As Natasha's black Chevrolet turned out of the intersection in Lower Manhattan, she couldn't help but glance at the passenger seat, a slow smile creeping onto her lips.
"Are you sure you're fully recovered? You called me first thing this morning to pick you up." There was an undisguised sarcasm in her voice. "Want to rest for a couple more days? I'll cover for you at the station."
Lin Xiao leaned back in the passenger seat, removed his bandages and cast, and changed into a clean dark gray suit. He looked much more energetic, though his hair was still a bit messy. Upon hearing Natasha's words, Lin Xiao immediately puffed out his chest, his expression seamlessly switching from his previous languid demeanor to an undeniable solemnity.
"What are you saying? Do you think I'm that kind of person? I'm Level 7 Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.., paid by taxpayers, and I've already been ashamed enough by lying in bed for so many days. Now that I feel better, I should report back to the agency. That's my professional ethics."
Natasha didn't reply immediately. She turned the steering wheel to the right, the car rounded the intersection, and merged into the traffic on the main road. A smile played on Natasha's lips, "So this is your excuse for finding yourself recovered this morning, not tending to your plants, but just hugging Betty and kissing her, almost ending up in bed with her?"
A crack appeared in Lin Xiao's solemn expression.
"You didn't even close the door, and the female officers May and Betty found out. You've got guts." She turned to look at Lin Xiao, her gray-green eyes filled with amusement.
Lin Xiao's lips twitched several times. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but looking at Natasha's "keep making this up, I'm listening" face, he ultimately swallowed his words. He leaned back in his chair, remained silent for a while, and then spoke in a muffled voice, "They saw me, and Betty kicked me off the bed. May and Betty are fine, they're both my women, I'm not afraid. What I care about is that female officer, is she still there? It's really embarrassing to be intimate in front of outsiders, especially in front of someone my father-in-law assigned to keep watch."
"She's gone." Natasha looked back at the road ahead. "After you left, she called General Ross, who told her to go back and report. He also asked Betty to come back with him, Betty refused, saying she wanted to wait until you were fully recovered before leaving. May changed her room, this time much further away from you, and she's now in the room next to Gwen Stacy's." She paused, the corners of her mouth curving into a deeper smile.
Lin Xiao wisely chose to keep quiet, and the car remained silent for a while. Natasha would occasionally glance at Lin Xiao's expression through the rearview mirror, her smile impossible to hide.
As the car turned into the underground parking garage of the Triskelion, Lin Xiao suddenly spoke again:
"While I was away from S.H.I.E.L.D.., I was just asking if anything interesting had happened at the agency, or if anyone had come and gone, like X-Men or Pierce's people."
Natasha didn't reply. Her eyes flickered. Indeed, she had run into an acquaintance outside Fury's office yesterday. She'd met that woman once before, when she was avenging Coulson in the warehouse— Coulson Storm. What were those words again? "She said Professor X sent her to deliver a thank-you note and, incidentally, to invite Agent Lin Xiao to the academy so she could express her gratitude in person."
Thinking of this, she tightened her grip on the steering wheel slightly, and the corners of her mouth curled up again, hiding a hint of gleeful anticipation. She had no intention of telling Lin Xiao; he would find out soon enough anyway.
The two walked side by side toward the elevator. As the elevator doors closed, Lin Xiao glanced at the security camera in the corner of the lobby out of the corner of his eye. "Pierce, I'm here. When are you planning to make your move? It's time to see what tricks you're up to."
The elevator doors opened; we had arrived at the eighth floor.
Lin Xiao stepped out of the elevator. A special agent walked towards him in the corridor, carrying a stack of documents. Upon seeing Lin Xiao, the agent froze, his gaze involuntarily shifting downwards, landing on Lin Xiao's condition was already critical, yet he refused treatment and insisted on going home. The medical department had already issued worst-case scenario plans, and the Agent Lin Xiao. He hadn't expected that only a little over ten days later, he would be back at work? And with such an arrogant gait?
" Agent Lin Xiao?" The agent's voice trembled.
"Good morning, Grant Ward." Lin Xiao nodded to him, continuing his walk straight towards Coulson's office without stopping. Natasha followed behind him, shrugging at Grant Ward as they passed.
