Chapter 24: I Want to Take You to New York
(TL/N: Changed Little Crown to Xiao Huang. Calling her with little prefix feels weird :v)
Morning, 7:30.
Xi Nian stood in front of the mirror, watching as his pupils shifted from feline slits back into normal human brown.
He picked up a new bar of soap, but this time it didn't dissolve into writhing tentacles like the night before.
The Devourer ability had finally faded.
Xi Nian let out a sigh of relief. At least this incident helped him better understand his own gift—the Masters of Affection.
Twelve hours.
When directly exchanging fluids with a girl, he could hold her ability for half a day. Compared to the four hours before, the duration had tripled.
Beside him, the sleepy Devourer cub, Xiao Huang, looked at him with a puzzled expression. In its special senses, Xi Nian had briefly become a member of its species, only to change back. The little beast couldn't help feeling disappointed.
If it bit him again, would he change back into its kind? Xiao Huang licked its lips, tempted.
Reading its intention, Xi Nian frowned seriously. "Xiao Huang, you're not allowed to just bite me anymore. Otherwise, no food for you today!"
"Meow—" The orange kitten-like creature drooped its ears and swished its tail weakly, looking utterly dejected.
His aunt had already gone out.
Bored but content, Xi Nian half-lay on the living room sofa.
So much had happened these past few days. He preferred this kind of ordinary, peaceful life.
Let others save the world—he wasn't a superhero anyway.
After a while, he grabbed his phone and scrolled through Facebook.
And then—
He froze.
He thought the Washington battle would fade from the news within a day or two. But instead, the coverage had only escalated online. News, commentary, endless reposts—almost everyone was talking about it.
Worse, countless people had taken screenshots of him in his disguise, clips of the silver-haired "goddess" fighting Abomination, and turned them into avatars, cover photos, and memes.
Xi Nian exhaled slowly. "…Damn."
Thankfully, his true identity was never revealed. In all the photos and videos spreading online, his face was either too far away or turned.
No one knew that the silver-haired goddess who killed Abomination was actually just a Chinese-American high school boy.
The only ones who knew were Aunt Diana, Spider-Woman, and the now-dead Abomination.
But still—
Seeing his crossdressed photos plastered all over the internet, Xi Nian wanted to curl up and disappear.
This… this was the definition of social death.
He quickly opened Twitter.
His last hope vanished when he saw his classmates posting things like "I want to be the sword in Silver-Haired Goddess's hand" or "Officially announcing I'm her fan."
One post read, "I want her to step on me."
Even worse, one of their male teachers had silently changed his Twitter profile picture to Xi Nian's crossdressed photo.
Xi Nian twitched at the corner of his mouth.
This world was doomed. Maybe it was time to destroy it—or just move to another planet.
As he lay lifeless on the sofa, a private message popped up on Twitter.
It was Gwen.
Gwen: "What are you doing?"
Xi Nian: "Having a breakdown."
Gwen: "???"
She quickly sent another message: "Alright, I'm not mad at you anymore."
Xi Nian blinked. He hadn't even known why she was mad this morning.
Gwen: "But—you have to promise me one thing!"
Xi Nian: "What is it?"
Gwen: "Come with me to New York."
"New York?" Xi Nian was stunned.
Washington and New York weren't too far apart, only three to four hundred kilometers. With trains and buses, it could be done in as little as three hours.
But who traveled that far just to hang out?
Xi Nian: "Shopping?"
Gwen: "Of course not! Don't you remember? At the end of this semester, in January, our class trip will be to New York. As class president, I want to use the holiday to go ahead and plan the route."
Worried he might refuse, she quickly added, "You know it's not safe for a girl to travel alone…"
"Alright," Xi Nian agreed.
Gwen: "Perfect! Today then. Meet me at the station at 10. The earlier we go, the earlier we come back!"
"Today?" Xi Nian frowned. He thought she'd wait until after Christmas. But it made sense—Christmas was for family gatherings, not trips.
Just as he started getting up to prepare, another message appeared.
This time, it wasn't Gwen.
Kara: "Good morning, senpai."
It was Kara Danvers, the new classmate he'd added yesterday.
"Morning," Xi Nian replied. "Sorry I forgot to answer yesterday. You're a really great girl, but I don't have any dating experience at all, so I can't accept your confession."
Message sent: the classic "you're a nice person" card.
Xi Nian felt relieved. But before he could put his phone down, Kara replied again.
"Then let's go on a date!"
A date?
Xi Nian froze.
Another message popped up: "How about today?"
…
Train station.
Xi Nian's head throbbed.
In front of him stood Gwen and Kara, facing each other.
Gwen was dressed in beige jeans, tall black boots, and her usual fitted hoodie jacket. Her short golden hair framed a sharp, cool beauty. She looked like the confident, domineering type—exactly the kind of upperclassman people at school always gushed about.
Kara, on the other hand—
Xi Nian and Gwen almost didn't recognize her.
No glasses, no tied hair. Instead, soft wavy golden-brown locks cascaded down her shoulders. Without her usual plain disguise, her sweet youthful face shone brightly. Dressed simply in sneakers, a jacket, and jeans, she still looked stunning—a fresh, pretty girl-next-door type.
Two completely different styles, both gorgeous in their own way. The sight of them together instantly drew stares from all around the station.
But then people noticed the boy standing between them.
The crowd collectively sighed with despair.
What a sin.
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