On his way to the temporary S.H.I.E.L.D.., Lin Xiao deliberately wrapped the gauze twice more to make it thicker.
His arm injury had long since healed, but this morning, after sitting on the bed for three minutes, he still pulled the gauze out. He had to play the victim.
It's hard to say how much trouble Coulson took for him on this trip to New Mexico, but Sitwell is definitely determined to pursue the case to the end. His only advantage now is the word "wounded." An agent who just fought an alien weapon and whose arm is almost useless, returning to New York —no matter how angry Fury is, he can't possibly kill someone who's "still recovering from serious injuries." So this bandage isn't for Hawkeye to see, it's for Fury, it's for Sitwell, it's for the bunch of people in S.H.I.E.L.D.. waiting to see him make a fool of himself.
Lin Xiao had just pushed open the metal door to Hawkeye's lounge when Hawkeye glanced up at him, his hand still on the bowstring. "Why are you still wearing bandages after your injury has healed? Are you afraid people won't know you're injured?"
"What do you know?" Lin Xiao plopped down in a folding chair, draped his left arm over his knee, and said seriously, "This is called trace management. After we got back to New York, when Fury stood in my office and saw this bandage, half of his anger would dissipate. And when Sitwell complained again, Fury looked down at my arm, then looked up at Sitwell's peeling face—who do you think he was cursing?"
Hawkeye didn't reply, but simply scanned him up and down with his eyes, then took out several reports from under his pillow and handed them to Lin Xiao before slowly adding, "The mission report is finished. Sign it. I won't ask anything else."
Hawkeye had already prepared the mission report. He wrote it simply, just like Hawkeye himself, not wanting to waste a single extra word. After Lin Xiao finished reading it, he signed his name, took out the small cloth bag containing the Uru fragments from his pocket, and threw it onto Hawkeye's bed.
"Scraps from the Destroyer Core. You've been saying the arrows Stark made for you weren't quite right, right? Take these. You can melt them down yourself or have someone hand-grind them; they'll be enough for you to take on a few tough guys."
This time, Hawkeye didn't give his usual indifferent reply. He stared at the cloth bag for two seconds, picked it up, weighed it in his palm, and looked up to ask, "Where did you get this? Just because I didn't include it in the report doesn't mean it's acceptable."
"Even the main party isn't pursuing this, so what's this talk of letting it go or not? Thor handed the place over to me before he left. It's all in the Asgard; he's the one who calls the shots. Just think of it as something I picked up on the street; it has nothing to do with you." Lin Xiao waved his hand and got up to leave.
Hawkeye suddenly called out to him, "You came to see me for something else, right?"
Lin Xiao stood at the door, thought for two seconds, and then said, "Jian's research materials have been confiscated. I know they're in the logistics department. I'll go get them in a bit. If they ask, just say it was my doing."
Hawkeye grunted in response and didn't ask any further questions.
Lin Xiao walked for a few minutes and arrived at the logistics office. The head of the logistics department was a fat white man named Hollis, with only a tuft of hair left on his head. He always had a smile on his face, but his eyes were constantly darting around. Lin Xiao had no personal relationship with him, only knowing that this man had been recruited by Sitwell and usually managed the warehouse in New York, but had been temporarily transferred to New Mexico to take over the operations.
When Lin Xiao entered, Hollis was biting his nails in front of the computer. Upon seeing Lin Xiao, he immediately stood up, smiling as if he were meeting a former superior, " Agent Lin Xiao! What brings you here? Please, have a seat. I don't have any decent water here, just bottled water, please make do—"
"Don't sit down, I'll take the things." Lin Xiao placed a list on his desk. "The equipment and research materials that you confiscated from Ms. Jane Foster. I am one of the highest-ranking agents on site during this operation. The cleanup is now complete, and these supplies should be returned to their rightful owner as required."
Hollis glanced at the list, his smile remaining unchanged, " Agent Lin Xiao, to be honest, that batch of items isn't with us. As you know, non-case-related materials are temporarily managed by logistics, but the subsequent procedures require bureau approval. We're only responsible for registration, not return..."
