Chapter 45

One hundred million dollars, in Obadiah's view, was not important at all.

Even those shares, he didn't care about them either; what was truly worth fearing was the attitude Tony had displayed!

Ever since Tony Stark returned safely, he had been soaking in his lab, seeing almost no one except Alvin, which undoubtedly released a signal to the outside world.

That was that Tony trusted this young man named Alvin Velsius very much!

For this reason, Obadiah specifically approached Tony and finally managed to pry out some news about Alvin Velsius through their uncle-nephew relationship.

Although Tony still hid a lot, Obadiah had guessed the general idea after contacting the Ten Rings.

It was this teenager in front of him who had ruined his plans!

Although he wanted to twist Alvin's head off in his heart, on the surface, Obadiah still had to put on a show of being a caring uncle and a grateful benefactor to the man who saved Tony.

Of course, just now was purely to "disgust" Alvin.

Obadiah enthusiastically led Alvin into the charity gala and spared no effort to proclaim to everyone that if it weren't for Alvin, Tony would never have returned safely.

And so, in the charity gala that followed, Alvin Velsius became the most sought-after person.

Elites from various industries and politicians kept coming to him to strike up a conversation.

Alvin kept a smile on his face the whole time, dealing with those people politely and with proper measure, but in his heart, he had already sentenced Obadiah to death.

You old bastard, you'd better not fall into my hands, or you'll be sorry!

He really hated these meaningless social occasions; they had no value at all and were purely a waste of life.

Just as Alvin was suffering, his savior finally appeared!

Tony Stark made a flashy entrance, dismissed the crowd with a few words, and then pulled Alvin to a corner at the edge of the hall, a place not easily noticed.

"Thank you so much, this time it's from the heart." Alvin could finally catch his breath and hurriedly thanked Tony.

"You mean, it wasn't from the heart before?"

Tony held a glass of champagne, looked at the frustrated Alvin, and couldn't help but laugh out loud: "See that? This is Tony Stark's popularity. As long as you can get connected with me, there will be an endless stream of connections. You should feel honored, Alvin!"

As expected of Marvel's king of swagger, he didn't forget to boast even at a time like this.

"Didn't you say you weren't coming?" Alvin curled his lip and said disdainfully: "I'm curious, who changed your mind?"

"Don't mention it, Pepper insisted that I come to the gala." Tony lost his joy, drank the champagne with some resentment, and said viciously: "Pepper said I've been in the lab for three days, and if I don't go out to get some air, I'll rot and get moldy. She actually dared to threaten me with resignation; this is simply ridiculous!"

"Pfft!"

Alvin couldn't hold it in and laughed out loud.

It was clear that before becoming Iron Man, Tony's "henpecked" nature had already begun to take shape.

"What are you laughing at?" Tony glared at Alvin with dissatisfaction: "Hey, I treat you as a friend and came over specifically to help you out of a tight spot, and you're actually mocking me?"

"No, I just suddenly thought of something funny."

Alvin suppressed his laughter, his mind filled with the future, imagining the scene where the proud Tony would be completely tamed by Pepper.

"What funny thing?"

Tony curiously leaned his neck over.

"Proud people often don't realize what they care about most." Alvin put down his champagne, patted his shoulder, and said earnestly: "My friend, I hope you won't be like that, losing the person who cares about you most because of pride."

"Who? Me?"

Tony looked incredulous, pointed at himself, and laughed: "Stop joking, Alvin, I'm Tony Stark!"

"Whether you are or not, you know very well in your heart."

Alvin smiled but didn't point it out; sometimes, if the time isn't right, it will only be counterproductive.

"Hey, see that woman over there?" Tony didn't know if he was flustered, but he changed the subject very stiffly, pointing at a beauty in a black dress with flowing hair and a curvaceous figure, and said confidently: "She's walking toward us. I bet you, she must be here to ask me out!"

"Oh, really?"

Looking at the woman in the black dress walking over, Alvin took a sip of champagne and said playfully: "Then I bet she's here to find me."

"Find you? No, no, no, absolutely impossible!"

Tony was quite confident, straightened his back, and struck a seasoned pose of a romantic veteran: "I can only say, you don't understand at all what Tony Stark is in the eyes of women!"

"Alright, if you lose, you agree to one request of mine?" Alvin said.

"No problem!"

Tony agreed immediately, not feeling like he would lose at all.

Just kidding, he had been a romantic veteran for decades and was rated as the man models most wanted to be with; how could he lose to a kid who hadn't even grown all his hair?

The woman in the black dress held a glass of champagne, swaying her sexy waist; the slit in her dress revealed a glimpse of spring from time to time, and her round, slender legs walked over in high heels.

Tony crossed his legs, looking like he had the victory in the bag, and lowered his voice to Alvin: "Watch closely, kid, let me teach you what a man's charm is!"

Then, under Tony's confident smile, the woman in the black dress came to Alvin and parted her sexy red lips: "Hello, Mr. Velsius, my name is Natasha. Could I invite you to go chat?"

Crack!

Alvin seemed to hear the sound of something shattering.

Turning his head to look, Tony's expression seemed frozen, his pupils contracted violently, and his face was filled with disbelief.

"Wait, wait... you, don't you recognize me?" Tony was a bit unwilling to lose, wearing a stiff smile as he introduced himself to the woman in the black dress: "My name is Tony Stark, you should know me."

"Oh, I certainly know you, Mr. Stark."

The woman in the black dress smiled slightly and said: "The famous playboy, the lover models dream of. It is said that as long as one sleeps with you once, they can get a whole year of publicity."

Tony's mouth twitched slightly: "I think that might be a misunderstanding, beautiful lady."

Who on earth was ruining his reputation!

What did it mean that sleeping with him for one night could get a whole year of publicity?

What did they take Tony Stark for?

Those damn media, they were too hateful!

"Sorry, Mr. Stark."

But the woman in the black dress couldn't be bothered to pay attention to him anymore, turning instead to give Alvin a seductive wink: "Compared to your 'track record,' I prefer a more innocent boy, like this Mr. Alvin Velsius. You haven't accepted my invitation yet~"

Tony's heart was broken, his mind filled with "Why?"

A kid who hadn't even grown all his hair could hook such a hot beauty, while he, Tony Stark, was thrown to the side; it was simply unreasonable!

"Of course, refusing an invitation from such a beautiful lady would be punished by God~"

Alvin smiled slightly, stood up, and wrapped his arm around Natasha's waist, turning back to wink at Tony, meaning don't forget your bet.

"You kid, you'd better be careful tonight!"

Tony gritted his teeth; it wasn't that he cared that much about one woman, he was just a bit frustrated because he had lost face.