Happy Wasn't So Happy

"Mr. Stark, you have a delivery at Stark Tower."

Tony Stark, who was flipping through Playboy in his villa and picking out a companion for the night, had his train of thought interrupted by the artificial intelligence J.A.R.V.I.S.

"My delivery? Why didn't they send it to my house?"

Stark was very unhappy that his "selection of concubines" had been interrupted, and immediately started nitpicking.

"'This is for Happy. Just send it straight to the company.' Those were your exact words."

J.A.R.V.I.S. replied dutifully.

"A gift for Happy?"

Stark thought about it, but found no memory of anything related.

"When did I ever buy him a gift? I never give gifts to men!"

J.A.R.V.I.S. said nothing. Instead, it projected Kraft's video in front of Tony Stark, along with Stark's own comment beneath it.

"Oh! Now I remember!"

Stark burst out laughing, tossed the Playboy aside, and shouted at J.A.R.V.I.S., "Get the car ready. I'm heading to the office now! And contact Happy while you're at it. Tell him vacation is over and get his ass to Stark Tower!"

He drove his sports car through traffic, breaking every rule along the way, and rushed to Stark Tower. Happy was already waiting at the entrance.

"Tony, what happened? You actually came to the office on your own!"

Happy tossed the car keys Stark handed him to the valet, telling him to deal with both the parking and the traffic tickets, then leaned close to Stark and asked curiously.

"Oh, it's nothing important."

Stark grinned as he led Happy into his office, which he barely ever used. Two enormous boxes had already been placed inside.

"Happy, come take a look at the gift I bought you!"

Stark patted one of the boxes and spoke happily to his bodyguard.

"Oh, no, Tony. I don't think I need this..."

Thanks to the media frenzy, Happy had long known what this so-called gift was, and he was deeply resistant to it.

That kid who came up with this invention had to be a devil Satan had sent to Earth!

And Tony had definitely been seduced by that devil too!

"Are you sure?" Tony Stark stared at his bodyguard's round belly and mercilessly mocked him. "With your current physique, people would think you're my chef instead of my bodyguard if I didn't explain it beforehand. If I actually run into danger one day, will you still have the strength to protect me? You look like you'd be out of breath after taking two steps."

"Of course I do!"

With his employer questioning his professional ability, Happy became extremely agitated.

"My physique doesn't affect my skills!"

"I have my doubts, Happy."

Stark spread his hands and shook his head.

"Think about what you looked like when you first started working for me, then look at yourself now. When you lower your head, you can't even see your own toes!"

"...Maybe I really do need this stuff after all..."

Happy lowered his head at those words. He could still see his toes, but the situation was indeed rather dangerous. After thinking it over, he realized he really had let himself go too much over the years.

"Fine, Tony. I'll accept the gift."

Happy's shoulders slumped in despair, as though he could already see his miserable future.

Farewell, my beloved hot dogs...

And hamburgers, cola, fried chicken, popcorn, burritos...

"Excellent!"

Stark clapped his hands and dragged the gloomy Happy over to the Break the Cauldrons and Sink the Boats Treadmill.

"Come on, try this first. Let me see how effective it is!"

"You've been possessed by a devil, Tony!"

Naturally, Kraft knew nothing about how a certain billionaire's bodyguard had been plunged into misery because of his invention. He and Fatty Liao were taking advantage of the weekend to deliver the Break the Cauldrons and Sink the Boats Weight Loss Set Martin Lee had ordered to the FEAST homeless shelter.

"Kraft, long time no see. You've really become famous lately."

The moment he entered the shelter, a somewhat elderly-looking middle-aged woman came up and praised him while rubbing his little head.

"Hello, Aunt May."

"Hello, Aunt May."

Kraft and Fatty Liao obediently greeted Aunt May.

May Reilly Parker had volunteered at the FEAST shelter for years. She was one of the few white people Kraft viewed differently. A kind-hearted person like her deserved respect regardless of skin color.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Aunt May, Fatty Liao directed the delivery workers to place the weight loss set in a prominent spot in the shelter. Given how these homeless people often went hungry one meal and ate their fill the next, there was no way they would ever need Kraft's weight loss set.

But Martin Lee had said that it could attract people interested in the weight loss set to visit and try it out. The shelter could charge them a fee, while also taking the opportunity to explain the shelter's mission and solicit donations.

Kraft had no idea whether Martin's plan would work. In any case, he had no interest in helping homeless people. Back when he had wandered the streets with Martin, he had never seen anyone come to help him.

Still, according to Martin, he had not built this shelter out of pure goodwill either...

