Chapter 3723: Mercury Era (6)

"Another piece of bad news, folks, Bucky is serious." This was how the group chat started with the message sent by Natasha. They then discussed Bucky's mindset and Natasha's way of dealing with it.

According to Natasha herself, she got from a reliable source that this was no misunderstanding. Bucky indeed plans to pursue her, and she has no intention of saying goodbye to her single life just yet.

Although a bit late, Shiller still expressed in the group his ignorance about her source of information and sincerely admired Black Widow's information-gathering skills. Others, despite sending a lot of eye-rolling emojis, said nothing.

Shiller checked his phone at exactly the right time. Natasha sent a series of dizzy emojis, then a screenshot of a chat:

"Are you there, Natasha? — B.B."

"Yes, I'm working."

"Are you free after work?"

"What's up?"

"I want to discuss Steve's birthday party with you. How about Teburen Seafood Restaurant?"

The screenshot ended there. Shiller sent a message: "How did you reply?"

"I haven't replied!" Natasha's messages popped up one after another, "He picked a reason I can't refuse. And that damn seafood restaurant is freaking expensive! He better not have made a reservation already!"

"Then it's too late, he definitely already made a reservation," Nick said, "I know him. Although he and Steve are good buddies, they are not quite the same. Bucky's underlying nature is tough. If he plans to pursue you, he won't take it slow; he'll definitely be very aggressive."

"I'm considering another possibility," Natasha said, "I'll go tonight, then we sleep together, and that'll be the end of it. What do you guys think?"

"No."

"Absolutely not."

"Forget it."

"No way."

Everyone replied following. Shiller, on the other hand, delved deeper, saying: "You think you can keep him at a relationship level like with some kind of Batman, but actually, you can't. Batman is the most clear-headed person in the world; he would never truly fall in love with a female agent. But the Winter Soldier may not be the same. What's more, the relationship you two had back then might carry a longer-tail effect than you think. You need to be prepared to deal with a highly complicated emotional problem."

"I really feel like crying for help!!!" Natasha said with multiple exclamation marks, "But I won't let you look down on me, I've decided to solve this problem myself. I'll decide to sleep with him first."

"He won't sleep with you," Hill seemed very confident, "If he's really planning to develop a relationship with you, he will definitely reject you."

"No!! Man!! Can!! Reject me!!!"

The chat ended with Natasha's roar. Shiller guessed she might have gone to pick out clothes and makeup. But he agreed with Hill's opinion, Bucky is definitely not going to let Natasha off that easy.

It's somewhat funny to say. Generally speaking, sleeping together is one of the later stages of a relationship. But in America, if someone decides to do this after your first date, it actually means rejection, meaning they're planning to keep your relationship as a one-night stand, not really going into feelings.

Natasha is indeed very charming, but Bucky is not usually that stubborn. Shiller was already starting to anticipate the female agent's downfall.

After finishing their meal and picking up the processed duck and goose, Shiller and Peter drove back to the sanatorium. On the way, Peter was playing with his phone, then suddenly looked up and said, "Does the sanatorium lack pie baking molds? I remember you don't particularly like baking, Doctor."

Only then did Shiller remember. Shiller nodded and said, "Indeed. There used to be a baking tray that came with the oven, but I don't know where it went during the move; I haven't seen it in the kitchen."

Shiller slowly pulled the car to the side and asked, "What do you plan to do? Should we go buy one or pick it up from your home?"

"That thing's not cheap. Of course, I'll pick it up from home. Oh, wait, Gwen seems to have already returned from Star Port. Looks like I can't go home to get it."

"She's already back? Why don't you go home to stay?"

"She needs to rest," Peter shrugged, "I can't go baking raspberry pies while she's catching up on sleep. Even my aunt, who's such a skilled baker, inevitably makes some noise. It wouldn't be good to wake her up."

"How about a trip to your uncle's place?"

"I'll ask my uncle if he's off work. He has an internal card that lets him use the Flying Shuttle for free; I'll ask if he can send it over."

Shiller nodded and continued driving towards the sanatorium. Peter's family is very frugal, even though their financial situation has improved a lot, they absolutely won't waste, they'd prefer to save money by spending a little extra time. Uncle Ben probably wouldn't just not mind the trouble; he'd be glad that Peter saved on gas money.

Sure enough, in no time at all, Ben Parker arrived. Shiller hadn't seen him in a long time. He went up to the other and hugged him.

Ben Parker looked very spirited. Despite the gray hair appearing at his temples, his complexion was rosy and his physique robust, showing no signs of old age.

"Here you go, kid." Ben Parker said, "Whatever you do, don't mess this thing up. Otherwise, you can forget about having apple pie this weekend."

