Tony Stark is in a great mood today.
He deliberately changed into a flashy new shirt, sprayed on limited-edition cologne, canceled three important meetings, and even had Happy detour to that donut shop he never frequented to buy a dozen frosted donuts, ostensibly as a gift for Lin Xiao. With the guy lying in bed unable to move, it was the perfect opportunity to wave the donuts in front of him, eat them bite by bite right in front of him, and watch him stare helplessly as he couldn't reach them.
Tony hummed the tune of " Highway to Hell " as he pushed open the door to Lin Xiao's luxurious apartment, holding a donut box to his chest with a radiant smile on his face.
" Lin Xiao! I heard you're paralyzed! I brought your favorite donuts."
His smile froze before he even stepped into the entryway.
He saw four women sitting in the living room on the first floor. He recognized all four women. The one sitting in the center of the sofa was May, her hands folded on her knees, a polite smile on her face. Betty Thaddeus Ross, whose father was someone he knew, was sitting on the single sofa to the left, holding a cup of tea. Next to her stood a female officer in military uniform, her expression blank; she was clearly an "escort" sent by General Ross. Gwen Stacy Daisy, the junior he had his eye on, was sitting cross-legged on the carpet to the right, holding a cushion in her arms, her blue eyes darting around, seemingly plotting something. Natasha Romanoff, the S.H.I.E.L.D.. agent, was leaning against the window, arms crossed, a smile that sent chills down Tony's spine.
Four pairs of eyes, like four sharp blades, simultaneously turned towards the doorway. Tony Stark, the billionaire, the genius inventor, the man who once built the Mark I from a pile of scrap metal in Afghanistan cave, felt an unprecedented tension at this moment.
"Uh, have I disturbed the ladies' tea party?"
May's smile deepened. "Mr. Tony, would you like to come in and have a seat?"
"No, no, no, no, no." Tony took a step back, still holding the donut box to his chest. "I... I came to see Lin Xiao, but I remembered I have an urgent meeting to chair, so I won't bother you any longer."
He tossed the donut box onto the shoe rack in the entryway and turned to leave. From upstairs came Lin Xiao's heart-wrenching wails. " Tony! Take me... take me with you! Tony! Aren't we brothers?! You can't just leave me to die—"
The door slammed shut, followed by the roar of the engine, and the car sped away, leaving behind a pitiful man abandoned by his brother and four women staring at each other in bewilderment.
Lin Xiao leaned against the bed in the master bedroom on the second floor, wearing a neck brace, his left leg in a cast and sling, and his right arm wrapped in bandages. He looked like a newly unearthed mummy. But his eyes were still darting around, frantically assessing the situation, but he was clearly helpless.
Soon after, he heard the sound of high heels on the stairs, clearly someone was coming up! Lin Xiao closed his eyes in fright, squinting as he saw Mei sitting on the edge of the bed, starting to peel an apple. The knife was peeling very slowly, and a long piece of apple peel hung down, just like her mood at that moment—calm on the surface, but struggling with something underneath.
Betty was standing at the foot of the bed, holding a medical record folder, her brow furrowed so deeply it could trap a fly.
Gwen Stacy sat cross-legged on the carpet beside the bed, holding a thermos and blowing on it. White steam rose from the rim—it was hot water she had just boiled, which she said was for Lin Xiao to drink later.
Natasha leaned against the window, slowly applying hand cream to herself. Her gaze darted back and forth between the other women, and the smile on her lips sent chills down Lin Xiao's spine every time he saw it.
Lin Xiao swallowed hard. In his life, he had fought the Hulk, blown up the Iron Monger, and gone head-to-head with Wenwu, but never before had he felt so close to death.
"Cough cough." Lin Xiao pretended to have just woken up, appearing extremely weak.
"Everyone's here, cough cough..."
But nobody paid him any attention.
Mei cut the peeled apple into small pieces, put them in the porcelain plate on the bedside table, and picked up another one to peel.
