Word of this got around, and Pao-lin lost most of her friends, either because they were frightened of her or because their parents were. Left with all this time to herself, she spent it practicing her kung fu when she wasn't watching movies, reading comics, or doing responsible things like helping around the house or schoolwork. Her sifu was a kindly old man who lived in an apartment building not far from Pao-lin's old home; she took both public and private lessons with him. Although he wasn't a NEXT himself, he had been friends with one before and thus knew that they were just as human as everyone else. Through kung fu and tai chi, he taught Pao-lin how to control her NEXT power, convincing her to view it not as some curse but as merely a tangible manifestation of her chi. Pao-lin didn't always believe him, especially when she was being taunted at school for who she was, but going through the forms on her own usually gave her peace of mind, and it allowed her to deal with her circumstances without snapping. Her parents, however, were understandably less at ease about the situation. Not only was Pao-lin refusing to behave like a proper young lady, but she also had these strange powers that scared off anyone who knew about them. Who was going to marry someone like her? And what sort of career or job could someone like her have?
Only time will bring the answer to the first question, but the answer to the second question came when Pao-lin was 11 years old, in the form of Odysseus Communication, a company based on North America but owned by a Chinese man named Yung-fa Chang. Chang, along with a woman named Natasha Evans, visited Pao-lin and her family wanting to know if they would be interested in having Pao-lin work for the company as a "Hero" on HeroTV, a show based in the city of Sternbild in North America where NEXT used their superhuman powers to catch criminals and save innocent bystanders from various perils while showing off advertising on their Hero costumes. Both Pao-lin and her parents were enthusiastic about the idea (well, "enthusiastic" is probably overstating things with regards to her parents, but it's accurate enough for Pao-lin's reaction). This was a prime opportunity for Pao-lin to make productive use of her quirks, especially since her starting salary would easily exceed that of both of her parents' combined. She would also be living under the care of Natasha as a kind of foster daughter, so she wouldn't have to live on her own in a strange country.
Two months later, Pao-lin's parents saw her off at the airport with a wish to "make their country proud", and thus Dragon Kid was born. She would finish three seasons of HeroTV before being whisked away to Luceti.
Only time will bring the answer to the first question, but the answer to the second question came when Pao-lin was 11 years old, in the form of Odysseus Communication, a company based on North America but owned by a Chinese man named Yung-fa Chang. Chang, along with a woman named Natasha Evans, visited Pao-lin and her family wanting to know if they would be interested in having Pao-lin work for the company as a "Hero" on HeroTV, a show based in the city of Sternbild in North America where NEXT used their superhuman powers to catch criminals and save innocent bystanders from various perils while showing off advertising on their Hero costumes. Both Pao-lin and her parents were enthusiastic about the idea (well, "enthusiastic" is probably overstating things with regards to her parents, but it's accurate enough for Pao-lin's reaction). This was a prime opportunity for Pao-lin to make productive use of her quirks, especially since her starting salary would easily exceed that of both of her parents' combined. She would also be living under the care of Natasha as a kind of foster daughter, so she wouldn't have to live on her own in a strange country.
Two months later, Pao-lin's parents saw her off at the airport with a wish to "make their country proud", and thus Dragon Kid was born. She would finish three seasons of HeroTV before being whisked away to Luceti.
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