On the third day after Thor left, there was no point in S.H.I.E.L.D.. staying in Mexico any longer. On that day, when Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. were dismantling the camp, Lin Xiao stayed in New Mexico under the pretext of recuperating from his injuries.
This reason sounded perfectly plausible: he had fought head-on with Asgard's ultimate weapon and nearly ruined both his arms; it wouldn't make sense for him not to rest for a few days. He wrote the words "serious injury" with such sincerity that Coulson glanced at it and said, "Okay, take care of yourself."
So Lin Xiao was indeed "recovering from his injuries" this week. It's just that he wasn't at the camp, but in Puente Antiguo.
A canvas folding chair had been added outside Jane's RV. As soon as it was light, Lin Xiao lay down on it, put on sunglasses, and placed a pot of iced tea next to him, while he twirled two walnuts he had found somewhere. Jane went in and out several times, and each time she saw him sprawled in a different position, occasionally ordering her intern Erik to get him an ice pack. Erik was not young and disapproved of Lin Xiao's "injured" behavior, but he didn't say anything out of consideration for Jane, only snorting under his nose every time he passed by.
Lin Xiao heard this but wasn't angry. He smiled and waved at him, "Dr. Erik, good morning. Are you still feeling alright? Could you refill my teapot?"
Erik rolled his eyes and walked away.
Jane got out of the RV, holding a cup of coffee, stood at the door for a while, and then spoke, "How long are you planning to stay here? Aren't S.H.I.E.L.D.. quite busy?"
Lin Xiao pushed his sunglasses up, revealing his bright, smiling eyes, "I'm recuperating. The doctor said the dry desert climate is good for wound healing, and the iced Americano you made, the doctor said, also helps reduce inflammation."
Did the doctor say I should talk less?
"That wasn't mentioned."
Jane couldn't help but smile slightly. She walked over and handed him the coffee. Lin Xiao took it and took a sip, his eyes narrowing at the sweetness. Jane remembered that he disliked things that were too bitter, so she had been adding an extra piece of sugar to his coffee these past few days. She couldn't pinpoint exactly when she started remembering this habit; it seemed so natural, and by the time she realized it, it had become a habit.
The two of them were busy with their own things during the day. Jian was organizing data, and Lin Xiao stayed by her side without disturbing her. Occasionally, he would peek over her computer screen, point to the graph, and ask if it meant it was going to rain. At first, Jian tried to explain seriously, but then she realized that he was just curious and would steer the conversation to "what to eat for dinner" every three minutes. So she simply stopped talking and told him to sit quietly.
As dusk fell and darkness descended, Lin Xiao took Jian to town to find food. He didn't mind taking the long way around, driving the borrowed SUV around the desert highway. One day he said he wanted Mexico food, the next he said the grilled corn at the roadside pub was delicious. Jian gradually got used to sitting in the passenger seat, staring out the window, listening to his rambling conversation, like listening to a talk show that would never be repeated.
"Where do you get so much to say?" Jane asked him one night.
"I've lived for almost thirty years, and my experiences are equivalent to eight lifetimes for most people," Lin Xiao said. "Which story do you want to hear? The Robin Hood story, or... cough cough, the hero rescuing the damsel in distress?"
Jane thought for a while and said seriously, "Tell me about your time in New York."
Lin Xiao started telling her his story, beginning with how he punched and broke the force gauge during the interview, then moving on to Fury's dark expression, to Tony lending him his car for the first time, and to his good nephew Peter finally learning to fight back after being bullied by Flash Thompson. He spoke with great enthusiasm, and Jane listened intently, occasionally bursting into laughter, only to quickly cover her mouth and say, "Can you please stop telling jokes when people are drinking water?"
Lin Xiao handed her a tissue, his tone tinged with smugness. "I told you I'm a treasure boy, and you didn't believe me."
Who gave you the seal?
"The eyes of the people are discerning."
Jane laughed so hard her shoulders shook, and it took her a while to stop.
But Lin Xiao always had a nagging feeling. He liked being with Jane, that much was certain. But the further this affection progressed, the more hesitant he became. The reason was simple: Thor, despite the system's backing and that kiss with Jane, still felt somewhat unreliable to Lin Xiao.
