Snowflakes as big as goose feathers fell from the sky to every corner of the metropolis. It was still the dawn of the morning, but Washington, as a world-class city, had already regained its vitality. The figures of two major groups, students and office workers, were often seen walking through the streets that had just been cleared of snow.
Beep!
A local police car drove slowly and finally stopped at the side of the road in the community. The door opened and a cute blonde girl jumped out from the back seat with a schoolbag in her hand.
"Gwen, slow down, your water glass."
Officer George, dressed in a formal police uniform, opened the door and chased after his daughter. He was holding a thermos in his hand and looking at his beloved daughter, the grown man's tone couldn't help but be doting. "Don't you really need me to take you to school? The roads are slippery and it's snowing."
Gwen took the water cup and put it in her schoolbag, then refused crisply, "No, I have my rain gear and non-slip boots."
"But."
Officer George was about to say something, but at that moment, Gwen's eyes suddenly lit up, her cheeks flushed with joy and excitement, and she jumped up and down like a rabbit, waving her arms excitedly towards a certain place: "Ben , here! Here!"
"I knew it."
Officer George sighed inwardly and turned around, only to see a familiar young man appear at the corner of the street.
Hearing the voice calling him, Ben looked up and saw the two of them. He immediately smiled and nodded and greeted them: "Gwen, Uncle George, good morning! What a coincidence to see you again!"
Ben was very familiar with them.
Gwen, full name: George Stacy, was a child of the same age who lived in a nearby neighborhood. They had attended the same daycare center, elementary school, middle school, and now high school, and were close childhood sweethearts. Her father, George Stacy, was a well-known and influential local police officer who happened to oversee security in their area of the city.
"Yeah, what a coincidence." Gwen's eyes were curved and she couldn't stop smiling.
The snow around was very white and crystal clear, but Officer George's face was a little dark.
Is this a coincidence? No way!
It was obviously for this kid that he deliberately timed himself to meet him here by chance.
certainly.
Officer George was too busy defending his daughter's little thoughts to expose her outright. Besides, he had already researched Ben 's family background ten years ago and found her to be a pitiful yet kind child.
"Ah! Ben , why aren't you wearing a hat or holding an umbrella?"
Gwen said in surprise, and quickly moved closer to Ben . Without waiting for his reply, she had already cleaned the frost and snow on his hair and eyebrows with her hands.
"I was in a hurry to go out and forgot about it." Ben smiled indifferently, temporarily putting aside his confused thoughts.
"But remember to keep warm. What if you catch a cold?" Gwen puffed up her cheeks a little angrily, which made her look even more playful and cute.
Without giving it much thought, she placed her furry hat on Ben 's head and blew warm air from her hands onto his slightly cold face. To others, this would have been considered a very intimate act, but for the two who had grown up together, it was so commonplace that it held no special meaning.
"It's cold outside. Let me take you to school." Officer George couldn't bear it anymore and said.
Gwen didn't respond, but looked up at Ben .
"The school isn't far away, I still..."
Ben originally wanted to refuse, but after feeling Officer George's sharp gaze, he nodded and agreed: "Thank you, Uncle George."
Seeing this, Gwen also smiled and said, "Then I'll ask you to give us a ride, Dad."
"You're welcome."
Officer George held his head high and chest out. For the sake of his beloved daughter, he had obviously decided to become a tool!
After a while, the police car started and drove onto the main road, heading towards the high school.
In a car with ample heating.
Gwen and Ben sat together in the back seat. After getting in the car, Ben looked at the winter street scenes passing by quickly outside the car window, his face and eyes a little dazed from time to time.
His hand was suddenly held by a gentle and soft hand. Ben turned sideways and saw a girl with a worried look on her face.
Gwen asked him, "Ben , how are you today? Are you feeling unwell? Why do you look so worried?"
"I," Ben didn't know how to start.
What had been weighing on his mind since he left was, of course, the photo that had been stuffed into his house. Although he later opened the door to check, the mysterious person who had stuffed the photo had long since disappeared, leaving behind a host of strange mysteries.
