“No way.
You’ll work Pepper to death.”
Tony immediately objected, clearly worried about Pepper.
“I don’t trust anyone else with it.”
“Besides, whether she’s managing one flock of sheep or an entire herd, it’s still the same job.
People aren’t going to drop dead just because they’re busy.”
“We can simply hire a few assistants.”
Ethan didn’t seem bothered at all.
Tony didn’t say anything more about that.
Instead, he asked, “What about the guy who’s been managing the Harry Potter business for you?”
“He’s been doing a pretty good job all these years.”
“You’re not planning to kick him to the curb after crossing the river, are you?”
“Don’t worry.”
“I don’t care about that little bit of money.”
“I’ll give him a reasonable share of the profits and then let him go.”
Ethan had already been thinking about doing this.
Henry had become increasingly difficult to control.
Ethan didn’t really blame him, though.
After all, Henry was the one who had written the books and worked himself to the bone handling everything related to them.
Ethan had merely given him the story.
Then everything had somehow become Ethan’s.
If you put yourself in Henry’s shoes, it was easy to understand why he would feel dissatisfied.
Ethan then called Pepper over.
Together with Tony, he explained the plan to make her CEO.
Ethan also handed Pepper all the relevant Harry Potter copyright documents and other materials.
He told her that from then on, Henry would receive 20% of all revenue related to Harry Potter.
Then, right in front of Pepper, Ethan called Henry.
He explained the arrangement without even bothering to ask for Henry’s opinion.
Then he hung up.
Pepper had barely arrived when Tony told her that he wanted her to become CEO.
When she also learned that Ethan, who held 17% of Stark Industries, would fully support her, Pepper became so emotional that she actually cried.
It wasn’t because Pepper was greedy for money or power.
Rather, it represented Tony’s recognition of her.
It meant that Tony genuinely trusted her.
That was why she became so emotional.
After calming down, Pepper immediately switched into work mode.
She agreed to take full responsibility for Ethan’s Harry Potter business.
She also agreed to represent Ethan in matters concerning Stark Industries.
With Pepper representing both Tony and Ethan’s combined holdings, which amounted to nearly 70% of the company, who could possibly stop her from becoming CEO?
Everyone got what they wanted.
After spending a wonderful day celebrating their engagement, Ethan’s life once again returned to peace.
During winter break, he took Hannah everywhere to have fun.
Before they knew it, school had started again.
On the very first day, Ethan and Hannah caused quite a stir when they walked into the classroom.
Why?
Because the two of them basically behaved like a married couple.
A high-school couple who were already engaged was naturally going to attract attention.
Some people were envious.
Some were jealous.
Some looked down on them.
Others sincerely wished them well.
Under everyone’s curious gazes, Ethan and Hannah began their new semester.
And then…
Another semester passed.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Another entire semester passed.
It was already summer vacation.
Even Ethan found it somewhat unbelievable.
Nothing had happened during the past six months.
Tony hadn’t needed Ethan to save his life.
Peter Parker hadn’t been bitten by a spider.
New York hadn’t seen any supervillain either.
The past six months had been incredibly peaceful.
Ethan simply went to school with Hannah, went home with her, went shopping, bought things, and drank coffee together.
Because Ethan constantly showered her with affection, Hannah gradually became less introverted.
She wasn’t as easily embarrassed anymore either.
She was willing to go to crowded and lively places.
Even when people looked at her, she could now face them confidently.
The one thing that hadn’t changed was her gentle and kind personality.
And she still loved Ethan deeply.
Their relationship hadn’t weakened with time.
Instead, it had become more natural and deeper.
The two of them had practically become inseparable.
It was as though neither could exist without the other.
Their classmates gradually stopped being curious about the high-school couple.
Now that summer vacation had arrived, naturally, they needed to find somewhere to travel.
Ethan and Hannah were discussing where they should go when Tony suddenly called.
“Hey, Bear Cub.”
“You students are on summer vacation now, right?”
“Where are you planning to go?”
Tony’s playful voice came through the phone.
“We’re actually trying to figure that out.”
“Why?”
“Do you have somewhere fun in mind?”
Ethan replied casually.
“Ha!”
“Then you’ve come to the right person.”
“Tonight, I’m holding a Stark Industries Expo in Flushing, Queens.”
“Bring Hannah along.”
Tony laughed.
“Oh?”
“That sounds pretty good.”
“Fine, we’ll definitely be there tonight.”
“Send someone to pick us up, though.”
“I still don’t have a car.”
Ethan immediately became interested.
“Sure.”
“I’ll send my new assistant to pick you up.”
“Oh, and there’s an industrial exhibition in Monaco a week from now.”
“A lot of wealthy people will be attending.”
“Of course, that’s not the important part.”
“After all, none of them are richer than me.”
Tony’s arrogant voice came through the phone.
Ethan’s mouth twitched.
The past six months of smooth sailing had apparently made this genius arrogant again.
But the moment he heard the word Monaco, Ethan immediately realized what was coming.
This should be the Iron Man 2 storyline.
“The important thing is that there’s also a small racing event there.”
“What do you think?”
“Want me to arrange something for you?”
“You can give it a try.”
Ethan was immediately tempted.
However, there was one problem.
He didn’t know how to race.
“That sounds good, but I don’t know how to drive a race car.”
Tony immediately replied.
“Who cares?”
“With your physical ability, coordination, and strength, are you really worried about getting hurt?”
Before Ethan could respond, Tony continued.
“And I’m not asking you to go there without knowing anything.”
“For the next week, I’ll arrange a racing club for you.”
“You can spend some time there getting familiar with racing.”
Ethan found it strange.
Why did Tony seem so determined to make sure he came along?
Tony couldn’t possibly know that Ivan Vanko is going to target him, could he?