He had witnessed Thor and Jane's farewell. Jane stood before Thor, her eyes red, her lips pursed, saying nothing. The scene wasn't ambiguous, but it wasn't innocent either; it was like two stars briefly intersecting, their trajectories cut short before being drawn. Even if Lin Xiao were heartless, he wouldn't turn around and embrace the girl his brother cherished just days after his brother returned to the Asgard. He desperately wanted to know Jane's answer but couldn't bring himself to say it.
So for the past few days, there has always been a thin veil between him and Jane. They would walk side by side, look at the menu together, and laugh so hard they almost fell over in the night breeze, but neither of them dared to break through that barrier. Several times, Lin Xiao almost raised his hand, but then he forced it back down, pretending to adjust his cuffs.
Jane couldn't possibly have been unaware. She was smarter than Lin Xiao, at least when it came to matters of the heart; she was more perceptive than Lin Xiao himself. This man usually talked a lot of nonsense, but these past few days with her, he'd been behaving himself perfectly. The more she looked at his feigned honesty, the more amused she found it, yet she also felt a strange, inexplicable sense of loss.
On the fourth night, the two were sitting on canvas chairs outside the RV eating Mexico. Lin Xiao was engrossed in eating, his mouth full of sauce, when Jane suddenly spoke up:
" Lin Xiao, have I ever told you how Thor and I met?"
Lin Xiao paused, looking up at her. Jian didn't look at him, her eyes fixed on the deep blue sky in the distance, her tone as calm as if she were recalling something unrelated to tonight.
"He fell from the sky and was hit by my car. A few of us carried him to the side of the road, and the first thing he said when he woke up was, 'Mortal, this is what you should do.' Erik was so angry he wanted to throw him back into the desert."
Lin Xiao smiled but didn't reply.
"Later, I took him in, not because he was Thor, but because I felt he was so pitiful. He didn't know anything, he couldn't use a phone, he couldn't read a map, and he even had to ask what coffee tasted like. Helping him was like helping a child from a very, very far place who needed to be taken care of."
She paused, lowered her head, and wiped her fingers with a tissue. " Thor was indeed very good to me. There was a light in his eyes when he looked at me. But I slowly realized that light was less about me and more about someone who happened to appear when he was abandoned by the whole world. I wasn't the person he wanted, and he never gave me that suffocating feeling. Then you appeared..."
Lin Xiao listened intently, even putting down his crepe.
Jane turned her head and smiled at him, "So, I consider him family. Like an older brother, something like that. Do you understand what I mean?"
Lin Xiao didn't speak immediately. He lowered his head, looking at the tortilla wrappers scattered on the ground by the wind, his fingers slowly clenching and unclenching on his knees. After a long while, he finally let out a long breath, as if pouring out all the pent-up frustration of the past few days from his lungs.
"You should have said so earlier." He looked up, his face half-covered in dinner sauce, still looking foolish, but his smile was brighter than the stars in New Mexico. "Do you know how tired I've been pretending these past few days? I didn't know what to do with my hands. If I kept up this act, I'd become Liu Xiahui."
Jane was amused by his antics and laughed. By the time he finished laughing, Lin Xiao had already pulled the chair half a meter closer to her. Neither of them spoke, and they sat side by side, shoulder to shoulder. Jane's head slowly rested on his shoulder, and Lin Xiao felt her hair being blown by the wind, brushing against his chin.
"So can I hug you now?" Lin Xiao finally asked after holding it in for a long time.
"Haven't you already come closer?"
"Wasn't I just testing them?"
"Why don't you try something else?" Jane looked up, her eyes sparkling in the night, a hint of provocation in the curve of her lips.
Without a word, Lin Xiao pulled her into his arms. Jian's face was pressed against his chest, and she could hear his heartbeat, which was much faster than usual. She smiled secretly but didn't say anything.
From that day on, the relationship between the two changed.
Lin Xiao stopped pretending. In the mornings, when Jian came out of the RV, Lin Xiao would sit up from his chair and open his arms to her. Jian would glare at him, but would still go over and let him hug her before going about his business. Sometimes, if Lin Xiao hugged her for too long, Jian would pat his back and say, "Let go, I need to turn on the machine." Lin Xiao would then kiss her on the head and say, "Go ahead, I'll watch the sun for you and tell you the time later."