"It's still there," Lin Xiao said.
"Yes, yes, but—"
"It's fine as long as it's here." Lin Xiao didn't listen to any of that. He walked around the table to the row of simple shelves by the wall and immediately recognized the gray casing of the Spectrum. In the cardboard boxes next to it, folders, data hard drives, and half a broken charging cable were scattered around.
Hollis hurriedly explained from behind, " Agent Lin Xiao, these all need to be registered. If you take them like this, I won't be able to explain it—"
"What are you going to confess? You can write a report now saying that I, Lin Xiao, took it right in front of you. Then when Coulson asks, you can pin the blame on me." Lin Xiao moved the cardboard box to the table and checked its contents one by one. One notebook was missing, but the hard drive was still there. He looked up at Hollis, "Where's the other box?"
Hollis feigned ignorance. "What? There's another box? That's all we had when we checked."
"The list clearly states three boxes. Box number three contains a meteorological data module and a handheld spectrum analyzer." Lin Xiao slammed the list on the table, his voice soft but each word like a nail. " Hollis, I'll be frank. You know better than I how many boxes of Jane Foster's research materials there are. I'm a bit fussy, but I'm in a good mood today and don't want to check your warehouse one by one. If you don't mind the trouble, I'll help you look through it. My arm hurts anyway, and I'm just killing time."
As he spoke, he deliberately raised his right arm, which was wrapped in gauze, and slowly moved it a couple of times. He didn't even frown, but the action itself seemed to say: I've even dismantled alien weapons, so it won't take long for me to completely dismantle this lousy warehouse of yours.
Hollis's face paled for a moment, then flushed red, as if someone had forced a mouthful of chili water down his throat. He stood there, his lips moved, but in the end he said nothing, turned and went out. Less than three minutes later, he came back in carrying a dusty cardboard box.
Lin Xiao reached out to take it, Hollis put the box on the table, adjusted his glasses, and said in a much lower voice, " Agent Lin Xiao, you took this yourself; it has nothing to do with me."
"Don't worry, it has nothing to do with anyone." Lin Xiao stacked the three boxes together, lifted them lightly, and walked towards the door. He stopped at the door, turned back, and smiled at Hollis. " Hollis, you've organized this warehouse quite well. I'll mention it in my report later."
Hollis's expression was even worse than if he had been stripped naked in public.
Lin Xiao carried the box to the parking spot and stacked it in the back seat. In the distance, Sitwell was directing a group of agents to dismantle a tent, his bald head reflecting the setting sun. Lin Xiao glanced at him, then opened the car door, got in, and started the engine.
By the time he arrived at Jian's place, it was already dusk. He sat in the car for a short while, rearranging the three cardboard boxes in the back seat. Before getting out of the car, he straightened the bandages on his body, then picked up the boxes and walked towards the door.
When Jane opened the door, she was stunned to see the three large boxes in his arms.
"These... are all mine?"
"Yes, I brought them all back. Let's go inside and talk; they're quite heavy." Lin Xiao placed the suitcases next to the coffee table and then pulled a small notebook from his coat pocket. "Your packing list; all three suitcases are there. One notebook is missing; I don't know which bastard stole it. I'll ask him later. But everything else is complete; check it."
Jane didn't immediately squat down and open the box as he expected.
She stood in the middle of the living room, looking at the boxes, then at Lin Xiao, her expression calm, so calm that Lin Xiao felt a little uneasy. After a few seconds, she spoke, "Did you get into an argument with someone when you went to ask for these things today?"
"No," Lin Xiao said. "I usually don't use my mouth; even if you do, you can't win against me."
Jane didn't smile. She walked to the coffee table, slowly squatted down, and tore open the tape on the top cardboard box. Inside were her notebook, folders, and the handheld spectrum analyzer she had used for three years. Her fingers paused at the edge of the spectrum analyzer's screen for a moment, then she gently took it out and placed it on her lap.