Kraft scratched his head.

The adult world was really complicated.

Just then, a bespectacled, rather dull-looking guy walked out of a room in the corner.

"Aunt May, is there anything else you need help with?"

Then he saw the workers setting up the Break the Cauldrons and Sink the Boats Weight Loss Set, along with Kraft talking to Aunt May, and his expression immediately turned excited.

"Kraft!"

Peter Parker rushed over to Kraft in a few quick strides, grabbed his arm, and shook it.

"I heard Mr. Stark took an interest in your invention. That's so enviable!"

"What's there to envy? I just sold him something."

Kraft shook Peter's hand off in disgust, curled his lip, and looked down on the guy who was four or five years older than him.

Although Peter Parker was Aunt May's nephew and often came to help at the shelter, Kraft did not particularly like him. He did not exactly dislike him either. Mainly, he could not stand Peter Parker's timid, submissive manner.

"But doesn't that mean you might get to talk to Mr. Stark?"

Peter's thoughts were exactly the same as Fatty Liao's had been, but Kraft had no interest in explaining it all again. Besides, compared with patiently explaining things, Kraft was more accustomed to dissing Peter.

"Even if I get to talk to him, what does that have to do with you? And even if you got to talk to Stark, could you even open your mouth? You can barely get a word out when talking to Mary."

"Th-that's different!"

Peter Parker's face flushed red. He stammered as he tried to defend himself, but could not figure out what to say.

Kraft dissing Peter was practically a regular show at the shelter. Everyone nearby burst into laughter when they heard it, and even Aunt May watched the show with a cheerful grin.

She was not particularly satisfied with Peter's timid personality either, so she was happy to see Kraft provoke him. Maybe her nephew would change because of it?

Unfortunately, Peter Parker disappointed her. After stammering out a couple of weak excuses, he found an excuse to slip away.

"Sigh..."

Aunt May sighed in disappointment. She did not blame Peter. Losing his parents and growing up poor, it was only natural that he would feel inferior. But when she looked at little Kraft, Aunt May suddenly understood what he had meant by "someone else's child."

Seeing Peter chicken out and run away again, Kraft spread his hands at Aunt May and helplessly shook his head. This was as much as he could help her.

No matter how much he disliked people of other skin colors, fourteen-year-old Kraft would not casually mock others for no reason, especially when Aunt May was involved. He had noticed Aunt May's worries, so he occasionally helped her provoke that blockhead Peter Parker.

Of course, bullying a high school student several years older than himself also gave Kraft quite a sense of accomplishment.

The other people at the shelter were the same. Their heckling was also meant to provoke Peter. Kraft was nowhere near as popular at the shelter as Peter was. Most of the staff were volunteers who had come to help of their own accord, and they would not favor him just because he was Martin Lee's adopted son.

"Thank you, sweetheart."

Aunt May stepped forward and hugged Kraft. She truly liked this child, who was a little extreme but very sensible. Martin Lee had simply acted fast and adopted him first; otherwise, she would have wanted to bring Kraft home herself.

"You should stop being the bad guy. Peter's personality has already taken shape. This level of provocation can't possibly change him."

Rubbing Kraft's little head, Aunt May spoke with some relief. After trying several times without effect, she felt sorry for her nephew and decided to let nature take its course. He was only a little timid by nature, after all. It was no big deal.

"Don't say that," Kraft said cheerfully. "It's rare to have such a perfectly legitimate reason to bully Peter. I'm having too much fun to stop now."

"You little brat! Do whatever you want..."

Aunt May shot Kraft an annoyed look, then added, "Just don't bully him too badly. Your brother Peter's mental resilience isn't all that great."

"I knooow."

Kraft dragged out the words and agreed rather unwillingly.

After chatting with Aunt May for a while longer, Kraft and Fatty Liao left. The shelter was fairly busy, and he had no desire to help out. Besides, new experiments were waiting for him, so it was better to leave early.

Martin Lee's prediction had been accurate. Due to Kraft's limited production capacity, the FEAST homeless shelter caught the tail end of the craze. The Break the Cauldrons and Sink the Boats Weight Loss Set did indeed bring in a considerable amount of traffic, resulting in several valuable donations. Financial aid was secondary; what truly mattered were the job opportunities offered by some business owners, which were much harder to come by.

However, the craze itself had no real foundation, so it rose quickly and faded just as fast. Kraft's ears finally got some peace and quiet as a result.

Unfortunately, he had not even enjoyed two days of peace before Tony Stark started causing trouble for him again.