Clarice stepped somewhat stiffly through the shopping mall's glittering entrance.
All around her, women with immaculate makeup carried designer handbags, men in crisp suits hurried past, and shop windows displayed ready-to-wear clothes and leather shoes priced at hundreds or even thousands of dollars, with meticulous tailoring and a refined sheen...
An invisible pressure washed over her.
That pressure came not from the two hundred-odd dollars of spending money in her wallet, but from class itself.
In capital-dominated America, class divisions had long since hardened. At the top were the immensely wealthy who controlled resources, in the middle were professionals with elite educations, and at the bottom were ordinary workers struggling to survive. Beneath them all were the utterly destitute, with nothing to their names and no one to rely on.
Clarice, who had once drifted from place to place with her adoptive father, had belonged to that last group.
Although she had now awakened her mutant ability, society's rejection of mutants was deeply ingrained, and she did not dare reveal it casually.
So there was no fundamental difference between her now and the homeless girl she had once been.
That was why, when she heard they were coming here, she had already felt a quiet resistance.
Just then, a warm hand settled on her head and gently ruffled her hair.
Chen Xiao smiled. "You and that little head of yours, always overthinking. You don't have to be so tense here. Relax."
Then his tone shifted, and he said carelessly, "Look at these ordinary people. No matter how respectably they're dressed, if they really piss me off, I can bring this whole building down in half an hour."
"We're the ones who truly hold power. You can look them in the eye as equals, or stand above them and look down on them."
"..." The warmth that had just begun to fill Clarice's heart instantly froze.
Bring the whole building down? This was supposed to be comforting?
Walking ahead, Kitty slipped and nearly tripped. She turned back helplessly and called, "Clarice, don't listen to Vitas!"
"We uphold order. We're not thugs. We can't just hurt ordinary people."
Clarice blinked and nodded obediently.
Yet when she looked up at the passersby again, the heavy pressure in her chest really had eased considerably.
That's right. Vitas wasn't wrong. I can tear space apart. Teleportation might not hurt anyone, but they're only flesh and blood.
If anyone dares bully me...
Hmph. I'll have Vitas deal with them.
"Vitas, how's this one?"
On the third floor, inside a well-known clothing store, Kitty stepped lightly out in a short silver dress. Tiny crystals adorned its hem, glimmering softly beneath the lights and setting off her slender figure and graceful curves. She gave a little twirl in front of Chen Xiao and Clarice, sending her skirt fluttering.
Chen Xiao nodded with a smile. "It stands out. It really suits you."
Shadowcat was not tall, only a little over a meter and a half, but her frame was well proportioned, her waist slender, and she was amply endowed where it counted. With her delicate features, wrapped in that shimmering silver dress, she looked like the first flower blooming on a branch in early spring, fresh and lively. The pure white heels on her feet added a touch of crisp elegance, while her legs beneath the skirt were straight and shapely, her skin porcelain-like, and her bearing bright yet dignified.
In Chen Xiao's eyes, as someone accustomed to judging appearances by Eastern aesthetic standards, few of the X-Men truly qualified as beauties. Only Shadowcat and Blink appealed to him. Blink was the most strikingly radiant, while Kitty was like a small, exquisitely translucent jade pendant, endearingly lovely. As for Jean Grey of the Phoenix Force? She was merely passable, falling a little short even of Mystique's gentle appearance when she was not transformed.
The White Queen and others like her were attractive enough, but the X-Men had been around for years, after all, and some of the veterans had long since lost their youthful freshness, so naturally they were not part of this current comparison of looks.
At Chen Xiao's words, the corners of Kitty's mouth lifted, and she bought the dress on the spot.
The three continued browsing. Kitty picked out several more outfits and pairs of shoes at a few boutiques, charging over thirty thousand dollars before finally stopping in satisfaction. Following behind, Clarice silently counted the digits on the credit card receipts, her fingertips slightly cold. She had never seen that much money, let alone spent it all at once.
Just then, Chen Xiao suddenly turned, his gaze settling on her. "Clarice, see anything you like?"
"Ah... Me? No, really, nothing." The dark-haired girl froze, instinctively shaking her head as the tips of her ears reddened.
Nothing? Of course not.
What thirteen-year-old girl did not love pretty clothes? But whenever she thought about how even a random piece here cost over a thousand dollars, she forcibly suppressed the thought. They were too expensive, so expensive that she did not dare reach for them.
Chen Xiao saw through her at a glance and reached out to ruffle the soft hair on her head. "Since you can't pick anything you're happy with, I'll choose a few things for you as gifts."
Before she could refuse, he lowered his voice a little, a hint of laughter in it. "Oh, right, I almost forgot to tell you. After we wrapped up the mission the night before last, the professor gave me a hundred thousand dollars as a reward."
"Wh-what? A... a hundred thousand?!" Clarice's eyes instantly widened, her mouth falling slightly open like a startled little bird.
In the early 2000s, that was a considerable sum even in America. To her, it was an astronomical figure. The most cash she had ever seen at one time in her life was only a thousand dollars.
Looking at her stunned expression, Chen Xiao could not help smiling as he patted her head. "So don't worry about the money. If you like something, just try it on."
"If you feel embarrassed, think of it as a bet I'm placing in advance."
"I'm pretty curious myself just how dazzling Clarice will look in nice clothes."
At the words "investing in advance," Clarice's cheeks flared hot. She lowered her lashes, twisting the edge of her skirt between her fingers, no longer daring to look up at him.
Beside them, Kitty was completely confused. "Vitas, investing in what?"
Chen Xiao winked at Clarice before turning back with a meaningful smile. "It's a secret."
"..." Kitty.
"This young lady's facial markings are very distinctive, and her choice of colored contacts is wonderful too. They add a hint of mystery without sacrificing style."
"Overall, there's a touch of both good and evil to her look. It's quite captivating."
"It's just that her hairstyle is too plain. An ordinary ponytail waters down that unique quality quite a bit, making her look a little bland."
"But she really does have excellent natural features, as delicate as a porcelain doll sculpted by hand. Give her the right styling, and she'll look different immediately."
On the mall's fifth floor, inside an upscale image consulting salon, Clarice had changed into a simple, elegant long dress and sat somewhat awkwardly in a chair before the mirror. The stylist handled her hair while smoothly offering her professional opinions.
On a sofa not far away, Chen Xiao and Kitty sat quietly.
By now, Chen Xiao had changed into a gray-and-white casual outfit from a major international designer brand. Its precise cut perfectly outlined his tall, lean frame. His handsome face, paired with his languid yet assured expression and calm, compelling gaze, gave him an understated air of privilege that was difficult to ignore.
Beside him, Kitty still wore her silver dress, radiant and charmingly pretty.
On the surface, the stylist was speaking to Clarice, but every word was really directed at the two behind her. She knew those two customers were the ones who would make the decisions and pay the bill.
Professional image consulting establishments like this were completely different from roadside hair salons. A full consultation and styling session easily started at several hundred or even a thousand dollars. To Chen Xiao, that expense was merely a drop in the bucket.
Next, the stylist showed Clarice more than a dozen styling options: cool and bold, gentle, slightly mature, fresh and sweet... Each was exquisite and distinctive. Clarice was dazzled by the choices and could not make up her mind.
In the end, Chen Xiao made the decision, choosing a hairstyle that was fresh yet lively. A thirteen-year-old girl had no need to take on an adult air too soon.
Then came the trimming, perming, coloring, setting, and conditioning... The whole process took more than two hours. Fortunately, all three had eaten their fill at lunch and did not feel tired.