The Plot Begins

"Damn it, Tony, it's four in the morning. What do you want?" Xia Yu roared into the phone.

"I just conquered a female reporter. Yesterday, when she interviewed me, she actually called me a war profiteer. Then I waged an all-out war with her, and she was obviously utterly defeated," Tony said, his voice full of energy on the other end of the line.

"So you interrupted my beautiful dream just to show off your sexual prowess? You're a complete bastard, Tony." Xia Yu raised his voice even louder, making Natasha, who had been woken by the call beside him, cover her mouth and giggle.

"Hell, I'm your business partner. I designed the most dazzling house in Los Angeles for you. And what about you? Xia, ten days ago, you ran over to my house and dumped over a hundred million dollars in cash on my floor—one hundred and two million, three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, to be precise. You asked me to deposit it in the bank for you, then ran back to New York without another word. And me? I've been cleaning up your mess. If I didn't have a little money and fame, they'd have thought I was a drug dealer or a money launderer. Do you know how much effort it took to turn your cash into those lovely numbers in your bank account? Compared to that, all I did was call you in the middle of the night. You're the bastard, Xia." Tony launched into a string of complaints.

"It's four in the morning, not the middle of the night," Xia Yu corrected him.

"It's late at night over here, thank you! (There's a roughly three-hour time difference between Los Angeles and New York.) You should learn to show me more respect. There's a saying in Huaxia: Re! Spect! Your! Elders! And! Care! For! The! Young! You should respect me, my dear Xia." Tony's words were muffled; from the sound of it, he was drinking water or alcohol.

"All right, you win, man. Hold on." Xia Yu was fully awake now. He got up to fetch his cigarettes, kissed Natasha, whose eyes were wide open, and lit one. He took a hard drag and exhaled heavily before speaking into the phone again. "Go on, what do you want at this hour? There isn't something wrong with your body, is there? That's impossible."

"My body is in even better shape than you imagine. I've found a piece of land I like in Los Angeles. I'm planning to use it to grow herbs for our own company. The land is important, but that's not my area of expertise. I need you to come and see if it's suitable for growing herbs. As long as there's no problem with the land, we'll buy it. Don't worry about the weather, temperature, and things like that. I can take care of them," Tony said.

"No problem. I'll come over tomorrow." After saying that, Xia Yu thought something wasn't right and asked, "Why didn't you wait until tomorrow morning to call me?"

"Because I just remembered, and I can't sleep. Get to Los Angeles before three tomorrow afternoon. Pepper will meet you." With that, Tony hung up.

"That bastard," Xia Yu cursed, tossing his phone aside.

"I thought I detected a hint of flirting in there. I'm almost jealous of Tony Stark," Natasha joked.

"I'll prove to you right now just how unchanged my sexual orientation has always been." Xia Yu lifted the covers and slipped underneath. Natasha giggled. In New York at four in the morning, some people were playing basketball, while others were enjoying boundless pleasures.

Early the next morning, Xia Yu left on the first flight. Natasha didn't go with him. Her vacation was almost over anyway, and she needed to stay in New York recently. In her words, a general in the government had been conducting human modification experiments lately and caused quite a bit of trouble, and they were keeping a close eye on it.

Xia Yu knew the plot of The Incredible Hulk had begun, but S.H.I.E.L.D. was only playing the role of an observer in this incident, so he relaxed. Even so, he still told Natasha to be careful.

Pepper Potts was already waiting when he got off the plane. Xia Yu was curious; he had originally planned to contact Pepper after landing. Smiling, she told Xia Yu that she had just seen Tony off and, seeing that the timing was close enough, had waited at the airport.

Although Tony Stark didn't handle the specific affairs of Stark Industries, as its largest shareholder and CEO, he still had a fairly busy schedule. He had only stayed holed up with Xia Yu for so long recently because of an embarrassing physical condition. So when Xia Yu heard that Stark had gone away, he didn't think much of it.

He followed Pepper Potts to a farm on the outskirts of Los Angeles. The land was quite good, and Xia Yu thought there was no problem with it. As for the price, he would have the company send someone to negotiate. After a busy afternoon, the two went to a Mexican restaurant in Hollywood for dinner at Pepper Potts's strong recommendation.

"Xia, do you know that your company's products are mainly sold to Hollywood stars now? Selling to them not only brings good publicity, but the prices can also be set very high," Pepper Potts said.

"Really? Are the prices set that high? The costs are pretty ordinary," Xia Yu said.

"Xia, you're definitely the boss who cares the least about his own company in the whole world. My God, you don't even know the prices of your own company's products," Pepper Potts exclaimed.

Xia Yu scratched his head awkwardly and said, "I'll gradually learn more about it. You know what? That bastard Tony called me at four in the morning to tell me about today. He definitely did it on purpose."

Pepper Potts covered her mouth and laughed. "You could call him now. He should have just arrived not long ago, and it's early morning there now. You should call him to get revenge."

"Oh?" Xia Yu's interest was piqued. As he took out his phone, he asked, "Where did he go? The time difference is that big?"

"He went to Afghanistan to pitch missiles to the American troops stationed there," Pepper Potts said.

Xia Yu stopped reaching for his phone. Afghanistan, Afghanistan. That meant the plot had already begun. Tony Stark would be confined in a cave for a full three months, and those three months would also allow him to emerge from his cocoon as a butterfly and become Iron Man, the man who stood shoulder to shoulder with gods in a mortal body.

There was an idiom: concern breeds confusion. Even though Xia Yu knew Tony should be fine, he was still very worried. What if his appearance as a butterfly changed something? Hadn't Tony and Pepper Potts started getting close much earlier than in the movie?

"Xia, Xia, are you all right?" Pepper Potts's voice brought Xia Yu back to his senses.

"I'm fine. I was thinking about some things from the past. This wrap is good," Xia Yu said absentmindedly.

Throughout the meal, Xia Yu was distracted. Pepper thought he had remembered something sad, so after they finished eating, she took him home early.

Back home, Xia Yu looked at the house Tony had designed for him and recalled one scene after another from their time together. The three of them, including Pepper Potts, had spent over a month together in Tony's villa, and it really had felt like a family. He had only been in this world for a little over half a year, yet he had become close buddies with Iron Man and started dating Black Widow—two people who sacrificed themselves in Avengers: Endgame. Fuck, I sure know how to pick them. Let's see how you save them when the time comes, Xia Yu thought, mocking himself.

Xia Yu sat there alone at home, lost in thought, his mind wandering until late at night.

His phone suddenly rang. It was Natasha.

"Xia, something's happened to Tony Stark," Natasha said.

"What happened?" Although Xia Yu already knew, his voice was still agitated.

"He was attacked with missiles in Afghanistan. There were only soldiers' bodies at the scene, but his blood was there. He definitely wasn't dead at the time, but I don't know what his situation is now." Natasha lived up to her S.H.I.E.L.D. credentials, delivering firsthand information.

"Was it terrorists?" Xia Yu asked.

"The situation over there is chaotic. It's impossible to say which faction was responsible right now, but don't worry. His status is very special, and almost every intelligence agency has mobilized. I'm sure there'll be news soon," Natasha said.

"I know. Tell me as soon as you hear anything, and stay safe over there too." After speaking to Natasha, Xia Yu hung up and sank into deep thought.