Lin Xiao's phone vibrated again on the bedside table, buzzing and sounding both urgent and annoying.
But he couldn't care less about any of that. Not because of him, but because the Valkyrie Sif was straddling him, her long, dark brown hair cascading down, a few strands clinging to her collarbone where she was lightly sweating. Her breathing was a little heavy as she looked down at him, her eyes, usually cold enough to cut a knife, now wet with tears.
" Lin Xiao, your phone is ringing again..." Sif's voice was hoarse, and she only managed to say half a sentence before Lin Xiao grabbed her waist and pressed her down, turning the rest of her words into a muffled thud.
"Don't worry about it, keep going." Lin Xiao tilted his head back to kiss her chin, seemingly unconcerned.
The phone vibrated for a while, then stopped. A few seconds later, it started again, like a death knell. Sif frowned, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and reached out to press against Lin Xiao's chest, determined not to let him move closer.
Answer the phone, it's so noisy.
"It's really nothing." Lin Xiao turned his head, brushing her hair aside while pondering. Thor should be in New York right now, being taken by Walker and Bobby to have some fun. After all, he had given Walker and the others $500,000 to treat their good brother well. But the resentful look Thor gave when he left was hilarious to think about. As for Hill, he had taken the day off. Although she didn't pay much attention to him after he got off the helipad, at least he got off. Loki was locked in a cage and sent to heaven, so he couldn't cause trouble for a while. May and the others were in Kamar-Taj, so they were probably still sleeping.
As for others, even the biggest matters must wait until he finishes this most important life event.
Seeing his stubborn and unyielding attitude, Sif bit her lower lip, pushed against his chest, and sat up. Suddenly, a crisp "pop" sound rang out in the room, like someone pulling out a bottle cork.
Sif blushed and elbowed him away, pulling the blanket over herself and wrapping herself up tightly. Her voice was filled with a deep-seated weariness. "What I mean is, I want to rest. It's been a whole day. Are you even human?"
Lin Xiao didn't press the matter. He lowered his head and kissed her forehead, which was slightly sweaty, and gave her an apologetic smile, "Alright, alright, I won't bother you anymore. You can go to sleep."
He stood up, grabbed his phone, tucked the blanket around Sif, swiped the screen to take a look, and his eyelids twitched involuntarily.
The list of missed calls was densely packed. Hill had seven, Natasha six, Coulson five, Tony four, Banner three, and at the very bottom was Wanda's!
Lin Xiao paused in stroking Sif's hair. Sif, with her eyes closed, slapped his hand away, rolled over, and muttered, "Go clean up your mess." Her breathing soon returned to normal.
Lin Xiao put on a shirt, tiptoed to the outer balcony, and called Hill back.
The phone rang once and was answered. Hill's voice came through, a little helpless and tinged with resentment. "Busy man, you finally answered the phone. Fury's back."
"So what if he's back? Does he expect me to throw him a discharge party?" Lin Xiao leaned against the railing and pulled out a cigarette.
"As soon as he arrived, he announced three things," Hill paused, "One of which concerns your Vought. Because the mothership holds extremely dangerous prisoners like Loki, he bypassed the contract and granted Vought's personnel permission to board the mothership for security. He has personally contacted Tony and Banner."
Lin Xiao's fingers, holding the cigarette, stiffened, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared.
"What do you mean my people can board the mothership? He drafted the terms, it's clearly written in black and white: Vought employees can't board the mothership!" His voice rose a half-octave, his mind racing. Wait a minute, when signing the contract, he deliberately avoided the core facilities red line, intentionally guiding the old fox to guard against this move. How could the old fox possibly...?
"It wasn't in the contract," Hill bluntly shattered his illusions. "But he just approved an extra thirty million dollars as compensation for breach of contract, which was directly deposited into Vought's account as compensation for the manpower that S.H.I.E.L.D.. had forcibly conscripted. Since you couldn't contact him at the time, he had to contact the largest shareholder Tony."
Lin Xiao cursed Black Baldy's ancestors in his mind. This old bastard was willing to pay out of his own pocket to drag him down with him. It was obvious that he saw through Loki's plan to cause trouble on the mothership and wanted him to be his scapegoat.
"Okay, I got it. I'll take care of it right away." He hung up the phone and immediately dialed Tony's number.
The phone rang for a while before being answered, and the background noise was terrible, like it was coming from an assembly workshop.
"My dear son, listen to me." Lin Xiao spoke very quickly, "Without my explicit orders, Vought's people are only responsible for ground security. The one on the mothership was imposed by Fury, it doesn't count. You tell Banner to stay in Vought and not go anywhere else."
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.
Tony's voice came through, unusually dry. "Um... never mind."
"What's the meaning?"
"I was just about to refuse today when Fury transferred the thirty million." Tony sighed. "You're too late. Banner... Banner has already been taken by Steve to the Quinjet for the mothership."
Lin Xiao felt a throbbing sensation in his temples, and the veins on his forehead bulged. "He didn't refuse? Didn't I give him a strict order to stay obediently at Vought during this period?"
"Don't you know Banner?" Tony's tone carried a hint of helplessness. "He's an absolute pushover. S.H.I.E.L.D. gave him the money, asking him to cooperate with some Spectrum. Steve also urged him on, so he couldn't refuse. Besides... I called you but you didn't answer, so I assumed you agreed."
Lin Xiao took a deep breath, feeling a surge of anger rush to his head.
"Beauty can lead to trouble..." He gritted his teeth and hung up the phone, crumpling the unlit cigarette in his hand into a ball and throwing it into the trash can. He vowed to quit drinking from today onwards.
Turning around, she quickly walked into the house. Sif was already fast asleep, her face buried in the pillow, unaware that one of her arms was sticking out.
Lin Xiao walked over, gently kissed her on the forehead, and quickly put on his clothes.
He grabbed his car keys and headed out the door, his mind filled with only one thought: he had completely ignored what he had told himself.
Once we're on the mothership, I don't care if he's a good nephew or not, I'm going to kick Banner's ass until it's swollen first.