"I bought this in Oslo when I was twenty-two." Her voice was soft, as if afraid of disturbing something. "At the time, I was still a PhD student, and to save money, I spent three weeks browsing the secondhand market. The seller was an old Norwegian man who said his son used to study atmosphere but had stopped. When he sold me the instrument, he said it had traveled to many places with his son and he hoped the next person to use it would also travel to faraway places."
Lin Xiao leaned against the doorway, remaining silent.
"Later, I took it to Greenland, Iceland, and Namibia. Last year, it started having unstable current, and Erik said it should be replaced, but I couldn't bear to part with it." Jane put the spectrum analyzer back in its case, looked up at Lin Xiao, her eyes shining, but her lips didn't smile. " Lin Xiao, if you hadn't brought it back today, I probably would have continued my research anyway, nothing would have happened. But you brought it back."
Lin Xiao opened his mouth, wanting to say something lighthearted to lighten the mood, but looking into Jian's eyes, he realized that all those words were stuck in his throat.
"From childhood to adulthood, I've always been used to relying on myself for everything." Jane lowered her head again, slowly taking things out of the suitcase one by one, as if she were checking things she had lost in her life. "I was nine years old when my parents divorced. My dad didn't even fill his suitcase when he left; he just took his old laptop and two shirts. After he left, my mom worked two jobs, and I would heat up my own meals, do my laundry, and do my homework after school. Later, when I went to college, people said I was talented, but I know myself that I'm not particularly talented; I'm just afraid to stop."
Lin Xiao remained silent. But he was no longer leaning against the doorframe; he had stood up straight at some point.
"When Thor appeared, I thought he was just an unexpected surprise in my life. He said he was a god, and I thought, what kind of god is that good-looking? But when I found out he really was, I was actually a little scared. Because gods eventually return to their Asgard. He came and went; he wouldn't really stay in my life."
Jane stopped speaking at this point. She stood up, put the last folder into the box, and turned to face Lin Xiao. Her eyes were red-rimmed, but wide open, as if trying to force back her tears.
You're different from them.
Lin Xiao's Adam's apple bobbed.
"You've come, and you'll leave. But before you leave, you'll take care of everything. You'll get my things back, settle Thor in, and do everything you can before you say goodbye." Jane smiled, a bitter smile in the dim light. "But Lin Xiao, have you thought about it? The better you treat me, the less I know how to say goodbye."
Lin Xiao stood there, as if all his energy for joking had been drained away. He suddenly felt like he couldn't stand up anymore. Jane's words were too heavy, so heavy that he couldn't breathe. He wanted to say something, but his mind felt like it had been erased, completely blank.
He instinctively forced a smile, trying to dispel the unsettling atmosphere in the air in the way he knew best.
"Um... no need for repayment." He heard his own voice say, dry and unsteady, with a slightly weak and light tone. "If you really feel bad, let me give you a kiss, and then we'll be even."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Lin Xiao regretted them.
He waited for Jane to glare at him, waited for her to roll her eyes, waited for her to grab a nearby cushion and throw it at him, so he could smoothly back down and say, "Just kidding, just kidding." This was the rhythm he knew best. Everything should go back to how it was a few seconds ago: he was standing in the doorway, she was standing in the middle of the living room, and the only smell in the air was cardboard boxes.
But Jane didn't glare at him, nor did she roll her eyes.
She simply stood there, looking at him, the bitter smile that lingered at the corner of her lips slowly disappearing, like water seeping into sand, vanishing from sight. Then she walked towards him, her steps light, yet each one landing firmly on the ground. The living room was too small; she reached him in just a few steps. Lin Xiao froze, instinctively leaning back slightly, but he was already against the doorframe, with nowhere left to retreat.
Jane tiptoed and pressed her lips to his.
It wasn't heavy, nor was it long. It was just a fleeting moment, like a raindrop suddenly falling in the desert, evaporating before it could even wet the ground.
Lin Xiao's mind went blank. He clearly felt the touch of her lips gently pressing against his; they were a little cool, a little dry, with the last trace of bitterness from coffee grounds. He wanted to reach out and hold onto something, his fingers twitched, but ultimately remained frozen at his side.
Jane took a step back. The tips of her ears were red, but her expression was calm, a calmness that was frightening.