Was that photo really taken during World War I? Who was the woman in the photo wearing armor that looked exactly like his aunt?
My aunt's mother? No, World War I happened almost a century ago. According to seniority, my grandmother's mother is probably enough.
If I ask Gwen's father for help, I should be able to find the person who stole the photo, right?
Ben hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'm fine, just a little cold."
"Then you won't be cold anymore." Gwen changed her arms and hugged Ben 's left arm. At this distance, the two could clearly feel each other's body temperature.
Officer George, who was driving, only glanced at the rearview mirror and almost lost his mind.
Watching with your own eyes that your tender and white cabbage is offered to a pig, even if the pig is good-looking and you raised it under your care, this is probably something that no father in the world can tolerate!
etc.
As a veteran, Officer George had an idea and looked at the boy and girl through the rearview mirror. Anyone with a discerning eye could see what his beloved daughter meant, but it seemed that this boy didn't have that intention!
Well, as a father, this is even more difficult.
…
The police car stopped on the road in front of the middle school. When Gwen and Ben got out of the car, they immediately attracted the attention of many students.
It was not until then that Ben paid special attention.
Today, Gwen wore a new beige down jacket, a handmade sweater underneath, and her long legs were tightly wrapped in white jeans, which were then tucked into a pair of black thigh-high boots that made her look even taller. Her sixteen-year-old figure radiated youthfulness, and with her brilliant, short blond hair and delicate face, she looked absolutely stunning to others.
Since they have been playing together since childhood, Ben has become accustomed to it.
When he saw the envious and jealous reactions of the other students, he suddenly realized that Gwen seemed to be quite popular in the school.
"Gwen, please let go of my hand." Ben said.
"No, it's warmer this way."
Gwen hummed and hugged Ben even harder, so that Ben 's right arm was completely immersed in the warmth.
Compared to the extreme softness of marshmallows, there is also an indescribable flexibility?
Ben himself naturally did not have this idea.
The students next to him had red eyes and were screaming in their hearts: "Damn it, let me go!!!!"
"If you don't let go, I will be killed by their eyes." Ben smiled bitterly. If eyes could kill, he would have died countless times already.
"You dared to threaten a knife-wielding gangster with your bare hands in elementary school. Are you afraid?" Gwen covered her mouth and laughed like a silver bell. She finally let go of Ben 's arm, and then her little face turned red as she realized it belatedly.
"Don't always mention my dark history." Ben touched the tip of his nose awkwardly. He was a bit immature at that time. He had just visited the Captain America Memorial Museum and always thought that he had the potential to be a superhero.
If the police had not arrived in time, he would have been reincarnated for the third time.
After spending sixteen years as an ordinary person, Ben , a reincarnated person without any system plug-ins, has completely let go of everything.
How can there be so many gifted superheroes? With a global population of five or six billion, only a handful of them have truly emerged as superheroes: Captain America, Iron Man, Batman, and Superman!
Among them, Superman is a Kryptonian.
"It's not that I'm afraid of trouble."
Ben ignored the angry students and walked into the relatively warm corridor of the teaching building. He looked at the girl beside him and said jokingly, "Of course I don't care. I just think this isn't good for you. Aren't you very popular? I heard you're almost running for number one here."
"Where did you hear that?!" Gwen couldn't help but spit.
Just, this moment.
Gwen suddenly realized that being a childhood sweetheart wasn't always a good thing.
Sometimes, once a relationship is established for a long time, it is difficult to change it subtly.
Just as Ben and Gwen were walking through the corridor of the teaching building, in a tenth grade classroom, a girl wearing glasses sitting in the corner of the last row was gazing outside in a daze, her eyes subtly following Ben as he moved back in the corridor.
"Kara, what are you looking at?"
A female classmate came closer to the table and asked curiously.
"I didn't see anything." Kara quickly looked away.
"Really?" The female classmate was skeptical and looked in the direction Kara was looking, but all she could see was a wall covered in artistic graffiti.
The thick walls blocked the outdoor corridor, and nothing passing by outside could be seen.