Chapter 110: Almost Late! Tony

Chapter 110: Almost Late! Tony

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After sitting down in the chair, Lorien let out a long breath.

"Hoo~~~"

At the same time, an overwhelming sense of guilt started to rise in his heart.

The first reason was because he had failed in his attempt to be early. He had told himself he'd be on time for once. But what happened? He nearly ended up being late! He was embarrassed with himself. It had taken so long for him to want to arrive early, and yet he still managed to mess it up.

"Well...…" Lorien sighed, reaching into the fridge for a bottle of milk tea.

"Ton ton~~~"

He took several large gulps. He'd been so busy earlier, rushing down after getting dressed that he hadn't had time to drink anything. As he reflected on this, his guilt deepened.

The second reason for his guilt was Hela. She still looked like a loli. Lorien glanced down, recalling how her head barely reached his chest when she stood up. Was this really something a decent person would do?

"Ton ton~~~"

Lorien took another swig of milk tea, berating himself once more. Too sinful! This was probably the most sinful thing he had ever done. How could he do something like this? Sure, the temptation was strong, but there shouldn't be a next time!

He silently vowed to restrain himself. Even though he wasn't sure he could completely resist, he felt that this boundary had to be drawn.

"Hold back! At least show some restraint!" he muttered.

He certainly couldn't treat little Hela the way he had treated Gwen. That would be unfair, especially since Hela was still growing. He shouldn't take advantage of someone who wasn't on the same level!

With that in mind, Lorien downed two bottles of milk tea, scolding himself several more times before he finally calmed down. What a mess. He needed to do something good to balance this out, maybe donate some money or something.

Knock knock~

Just then, there was a knock on the office door.

"Come in," Lorien said, sitting up properly. When the door opened, he saw it was Tony, and he recognized the familiar face immediately. Tony strolled in casually, pulled out a chair, and sat down. His eyes fell on the two empty bottles of milk tea on the table.

"Are you drinking milk tea this early in the morning?" Tony asked.

Lorien sighed helplessly, putting away the bottles. "Yeah, yeah, just couldn't finish what I had from yesterday."

Tony shrugged, but his movement made him wince as his sunglasses pressed against a bruise on his eye. He quickly took off the glasses, revealing a black-and-blue left eye.

Lorien chuckled when he saw it. "What happened? Why do you have panda eyes?"

Tony acted like it was no big deal and put the sunglasses away. "I, uh, fell."

"Oh, right," Lorien nodded, feigning belief. "And you just happened to fall on someone's fist, huh?"

Tony twisted his mouth into a half-smile. "You could say that."

Men have their pride. No one likes admitting they got beaten up, so the "I fell" excuse always seemed to do the trick. Still, Tony wasn't here to discuss his injuries. He pulled out a business card from his jacket and handed it to Lorien.

"I'm planning to take Pepper out of the city. We're going to buy a nature reserve and live there."

"So, I probably won't be around much," Tony continued. "This card has the address of the place where I'm planning to build a wooden cabin. I drew a circle on the map; it's nearby. If you ever need to find me, just head there, and you should see the cabin."

"As for the milk tea project we partnered on, it's in full production, and it'll start selling in the U.S. in a few days. The profits will be automatically transferred to your account every year. If you ever need anything or have questions, just come see me."

"Well... I think that's everything," Tony said after thinking for a moment. He then nodded confidently. "Yeah, nothing else to compensate for."

Lorien took the business card, glancing at the address. Tony had really bought a sanctuary. Although it might seem pointless to some, for Tony, it had to be his. And all he planned to do was build a log cabin—maybe a few basements, but that would be it.

"Alright," Lorien replied, accepting the card and tucking it away in a safe where he kept things that didn't hold much value for him. "So, you've really decided to live in seclusion?"

"Huh..." Tony exhaled deeply before nodding. "Yeah, I have. Ever since our first conversation about it, I've had this idea of living in seclusion. Now, with everything going on, I think it's the best decision—to leave with my family. I've been so busy and caught up in things all these years that I haven't really considered Pepper's feelings. It's time I made it up to her with the time I've got left."

Hearing this, Lorien nodded approvingly. "It's not a bad choice. At least Pepper will finally get the happiness she deserves."

Tony stayed quiet for a moment, then added, "But if a major crisis comes, I don't think I'll be able to just stand by and do nothing."

There was still warmth left in Tony's heart. Even when considering living in seclusion, he couldn't help but think about the possibility of future crises. But Lorien, staring at him thoughtfully, suddenly asked, "And what if you have children? A daughter, or a son? Will you still feel the same way? Will you still be willing to leave it all behind?"

Tony froze at the question. He hadn't thought about having children when considering his retreat from the city—his thoughts were entirely focused on hiding away. But now, he couldn't help but imagine what his child might be like. Still, Lorien's question lingered.

When you have a child, will you still feel the same?

The answer was... "I have no idea," Tony admitted after a long pause. "I can't decide something so emotional right now. If children were just data, I might be able to make a decision."

"But kids aren't data," Lorien interrupted. "They're not just statistics."

"Yeah... kids aren't data," Tony repeated, sighing as he took a deep breath. "So I really can't decide right now."

"People change," he continued. "What I'm saying now might not be how I'll feel when the time comes."

When faced with the reality of children, Tony's mind was clearly overloading, not from technical or performance issues, but from the emotional weight of the decision. He wasn't ready to make that call, and Lorien could see that.

Lorien shrugged, not pressing the issue further. "It's okay if you can't answer right now. But this is something you'll have to face eventually. I'm just giving you a heads-up so you can start thinking about it sooner."

Tony nodded, still covering his face with one hand. "Thanks... but you're stressing me out with this."

"That's the point!" Lorien replied with a grin. "Where there's pressure, there's motivation." He handed Tony a bottle of milk tea. "Here, drink some milk tea and relax a bit."

Tony accepted the milk tea and gulped it down in one go. Then, standing up, he waved his hand. "Nope, I've got to go. You're suffocating me with those questions."

Lorien chuckled. "Alright, see you."

Tony left as quickly as he had arrived. Lorien stretched, then reached for an envelope and pen, starting to write a letter. Since Wanda hadn't returned yet, he decided to stick to his usual routine.

Of course, Lorien was looking forward to Wanda's return... mainly because he hadn't yet tested out Wanda's Tiger Charm. Cough cough...