"I've repaid your kindness," she said, her voice soft and steady, as if ending the sudden silence. "You can go now; I need to organize the data."
Lin Xiao opened his mouth, only to find his throat felt like it was stuffed with sand. He looked at her, trying to find something on her face—a joke, a fit of pique, a momentary impulse—but he found nothing. Jane just stood there, quiet, as if she had simply done something she had wanted to do for a long time and had finally accomplished.
"Jane." He called her name, his voice hoarse and unlike his own.
"Stop talking." Jane interrupted him, lowered her head, and began to rearrange the boxes on the coffee table. Her back was to him, her shoulders tense. "You don't need to take responsibility for what happened today, and you don't need to think about it. You helped me get these things back, and I kissed you. We're even. You said it yourself."
Lin Xiao stood at the doorway, frozen in place. After a long while, he slowly spoke, his voice much lower than before. "That's not what I meant."
Jane paused for a moment.
"I know you didn't mean that." Her voice was even lower, the last syllable almost fading into the air. "That's why I said don't overthink it. You can go now, Lin Xiao. I really need to work on the data."
Lin Xiao didn't move.
"Simple."
Let's go.
He stood there for a long time, then finally turned around, opened the door, and fled like the wind.
Lin Xiao climbed into the car, slumped over the steering wheel, his mind a complete mess. He couldn't understand how things had turned out this way. He'd only said something offhand—he'd said it hundreds of times before, making Gwen Stacy so angry she'd throw Silk silk at him, making Sif so furious she'd swing a spear at him. Every time, someone would hit him, yell at him, and chase him all over the streets. But this time, Jane had actually taken it seriously.
She actually kissed him.
Lin Xiao recalled her words, "The better you treat me, the less I know how to say goodbye." Only then did he belatedly realize what Jian was saying. She wasn't praising his thoughtfulness; she was telling him, "Don't be so good to me anymore, I can't take it anymore."
Lin Xiao shouted urgently, " Doupao, come out here! Shouldn't Thor and Jane be a couple? Why did she kiss me today?!"
"Ding--A significant change in the host's recent behavior pattern has been detected. This system has automatically generated a phased behavior analysis report. Would you like to view it?"
Lin Xiao was taken aback. "What behavioral analysis? Speak plainly."
"Ding--The host has actively interfered in the relationships between key characters in the plot a total of seventeen times recently. Fifteen of these incidents caused the target character's favorability towards the host to shift beyond the normal range of social interaction. Host, have you been too diligent lately?"
Lin Xiao frowned. "Speak like a human being."
"Ding--Host, allow me to give an example. Thor and Jane established an initial trust relationship in Puente Antiguo, but their emotional foundation was still unstable. Normally, their relationship would only significantly warm up after experiencing a major crisis. However, in this universe, you first shielded S.H.I.E.L.D. from Thor.'s inquiries, then helped Jane retrieve the research data, and even stayed by Jane's side after Thor left. Jane's dependence on Thor was significantly diverted, and her affection for you increased dramatically."
Lin Xiao opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but Doupao didn't give him the chance.
"Ding--To put it more bluntly: Without you, Thor and Jane could have progressed smoothly. But from the first day you met Jane, you were putting on a show for her, making her laugh, and standing up for her. Half of the time Thor and Jane spent together was taken up by your joking around, and the other half was disrupted by your presence. Imagine that your initial impression of Jane was very low, but have you ever considered that you've only known Jane for a few days, Thor for a few days, yet Jane already has a 30-point impression of you? Host, you're not a third wheel; you've directly extinguished her flame."
Lin Xiao's mouth was half-open, as if he was choking. He wanted to say something, but Doupao continued.
"Ding--And that night you and Sif had that drinking contest, Jane made dinner for Thor and the Asgard's Warriors Three, and waited until very late when you didn't come home. She wasn't worried about Thor, she was worried about you. On the third day, she said she came to see Thor off, but she mainly came to see you. But you and Sif were inseparable all day, and she couldn't even get a word in edgewise."
