On the highway, a Maserati and a Porsche were racing side by side.
Lin Xiao leaned halfway out of the Maserati's window and waved at the Porsche beside him, a dazzling smile on his face.
"Tony! Even the longest farewell has to end! You don't have to see me off any farther!"
The Porsche's window rolled down, and Tony Stark stuck his head out, looking utterly furious.
"Fuck! See you off, my ass! I said I'd give you a car, and you thought it was okay to drive off in my favorite?"
Lin Xiao looked down at the steering wheel, then back up at Tony, his expression suddenly turning exceedingly serious. "You mean this pitchfork? It was gathering dust, so I'm helping you break it in. You don't mind, do you?"
"Mind? Fuck you!" Tony slapped the steering wheel, making the horn let out a piercing shriek. "I never should have let JARVIS give you access!"
"Hey, my dear boy, why are you swearing at me?"
"Fuck you! Who's your dear boy?"
"Ahem... how about this? I won't take advantage of you anymore. We're blood brothers with different mothers and fathers. Happy now? Is it really worth making a fuss over your brother taking a few things?"
Tony opened his mouth, only to discover that he had no idea where to begin arguing. He took a deep breath and decided to give up.
"Get lost. Just get lost."
"You're really not seeing me off anymore?"
"Get lost!"
Lin Xiao pulled himself back inside and floored the Maserati. The engine roared, and the car shot forward like a silver bolt of lightning. In the rearview mirror, Tony's Porsche gradually slowed down before finally stopping on the shoulder.
Just then, Lin Xiao's phone vibrated. He picked it up and saw a text from Tony, containing just one line: "The car's yours. Come get more wine from the cellar when you run out."
Lin Xiao stared at the screen for two seconds, then grinned. Tony just wasn't used to people being too polite with him.
He tossed the phone onto the passenger seat, turned on the car stereo, and searched for ages before finally finding a song from Dragon Country called "A Good Day."
"Today is a good day-"
The Maserati traced a silver arc along the highway and headed toward New York.
The Porsche sat on the shoulder. Tony leaned back in the driver's seat, took off his sunglasses, and rubbed between his brows.
"Sir, Mr. Lin has driven out of sight," JARVIS said through the car speakers. "Would you like me to continue tracking his location?"
"No." Tony put his sunglasses back on. "Let him get lost."
JARVIS fell silent for a few seconds, then suddenly spoke.
"Sir, I have a question."
"Go ahead."
"You knew perfectly well that he was taking your car, yet you didn't stop him."
"I don't understand. Why do you indulge him so much?"
Tony leaned against the seat, gazing at the empty highway ahead, a smile curling his lips.
"JARVIS, do you think he took all that stuff out of greed?"
JARVIS fell silent. This question exceeded its computational capabilities.
"I'd be uneasy if he didn't take anything." With that, Tony restarted the engine.
"Sir, I still don't understand. He calls you his son, and you call him your son, but you just said he was your brother. This-"
"That's what you don't get." Tony interrupted it, a smile curling his lips beneath his sunglasses. "That's what brothers are."
"...Brothers who get fleeced?"
Tony's face darkened for an instant, and he decided not to answer any more questions. Once the Porsche merged back into traffic, he suddenly chuckled. The sound was so brief that even JARVIS failed to notice it.
"Let's head back. To the office."
"Sir, you haven't had proper rest these past few days-"
"I've rested enough." Tony looked straight ahead, his expression gradually growing solemn. "Pepper's been holding things together alone for days. If I don't show up soon, she'll kill me. And Obadiah, I'm waiting for your move."
The Porsche accelerated toward Stark Industries.
Peter Parker felt as though he had been going crazy these past few days.
Every morning at precisely six thirty, Aunt May dragged him out of bed and thrust a glass containing five hundred milliliters of milky-white liquid in front of him. The stuff tasted truly bizarre, like industrial chemicals mixed with copious amounts of artificial flavoring.
"Aunt May, I really can't drink any more."
"Drink it."
May stood in the kitchen doorway, arms folded, her eyes leaving no room for negotiation. Peter looked at the note Lin Xiao had left on the wall behind her before leaving. Several large lines had been written on it in marker:
"Peter's too skinny. He'll get bullied easily. We can't protect him forever. He needs to become strong enough to protect himself. -Lin Xiao"
Below that was another line in smaller writing: "Three glasses a day, morning, noon, and night. Works even better with push-ups and pull-ups. There are ten tubs here, enough for three months. May, make sure he sticks to it."
