Rumour

Faced with Hill's enthusiastic request, Daisy found it hard to refuse.

However, the awkward issue was that this time they were face to face, in close proximity. Although the room was dimly lit, Daisy could still clearly see Hill's facial expressions.

Hill didn't mind, and she wasn't afraid either. Come on!

The sensual healing session ended, and Hill was drenched in sweat. The feeling this time was unprecedentedly refreshing, illustrating the principle of suppressing before releasing.

Just as Daisy was about to wash her hands, Hill grabbed her.

"We're good friends, right?"

Daisy nodded. Although this friendship seemed somewhat inexplicable, Hill was indeed her friend, without a doubt.

"Since we're friends, I'm making a fool of myself like this, so you should also..."

Hill had drunk quite a bit of alcohol, and now the alcohol was being circulated through her bloodstream. Her face was flushed, as if water was about to drip from it.

"You must be under a lot of pressure too. Here, let me help you!" Just as Daisy was contemplating whether to accept or refuse, Hill had already pounced on her, and the two of them tumbled to the ground.

Well, it's Christmas after all. I'll just relax a bit... Daisy consoled herself, giving up on those meaningless reservations.

It had to be said that Hill was quite skilful. She seemed cold on the surface, which meant she had likely practiced on herself before. Daisy quickly immersed herself in the passionate moment.

...

Early in the next morning.

Daisy was sleeping soundly when Hill nudged her.

"What's going on...?"

"I'm leaving. Remember, don't tell anyone about this. Keep things as they were before. Just treat it as a one-night stand!" The deputy director got dressed and left nonchalantly.

Not long after, Daisy slowly woke up, only to find the space beside her empty. She let out a sigh.

What was their future? In reality, there wasn't much of a future between them. Hill was a woman with a strong career focus, and between career and love, she would unquestionably choose her career. Besides, their relationship couldn't even be classified as love.

A one-night stand was just fine! Daisy consoled herself, pouring a glass of milk.

It was then that she noticed Hill had left her a Christmas present—a gun holster, a very professional one. It could be hung over the left shoulder for easy access and could reduce the time needed to draw the gun when facing enemies.

Daisy wasn't accustomed to giving Christmas gifts, so she could only make up for it later.

With Hill gone, this Christmas passed without incident.

Their plan had been solid—keep their relationship cool and let time decide.

Unfortunately, things didn't always go as planned. Right after Christmas, the Egg called both Daisy and Hill. The three of them headed to the UK to visit the esteemed Peggy Carter.

Normally, Daisy would've made a sarcastic comment about this visit, comparing it to paying a visit to former bosses in the previous world. S.H.I.E.L.D. was quite formal too.

However, she wasn't in the mood now. Hill didn't know how to face her, so she just sat coldly in the airplane.

Daisy maintained a composed demeanour, focusing on her own thoughts.

This puzzled Fury. He didn't understand why the relationship between the two women had suddenly deteriorated to this extent. But he had no intention of helping to diffuse the situation. It was a good thing if his subordinates weren't united!

Sharon Carter, who was at the airport to pick them up, was taken aback by their icy attitudes that seemed to freeze the air.

Her relationship with Daisy had improved slightly, so she couldn't help but ask in a soft voice, "What's going on with you two? You were fine before Christmas."

Daisy was at a loss for words, what could she say? That all of this was fake, that their relationship had been great before! Had they even measured the depth of it? She could only shake her head and remain silent, leaving outsiders to speculate.

Not long after, she met Peggy Carter, the legendary powerhouse of S.H.I.E.L.D. The elderly lady was in a wheelchair, but her mind was sharp, and she cracked a few jokes with them.

After the routine visit, life returned to normal.

However, a piece of bad news began to spread within a small circle...

Daisy Johnson and Maria Hill were at odds, even to the point of physical confrontation. They had reached an incompatible state.

This left the two directly involved parties bewildered. Despite Daisy having a precognitive advantage, she didn't know that all these rumours were being reported by Grant Ward after seeing Hill at her home.

Agent Ward was afraid of Hill discovering him, so he didn't linger at her door. He reported everything he had observed.

With Alexander Pierce, the former director, acting as a mole, the higher-ups of Hydra knew a lot. They had even seen Nick Fury's assessment of the three. Now, connecting Ward's report and Hill's strong ambition, they naturally deduced a scene where Hill and Daisy argued and then parted ways.

Soon, the spies received orders to fan the flames, spread rumours, and sow discord between them. If they could pull one of them to Hydra's side, that would be even better.

A multitude of rumours circulated within S.H.I.E.L.D., and Fury didn't want them to be too united, so he defaulted to this outcome.

The rumours left the two directly involved parties baffled. Hill seemed to fear that Daisy might misunderstand, so on a certain night, she surreptitiously had a "frank" conversation with her.

Their instincts as agents told them that someone was stirring things up. They decided to maintain their current relationship and see who was spreading the rumours.

Repeat a lie a thousand times, and it becomes the truth. The people spreading the rumours went into overdrive with their propaganda as Daisy and Hill refrained from refuting it. In the end, the fact that the two women were at odds became a well-known secret.

Hill remained silent about it, but observant individuals felt that she had grown colder.

Daisy was skilled at acting, but as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents returned to their posts, she also went with the production crew to Costa Rica, temporarily escaping that whirlpool.

The island where the battle had taken place hadn't changed much. The agents made the best of the situation, preserving the giant-sized plants. This gave outsiders the illusion of a prehistoric civilisation, with high oxygen levels and lush vegetation.

Daisy signed an agreement with the Costa Rican government to develop the island, opening it to tourists after the movie was released.

Faced with the demands of the American "dad," Costa Rica couldn't refuse. Moreover, it was a S.H.I.E.L.D. mission, and a few politicians were terrified when they heard it was a covert organisation handling this matter.

Daisy didn't overly hassle them, and the terms of the agreement were more favorable than before.

The revenue from the tourist attraction would be shared with the local government in the future, though the staff was all from Skye Pictures. In other words, they would take as much as they gave. As for how much she could skim off during this process, it entirely depended on her mood...

Considering that Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy weren't like their group of idle spies, the two teenagers still had to attend school. The actors union would occasionally call to ask if they were being mistreated on set, whether they could keep up with their studies, if they had enough rest each day, and they even subtly inquired about any "strange" requests made by the crew.

Dealing with these well-intentioned callers left Daisy mentally and physically exhausted. She could only start filming scenes with the two kids first.