She heard a splash behind her, followed by a spray of water. Once her breathing had calmed, Zhang Xiaotao turned around. Chen Xiao had already jumped into the cold spring, only his head above water.
Zhang Xiaotao finally breathed a sigh of relief, but stared blankly at Chen Xiao soaking in the water, hesitating for a moment, unsure whether to stay or leave...
"This water is so refreshing!" Chen Xiao sighed comfortably. "Soaking in this spring water on such a hot day is truly invigorating!"
He swam back and forth twice, but the cold spring pool was too small, so he finally sat down by the edge. He saw Zhang Xiaotao standing there blankly. Chen Xiao reached out and pulled her along. He said softly with a smile, "Come on, help me scrub my back. Okay?"
Zhang Xiaotao's face was flushed red, almost dripping with blood, but she gently found a towel, sat on the edge of the spring, and began to gently wipe Chen Xiao's back.
The two fell silent for a moment, with only the soft sound of water splashing, creating a very pleasant atmosphere.
After a while, Zhang Xiaotao suddenly exclaimed, staring at Chen Xiao's smooth back, and asked in surprise, "Huh? Where are your injuries?"
She had personally witnessed Chen Xiao's injury that time, with multiple horrific wounds on his body and shoulders. Not many days had passed, and even if those wounds had healed, they shouldn't have left no scars at all! But now Chen Xiao's skin was smooth, without a single mark.
Chen Xiao smiled, then her tone gradually became serious: "Actually, there are some things I need to tell you. I didn't say them before... but now, our relationship is different, so naturally I have to tell you."
He paused, then looked at Zhang Xiaotao cautiously, carefully choosing his words: "Actually, I'm not an ordinary person; I possess some abilities that surpass those of ordinary people."
To be honest, he carefully looked at Zhang Xiaotao's face. Fortunately, apart from surprise, there was no other expression on her pretty face.
Chen Xiao continued, "In other words, I can't really be considered an ordinary human being... or rather, I'm a monster..."
"You mean, Superman? Superpowers?" Zhang Xiaotao, being a city girl who had been influenced by Hollywood movies, quickly understood what Chen Xiao meant.
"...I guess so." Chen Xiao sighed. A little uneasy welled up inside him; he wondered if the other person would find him a freak.
To everyone's surprise, Zhang Xiaotao suddenly screamed, jumped up with a look of pure joy, and exclaimed excitedly, "I knew it! You're not an ordinary person! That's amazing! My boyfriend is Superman!! Superman!!"
In her excitement, she threw her towels aside by the pool, and her kimono became quite wet. She grabbed Chen Xiao's hand and asked with hopeful eyes, "Can you fly?"
Chen Xiao: "Uh...no..."
Zhang Xiaotao thought for a moment: "Then, can you shoot out spider silk?"
"...Uh...I don't know either, I'm not Spider-Man."
Zhang Xiaotao asked excitedly, "Do you have any super cool gear? Like that super flashy black Batmobile?"
Chen Xiao sighed: "I don't own that kind of car, but I do have some other small pieces of equipment. I just didn't bring them with me..."
"So, what skills do you have?" Zhang Xiaotao seemed very excited: "Ah, you're very strong, I've seen it! Just like the Hulk!"
As he spoke, he reached out and pinched the muscles on Chen Xiao's arm.
Chen Xiao smiled wryly, watching Zhang Xiaotao's excitement, which resembled that of a little girl.
"What else can you do? Can you demonstrate for me?" Zhang Xiaotao grabbed Chen Xiao's arms and gently shook them, as if she were pleading with him.
Chen Xiao broke out in a cold sweat and gave a wry smile: "This..."
"Just one demonstration! Okay?" Zhang Xiaotao's eyes sparkled. "I've never seen a real Superman before!"
“Okay…” Chen Xiao looked around and picked up the towel next to him: “Watch carefully.”
As he spoke, he threw the towel far out into the backyard. The towel flew through the air, tracing an arc before falling far away. Suddenly, Chen Xiao's body vanished from the spot, instantly reappearing in the distance. He caught the towel, and then flashed back to Zhang Xiaotao's side, handing the towel to her.
Zhang Xiaotao stared wide-eyed at Chen Xiao, her jaw dropping. After a long while, she suddenly jumped up, ignoring the water on Chen Xiao's clothes, and hugged his neck, shouting, "You're so handsome!! So cool!!"
After all, Chen Xiao was only wearing swimming trunks, his body almost naked. Zhang Xiaotao's soft body was pressed against Chen Xiao's chest, jumping and bouncing. Chen Xiao felt two soft mounds rubbing against his chest—he wasn't a eunuch, and young people naturally have high hormone levels, so he quickly became aroused.