Jane called him "childish," but as soon as she turned around, a smile appeared on her face.
Lin Xiao started bringing different things into Jian's RV. Today it was fruit, tomorrow ice cream, and the day after that he somehow got his hands on a nearly new coffee machine, saying he traded it for it with the owner of the auto repair shop in town. Jian looked at the coffee machine, then at Lin Xiao, and asked him what he traded it for. Lin Xiao said it was nothing, he just made a new one for his garage door.
You can also make garage doors?
"No, but I'm strong. I took down his old door and replaced it with a new one for free."
Jane was both amused and exasperated, but the coffee brewed with the new coffee machine the next morning was indeed much better than the old drip coffee maker.
Lin Xiao also liked to bother Jian while she was working. She would sit at her computer processing data, and Lin Xiao would pull up a chair and sit next to her. At first, he would watch quietly, but after less than ten minutes, he would start handing her snacks. First, potato chips, then pudding, and then a bag of dried squid. Jian would always say no, but he would eventually coax her into eating bite after bite. By the time she realized what was happening, the whole bag of dried squid was gone.
"Are you here to recover from your injuries or to feed the pigs?" Jane glared at him.
"I'll come to recover from my injuries, and while I'm at it, I'll fatten you up so everyone will know this girl is taken."
Jane rolled her eyes, too lazy to argue with him.
At night, Lin Xiao would pull her up to the roof of the RV. The starry sky in Puente Antiguo was excessively bright; the Milky Way stretched from east to west like a luminous river. Jane lay on the blanket counting stars, while Lin Xiao told her his made-up constellation stories. Things like, " Arcturus and Weaver Girl Star are actually a long-distance couple," or " Orion's belt is the clothesline from next Old Wang's house." Jane listened and laughed, laughing so hard the blanket shook.
" Lin Xiao." One night, Jian suddenly called his name.
"Um?"
"I think kissing you that day was the best thing I ever did."
Lin Xiao turned his head to look at her. In the moonlight, Jane's eyes were surprisingly bright, a smile on her lips, her expression serious and open. His Adam's apple bobbed, he sat up, and pulled her into his arms.
Are you asking me to do something by bringing this up?
Jane tilted her head back, her lips lightly brushing against his chin. "So what do you want to do?"
Lin Xiao didn't answer, but lowered his head and kissed him.
This kiss was different from Jane's last one. That one was filled with a desperate, all-or-nothing resolve, while this one was full of slow, gentle tenderness. Lin Xiao cupped her face in his hands, as if holding a hard-won treasure. Jane closed her eyes, her fingers clutching the fabric of his shirt, feeling his heartbeat as erratic as her own.
They didn't separate until much later. Jane leaned against him, her breathing still erratic, and suddenly smiled, "You've improved. Last time you at least remembered to wipe your mouth, but this time you even forgot about the squid bits on your lips."
Lin Xiao paused for a moment, then reached out to touch it, and sure enough, he found a piece of squid shreds at the corner of her mouth. Jian laughed even harder, snuggling into his arms. Looking at her smiling face, Lin Xiao completely relaxed and laughed along with her.
"Miss Jane, you should smile more often. Your smile is more beautiful than your astrophysics."
What kind of metaphor is this?
"You wouldn't understand Lin's sweet talk."
Jane gently punched him, buried her face in his shoulder, and stopped talking.
And so, Lin Xiao stayed in New Mexico for another three days. He woke up in Jane's RV every morning, spent the day by her side, went to town to find food in the evening, and looked at the stars on the roof at night. Neither of them mentioned the future, as if they had an unspoken understanding that this period of time would not last long, so they wanted to make the most of every day.
That afternoon, Lin Xiao was hugging Jane from behind, the two of them squeezed together on a canvas chair watching the clouds. Lin Xiao rested his chin on Jane's head, humming an off-key rendition of " Good Days." Jane was annoyed by his humming and tried to break free but couldn't. Just then, something suddenly lit up in Lin Xiao's pocket.
It was a communication stone that Thor left for them.
Lin Xiao took the stone out, and Jane sat up straight from his lap. A very faint golden light appeared on the surface of the stone. After a moment, Thor's voice came from inside, not loud, but clearly audible.