The first time Peter saw that note, he felt his high school life had ended ahead of schedule.
Now he stood in the kitchen, pinching his nose and gulping the stuff down. His face instantly went completely white. May handed him a towel, her expression changing from stern to satisfied.
"That's more like it. Your Uncle Lin said boys need to be knocked into shape to grow."
"He's not my uncle!" Peter nearly choked. "He's only ten years older than me!"
"Generations aren't determined by age." May said it as though it were only natural, but the tips of her ears reddened.
Peter didn't notice that detail. He was wiping his mouth with the towel while glancing at the clock on the wall. Class started in forty minutes. If he left now, he could still slip into the classroom before Gwen Stacy arrived at school.
Gwen Stacy.
Never in his life had Peter imagined he would be afraid of a girl.
It had started four days earlier. Gwen had stopped him in the hallway that day. The pretty blonde, blue-eyed girl smiled at him, and Peter's heartbeat instantly sped up fivefold. His thoughts ran wild, but before he could finish indulging them, Gwen spoke.
"You know Lin Xiao, right?"
Peter froze. "Y-yeah, I do-"
"Where does he live? What does he usually like doing? What are his weaknesses? Does he-" Gwen fired off a string of questions, then abruptly stopped. Realizing that she seemed a little too excited, she quickly coughed twice and adopted a casual expression. "I'm just asking. He helped me out at the science expo the other day, and I'd like to thank him in person."
Peter believed her at the time.
Only later did he realize something was wrong. Gwen began appearing everywhere he least expected: outside his classroom, in the cafeteria, at the library, even at his school bus stop. Every time, she opened with a smile, then inevitably brought the conversation around to Lin Xiao within three sentences.
"What does Lin Xiao usually like to eat?"
"What does Lin Xiao normally do on weekends?"
"What kind of girls does Lin Xiao-" Gwen stopped there, blushed, and hastily changed the subject.
After two days of this, Peter finally couldn't take it anymore. The next time Gwen happened to run into him, he spoke up. "He has a girlfriend."
Gwen's smile froze on her face.
"It's my Aunt May."
Silence. A long silence.
Gwen's expression shifted several times within a few short seconds: shock, disappointment, confusion, anger, and finally renewed fighting spirit. Without a word, she disappeared from Peter's sight.
Peter thought that would be the end of it. He was wrong. Over the next few days, Gwen began following him. Every time Peter went to school, he would see a blonde figure dart around a corner or hide behind a tree. She moved fast, incredibly fast-unnaturally fast, so fast that Peter had briefly wondered whether he was hallucinating. What exactly did she want? Did she want to beat him up? Or ask more questions about Lin Xiao? Peter was now too scared to even go to school...
It was already afternoon when Lin Xiao got out of the Maserati. The neighbors at Senshan Residential Complex were all in an uproar, gathering around to look at his luxury car, but Lin Xiao didn't particularly care. What he cared about was what Tony had secretly put inside. Knowing Lin Xiao had his eye on the car, the guy had waxed it and filled the tank beforehand, stuffed the back seat and trunk full of things, and driven it out into the yard in advance. Ah, Tony really was all talk.
He had also stopped by the apartment Tony had given him on the way back today. He had to admit, the place was fantastic. It wasn't just one floor; all seven floors belonged to him. It was still being renovated, just waiting for him to move in.
Hearing the commotion, May poked her head out of apartment 308, looking delighted.
"Lin, you're back? What are these..." Her gaze landed on the box in Lin Xiao's hands.
"Spanish ham, French foie gras, and Kobe beef from little old Japan. Tony had been hoarding them for ages, too reluctant to eat them." Lin Xiao set the box down and dusted off his hands. "We're having extras tonight."
May opened her mouth, then closed it again.
Lin Xiao straightened and glanced at May. Biting her lip, she stepped forward and helped him carry the things. Lin Xiao nodded in satisfaction. "Good girl."
Two hours later, Peter came home from school. The moment he walked in, he smelled a rich aroma. Following it, he saw the kitchen table covered in food. A whole Spanish ham rested on a wooden stand, with several small plates of thin slices beside it, a plate of golden pan-fried foie gras, a plate of glistening roast beef, and several things he couldn't name but could tell were expensive.
