Pepper Potts

Stark Industries Tower, thirty-second floor, conference room.

Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows lay the Manhattan skyline. March sunlight streamed through the glass, spreading a thin layer of light across the dark marble floor. The conference room was not large, but it was tastefully arranged—leather sofas, a solid wood coffee table, an abstract painting in a modern art style on the wall, and a neatly trimmed green plant in the corner.

Chen Xiao sat on the sofa and waited for two minutes.

He wore a well-tailored navy suit today, with his tie tied flawlessly. His short black hair was combed neatly, revealing a clean forehead. His features were not striking, but they grew on the eye—slightly high brow bones, a straight nose, and lips that curved faintly upward. Even without an expression, he looked as though he were half-smiling.

Above-average looks.

Not eye-catching, but not easily forgotten either.

Two people stood behind him. One was the business lead Daniel had arranged, Mark Davis, in his early thirties, dressed in a suit with a serious expression and a briefcase in hand. The other was the technical director, Dr. Robert Smith, over fifty with graying hair, the kind of old engineer who had clearly spent thirty years in a laboratory.

Chen Xiao was the team leader.

Even though he did not know a damn thing about new energy materials.

Before setting out, Daniel had asked him, "Chief, can you handle the technical questions?"

Chen Xiao had answered frankly, "No."

Daniel had fallen silent for three seconds. "Then can you at least look professional?"

"What do you think?"

Daniel had looked him up and down: navy suit, neat tie, calm and composed expression.

"Appearance-wise, yes," Daniel had said sincerely. "As long as you don't speak."

Chen Xiao had smacked him. "Can you even talk properly?"

Daniel had smiled, closed the folder, and arranged for someone to drag an engineer out of the lab.

At that moment, Mark was flipping through the materials with his head lowered, muttering as if memorizing a sales pitch. Dr. Smith had his eyes closed, wearing the profound expression of someone conducting simulated experiments in his head.

The door opened.

Pepper Potts walked into the conference room.

She wore a light gray suit, a fitted blazer over a white silk blouse, with a small pearl brooch pinned at her collar. Her blonde hair was tied up behind her head, while a few loose strands fell naturally by her ears, making her look capable without losing her softness.

Her pace was quick, but every step was steady.

That was Chen Xiao's first impression of her: a woman who was always racing against time but never flustered.

Two people followed behind her: a young female assistant carrying a laptop, and a middle-aged man who was presumably in charge of the technical side.

"Mr. Chen?" Pepper extended her hand, her voice polite and professional. "I'm Pepper Potts, special assistant at Stark Industries. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

"No, no, we just got here too." Chen Xiao shook her hand, then stepped aside to indicate the people behind him. "This is our business lead, Mark Davis. This is our technical director, Dr. Robert Smith. As for me, I'm just here to make up the numbers."

Pepper's brow twitched slightly.

She shook hands with Mark and Dr. Smith in turn, then invited everyone to sit. Her assistant and the technical lead took seats opposite them and opened their laptops to take notes.

The next twenty minutes were a standard business meeting.

Dr. Smith handled the technical portion, speaking clearly and backing everything up with detailed data. Mark handled operations, explaining production capacity, delivery timelines, and cooperation models without a single gap.

Chen Xiao was responsible for... sitting there.

He nodded occasionally and lifted his coffee cup now and then—without drinking from it, because it was too bitter—to offer the occasional acknowledgment.

Pepper remained professional and efficient throughout. Her technical lead occasionally interrupted with questions, while her assistant clattered away on the keyboard. The whole conference room was filled with the atmosphere of "everyone here is a serious professional."

The only unserious person was probably the team leader holding a coffee cup and pretending to listen while actually spacing out.

Pepper's gaze occasionally swept over Chen Xiao's face.

It was not scrutiny, but the thoughtful look of someone wondering, "Where have I seen this person before?"

Chen Xiao noticed, but his expression remained unchanged.

The business portion ended.

Mark and Dr. Smith were led by the assistant next door for coffee, while Pepper's technical lead followed them out. Only Chen Xiao and Pepper remained in the conference room.

Pepper closed her folder, leaned back in her chair, and let her gaze settle on Chen Xiao's face.

"Mr. Chen," she suddenly said, "have we met before?"