Peter took the baking tray, glanced at it from different angles, and nodded, smiling, "It's definitely going to bless me to make the most delicious raspberry pie."

Not long after Uncle Ben left, Stark showed up again. He leaned against the doorway of the nursing home's kitchen, arms crossed, and said, "I can't believe you're all so busy in the kitchen at this hour. Peter, how's the flying car improvement going?"

"Oh my goodness, it's only the second day." Peter said as he checked the information on the flour, "Isn't it a bit rushed?"

"You're not in a hurry, of course. No matter what you give Steve, he'll just smile stupidly. But I'm different. I want to give him something that will truly surprise him."

"Like what?" Shiller turned back and asked.

"Like a cool flying vintage car!" Stark raised his voice, "I've seen Steve cut out a page introducing vintage Rolls-Royce cars from an automobile magazine. Those artifacts from his era, he loves them! If I give him one that flies, he'll definitely be so happy he might have a heart attack!"

The comment was so full of holes, Shiller didn't know where to start poking fun. Then he suddenly realized, "You wouldn't be trying to restart the floating car project because of this, would you?"

"Of course not!" Stark sounded like he'd been accused unfairly, "This is a meticulously prepared business topic, not something I just came up with spontaneously! It has nothing to do with him!"

Shiller waved dismissively, clearly not believing him. Even Peter pursed his lips, not intending to help Stark explain. Stark was about to speak when Peter jumped in ahead, "Your lab is too hastily set up, Tony. It's only been about a month. But over in China, they started working on flying cars two years ago. If not for Steve, why did you suddenly think of it?"

"It's not the same!" Stark stammered, unable to say anything for quite a while. Finally, he could only walk over angrily, and snatch the flour box from Peter's hand.

"What is this stuff?" Stark held the flour box a bit farther away, took off his sunglasses, and inspected it closely, "The ingredient list has so many chemicals, you could throw them into my Ark Reactor to generate electricity. And you're planning to use this to make food, then eat it?"

"It's seasoning powder." Peter took back the box, saying, "That's still better than physically embedding the Ark Reactor in your body."

Stark slammed the table hard and then dramatically complained that Peter had picked up bad habits too. Shiller, who was scrubbing the oven, turned back and asked, "What dish are you planning to take over?"

"Of course, a cheeseburger." Stark became smug again, putting his sunglasses back on as he started listing the merits of cheeseburgers.

"I have a question." Shiller continued, "Are you planning to buy a beef patty, fry it a little, then sprinkle some vegetables, add two slices of pre-made cheese, and sandwich them in a store-bought bun?"

"Uh, is there a problem?"

"Don't you think the steps you actually do yourself are too few?"

"But that's how a cheeseburger is made. Am I supposed to use the beef patty to sandwich the bun? That'd look like Mexican food. The essence of a cheeseburger is moderate meat... Wait, what are you planning to do?"

Stark saw nearly whole ducks and geese placed in a basin by Shiller. Both curious and a bit scared, he leaned in to take a closer look.

"What are you planning to make out of them?"

"Don't worry about it. I'm planning to make it from scratch, and Peter is too. Even Natasha, who knows nothing about cooking, plans to learn from Ivan. Only you plan to fool Steve with half pre-made food."

Stark's expression suddenly became a bit uncertain, and he said, "Do you think that dish is bad? But I can only make this, isn't it too late to learn now?"

"You can consider adding some parts you make yourself." Peter said, "Like mixing the cheese yourself, then making the bun. That way, it'll all be made by you, right?"

Stark opened his mouth, but quickly closed it again. Hesitating, he picked up the flour box again and said, "You're saying I can turn this flour into buns? What's the process like? Just add some water and pinch it into that shape?"

"I'm afraid not." Shiller said, picking up fresh tomatoes to peel, "First you need to mix it, then let it ferment. You make the dough and then bake it. Lastly, sprinkle some sesame seeds. I think it's still quite difficult; I haven't done it either."

Upon hearing this, Stark got excited, saying, "You don't know how to make burger buns either? Then I absolutely have to try. I must let you witness Stark's culinary talent!"

"Thanks, but I've seen it already. Also, don't think about messing with these in my kitchen. Go back to your own home!"

Shiller pushed Stark out. Stark refused to leave, waving his arms as he said, "Wait, why? Peter hasn't done it before either, so why can he use your kitchen..."

Stark was pushed out the door by Shiller. With a bang, the door closed. Shiller's voice came from behind the door, "Of course because, I don't need to assist him like taking care of a three-year-old when he's practicing. Go find Pepper!"

Stark yelled with his head raised and then started walking out while pulling out his phone to text Pepper to ask if she was free. Pepper replied with a photo from the fitting room, and then said:

"I'm picking clothes. Wanda is here too. Tonight is girls' night out. Don't come causing trouble!"