"ena"
"ena"
A small Himalayan finch, fluttering its tiny red wings, landed on the eaves and let out a melodious call. It seemed that the mating season had arrived...
Whoosh~~
A wisp of scarlet energy seeped out from the house, transforming into a female finch and landing beside it.
"ena"
"ena"
The male finch, seeing its call answered, chirped even more excitedly. It hopped closer, attempting to climb onto the back of the fake finch.
"en~a!!"
The fake finch, however, suddenly pecked fiercely, its sharp beak landing hard on the male finch's head!
"en~a!"
Flap flap flap———
Terrified, the male finch flapped its wings frantically and fled!
After it flew away, the fake finch dissolved back into red mist and vanished.
"All done. The annoying bird is gone~"
From inside came a voice—soft and girlish, but dripping with a strange, sultry undertone.
"Li, let's continue~ en...〃〃"
…..
"Am I…like the eighth wife now…"
[Good Wanda] sat on the floor in a duck-sitting position, her little hands covering her flushed face.
She took a single peek—and didn't dare look again at [Bad Wanda], who was currently bullying Ye Li…
…..
"Hee hee~ Li~ how does this compare to those others?"
[Bad Wanda], or rather, she should be called Scarlet Witch, she seemed completely unaware of shame, pressing both hands against Ye Li's shoulders.
The half of the Tiger Talisman hanging around her snowy neck swayed wildly.
"Why aren't you saying anything… Didn't you say you liked me~?"
Ye Li was encountering such a situation for the first time, and his emotions were complicated...
Zzzap...
At this moment, a golden spark of a portal appeared in the tea room.
'Someone's coming... It's the Ancient One...'
Ye Li, possessing the Space Stone, could sense any spatial fluctuations and even smooth them out.
"Wait a moment…"
He pressed against Scarlet Witch's smooth, delicate shoulders, stopping her.
"Man or woman?"
"Ancient One."
"Then it doesn't matter~"
Ye Li: "..."
A white shoe stepped out of the portal.
The Ancient One unfolded her fan to cover her lower face. She first looked at the innocent [Good Wanda] sitting meekly, then swept her gaze to [Bad Wanda] and Ye Li.
Only to see...
[Bad Wanda] wore a Scarlet Witch headpiece on her forehead and a matching outfit, created by Chaos Magic.
However, the clothing was not fully materialized yet, remaining semi-transparent…
Scarlet Witch met the Ancient One's gaze without the slightest fear.
"Oh, it's Teacher~ Do you want to join too? That timid one over there has been resisting the whole time~"
The Ancient One chuckled softly.
"Hehe... Young people really know how to have fun..."
With one hand, she formed a gesture beneath the Eye of Agamotto.
Clack, clack...
The Eye of Agamotto emitted mechanical turning sounds, a green glow burst from within the Time Stone.
At the same time, everything in the room began to rewind rapidly.
Everything that had been altered by reality manipulation returned to normal in an instant.
The room, which had appeared somewhat eerie due to reality being altered, returned to normal in the blink of an eye.
Pop~
The two halves of the Tiger Talisman merged back together, and the Scarlet Witch separated from Ye Li, reuniting with Wanda.
…..
"Oh....."
Wanda, back to normal, stared blankly at her hands as if waking from a long dream.
"What happened to me just now....."
"Wanda, are you okay?"
Ye Li approached her with concern and asked, "Do you still remember what happened just now?"
"Just now....."
Suddenly remembering something, she lowered her head, her cheeks flushing. "Just now..... I... I remember....."
Ye Li unconsciously swallowed. "Then... do you feel anything wrong with your body? Any changes.....?"
"My body....?"
The young girl quickly shook her head and said anxiously.
"No... no... my body hasn't changed... Don't overthink it....."
She lowered her head even further, as if trying to bury her face in her ample chest.....
"Wanda, you're not still mad at me, are you?"
Ye Li wanted to move closer to ask her carefully.....
...but was gently pushed away by a small hand.
"Li... I want to be alone for a while... You should go first...."
"Uh....."
Ye Li scratched his face, feeling a little embarrassed when thinking about what had just happened...
"Alright then, contact me if you miss me, I'll come to see you again."
Wanda: "Mmm...."
"Master Ancient One."
Ye Li turned to the Ancient One and said, "Please take care of Wanda. If you ever need any help, you can find me."
The Ancient One smiled and nodded in satisfaction.
"No need to be so polite. Wanda is now my disciple as well... But next time, please don't do it in my tea room. I recall Kamar-Taj has guest rooms prepared."
"Master!"
Wanda couldn't stay any longer. She pushed aside the beaded curtain and fled, covering her face...
…..
A Few Days Later
Ghost Spider Club.
The investigation team's branch base.
Training grounds.
"Heahhh—ah!"
Pietro took a deep breath, shouted loudly, and dashed out!
Whoosh——!
His afterimage stretched longer and longer, gradually covering the track...
As he passed by the chubby Ned.
Tap.
He suddenly paused his steps.
And swiped something on the way——!
"Hey! You, the newbie! That's my fried chicken leg!"
Ned shouted angrily, but there was nothing he could do about Pietro, who was ridiculously fast.
The other team members looked at Pietro with admiration———
Qin Feng: "Su...Super...man!"
Song Yi: "This kid runs crazy fast~"
Tang Ren: "He should be a delivery guy; he'd make a fortune!"
"Chubby, it's just a fried chicken leg, why are you so stingy?"
Dressed in sportswear, Pietro ran a few more circles before stopping in front of Ned.
But.
The fried chicken leg in his mouth was now just a bone...
"You—you—you—! You stole my chicken leg! And called me chubby!"
Ned recalled a phrase Qin Feng had recently taught him in Chinese: "Aunt May can endure, but I cannot! (If it can be endured, what cannot?)"
"Pfft!"
Peter, who was drinking cola, spat it out instantly...
"Sissy boy! (Pietro's voice was a bit high-pitched) Let me show you what I can do!"
Ned grabbed a hemp pen (a paralysis pen with a trace amount of toxin), and thrust it straight at Pietro!
Slap~
Pietro appeared on Ned's left side, easily grabbing his hand. "My title isn't 'sissy boy'! My brother-in-law gave me a cool name—[Quicksilver]! From now on, I'm a superhero too~"
Clearly, after gaining super-speed abilities, he was quite proud of himself. To express his gratitude, he even started calling Ye Li "brother-in-law".....
"Bah! You got in through connections!"
Ned struggled and said disdainfully, "What kind of superhero steals someone else's fried chicken leg?"
"Alright, alright."
Pietro let go of his hand, waving dismissively in apology.
"When I get paid, I'll treat you to a big meal, okay? It was just a fried chicken leg from the base's cafeteria, don't be so petty..."
"A big meal? Really?"
Ned put down the hemp brush, beaming with joy, and immediately made an outrageous request.
"Then I want to go to Masa for Japanese food! A superhero must keep his word!"
Hearing this, the "Detective Chinatown Trio" started whispering among themselves———
Qin Feng: "Masa... I heard that place is really expensive..."
Song Yi: "This chubby guy is ruthless..."
Tang Ren scoffed: "What's so great about Japanese food? It's not as good as the food on Tang Ren Street."
…..
"Sure, sure."
Pietro had never heard of Masa before, so he agreed without thinking.
Meanwhile, he took out his newly bought smartphone and started texting Ye Li———
Pietro: [Brother-in-law, this place is really nice… How's Wanda doing? She's not bored without me, is she?]
Ye Li: [Don't worry, I'm taking good care of your sister.]
Pietro: [Then I'm relieved.]