Zhang Xiaotao quickly noticed, her face flushed red, and she hurriedly stepped back. She subconsciously glanced at Chen Xiao's lower abdomen, blushing even more, and added fiercely, "You're so lecherous!"
Humans are naturally curious, and women are especially curious.
Zhang Xiaotao had already sat down. She sat by the pool, took off her shoes, and dipped her bare feet into the cool spring water, splashing water everywhere. Meanwhile, she kept asking Chen Xiao questions about the "world of superpowers."
"Does Superman really exist? Does Spider-Man really exist? Do you know them? Does the X-Men really exist? What about Wolverine? What about the Hulk?"
Her questions were tinged with girlish innocence, leaving Chen Xiao both amused and exasperated. He could only tell her some things that weren't exactly secrets, which slightly satisfied Zhang Xiaotao's curiosity.
Zhang Xiaotao's curiosity was satisfied, and she finally quieted down. She sat down next to Chen Xiao. After thinking for a while, a serious look suddenly appeared on her face: "Chen Xiao, now I understand."
"Understand what?" Chen Xiao asked.
Zhang Xiaotao glanced around and lowered her voice, saying, "I think that prince probably doesn't have any good intentions towards you!"
"Huh?" Chen Xiao was taken aback.
Zhang Xiaotao thought about it carefully before slowly continuing.
"A few days ago at sea, you were swept into the water, and I was terrified. Then a very, very beautiful woman came and rescued us! Sigh, what happened on that island really feels like a dream... Hmm, I also met a woman who claimed to be the sea goddess! She was so beautiful too!!" Her words seemed a little incoherent, but she quickly found her footing: "That very, very beautiful woman came to rescue us; she seemed to be a friend of the auntie in the cheongsam. She can fly! She took us and brought us to land. I was so heartbroken; I thought you were dead. But the auntie in the cheongsam told me that you wouldn't die, that you would come to find me, and that I just needed to wait patiently. They didn't seem like ordinary people, so I was a little skeptical at first, and then they left."
Later, we walked further inland and found a small town, only to realize we were already in Japan. Tang Ying made a phone call, and someone came to pick us up and take us back.
We were taken to the rescue center, where some officials came to see us. They warned us not to speak out about the shipwreck at sea…
Chen Xiao nodded.
He had considered this as well. When the Victoria sank at sea, the sea god appeared one last time, and the sea god and the peacock fought an earth-shattering battle in the sky, witnessed by all the survivors sitting in the lifeboats below—if this were to be exposed, the authorities would probably have a major headache. They would definitely try every means to suppress this "unconventional" news.
"...Then, at the rescue center, those awful women—we didn't care about them, they just left on their own. And that old couple, they left with that poor girl too. All of them have contacted China, and someone will come to take them back home. But I can't leave."
Zhang Xiaotao frowned, thinking about this: "Tang Ying made a phone call. Soon after, the prince sent people. I thought they were just there to pick up Tang Ying, but they insisted on taking me with them. I originally wanted to refuse. I have no relation to them; frankly, I'm just a lowly translator they hired. With such a big incident, I could contact people back home and go straight there. But they wouldn't agree, saying the prince had ordered that I be taken, and that they wanted to thank me properly for my help. They also said that you entrusted me to them, so no matter what..." They also wanted to take me back and take good care of me. My mind was in turmoil. Originally, I didn't want to stay with them. But then these people said that the Prince had sent people to search for you at sea. I thought to myself, you're just an ordinary person; a normal search wouldn't necessarily prioritize finding you. But if you're a member of the Japanese Imperial Family, then the chances of finding you are much greater. I was thinking about finding you and seeing you again, and with Tang Ying by my side, she also encouraged me. So I listened and left the rescue center with those people, who took us to the Izumiryu-gu Shrine in Kobe.
Then Zhang Xiaotao said softly, "It seems like it was three days ago when I heard Tang Ying mention that you had gone to the rescue center to look for us, and that someone had seen you! I originally thought that since I left a message on the message board at the rescue center, if you had been there and seen the message, you would definitely come to Quanliu Palace to find me. I was very happy. But I didn't expect that as soon as she found out that you had been to the rescue center, that princess immediately said that she had urgent business to attend to and had to return to Kyoto! I originally wanted to stay at Quanliu Palace and wait for you. But the princess said that she had already sent someone to fetch you and would tell you to come to Kyoto to pick me up. Although I was a little strange, I was all alone after all, and that princess seemed very kind, so I believed her and followed her here."
Upon hearing this, Chen Xiao's heart skipped a beat, and a faint, cold smile appeared on his lips!