Golden light blossomed in Ye Li's palm. Faint electric currents formed the flower's stamens, gold interwoven with azure, even more dazzling than the electric sparks from last time. "This is the upgraded version. I guarantee you'll love it~"
Cindy wrapped her arms around him and gave him a light kiss, readily agreeing. "I think you have a lounge here."
Skye, seated on the other side, looked suspiciously at the electric current in Ye Li's hand. "This... can be learned through practice too?"
She always felt like she had been tricked.
"We came here to learn painting, Cindy."
Felicia hadn't managed to get a spot. Somewhat unhappy, she sat on the table and pulled a paintbrush from Ye Li's brush holder to fiddle with. "Not to... huh?"
As she spoke, she also noticed the cool skill in Ye Li's palm. "Teacher, what's with that flower in your hand? Are you moonlighting as a magician too?"
"An Eastern mystical art."
Ye Li continued bluffing. "Do you want to learn it?"
Cindy and Felicia exchanged a glance, then both nodded their smooth chins in unison, their eyes full of anticipation.
Why learn painting when this was so much more magical?
And so.
Inside the studio that was originally meant for painting.
Under Ye Li's close guidance, three youthful and lovely girls began practicing the basics of martial arts.
Luckily, his studio was spacious enough to handle the commotion.
Outside the gallery.
A black sedan drove past.
"Happy, pull over here."
Tony told his bodyguard and driver, "Let's see if that guy's around. Maybe I can take a few paintings back."
He wasn't particularly interested in paintings, but collecting artwork was a common habit among the rich.
Besides, Tony knew the owner of this gallery and was on fairly good terms with him. That style suited his tastes quite well.
But the moment Tony and his bodyguard entered the studio, a beautiful spinning whip kick swept past the tip of his nose, leaving him frozen in place.
What the hell?
An attack!?
"Tony, watch out!" Happy hurriedly reached into his jacket, seemingly about to pull out a gun.
"Hey, hey, Happy, calm down!"
Tony stopped Happy from drawing his gun and looked at Cindy in front of him. "Miss, I think this might be a misunderstanding?"
"You're... Mr. Stark?"
Cindy had seen Tony in the news. Embarrassed, she said, "Sorry, I was practicing some fighting techniques... You suddenly came in..."
Because of her physique, Cindy had picked up Ye Li's moves the fastest, so her kick had happened to sweep toward Tony's face.
Luckily, her Spider-Sense was strong enough for her to stop the move she had just learned in time.
"Uh, all right. I was partly at fault too."
Tony had always been gentlemanly toward beautiful women, especially a girl who looked like she was still in high school.
He then turned his gaze toward Ye Li, surrounded by the girls, and greeted him with a jab.
"Why is this place still so shabby? You should've listened to me and renovated it."
Ye Li was also a little surprised by Tony's arrival. "Big shot, what brings you here?"
"I didn't come all this way just to buy paintings. I was passing by and decided to take a look."
Tony's gaze swept over Skye, Felicia, and Cindy, each with her own distinct style, and he couldn't help admiring him.
"You've got great taste. They're a little young, though, but that suits you perfectly."
Ye Li raised an eyebrow. Why did he keep feeling like Tony was accusing him of luring innocent young girls?
Tony: Come Have a Rookie Slugfest with Me
"Then you should also know..."
Having just finished guiding Skye and the others, Ye Li rolled his shoulders. "You interrupted something good."
"You were practicing self-defense with the girls?"
Tony wore an expression that said he understood. "That really is quite romantic~ What comes next?
"I think you should lock the door. Then I won't be able to come in and nearly get kicked."
The three girls grew a little embarrassed at how bluntly they spoke, shrinking behind Ye Li without saying a word.
Even Felicia, who had dropped her cold persona in front of Ye Li, now quietly regained her aloof appearance.
After all, they were still only high-school age.
And Stark's identity made them even less inclined to insert themselves into the conversation between the two men.
He was a famous playboy, after all.
But Tony had become interested in Ye Li. "I didn't expect an artist like you to start learning how to fight too."
He assumed a boxing stance, bouncing lightly on his feet as he invited Ye Li, "I've been practicing boxing with Happy lately too. How about we spar?"
To become the superhero Iron Man, Tony really had been training in combat recently. But since he had only just started, his skill level was not exactly impressive.
Now that he had run into a fellow rookie like Ye Li, he naturally wouldn't miss the chance to trade blows.
Besides, flashy as Tony Stark was, even though he had no thoughts about young girls, he still wanted to show off a little in front of young beauties.
Seeing Tony's confident expression.
Ye Li laughed.
Well, well. A human punching bag had come right to his door.
This was perfect. Skye and the others would be able to see the flow of the moves more clearly.
After all, when he demonstrated sparring with girls, they always ended up sticking together halfway through...
He wouldn't have that "problem" with Tony.
He was confident he could control his strength, so he wasn't worried about accidentally beating Iron Man to death.
"Then come on."
Ye Li walked to the open space in the center of the studio and provoked Tony. "Don't worry, I'll hold back. I won't hurt you."
Trading trash talk.
Tony naturally wouldn't fall behind.
He turned to Happy and instructed him, "If I can't hold back later, get over here and pull me away."
Happy nodded cooperatively. "Don't worry, boss. I'll definitely pull you away!"
Tony was satisfied.
Bouncing on his feet, he approached Ye Li and sized him up. "You look like you've put on some muscle since before. You've trained well."
Ye Li returned the compliment. "You're not bad yourself."
After exchanging a round of commercial flattery, the two began to fight.
Happy watched closely from the side, as though he really might need to pull Tony away at any moment.
Skye and Felicia also watched curiously, wanting to know how effective the fighting techniques Ye Li had taught them would be in actual combat.
Only Cindy showed little interest.
She knew that the famous wealthy scientist Stark would not be a match for the Spider-Totem.
Ye Li paid no attention to Tony's incoming fist. He was only using Tony to demonstrate moves for the girls; otherwise, he would have subdued him in a single move long ago.
After trading a few moves with Ye Li, Tony felt as though he was being led around by the nose. Every punch was either dodged or easily blocked.
The force coming from his opponent clearly wasn't much different from his own, yet he was being completely crushed in technique.
Technique?
Wasn't that exactly what he needed?
Tony's Iron Man armor did not lack power. He practiced fighting precisely to improve his combat ability through technique.
While Tony was distracted.
Ye Li had more or less finished demonstrating the moves for Skye and the others. Seeing Tony's absent-mindedness, he prepared to end the sparring with the next move.
At that moment, Happy cleverly lunged forward, grabbed Tony, and pulled him back. "Boss, your offense is too fierce. Mr. Ye Li might not be able to withstand it!"
Tony snapped back to his senses and gave Happy an approving look. "Good job, Happy. I almost hurt him. Thanks to you, nothing happened."
Ye Li stared at him deadpan—could he have even a little shame?
But he didn't mind.
Happy's fighting skills were also only mediocre. The reason he could remain Tony's bodyguard was more because their relationship was practically that of friends.
Before you continue