November 2, 2009, Monday.
Winter on the lunar calendar was approaching, but the warmth of early autumn still lingered.
The morning breeze carried a touch of gentleness, lightly caressing An Jing’s face.
“Bang!”
The tightly shut bedroom door suddenly swung open.
The digital clock, which had fallen to the floor, was struck by the door and flew a long distance, crashing heavily against a table leg.
Originally, only its alarm function was broken, but now, even the time display was gone.
“You little rascal! Still not getting up? You’ll be late!”
Yu Mingfei, with her round face, yelled, and with a “whoosh,” pulled back An Jing’s duvet.
“Get—up—!”
“Ah!”
An Jing woke up abruptly from his dream, so suddenly that he completely forgot what he had been dreaming about.
“Do you know what time it is now?”
“What time…?”
“It’s seven o’clock!”
The latest arrival time at Small City No. 2 Middle School was 7:50 AM.
After deducting time for washing up and eating breakfast at home, even though the school wasn’t far, time was already tight.
“Ah! So late?”
“What do you think? What’s going on today? Did you go to bed very late again last night?”
Yu Mingfei glanced at An Jing’s morning ‘flag’ (erection), looking like she had something to say but held back.
Finally, she just lightly patted his forehead.
“Hurry up, get up and eat.”
“I’m up, I’m up—”
An Jing scrambled out of bed, rushing out of the room in three strides.
Last night, he had actually felt sleepy very early and lay down to sleep after nine.
But even with such a long sleep, he still couldn’t shake off his fatigue.
While brushing his teeth at the sink, he couldn’t help but yawn three times.
“I feel lethargic all over… Is it because it’s Monday?”
He mumbled, spitting out his mouthwash, then directly cupped tap water in his hands, splashed it haphazardly on his face, and then wiped it messily with the towel hanging on the wall.
That was considered his complete wash-up.
That specific face towel, year-round, seemed to rarely get completely wet, except when it was thrown into the washing machine for cleaning…
***
The warm morning breeze blew in through the window.
Breakfast on the table was made by Yu Huihui, who woke up early every day.
Today it was fried egg pancakes and plain rice porridge, with some side dishes like vinegared garlic and pickled cucumbers.
His two cousins were already eating.
Yu Huihui, who didn’t have to work, ate very elegantly, while Yu Mingfei, who had to rush to work before eight, quickly shoveled down the hot porridge from her bowl.
As soon as he sat down, An Jing felt an unusual smell lingering in the air, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was.
“Huihui is so pretty even without makeup today, she looks really good…”
“Feifei eats too fast, that’s bad for her stomach. Should I tell her…?”
“Phew… I spent a little more time being intimate with Huihui this morning, and I woke up late myself. Who knew cuddling with Huihui was so comfortable…”
“Xiao Jing seems a bit cuter than usual today, is it just my imagination?”
An Jing suddenly snapped back to reality.
He finally understood what the unusual thing was.
Both of his sisters were eating breakfast and weren’t speaking at all, so what were those voices he heard in his head just now?
It was just like they were talking…
He thought distractedly, picked up a small piece of fried egg pancake from the plate, put it into his mouth, and after chewing twice, he spat it out with a “gag.”
“Pfft… The little guy really can’t eat this either. Huihui always makes such strange food. I should talk to her, she shouldn’t keep trying new recipes… because it’s really terrible.”
“Is it that bad?”
Yu Mingfei frowned, half-smiling, looking at An Jing.
“Damn it, you think it’s bad yourself, and you’re still asking me?!”
“Eh? Does Feifei think it’s bad too? But didn’t you just say…”
“Huh? When did I say that? You little rascal, you can eat carelessly, but you can’t speak carelessly!”
“Tch, you clearly said it yourself…”
An Jing suddenly paused, because he was now staring at Yu Mingfei’s face, clearly seeing that her mouth hadn’t even opened, yet her voice had entered his mind.
“Did I accidentally show it? Although it really is terrible, if I say it directly, Huihui will be sad…”
“Huh…”
“What are you doing? Instead of staring at me, hurry up and eat!”
“This fried egg pancake, what did you put in it…?”
An Jing suddenly thought of something, and couldn’t help but curve his lips upwards, yet he still pretended that nothing unusual had happened, pointing with his chopsticks at the food remnants he had spat onto the table, and mumbled.
“I put some ginseng slices in it. I hope it can nourish your body, because… because… junior high is very tiring, so your body gets weak,” Yu Huihui said, her small face slightly flushed.
“Don’t worry too much… it’s normal for teenage boys to be frequent…”
Now, An Jing was 100% sure.
What he had heard just now was his sister’s inner voice!
So, superpowers really existed in this world?
Although the cost was getting shorter, superpowers definitely existed!
