Chapter Text
When Lin Ling woke up at 7:34 — brain still wired to his work schedule — and last night’s events came back to him, he half-expected everything to be a dream fueled by stress. When Lin Ling opened his phone the next moment and clicked into a certain green app, he realized that last night wasn’t a dream. X’s and Nice’s WeChats stared up at him.
Holy shit, what even was his life?
X, the fucking number one hero, had really saved him from *ahem* falling from the roof of his former workplace, then saved Nice, the fucking number fifteenth hero who he made ads for, from suicide, then, both of them came up with a plan to help Nice escape Treeman’s contract in X’s apartment, and finally, X had sent both of them home with fried chicken and a WeChat. Well, it evidently wasn’t his personal WeChat, but still. On the other hand, Nice. Nice probably gave him his personal WeChat because his professional one would be monitored by Treeman.
Not to mention that Nice had invited him to live at the Tower with him (and Moon!).
Now, he thought that was definitely some sort of joke or an in-the-moment thing.
Up until around 8.
When he got a notification from Nice saying “thank you for yesterday”, “I’ve asked Wreck to meet”, and “You should be able to move in this afternoon. I’ll text you.”
Which was why he was now cleaning up his apartment and getting ready to move out after filling out the online notice to his landlord.
Technically, those things had to be filled out a month before moving, but his landlord would be glad to terminate the lease early. He knew there’d be no point in hounding Lin Ling for more rent money.
To Lin Ling’s surprise, he had more things to pack or dispose of than he thought. He didn’t own any extravagant clothing past a few pairs of suits for work, or many unnecessary items like fancy vases, but it seemed like living somewhere for three years would make things accumulate, no matter how poor you were. A couple of trash bags lay on the floor, and a few boxes of the items he was keeping stood on the other side.
He was almost done, save for the furniture that he couldn’t decide if he needed or not. He’ll ask Nice when it comes to it.
Back-and-forths of fitting his clothes in bags, throwing out old ones that he never wore anymore, and cleaning out his desk and cabinets had worked him up a sweat, but it felt strangely freeing. The cramped apartment he’s lived in for years now somehow looked even smaller with much of its interior cleaned out. He was glad to get out, although there was still an inevitable feeling of nostalgia that lingered. This had been his home for years after all.
As he threw away an old DVD that didn’t work anymore and tied up the final trash bag, his phone buzzed with the telltale sound of a WeChat notification. Quickly wiping his hand, which was covered in a layer of dust and dirt, with a wet wipe, he tapped open the message.
X:
Hey Lin Ling, I’m outside your door, can I come in? 😁
Huh?
Lin Ling:
Sure???
Before Lin Ling could finish typing his question of “how the fuck did you know where I live though?” because last time he checked (and he did check after he got home yesterday), omnipotent meant “all-powerful” and not “all-knowing”, a quick flash of light lit up his surroundings.
White hair slicked back with a pristine white suit and orange-tinted glasses, X appeared in Lin Ling’s living room.
Lin Ling flinched and almost dropped his phone, but X just snapped his fingers and let the device drop back safely into his hands.
“Hey Lin Ling! It’s been a while.” X greeted like it was a normal Saturday.
Well, for him, maybe.
“A while? I just saw you yesterday.” Lin Ling managed to say without tripping over his words from the lingering surprise.
“It feels like it’s been a while.” X shrugged nonchalantly. “Want a strawberry croissant?”
The older man held out a small paper bag.
“Uh- sure? I’ll eat it after I wash my hands… Thanks?”
Lin Ling took the bag from X’s hand, still dazed from the randomness of it all.
“No problem.”
X looked proud of himself, smiling with cockiness and obvious amusement at Lin Ling’s confused expression.
Does this guy just like to see people be bamboozled? You know what, of course he does. He’s X for fuck’s sake, his entire power is bamboozling.
It was a sweet gesture though, and Lin Ling noted that the bread was warm. Did X just buy this?
Lin Ling set the pastry bag down on a table before asking, “By the way, how did you know where I lived? I thought you were omnipotent, not omniscient.”
“People think omnipotent means omniscient. So I have some degree of ‘all-knowingness’.” X answered, shrugging.
Ok… Well, Lin Ling guessed that made sense. A bit creepy, but made sense. And from what happened yesterday, he doubted X could read minds, so it wasn’t as invasive as it could’ve been.
Lin Ling nodded in understanding, and an awkward pause was shared between the two before Lin Ling cleared his throat and asked another question.
“Sorry if this is rude, but why are you here? If you’re still worried, I’m clearly not on a roof right now.”
X sighed dramatically and ran a hand through his hair. He gave Lin Ling an amused smile.
“As I told Moon today, do I need a reason to visit a friend?” He looked around and stopped when he spotted the couch, striding over to it while dodging the bags and boxes lying across the floor. “Can I sit?”
