Please don't leave me

Qiqi had never felt such warmth before. Joy blossomed in her heart.

With the danger over, Lin Ze let his consciousness merge with Qiqi again. The little girl happily played childish parent-child games with Tony until a panting Rhodey came over to them.

Rhodey was a mess, with blood spattered across his face, clothes, and even his underwear. It looked worse than it was, though. Qiqi's powerful healing had already restored him completely; he was only pretending to be injured.

"God, Tony, do you have any idea what I've been through these past few minutes?"

Rhodey complained.

"Please, never make me babysit again."

"Why? Hasn't our Qiqi been good?"

Tony opened his helmet, revealing a broad grin. His big caramel-colored eyes met Qiqi's innocent gaze.

"Our Qiqi is the cutest kid in the whole world!"

Tony's praise delighted Qiqi, and her big eyes curved into crescents.

Ha. Rhodey begged to differ.

"Really? I hope you'll still think so after you see the carnage in your garage."

Colonel Rhodey accused her. "Qiqi, tell him how you threatened me for Tony's sake."

The little girl blinked, her gaze wandering in confusion.

"..."

She looked at Tony, who was waiting for her answer, then at Colonel Rhodey, whose expression was growing increasingly stiff, and sank into deep thought.

"..."

Seeing that the little girl didn't seem to be pretending, Rhodey was overcome by an ominous premonition.

"NO WAY! NO WAY!"

"Don't tell me you forgot." "Qiqi doesn't remember."

They spoke at the same time.

What a heart-wrenching thing to hear.

Rhodey clutched his chest, threw his head back, and howled in anguish.

A row of dark lines seemed to appear across his forehead. He almost dropped an F-bomb, but held it back.

"Ah! Ah!"

The helpless feeling of punching cotton made Rhodey wail, "I knew it! I knew it!"

"Qiqi, did you really forget, or are you just pretending?"

Rhodey asked through gritted teeth.

"..." Qiqi shook her head again. She really seemed to have forgotten.

"Did Qiqi do something wrong?"

Qiqi asked Rhodey cautiously. She lowered her eyes, her voice soft and sweet.

"Sorry. Please don't... hate Qiqi."

Good Lord.

Seeing Qiqi like this, Rhodey suddenly felt guilty. He hurriedly stood up to comfort her.

"Oh, no, no, no. Qiqi didn't do anything wrong. Qiqi did very well."

"It was me. It was all my fault."

Rhodey surrendered immediately, a sharp pang tearing through his heart. This silly little girl really had forgotten everything!

So he decided to shoulder it all himself.

"It's nothing, really. Just a few wrecked cars. I'm sure Tony won't mind, right?"

There was a slight tremor in Rhodey's voice.

"Cars? What cars?"

Tony asked in confusion.

"The cars in your garage, of course."

"How many were wrecked?"

"...Not one."

"Oh, that's fine. I'll just buy more." "...Was left intact."

Tony said, "What!!!"

Rhodey had been his friend for years, and Tony could tell that Qiqi definitely had something to do with this. After all, there was no way an ordinary human like Rhodey could have decapitated every car.

Still, he rather enjoyed watching Rhodey get the short end of the stick, especially that helpless look on his face.

What an eventful night it had been. The agents from S.H.I.E.L.D. and the CIA finally arrived and took Obadiah away, while Tony and the others prepared to head home.

"How much power is left?"

"Eleven percent."

"Enough to get back to the tower?"

"Calculations indicate sufficient power."

Tony picked Qiqi up. "Would Qiqi like to fly a little higher?"

"...Yes."

Qiqi nodded.

"Qiqi wants to see the stars."

Tony smiled. "Then let's go."

Trailing a bright streak of light, Tony and Qiqi soared through the sky.

Under the night sky, Qiqi looked perfectly at ease in his arms. Her head rested on the armor's shoulder as she looked up at the shining stars.

The stars here are just as pretty as the ones at Bubu Pharmacy.

That was what she thought.

Her body was pressed against the armor's Nuclear Reactor. Its running energy kept that spot warm, and Qiqi didn't dislike it. In fact, she liked it very much.

"Qiqi, we can't fly much longer. We'll be back soon."

Tony spoke softly to the girl in his arms.

"We're going home."

"Mm. Qiqi is going home with Mr. Tony."

Back at Stark Tower, Tony removed the Mark Armor piece by piece.

"Pepper, I'm fine. Yes, I sent Qiqi back to her room to rest."

"She's fine. Thanks for all your hard work today, too."

After reassuring Potts and hanging up, Tony poured himself a drink and headed toward the sofa.

Crunch.

He lifted his foot. The shards of glass on the floor made their presence known. Remembering Qiqi's clumsy yet adorable expression as she installed his reactor, Tony couldn't help smiling.

He was far too keyed up to sleep anyway, so he might as well go to his workshop.

His fight with Obadiah had shown him that there was still plenty of room to improve the Mark Armor. While his thoughts were clear, he needed to hurry and record his ideas.

With that in mind, Tony drained his glass in one gulp and took the elevator downstairs.

On the way to his workshop, Tony "happened" to see the luxury cars Rhodey had said he'd accidentally damaged.

After seeing them, Tony decided he ought to treat his old friend better from now on.

After all, being a distinguished general of a military district and getting threatened by a little girl with a sword really was rather humiliating.

Well, speak of the devil.

Just as he was thinking about Rhodey, his phone rang.

Tony picked it up, raising an eyebrow at Rhodey's name on the screen.

He answered the call.

"Buddy, looks like tonight wasn't exciting enough for you. What couldn't wait until tomorrow?"

Tony teased.

"Tony! Where are you?!"

Rhodey's voice was frantic. There was a loud racket on his end, all of it police sirens.

Tony frowned. "I'm already back. Why?"

"God, take Qiqi and get out of there now! Obadiah escaped!"

"What?!"

The moment he heard Rhodey's words, Tony tossed his phone aside and raced toward Qiqi's room like a madman.

He pushed the door open and rushed inside.

The little girl wasn't resting. Instead, she was leaning by the window, watching the stars.

"Mr. Tony?"

Hearing the commotion, Qiqi stood up and turned to look at him.

"Qiqi!!!"

Outside the window behind her, a missile grew larger in Tony's pupils.

BOOM!!

A massive explosion erupted, filling the room with flames. The little girl was instantly thrown off her feet, and Tony was hurled backward.

The entire building shook violently. Walls collapsed, dust filled the air, and chunks of rubble tumbled down.

Tony's head struck the wall, spilling blood. His vision blurred and his ears rang, but he kept calling Qiqi's name.

"Qiqi!"

No, no, please don't.

He had finally found someone to call family. He had promised the little girl that they would stay together forever and ever.

He hadn't spent a lifetime with her yet. He hadn't watched her enjoy all the pleasures life had to offer. He would never allow this to happen.

Struggling on his hands and knees, Tony climbed off the floor and staggered forward.

Qiqi, don't die. Please, don't!

That was the only thought in his mind.

But when he found Qiqi, he froze in shock.