A salty punishment

Tony was a little surprised to hear Qiqi ask so solemnly, but above all, he was thrilled. He nodded firmly.

"Of course."

Qiqi still seemed unsure.

"Really... is it really okay?"

Looking at her earnest expression, Tony thought for a moment before speaking.

"JARVIS."

"At your service, sir," replied Stark Tower's AI butler.

"Record what I'm about to say."

"Of course, sir."

After giving the instruction, Tony crouched down to look at Qiqi.

"Tony Stark will stay with Qiqi forever and ever, with this recording as proof. If Tony ever breaks his promise... hmm..."

"How about Qiqi can punish me however she likes?"

Tony wore a gentle smile, his eyes brimming with affection.

"Okay... if Mr. Tony breaks his promise... then... you'll have to eat salt..."

Qiqi vaguely remembered someone once telling her that promises had to be kept. If someone went back on their word or failed to follow through, they would be caught and made to eat salt.

That person was supposedly very powerful, and his salt was long, big, hard, and awful to eat, so everyone who had tasted it was terrified. (?)

"Such a salty punishment?" Tony smiled and gently pinched the little girl's nose. "All right, whatever Qiqi says."

Qiqi was happy, so happy that she didn't know what to do. The feeling was sweet.

"That's wonderful."

"I'll protect you."

"Because Qiqi... is very strong." Qiqi made up her mind.

Watching the little girl's innocent, adorable expression, Tony felt happiness well up inside him.

"Mr. Tony, dinner is ready."

JARVIS gave the two of them a timely reminder that it was time to eat.

"Then let's go have dinner."

Tony stood up, took Qiqi's little hand, and led her out of the room.

"What would Qiqi like to eat?" Tony asked as they walked.

He had prepared plenty of food. Burgers and fries, the usual children's favorites, were a given, along with balanced meals specially planned by a nutritionist. Even if Qiqi didn't like those, there was still the Chinese food Potts had arranged.

Naturally, after returning home, he had looked up the writing on the Coconut Milk packaging. Since it was Chinese, Qiqi probably preferred Chinese food.

So Potts had gone to Chinatown to hire a Chinese chef, who had specially prepared several of China's best dishes in the hope that Qiqi would like them.

But Tony's loving efforts for his little girl ran into an obstacle.

Qiqi looked dejected.

"...Sorry."

Tony froze, looking at her in confusion.

"What's wrong, Qiqi?"

"Food... it all tastes the same to Qiqi... there's no taste."

Qiqi lowered her head and stared at the path beneath her feet, her voice filled with disappointment.

Only then did Tony learn that every kind of food tasted like wax to Qiqi. With no delicious flavors to enjoy, she had lost her appetite as well.

Seeing the little girl so downcast made Tony's heart ache.

"It's okay. Qiqi can have anything she wants."

"Coconut Milk. Can I have Coconut Milk?"

"Even though it has no taste, it's cool. I like it very much."

Qiqi looked at Tony anxiously.

"Of course."

Tony affectionately stroked her little head. Since Qiqi liked it, why not buy a Coconut Milk factory?

He moved quickly-or rather, Potts did.

After learning that Qiqi couldn't taste food, Potts recalled how she had eaten the candy. The sweetheart must have eaten so much because she hadn't wanted to disappoint her.

Potts regretted not noticing sooner, so when Tony proposed buying a company, she was especially thorough with the background checks.

The production lines had to be clean and fully equipped, the milk supply had to meet quality guarantees, and no additives that failed food safety standards were allowed.

One minute later, Stark owned a famous Coconut Milk brand.

"From now on, Qiqi can drink as much Coconut Milk as she wants. Just tell JARVIS, and you can have some anytime."

Hearing Tony say that made Qiqi overjoyed.

"Wonderful. There will always be Coconut Milk now."

"Mm, Qiqi... is happy. Qiqi will... smile."

A soft smile blossomed on the girl's face, and little sparks of starlight seemed to hide in her bright eyes. She gazed at Tony with such focus, as though she could never get enough of looking at him.

Her open, admiring gaze left Tony utterly content as a father.

"Come on, let's go drink some milk!"

For Qiqi, the days that followed were peaceful and happy.

She had plenty of Coconut Milk to drink and plenty of toys to play with.

She also made many friends, including Dum-E and JARVIS.

After announcing the closure of his weapons manufacturing division, Tony put work on the Mark Armor on his agenda.

The Mark Armor was the Mechanical Armor he had first built back then. The materials used for the first suit were crude and basic, yet even so, its functionality and offensive capabilities were extraordinary.

He was determined to refine the Mark Armor further. After coming home, Tony poured all his energy into it like a man possessed, working with an intensity that made him forget to eat or sleep.

Little Qiqi didn't have much to do, and Tony wasn't comfortable leaving her in anyone else's care.

Potts was busy. Now that he had left the running of the company to her, she was handling practically all its affairs.

So Tony cleared a space in his workshop just for the little girl. Coconut Milk was essential, followed by toys and cartoons.

Qiqi was very well-behaved. When she finished a cartoon, she would ask JARVIS to help her pick a new one, never disturbing Tony's research.

Tony doted on Qiqi, too. When he was young, his parents had been busy and rarely spent time with him. Their love had always taken the form of money and material things rather than companionship. Although he knew they loved him, he had still felt lonely sometimes.

So no matter how busy he was each day, Tony made time to play with Qiqi.

Sometimes, when his research hit a dead end, he would play with Qiqi for a while and watch little pigs and ducklings playing house with her. It helped him relax, and occasionally even sparked fresh design ideas.

When the mood struck, he would also introduce Qiqi to the other "family members" in his workshop.

"This is Dum-E. He's a bit clueless, and sometimes he gets in the way instead of helping, but he's pretty cute, isn't he?"

This robotic arm was Tony's creation, one of his earliest. Despite his many flaws, and despite Tony having once nearly donated him, Dum-E held an extraordinary significance for him on another level.

"Hello, Mr. Dum-E. I'm Qiqi."

Qiqi didn't think anything of Dum-E's appearance. She liked this robotic-arm gentleman very much. While Tony was busy, Dum-E had even handed her Coconut Milk.

She remembered all those little things.

Recently, Qiqi had been doing a lot of memory training. There were so many things and people she wanted to remember.

In the still of the night, she would take out her notebook beneath the moonlight and write down lots of notes.

She wanted to remember Mr. Tony, Mr. Yinsen, and Miss Potts. She wanted to remember Dum-E, JARVIS, cartoons, stuffed toys, their conversations, and the feeling of happiness.

[Today, Mr. Tony caught fire. High temperature. So hot. Qiqi doesn't like it.]

[High temperature. Mr. Tony would get hurt, so Qiqi took out her sword.]

[But Qiqi caused trouble. Qiqi cut Mr. Tony's roof in half.]

[It was all Qiqi's fault, so today, I have to punish myself.]

[One less cup of Coconut Milk. Mm, even though Coconut Milk is very good.]

Qiqi carefully formed each crooked stroke in her notebook, recording what had happened that day. Suddenly, a gentle, refined man's voice sounded beside her ear.

"Hi there, Qiqi. My name is Charles. Could you talk with me?"