Family Secret Meeting

The crystal chandelier in the top-floor restaurant of Stark Tower cast a dazzling glow over the Italian-imported veined marble dining table, its reflected specks of light dancing across the gold-rimmed plates. Tony Stark sat with one leg crossed over the other, swirling a wineglass in his hand. Ice cubes clinked crisply against the glass, like a jazz drumbeat. "I'm telling you, nephew, you've really been stealing the spotlight at school lately. A genius girl on one side, a childhood friend on the other—are you planning to form your own teenage Avengers?" As he raised a brow, the curls over his forehead swayed slightly, and his eyes behind the lenses gleamed with teasing amusement.

Li Stark rolled his eyes helplessly and viciously cut off a large piece of steak with his knife and fork. Meat juices splattered across the tablecloth, spreading into dark stains. "Uncle Tony, can you stop with the exaggerated comparisons? Wanda and Gwen are just my classmates. We only entered a science competition together." His cheeks puffed out as he spoke, making him look like a little squirrel guarding its food.

"Just classmates?" Helen Cho adjusted her rimless glasses, their metal frames glinting coldly beneath the lights. She slapped a tablet onto the table, and the screen immediately began playing high-definition footage from the competition—scarlet light flared at Wanda's fingertips, and withered vines instantly wrapped around the energy storage station, their leaves glowing with an eerie fluorescence. "I've worked in bioengineering at Stark Industries for twenty years. I've cultivated luminous roses and modified bacteria that can break down oil stains, but I've never seen a plant grow from seed to maturity in ten seconds. Unless..." She deliberately drew out the last word, a faint note of jealousy in her voice as she fixed Li with a microscope-like stare.

Happy raised a hand with his mouth full of spaghetti bolognese, completely oblivious to the sauce running down the corner of his mouth. "I'll bet five bucks it was magic! Back when I was on the streets of Brooklyn, I saw a magician stuff a pigeon into a top hat, then pull out a hot dog!" His words made Pepper's silver dinner knife clang against her plate.

"Give it a rest, Happy." Tony reached over and tugged at Happy's tie. "Your street magic stories could go from Brooklyn to Queens and then loop all the way back to Manhattan." He suddenly leaned closer to Li, the rich scent of red wine mingling with a faint smell of motor oil. "Seriously, kid, that girl's abilities are a little outside the norm. We need to figure out where she came from. If your desk suddenly sprouts man-eating flowers one day, don't expect me to clean up the mess."

Pepper elegantly dabbed the corner of her mouth with a napkin, her pink pearl earrings swaying gently. "I think we shouldn't jump to conclusions just yet. In the competition video, when Wanda was exhausted, that girl Gwen was the first one to rush over and support her. Her eyes were full of concern—even her eyelashes were trembling." She pushed her sliced steak toward Tony. "I trust the children's judgment. Maybe they simply want to protect one another."

Li looked at Pepper gratefully, remembering how Gwen had shielded him from a mob of crazed fans outside the school gates the previous week. Even when her ponytail was pulled loose, she had refused to let go. He cleared his throat. "Wanda does have secrets, but she's never hurt anyone. If it hadn't been for her in that competition, we never would have won first place. And did you know? She really likes reading Slavic Mythology Studies. Once, I asked why she was interested in that stuff, and she blinked at me and said, 'Maybe someday I'll summon a Slavic god to help with my homework, so I can openly refuse to hand in my physics test.'"

The joke made everyone at the table laugh. Happy slapped the tabletop so hard that the salt shaker danced and nearly fell into the spaghetti. Helen Cho held her glasses as her shoulders trembled, while Tony dramatically dabbed at tears that did not exist with a napkin. "I like this girl! Next time I write a paper, I'll have her summon a god of mathematics to help me!"

Helen Cho finally managed to stop laughing, but her gaze remained intent. "What about Gwen? She's been borrowing books on mysticism quite frequently lately. Her borrowing records even include handwritten manuscripts from the nineteenth century. That doesn't sound like mere curiosity."

At the mention of Gwen, Li's expression softened, and his thoughts drifted back to middle school. They had joined the robotics club together then. Once, a homemade robot suddenly went out of control, its spinning mechanical arm nearly injuring the students watching nearby. Gwen had rushed forward without a word and pressed down the gears with her bare hands. In the end, three bloody cuts were carved across her arm, but she still smiled and comforted him. "It's fine. Think of it as getting up close and personal with a mechanical arm."

"Gwen has always been curious about everything." Li played with the fork in his hand. "Maybe she noticed that Wanda was different, so she wanted to learn more. Honestly, she's pulled off plenty of impressive feats before. Once, the school projector suddenly started smoking, and she just took the casing apart, used a hairpin as a screwdriver, and fixed the wiring. Even the technology teacher was stunned."

Pepper smiled with quiet satisfaction, kindness hidden within the fine lines at the corners of her eyes. "They both sound like wonderful children. Perhaps we could find an opportunity to meet them properly?"

"Great idea!" Tony sprang up from his chair so suddenly that he did not even notice the red wine spilling over his custom-made suit. He snapped his fingers, and nanotech particles immediately projected a party blueprint into the air. "We'll throw a Stark family exclusive party! We can set up holograms on the top floor, create a virtual medieval magic castle, hand out fire-breathing wands as party favors when guests arrive, and prepare cotton candy that changes color based on your mood..."

"Putting aside your crazy party plans for the moment," Helen Cho said with a smile and a shake of her head, pulling up a 3D model of the laboratory, "I suggest inviting them to tour the lab. Let them see our quantum computer. Maybe Wanda can use magic to optimize the algorithms, and Gwen can help debug the newly developed mechanical arm."

Happy excitedly raised both hands, making the spaghetti on his plate wobble. "I'm all for it! I can even teach them to drive my Lamborghini. I guarantee it'll be more exciting than a roller coaster! Last time I took Aunt May for a ride, her legs went weak when she got out. She said it was scarier than watching a 3D horror movie!"

As Li watched everyone discuss it so enthusiastically, warmth welled up in his heart. He had thought it would be a serious interrogation, but it had unexpectedly turned into a cozy family gathering. Smiling, he said, "I'm sure Wanda and Gwen will be happy. But Uncle Tony, don't make your party too outrageous. At last Halloween's party, you turned the tower into an alien battlefield. The cleaning lady complained about cleaning up that glowing alien slime for three whole months."

Everyone burst out laughing again, and the restaurant filled with a lighthearted, cheerful atmosphere. Outside the windows, the sun gradually sank lower, bathing the whole room in warm orange light and casting a soft glow over every face. In that moment, every doubt and concern was swept away by laughter, leaving behind only trust and affection between family.

And so, in that relaxed and harmonious atmosphere, the discussion about Wanda and Gwen became an anticipation of and welcome for new members. Li knew that their story had only just begun.