A mysterious gift
Li Qi smiled and waved a hand, then said warmly to Shang-Chi, "No need to be so formal and keep calling me sir. Let's just use our names. I'm Li Qi, and this is my friend Daisy."
Katy eagerly came over, her face beaming with excitement. "I'm Katy. Let's get going, then, Li Qi." After saying that, she glanced at the crowd gradually gathering around them, then turned and reached for her boyfriend and Li Qi, eager to leave. But Li Qi instinctively shifted slightly to the side, discreetly avoiding her grasp.
With Shang-Chi, the Western girl, and Daisy Johnson in tow, Li Qi turned and waved to Happy, who had chased the men as far as the lush garden beside the beach, signaling him to hurry back instead of continuing after the fleeing men.
From a distance, Happy made a helpless, puzzled gesture at Li Qi, then took the bodyguards who had come with him and silently followed Li Qi toward the parking lot at the edge of the beach.
Over that short walk of one or two hundred meters, Katy kept talking nonstop, telling Li Qi how they had evaded those persistent, unpredictable people along the way. She also said she had been helping her boyfriend deal with them while looking for a way to escape, which was how they had run into Li Qi. Li Qi said little along the way, only nodding in agreement from time to time.
Beside them, Shang-Chi looked helplessly at his girlfriend and thought to himself, She's pretty great in every other way. She's frugal, and her attitude toward work is beyond reproach, but she gets drawn to handsome guys too easily and keeps dreaming up unrealistic things. Still, it's not entirely her fault. Shang-Chi remained very quiet along the way, saying little.
When they reached the bright red sports car Li Qi had driven there, Katy immediately hurried forward and gently ran her hands over the window, side mirror, and bright red roof. Looking utterly taken with it, she asked Li Qi, "Li Qi, can I drive? I've never driven such an expensive car before. You can tell just by looking at it that its performance must be amazing." After Li Qi handed her the keys, Katy pulled the door open, climbed in, and enthusiastically urged everyone to get in. Then she started the sports car and, following Daisy Johnson's directions, drove onto the elegant little road leading to the nearby mountaintop.
Sitting next to Li Qi in the back seat, Shang-Chi said somewhat apologetically, "Li Qi, thank you so much for today. I feel bad about troubling you at your home, too. We'll just stay a little while, then go somewhere else."
Li Qi shook his head. "Don't be in such a hurry to leave. We haven't investigated those people's background yet. You can stay at my place for now. It won't be too late to leave once everything is resolved."
Shang-Chi shook his head as well and looked earnestly at Li Qi. "There's actually no need to investigate them. I know where they come from. They belong to a powerful underground gang. So, Li Qi, let's try not to provoke them. Just treat what happened today as a misunderstanding. That gang isn't something we can afford to mess with."
Li Qi had been waiting for Shang-Chi to bring up the Ten Rings himself, so naturally, hearing this did not make him stop. He looked sincerely at Shang-Chi, signaling him to continue.
Somewhat helpless, Shang-Chi could only admit to Li Qi, "Actually, I came from that gang. They're chasing us simply because they want me to return, but that's not the life I want. I just want to be an ordinary person."
Clearly, Shang-Chi had never told his girlfriend Katy about escaping from the gang before now. Hearing her boyfriend say this, Katy turned her head in surprise and raised her voice. "Well, Shang-Chi! I had no idea you came from a gang. You've never told me any of this. You have to explain exactly what happened today."
Daisy Johnson, sitting in the front passenger seat, quickly reminded Katy, "Drive carefully. Keep your eyes on the road." For a moment, Shang-Chi did not know how to answer his girlfriend. Throughout the years since he had left the gang, Katy had always been by his side, yet he had never told her his deepest secret. He could not help feeling that he had wronged the person who had always stayed with him, and for the moment, he lost the desire to speak.
Li Qi understood, so he did not keep questioning him in the car. A little over ten minutes later, the fiery red sports car finally drove through the villa's gates. After bringing the car to a steady stop, Katy pushed the door open somewhat angrily.
Once she got out, she opened the rear door and yanked her boyfriend out, wanting to keep demanding why he had hidden something so important from her all this time.
After saying that, Katy recounted their nearly ten years of life together to Shang-Chi, from working as valet attendants, restaurant servers, and building security guards to commuting together and everything else. After listening, Shang-Chi could only helplessly reassure Katy, saying that he would tell her the whole story shortly. Only then did her anger ease a little.
Just then, the artificial intelligence JARVIS told Li Qi through the earpiece in his ear that Tony was almost at the villa. He had brought a special gift for the master and had forbidden JARVIS from telling the master in advance, though a little could be revealed.
Li Qi had little interest in these so-called gifts, so he told JARVIS to say it. JARVIS said Tony had brought some special things. It was not convenient to reveal all the details, but they would certainly give the master a surprise. JARVIS had long since grown accustomed to calling Li Qi its master, which showed how far its AI intelligence had evolved.
Li Qi was scarcely interested. He glanced at Shang-Chi and Katy, who were talking a short distance behind him, thinking that he could learn more about Shang-Chi later.
In fact, Li Qi already had plans of his own regarding Shang-Chi and his father, Xu Wenwu, the leader of the Ten Rings.
Everyone followed Li Qi into the villa and entered the living room. Servants brewed tea and poured water. Once everyone was seated, Li Qi curiously asked Shang-Chi why his own people were hunting him down.
Only then did Shang-Chi give a full account of his background. He had escaped from his father's Ten Rings base at the young age of fourteen, then settled in Los Angeles for the time being. In recent years, he had lived a peaceful life under an assumed identity, even deliberately changing his name and other details. In the end, however, his father's organization had still found him.
As he spoke, Shang-Chi reached up to touch his neck and suddenly realized that the necklace he had worn around his neck since childhood was missing. His mother had given it to him when he was little.