On the way back, Lin Xiao seemed to be in a good mood, humming a little tune as he drove, but his accent was very strange. Wanda could tell it was Dragon Country, but were you sure you weren't being discriminatory? What was all that nonsense about Sunshine Rainbow White Pony? It was really weird, making Wanda frown. Suddenly, Lin Xiao looked in her direction, revealing his big white teeth.
"Hey pretty, it's still early to head back. Let's find a place to grab a drink and celebrate your first day at work."
Upon hearing this, Wanda's defenses instantly hardened. Alarm bells blared in her head. Going to a bar alone with him so late at night? What were you planning? She immediately pressed herself against the passenger door, her face full of suspicion. "Sorry, I'm not going. I need to go back and get ready; I have work tomorrow."
"No way." Lin Xiao clicked his tongue with a regretful expression. "Oh, that's a real shame. I was thinking of taking you to broaden your horizons. Didn't you want Captain America's autograph? We're planning to get together later, so you can meet him in person. An autograph is nothing compared to a casual chat. I can even get you two to take a picture together."
Wanda's breath almost stopped. Captain America? The target Hydra had painstakingly sought to get close to, now had an opportunity delivered right to their doorstep. But looking at Lin Xiao's maliciously smiling face, she had a feeling this was a trap.
Seeing her hesitation, Lin Xiao simply took out his phone and put it on speakerphone.
The phone rang three times before being answered. A deep, slightly weary male voice came from the other end. " Lin Xiao? What's up?"
Wanda's pupils contracted sharply. She recognized that voice. Before she was transferred to S.H.I.E.L.D.. at the base, she had heard it countless times. She had reviewed Captain America's file and knew that the voice belonged to Steve. There was no mistake.
" Steve! Have you eaten yet?" Lin Xiao asked in a very familiar tone as he turned the steering wheel.
"You're still looking at materials on the 3-3 system, why are you calling me?"
"Alright, alright, what are you still doing after work?" Lin Xiao interrupted him directly. "See you at the usual place tonight, we agreed, didn't you? I'm heading over now, I ordered you your favorite Want Want milk, bye."
Before Steve could reply, Lin Xiao abruptly hung up the phone, tossed it onto the center console, and raised an eyebrow at Wanda: "All done. Shall I take you home now?"
Wanda bit her lip, cursing Lin Xiao hundreds of times in her mind, but pretended to be interested:
"Then I'll go grab a drink. After all, I'll get to see Captain America. Thank you, Lin Xiao."
Lin Xiao didn't answer Wanda. A slight smile played on his lips as he looked at the road ahead, but his eyes shone with an unusual brightness.
In a hotel room at the Vought Tower, Steve Rogers held his phone, his brows furrowed into a deep frown, the classic expression of an old man on the subway looking at his phone.
He glanced at the tactical report in his hand, then at the disconnected call screen.
"Where's the 'old place'? Where's the 'old place' around here?" He scratched his short, blond hair, completely baffled. "Also, what's Want Want Milk? Is it good?"
Not long after, in an underground bar in Brooklyn, New York, that had a sign that read " Midnight Knight ".
The deafening heavy metal music and the smoky environment made Wanda's brows furrow tightly; she hated noisy places like this. Lin Xiao noticed the girl's displeasure, walked straight to the bar, and pulled out a black card, slapping it on the counter.
"Boss, I've booked this place for today. Please clear the area. I'll pay for all the customers' bills."
The bartender, a bald white man, glanced at the black card on the table, then at Lin Xiao's arrogant face, and grinned broadly. He immediately called over his bodyguards and began dismissing the customers one by one. But a moment later, a dispute broke out in a corner. It turned out that a group of black men wearing thick gold chains and rings were clearly unhappy. The leader, a fat man, slammed his hand on the table, swinging the chain around his neck. "Xie Butou, don't you know first come, first served? I'll pay double, you get out!"
Lin Xiao chuckled. "Oh, trying to outdo me in wealth?" He pulled out his wallet, took out a thick wad of US dollars, and slammed it onto the fat man's table with a "thud."
"Trying to outspend me with money? You'll be crushed by it. Get lost now, you're not too late."
He got into position, waiting for the other side to utter a few harsh words, then he'd throw out an even thicker wad of cash, enjoying the typical show-off thrill of a rich and powerful novel.
But when the fat, dark-skinned man looked at the money on the table, he swallowed hard, gave a wink to his companions, grabbed the money, stood up, and slunk away.
Lin Xiao felt a little numb. This was totally unpredictable!
He was puzzled when he caught a glimpse of the ground. In the chaos, when the fat man was picking up money, his big gold chain had fallen off, and no one had picked it up. Curious, he walked over, picked it up, and weighed it in his hand. His face instantly turned green.
This is so light, the paint at the joints is peeling off, it's just big plastic!
Lin Xiao was so angry that he crushed the fake chain and threw it into the trash can. He turned around and met Wanda's gaze, noticing that she was frowning in disgust, but the corners of her mouth were turning up in a smile that she couldn't suppress.
"Ahem, the area's been cleared out. I'll have them clean it up in a bit. Let's find a place to sit first." Lin Xiao walked back without batting an eye, glanced at his watch, and said, " Captain America is probably on his way. Let's get something to drink first."
As a result, they waited for two hours.
Wanda went from being enthusiastic at first to frequently checking her watch. When she finally bit off the straw of her fourth juice, she couldn't take it anymore, grabbed her bag, and stood up. "He's not coming. I have to go. It's too late."