" Lin Xiao! Jian! Are you alright? I've taken care of things on my end..."
Thor fell silent halfway through his sentence.
Lin Xiao looked down at his current posture—his arms were wrapped around Jian's waist from behind, his chin rested on her shoulder, and his cheek was almost touching hers. The communication stone was suspended in mid-air, at an angle that allowed them to see each other clearly.
The silence lasted for about five seconds.
"Lin--Xiao--" Thor's voice came from the stone, as if each word was squeezed out from between his teeth, "Is this how you take care of Jane? You said you wouldn't lay a finger on her? You scum, have you forgotten what I told you? You believe I'll fly to Midgard with my hammer right now and chop you from Puente Antiguo to the Gulf of Mexico!"
Lin Xiao pulled Jane closer to him, coughed lightly, and his expression was surprisingly serious. " Thor, let me explain. It's like this, actually it was Jane and me..."
"Explanation my ass! I'm not blind! It's only been a few days, and you're already holding hands? What did you promise me back then? You patted your chest and swore it was true, and now look at you, where are your hands? Your mouth is practically touching someone's face!"
Jane, suppressing a laugh, blushed bright red but didn't interrupt.
Thor cursed for a while, then suddenly stopped. His heavy breathing came from inside the stone, as if he had finally managed to suppress his anger. After a few seconds, he spoke again, his voice lower. "Jane."
"I'm here," Jane replied.
"This kid, he didn't bully you, did he?"
"No." Jian glanced at Lin Xiao, a smile playing on her lips. "He's very good to me, almost too good."
Thor was silent for two seconds, then said in a muffled voice, "Well... okay then. But don't spoil him too much, the more you spoil him, the more of a jerk he becomes."
Jane hummed in agreement, her eyes crinkling with laughter.
Thor took a few more breaths before saying, "I was going to tell you that my business here isn't over yet. The Bifrost... it's destroyed. I fought Loki, and that guy fell down." Thor's face turned grim as he said this, and he took several deep breaths before continuing, "It's a long story, I'll tell you later. Lin Xiao, Jane, be careful over there."
" The Bifrost exploded?" Lin Xiao frowned, then relaxed his gaze. "I knew this would happen. Are you and Loki alright?"
"I'm fine. It's just that I can't go to the Midgard anymore." Thor's voice lowered, and after a moment, he added, "So, you have to treat her well. Lin Xiao, if you dare to let Jane suffer, even if I don't have the Bifrost, I'll find a way to fly over and smash you into the ground with a hammer. Also, listen to me—"
His tone suddenly became a little lighter. "Don't think I can't control you just because I'm not here. Sif is also in Asgard. If she knew you were causing trouble in Midgard, what kind of look do you think she would have on her face? Before she left, she told me not to be too arrogant."
Lin Xiao's face turned pale instantly.
Jane was sitting in his lap and clearly felt his arm stiffen for a moment. She looked up at him, and Lin Xiao was forcing a calm smile as he spoke into the communicator, "Um, Thor, don't talk nonsense with Sif. I promise you, Jane won't be wronged. Look at me, I'm in New Mexico, a complete stranger here, what could I possibly do? I, Lin Xiao, am an upright and honest person."
"You think you're upright and honest?" Thor's voice was laced with sneer. "You were half an inch closer and you'd be kissing him. Is that what you call upright and honest?"
Lin Xiao was speechless and turned to look at Jian. Jian was already laughing so hard that she buried her face in his chest, her shoulders shaking.
Thor seemed about to continue his tirade when the light within the stone suddenly dimmed, and his voice became broken. "Alright... I have other matters to attend to... Mother is calling me... Lin Xiao... you better remember this..."
The golden light flashed twice and then went out completely.
Lin Xiao remained in that stiff position for a while before putting away the communication stone. Jian lifted her head from his embrace, the smile still lingering in her eyes, "His scolding makes a lot of sense."
"You're driving me crazy." Lin Xiao pinched her cheek. "Can't you even put in a good word for me?"
"I already told you, I said you're too good to me, excessively so," Jane said confidently.
"And then what? Just add 'you didn't bully me' and that's it? To Thor, what's the difference between that and declaring ownership?"
