Turn on the TV.
[...18:12 in the evening, at sunset, a magnificent heart-shaped giant cloud appeared over New York City's Lower East Side...]
[...A rare and beautiful sight, making couples wish upon it...]
[...Experts explain... It was formed due to rising air currents meeting heat... intense air friction... water molecule ejection... leading to the formation...]
[Static sound...]
Ivan Vanko wasn't interested in this kind of news and switched to the channel he wanted—
[...Most countries would take 5 to 10 years, Hammer Industries would take at least 20 years...]
[...But I did you all a big favor... I alone can maintain world peace... What more do you want from me... I tried working with those clowns...]
[...Screw you... Mr. Stark...]
[...Meeting adjourned... That's it for today...]
[...Listen up, I serve all the people... It is an honor to serve my country...]
(Switching channels)
[I am Iron Man]
Zap!!
A scorching blue-and-white electric whip slashed across, sparks burst from the TV... It was split in two...
…..
[Hello]
Ye Li brushed a few strands of short hair from his forehead, picked up the phone, and said: "Ms. Pepper, what can I do for you?"
[Sorry, Mr. Ye.]
Pepper: "I just think Mr. Ye is an intelligent and refined gentleman... I encountered some things, so I wanted to ask for your opinion. Of course, if you're busy, I won't disturb you~"
[Oh? Then tell me.]
Ye Li replied lazily: "I happen to be free, so let's chat... Take your time, I'm in no rush."
Hearing this—
Pepper felt at ease and began talking.
[You know... Tony always likes to do unexpected things...]
She knew Tony and Ye Li had a good relationship recently, so she spoke casually, like chatting with a friend.
[...He donated all his modern art collections... to the Boy Scouts of America....]
Pepper: "...Except for your Iron Man painting, he climbed onto the table to hang it up in front of me... Oh... I don't know what he's thinking... I'm not saying your painting is bad, Mr. Ye... It's just..."
Ye Li: "It's fine, Ms. Pepper. But is that all?"
[The most important thing is...]
[What Tony told me afterward...]
Pepper's tone sounded unsettled as she hesitated: "...He wants me to become the CEO of Stark Industries... meaning he wants me to be his successor... I don't know how to feel about it..."
Ye Li's mind quickly pieced it together—the reason was palladium poisoning. Stark was handling his affairs.
But he didn't say it out loud.
Stark's issues should be handled by himself.
Ye Li simply encouraged Pepper—
"Pepper, don't doubt yourself."
"Just do your best, that's enough. I think Tony sees you as family~"
[Family?]
Pepper softly repeated the word...
After a moment of contemplation—
She suddenly smiled brightly—
[Thank you, Li~]
"You're welcome."
[Good night, Pepper.]
[Remember, family.]
The nighttime conversation ended.
"Mmm~"
A soft murmur came from the bed~
Ye Li turned his head to look.
His obedient little sister was sleeping soundly... A satisfied smile curved at her lips, her smooth shoulders partially exposed...
He smiled gently.
He tugged at the blanket.
Trying to cover Jessica better...
'Hmm?'
'Who's pulling on it?'
Ye Li looked to the other side...
Gwen and Felicia.
The two girls were deep asleep, their legs intertwined, tightly pinching a corner of the blanket between them...
"..."
"Forget it..."
"Anyway, with your constitution, you won't catch a cold..."
It was getting late.
Ye Li lay down peacefully.
Another beautiful day had come to an end.
…..
Some time later.
Malibu, California.
Tony Stark's seaside mansion.
"I forgot to ask you last time, Li."
Tony was sparring with Happy in the ring while speaking to Ye Li, who was watching from the sidelines.
"How did you ride that motorcycle from New York to here? What's its top speed?"
Ye Li: "Just think of it as Eastern magic."
"Hey, if you don't want to say, forget it."
At this point, Tony wouldn't believe in magic—Stephen hadn't even had his car accident yet.
Ye Li picked out a drink from the rack beside him, grabbing a green one and asking—
"What's this? It looks all green and weird."
"My chlorophyll juice. Want to try it?"
Tony coaxed, "It actually tastes pretty good~"
Ye Li tossed it aside in disgust. "Tony, you said you wouldn't trick me again."
