Within 48 hours of Howard's injury, Tony Stark had lost his only two family members in the world.
Lin Ching-wan helped him with the funeral of Howard and his wife. During the whole process, Tony didn't say a word. He didn't care about the real or fake smiles of the people who came to the funeral. Jarvis and Howard's good friend, Obadiah Stane, were the ones who did the socializing.
After the funeral, he locked himself in his underground workshop — the place where Howard used to stay the most, other than his bedroom.
"Tony, can I come in?" Lin Ching-wan knocked on the door.
There was no answer, but the door opened. Tony still didn't speak. He opened the door and returned to his previous position. Around him, there were fallen wine bottles and scattered spare parts.
He sat down, picked up the wine bottle, and took a sip. He began to fiddle with the mechanical parts again. His steady hand movements made it hard to tell whether he was sober or drunk.
"I guessed you wouldn't be able to eat, so I took the liberty to bring you hot milk." Lin Ching-wan walked to the table and placed the glass in front of him.
"You really took the liberty." Although he said that, he still picked up the glass and took a sip. "Is everyone gone?"
"Yes, Jarvis and Mr. Stane have arranged everything."
"Looks like they did a good job, good."
"Tony." Lin Ching-wan pursed her lips and hesitated. "Jarvis wants to say goodbye to you."
"He has served the Stark family for nearly a lifetime and is now in his old age. He wants to go back to his hometown and spend the last few years of his life with his wife. "
"If he wants to go back, he can go back." Tony looked up at her. "What about you? Are you leaving too?"
"If I leave and something happens to you, I have to rush back." Lin Ching-wan looked at him and smiled. "Then I might as well stay by your side and watch you from the beginning. Besides, am I not Jarvis's assistant? I think I'm qualified to take over his job, right? "
Tony Stark smiled for the first time in days. "Congratulations, Miss Lin. You got the job."
*****
"… Today, I am honored to present this year's Apogee Award to Tony Stark!"
In the magnificently decorated lobby, Air Force Colonel James Roddy stood on the podium with a smile on his face. He held a trophy in his right hand and waited for the winner to come on stage to receive the award.
Unfortunately, he was destined to be disappointed. Because the person in question, Mr. Tony Stark, was in a casino in Las Vegas, having fun with women.
After the award ceremony, Rod rushed to the casino angrily. When he saw Tony throwing dice with two beautiful women in his arms, he was even angrier. He went up to the woman next to him and glared at him.
Faced with Rod's accusations, Tony used his usually infuriating mouth to appease Rod in a few words. He even smiled and shook hands with him as he left.
However, tonight was destined to be Tony's lucky night. Before he left, he even got lucky with women — a beautiful female reporter from Vanity Fair.
"Welcome home, Miss Lin." As soon as she got off the plane, Lin Ching-wan saw Hapi waiting for her outside the airport.
"Thank you." She got into the car after Hapi opened the door. She turned to him and said, "Actually, you don't have to go through so much trouble. I can take a taxi back myself."
"That won't do. It's not safe for a woman to be out alone at night. Tony specifically asked me to pick you up."
"Oh … Then where is he now?" Looking at Hapi's speechless face, Lin Ching-wan raised her eyebrows. "Which cover girl are you spending the night with today?"
"… A female reporter."
"It really is Stark." She shook her head helplessly. "Hapi, go back and rest after you send me to the door. I'll go in myself."
"Okay."
The whole room was dark. It seemed that Jarvis was also asleep. Lin Ching-wan went back to her room quietly, threw her backpack on the ground, took a shower, and fell asleep.
As an outstanding playboy, Tony Stark never spent time with his bed partner after a night of passion. So he got up early in the morning and went into his underground laboratory.
Miss Christine Everhart, who was still asleep, was woken up by Jarvis.
She couldn't find Tony Stark, and his clothes were gone. They were probably sent to the laundry. Christine wasn't in a hurry. She picked up the shirt Tony took off yesterday and put it on. Then, she began to wander around the living room.
She looked along the row of famous paintings on the wall and saw a button on an electronic screen. Out of curiosity, she reached out a finger and touched it.
"You don't have permission to enter."
Kristin was startled.
"Jarvis, you scared this lady." Lin Ching-wan sat down on the sofa with a glass of juice and teased the AI butler.
An elegant British voice with an electronic tone said, "I'm very sorry, miss."