Chen Xiao smiled.

"You may have seen me," he said. "At the charity gala. I went over to greet Mr. Stark, and then he signed something for me—on a napkin."

The corner of Pepper's mouth twitched.

Her expression was subtle, carrying both the relief of so it was you and the helplessness of someone dealing with a mischievous child at home.

"So that napkin..." Pepper said.

"I had it framed," Chen Xiao said righteously.

Pepper looked at him, her eyes full of what exactly is this man talking about?

"That was Tony Stark's personal signature," Chen Xiao said with complete seriousness. "What if it appreciates in value someday? I'm waiting to trade it for a house."

This time, Pepper genuinely laughed.

It was not the polite smile used in social situations, but an honest laugh because he had amused her. When she smiled, her eyes curved, and her originally capable aura softened considerably.

"You're trading a napkin for a house?" She shook her head with a smile. "Tony's signature isn't worth that much yet."

"Not now, but what about later?" Chen Xiao said. "What if he becomes some incredible figure in the future?"

Pepper smiled and sighed, saying nothing.

The atmosphere shifted from "business meeting" to "two normal people chatting."

"Tony had Happy look into you afterward," Pepper suddenly said.

Chen Xiao raised a brow. "And what did he find?"

"An ordinary person," Pepper said. "So clean it was a little boring."

"Boring is the best adjective," Chen Xiao said seriously. "It means I'm a law-abiding, upstanding citizen."

Pepper laughed again.

She realized that her sense of humor and his seemed strangely compatible.

"Why did you go toast Tony that day?" she asked.

"Curiosity."

"Curious about what?"

"Curious how annoying someone who looked so annoying on television could be in real life."

Pepper burst out laughing.

"And then?"

"And then I discovered," Chen Xiao sighed, "he's three times more annoying in real life than on TV."

Pepper laughed so hard her shoulders shook.

After laughing, she picked up her coffee and took a sip, calming herself before looking at Chen Xiao again. Her gaze had softened considerably.

"Tony... isn't actually a bad person."

"I know." Chen Xiao nodded. "He just has a loose mouth."

Pepper looked at him and suddenly said softly, "You seem to understand him very well."

Chen Xiao smiled but did not respond.

He could hardly say, I've seen the rest of his life.

The timing was right, so Chen Xiao decided to bring up his real purpose for the day.

"Ms. Potts," his tone grew more serious, "there's something I'd like to tell you."

Pepper leaned forward slightly.

"We have an office in Afghanistan," Chen Xiao said, as casually as if he were saying the weather was nice today. "Not many people, a few vehicles, and we know the local terrain fairly well."

Pepper's brow moved slightly.

"I know Stark Industries has operations there," Chen Xiao continued. "I'm not trying to pry into anything. I just want to tell you that if something happens there someday—if equipment needs emergency support, or if someone needs help—you can call me."

Pepper's gaze became more cautious.

"Did you hear something?" she asked.

"No, no, it just came to mind." Chen Xiao waved a hand, his smile open and honest. "Afghanistan is the kind of place where you never know what might happen. The more friends you have, the more options you have."

Pepper stared at him for several seconds.

This young man always spoke in half-truths, but every sentence gave her the feeling that he was neither joking nor merely being polite.

He was serious.

"I'll remember that," Pepper said.

"Oh, right." Chen Xiao took something from the inner pocket of his suit, placed it on the coffee table, and pushed it toward Pepper.

A business card.

The background was dark blue—not cheap bright blue, but a calm, deep-sea blue with a faint matte texture. The edges of the card had been subtly rounded, making it smooth and comfortable to the touch. The lettering was silver-white, simple and elegant, with only two lines printed on it:

Chen Xiao

Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX

There was no company name, no title, and no unnecessary information.

It was simplicity taken to the extreme.

Pepper picked up the card and turned it over—blank.

Her gaze lingered on the blue for a long time.

She could not explain why, but the card made her feel comfortable.

Not the sort of comfort that came from it being "pretty," but a feeling that it was simply "right." The color, texture, and design—everything was exactly as it should be.

"It's a beautiful business card," Pepper said, with sincere appreciation in her voice.

"Thank you." Chen Xiao smiled. "I picked the color."

"So, is that all for today?" Chen Xiao stood.

