Ivan Vanko is still in the hospital and probably won't wake up for several days.
The match had already ended without a conclusion, and the two, annoyed by reporters, no longer cared about making headlines.
One flew directly into the sky, while the other jumped directly from the ground onto the rooftop of a nearby building.
He disappeared from everyone's sight with a few leaps, completely disregarding how much rooftop floor he shattered.
That evening, on a yacht off the coast of Monaco.
Pepper Potts took over Stark Industries, and the mess Tony left behind kept Pepper Potts spinning like a top, constantly on the go.
So as soon as the day was over, Pepper Potts flew away with Happy, who had become her personal bodyguard and driver.
Tony was left looking utterly dejected. Of course, the main reason for Tony's distress was the two couples sitting in front of him!
Although Jane and Thor were in a genuine and normal romantic relationship, Tony still mentally labeled them as a pair of adulterers.
"Qin, you should have told me earlier that you were bringing a female companion today. If I had known, I would have invited some cute girls up to play together!"
Tony looked at Daisy sitting next to Qin Xiao with a mournful expression.
At first, things went well. Qin Xiao introduced them to each other's backgrounds, from Asgard to Jane's research in astrophysics, and the group had a pleasant conversation.
Later, when they had almost finished chatting and everyone had gotten to know each other better and started to relax, Tony felt a little jealous of the occasional affectionate gestures between the two couples.
"It's your own problem. You used to never care whether a girl brought a female companion or not when you asked her out. Speaking of which, you haven't really had any girls around you lately!"
Qin Xiao frowned and thought about it seriously. It seemed to be around the time after the Iron Monger incident.
"You're not actually falling for me, are you? God, please send a bolt of lightning to strike this lecherous bastard dead! I'm still a kid who just graduated, and this jerk is almost forty!"
Qin Xiao looked at Tony with disdain.
"Shit! My sexual orientation has always been normal. I've just been... I've just been too busy lately, modifying the reactor, my armor, and joining that weirdos club with you."
A rare hint of panic appeared on Tony's face!
Qin Xiao knew, of course, that Tony wouldn't really fall for him, but Tony's behavior still greatly intrigued him.
"Something's wrong with you, Tony!"
Qin Xiao raised his glass, took a deep sip, and smacked his lips as he spoke.
"Come on, tell me, what happened? Is there something you're having trouble telling me?"
"You're crazy! I'm in incredibly good health, it's just... about Pepper, you know, the two of us..."
Tony rarely spoke about his feelings for Pepper.
"Although we haven't officially established a relationship, it's always been like that... Of course, I'd love to be together right away, but we've both been busy lately!"
Tony felt somewhat helpless, but even more so, he was afraid.
He has plenty of women outside; he doesn't even need to reach out, plenty of them will come to him on their own.
But when you actually meet someone you like, you don't know how to start a conversation.
Even though he knew that Pepper Potts had feelings for him too, he just didn't know how to bring it up.
Qin Xiao tilted his head and thought for a moment, it seemed like that was the case in the movies too.
In Iron Man 1, Tony almost kissed Pepper Potts, but after being interrupted, he was asked by a female reporter about selling weapons to terrorists. He then went to confront Obadiah.
Later, he finally managed to confess his feelings before the press conference, but he still couldn't bring himself to do it.
Finally, it was only after saving Pepper Potts during the final crisis in Iron Man 2 that the two couldn't help but embrace on the rooftop, thus truly confirming their relationship.
One is outwardly carefree but insecure, too afraid to express his true love; the other is someone who sees Tony constantly surrounded by beautiful women.
She had lost count of how many mornings she had arranged for a car to take the girls from Tony's house away. She felt somewhat insecure about Tony, so neither of them took the initiative to make a move.
There's nothing outsiders can do to help with this; Tony is destined to be alone and heartbroken tonight.
Ivan Vanko remained in a coma for three full days in Monaco.
Shortly after waking up, Qin Xiao and Tony went to the hospital together.
"I saw the earliest design drawings, and the name Anton Vanko was on them. Was that your father?"
Ivan Vanko remained silent, but Tony spoke first.
"You are not worthy to mention that name. Your family are thieves and robbers. Everything you have now should belong to the Vanko family!"
Ivan Vanko spoke calmly to Tony.
It seems the attack on Tony failed, and he doesn't feel any resentment about his current situation as a prisoner.
"It was your father who wanted to make money off this thing; he wanted to turn it into a weapon. My father stopped him. Anton Vanko made a mistake himself!"
Tony retorted, and then neither of them spoke.
They simply stared into each other's eyes, both knowing in their hearts that this wasn't a question of right or wrong, it was meaningless.
After a long pause... Ivan Vanko suddenly opened his mouth and said something like that.
"You lost, Stark! You lost from the very beginning! Hahahaha!"
Ivan Vanko laughed so hard he could hardly breathe, his handcuffs clattering loudly against the bed frame.
Qin Xiao and Tony exchanged a glance, and Qin Xiao scratched his head awkwardly.
"Are you out of your mind? I was using a PVC pipe, you know. Even if I used a bit too much force, it shouldn't be that bad, right? Did Thor knock your brains out? Hey! What are you laughing at?"
Ivan Vanko laughed Shang-Chi, and said to Qin Xiao.
"You should ask Stark how painful it is to die from palladium poisoning, hahaha!"
Palladium poisoning?
Qin Xiao feigned surprise as he looked at Tony, his face full of worry for his friend.
Ivan Vanko laughed even louder.
"Ha! Looks like your friend doesn't know about this yet. You should tell him what adverse side effects there might be from having a reactor inside his body!"
"Oh! Damn it! Tony, is this really true? Why didn't you tell me sooner? We could have thought of something together. What do we do now? Let's go see a doctor together. There must be a way, right? Oh my God!"
Qin Xiao was very cooperative with Ivan Vanko, but unfortunately his performance was far too exaggerated.
Tony initially wanted to cooperate, but he couldn't hold back any longer and pushed Qin Xiao away.
"Your performance is too exaggerated. Even Broadway opera performances from a hundred years ago were more natural than yours. It's disgusting!"
"Oh, really? Surely not. I've even read ' An Actor's Work on Himself.' I think I did pretty well just now. What do you think, Ivan?"
Qin Xiao asked Ivan Vanko with a sly grin.