"That's Jarvis. He's in charge of the entire house." Pepper, who was carrying the laundry, appeared at the right time and pulled Christine out of her daze.
"I know you, the famous Pepper Potts. What, Tony still wants you to take the dry cleaning? "The female reporter was provocative.
"Ma 'am, I thought you should know the difference between you and Pepper. She can stay in this mansion forever, but you have to leave later." Before Pepper could say anything, Lin Qingwan had already answered her with a smile, but her tone was no longer as gentle as it had been at the beginning. "If I were you, I'd change my clothes and leave right now, instead of taking advantage of the master's absence to throw his weight around his assistant."
Christine could still be dismissive towards Pepper, but in front of Miss Lin, who was sitting on the sofa, she didn't have the courage to give her a hard time. Her story had been heard by all who had been in contact with the world.
Qing Lin, a woman who used to be the butler's assistant, had successfully taken over the position of butler after the death of the Old Stark couple. She had been by Tony Stark's side for more than ten years and had become his most trusted person. She lived with him in this villa that he had designed and built. Because she liked flowers and plants, Tony had even specially opened a room for her to use as a greenhouse. Even though he later promoted Pepper Potts, she couldn't replace her position.
There were also people who said that although she had never openly interfered with Stark's business, many of the things handled by Tony Stark had her shadow behind them.
After being rebuked by Lin Ching-wan, the female reporter could only leave with her tail between her legs. Watching her leave in a hurry, Lin Ching-wan shook her head at Pepper. "Tony's taste is getting worse and worse."
"This beautiful reporter graduated from Brown University." Pepper winked at her.
"Education is not proportional to character." She patted Pepper on the shoulder and pointed to the kitchen. "You've worked hard, Pepper. Take a break. I made breakfast for you and put it on the table. I'll take this down to Tony. "
"Then I'm in luck. Oh … You're so nice, Lin. "It was rare for the smart and capable woman, Pepper, to act like a spoiled child.
"All right, all right. Go eat." Lin Ching-wan smiled and pushed her to the kitchen. She took the tray to the basement.
Before entering the door, Lin Ching-wan heard the deafening rock music coming from inside.
"Tony, I brought you breakfast." The music was too loud for her to hear. She had to ask Jarvis to turn off the music.
"Don't turn off the music. Alright, Jarvis, you traitor."
"No, no, no. This is gentlemanly consideration." She asked Dumbo to help clear a space on the table. Lin Ching-wan put down the tray. "Eat something. I made it myself."
Tony looked at the tray. It was all his favorite food. His big honey-colored eyes, which had been silent for the whole morning, showed a little smile. He picked up the milk bun and took a bite. He looked at Lin Ching-wan. "When did you arrive?"
"Last night. Don't think about it. You were having fun with the beauty at that time. "
"Ahem." He cleared his throat uncomfortably. He picked up the cup and took a sip of hot milk. "Have you found what you're looking for?"
"Not yet. There's news, but there's no progress so far. Director Frey promised to help me find it. I'm happy to be a hands-off boss. "Lin Ching-wan smiled." I can keep an eye on you at home. "
She didn't know which part of her words was to Tony's liking. His lips also curled up, but he quickly suppressed it. "Well, I've received the breakfast. You can come back later to collect the tray."
"In fact, I have another task here. The plane has been waiting at the airport for an hour and a half. My Lord Stark, when are you going to go? Don't forget that you have to go to the Afghan Air Force Base to introduce your new weapon today. "
“Oh，come
Tony rolled his eyes. "Qing, why do I feel like you're driving me away? Why, is there a program later? "
He examined her with his large, luminous eyes, as a husband might examine his unfaithful wife. "I don't like it when you have a program."
Lin Ching-wan laughed. "What's with that expression? Today is Pepper's birthday. I'll celebrate with her later. "
"Okay." He seemed to accept her explanation. "Help me choose a gift for Pepper."
"I will. Lord Stark, do you want me to take you to the airport? "
"No, you guys have fun."
"Wait a minute. Sign a document before you go." She handed the pen to Tony. "Afghanistan is not a peaceful place. Be careful."
"Please." Tony looked at her as if saying, "What are you talking about?" "I'm an arms dealer."
After signing, he threw the pen away, took a coat, and left without looking back. “Goodbye，honey。”
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