" Betty," May began, her voice unusually gentle, "You've come all the way from Culver University, it must have been a long journey. Lin Xiao told me about you, you're a learned female PhD, and you two have a close relationship." May deliberately emphasized this point.
"Sister Mei, you're too kind." Betty put down her medical record folder, adjusted her glasses, and gave a similarly polite smile. " Lin Xiao always mentions you to me. When he calls me, eight out of ten sentences are about how virtuous Sister Mei is and how delicious her cooking is, and the other two sentences are about how badly Peter's homework is done."
"Hmm? Does he call you all the time?" Mei's tone remained nonchalant.
"Yes, he calls me for half an hour every day." Betty tilted her head and looked at Lin Xiao Lin Xiao, who was now completely tucked into the blankets, with only his eyes showing.
Mei started slicing the apple again. This time, the sound of slicing the apple was much louder than before. After finishing, she brought the apple over and took a piece the size of a baby's fist Lin Xiao's mouth.
"He does have some conscience, though. I thought he wouldn't mention me at all, but I've heard him calling me 'baby' every single day."
Lin Xiao chewed on his apple, too scared to even breathe.
Betty blushed slightly, but quickly regained her scientist's composure. She opened the medical record folder and said, "I saw Lin Xiao's medical record. He has varying degrees of muscle strains and tears throughout his body, but no obvious bone damage. He needs to replenish electrolytes and protein. I've already made a nutritional meal plan and put it in the kitchen. We can cook for him according to this in the future, and his recovery will be faster."
Mei took the menu, glanced at it, and nodded. " Betty's so thoughtful. Some of the dishes on this menu are really good; I'll try to make them later." She folded the menu and put it in her pocket, her smile still gentle and graceful. "But he can only eat liquids right now; we have to take it one step at a time, we can't rush it."
"Liquid food?" Betty raised an eyebrow. "Liquid food alone won't provide enough nutrition. I suggest gradually introducing high-protein solid foods starting tomorrow, such as chicken breast and..."
"His teeth hurt when he chews," Mei interrupted her, offering Lin Xiao a tiny piece of apple to his lips. "Right, Lin Xiao?"
Lin Xiao opened his mouth to say, "Actually, my tooth doesn't hurt," but when Mei's gaze swept over him, he abruptly changed his words to, "... It hurts. It hurts terribly. Liquid food is fine; I like drinking porridge."
Betty looked at Lin Xiao's face, which was etched with a "will to survive," and remained silent for a moment before speaking again, "Sister Mei certainly knows his situation better. However, I still suggest regular blood tests to check his electrolyte levels; I can help him with the analysis."
"Then I'll have to trouble you." Mei stuffed the next piece of apple into Lin Xiao's mouth, a little harder than before. "But I'll do the blood draw. I'm a nurse, I'm more professional at giving injections. Speaking of Lin Xiao, he's so stubborn, he always refuses to rest. It's good that Betty is here, she can help me out. It's really tough for me to take care of him all by myself."
"Sister Mei, you're too kind," Betty smiled. "Taking care of Lin Xiao is also my responsibility. After all, Lin Xiao has done a lot for me. There's one thing I still remember vividly: that day, Lin Xiao waited for me outside the military area for an entire night. I'll remember that kindness for the rest of my life."
The temperature in the living room plummeted. Mei's hand froze in mid-air, her smile unwavering, "Outside the military area? All night? Why didn't he mention it to me?"
"It's nothing serious," Betty casually flipped through a page of the medical record folder. "She just waited in the car until after 3 a. m., and she was so thirsty, she didn't want to drink her iced Americano and saved it for me. Even though the ice melted, it was still pretty good."
Mei gently pierced the apple with the tip of her knife. She turned her head and looked at Lin Xiao. Lin Xiao shrank back, his head sinking into the pillow. He frantically tried to figure out how to change the subject away from the "iced Americano," but before he could come up with a plan, Gwen Stacy's voice cut in at just the right moment.