"Hey, hey, don't rush me." Lin Xiao quickly grabbed her. "He's a very inflexible person, and he was only recently thawed. He's being slow and indecisive, his limbs are still adjusting, so he'll definitely take longer. Let me tell you about what happened when he was first pulled out of the water; you probably haven't heard of it."
Wanda stopped in her tracks. She bit her lip, but finally sat down opposite her.
"You say."
"It's that iron box they dug out of the glacier..." Lin Xiao started talking off the cuff, recounting everything from Captain America's awakening to how Fury faked a hospital to fool Captain America... After talking for what seemed like forever, he snapped his the Snap. "Talking is boring, my mouth is dry. How about this, let's have a drink and talk one sentence at a time. I'll start, I won't talk without a drink."
Wanda was listening intently when Lin Xiao said this, and she frowned. She had no choice but to order a glass of Romanée-Conti.
Lin Xiao poured himself a full glass, downed it in one gulp, and then started talking again. But as he talked, his words veered off course. He began to recount how he used to climb onto roofs and steal bird nests in Dragon Country when he was a child, leaving Wanda stunned.
Perhaps it was the alcohol taking effect, or perhaps the atmosphere was too relaxed. Wanda held her glass in both hands, her gaze slowly becoming unfocused. She thought of Sokovia, that childhood always filled with explosions and alarms. Her finger traced circles on the rim of the glass as she spoke of herself, of Pietro, until her eyes glistened at the end.
Lin Xiao didn't interrupt, listened quietly, and silently handed over a box of tissues.
Wanda drew a card, pressed it to the corner of her eye, feeling a little embarrassed. She looked up and found Lin Xiao quietly watching her, a faint smile on his lips, looking extremely serious and focused, without a trace of his usual chatter. For a moment, she felt her chest pound, and she quickly lowered her head, though her ears felt a little hot.
The atmosphere instantly became somewhat awkward. A loud "smack" startled Wanda, and the previous tension vanished completely. Lin Xiao slammed his hand on the table and stood up. "Brother will teach you a dance, our Dragon Country's divine dance, a cure-all."
He gestured to the bartender to play music, and began to sway to the loud music, his shoulders shrugging and his steps heavy.
"That's called a bear shivering! It's amazing! It makes you feel so light." Lin Xiao explained seriously.
Wanda looked up at him, initially disgusted, thinking, "Does this guy have some serious illness?" But then she couldn't help but burst out laughing, and finally stood up and shrugged her shoulders like him.
"Yes, take a step with your left leg, and then shudder. Oh dear, you're so stiff." Lin Xiao walked over and casually took her hand.
Wanda later felt that this was the happiest night of her twenty-three years, and then her memory faded...
When Wanda woke up again, she found herself lying on a soft, large bed, her head throbbing. She struggled to sit up, and her hand touched a warm body. She turned her head. Lin Xiao was sleeping soundly, shirtless, snoring loudly.
Wanda's face turned deathly pale. What had happened? Yesterday... She abruptly threw back the covers and found herself wearing yesterday's clothes, only they were wrinkled.
I had just breathed a sigh of relief when a slight stinging pain came from my neck.
She jumped out of bed and rushed into the bathroom. In the mirror, a deep red hickey was clearly visible on her fair neck.
Memories of last night flooded back. Princess Lin Xiao carried the drowsy girl into the room, muttering, "We lost out big time today. It's okay to leave a mark, consider it compensation..." Then something warm was pressed against her neck, and she felt a sharp pain.
"Ah!!!"
The deafening scream startled Lin Xiao, who rolled onto the carpet in fright.
"You! You!" Wanda stormed out of the bathroom, clutching her neck, her eyes bloodshot, her hands trembling slightly, a murderous intent radiating from her. "What did you do to me!"
Lin Xiao got up from the carpet and rubbed his messy hair. He glanced at the furious Wanda, then looked down at his bare upper body. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he clutched his chest tightly with both hands, retreating defensively to the corner of the bed.
"What do you mean, 'what did I do'?" Lin Xiao's voice suddenly rose, sounding as aggrieved as a wronged wife. "I'd like to ask you that too! What did you do to me?"
Wanda's hand, holding up the red light, froze in mid-air.
"You were dead drunk last night, and you insisted on dancing with me, and you even threw up all over me! I finally managed to get you back, and you wouldn't let me leave, biting and nibbling at me..." Lin Xiao pointed to his shoulder, heartbroken, "You took advantage of me, and now you want to kill me to cover it up?"
"You're talking nonsense!" Wanda trembled with rage. "How do you explain the mark on my neck?!"
"That's... that's what you did last night!" Lin Xiao said matter-of-factly. "You were drunk and said you were hot, so you insisted on choking yourself to cool off!"
Wanda's mind went blank for a moment. Looking at Lin Xiao's humiliated appearance, she even began to doubt her own memory.
"I... you..." She stammered for a long time, her face turning from white to red, and finally to blood red.
"I don't care!" Lin Xiao shouted as he put on his coat and ran towards the door. "This can't be left like this! I'm going to find Sitwell and demand an explanation! What kind of relative did he send? Is he trying to sexually harass his boss?!"
Upon hearing the name " Sitwell," Wanda's red aura vanished in fright, and she lunged forward to cover Lin Xiao's mouth.
"You're not allowed to go!"
She came with a mission, and if Lin Xiao causes such a scene, the entire S.H.I.E.L.D.. will know that she was with Lin Xiao last night.
"Mmm..." Lin Xiao's mouth was covered by her, but his eyes curved into crescent moons with laughter, revealing a sly smile.
Wanda looked into his eyes and suddenly realized what he meant.
It seems I've been tricked by that bastard again.