In the afternoon, Lin Xiao returned to the school gate, his eyes fixed on the people coming and going.
He had been waiting for almost an hour.
Several groups of girls passed by during this time. The first group recognized him as the handsome bodyguard from the lab building yesterday and started taking out their phones from ten meters away. The second group was bolder and walked over directly to ask if they could take a photo together. The third group was the most outrageous. A pretty and sexy girl with pigtails handed her phone to her companion, ran over, stood on tiptoe, and stuffed a note into his hand. Then she jumped up, kissed him on the cheek, covered her face, and ran away. The note had a phone number written on it, with a heart drawn below. After that, more and more girls left their contact information.
Lin Xiao accepted all the slips of paper without hesitation, folding them up and stuffing them into his pocket with an unbelievably calm expression. He thought to himself, "I'll show Tony this when I get back. This guy's charm is terrifying."
After everyone left, it gradually got dark. Lin Xiao's gaze returned to the school gate. Betty said she would come out at seven o'clock tonight, and it was already seven and a half o'clock. Scientists' sense of time is indeed different from normal people. Banner doesn't watch where he's going, and Betty is never on time to leave work. There's a reason why these two can work on research together.
Seven or eight minutes later, the white figure finally appeared at the entrance of the laboratory building.
She walked to the school gate and saw Lin Xiao leaning against a palm tree, a blade of grass between his teeth. The corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up slightly. Just for a moment, but she quickly suppressed it.
"Have you been waiting long?"
"Just arrived." Lin Xiao spat out the foxtail grass, stood up, and dusted off his pants. " Miss Ross, you look much more energetic than yesterday."
"Just call me Betty. Let's eat first. You said you wanted king crab, so I looked up a restaurant." Betty was interrupted by Lin Xiao before she could finish speaking.
"Don't rush to eat." He took two steps forward, a smile playing on his lips. "You just came from the lab, your mind is probably still processing those data. Going straight to eat will cause indigestion. Let's take a walk first, clear your head. I found a quiet path nearby today, not crowded, perfect for a stroll to clear your mind."
Betty blinked. Her rational mind told her she should go straight to dinner; she had experiments tomorrow, and she needed to get home early tonight to review the report. But she heard herself say, "Okay."
The road was indeed quiet, with palm trees lining both sides, and the surface paved with gravel that crunched underfoot. The streetlights weren't fully on yet, and the sunset painted the entire road orange-red. Betty had actually walked this road before, but this time everything felt just like it had been before.
The two walked one after the other, with Lin Xiao leading the way, his hands in his pockets, occasionally glancing back at Betty to point out wildflowers or squirrels in the trees. Betty followed behind, her shoulders relaxed, and she would occasionally smile at what Lin Xiao pointed out.
The two walked for an unknown amount of time, and the road became increasingly remote. Just then, several figures suddenly appeared in front of them.
Five people emerged from behind a large tree by the roadside, forming a line in the middle of the road, like a pre-rehearsed formation. Leading them was a tall, thin man in his early twenties, wearing a faded hoodie and carrying a switchblade. His companions behind him were in similar situations; some carried baseball bats, others chains. Lin Xiao recognized the tall, thin man—the thief who had robbed him that morning. The others were his accomplices. That morning, Lin Xiao had caught the thief, retrieved his wallet, and given him a lecture. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered a good idea—an old method to reinforce Betty's impression. He approached the thug crouching on the ground, head in his hands. "I'll give you a chance to make money, do you want to...?"
The tall, thin man pointed the knife forward, about to speak according to the lines Lin Xiao had taught him, when Lin Xiao took a half-meter step forward first, shielding Betty behind him.
"What do you want?" Lin Xiao's voice rose several octaves, filled with righteous indignation. "To block the road with a knife in broad daylight, do you have no regard for the law?"
The tall, thin guy paused for a moment. Dude, this isn't the script, but he quickly realized what was happening and pushed the knife forward another half inch, trying to make his voice sound more menacing, "Fuck, enough talk! Hand over your wallet! Or don't blame us for being ruthless!"
Lin Xiao turned his head and whispered to Betty behind him, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
Betty didn't speak. She glanced at Lin Xiao's profile, and her lips twitched slightly.
Lin Xiao turned back to face the five thugs, took a deep breath, puffed out his chest, and began to speak again, saying things like, "Justice may be delayed but it will never be absent," "Young people, don't go astray," and "I'll give you three seconds to put down your weapons and turn back." He spoke with great conviction.