"What's so great about an iced Americano?" Gwen Stacy sat on the carpet, blowing gently into her thermos as she spoke, her voice innocent and naive. "It's terribly bitter, and it leaves a sour taste in your mouth. The ice cream Lin Xiao took me to last time was so delicious! It was strawberry flavored, two scoops, and so sweet. He finished his, and then he snatched my half! How annoying!"
All eyes turned to Gwen Stacy at the same time. Gwen Stacy looked up, her blue eyes filled with innocence, like a little white rabbit that had accidentally wandered into a pack of wolves.
"Ice cream?" Betty's voice turned two degrees colder. Lin Xiao closed his eyes and wrote a will in his mind.
"Yes." Gwen Stacy nodded, holding the thermos to Lin Xiao's lips. "The water's cooled down, it's not hot anymore, Uncle Lin Xiao, drink it quickly. Drink slowly so you don't burn yourself." She emphasized the word "uncle" very clearly.
Lin Xiao looked down at the steaming water in the glass, then looked up at Gwen Stacy's innocent face. He tried to take a small sip, but his lips recoiled as soon as they touched the water. This wasn't hot enough; it would have almost burned his lips. The water temperature was at least 80 degrees Celsius.
Gwen Stacy blinked. "It's not hot, is it? I've let it cool down for ages."
Lin Xiao took a deep breath, took the thermos, and tilted his head back to gulp down a large mouthful. His throat felt like it was on fire, but the smile on his face remained unchanged, "Perfect. Not too hot."
Gwen Stacy tilted her head, smiled at him, then turned to May, her expression suddenly becoming extremely obedient. She asked in an almost ingratiating tone, " Aunt May, which room will I be sleeping in tonight?"
Mei's eyebrows twitched. "You're staying here tonight?"
"Yes," Gwen Stacy said, resting her chin on her knees, her tone light and cheerful. "I already told my dad that Uncle Lin Xiao is so badly injured, he can't be left unattended. Aunt May can't manage alone, so I'll lend a hand. I can bring him water, hand him medicine, and so on. He can't just get out of bed by himself, can he?"
After she finished speaking, she stood up again, walked around to the foot of the bed to Mei's side, picked up an uncut apple from the fruit plate, and started peeling it again. Although her movements were clumsy, she was extremely serious, adding in a low voice as she peeled, "Don't worry, Aunt May, I won't cause any trouble. I'll do whatever you ask me to do."
Mei sighed softly, a slight smile curving her lips:
"Okay. The second room on the left on the second floor. The sheets are in the closet; I'll make the bed for you in a bit."
"Thank you, Aunt May!" Gwen Stacy stood up and ran cheerfully upstairs. As she passed Lin Xiao's bedside, she bent down and whispered in his ear in a voice only the two of them could hear, "That glass of water was eighty degrees."
Lin Xiao's smile froze.
Gwen Stacy straightened up, gave him a sweet smile, turned and walked towards the corridor, her twin ponytails swinging lightly over her shoulders.
Lin Xiao watched her disappear around the corner of the stairs. Before he could even process the memory of that cup of 80-degree hot water, Natasha spoke up.
"Alright, let's get down to business." She walked from the window to the foot of the bed, took out a S.H.I.E.L.D.. encrypted tablet from inside her coat, and placed it on Lin Xiao's blanket. "Those guys' evacuation is scheduled for 4 PM the day after tomorrow. The launch site is the old port in Brooklyn. Carol has been focusing on you. I've already handed over all the technical parameters she used for docking to the engineering department. All that's left is a simple escort mission to ensure there's no interference. I've taken care of that for you."
"Of course, it's nothing," she said, putting the hand cream in her pocket, her smile widening. "It was nothing. You don't need to thank me."
"It was nothing?" Lin Xiao's voice rose a half-octave.
Natasha shrugged, her expression utterly innocent. "It was indeed quite difficult, but I've finished it for you, so that's good. We're partners, isn't it normal for us to help each other out?"