Jane laughed even harder, stood up from his arms, and brushed the sand off her clothes. "Alright, get up quickly, don't look so guilty. Besides, Thor said he can't come to Midgard anytime soon."
Lin Xiao's eyes lit up. "So you mean, I can continue holding you like this?"
The two nestled together like that. After some time, Lin Xiao's phone rang. He took it out, and a familiar name flashed on the screen— Ned. Lin Xiao glanced at Jane and answered the phone. Before he could speak, Ned's signature panicked voice came from the other end, speaking so fast it was as if he were swallowing three marbles:
" Uncle Lin! Something terrible has happened! I... I think I've gotten myself into trouble! It's that ring! When I went to your house before, I took that ring from your table! I've been trying to figure out how to fix it, and today, I don't know what happened, I randomly drew a circle based on the runes in that ancient book, and then... it opened a door! A bald man came out of the door! He said his name was Wang! He also said that a sorcerer wanted to see me! Uncle Lin, I'm hiding in my bathroom right now, and that bald man is chatting with my mom outside! What should I do?!"
Lin Xiao, holding his phone, slowly stood up from his chair. The smile on his face gradually faded, and his brows slowly furrowed.
" Ned, don't go anywhere right now. That bald guy... stay with him and don't touch the ring. I'm going back now, remember to mention my name, maybe he'll recognize me!"
Lin Xiao hung up the phone and turned to look at Jian. Seeing his expression, Jian also stopped smiling, "What's wrong?"
Lin Xiao didn't explain much, but simply stepped forward and took her hand. "Come back to New York with me."
"Now?" Jane was stunned. "I haven't finished explaining things here yet, the research team is still—"
"I want your whole team," Lin Xiao interrupted her, his tone leaving no room for negotiation. "They'll be staying in New York from now on, and my good brother Tony will provide the research materials office for free, including that old man who always rolls his eyes. Your old instrument is worn out; I'll buy you the best one, and I'll pay for it."
Jian opened her mouth, unsure what to say. Lin Xiao had already pulled her a few steps toward the SUV. She came to her senses, tried to free her wrist, but found that he wasn't holding her tightly, yet he was firmly preventing her from moving.
"Wait a minute." Jane stopped and stared into his eyes. " Lin Xiao, I'm not your property. You can't just make decisions for me like this, but I need to get my people settled first."
Lin Xiao stopped too. He looked at her, slowly exhaled, and softened his tone. "I didn't intend to make the decision for you. But Jane, there's something in New York that I absolutely have to do. It's related to me, it's very important, and it will also affect you in the future. Trust me this once, come with me. I'll have someone come and pick up your team; it won't cause any delays. If you find that my arrangements aren't good, you can come back anytime."
Jane looked at him for a long while. She could tell that Lin Xiao was genuinely anxious, but he didn't force her. He was the kind of person who became more serious when things were going on.
"Then we should at least pack our bags," Jane said.
Lin Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, then leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I'll give you half an hour. I'll wait for you in the car."
Jane hummed in agreement and turned to walk towards the RV. After taking only two steps, she turned back and called out, " Lin Xiao."
"Um?"
"Don't you dare interrupt me again. I'll take everything you mentioned; it sounds just like Darcy from ' Pride and Prejudice '."
Lin Xiao was taken aback by her words. It took him a couple of seconds to process what she meant, then he grinned and asked, "So, did Darcy end up marrying his Elizabeth?"
Jane didn't answer, only rolled her eyes dramatically, and quickly climbed into the RV.
Lin Xiao stood there, looking at the warm yellow light at the entrance of the RV, the smile on his face slowly fading. He looked up at the sky; the sun was almost setting behind the sand dunes, its golden light bathing the whole world in an orange-red hue.
He took out the communication stone and weighed it in his palm. As for Thor, the story should be that the Thor 1 plot has ended— the Bifrost has exploded, Loki has fallen, and the next target is that madman with the Tesseract. He will soon be returning to New York, where there is a Sling Ring that was accidentally opened by the chubby boy, a bald man who calls himself Wang, and the Sorcerer Supreme has been waiting for him for a long time.
Lin Xiao took a deep breath and whispered to the empty sand, "New York is getting more and more lively."