"Oh, sorry, force of habit."
"Hey, watch—"
Tony dodged Happy's punch, then countered with an elbow strike to his face—
Bang!
"Ow!"
Happy staggered backward, looking surprised. "What kind of move is that?"
"Sorry."
Tony bounced on his feet smugly. "This is called mixed martial arts. It's only been popular for three weeks."
"That's called dirty boxing..." Happy exposed him speechlessly. "It's been around forever!"
"Oh~ Li taught me."
Tony proudly glanced at Ye Li, who was sipping his juice.
"'Don't be restricted by techniques.' 'Your enemy won't follow ring rules,' isn't that right?"
Ye Li nodded and gave him a thumbs-up. "Not bad, Tony. You learn fast."
Happy rolled his eyes. These two troublemakers were beyond reasoning.
"Alright, Happy, put it away. Let's continue."
Tony was about to go another round with Happy.
"The notary is here, Tony. Come and sign these papers. I promise this is the only time I'll ask you to transfer your company to me."
Pepper walked in, asking Tony to step down and sign the documents while winking at Ye Li in gratitude.~
Ye Li responded with a polite smile… Oh, drinking juice… So, he changed it to a slight nod.
Tony was having fun and wasn't willing to step down from the ring. "We are having a happy time."
Happy saw Pepper winking and thought she was flirting with Ye Li, so he reminded Tony, "Oh, boss, you need to be careful."
"What?"
Tony paused.
Because he saw a beautiful woman with auburn curls, holding a black folder, walking in at that moment.
Natasha, dressed in a white blouse and black trousers in an office-lady style, had an outstanding figure and elegant demeanor that caught Stark's attention.
Ye Li also stopped drinking his juice and curiously looked over.
The famous Black Widow was indeed beautiful.
Natasha subtly glanced at Ye Li, and information gathered by her colleague Barbara surfaced in her mind—
He was also an important figure under surveillance by the organization...
Vice President of the Ghost Spider Club.
The adopted older brother of the club president, 'Lady Knight' Jessica, and the true backbone of the club...
He had close relationships with 'Ghost Spider,' 'Lady Knight' Jessica, 'Black Cat,' Daisy Johnson, and 'Silk' Cindy...
Latest intel showed...
This person also had connections with 'Black Spider.'
The information flashed through her mind.
Now, seeing Ye Li in person...
'Handsome, indeed… No wonder he can attract so many beauties...'
'But the way he drinks juice makes him look even more unserious than Stark...'
"Alright, now it's Pepper who needs to be careful."
Happy, wearing boxing gloves, punched Tony, who couldn't take his eyes off. "First lesson, never look away... Oh—!"
Tony kicked him into the corner of the ring and then launched a relentless combo—Bang! Bang bang!
Stark used the techniques Ye Li taught him, trying to show off in front of Natasha...
Fortunately, Happy was wearing protective gear (CBCG), so he didn't get seriously beaten up by his boss-slash-bad-friend...
Ding ding ding~
Ye Li rang the bell, finally saving poor Happy.
"I'm done." Happy removed his protective gear and quickly stepped down from the ring.
"Li." Tony called out to Ye Li.
"What?"
Ye Li sat back in his seat and asked, "Want to spar with me again?"
"Oh, no."
Tony had no intention of embarrassing himself in front of the new beauty. "Can you hand me my chlorophyll juice?"
"Here."
Ye Li casually tossed the mug filled with chlorophyll juice, landing it precisely in Tony's hand.
Natasha caught sight of this out of the corner of her eye, her gaze flickering slightly...
Most people might think nothing of it.
But as a martial arts expert, she could discern from Ye Li's arm movements and force application that there was more to it...
"Please sign your initials."
Natasha multitasked, observing Ye Li while handing the document to Pepper for her signature.
"Miss."
After gulping down a few sips of his chlorophyll juice, Tony pointed at Natasha and asked, "What's your name?"
"Natasha Rushman." Natasha replied with calm confidence.
Tony beckoned to her, "Come over, please step into the ring."
Pepper tried to stop him, "You wouldn't want her to..."