Lin Xiao closed his eyes and buried his face in his hands. He suddenly remembered what Jian had said to him at the door, how calmly she spoke of her past, and her final words, "The better you treat me, the less I know how to say goodbye." He then realized that when Jian said those words, she wasn't praising him, but begging him.
She begged him to stop being so nice to her.
She couldn't stand it.
Lin Xiao opened his mouth. "I thought they were close by, so why didn't you warn me sooner?"
"Ding--You never asked, and the main responsibility of this system is to issue tasks and settle rewards, not to act as a relationship advisor. In addition, your performance in the Sif route has been proactive enough. If this system were to issue a warning about another relationship route to you at the same time, you would most likely ignore it as a distraction."
Lin Xiao remained silent for a long time. He looked up and gazed at the starry sky through the car window.
" Doupao."
"Ding--Here."
"Tell me, am I a very selfish person?"
The system paused for a moment, then responded several seconds later than usual, "Ding-- Selfish people don't dwell on self-doubt, nor do they panic over momentary impulses. Host, you're just used to shouldering everything, and always feel you can shoulder even more."
Lin Xiao remained silent.
"Ding--Additional information. Because of your presence, Thor has also focused more attention on you. He has developed a good impression of Jane, but it hasn't reached the point of love yet. He sees her as family. Think about what he said when he left? He told you to take good care of her and not to have any designs on her. This is not the kind of conversation that lovers should have. If you really feel bad about it, you can help Thor find true love when you go to the God Realm later."
Lin Xiao paused for a moment before slowly understanding the meaning behind Doupao's words.
"Sure," he said. "Once Thor finds his Valkyrie, I'll help him out."
Doupao fell silent. The night wind blew in through the half-open car window, carrying the unique chill of a desert night. Lin Xiao leaned back in his seat and slowly exhaled a long breath. His mind was still in turmoil, but it wasn't the Shang-Chi feeling he had just experienced.
He was trying to calm himself down when there were two knocks on the car window.
Lin Xiao turned his head sharply and saw Jian standing outside the car, her hair a little messy from the wind, but she had regained her familiar energy. After knocking on the window, she crossed her arms and looked down at him.
Lin Xiao rolled down the car window, his expression as stiff as a piece of weathered wood.
"What are you doing parked here? I thought you left a long time ago." Jane tilted her head.
"I... I'm looking at the stars." Lin Xiao's voice was dry and cracked.
Jane followed his gaze to the roof of the car. The stars in the sky were indeed stunningly bright, and the Milky Way overhead. She looked away, then back at him, a slow smile spreading across her lips.
I'm hungry. Will you treat me to dinner?
"Ah?"
"You've ruined my only dinner time. All the restaurants in town are closed now. It wouldn't be right for you not to treat me to something decent." Jane opened the car door, got into the passenger seat without a word, fastened her seatbelt, and turned to look at him. "What are you waiting for? Drive!"
Lin Xiao gripped the steering wheel, looking at Jian's face, which had regained its radiance, and all the words in his mind got stuck in his throat. He opened his mouth, but in the end, he could only utter two words.
What would you like to eat?
Jane glanced at him, seemingly thinking seriously for a couple of seconds, "That barbecue place you mentioned last time, didn't you always rave about how it's better than the Stark family's chef? Let's go with that one."
That place is closed.
"Then tell me who will open the door."
Lin Xiao looked at her and suddenly laughed. He laughed so hard his shoulders were shaking. Jian looked completely bewildered and slapped him, saying, "What are you laughing at? I'm really hungry."
"I wasn't laughing at anything." Lin Xiao restarted the engine, looking at the road ahead illuminated by the headlights, his voice softening. "I just thought the stars in this desert were quite beautiful."
Jane didn't speak. She leaned back in her seat and rolled the window down a little more, letting more night air in. Neither of them spoke again. The SUV turned around in the moonlight and headed towards Puente Antiguo.
Lin Xiao glanced at Jane in the passenger seat out of the corner of his eye. Her hair was a little messy from the wind, her eyes were closed, and there was a very faint, indescribable smile on her lips. He suddenly felt that the day he returned to New York could indeed be delayed a little longer.