Okay, well, they met yesterday, but… Lin Ling didn’t mind being called a friend. It made him quite happy, actually. It felt nice to be sought out for something other than a scolding for doing a bad job or a question about how a new ad was coming along.
“Yeah, of course. And you met Moon? Were you at the Tower for Nice?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.
It was likely. It might’ve had something to do with Nice telling him that he was going to talk to Wreck today, since X had offered to help them meet.
“Yep.” X replied as he sat down, crossing his legs and leaning back. “Are you packing for the move? You’re quick with it. Most people take weeks to move.”
He gestured around the room, making Lin Ling’s cheeks gain a pinkish tint as he realized how messy the apartment was right now.
“Thanks, yeah… well, I don’t have much to pack. Sorry, it’s a bit messy.” He grinned sheepishly. “Hold on, let me wash my hands, and we can talk.”
“I don’t mind.” X responded with a nod, and Lin Ling quickly walked over to the bathroom.
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X waited patiently on the couch as Lin Ling went to the bathroom and took the few minutes to look around the place. The apartment room was a similar size to his own. albeit a bit older and damaged. There were a couple of trash bags strewn on the ground along with some boxes labeled “clothes” and such. Surprisingly, it seemed like there weren’t many things Lin Ling meant to keep.
It had been a bit since he had visited a friend. Or had friends visit him. The last time was the night… Well, there was no use thinking about Smile here.
“I’m back.” Lin Ling announced as he took the croissant out of its bag, over to the couch, and sat down next to X.
He bit into the pastry, and some of the strawberry cream squeezed out and onto the small square of wax paper it was wrapped in.
“Oh, this is really good! Thanks, X,” Lin Ling exclaimed. A ripple of satisfaction ran through X, knowing that his gifts had been well-received by the two recipients. Maybe he should give gifts more often. Was this how Smile felt when he came over with skewers and beers?
“Anyways, what’s up?”
At Lin Ling’s question, X opened his mouth to reply, but found that he didn’t quite know the answer.
Why did he come to Lin Ling’s, other than to give him a croissant? Yes, he wanted to check up on Lin Ling, and it felt right after meeting Nice earlier. But it’s not like they were actually good friends or had much to talk about in general. At least not enough for X to be sitting here on Lin Ling’s couch. They’d met just yesterday, not to mention it was because he saved Lin Ling from jumping off a roof.
“I wanted to offer you my help in packing. Just tell me what you need, and I can get it done with a snap of the finger. Literally.” X ended up saying with a grin.
“Ah- Are you sure? I don’t want to bother you, and I’m almost done anyway…” Lin Ling stammered.
“Sure. Besides, you’ll still need help moving everything to the Tower and unpacking. It’ll be more of an inconvenience to Nice and Moon if I don’t help.” X responded firmly.
Lin Ling hesitated again, but eventually nodded gratefully.
X smirked, happy to get through to Lin Ling. Being able to help out a friend felt different than saving people from a villain. Maybe most people would rather do the latter, or say that it was cooler, but X thought the former was far more enjoyable in the moment.
The white-haired hero watched as Lin Ling finished his croissant and stuffed the packaging into a tied-up bag on the ground, presumably filled with things to throw out before moving. The boy stood up and stretched, ran a hand through his hair, before looking towards X.
“Ok. Like I said, I’m pretty much done here, but I could use a hand in getting these bags to the dumpster out back.” Lin Ling told him. “I’ll grab a few and you can-”
Before he could finish the sentence, X leisurely snapped his fingers, causing a burst of light and ring of color to sweep along the walls. The parts it touched gained vibrancy and screen-tone-esc shadows. Not even a second later, when the ring of colors converged on the opposite wall from where X was sitting, the trash bags were gone.
“Done.” X set down his hand once more on the back of the couch, crossing his legs with a cocky grin.
Lin Ling gaped, before sighing as if to say, “What did I expect?”
X would be lying if he said he wasn’t amused. He deserved to have some fun with his powers after all. What hero wouldn’t?
Except maybe Queen, that is, from what he knows about her.
He knew Smile definitely-
Nope.
A flash of regret ran through him, like how the light of his ability had swept the walls of the room.
Why was he suddenly thinking about him now? Was it the late-night conversation yesterday? X was the only person Smile could talk to-
“X?”
Huh?
“Yes?” X blinked at Lin Ling, realizing that he had not heard a single thing the boy had said.
“I was asking if you wanted anything to drink or eat. Also that your ability is awesome.” Lin Ling repeated, then furrowed his brows. “You ok? You were spacing out for a sec there.”
“Yeah, I’m fine, just thinking about an issue at work.” X waved off Lin Ling’s concern. “And I’m alright, I already had a coffee and a croissant too this morning.”
