Chapter 32: Auntie
"Why are you hiding from me, dear nephew?"
"Auntie, why are you here?"
Su Ke looked helplessly at the woman in front of him. She was only 2 years older than him, yet always acted like an elder—his auntie, Zhang Xin.
It was hard to describe the feeling of having an auntie who was only 2 years older than you and loved to bully you. Even ordinary older siblings already had terrifying bloodline suppression, let alone an auntie who was technically a whole generation above.
Back then, under her oppression, Su Ke had not possessed even the slightest ability to resist. Every attempt at rebellion had been crushed by her status as an elder, leaving him with no escape.
On top of that, his auntie was endlessly inventive when it came to pranks, making it impossible to guard against. Thinking back on those childhood memories, a wave of grievance rose in Su Ke's heart.
Now that he had grown up, he was no longer as helpless as he had been as a child. Still, when facing his auntie's overwhelming presence, his head began to ache instinctively.
In his original world, Zhang Xin had been the once-in-a-century academic genius of their family. She had entered Dijin University as the city's top scorer, and her future had been dazzling.
He just didn't know what kind of existence she was in this world of Supernatural Abilities.
'Why is this woman here again?' Su Ke muttered inwardly. 'What a pain.'
Despite his thoughts, he didn't dare show them. With her seniority alone, he didn't want to provoke her, not to mention that she had likely transformed from an academic genius into a Supernatural Ability genius.
Taking a deep breath, Su Ke forced a smile. "Auntie, did you come to see me for something today?"
Zhang Xin walked over and slung an arm around his shoulder, as casually as if they were siblings. "What's wrong? I finally have summer break and made a special trip to see my dear nephew. Aren't you touched?"
"I don't dare move."
"Hm???"
Crack. Crack.
Her fists clenched, joints popping audibly. In a dangerous tone, she said, "I'll give you one more chance to rephrase that."
Su Ke immediately followed his instincts. "I'm touched! Very touched! Thank you for coming all this way, Auntie!"
Zhang Xin nodded in satisfaction and patted his shoulder. "That's my good nephew. Come on, let's head home first. Auntie brought you a gift."
The moment he heard the word "gift," Su Ke's attitude did a complete 180-degree turn. "This way, Auntie. Please, this way!"
After all, she was a top student from the number one academy. How could the gift she brought be anything ordinary?
As they walked upstairs, Su Ke asked, "Auntie, what Supernatural Ability did you awaken?"
Zhang Xin smacked him on the head. "You brat, you even forgot that?"
'I never knew in the first place,' Su Ke complained inwardly.
He immediately apologized aloud. "Sorry, Auntie. I've been busy cultivating lately and really forgot."
'The gift isn't in my hands yet. I'll endure it for now.'
Zhang Xin said calmly, "I awakened a Legendary Rank Wind-attribute Supernatural Ability. Not just in Yan City—even across the country, there aren't many like it."
Su Ke's eyes widened. "That's insanely strong!"
Bang!
A solid hit landed on his head. "Watch your language. No swearing."
"Oh."
Su Ke responded obediently, though his thoughts were racing elsewhere.
'I was feeling a bit guilty about how much the Wang and Lin families helped us,' he thought. 'But with this auntie around, things suddenly feel much more balanced.'
Of course, he didn't actually believe those families were currying favor or that he was superior. When they first began helping, Zhang Xin hadn't even awakened yet.
Not everyone showed signs of talent before Awakening. Like Zhang Xin, she had only displayed outstanding academic ability beforehand, with no hint of Supernatural potential.
After returning home, Su Ke poured her a glass of water and asked attentively, "Auntie, what's the gift?"
Zhang Xin laughed softly. "No rush. I heard you awakened a Rankless talent?"
Su Yuan sat down heavily. "Don't listen to that nonsense. It's absolutely impossible for Xiao Ke to have awakened a Rankless talent. Those people are incompetent and nearly ruined my son!"
He was clearly still upset about the initial evaluation.
Talent records were tied to a person's future and permanently filed. If prestigious academies saw a Rankless assessment, they wouldn't even consider him.
Zhang Xin said calmly, "Don't worry, Brother-in-law. Records can be corrected. As long as it's proven that the initial test was wrong and the officials made a mistake, all his information can be resubmitted."
She continued, "He'd also be the only known case of a correction. When the time comes, those teachers might even pay extra attention because of it."
Su Yuan hesitated. "He can be retested? I've never heard of that."
"Of course you haven't," Zhang Xin replied. "If anyone could retest, things would be chaos every year. Awakening has almost never gone wrong since ancient times."
"If Su Ke truly was a testing error, then he'd be the first in history. Awakening Stones are usually kept by the Mayor. I'll take him there later—he should give me some face."
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