People started peeking out from the offices along the corridor. A female clerk came out of the break room with a coffee cup and nearly spilled it on herself when she saw Lin Xiao. Two field agents who were exchanging documents stopped simultaneously, their eyes following Lin Xiao's back. One of them nudged his partner with his elbow and whispered something. Lin Xiao didn't need to turn around to guess what they were saying; it was nothing more than things like, "He actually stood up," "Did the medical department make a mistake in their diagnosis?" or "This monster."
As Hill came out of the stairwell and paused for a moment when she saw Lin Xiao. Her gaze swept over Lin Xiao.
" Agent Lin Xiao," she nodded slightly as a greeting, "Your recovery has exceeded the medical department's expectations."
Lin Xiao stopped and grinned at her.
Hill's lips moved, she took a deep breath, silently muttered "monster" to herself, and continued speaking:
"Now that you've recovered, I hope you can catch up on the physical fitness tests and tactical assessments you missed last month as soon as possible. Your file can't be blank." She pulled up a document on her tablet and swiped it across the screen twice. "Also, Xavier's School sent a thank-you letter yesterday. Director Fury will read it at the morning meeting later. Since you're here, go to the meeting. I'll let the director know you're here."
"A thank-you letter?" Lin Xiao's smile faltered for a moment.
"Yes." Hill looked up at Lin Xiao, her lips twitching almost imperceptibly. " Storm Ororo Monroe delivered it personally. She thanked you for saving Xavier's School's students from the fire a few days ago, and specifically mentioned your heroic actions during the Old Warehouse incident. The wording was very formal, and the tone was very sincere."
Lin Xiao's smile froze on his face. Hill didn't wait for his reply, turned around and left after speaking, the sound of her high heels gradually fading away in the corridor.
Natasha made a very suspicious "pfft" sound behind him, as if she was trying to suppress her laughter to the limit. When Lin Xiao turned around, she had already returned to her usual indifferent expression, but she couldn't suppress the curve of her lips.
"Did you just laugh? You know that, right? Then why didn't you say so?"
Natasha didn't say anything, just shrugged and swaggered away, leaving Lin Xiao speechless.
The morning meeting in the seventh-floor conference room was already well underway. Fury stood before the long table, holding a document in his hand, his single eye scanning the dense text on the paper, his expression unreadable. Coulson sat to his left, his face still bearing the standard gentle smile, but occasionally glancing towards the door. Several department heads had finished their reports, and when Natasha pushed Lin Xiao Lin Xiao the conference room, everyone's eyes turned to stare at him. Some were filled with surprise, some had strange expressions, and some simply exclaimed, "A miracle!"
Fury stared at Lin Xiao with his one eye for several seconds, his expression complex, before finally speaking, " Agent Lin Xiao, you're late."
"Traffic jam," Lin Xiao replied without changing his expression. Natasha led him to an empty seat next to the long table, pulled out a chair, Lin Xiao sat down, his movements as natural as if he had rehearsed them countless times. Lin Xiao leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and glanced at everyone present. Some nodded to him, some looked down pretending to flip through documents but their eyes kept drifting in his direction, and someone even gave him a thumbs up.
"Now that Agent Lin Xiao has arrived," Fury picked up the document again, his tone still unreadable, "I'll just read out the key points from the letter."
He cleared his throat and began to read. The wording of the letter was similar to Hill's retelling—thanking Agent Lin Xiao for saving Mei Igarashi, a student from Xavier's School, during the fire a few days prior; thanking him for assisting the X-Men in subduing the out-of-control Mutants Pyro during the old warehouse incident; and thanking him for his positive contribution to friendly exchanges between Mutants and ordinary people. The last paragraph specifically mentioned that Professor X, Charles Xavier, personally invited Agent Lin Xiao to visit Xavier's School to express his gratitude in person; the time would be decided by Agent Lin Xiao, and the School would be ready to welcome him at any time.
When Fury uttered the words "Awaiting your presence at any time," several agents in the conference room simultaneously turned to Lin Xiao. Lin Xiao's smile froze on his face.
