章 24: Chapter 17: Xiao An
"Haha, did I scare you?"
Just then, a familiar voice rang in his ear.
The enormous "fish" hadn't eaten him; with a flick of its tail, it swam away.
Xu Xiangyang took a while to calm his mind. He squinted his eyes and saw Lin Xingjie standing under the eaves of the warehouse, hands on her hips, sporting a triumphant smile at him.
"This, what exactly is—"
*
Every young person at this age has surely imagined a story like "one day, venturing into a new world and leading an extraordinary life"... No, it should be said that everyone yearns to break free from their own situation and escape a mundane and boring life; it's just that the younger one is, the thicker the veneer of fantasy that coats this desire.
Awakening superpowers, learning magic or martial arts, being chosen as the savior, showing off in front of others, or playing the masked hero—thoughts like these.
Even a boy like Xu Xiangyang, who had resolved early on to help his family and was more mature than his peers, would harbor childlike thoughts in his leisure time.
Though reason and common sense tell us all this is unrealistic, what if, one day, this fantasy came true?
"...Lin Xingjie, did you really summon this monster?"
Xu Xiangyang asked, somewhat afraid to look at the giant fish swimming over his head, instead focusing on her face.
"Yep."
The girl walked toward him, candidly admitting it.
"But speaking of that, you really can see it, huh? I had a feeling that was the case since you looked so shocked that afternoon."
"Uh, can't ordinary people see it?"
"Of course not." Lin Xingjie shook her head, "I've been trying these past few days. If it really could be seen by people, I wouldn't dare to let it out like this, otherwise, it would definitely cause a panic."
"Let it out..."
Xu Xiangyang felt as if he was witnessing an enormous iceberg hidden in the dark depths of this world emerging to the surface, his heart filled with shock and disbelief; yet all of this was happening right before his eyes, making it impossible not to believe.
The girl next door had suddenly transformed into the kind of extraordinary person he thought only existed in fictional stories, something he could never have imagined before.
He hesitated, but eventually, he asked:
"...Lin Xingjie, are you a superpowered individual?"
"Superpower?"
The girl's eyes widened, her expression seemingly more surprised than his own.
"You know, someone who lives an ordinary life by day but fights supernatural forces behind the scenes... wait, you're not a villain, are you?"
Xu Xiangyang said dryly.
Given the terrifying appearance of the monster over his head, it seemed more believable to label her a villain rather than a hero who protects the public. Why had she summoned him here alone? Was she trying to entice him to join a dark organization? Or was it simply—murder to silence him—
"Pfft... Haha, what are you even saying! Xu Xiangyang, you're a high school student, aren't you? You're so good with your studies, how can you still have such childish thoughts?"
She burst into laughter, finding it difficult to stay upright due to her amusement.
"You, you don't have to laugh so exaggeratedly, do you?"
Xu Xiangyang felt somewhat embarrassed.
He too thought that what he said was nonsensical, but that was because his mind couldn't cope with the situation; the things he was thinking were indeed nonsensical, and fundamentally, it was because the situation at hand was nonsensical.
After a while, Lin Xingjie managed to stop her laughter with some effort, wiped away tears, and answered:
"I'm not a superpowered individual, nor am I the hero that guards the world as you imagined, and as for whether there's a dark organization that wants to destroy the world, all I can say is I don't know."
"Don't know?"
"That's right."
The girl looked up, gazing at the shade blocking the noonday sun.
"I don't know anything, don't know where this guy comes from, don't know if there are others like me in the world, and I don't even know who else can see it—"
Lin Xingjie paused for a moment, then suddenly stretched her arms, yawned, and carelessly flopped backward.
"Ah, I'm so tired, let's just lie down here for a bit."
She patted the grass beside her and invited him with a smile.
"Hey, why don't you come too?"
Xu Xiangyang hesitated for a moment, but still lay down alongside her.
...
Under the shade in front of the warehouse steps, the boy and girl looked up together at the crystal-clear sky. Behind their heads was the green field near the playground, and the scent of fresh grass lingered at their nostrils.
Xu Xiangyang was about to speak when he coincidentally saw the large "shadow of the fish" glide over their heads, with ripples expanding in circles wherever it swam.
The invisible air had become like clear water; they were lying at the bottom of the water, looking up at the lake water reflecting the splendid sky.
This was what the girl said she wanted to "show him"—
Xu Xiangyang saw his friend's colossal companion for the second time.
This time, it wasn't a fleeting illusion but something he could observe carefully; however, Xu Xiangyang found that the harder he tried to look, the less clear it became.
He felt as if he were in a huge opaque fish tank, with the strange fish swimming around inside, the sunlight refracting dazzling light through the surface of the tank, and he, inside the tank, could only make out blurry shapes, unable to see the complete picture.
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