"Just stick to what's written there. Even if some media outlets don't believe it, they won't be able to stir up much public controversy! We're very familiar with this sort of thing. We know how to make it slowly fade from the public eye."
Coulson handed over a slip of paper as he spoke.
"And your alibi: you were on a yacht at the time. As for Obadiah, he'll die in a private plane crash in a week!"
Tony was holding a newspaper, reading today's front-page headline: Who exactly is Iron Man?
"Iron Man really is a good name. My armor's outer shell is a gold-titanium alloy, but it still fits well enough. I like that nickname!"
Tony offered his commentary on the newspaper.
Seeing that Tony hadn't responded to Coulson, Pepper Potts turned to Coulson and said,
"Thank you! Otherwise, we wouldn't have known what to tell the media today. Thank you so much for everything you've done!"
"It's fine. It's our job. Besides, one of our trainee agents was heavily involved in this incident, so this counts as an internal matter for us too!"
Coulson had a rare opportunity to poke fun at Qin Xiao.
At that moment, Qin Xiao stood to the side in a black suit, looking every bit a qualified agent or security guard.
"That's right. This guy was the one who started it all. He should be the one explaining things to the media today."
Tony pointed at Qin Xiao, who stood to the side, and spoke sarcastically.
"And you'd better remember your role, Mr. Instigator. Dressed like that today, you ought to go outside and keep those reporters in line!"
"Understood, Mr. Stark!"
Qin Xiao answered with considerable professionalism, pushed up the sunglasses on his nose, and turned to leave, looking like a professional agent.
That surprised Tony quite a bit.
"What did you do to him? How did you suddenly make this guy so obedient? You didn't use some kind of brainwashing device on him, did you?"
Tony pointed at Qin Xiao and joked.
"Our boss threatened to stop his monthly salary if he didn't cooperate with me today. You know, this guy recently bought a nice apartment. He probably doesn't have much money left!"
Coulson beamed. Back in the Middle East, he'd come off worse against those two.
Although Qin Xiao had volunteered to help this morning, he would never have been so obedient without Nick Fury's phone call.
To be honest, ordering this guy around was quite satisfying.
Everything was ready. Outside, Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes had already spent a full half hour spouting nonsense in front of the reporters.
Tony spread his arms and let Pepper Potts help him put on his jacket.
Looking at the sweet, lovely Pepper Potts before him, Tony suddenly wondered whether he'd been overlooking this girl by his side all along.
How did that Chinese proverb Qin Xiao told me go again?
A rabbit doesn't eat the grass beside its own burrow.
To hell with that. That must be because the grass beside the rabbit's burrow isn't tempting enough.
He coughed softly twice and glanced again at Pepper Potts, who was straightening his clothes.
Tony still thought it would be more appropriate to talk in another setting.
Coulson had already signaled Rhodey.
Outside, Rhodey had also spouted enough nonsense and said directly,
"Now, Mr. Stark has prepared a statement, but he won't be taking any questions today. Thank you, everyone!"
Tony stepped onto the stage to thunderous cheers.
There wasn't a reporter who didn't like Tony Stark. Of course, it wasn't because he was so likable, but simply because there was so much news about this guy, and it was sensational enough.
Tony looked at the reporters below, then glanced at Qin Xiao, who stood silently in a corner.
He gave him a provocative look, and Qin Xiao very discreetly raised a middle finger at Tony without changing his expression.
"Pfft!"
Tony couldn't help laughing, then coughed awkwardly twice and said,
"It's been a while since I've seen you all. Today, I've prepared a script!"
He took the so-called official statement Coulson and the others had prepared out of his pocket.
"Regarding the rumors that I was involved in last night's..."
"Excuse me, Mr. Stark. Do you really expect us to believe that nonsense about a bodyguard showing up in a suit of armor..."
A female reporter interrupted Tony outright.
Tony not only knew this reporter, but had also had a one-night stand with her.
She had been devoted to reporting on Stark Industries selling weapons to terrorists.
She called Tony Stark an executioner.
"Hmm?"
Tony hesitated. Although they had agreed that he wouldn't answer any questions today,
he still couldn't resist pointing at Qin Xiao beside him and saying,
"That's right, a bodyguard did show up in a suit of armor, and he's right here. That guy. Do you see him? The Asian kid in sunglasses trying to look cool. It was him last night!"
Following the direction of Tony's finger, every camera flash in the room instantly turned toward Qin Xiao.
"Fuck!"
Caught off guard, Qin Xiao could only mutter a curse.
Looking at the reporters aiming their cameras and long lenses at him,
Qin Xiao put on a thoroughly formulaic smile, raised his right hand near his chin, and flashed a peace sign!
The question everyone cared about most at today's press conference was who Iron Man was.
Now that Tony Stark had spoken, whether his words were true or false, Qin Xiao became the person the reporters scrambled to interview.
Only that female reporter remained seated steadily in the front row, not moving at all.
Looking at Tony Stark, she said evenly,
"He's the one in the armor. All right, Mr. Stark, then who is this person swinging a narrow sword?"
The reporter casually pulled a laptop out from beneath her seat and opened a video.
The footage had been shot with a night-vision camera. Although the colors looked somewhat distorted and the image wasn't particularly clear,
it clearly showed Qin Xiao swinging his Tang saber and cutting off Iron Monger's lower limbs just as he was about to rise into the air.
And it was very obvious that the person was Qin Xiao.
Tony, on the other hand, was in a corner of the frame. Although his armor's helmet had already fallen off,
because his head was turned sideways and the image wasn't clear enough, they could only vaguely make out that he was a white man.
Once again, the entire room erupted!
No one had expected anyone to have filmed the final fight on the rooftop.
The female reporter wore a triumphant smile as she waited for Tony Stark's explanation.
She had been investigating Tony Stark for a very, very long time: his romantic history, his company.
To obtain firsthand material, she had even bribed the head of security at an office building on another street.
Not only had she equipped him with cameras that could film under all kinds of conditions, tools for filming video from a distance, and the like,
she had also specifically instructed him to go upstairs and start filming whichever rooms had people in them if the lights on the top floor of the Stark Industries building opposite came on at night.
Last night, by coincidence, the security guard had seen Tony and Iron Monger take flight from the road.
But he'd thought they were aliens and hurriedly grabbed the equipment, running up to the rooftop to follow them.
When he reached the rooftop, he couldn't find them. Who could have known that before long, they would fall from the sky onto the roof of Stark Industries?
By the time he'd clumsily set up the equipment and figured out how to turn on night vision to film,
it was just in time for Qin Xiao to cut off Iron Monger's feet with one slash.
Fortunately, he wasn't very skilled at using this equipment. He had only captured Qin Xiao's face clearly. Tony, in the corner, hadn't been filmed very clearly because of the angle and focus.
Although she hadn't captured Iron Man's face clearly, this was already enough.
The female reporter wanted to see just how Tony Stark would deny this.
Unexpectedly, Tony fell silent onstage for a moment, then tossed the script in his hand onto the table.
He admitted aloud,
"One correction: that's called a Tang saber! Also, you guessed right. I am Iron Man!"
Tony flashed a peace sign at the cameras too.