"Furthermore," Fury put down the thank-you letter and pulled out a document stamped with a red seal from the folder, " the World Security Council and S.H.I.E.L.D..'s internal review have been completed. Agent Lin Xiao is officially promoted to Level 7 Agent, effective immediately. His related privileges and benefits will be adjusted accordingly. Congratulations."
Applause broke out, and Coulson led the applause, his smile more genuine than usual. Fury finished reading the documents and a few points of attention, then packed his things to leave. Lin Xiao thought he could finally slip away. He had already caught sight of Coulson out of the corner of his eye, planning to make a quick getaway before Storm appeared. Coulson also stood up tacitly and nodded slightly to him, meaning, "Let's talk in my office."
The two walked out of the conference room arm in arm, and as soon as they got off the elevator and turned into the eighth-floor corridor, Lin Xiao's feet were rooted to the spot.
A woman stood in the doorway of Coulson's office. She had brown skin and long, silvery-white hair that gleamed faintly in the cool white light of the Coulson. She wore a simple black leather jacket over a dark green low-cut top, revealing a glimpse of her beautiful collarbone. Leaning against the door, one hand was in her pocket, the other holding a bouquet of flowers: white lilies with a few pale purple forget-me-nots, wrapped in understated beige paper.
When she saw Lin Xiao, the corners of her mouth curved into a smile. The smile was just right, neither too big nor too small, neither a provocation nor a gesture of goodwill. But Lin Xiao felt that there was something hidden beneath it that he didn't want to know.
" Agent Lin Xiao," Storm's voice was neither loud nor soft, carrying a calm and composed tone, "We meet again."
The corridor was silent for a full three seconds.
Lin Xiao turned his head and said in a voice only Coulson could hear, "Why is she here now? Didn't she say she'd go when I had time?"
Coulson stared straight ahead without changing his expression, his lips barely moving as he replied, " Deputy Director Hill, while reporting your return to Director Fury, Director Fury took a moment to make a phone call..."
"Take some time? Make a phone call..." Lin Xiao's lips twitched, and he got angry as he watched Coulson's shoulders shrug.
Lin Xiao turned back, a standard good citizen smile on his face, and strode towards Storm: " Ms. Munroe! What brings you here? Xavier's School is so busy, and you still came all this way in person, how could I possibly accept this!"
Storm held the bouquet forward, her smile deepening. "This is a small token of appreciation from Xavier's School. Thank you for saving Mei Igarashi, and thank you for your bravery during the old warehouse incident. The professor specifically asked me to convey his gratitude in person." Storm deliberately emphasized the warehouse incident, causing Lin Xiao to frown.
Lin Xiao looked down at the bouquet of flowers, his smile remaining unchanged, "Professor, you're too kind. I just helped out casually; it's not worth making such a fuss. By the way, is Mei Igarashi alright?"
"She's fine." Storm put her hands back in her pockets, her posture still relaxed. "She just got punished by the teacher to copy the safety rules three times after returning to the academy because she forgot to use her powers and almost got smoked to a crisp. She said that when you come to visit the academy, she wants to thank you again in person."
Lin Xiao's eyelid twitched.
Storm tilted her head, as if recalling something trivial, her tone as casual as could be. "By the way, if you're going, I'd like to treat you to a meal. Didn't you say last time you liked Romanée-Conti or something? I don't know much about wine, but the food in the academy cafeteria is pretty good. Why don't you come over to the academy? The professor would really like to talk to you in person about the prospects for cooperation between Mutants and humans; there are many other interesting topics."
Her gaze lingered on Coulson for a moment. "Of course, Agent Coulson is also welcome to come along. The doors of Xavier's School are open to all friendly friends."
Coulson's smile remained unchanged, but his fingers tightened slightly on the doorknob.
Lin Xiao glanced at Coulson and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
"Alright then, Ms. Munroe, thank you for your visit. I'm always available, but I know the professor is very busy. So, I'll go when he's finished with his work and has time. What do you say?"
Storm blinked, looking rather excited.
" Lin Xiao, Agent, do you really have time?"
Lin Xiao had a bad feeling, but he still nodded politely.
Storm smiled slightly.
"Professor, you seem to have plenty of free time these days. I think today is a good day."