He could now read minds!
That meant, now his two sisters… no, no matter what anyone was thinking, he would know clearly.
The teenager’s mind immediately became active.
Maybe he could use this ability to see if Zhu Ying had feelings for that kid Fang Qiang?
Of course… he could also see what she thought of him…
“What are you doing, staring at us two?”
Yu Mingfei stared back strangely.
“Planning to be late today, are we?”
“Uh… huh?”
“Huh what, huh.”
An Jing shook his head vigorously.
The “inner voice” that had just entered his mind had disappeared.
It was as if the so-called mind-reading was just an illusion.
***
“Whoosh.”
He suddenly sat up and quickly rushed into the restroom.
He had just gone during his wash-up, but now he had to pee again…
Did he drink too much water last night?
“What’s wrong? Eating and then running off to the restroom.”
The second sister rolled her eyes irritably, looking at the eldest sister as if complaining.
“Even if he’s young, being frequent can harm his body, right? Should we just tell Xiao Jing directly?”
“No, don’t. How can you directly say something like that…? Teenagers care a lot about their pride.”
“Hmm…”
The eldest sister cupped her cheek, looking worried.
When An Jing sat back down at the dining table, no matter how hard he tried in his mind, he still couldn’t hear his two sisters’ inner thoughts.
Perhaps it was just a delusion he created in his own mind?
An after-effect of watching too much anime…?
Impossible!
So, the ability was out of control…?
An Jing breathed a sigh of relief.
At least the ability was still there, and that was enough.
Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but grin.
Every teenager thinks they’re special, but as time goes on, they eventually come to realize they’re no different from anyone else.
But now, things were different.
An Jing really did have something that set him apart.
He was no longer ordinary.
He was a super-powered individual! He even felt that he might be burdened with some mission to save the world.
Otherwise, why did everyone else lack superpowers, and only he had them?
Perhaps he could even predict the future, just like the prophet in Ultraman Tiga!
Could there even be real monsters in this world, and could he transform into a Giant of Light?
He immediately became excited, thinking of his meteorite fragment that had turned from blue to gold.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt, “It must be like this!”
After all, in novels and TV shows, when the protagonist obtains a stone of unknown origin, their inherent superpowers awaken, and as a super-powered individual, they can even transform with the help of the stone…
Of course, he might also transform into a Kamen Rider, but that wouldn’t be bad either…
“Xiao Jing, you must eat the fried egg pancake, with the ginseng, it’s good for your body,” Yu Huihui’s voice interrupted An Jing’s soaring imagination.
“You must eat it, okay?”
“Uh… okay.”
An Jing shrunk his neck.
Although his eldest sister was smiling, she somehow seemed particularly terrifying…
***
Approaching 7:30 AM, An Jing finally put on his school uniform, slung on his backpack, and walked out the door with his second sister.
They stood outside the door, put on their shoes, turned back to look at their eldest sister inside, and waved together.
“Huihui, I’m off to work.”
“Sister Huihui, I’m leaving!”
“Mhm, be careful on the way.”
“Okay~”
“Got it!”
An Jing, rushing to school, quickly replied, turned, and, with his backpack that contained only a few books, dashed down the stairs.
It took about twenty minutes to walk from home to school, but usually, because he left early, he would stroll leisurely.
If he walked quickly or ran, he could probably get there in about ten minutes.
In the small square in the morning, the breakfast shops were doing good business.
Hot steam filled the air, and when he ran past those small shops, he could even smell the fragrance of various snacks.
To be honest, compared to the strange breakfast Yu Huihui made, An Jing preferred the ones sold downstairs… even a simple steamed meat bun would be better.
An Jing’s steps were light, and he even had the leisure to take out the golden stone, striking various poses he thought were cool as he ran.
“If I’m turning into a Giant of Light, I’ll raise my hands forcefully. If I’m turning into a Kamen Rider, the stone has to go into my belt…”
An Jing mumbled, thinking of a particularly cool pose—
He first held the stone to his forehead, then spread his arms, then crossed his arms, and with a “swoosh,” slid them down, letting the stone lightly brush his waistband: “Henshin!”
An Jing’s heart soared.
He felt he was not far from becoming a superhero.
At this moment, suddenly, the voices of many people uncontrollably poured into his mind, as if he were reading everyone’s thoughts indiscriminately on the street.
But he wasn’t bothered at all; instead, it further solidified his belief that he could become a “superhero.”
“Someday, I’ll be able to actively control my mind-reading ability! Hmph hmph ha… I’m the one who’s going to save the world in the future!”
Today, the boy who planned to save the world in the future was rushing on the road to avoid being late for school.
At the same time, this “future superhero” also felt…
A little urgent to pee.
There’s superpowers in this novel?! Honestly didn’t expect it…