The tall, thin man gritted his teeth and exchanged a few insults with the other man. He improvised his own lines because Lin Xiao hadn't written them for him. The atmosphere was just right, and both sides were ready to fight, about to witness a thrilling hero-saves-the-damsel-in-distress drama.
Betty rolled her eyes.
She took off her outer garment, folded it neatly, and draped it over the low wall beside her. She stretched her neck, bending it to the left and right, making two crisp cracking sounds. Then she took a step forward, standing side by side with Lin Xiao, her knees slightly bent, her center of gravity lowered, and her hands raised in front of her, left fist in front and right fist behind—a standard starting stance for mold fighting.
Lin Xiao's line got stuck in his throat.
"You..." His voice changed, "You've trained?"
Betty glanced at him sideways, her expression nonchalant. "I learned it from my dad when I was little. Military Boxing, basic combat, and a few close-quarters grappling techniques. My dad said girls need to learn to protect themselves."
Lin Xiao's expression shifted from shock to bewilderment to anger in a fraction of a second. In his mind, he yelled at Doupao, "Didn't you say Betty in the movie was a delicate, weak scientist? How the hell is this different from what we agreed on? She actually trained?"
A blue screen popped up in front of you. "Ding--Host, the data provided by this system comes from the movie ' The Incredible Hulk.' However, this is the real world, and there are reasonable discrepancies between the characters' backgrounds and those in the movie. For example, in this universe, Betty Thaddeus Ross and Dr. Banner have broken up due to personality clashes, and both are focused on their research. Miss Ross possessing self-defense skills consistent with her family background is entirely within the realm of logic."
"This error is fucking huge! How am I supposed to trust you anymore?"
"Ding--The error value is within the system's allowable range."
Lin Xiao sighed, "Alright, from now on I'll only use what you provide as a reference. Now what? My little brothers, I'm sorry..."
Before Lin Xiao could finish speaking, Betty had already moved, rushing into the group of thugs.
The tall, thin man was the first to be hit. Before he could even react, Betty swatted the switchblade away from his hand. She grabbed his wrist with her right hand and twisted it outwards, while simultaneously thrusting her left elbow into his chest. The tall, thin man groaned and staggered back several steps, landing hard on his backside. Then, Betty sidestepped a swinging baseball bat, grabbed it with her left hand and pulled it down, while her right knee struck the man's forearm. The baseball bat fell to the ground with a thud, and the man clutched his arm, crouching down with a long, painful scream.
The one who swung the chain fared the worst. He swung the chain in a wide arc at Betty, Betty dodged it to the side. The chain end slammed into the spot where his companion had just crouched down, creating a small crater in the ground. Betty grabbed the chain and pulled him back, dragging him forward. Betty then swept her leg and kicked him in the ankle, sending him crashing face down with a thud as his nose hit the ground.
In less than two minutes, all five thugs were lying on the ground, sprawled out, howling and screaming.
The tall, thin man clutched his chest and rolled on the ground, finally unable to hold back any longer. In a tearful voice, he cried out to Lin Xiao, "It hurts so much! I need more money! Bro! I need more money! It hurts so much!"
Betty's movement to deliver a follow-up kick froze in mid-air. She turned her head, her brown eyes narrowing as she looked at Lin Xiao. Her gaze was so calm it sent chills down one's spine.
Lin Xiao's heart skipped a beat for a moment, but he steadied himself. He strode forward, pulled eight hundred US dollars from his pocket, and placed it on the ground. His tone seamlessly shifted from righteous indignation to a heartfelt sigh, "Alright, alright, a lesson is enough. They're young, they still have a chance to reform. They're just kids! If you beat them badly, their lives will be over."
After saying that, he stared at the group of thugs and earnestly said:
"From now on, you're not allowed to do anything immoral, understand? Harmonious America, gunfights every day, ugh, I mean, happiness every day."
Betty stared at him for several seconds, her lips pressed into a thin line, then she smiled. She seemed to understand something, but she didn't stop Lin Xiao's actions, and just watched quietly.
While Betty was laughing, the thugs scrambled away, running much faster than when they arrived. The tall, thin guy was at the back; after running a dozen meters, he turned back, picked up the eight hundred dollars on the ground, shouted "Thanks, bro!" to Lin Xiao, and then disappeared around the corner.
