Professor X smiled gently. "That's right. That's why I formed the X-Men, specifically to deal with mutants who endanger the public."
"But this 'peaceful coexistence' has a prerequisite: the other party must be willing to talk. Those who are hostile to mutants have never been within the bounds of my tolerance."
Those words sent a jolt through Chen Xiao's heart.
His previous understanding of Professor X had mostly come from movies and comics. He had always thought of him as a powerful mutant full of compassion, almost idealistic.
He had never expected that he had misunderstood the man's underlying nature all along.
No wonder he repeatedly defeated Magneto without ever taking his life; no wonder he usually subdued other troublemakers rather than killed them. He needed a sharp blade.
A blade that would force humanity to face reality and compel it to give the majority of moderate mutants room for dialogue.
But human hearts were ultimately unpredictable, and the professor was no omniscient, omnipotent god.
Otherwise, his own downfall would never have come later, nor would the Sentinel Program have swept across the globe, nearly exterminating the entire mutant population.
At that thought, Chen Xiao sighed inwardly.
Just then, Professor X continued, "For now, this attempt can be considered halfway successful. Because of you, Clarice has begun gathering her courage and trying to step forward."
"Unfortunately, Bernard has been too deeply eroded by his power. His emotions have grown increasingly agitated, his desires keep expanding, and he's becoming more and more aggressive."
"He's actually exceptionally gifted. His teleportation is unrestricted and precise. With guidance, his value in combat would be no less than Nightcrawler's, and he would be a tremendous asset in supporting the team."
"Vitas, I hope you won't treat him as an opponent from now on. He won't stand against you."
"Next, I'll intervene personally to help him rebuild trust and boundaries with his classmates."
"Professor, how do you plan to guide him?" Chen Xiao couldn't help asking.
Professor X didn't answer directly. He merely gave a faint smile.
Early the next morning, Chen Xiao had just reached the hallway outside the classroom when he ran into Bernard and several of his companions.
The moment he saw Chen Xiao, Bernard broke into a smile and greeted him first. "Morning, Vitas! Had a good time with Clarice yesterday, huh?"
He even winked as he spoke. None of yesterday's hostility remained on his face, and there wasn't the slightest trace of animosity or aggression in his eyes.
Even Johnny and the other two behind him seemed to have completely forgotten last night's argument, looking utterly familiar and friendly, the very picture of close classmates.
Faced with the four boys' warm greetings, Chen Xiao remained as calm as ever and merely nodded in acknowledgment.
Yet as he followed them into the classroom without betraying anything, a faint chill crept down his spine.
This was precisely the "guidance" Professor X had spoken of: rewriting memories and smoothing away sharp edges without anyone noticing, leaving even those affected completely unaware.
As expected of an Omega-level telepath. The depth of his methods was chilling.
Chen Xiao grew even warier of the professor, while finally understanding why the man had made a point of appearing last night to explain the whole situation beforehand.
It had been to reassure him, and to let him know where things stood.
It also showed something else: Professor X understood the weight of his own abilities, which was why he rarely used them; he understood even better how trust would collapse if they ever went out of control.
His appearance last night had been both groundwork and a gesture of respect-respect for a new power that might rise.
Sure enough, talent brought different treatment.
But Professor, however good your intentions, people's hearts can't withstand being tampered with. Chen Xiao sighed inwardly again.
If someone finds out one day that their memories were secretly altered, what awaits you probably won't be gratitude, but estrangement, doubt, and even a backlash.
After all, no one wants to live inside a truth someone else has defined.
For instance, Jean Grey, who would soon break free of her restraints and descend into darkness.
Or the Xavier Institute, which would later teeter on the brink of collapse. The seeds of both had long since been planted in the professor's repeated, silent interventions.
System, has anyone probed my memories, or even tampered with them? Chen Xiao asked silently, a trace of hesitation still in his tone.
What answered him was a neutral voice without the slightest emotional fluctuation, emerging clearly and coldly in his mind:
"Please rest assured, host. The system's core rules provide strict protection. The host's domain of consciousness cannot be invaded."
That's good.
He breathed a sigh of relief and stepped into the classroom.
That morning's class was biology, a subject that interested him. The teacher was named Annas, an ordinary mutant teacher.
With a limited number of students and their unusual status, Xavier's School divided them by age into three sections: elementary, middle, and high school.
Children of the same age attended class together in one large classroom. Lessons emphasized the basics and practical applications, explained in simple, accessible terms, with no prerequisites.
Homework and exams were virtually nonexistent.
After all, Charles had founded the school simply to provide persecuted mutant children with a place where they could study in peace.
Whether they would become accomplished, enter academia, or serve society in the future wasn't part of his considerations at all.