Pepper stood as well and shook his hand again.

"Mr. Chen, it was a pleasure meeting you."

"Just call me Chen Xiao," he said. "Calling me 'Mr. Chen' is too formal. It makes me sound like my dad."

Pepper smiled.

"All right, Chen Xiao."

Stark Industries Tower, underground laboratory.

Tony Stark was lying beneath the chassis of a vintage sports car, a wrench clamped around a bolt, muscles tense in his arm, with a flashlight between his teeth. He had recently become obsessed with restoring classic cars, which was far more interesting than sitting through board meetings.

"Dum-E, hand me that."

The mechanical arm beside him raised a fire extinguisher and crookedly extended it toward Tony's face.

"No, no, no—not the fire extinguisher! That! The wrench! Can't you see it? That one!" Tony slid out from beneath the car, the flashlight beam sweeping over Dum-E's "face." "How do you manage to pick exactly the wrong thing every single time?"

Dum-E's mechanical arm hesitated in midair, then slowly withdrew. It turned toward the workbench, picked up a screwdriver, then turned back and carefully held it out to Tony.

Tony stared at the screwdriver in silence for two seconds.

"...I wanted the wrench. Forget it, I'll get it myself."

He took the screwdriver from Dum-E's claw and tossed it back onto the workbench, then reached for the wrench himself before sliding back beneath the car.

Dum-E quietly retracted to the side, still holding the fire extinguisher as if it were considering whether to spray something in celebration.

"Sir."

JARVIS's voice came from somewhere above, as steady as ever.

"Yeah?"

"There is something I need to report regarding Mr. Chen Xiao, whom you previously asked Mr. Happy to investigate."

Tony twisted a bolt and responded casually, "Who?"

"The gentleman at the charity gala who toasted you and received your signed napkin."

"Oh, that ordinary guy." Tony shifted positions, fitting the wrench onto another bolt. "What about him?"

"This morning, he held a business meeting with Ms. Potts as the team leader of a new energy materials technology company. The company's patented technology is connected to the cooling system of the Arc Reactor."

Tony paused, set the wrench aside, and poked his head out from beneath the car.

"Wait. Didn't he run a small company? What did Happy find?"

"Mr. Happy's previous investigation indicated that he owned only a small trading company. However, the identity he used in today's meeting was as a representative of another technology company that holds three patents. There is a discrepancy in his identity information, sir."

Tony slid fully out from beneath the car and sat on the floor, resting the flashlight on his knee as he tilted his head and thought.

"So what? He might be a con man? Or the front man for some organization I can't see?"

"There are many possibilities, sir."

Tony stood and walked to the workbench. He picked up the cup of coffee that had gone cold, took a sip, and frowned.

"Dum-E, pour me a fresh one."

Dum-E's mechanical arm finally set down the fire extinguisher, turned toward the coffee machine, and began operating it clumsily.

Tony set down the cup. "Just keep an eye on him. Don't spend too much time on it."

"Understood, sir."

Tony glanced at Dum-E—it was trying hard to pour coffee into a cup, but the coffee ran down the outside and spilled all over the table.

"Dum-E, you spilled it again. I'm warning you, if you keep being this clumsy, I'll donate you to City University."

Dum-E's mechanical arm froze for a moment, then slowly set down the coffee pot and turned toward Tony. It held up the cup, which was only half full, as though making one last attempt.

Tony sighed, took the cup, and drank from it.

"All right, go wipe the table."

Dum-E immediately turned around, grabbed a rag, and began making circles across the workbench. Its movements were still clumsy, but it was very serious about the task.

"Oh, and sir." JARVIS's voice rang out again.

"What now?"

"Mr. Chen Xiao told Ms. Potts that he had framed your signature and was waiting for it to appreciate enough to trade it for a house."

Tony held the coffee cup, froze for a second, then laughed.

"Good eye. If I get the chance, I'll sign him another one."

He finished the last sip of coffee and placed the cup in Dum-E's mechanical claw.

"All right, back to work. Hand me that wrench—and don't get it wrong this time."

Dum-E carefully picked up the wrench and steadily handed it over.

Tony took the wrench and lay back down beneath the car.

JARVIS quietly added the name "Chen Xiao" to the observation list.