Lin Ling nodded skeptically, and X remembered what he had told Nice yesterday, about knowing that Nice wasn’t planning to fly after stepping off the roof. Lin Ling was a bit more perspective than X would’ve liked in the moment.
An awkward moment passed before Lin Ling cleared his throat to kill the silence, and sat down again beside X.
“By the way, X. What’s your real name? And I know people say you’re omnipotent, but how does your power work exactly? How did you become a hero? Since no one’s heard of you until the hero tournament a few years ago. If you’re comfortable sharing, of course.” Lin Ling added on the last bit hastily.
He grinned at the younger man.
“My name’s a secret for now. And so are my origins. But as for my powers… You're a video editor and graphic designer, right? Think of it as changing the drawing style of a show and the elements in a scene.” X explained as he snapped his fingers.
The couch they were on changed from the normal grayish cloth to a vibrant magenta and green for its different planes, with lines around and through it, as if it were a 3-D drawing on a tablet.
Lin Lin’s face of surprise and wariness was priceless, and X let out a huff of amusement. The younger man had jumped up from his seat and poked hesitantly at a now-strange piece of his furniture.
X snapped again, changing the couch back, and setting his hands on the textured material.
“A less disorienting demonstration.” He chuckled as Lin Ling sat down again.
“Debatable.” Lin Ling stated flatly.
X smirked and shrugged.
He did forget how crazy his ability seemed to others sometimes, since he was used to it. It even fascinated other heroes, although most of them had a more hostile intent and motive when trying to figure him out.
Lin Ling just shook his head exasperatedly and pulled out his phone, opening up the FOMO app. X looked over curiously, drumming his fingers on his thighs.
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Lin Ling really couldn’t figure X out. Surely the Hero X had better things to do than sit around with Lin Ling, a commoner. Even if X claimed to be a regular office worker when he wasn’t being a hero.
It was nice, if he had to be honest, having a friend over. Although in Lin Ling’s opinion, being friends with someone meant you’d trust them enough to tell them your real name. But what did he know? He hadn’t had a proper one in a while, not since university at least. A few co-workers were friendly enough, but they never spoke outside of work, nor was Lin Ling close enough with anyone to be invited out for a drink. Much less a house visit.
Even though it was nice to be in good company — except, he didn’t appreciate his couch suddenly turning drawing-like — Lin Ling wasn’t sure how to continue the conversation with X. After all, he hadn't carried a genuine conversation about something other than work with anyone in a while — excluding yesterday’s events (convincing the Nice to not kill himself and get himself out of a toxic workspace did not count)—so he pulled out his phone.
That wasn’t the only reason though.
“I just remembered. We should check that no one actually saw us with you, or Wreck with you.” Lin Ling explained as he felt X’s gaze on his phone.
His fingers typed out different keywords, checking each to make sure nothing about their escapade was leaked or seen. It should be front-page news if they were, but being too careful never hurt anyone.
Well, guess except Nice, that is.
Lin Ling wondered what other skeletons the three big agencies were hiding in their closet. If he had to pick something to question about the companies other than Nice, he’d want to investigate Dragonboy. The purple-haired hero was famous for being brutal and cold in his methods, and it was weird how he suddenly appeared under MG. He’d think that with heroes like Nice and all the other ones meant to spread hope and peace and safety — at least that’s how it looked to the public — Dragonboy wouldn’t seem like a good candidate. Especially for one of the three major hero agencies.
After being satisfied that no one had seen X with Nice, himself, or Wreck, Lin Ling nodded contentedly.
“You know, I would probably know if someone saw us at any point. Especially if it was spread on FOMO.” X pointed out teasingly. “I do appreciate the diligence though. You’re a hard worker, Lin Ling. Your boss was stupid to fire you.”
Lin Ling huffed out a laugh and saw X raise an eyebrow as if saying, “Am I wrong?”
“I haven’t had a boost of confidence like that in a while. Thanks. Unfortunately, I still don’t have a job anymore, and I’m gonna need to figure something out soon. I don’t want to leech off of Nice.” He sighed, a tinge of blue clouding his tone. “And even if I were fired unfairly, other companies won’t care. It’s gonna be hard finding a new job. It was hard enough finding my old one. And it’s not like I could actually become a hero, or join a big agency now that I know how Treeman treats Nice.”
X listened patiently, leaning back on the couch.
“You could do freelancing. From the ads I’ve seen of Nice and Moon, you’re good enough to. That way, you won’t be working under any of the agencies, even if you get hired to make something for them.” X proposed. “You won’t be working under anyone except yourself. No toxic bosses or anything.”
Freelancing? Him? Who would want to hire him over an experienced company with older, more talented people?
Lin Ling relayed this sentiment to X, who scoffed and shook his head lightly.