Of course, if someone truly wanted to learn, they could ask a teacher privately at any time or go to the library to study on their own. No one would stop them.
Precisely because of this, the learning atmosphere at Xavier's School was especially relaxed, and the children wore smiles every day.
Today was no different. As usual, Chen Xiao went to his seat by the window, where sunlight fell across the corner of his desk.
Just then, a faint, delicate fragrance drifted over. A girl walked lightly past his side and sat straight down in the seat in front of him. It was Clarice.
He was a little surprised. As he recalled, she had always sat in the back row.
As though sensing his gaze behind her, the girl in front turned her head slightly and blinked her emerald eyes, a barely perceptible trace of unease flickering in them.
Chen Xiao smiled at her. That smile made the heart of the girl, who already had feelings for him, suddenly race.
It was hardly her fault. Chen Xiao already had handsome, well-proportioned features, and his continued absorption of solar energy lately had quietly transformed his body. He radiated a gentle, bright air, clean and crisp as the first light of morning.
A boy like that was truly devastating to middle and high school girls.
Looking at the slender yet straight back before him, Chen Xiao suddenly felt that this wasn't bad either. At least class would no longer be so dull and hard to endure.
As an adult, he actually had no interest in these secondary-school classes, but to avoid seeming out of place, he had no choice but to turn up on time and sit through them.
For the next two classes, he sprawled lazily across his desk, staring into space.
Whenever boredom overwhelmed him, his gaze involuntarily settled on the hair of the girl in front again. Yes, black and thick, glossy and smooth.
He noticed that Clarice listened with extreme concentration, her eyes fixed on the teacher at the front throughout.
He hadn't expected her to be so diligent and earnest.
This really is boring... He gave a long yawn.
Restless with idleness, he fixed his gaze on the top of her head again.
Should I give her ponytail a little tug? Let her experience a school-day prank?
Forget it. That's too childish.
The moment the thought arose, he snuffed it out himself.
He knew perfectly well that if he reached out and pulled it like they did in those short videos, he probably wouldn't get a coy, reproachful glance over her shoulder. All he would get was her eyes reddening in fright, and that timid, tearful look of hurt.
Time passed little by little, until the noon bell finally rang. The classroom instantly grew lively as the middle schoolers, pent up all morning, rose from their seats.
Just as a college student stood up, Chen Xiao rose too and turned toward the black-haired girl before him, speaking naturally. "Clarice, want to go to the cafeteria together?"
"Mm."
Her voice was very soft. After answering, she obediently followed at his side, like a quiet little deer.
Her reaction left him momentarily stunned. What's with that attitude? Could she have fallen for me after just a few encounters?
Oh, please.
He scoffed inwardly. How could it happen so quickly? A more reasonable explanation was that Clarice was introverted and had very few friends, while he happened to be one of the few peers she'd interacted with and felt reasonably comfortable around, so she had instinctively grown a little attached.
By the time they left the school building, the classmates ahead had already run far away, leaving just the two of them nearby. The air grew quiet for a moment. After a little thought, Chen Xiao started a conversation:
"By the way, Clarice, I noticed you kept staring at the blackboard during math and physics, really concentrating. Do you like science subjects?"
"Ah... I, no..."
His words made her tense instantly. Her lips parted slightly, but she didn't immediately continue.
After a moment, she lowered her eyes, her voice so quiet it was almost inaudible. "Actually... I don't understand any of it. I only went to school for two years when I was little. Then we moved, and I never went back."
"I pretend to listen really carefully because I'm afraid the others will find out. I can't remember a single one of those formulas, let alone understand them."
After speaking, she stopped walking, her shoulders drawing in slightly and her head hanging even lower, as though merely standing beside him was an offense.
Chen Xiao walked another two steps before realizing she'd stopped. He turned back, his brows lifting slightly. "Clarice, why did you stop?"
She raised her face, her lips moving a few times. "Vitas... I'm so stupid. You... won't look down on me, will you?"
"Look down on you?" Instead, he laughed. "I talk to you because you're Clarice, not because of how much you know."
"We're mutants. Learning is supposed to help us see farther and understand life better, not compete over who gets higher scores."
"So why would slightly worse grades give me any reason to look down on you?"
What a silly girl.
He shook his head with a soft sigh and reached out to rub the top of her head, his touch gentle. "All right, stop dwelling on useless things like that. Being happy is what matters most in life. Who knows whether tomorrow the power might suddenly go out, the internet might get cut off, or we might even... just lie flat."
Those words made Clarice's eyes grow slightly hot.
Something she had always hidden so carefully was as light as dust in his eyes, not even worth a frown.
Just as warmth surged through her heart and her eyes grew moist, Chen Xiao suddenly grinned, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "Well? How did that bowl of chicken soup taste? Even listening to myself, I want to give myself an award for best comforter."