The curtains in Pandorac 1306 were drawn tightly, making it impossible to tell whether it was morning or night outside. The two cell phones on the bedside table, one belonging to Lin Xiao and the other to Hill, had been switched off by Lin Xiao. The two of them had been in bed like this for the entire day.
Hill was experiencing that kind of sensation for the first time, and now her whole body felt like it was falling apart. She tried to sit up by supporting herself on her arms, but as soon as she lifted her waist half an inch, a wave of soreness shot from the bottom of her spine all the way to the back of her head, and she fell back into the pillow. She stared at the ceiling, her jaw clenched tightly, and in her mind she cursed Lin Xiao's ancestors for eighteen generations.
The culprit next to her was still asleep, breathing evenly, with one arm wrapped around her waist, heavy as a board. Hill reached out to pry open his fingers one by one, but just as she got to the third one, Lin Xiao grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms.
"Lie down a little longer, it's still early," Lin Xiao murmured without even opening his eyes.
"No, I need to get up. I have things to take care of."
"Sweetie, lie down a little longer."
No, let go.
Lin Xiao opened one eye and turned his head to look at her. Hill was glaring at him, her gray-green eyes filled with both shame and anger, but the blush on her face betrayed her. Lin Xiao's gaze slid from her face to her collarbone, then to the small section of her shoulder peeking out from under the blanket, and he clicked his tongue twice.
"What are you looking at?" Hill pulled the blanket up to her chin.
"It's beautiful." Lin Xiao said matter-of-factly, gently stroking her shoulder with his fingers. "My own deputy director, can't I even look at him?"
Hill slapped his hand away, and as he pulled away, she used her strength to sit up. The blanket slipped off her shoulders, but she quickly pulled it back and wrapped it tightly around herself. Sitting on the edge of the bed, her legs dangling, her toes barely touching the carpet before she shuddered. She took a deep breath and stood up. Her knees buckled, and she swayed half a step forward, only managing to stay upright by bracing herself against the bedside table.
Lin Xiao rolled out of bed, walked barefoot behind her, and lightly placed his hands on her waist. "Slow down."
"Shut up."
"I'll help you."
"Need not."
You can't even stand up straight.
Hill turned and glared at him. Lin Xiao's hair was a mess, and there were several red scratches on his shoulders from where she had scratched him last night. He looked even more irritating than usual. But his hand was firmly on hers, and he didn't take the opportunity to grope her again. Hill stared at him for two seconds, then turned her head away.
"Bring me my clothes."
Lin Xiao picked up the coat and shirt from the chair and handed them to her. Hill took them and started putting them on. She moved slowly, buttoning them twice before they were aligned. Lin Xiao stood beside her watching, not urging her, unusually quiet and not saying a word. After she buttoned the last button, he reached out and folded back the part of her collar that had been turned up, his fingers lightly touching the back of her neck.
Hill froze.
"Don't touch it."
"Let me straighten your collar."
"I don't need you to fix it." Hill took a step forward to avoid him, but stumbled again. Lin Xiao quickly grabbed her arm and didn't let go this time. With his other hand, he picked up her hair tie from the bedside table and handed it to her.
"Tie your hair up, otherwise you won't look like a deputy director when you go out."
Hill took it, quickly gathered her hair behind her head and tied it into a low ponytail. Her hand paused behind her head for a moment, then she put it down. Lin Xiao took a step back, put his hands in his pockets, and tilted his head to look at her.
"Can you walk?"
"Able."
Hill took two steps toward the door, her steps unsteady, but at least she stopped swaying. She reached the door, placed her hand on the doorknob, paused, and turned back.
Lin Xiao was sitting on the bedside table looking at her, a smile on his lips.
Hill bit her lower lip, took two steps back, tiptoed, and kissed him lightly on the forehead, pulling away as soon as their lips touched. Then she turned and walked away, this time faster than before. She almost tripped over the edge of the carpet when she got close to the door, but she steadied herself, opened the door, and walked out without looking back.
Lin Xiao touched his forehead and stood there laughing for a while.
Hill had just reached the corner of the corridor when she bumped into Coulson, Coulson was carrying a box of donuts in his left hand. It turned out that yesterday, after helping Lin Xiao cover up for him, Coulson had spent the entire day trying to come up with the right words to deal with the deputy director, but he hadn't received any inquiries from Hill. He initially thought Hill must have other matters to attend to, but after a whole day without any news, he couldn't sit still any longer. He tried calling Hill, but couldn't get through, and he also tried calling Lin Xiao, but no one answered. Unable to wait any longer, he rushed to the Panduolake Hotel this morning. To his surprise, as soon as he went upstairs, he saw Hill. His gaze swept from her face to her neck, and then from her neck to her somewhat unnatural posture.
His gaze shifted to the end of the corridor, where Hill had just come out of... Lin Xiao's room.
Coulson opened his mouth. The donut box wobbled in his hand. He closed his mouth, opened it again, closed it again. In the end, he just handed the donut to Hill.
"... Want some?"
Hill glanced at him, her face expressionless, then reached for a donut and took a bite.
