Tony Stark's Valentine's Day Gift
After Pepper Potts returned from her business trip, Tony put her in charge of setting up the new company. She lived up to her reputation as the future head of Stark Industries, taking care of everything from choosing a location and arranging renovations to hiring staff. The three of them spent ages trying to think of a name for the company, but when they couldn't come up with anything, Pepper made the call. Since it was a formula Xia Yu had made with herbal medicine, they would call it Herbal Medicine!
Tony Stark's rich-guy instincts kicked in, and with a wave of his hand, he bought a twenty-story office building in the new company's name. In other words, before production had even begun, Xia Yu had already earned more than half a building.
Xia Yu no longer cared about that. He would have liked to pay for it, but there was no fucking way he could afford it, so what could he do? He simply accepted it. Development of the medicine was also in full swing. Thanks to Tony's powerful black technology, the entire production line was automated. All they needed were people to sort the medicinal ingredients when they arrived at the warehouse.
Time flew when they were busy. Although Xia Yu was a hands-off boss, Pepper came to report their progress to the two of them every day, and from time to time she took Xia Yu along to see how things were going, giving him plenty of opportunities to participate.
For more than a month, Xia Yu helped Tony practice in the mornings. During the day, he assisted Tony in the lab or served as a research subject to help Tony study martial arts.
After more than a month of work, the company was finally ready to open. Tony said the new company's product was the best Valentine's Day gift for women, so he set the opening date for February 14. The product had already gone on sale earlier; they had simply chosen that day to officially move into the offices and have the two bosses, Tony and Xia Yu, show up at the company and meet all the employees.
Xia Yu had actually met all the key managers already. Today was a small luncheon to introduce Tony and Xia Yu to the entire staff. The employees had known from the start that Tony Stark was one of the bosses, but many were meeting Xia Yu for the first time. They were all very surprised to learn that he was the largest shareholder. This young East Asian man was actually in business with Tony Stark, and he was the majority shareholder.
Xia Yu paid no attention to what they were whispering about. After a few brief remarks, Pepper thoughtfully handed out Valentine's Day gifts she had prepared for every employee, and the three of them left. Once they were downstairs, Tony and Pepper mysteriously pulled Xia Yu around to the back of the building.
"What are you two up to?" Their secretive behavior reminded Xia Yu of matchmakers. Are they trying to set me up with someone? I've already got a goddess!
The company's building was a full twenty stories tall. That was nothing special in Los Angeles, but it was more than enough for their company. The bottom sixteen floors had all been rented out, while they used the top four themselves. Many of the companies renting floors had already begun moving their things in, so there were plenty of trucks and workers busy around the back entrance.
The two of them brought Xia Yu to a corner by the building's back entrance. Pepper smiled and said, "This is a Valentine's Day gift Tony prepared for you. I just helped out. Now, let's go have a look." With that, she took out an access card and swiped it against the wall. Only then did Xia Yu notice a door in the corner of the building.
"Is this a fire escape?" Xia Yu asked in confusion.
Neither of them said anything. They simply opened the door and pulled Xia Yu inside. Beyond it was an elevator lobby of a little over ten square meters, with a single elevator. Xia Yu followed them in curiously and discovered that the elevator had no buttons. Pepper took out the access card again and swiped it on the right side of the elevator, and it began to rise.
"What the hell are you two up to?" Xia Yu asked loudly.
"Don't talk. You're already in the elevator, so what's the rush? You're a big boss now, my friend. You need to learn to be composed." Tony shook his head as he lectured Xia Yu.
Xia Yu rolled his eyes and ignored him. The elevator soon arrived, and when it opened, a living room appeared before them. Directly ahead were the back of a sofa and a television. Behind the sofa stood a short Chinese-style redwood partition, with room to walk around either side. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows lined the right side, and there was more floor-to-ceiling glass immediately to the left. Outside was a large swimming pool, with a wall covered in greenery directly opposite.
There were walls on either side as well, and when he looked up, he saw the sky. "Is this the top floor?" Xia Yu said. He hurried over to the floor-to-ceiling windows on the right and looked outside. Sure enough, they were on the roof. He walked into the living room, where a Chinese-style tea table stood next to the windows on the right. There were quite a few tea canisters on it, and Xia Yu could tell at a glance that they contained seven or eight kinds of tea.
Farther ahead were a toilet and a bedroom. The bedroom also had a bathroom and a walk-in closet. Several suits and sets of casual clothes had been prepared in the closet, along with shoes, belts and ties—everything he could need. There were even a few expensive watches and pairs of sunglasses. After leaving the bedroom, Xia Yu noticed a small loft directly opposite the place where he had come out of the elevator. An open kitchen and dining room were up there.
After Xia Yu had looked around and returned to the living room, Pepper said, "Happy Valentine's Day. Do you like the gift? Tony planned it from the moment he bought the building. He had an apartment built for you on the roof—a true Tony Stark-style gift." Before Xia Yu could speak, Tony said, "Actually, I was mostly afraid this kid would stay at my place and never leave."
Xia Yu's eyes reddened, but he forced himself to sound calm. "Tony Stark, I'd love you more if your mouth weren't so foul."
"I don't need you to love me. Come here, and I'll show you the coolest part of this place: a home control system designed by Tony Stark himself." As Tony spoke, he casually tapped the coffee table twice, and an interface appeared on its glass surface.
"Every table in this home can be used as a computer, including the lounge table outside by the pool. I installed a smart butler system for you. It's not as advanced as JARVIS, of course, but it lets you give all kinds of voice commands and control every appliance in the house. Remember, that means everything, including changing the water and adjusting the temperature in the pool outside. The pool's drainpipe is a full fifty centimeters wide. I installed a filtration system in the pipes, so when the water drains, dirt and things like human hair are filtered out, then automatically flushed through other pipes into the building's sewage system. So if you want, you can get up in the morning, relieve yourself in the pool, and then change the water." Tony explained the house's various functions to Xia Yu in detail.
When he finished, Tony stood up and said, "All right, Pepper and I have a meeting at Stark Industries this afternoon, and then we're having dinner together tonight. So find yourself something fun to do today."
Xia Yu was very happy for them. "You two... when did this happen?"
Pepper smiled. "Today's only our first date."
"Congratulations." Xia Yu smiled and hugged Pepper.
After seeing the two of them off, Xia Yu sat on the sofa and looked around his new home. Compared with the place in New York's Chinatown, this felt more like home. Although that place was just like his home in his original world, it ultimately wasn't the same place, and the system had arranged it. This place felt more like a home that belonged to him.
Valentine's Day... Xia Yu tried calling Natasha, but he couldn't get through. He had spent every day of the past two months and more with Tony and Pepper, and now that they had suddenly parted, he didn't know what to do by himself. Just then, his phone rang. A text message!
Sender: Tony Stark
Xia, as your friend, I really can't bear to see you spending Valentine's night alone, especially when a beautiful house like that deserves a beautiful story on its first night. I left a car key on the sofa. Go to a nightclub tonight and pick up a hot girl to bring back. Two is fine too, of course. The bed in the bedroom is pretty big. Happy Valentine's Day.
Friendly reminder: I left fifteen different brands of protection in the bedside table. They're all the smallest size, which should fit you. No need to thank me.
"Damn you, Tony Stark," Xia Yu cursed with a smile on his face.