“You don’t give yourself enough credit. Come on, have some confidence! If you don’t believe in yourself, how do you expect strangers to? Why don’t you try it out for a bit? I’ll help out any way I can, and I’m sure Nice would too. If it really doesn’t work, then you can apply to other jobs.”
Lin Ling smiled at X’s enthusiasm.
It was clear that the hero was quite pumped about the idea, and Lin Ling found himself getting swayed by his excitement. For all that X differed from how Lin Ling had imagined, he was certainly still just as charismatic as he seemed. Maybe even more, as he remembered how X had convinced Nice to do something about his situation in a similar manner. Suddenly, it wasn’t hard to imagine him gaining Trust as a regular civilian — without anyone noticing — and finding himself with enough to win the Hero Tournament.
“Why don’t you commission me for something then, if you’re so sure about my abilities?” He challenged with a joking tone.
X shook his head fondly with a huff of laughter.
“Oh no, I don’t have the money for that. Besides, what could I even commission you for? I don’t have a brand. I don’t know who’s running XFC or all the other brands that use ‘X’ for their name, but I certainly have not gotten a penny from them.”
“You don’t even know how much I’d charge.” Lin Ling pointed out with a grin.
“I know how much these things typically cost though.”
“I’ll give you a discount.”
“Does that mean you’ll do it? Go freelance?” X asked with a smirk, like he had won a debate.
Lin Ling sighed.
There really was no saying no to the number one hero, was there?
“I’ll try. But don’t hold your breath for my success.” Lin Ling finally replied in an exasperated tone.
X beamed, and Lin Ling was suddenly reminded of the late hero Smile with the contagious nature of his grin.
With that, they fell into an easy conversation. Although X was evidently still protective of his identity, he didn’t have many qualms about sharing some of his personal hobbies or interests. The previous awkwardness melted away, and Lin Ling found himself missing this feeling of chatting with someone about trivial things. X also seemed to get more comfortable — more animated — as he told a story about the time he forgot about the time differences in different countries and found himself in Paris at 3 in the morning.
“So you can speak French now?” Lin Ling asked with surprise, although not disbelief.
If Trust could affect Nice and Moon like it did, there was no reason why it couldn’t cause someone to learn a language overnight.
“Yep. I mean, I’m not planning to go and live overseas, but it could be useful for traveling.” X shrugged nonchalantly.
“You could put that on your resume too, maybe even get a raise or a promotion at work for it, depending on what you exactly do.” Lin Ling pointed out with a tinge of jealousy.
He knew many stories about people who were given better salaries because they could speak multiple languages. It was an especially useful skill to have in anything related to communications in a company.
X laughed, but shook his head and waved a hand at the idea.
“Nah, I don’t want a promotion. I want to live as an ordinary civilian and not have any overtime. Can’t do that if I raise everyone’s expectations.”
Now that sounded absurd to Lin Ling, but he guessed it was just the difference between the mindset of someone like X and someone like him.
Suddenly, the familiar dings of a WeChat notification sounded from X’s phone, and the hero quickly pulled out the device. It was probably Nice telling X that he and Wreck had finished talking. The man seemed quite upset and regretful about the frayed relationship between him and his friend last night, and terrified at the thought of talking to Wreck again. Lin Ling hoped that the two managed to make up, and that Wreck had agreed to their plan.
However, Lin Ling found himself to be oddly disappointed that X would have to leave. He was enjoying their conversation and found X to be easy to talk to. After not having a friend to chat with for so long, Lin Ling didn’t want to give it up so quickly. Sure, he would likely have more than enough opportunities in the future — seeing as he’ll have two roommates (and Moon was one of them!) — but he was still paranoid that he would lose these chances. He prayed that Nice wouldn’t find him annoying after a while, and that he could actually talk to Moon without going red in the face. Actually, he just prayed that they wanted to talk to him at all, past simple politeness and a sense of duty. Then again, Nice had already offered him their place to stay, and that was more than Lin Ling could ask for.
“Looks like all went well for Nice. He asked me to bring him back to the Tower so he could talk to Moon as well, and asked if Wreck could stay with us for a bit— I told him I was with you. Wreck wants to thank us.” X relayed the information after he and Nice exchanged a few texts. “I agreed to all this, of course. Are you fine with it? And going back to my place? If you’re done with everything here.”
“Oh, yeah, sure.” Lin Ling nodded and held out a hand for X. “I’m done with packing since you helped me throw out all the trash. I just need to ask Nice some questions for the rest. Thank you again.”
“No problem. Alright then. Let’s go.” X grinned.
He took Lin Ling’s hand in his own and snapped using his free one. A bright flash swallowed them in an instant, and Lin Ling found himself getting used to the disorienting dimension of X’s power.