"You write the report on Banner's matter," she said, her voice regaining its usual coldness, though the last syllable was a beat shorter than usual. " Lin Xiao wasn't involved in the operation; his whereabouts are unknown."
Coulson watched her limp toward the elevator, then glanced at the closed door, then at the box of donuts in her hand. He looked down at his shoes, muttered something under his breath, switched the box to his other hand, and followed her.
"Um, Deputy Director," Coulson caught up with her at the elevator door, "Why can't I get through to your phone?"
"The power is out."
"I can't get through to Lin Xiao either."
"Ask him."
Coulson opened his mouth, then realized he didn't know what to ask, so he simply didn't. The elevator doors opened, and the two of them stepped inside, each leaning against one side, separated by a box of donuts. Coulson stared at the floor numbers as he descended, when suddenly he heard Hill sigh very softly, a sigh that carried something he had never heard from her before.
"Submit the report later," Hill said with a yawn.
"Okay." Coulson nodded.
The elevator continued downwards. Coulson looked at Hill's reflection in the elevator mirror; she was looking down at her phone, swiping her finger across the screen to lock it, then swiping again. She repeated the action three times, even though there was nothing on the screen.
Coulson looked away, staring at the tips of his shoes. He decided he'd go back to the donut shop tonight; this one was too sweet.
Meanwhile, on the top floor of the Triskelion in New York, Fury sat behind his desk with a document spread out in front of him, but his one eye was fixed on a delivery box on the table. The box was small, wrapped in kraft paper, and the sender's name was written as: Lin Xiao.
He frowned, remained silent for a few seconds, and slowly unwrapped the kraft paper. Inside was a book, a philosophy book from Dragon Country, with a simple white cover and black lettering. The title was " A Loss Is a Blessing." Fury slowly turned to the first page. On the title page, someone had written a line in marker, the handwriting crooked and messy. "We're even this time. Don't mess with my people next time."
Fury stared at the line of words for a long time, then slowly closed the book, placed it on the table, and patted it with his palm, as if trying to brush away some dust or calm some emotions.
The office was quiet. He turned his chair around to face the floor-to-ceiling window. The New York skyline outside looked a cold, hard gray-blue in the midday sun. He leaned back in his chair, his one eye half-closed, and didn't speak for a while.
"Damn it."
The sound was very soft; only he could hear it.
He picked up the encrypted phone and dialed a number. It rang seven or eight times before being answered. The wind was very strong on the other end, howling into the receiver, mixed with the roar of a snowmobile engine.
" Natasha," Fury's tone returned to its usual composure, "How are things going on your end?"
"Almost there." Natasha's voice came through the microphone, broken and intermittent, as if the signal had been scattered by the wind. "Target taken, on the return journey."
When will you be back?
"Two or three days." Natasha paused. "Wait, I saw something on the way. We'll talk about it when I get back."
Fury frowned slightly, but didn't press further. "Be careful."
"Hmm." The wind subsided a bit on Natasha's end, as if she had stopped the car. "Chief."
"Um?"
"What has Lin Xiao been up to lately?"
Fury's grip on the microphone tightened for a moment. He remembered the book " A Loss Is a Blessing " on the table, and then the report Hill had just sent. " Banner's whereabouts are unknown, and Agent Lin Xiao was not involved in this operation." He mentally reviewed these two lines, and his lips twitched.
"On vacation."
"A vacation?" Natasha's tone held a clear hint of doubt.
"Yes. Take a vacation. We'll talk about it when you get back."
The phone call ended. Fury put the receiver back and stared at the book " A Loss Is a Blessing " for a while longer. He decided to have someone put the book in the deepest cabinet in the S.H.I.E.L.D.. archives tomorrow, next to Howard Stark's original, rejected draft of the " Avengers Initiative ".
No one can open that cabinet without his permission.
On the vast, white ice plains of the Arctic, Natasha turned off the snowmobile and jumped out. Before her lay the wreckage of an airplane, half-buried in the snow, its fuselage rusted, one wing broken off, the other still barely attached to the body. Faded serial numbers and a five-pointed star covered in frost were faintly visible on the fuselage.
Natasha crouched down and brushed away the snow. The cockpit window was shattered, and it was empty. The cockpit was covered with a thick layer of ice, but there was something on the co-pilot's seat. She reached in and touched a square metal box. The box was covered with a layer of frost, but it was well sealed. There were two lines of writing engraved on the lid. She wiped away the ice with her fingers and studied them for a while.
Natasha turned the box over; on the bottom was a small label. The label was yellowed and brittle, with a line of English text typed on it, but it was too badly eroded to read.
She stared at the words for a few seconds, put the box back in the passenger seat, stood up, and brushed the snow off her hands.
The wind blew from the edge of the ice field, swirling fine snowflakes that stung her face like needles. Natasha zipped up her coat and walked back to the snowmobile. After a couple of steps, she stopped and looked back at the wreckage of the plane. It lay there in the snow like a giant bird frozen to death, the five-pointed star on its fuselage now just a blurry outline gnawed away by the ice.
She took out her phone and took two photos of the plane and the box. The signal was bad, so she couldn't send the photos, but she could save them.
Let's talk about it when we get back to a place with a signal.