At an original factory outlet store for suits, Hill tossed his suit bag onto the sofa, took two steps back, and crossed his arms.
"You need to dress formally when you meet Steve later, don't be so casual. I ordered a suit for you in advance, try it on."
Lin Xiao unfolded the suit jacket; it was dark gray, double-breasted, and the fabric felt nice to the touch. He glanced at the tag— Italy, which he couldn't understand. Turning it over, he saw that the size chart was exactly what he'd been given, with even the shoulder width, waist, and sleeve length clearly marked. He grinned, tossed his jacket onto the sofa, and pulled on the trousers first. The waist fit perfectly, but the thighs were a little tight—he could wear them. He twisted them a couple of times; they were just a bit too tight.
"It's alright, the pants are fine."
Then he went to put on his suit. As he put his arms into the sleeves and braced his shoulders, snap! The underarm seams of both sleeves burst open at the same time. Hill opened his mouth to say something, but Lin Xiao had already buttoned up the shirt. The two buttons on his chest flew off, and the third button finally caught on as he inhaled, but as soon as he relaxed, the button popped off again.
Lin Xiao walked in front of the mirror and turned around. He didn't seem to care about the button that had been blown off and the tear in the hole. He then did a bodybuilding pose in front of the mirror.
"I think he's pretty handsome."
Hill felt she couldn't bear to look and covered her eyes with one hand. She took a deep breath.
"... Is this really okay?"
Lin Xiao smiled slightly and nodded. Hill didn't say anything more, only saying:
"Then, just keep your legs close together when you walk, and try not to raise your arms. I'm a little curious about how Mei usually buys clothes for you?"
Lin Xiao chuckled, "She directly hired a famous France team. They specialize in making costumes for film crews, and they make plus-size costumes for me to wear."
Hill rolled her eyes, but in the end she gave in and took Lin Xiao to the makeshift hospital.
In the hospital, Lin Xiao leaned against the wall, holding a bunch of sunflowers he had just bought from a discounted flower shop on the roadside. He was eating sunflower seeds as he watched Hill knock on the door of room 207.
The door opened, and Lin Xiao stood up and followed her. As soon as he entered, he saw the person sitting on the bed. The person's blond hair was shaved short, his face was clean-shaven, and his blue eyes were still a little puffy from just waking up.
Lin Xiao stopped, grinning as he raised the flowers in his hand.
Good morning, Captain. I've brought you some warmth.
Steve's gaze shifted from the flowers to Lin Xiao's face. From his angle, the scene he saw was: an Asian man, over two meters tall and unusually robust, wearing trousers but with a torn shirt, two buttons missing, exposing most of his chest. He held a bunch of sunflowers in his hand, a smile that was overly enthusiastic on his face.
Steve's eyes narrowed. A silence lasted for about three seconds.
"Are you Japan?"
Lin Xiao's smile froze on his face. The sunflower petals trembled. He tilted his head, as if he hadn't heard clearly.
What did you just say?
"I said you're Japan?"
"Captain," Lin Xiao placed the sunflower at the foot of the bed, pulled up a chair, sat down, rested his arms on his knees, and his tone shifted to one of "I'm going to teach you a lesson," "Let me break it down for you. Have you ever seen a Japan as tall as me? Have you ever seen a Japan whose suit sleeves rip? Are there Japan as handsome as me? Take a close look at my face, and then think about all those little landmines you've seen."
" Lin Xiao," Hill whispered at the door, trying to stop him.
Lin Xiao ignored her and continued, "How many Asians have you met? I bet you can count them on one hand. I understand if you think all Asians are Japan. But you have to admit, what you just said, put together with your Captain America face, is too much of a contrast. Your face represents progress, justice, and freedom, but the first thing you say is stereotypes. What will people think if word gets out? Let me introduce myself, I'm from Dragon Country, my name is Lin Xiao."
Steve's lips twitched. He opened his mouth.
"You're right. I apologize. I haven't met many Asians; those on the battlefield were mostly Japan, so I subconsciously assumed you were too... That was a limitation of my understanding."
"That's more like it." Lin Xiao waved his hand, stood up, and his gaze fell on the few pieces of fruit on the bedside table. He casually picked up an apple, turned it over, and glanced at it. There were a few very faint fingernail marks on it.
Lin Xiao held the apple up to the light, examined it, and then looked at Steve.
"Your apple is covered in fingernail marks. What are you recording? Are you afraid someone will poison it? Are you switching fruits?"
Steve didn't reply. He glanced at Lin Xiao, a look that held a silent understanding of being exposed.
"I was right." Lin Xiao put the apple back and dusted off his hands. "Captain, if I were you, I wouldn't feel at ease either."
" Lin Xiao," Hill called again, his voice a little harsher than before.
Lin Xiao waved to her and turned back to look at Steve. Steve was sitting on the bed, his hands resting on the blanket, his knuckles slightly clenched. His face looked worse than before, but his eyes were clear. Lin Xiao looked at him for two seconds, then changed the subject.
"But you look better than I expected. Your complexion is rosy, and you speak with a strong voice. It seems you've almost fully recovered."
The last word had barely left his lips when Steve's fist came flying.
Lin Xiao dodged the punch by tilting his head. The wind from the punch grazed his ear. Steve didn't retract his fist; instead, he flipped his wrist, turning his fist into a claw, his five fingers gripping Lin Xiao's neck with a tricky angle and precise force. Lin Xiao leaned back half a step, his neck barely slipping past his fingertips.
