The Long March of Love with Pepper

Tony was driven out of Obadiah’s office in disgrace. Fortunately, the office was well soundproofed, so no one knew he’d been chewed out.

After he left, Obadiah began calling his trusted subordinates one by one, trying to win them over, making promises, and issuing warnings to keep Tony from turning them against him.

After hesitating for a long while, he finally dialed another number.

"Justin, I accept your terms. I’ll send you the thing shortly. Remember your promise!"

"Don’t tell me how powerful Tony is. If he’s still an ordinary person, you wouldn’t be in any position to bargain with me!"

After hanging up, he stared grimly ahead and muttered, "The group should belong to me. No one can take it away!"

Tony had no idea what Obadiah had done. He merely thought his words had touched the old man’s sensitive nerves.

He headed back to his CEO’s office. He decided to talk with Pepper first. Once Pepper had made some progress in martial arts, she could serve as an example for Obadiah.

When he pushed open the door to the secretary’s office, Pepper looked up and was just as surprised to see him as Obadiah had been.

"Wow, the sun really did rise in the west today. Who do I see in the company? My boss, of all people!"

Tony handed her a flower he had casually plucked from the hallway and said with a smile, "Your beloved boss saw how diligently you’ve been working and decided to give you a raise, along with a vacation."

Pepper took the flower and casually tossed it into the trash, then sneered.

"Don’t think I can’t recognize it. It’s from the hallway. Don’t try to use the same tricks on me that you use on those little bimbos. I’m not falling for it. Come on, what work are you handing me this time? Don’t tell me you got some woman pregnant?"

"Don’t put it that way, Pepper. You’re making me sound like a scumbag." Tony hugged Pepper with a laugh. "I’m serious. I’m planning to give you three months of leave."

"What? A long vacation? For three months?" Pepper looked suspicious and confused, unable to figure out what Tony was up to this time.

Tony repeated to Pepper what he had said to Obadiah earlier.

"Really? You’re not just looking for an excuse to get rid of me and replace me with a younger, prettier secretary?" Pepper stared at Tony suspiciously.

"Of course not. Pepper, you’ve always done an excellent job. You’ve saved me a tremendous amount of time. How could I bear to replace you?"

"All right, I’ll accept the compliment. Normally, you really wouldn’t do that, but when your libido gets the better of you, I’m not so sure." Suspicion still filled Pepper’s eyes.

Tony felt terribly wronged. He raised both hands and complained helplessly, "Damn it! Why won’t any of you believe me when I’m telling the truth?"

"Any of you? Who else did you say this to?" Pepper trusted him even less.

"Obadiah!" Tony sat dejectedly on the sofa and told her what had happened in Obadiah’s office.

"I really just want you all to have healthier bodies. I mean it sincerely! I’ve experienced the benefits of practicing Ultimate Limit Qigong myself. There’s absolutely nothing fake about them. But why do you always think I’m trying to take your jobs away?"

"Uh…" Pepper was awkward for a moment before saying hesitantly, "Maybe it’s an occupational hazard? In the workplace, you’re always going to face all kinds of overt and covert attacks. Not everyone is born able to sit in the CEO’s chair."

"We only made it this far after winning countless battles, both open and hidden. At the same time, we’re constantly facing challenges from those who come after us and could lose everything at any moment."

"That applies to me, and it applies to Obadiah too."

Tony opened his mouth, but he didn’t know what to say.

That kind of experience, of struggling up from the bottom, was completely foreign to him. He had no experience with it and couldn’t truly put himself in their shoes.

"All right, I’ve messed everything up again. Obadiah’s throwing a fit in his office right now, and he won’t believe my explanation either. Maybe in his heart, I’m a young lion trying to seize the lion king’s power. He might even accuse me of being ungrateful and killing the donkey after it had done the work."

"Then prove through your actions that you don’t mean that, that you still trust him just as your father trusted him, and that nothing has changed." Pepper sat down beside him and took his hand.

"That’s why I came here. I want you to go to the martial arts school first and leave the group’s business to Obadiah. Three months later, you’ll come back as a little superhero and show off in front of him. Then he’ll know how much I care about his health." Tony held Pepper’s hand and spoke seriously.

Pepper’s expression changed as soon as she heard that. She pulled her hand back, stood up, and returned to her desk.

"So I’m just a sample, a model for display?"

"Hey, Pepper, why are you getting angry?" Tony immediately realized he had said the wrong thing. "I was planning to send all of you to learn martial arts. I just went to Uncle Obadiah first."

"The group’s affairs can’t be interrupted, so…"

Pepper cut him off expressionlessly. "Fine, I understand. I’ll hand over my work and then go to the martial arts school to become a student. You can go hold your party now."

"Uh…" Tony opened his mouth, not knowing how to explain himself. In the end, he could only say, "You’ll probably have to learn Chinese first. My master’s rules are that he doesn’t accept anyone who can’t speak Chinese."

"Fine, I understand. Is there anything else you want to tell me?" Pepper didn’t even look up.

"Mm, no."

"Goodbye."

Tony stood up and said farewell dejectedly. "Goodbye."

He reached the door, then stopped and turned around. "I’m not having a party tonight. Do you have any plans this evening?"

"I didn’t before, but now I do."

"Oh, all right, then… goodbye."

Tony left the office in low spirits. Looking at the bustling traffic and the endless stream of people outside the building, he felt especially lonely.

He changed women frequently, but when it came to love, he truly had little experience.

Tony’s feelings for Pepper had probably begun with sex before love, followed by slowly growing accustomed to her presence, until everything naturally fell into place.

Pepper’s feelings for Tony, on the other hand, had probably begun with love before sex, followed by cycles of disappointment, hope, and disappointment.

Everyone knew how Tony felt about Pepper, and Pepper naturally knew it too. Tony, of course, knew it as well.

But they both had their concerns.

Pepper had no confidence that Tony’s feelings would last.

Tony, meanwhile, severely lacked a sense of security and was extremely cautious when it came to relationships.

He didn’t know what kind of feelings Pepper had for him or whether they were any different from those of the models and actresses.

When everyone was flattering him, he naturally couldn’t tell who was sincere and who was faking it.

Love always made people anxious and uncertain.

Even someone as clever as Tony Stark couldn’t escape it.