Questions at the Dinner Table

There is no taboo against talking while eating in Western cuisine. In other words, their slow pace of serving food is designed to allow people to enjoy the food more and to chat and connect with each other during the meal.

Under Catherine Hepburn's insistence, Tony Stark reluctantly revealed how he met Henry.

"So, when you first met, Tony Stark and that guy were thoroughly humiliated by Henry," Catherine said, having just finished eating an asparagus spear.

"No, I didn't. The one who's embarrassed is that guy, it has nothing to do with me," Tony Stark tried to explain.

"Henry, can you really solve such a complex problem in an instant?"

In response to the question, Henry laughed and said, "Of course not. Even the most brilliant mathematicians need tools to calculate the answer; how could I possibly know it just by looking at it?"

"So you are...?"

"As long as someone is full of confidence and spouts nonsense with a straight face, those who lack confidence will unconsciously believe their nonsense. That's why so many people love watching movies. Otherwise, how many of them would have illogical plots or scenes that violate physical phenomena?"

"Hmm, that sounds like something a filmmaker would say. What If...? you don't even believe your own films will be box office hits, how can you convince film companies and audiences to buy tickets to the theater?"

Tony, finally finding a chance to interject, retorted, "But that's not scientific at all." In fact, even now, he was starting to doubt whether Henry's initial answer was just something he'd casually mentioned. It was clearly the same as his own explanation...

Catherine, however, criticized, "Tony Stark, we're talking about the Movie Channel, not the Discovery Channel. What If...? everything had to be based on science, George Luca's Star Wars would be doomed."

Tony muttered, "Anyway, this doesn't make sense."

"So, during our second meeting, Tony Stark was really that rude, eating whatever was on the table." Regardless of what others said, Catherine always managed to step outside her usual perspective and comment on things with a unique and insightful eye.

Tony Stark protested, "I sponsored that culinary team out of my own pocket, and I paid for the ingredients too. Why can't I eat the food made with those ingredients?"

Nodding in agreement without hesitation, Henry added, "Yes, yes, of course. But at least we should identify ourselves so people know the boss has arrived. Otherwise, how will anyone know if the person stealing other people's food is a homeless person or someone else?"

After refuting his argument, Henry turned to Catherine and asked, "Are all Stark Family men like this? Wherever they go, they assume everyone knows them. This excessive self-confidence seems incurable."

"Yes, this is practically a terminal illness, and it's a hereditary disease. I sincerely hope that their next generation can see improvement," Catherine said, going along with the conversation.

He then asked, "By the way, Henry, I know that during your third meeting with Tony Stark, you were following him around and shooting him in the back. What happened before that to make you appear all wet and disheveled?"

Tony hadn't asked this question, but that didn't mean he didn't want to know. So when Catherine asked, he unusually refrained from saying anything, wanting to hear what Henry had to say.

Henry briefly described how he met Justin again, and how the chubby boy threw his cell phone into the pool and asked someone to retrieve it.

After listening, Tony spoke first, "So that's why you didn't want to save him. Because that fat guy offended you first."

Henry explained, "I have to say, I only found out the gunmen's target was Josh Hill, the fat guy, at the very end. Before that, a person was a person, and a name was a name; I didn't connect the two."

"If I gave you a second chance, would you save him?" Tony asked.

"Still no." Henry rarely put on a serious expression and said, "Putting aside the bodyguard work at the banquet company, it's just dealing with drunks or high-dose guys. Dealing with those with guns is not my job."

"Besides, I've already quit. To the banquet organizers, I'm just an unarmed bystander. My priority should be protecting myself, not cleaning up the messes of those rich kids."

"But you still helped Tony Stark, didn't you?" Catherine said.

Tony Stark said with dissatisfaction, "I'm protecting him. If it weren't for the fact that having an extra gun, and that he's not like a novice who keeps firing blanks, and that having another person to put psychological pressure on those gunmen, I wouldn't have brought him along."

"Yes, yes, that's exactly it," Henry said sarcastically.

Unfortunately, the Americans didn't understand that tone, and Henry didn't want to explain anything, letting Tony boast about how brave he had been.

Henry was simply focused on the asparagus on his plate, the main course of the day, and then casually chimed in, praising Tony's own performance.

Considering that the main guest of the banquet, Catherine Hepburn, was already 84 years old, Tony ordered the best combination of dishes after discussions between the chef and nutritionist.

There is some meat, but the portion is small, and it is stewed until very tender, making it suitable for older people's teeth and mouths.

The Alex and Harts are at an age where they are pursuing healthy eating, so they naturally had nothing to say about this meal.

The two young men, however, ate with great relish. In fact, Henry's table manners were even better Tony's, the wealthy young master. Henry could even chat with the waiter in French, praising the food.

All of this made the elders feel even more favorably toward this young man.

Catherine looked at him with kind and gentle eyes and asked, "Little Henry, what are your plans for the future? You're a small-time actor in Hollywood now, according to Tony Stark."

Is this a way of using her Hollywood connections to help Tony repay a favor?

It seems that Catherine Hepburn took good care of this guy who was about the same age as her own child.

However, Henry declined the favor, shaking his head and saying, "I came to Hollywood to broaden my horizons. Although I've only been here for less than six months, I think I'll change careers sooner or later."

"Don't you want to be a big star?" Catherine asked with a smile.

"It's not so much that I don't want to be a big star, but rather that I don't want to pay the price that comes with it. I'd rather live a more carefree life."

Henry's unspoken line: Although Catherine Hepburn is still in Hollywood and has a certain influence, she's not exactly a superstar to promote someone.

Besides, the favor Tony owed wasn't something Catherine would have to go to great lengths to repay. What If...? it were simply an opportunity, Henry wouldn't want to gamble with the future of Hollywood.