"Hmph." Lin Xiao laughed, reaching out to grab Steve's wrist, his fingers tightening slightly. Steve's face twitched, his teeth clenched, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged. He tried to pull his hand back, struggling, but couldn't budge it.
Lin Xiao looked at his expression, then glanced down at the hand holding his wrist, and then at Steve's clenched teeth. As if suddenly remembering something, he loosened his grip and smiled apologetically.
"Sorry, I forgot. You're just an ordinary person who's slightly stronger than me. I overdid it. Being alert is a good habit."
Steve withdrew his hand and looked down at the red mark around his wrist. He looked up, and his gaze towards Lin Xiao changed.
"You're also a enhanced human?"
"Alright, stop it, Lin Xiao." Hill walked over from the doorway, glanced at Lin Xiao, and her eyes were full of reproach and helplessness.
Lin Xiao chuckled awkwardly, walked up and gently put his arm around Hill's waist, then lowered his head and touched her lips.
"It's my fault, it's my fault."
Hill merely glared at Lin Xiao without pulling away, but all of this seemed absurd to Steve. He froze on the bed, his eyes wide, pupils contracting, lips slightly parted, as if he had seen something completely beyond his comprehension. To those Steve of that era, the scene before him was equivalent to a Black man looking at a rancher and saying, "Sorry, I got your daughter pregnant."
After Lin Xiao kissed Hill, he turned to see Steve Captain America still with that same expression, as if he had been frozen in time.
"What are you doing?" Steve's voice was forced out through clenched teeth.
Lin Xiao put his arm around Hill's waist and tilted his head.
"What's wrong?"
Steve's gaze swept back and forth between Lin Xiao and Hill twice. His expression shifted from shock to confusion, then from confusion to something deeper. He took a step back and murmured softly.
"The strange thing on the nurse's wrist, the black officer, your identity, those broadcasts, and your actions just now... it seems I guessed right, I'm still in Germany..." His voice trailed off, his speech quickening, the last few words almost a soliloquy, "This is Nine Heads..."
"Captain." Lin Xiao took a step forward.
Steve looked up, his eyes filled with something Lin Xiao couldn't decipher.
"Don't speak." Steve looked at Lin Xiao warily.
"You can't figure it out." Lin Xiao stopped in front of him, looking down at him. "All the answers you're having in your head are wrong. Because you're treating this place like 1945. You think it's Hydra's doing. You think these are all enemy tricks."
Steve didn't reply, but his silence was the answer.
Lin Xiao bent down, raised his hand, and flicked Steve's forehead.
"Hey, what are you doing, Lin Xiao?" Hill called out.
Steve tilted his head back, a red mark popping out on his forehead. He stared wide-eyed at Lin Xiao, completely stunned.
"Is it possible," Lin Xiao withdrew his finger, his voice neither loud nor soft, "That times have changed, sir?"
Lin Xiao smiled slightly, walked to the television, turned off the VCR behind the television, and turned it back on. He then switched several channels and jumped to one where the most prominent display read "2012 Major League Baseball!"
Hill took a step forward, trying to stop Lin Xiao. Lin Xiao turned his head to look at her.
"He can handle more than you think. Instead of letting him guess, it's better to tell him the truth."
Hill glanced at him but said nothing more.
Lin Xiao turned back to look at Steve Captain America, who was still staring at the strangely dressed people on the TV and the numbers in the most prominent position, his lips trembling slightly. He slowly turned his head to look at Lin Xiao's face, his voice as dry as sandpaper.
"That was... 2012?"
"Right."
"So, I missed... seventy years?"
"Right."
Steve remained silent for a long time. His fingers slowly clenched and unclenched on the blanket. His breathing went from rapid to steady, and after an unknown amount of time, Steve finally spoke.
"I still don't believe it. I want to be alone for a while now." His voice was flat, so flat that no emotion could be detected.
"Okay." Lin Xiao turned and walked out, pulling Hill along. He stopped at the door and looked back.
Steve was still sitting on the bed with his eyes closed, the bunch of sunflowers leaning crookedly against the foot of the bed. Lin Xiao thought for a moment and added a sentence.
"Team leader."
Steve didn't open his eyes.
Welcome to 2012.
Steve remained closed. Two seconds later, his head lolled to the side, and he slumped to the ground. Lin Xiao rushed back to catch him, only to find that he had completely passed out, his head drooping to the side, his lips slightly parted, but his breathing was still steady. The red mark on his forehead was still there.
Lin Xiao laid him flat on the bed, pulled the blanket up a bit, and turned to walk towards the door. Hill stood in the doorway, one hand on the doorframe, the other holding her phone to her ear. She glanced at Lin Xiao, a look of helplessness on her face.
" Director Fury," Hill said into the microphone, taking a deep breath, "The captain's awake. Lin Xiao told him it's 2012."
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone. Then there was a heavy thud, like something heavy sliding off the chair and onto the floor.
"Chief?"
"... I'm fine." Fury's voice came through the receiver, slightly hoarse. "What did you say?"
" Lin Xiao told the captain that this year is 2012."
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone. Hill heard a very soft, suppressed "Fuck you."
P. S.: Happy National Day everyone! My new book, "I Sell Gashapon in Marvel," will be released soon! I hope it brings you double the joy!