Lin Xiao opened his mouth, only to find that he didn't know where to begin refuting her. Every time this woman helped him, she used various high-sounding pretexts, leaving him with no reason to refuse. But he knew Natasha's style all too well—she wouldn't help anyone for no reason, and behind every "small favor" lay an unseen ledger.
"So, who is Carol?" Gwen Stacy's voice came from behind. Her chin rested on her crossed arms, her blue eyes fixed on Lin Xiao. "The name Natasha mentioned earlier."
Betty, who was on the sofa, also put down her teacup.
Mei finished cutting the last piece of apple by the bedside, gently placing the knife beside the porcelain plate with a crisp clink. Her voice remained gentle, but Lin Xiao sensed the underlying tension. "Yes, I want to know too, Lin Xiao, tell us about it."
Lin Xiao sank into the pillow, his gaze darting back and forth between the four women, his brain working at an unprecedented speed. He felt he had never been so clear-headed before; in the face of life and death, a person's potential is indeed limitless, just as he was about to explain.
The doorbell rang. Lin Xiao breathed a sigh of relief and shut his mouth, silently thanking the person who rang the doorbell from head to toe. Mei put down the fruit knife, wiped her hands, and got up to go downstairs to open the door.
Coulson and Hill were standing at the door.
Coulson wore his usual light gray suit, his tie impeccably tied, and carried a fruit basket, a standard gentle smile on his face. Hill stood behind him, wearing a well-tailored dark blue suit skirt, the hem cinching just above the knee, a silver brooch pinned to her lapel. She wore light makeup today, her eyeliner half a millimeter higher than usual.
The two followed May upstairs. Coulson placed the fruit basket on the coffee table, smiled and nodded at the women on the sofa, then turned to Lin Xiao on the bed, his smile becoming even more gentle, " Lin Xiao, how's your recovery going? Everyone in the department is worried about you." Coulson paused here, his gaze sweeping over Betty sitting on the sofa, Gwen Stacy on the carpet, Natasha by the window, and May who had just returned, his smile remaining unchanged, "It seems your recovery environment... is quite good."
"Boss," Lin Xiao's voice was a little hoarse, his eyes reddening, "I'm so glad you came to see me. Has the bureau been busy lately? If you're free, come sit for a while, sit for as long as you like."
Coulson knew Lin Xiao all too well. Every time he spoke in this tone, it meant the kid was in deep trouble. Usually, Coulson would clean up his mess at this time, but this time, a smile played on Coulson's lips as he spoke.
"I'm very busy at the bureau, and I really can't find the time. I just happened to be passing by to see you. I have to go now, so please get some rest."
He stood up, patted Lin Xiao on the shoulder with just the right amount of force, expressing his condolences while conveying a silent message: "Even I can't save you now, it's all up to you."
Then Coulson turned around, nodded to everyone, and strode towards the stairs without looking back. No one saw the smile on his lips that almost reached his ears.
Hill remained standing. Her gaze shifted from Betty's medical record folder to Lin Xiao, her expression still one of businesslike calm. "Your recovery is faster than expected. The medical department is very interested in your healing speed, but Agent Natasha rejected your application. Just know this, don't worry about it."
Lin Xiao nodded repeatedly. "Deputy Director, um... the boss has left, aren't you leaving?"
Hill was slightly taken aback, her face flushing slightly.
"Yes, we came together. I'll be going now. Lin Xiao, get some rest. I'll send you the report later when you're better."
As she reached the door, Lin Xiao's mind suddenly went blank for a fraction of a second. His gaze involuntarily drifted in the direction Hill had left—it really was just a glance, a fleeting glimpse of that form-fitting silhouette pencil skirt, following it for a mere few centimeters, honestly, just a few centimeters.
Just then, four small, tender hands reached out and touched the soft flesh of his waist. A bloodcurdling scream echoed through the sky.