"But I still don't really understand. Why did you tell me to bring my combat outfit?
It's just the Stark Industries Expo. Is there going to be a fight?"
Natasha held Su Zhou's arm, gazing at him delightedly.
She was especially fond of that sour face of his now. It looked strangely cute!
Su Zhou pursed his lips and shot a sidelong glance at Natasha, who had no self-awareness.
"The time before last, Tony was just selling a missile, and terrorists kidnapped him.
I ended up eating sand in the desert for three months because of that. You definitely know about that one.
Last time, Tony stayed home and developed the Iron Man Armor, and his Arc Reactor got stolen.
Then Iron Monger showed up, piloted by his dear uncle Obadiah, and my heart nearly exploded again.
I spent days hooked up to medical equipment in the hospital. You know about that too.
And now Tony's putting on another huge production. I don't believe for a second that nothing's going to happen!"
Natasha: (=ω=;)
It sounds a little superstitious, but you have a point, Su Zhou.
At the very least, you've got a good grasp of statistics!
"Do you have any more of those spatial rings? Could you spare one for me?
Or just give me the one you're wearing. You're a mage. You've got plenty of places to store things."
Natasha had already seen Su Zhou's spatial ring. Both their outfits and weapons were inside it.
She would have been lying if she said she wasn't tempted by something so useful. It was a magic item, after all!
Mages held the same status in the Western world as sword immortals did in China.
They were so cool!
Su Zhou walked into the venue arm in arm with Natasha and said casually,
"Under what circumstances does a man give a woman a ring?"
"A proposal?"
"Perhaps in a jewelry store, after the female customer has paid enough dollars?"
"That's so unromantic! I've already asked you myself. You're supposed to put the ring on my finger!"
"Although I don't think you can afford it, I still have to inform you that the price has gone up again!"
Natasha blinked her beautiful, large eyes again without saying a word.
But she had made her meaning perfectly clear: there was absolutely no way she was paying a single cent!
Su Zhou: (ↀ˘‸˘ↀ)
This woman is no good!
She scammed an outfit out of me, and now she wants to scam me out of my spatial ring too?!
Su Zhou's gaze gradually grew nuclear-friendly. His killing intent was practically taking physical form!
Meanwhile, Natasha added another assessment of Su Zhou: a money-grubbing miser!
After entering the venue, Su Zhou and Natasha sat down beside Pepper Potts, who was swamped with work.
After Tony decided to take a hands-off approach, Pepper Potts had become the new CEO of Stark Industries.
Su Zhou had also taken her assistant Natasha away, so she had nearly drowned in an ocean of work these past two days.
"Oh my God, Su Zhou, you're finally here! Can you give me my assistant back?"
"No. She's my personal assistant now. I've even paid her wages in advance!
She has to work for me until her dying breath! Even if she dies, she'll have to crawl out of her grave!"
Pepper Potts looked at Su Zhou's sour face. He looked as though someone had spent several million dollars of his money.
Then she took a closer look at what the two of them were wearing and instantly understood the problem.
Unlike Tony, she could tell expensive clothes from cheap ones. Their outfits really did cost several million.
And they were one-of-a-kind pieces handmade by a famous designer. There was nothing cheap about them!
"The clothes might be expensive, but you're a director of Stark Industries now.
This amount of money shouldn't mean anything to you. Don't be so stingy!"
"But my credit card is already maxed out! I don't even have money to buy groceries at the supermarket now!"
Su Zhou would have been fine if Pepper Potts hadn't brought it up. Now that she had, he wanted to cry.
Spendthrift women really ruin people! Dating costs way too much!
Being single is better!
Brrrring~~~
Pepper Potts's phone rang, interrupting her conversation with Su Zhou.
Tony's somewhat anxious voice came through the earpiece, loud enough for even Su Zhou beside her to hear.
"Hello, Potts? Are you at the expo?"
"Yes, I'm with Su Zhou. I'm the CEO of Stark Industries. I have to be here!"
"Get out of there right now! And hand your phone to Su Zhou. I need to talk to him!"
Pepper Potts didn't understand what Tony meant. With a puzzled look, she handed the phone to Su Zhou.
"Su Zhou! Get Pepper Potts out of the expo right now. That crazy scientist from the White Bear Nation is going to hurt her!"
"There are plenty of crazy scientists in the world. Which one do you mean?"
Su Zhou pretended not to know what Tony was talking about, but he was already moving.
He gave Natasha a look, then left his seat and headed backstage at the expo.
Natasha caught on immediately. She grabbed Pepper Potts's hand and followed Su Zhou.
Looks like Su Zhou's conclusion was right. Every time Tony does something, something goes wrong.
Judging by how fast Su Zhou's walking, this is definitely going to be serious!
"Ivan, the one who attacked me at the racetrack. He seems to have teamed up with Hammer Industries..."
"That's not important. What matters is whether you've finished upgrading your Arc Reactor."
Su Zhou kept interrupting him. He could already hear the wind howling around Tony.
Presumably, Tony was already on his way over in his armor, though he might still need a little time.
"My dad's been dead for over a decade, and he still managed to teach me a lesson. Maybe I'm really not much of a genius compared to him.
The new element he discovered can replace palladium. Now I don't have to worry about dying of poisoning anymore!"
Once Tony learned Su Zhou was there, he wasn't really worried about Pepper Potts's safety anymore.
He enthusiastically chatted with Su Zhou about the brand-new Arc Reactor. The discovery of this new element alone
could put him on the podium to accept the Nobel Prize in Chemistry!
But one sentence from Su Zhou threw cold water over Tony's enthusiasm and nearly sent him crashing!
"Are you ready to accept the prize on your dad's behalf?"
"Why would I be accepting it on my dad's behalf? I'm the one who synthesized the new element!"
"But your dad discovered this new element over a decade ago. Tony, you should be more honest!
You know, little boys who lie get longer noses!"
Tony: (눈‸눈)
So did overly upright people all have sharp tongues?
Why did he have to say something so deflating at such a happy moment?!
"We should talk less from now on. Talking to you makes my heart hurt!"
"Your heart hurts because you've got bomb fragments in it. And your own company made that bomb.
What's that got to do with me?"
"You're on the board!"