Ivan Vanko was still lying in the hospital and likely wouldn't wake up for several days.
The race was over. The two of them were so harassed by reporters that they no longer cared about "shocking the world" at all.
One of them shot straight up into the sky, while the other leapt from the ground onto the rooftop of a nearby building.
After several powerful bounds, he vanished from everyone's sight, completely ignoring how many rooftops he trampled along the way.
…
That night, aboard a yacht off the coast of Monaco.
Pepper had taken over Stark Industries. The mess Tony left behind had turned her into a spinning top, rushing nonstop from one corner of the world to another.
So the moment the schedule allowed, Pepper flew off with her personal bodyguard and driver, Happy.
A look of dejection appeared on Tony's face. Of course, the main reason for his gloom was the two couples sitting across from him.
Although Jane and Thor's relationship was perfectly normal and legitimate, Tony still instinctively lumped them together as a couple.
"Qin, you really should've told me you were bringing a date tonight. If I'd known, I would've found a few pretty girls to keep you company!"
Tony spoke mournfully, staring at Daisy seated beside Qin Xiao.
At first, everything had been fine. Qin Xiao introduced everyone—Asgard, Jane's work in astrophysics—and the conversation flowed pleasantly.
But as the evening wound down and everyone grew more relaxed, the occasional intimate gestures between the two couples began to grate on Tony's nerves.
"That's your own problem. Back when you called girls, you never cared whether they already had dates. Come to think of it, there really aren't many girls around you these days," Qin Xiao said, frowning as he thought it over.
It seemed to have started sometime after the Iron Monger incident.
"You're not actually in love with me, are you? Dear God, please strike this bastard dead with lightning. I just graduated—this guy's almost forty!"
Qin Xiao shot Tony a look of utter disgust.
"Damn it! My sexual orientation has always been perfectly normal! I'm just… I've been busy lately—reworking the reactor, upgrading my armor, and joining that cosplay club with you."
A rare flicker of panic crossed Tony's face.
Of course, Qin Xiao knew Tony didn't actually like him—but Tony's reaction was still fascinating.
"Tony, there's definitely something wrong with you," Qin Xiao said, raising his glass, taking a sip, and smacking his lips.
"Come on, tell me. What's going on? Is it something hard to talk about?"
"This is insane… I don't even know what's going on with my health, but… Pepper—you know, the two of us…"
Tony rarely talked about his feelings for Pepper.
"We haven't officially started dating, but we've always been like this… Of course I want to be with her, but lately we've both had too much on our plates."
Tony sounded helpless—and more than that, afraid.
Women had always flocked to him effortlessly. He barely had to lift a finger; they came to him on their own.
But when he finally met someone he truly liked, he didn't know how to speak anymore.
Even though he knew Pepper had feelings for him, he still didn't know how to open his mouth.
Qin Xiao tilted his head, thinking. That's how it went in the movies, too.
In Iron Man, Tony almost kissed Pepper, only to be interrupted by a reporter who asked whether he sold weapons to terrorists. He immediately went to confront Obadiah.
Later, right before the press conference, he wanted to express his feelings—but said nothing.
And finally, at the end of Iron Man 2, after saving Pepper at the critical moment, the two of them embraced on the rooftop, officially confirming their relationship.
One appeared cynical on the outside but was deeply insecure inside, unable to confess when facing the woman he loved. The other had spent years watching beautiful women come and go around Tony.
Qin Xiao had lost count of how many mornings he'd arranged cars to send those girls away from Tony's house. None of them felt secure enough to take the first step.
At this point, no outsider could help. Tony was destined to be lonely and miserable tonight.
…
Ivan Vanko remained unconscious in Monaco for three days.
Not long after Qin Xiao woke up, he went to the hospital with Tony.
"I've seen the earliest design drafts. They were signed Anton Vanko. Was he your father?"
Since Ivan refused to speak, Tony broke the silence first.
"You don't deserve to say that name. Your whole family are thieves—thieves! Everything you have now should belong to the Vanko family!"
Ivan Vanko spoke calmly.
It seemed that having failed to kill Tony didn't bother him at all. Becoming a prisoner was acceptable.
"Your father wanted to profit from it—he wanted to turn it into a weapon. My father stopped him. Anton Vanko was the one who made the mistake!"
Tony shot back. After that, neither of them spoke.
They exchanged a look, both understanding that this argument was meaningless. There was no right or wrong anymore.
After a while… Ivan Vanko suddenly spoke again.
"You've already lost, Stark! You lost from the very beginning! Hahahaha!"
Ivan laughed until he was out of breath, the handcuffs clanking against the hospital bed.
Qin Xiao and Tony exchanged glances. Qin Xiao scratched his head awkwardly.
"Is there something wrong with your brain? I hit you with a PVC pipe. Yeah, it's sturdy, but not that sturdy. Did Thor accidentally slap me or something? Hey—what are you laughing at?"
Ivan Vanko wheezed with laughter as he looked at Qin Xiao.
"You should ask Stark how painful it is to die from palladium poisoning. Hahahaha!"
"Palladium poisoning?"
Qin Xiao put on a shocked expression and turned toward Tony, his face full of concern for his friend.
Ivan laughed even harder.
"Ha! Looks like your friend doesn't know yet. You should tell him about the side effects of having a reactor embedded in your body!"
"Oh! Damn it! Tony, is this true? Why didn't you tell me earlier? We could've figured something out together! What do we do now? Let's go see a doctor—there has to be a way, right? Oh my God!"
Qin Xiao and Ivan Vanko worked surprisingly well together—though Qin Xiao's performance was a bit over the top.
Tony had originally planned to play along, but couldn't take it anymore and shoved Qin Xiao aside.
"That was way too dramatic. Even Broadway performances from a hundred years ago were more natural than that. Disgusting."
"Oh? Really? No, no, that can't be right. I even read An Actor Prepares. I thought I did pretty well just now. What do you think, Ivan?"
Qin Xiao asked with a sly grin, turning toward Ivan Vanko.