“I-I’m Jean Grey… I’m right behind you…”
The gentle voice of a little girl resonates in Yu Feng’s mind once again. This time, she seems to have gathered courage and even lightly tugged at Yu Feng from behind.
“Jean Grey?”
Yu Feng feels that the name is familiar.
Suddenly, a light bulb lit his mind. Yes, Jean Grey!
Isn’t she the Phoenix in Marvel’s X-Men?
‘No wonder the name Hank sounded familiar to me earlier. Hank should be Beast. And with so many children here possessing various abilities… this should be the Marvel world, and I have become a student at Professor X’s School for Gifted Youngsters!’
Yu Feng instantly understands.
But soon, he hesitates.
Damn, Jean Grey, the one who possesses telepathy and the Omega-level power of the Phoenix. She can directly read his thoughts!
With the rich activity in his mind just now, won’t she immediately know that he is a time traveler?
Yu Feng’s expression immediately turns unpleasant.
He turns his head reluctantly and sees the still seven or eight-year-old Jean Grey curiously looking at him, her eyes flickering, seemingly a bit nervous. When she notices Yu Feng looking back at her, her small face even blushes slightly, revealing a shy expression.
“You… you can read my thoughts, right?”
As Jean Grey remains silent for a moment, wearing a curious expression, Yu Feng’s growing worry intensifies. He must be the Transmigrator who has been discovered the quickest in history, considering he has just traveled and already finds himself next to someone with telepathic abilities who can see through his identity.
So Yu Feng decides to be direct.
He even comes up with various strategies to silence this little Jean Grey, after all, she is just a little girl.
He can try to intimidate her… no, better not, he can’t defeat an Omega-level mutant girl who can manipulate matter with her mind. Maybe he can consider persuading her, and if all else fails, he can resort to his handsome charm!
“Huh?!”
Startled by Yu Feng’s sudden question, little Jean Grey seems a bit flustered. She quickly apologizes, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”
Upon hearing this, Yu Feng’s thoughts race.
It’s over.
“I didn’t expect you to know about that too. I really didn’t mean to. I have a terrifying power inside me, and I’ve been trying my best to control it, but I never thought…”
Little Jean Grey seems to recall something, her small face displaying a mix of sadness and self-blame as if she’s about to cry.
Yu Feng is utterly confused.
‘What is going on?’
“But I didn’t invade your mind. In fact, I can’t hear any thoughts or see anything in your mind. I can only project my voice into your mind. Yu, you… you’re the first person who makes me feel calm and comfortable. When I’m with you, I can’t hear the chaotic thoughts in my own mind. So…”
Little Jean Grey continues, pursing her lips and wiping away the tears in her eyes.
This pitiful expression melts Yu Feng’s heart in an instant.
Damn, am I really a Lolicon…
Yu Feng inwardly mocks himself, but his actions become sincere.
He stands up and takes a seat beside little Jean Grey, instinctively assuming the role of a caring older brother, gently wiping away the tears from her face. Meanwhile, he secretly rejoices:
‘So this little girl, Jean Grey, can’t read my thoughts?’
Although he doesn’t know why, since she can’t, Yu Feng feels completely relieved. Perhaps one of his mutant abilities is the ability to shield himself from any telepathic intrusion.
Yu Feng’s act of wiping away little Jean Grey’s tears is a subconscious action of an adult big brother.
He even momentarily forgets that he is still a child himself, thinking it’s perfectly normal.
However, this act catches the attention of the other children, and it’s far from normal in their eyes. They widen their eyes and all look over at once!
“Look, what is Yu doing? He actually made that monster cry and even touched her!”
“Shouldn’t we remind Yu? This is too dangerous!”
“Yeah, Yu seems to have just arrived at the school recently and doesn’t know how terrifying that monster is!”
Even little Jean Grey herself didn’t expect Yu Feng to make such a move.
Feeling Yu Feng’s gentle touch on her face as he wipes away her tears, her cheeks turn red, and her heart flutters like a frightened deer. But upon hearing the whispers from the mutant children, her face tightens once again.
Yu Feng naturally overhears the voices of those little brats.
However, he simply ignores them.
Once the Phoenix Force goes out of control, it’s terrifying. But the current little Jean Grey has undoubtedly been shielded by Professor X, making it less likely for her to go berserk so easily.
Moreover, the emergence of the Dark Phoenix persona is entirely due to Jean Grey’s fear of her own power. The more people loathe and reject her, the more isolated she becomes and the more she fears her own abilities. It might even trigger an accidental eruption of the Phoenix Force.
So Yu Feng continued to be himself. He wipes away little Jean’s tears and, after some thought, smiles and says, “Do you know why you can’t read my thoughts?”
“W-Why?” little Jean Grey asks, pursing her lips.
“Because I’m a monster too!”
Yu Feng laughs, “You see, now there’s not only one monster in the school, how can ordinary people understand us monsters?”
“Ahaha!”
Upon hearing this, little Jean can’t help but break into laughter through her tears. Suddenly realizing how close she is sitting to Yu Feng, her cheeks blush once again. But the feeling of closeness with another person makes her happy and comfortable.
Gathering her courage, she extends her small hand and softly says, “Yu, Professor Charles asked me to make more friends proactively. W-would you like to be my friend?”
She looks at Yu Feng with wide eyes, holding her breath.
Yu Feng smiled, unable to resist.
Perhaps because she is still young, little Jean possessed a purity and bravery that surpasses that of an adult. Yu Feng extends his small hand as well and says, “Of course.”
At that moment, Hank, who is still on the demonstration stage, sees this scene and smiles knowingly.
Professor Charles Xavier wanted him to find a way to help Jean integrate into the group. He was originally pondering over how to do that, but he didn’t expect this child named Yu to lend him a hand. He immediately forms a positive impression of this black-haired Asian boy.