Lin Xiao swallowed the last bite of his airline meal, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and leaned back in his seat to rest his eyes.
The flight went directly from New York to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. Everyone aboard except him worked for Stark Industries-engineers, security, logistics staff, and a few people who looked like military liaisons. Tony Stark himself was in first class, of course. Lin Xiao had been assigned a seat in the very last row of economy, right next to the lavatory. Before boarding, that assistant of Stark's had handed him his boarding pass with a thoroughly fake smile, saying it was "Mr. Stark's special arrangement." Lin Xiao had laughed right then.
Petty. So damn petty.
But it didn't matter. The last row had plenty of room. At six foot eleven, he could stretch his legs out here, and with a wall behind him, he didn't have to worry about crushing a seat. The lavatory was just two steps away. Aside from the occasional whiff of disinfectant, this spot was much more comfortable than that crappy apartment he'd had in Queens.
"Would you like a drink, sir?"
Lin Xiao opened his eyes and found that the blonde, blue-eyed flight attendant from earlier had wheeled her cart back again.
The flight attendant's name was Ella, and she had "passed by" his row at least six times since takeoff. The first time, she brought him a blanket. The second time, she asked if he wanted headphones. The third time, she asked if he wanted nuts. The fourth time, she asked if he was cold. The fifth time, she asked if he wanted to move to an empty seat farther forward-and after Lin Xiao politely declined, she came back a sixth time with the drinks cart.
"Just mineral water, thanks." Lin Xiao gave her a gentle smile.
Ella bent down to get a bottle of mineral water from the bottom shelf of the cart. Her blonde ponytail slipped over her shoulder, and she bent considerably farther than getting a bottle of water required. When she straightened and handed it over, her fingers accidentally brushed Lin Xiao's.
"Oh, sorry." She smiled with her lips pressed together, the tips of her ears a little red.
"It's fine." Lin Xiao took the bottle and discovered a string of numbers written on its side in ballpoint pen, followed by a name and a smiley face.
Ella.
Lin Xiao looked up at her. The blonde flight attendant bit her lower lip, blushed even harder, and hurried away with the drinks cart, pushing it at least three times faster than when she had arrived.
Lin Xiao looked down at the phone number with an odd expression.
He turned the bottle over and stared at the numbers for a few seconds.
"Doupao."
Ding-here.
"Do you think there's something off about this woman?"
The system fell silent for a moment.
Ding-wasn't the host just staring at her legs? Why are you suddenly thinking so much?
Lin Xiao's expression didn't change. "Does looking at her legs conflict with suspecting there's something off about her?"
Ding-no. But according to this system's observations, the host spent approximately seventy-three percent of the time looking at her legs, approximately zero point five percent suspecting something was off about her, and the remaining twenty-six point five percent thinking, "Those legs are longer than my lifespan."
"...Could you fucking stop undermining me?"
D-this system is merely stating objective facts.
Lin Xiao snorted, set the bottle on his tray table, and shifted into a more comfortable position. He didn't argue aloud, but his mind had already started working.
He was some unlucky bastard sitting in the last row of economy, next to the lavatory, while Ella's assigned section was first class. Why would a first-class flight attendant keep running to the very back of economy instead of attending to Tony? Every time she came, she had a different reason. A blanket, headphones, nuts, asking whether he was cold, asking whether he wanted to change seats, drinks. Six visits, six reasons, not a single repeat. A normal flight attendant might pass by once or twice at most. Who would specifically come up with six excuses to approach some big guy sitting in the last row?
And there was one more thing, the most important point. Lin Xiao knew his current face was decent-with a charm stat of 18, he could hold his own anywhere. But he also knew that when he stood there with his six-foot-eleven frame, a normal girl's first reaction would be to back away, not press closer. Ella wasn't afraid at all. Instead, she kept approaching him of her own accord. Now that was interesting.
Either she had unusual tastes, or she was after something else.
"Doupao."
Ding-
"Do you think she might have an ulterior motive? Or be connected to the Ten Rings?"
Ding-that deduction is quite a leap, host. But it isn't entirely unreasonable.
"No shit. Tony's in first class, I'm with S.H.I.E.L.D., and everyone else on this plane is either a Stark Industries employee or a military representative going to Afghanistan for a weapons demonstration. If someone wanted to plant eyes and ears near Tony, the easiest approach would be through the security sent by S.H.I.E.L.D. Low-ranking, but with access to key information, and they wouldn't be watched too closely."
He was about to trade a few more quips with the system when the plane suddenly jolted violently.
The lights flickered twice, and the overhead compartments gave a muffled creak. A wave of subdued cries rose through the cabin. Water sloshed out of someone's cup, and others gripped their armrests.
Lin Xiao barely reacted, but he heard the cart.
Ella's drinks cart tipped off balance, its wheels swerving sharply left, and the momentum sent her toppling sideways. She was only two steps away from Lin Xiao, and she fell straight into his arms.
Lin Xiao instinctively reached out to steady her shoulder while his other hand caught the cart before it could roll away.
The whole thing took less than two seconds.
At some point, Ella had braced her hand against Lin Xiao's chest, her fingers slightly spread, resting against the contours of the muscles beneath his hoodie. A few strands of her blonde hair had come loose and brushed across his wrist, carrying a very faint scent of perfume.
She looked up, her face so close that Lin Xiao could make out the faint freckles across the bridge of her nose. Her blue eyes glistened with lingering fright, her lips slightly parted, her breathing still uneven.
"Sorry-I, I lost my balance-" Her voice trembled a little, but she didn't immediately remove her fingers from Lin Xiao's chest. Instead, as she drew her hand back, her fingertips brushed him ever so lightly.
Ella straightened and smoothed her disheveled hair, the tips of her ears visibly turning pink. She lowered her head to straighten the bottles on the cart, her movements a little flustered. A bottle of mineral water toppled over, and it took her two attempts to set it upright.
"Sir, I'm so sorry-" She lifted her eyes, her lashes fluttering, striking just the right note of allure.
"It's all right." Lin Xiao withdrew his hands, an honest, guileless smile on his face.
Ella wheeled the drinks cart away. Before leaving, she glanced back at him, meeting Lin Xiao's gaze. As though she had been caught in the act, she quickly turned away and pushed the cart faster, her ponytail swaying against her shoulders more vigorously than usual.
Lin Xiao watched her disappear behind the first-class curtain, the guileless smile slowly fading from his face.
Interesting. Very interesting.