The other thugs, having run a little further away, also shouted in unison, "Thanks, bro!"
He's actually quite loyal, but now's not the time to think about that. Lin Xiao's face turned green.
Only Lin Xiao and Betty remained on the path. The sunset had almost faded, and the streetlights finally came on, casting orange-yellow light on the gravel road, making their shadows appear uneven.
Betty's laughter gradually subsided. She wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand, looked up at Lin Xiao, and her brown eyes still held a hint of laughter, but beneath them was a more complex layer that Lin Xiao couldn't quite decipher for the moment.
"So," she said, arms crossed and head tilted, "You paid a bunch of thugs to rob you?"
"It wasn't robbery," Lin Xiao corrected, "It was giving me a chance to demonstrate my professionalism." He paused, his tone suddenly becoming extremely sincere, "However, I didn't expect you to be such a good fighter. You're the most capable fighter I've ever met."
Betty smiled again. This time it was a soft smile, just a slight curve at the corners of her mouth. She shook her head, lowered her arms from her chest, took two steps forward, and stood beside him.
"What exactly do you want to do? Being a bodyguard isn't enough, you want to be a director too?"
"I thought I could give the doctor a demonstration," Lin Xiao said, a rare hint of embarrassment in his voice. "But you ended up giving me a lesson. Military Boxing, right? I've got it. I'll have to learn a few moves myself, otherwise I won't even be able to protect my employer in the future, it'll be too embarrassing if word gets out."
Are you afraid of losing face, or afraid of having your bodyguard license revoked?
"Everyone's afraid."
Betty pursed her lips and didn't reply.
She picked up her outer garment from the low wall, put it back on, brushed the dust off her clothes, lowered her head as if lost in memories, and began to speak:
"When my dad taught me all this, I didn't think I'd ever need it." Her voice was softer than before, as if she were talking to herself. "Back then, I thought I'd just be in the lab, surrounded by security, colleagues, and..." She paused for a moment, then continued, "Anyway, I wouldn't have to do anything myself. But later I realized that relying on myself is the most reliable thing."
Lin Xiao stood quietly beside her, listening attentively and waiting for Betty to button up her coat.
Betty looked up at him, a hint of surprise in her eyes:
Aren't you going to ask me why I'm telling you all this?
Lin Xiao smiled slightly and shook his head.
"I don't need to know why, but I know you told me these things."
Betty lowered her head again, her shoulders trembling, and she tried to say something several times but couldn't bring herself to speak.
Lin Xiao smiled slightly
"Let's go, my employer, I want to eat five pounds of king crab today."
Betty smiled and nodded vigorously.
Meanwhile, on the rooftop of an apartment building three blocks away, Mystique was crouching on the edge of a water tower, watching everything that had just happened through binoculars. She remained in the form of a silver-haired old woman, the binoculars obscuring most of her face, revealing only the lower half of her face, whose corner of her mouth was twitching wildly.
She witnessed the entire process today: Lin Xiao hiring thugs, the thugs crashing their car, Betty beating up the thugs, the thugs yelling "more money!", Lin Xiao throwing money to save the day, and Betty being amused. Every scene was like a hammer, striking her understanding of the words "combat" and "special agent" that she had built up over two hundred years of life.
"How could I have lost to such a clown..." She put down the binoculars, closed her eyes, and moved her lips, as if talking to herself, or as if complaining to some non-existent audience about the absurdity of fate.
"Bang!" A loud noise came from behind. Mystique froze and slowly turned her head. There was a crumpled piece of paper embedded in the wall next to her. Mystique took a deep breath, picked up the paper from the wall, opened it, and felt a chill run down her spine.
The handwriting was messy, but not hard to decipher—"You've been squatting here for quite a while, aren't you tired? I've booked room 1207 at the hotel next door, it has hot water and WiFi, it's more comfortable than the rooftop. If you want to catch up, come anytime. If you don't want to catch up, just remember to check out, don't waste your deposit."
P. S.: Thanks to: the two who love Whale Whiskers and Golden Divine Radiance for their love and support; thanks to Zhou Xiaolan who is overly dramatic for her little gift; thanks to Xue Feifei from the Asura Palace for her three love and support; thanks to Laru's Mi Jiezhu for her two love and support; and thank you all for your little gifts, and for your encouragement to update and add to your favorites. Love you all!