Tony interrupted her, "The boss decides, and I'm the boss."
Pepper helplessly looked at Ye Li, as if to say, "What happened to 'family'?"
Ye Li shrugged and said to Tony, "I also think this isn't a good idea."
At this moment, Natasha had already accepted with a smile, stepping into the ring gracefully, clearly not taking Tony's fighting skills seriously.
After all, Natasha was a veteran agent of several decades—handling Tony, who had only learned a few moves, was no challenge at all.
"I think this is a good idea."
Tony waved at Ye Li again, "Come on, Li, step up and teach her a few moves first."
"Me?"
Ye Li glanced at Natasha...
'Heh~'
'Would I casually fight a woman?'
He thought to himself.
And then...
He slowly stepped into the ring.
'———If it's a pretty lady, I guess I can make an exception for a playful spar...'
After Ye Li stood in the ring...
Natasha sized him up with an amused expression, her slightly raised eyebrows carrying a mix of subtle charm and arrogance, forming her unique aura.
Ye Li wasn't about to back down either—wearing a faint smile and crossing his arms, he openly assessed her appearance and figure...
Speaking of which—
He was usually close with girls like Gwen, all youthful beauties… Even the slightly older enforcer, Kate Mara, was about his age.
A woman like Widow—uh, cough, a more mature beauty—this was his first encounter...
Ye Li couldn't help but feel curious… What kind of style would such a beauty have...?
…..
For a few seconds.
The two remained silent, saying nothing...
At this moment.
Whoever spoke first.
Would lose a bit of their aura.
...However.
Meanwhile, Tony was watching from below with an expression of frustration—
Seriously?
I asked you to go up and teach her a few moves.
How did you two end up staring at each other like that?!
"Ahem!"
Mr. Stark coughed twice, reminding a certain someone not to flirt in his house. "Li, you can start now. I'll cover Ms. Natasha's tuition."
"Whistle~"
Ye Li whistled and said, "Alright then, let's begin. Ms. Natasha, have you learned combat before?"
A deliberately obvious question.
"Yes~"
The corners of Natasha's lips curved up, as if she couldn't hold back a smile.
She was confident she could take Ye Li down. At this moment… "playing dumb to beat the tiger" would be an apt description.
As a spy.
This was one of the few pleasures she had.
…..
'Tsk~ She doesn't talk much.'
'Using a reserved attitude to lure a man into starting the conversation?'
'A strategy that allows both offense and defense.'
'She appears passive, but she's actually in control!'
'A master!'
When it came to martial arts sparring,
Ye Li wasn't too concerned.
Instead, the battle in a different area with Natasha piqued his interest...
Girls like Jessica were all soft and adorable.
Aside from him, they had never been in a relationship.
Naïve young girls naturally weren't experienced in the delicate push-and-pull of relationships.
Basically, whatever Ye Li said, they would obediently listen~
Of course, this was nice—trouble-free and effortless.
However.
This didn't stop him from getting interested in competing with Black Widow in a different kind of skill.
Natasha, seeing that Ye Li didn't respond immediately after she answered, secretly thought—
'Why does this man seem a little slow…? Could it be that the young girls around him are always the ones making the first move?'
She had no choice but to take the initiative, "Why don't we spar first~?"
"No problem."
Ye Li assumed a starting stance. "Traditional martial arts, just to the point of contact."
?
Natasha tilted her head slightly—what kind of style was this?
She had fought countless opponents over the years, yet she had never seen this kind of approach before.
"Ms. Natasha! Stay focused."
Ye Li controlled his strength, striking past Natasha's ear without exceeding human-level force. The gust of wind from his palm lifted a few strands of her hair—
Hearing the rushing wind by her ear, Natasha's heart skipped a beat. Her gaze at Ye Li now carried a hint of surprise!
Though part of it was her underestimating him, if she hadn't dodged this strike and it had landed on her face...
Her high-bridged nose might have been flattened...
"Hey, Li, be careful, don't damage her pretty face."
Seeing that Ye Li almost landed a strike on Natasha's face,
Tony sighed internally—this guy really didn't know how to cherish beauty… How did he even manage to attract all those top-tier women…?