Lin Xiao sat at the table, with May across from him. Their plates were piled high, and several dishes on the table were already empty. May's cheeks were flushed, whether from the wine or something else. Her eyes were dewy, and the way she looked at Lin Xiao made Peter uncomfortable all over.
"Peter!" Lin Xiao spotted him and waved him over. "Come eat. Don't be shy. We're all family here."
Peter opened his mouth, then walked over with flushed cheeks and sat down on a stool.
Half an hour later, the plates on the table were empty. Lin Xiao rolled up the last slice of ham and stuffed it into his mouth. He leaned back in his chair, rubbed his belly, and let out a satisfied sigh. Then he turned his head and stared at May.
May's face was peach-blossom pink, her eyes brimming with springtime desire. Something stirred in Lin Xiao's heart, and his lips curled into a smile.
"Peter, shouldn't you be going to bed?"
Peter looked down at his watch. It was only seven thirty.
"It's only seven thirty-"
"You have school tomorrow. Early to bed, early to rise keeps you healthy." Lin Xiao's tone remained gentle, but the look in his eyes made Peter's skin crawl.
Peter stiffened his neck and said,
"I'm really not sleepy yet-"
"Peter, be good."
It wasn't a suggestion. It was a notice.
Peter turned to May. She had her head lowered, a teacup cradled in her hands, her ears so red they looked ready to bleed. Her lips moved, but she said nothing. A bad feeling rose in Peter's heart, and he hurriedly spoke.
"Aunt May-"
May turned her teacup twice, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible. "Peter, listen to Uncle Lin and get some rest."
Peter's heart shattered into eight pieces at that moment.
Aunt May, you weren't like this. You've changed. Ever since this big guy showed up, you've changed.
Peter didn't say any of that aloud. He simply stood, gave Lin Xiao an exceedingly complicated look, then turned toward his room. When he reached the doorway, he muttered so quietly that only he could hear, "...Once I get stronger... you Cao thief, you and I can never coexist..."
The bedroom door closed.
Only Lin Xiao and May remained in the living room.
Looking at the firmly closed door, Lin Xiao nodded in satisfaction. "Such a sensible kid. He knows the adults have things to discuss."
May still said nothing. Keeping her head lowered, she pinched the back of Lin Xiao's hand.
Lin Xiao grinned and caught her hand.
"Come on, let's go discuss things in your room."
"You-"
May's words were stopped short.
Peter lay in bed, holding a pillow over his head.
It didn't help.
He rolled over and pulled the covers over his head.
It still didn't help.
Peter abruptly sat up and glared at his firmly shut bedroom door. He took out his earphones, turned the volume all the way up, and started playing white noise. Waves. Rain. Wind. Anything that could drown out the sounds, but none of it helped... Someone was destined to lose sleep that night.
The following morning, Peter walked out with dark circles around his eyes, yawning. He saw Lin Xiao sitting at the dining table, holding a sandwich and eating with great relish.
Aunt May's bedroom door opened. Holding on to the doorframe, May walked in with unsteady steps, trembling as she moved. Her hair was tied up casually, her eyes were dewy, and a trace of a flush still lingered on her cheeks.
"Aunt May-"
"Mm." May merely answered, her voice unbelievably hoarse. Without so much as glancing at Peter, she went straight into the kitchen, poured a glass of water, and handed it to Lin Xiao. Only then did she go make Peter a cup of mass gainer.
The corners of Peter's mouth twitched as he watched.
His expression became exceedingly complicated at that moment. His complicated gaze moved from May to Lin Xiao, then from Lin Xiao back to May.
Lin Xiao looked up and met Peter's eyes. The "fatherly affection" filling his gaze made Peter's hair stand on end.
"Peter."
"...Yeah."
"Does the mass gainer taste good?"
Peter looked down at the cup in his hands, then up at Lin Xiao, then down at the cup again.
He took a deep breath and drained it in one gulp.
"...It's good."
"That's more like it." Lin Xiao nodded in satisfaction. "Boys need to eat more to grow strong. Once you've built yourself up, I'll teach you a few moves."
Peter didn't answer. He stood, put the cup in the sink, slung on his schoolbag, and headed for the door. As he passed Lin Xiao, he paused. His lips moved, then moved again, and finally he spoke.
"Uncle Xiao, I'm off to school."
"Mm. Be careful on the way, my dear nephew~"