Those who have seen the movies know that Tony Stark mansion is located on Malibu Beach, on the west coast of the United States in Los Angeles, with its pleasant scenery.
But in reality, the properties under Tony Stark personal name that could be called "home" were certainly not limited to just that one.
After all, as a business owner, he frequently needed to travel around.
Living in hotels every day couldn't compare to the comfort of one own home.
For convenience, buying houses in cities they frequently visited was a common choice among wealthy business owners.
People with moderately abundant wealth would own several "homes" let alone someone like Tony Stark with a net worth exceeding tens of billions, who naturally enjoyed buying land, buildings, and houses everywhere?
In his ancestral Texas home in the southern United States, there was the estate left by Howard Stark; in the north, close to the Canadian border in Montana, was a farm used for summer vacations; on Hawaii Island, there was a beachfront villa purchased for sunbathing; in Alaska, there was a forest cabin built for fishing.
Just within the United States, Tony Stark owned more than twenty mansions, all of which could be called "home" in terms of function and configuration.
This only counted the "long-term holdings" not including those that were "bought on a whim, then later sold off after losing interest when he calmed down."
And if we were to add the properties acquired for investment purposes...
Stark personal real estate holdings were truly numerous, neither inferior in quantity nor scale to professional real estate companies.
And of course, in new york, where Stark Industries headquarters was located, he had a "home" as well.
In fact, before the timeline progressed to "The Avengers 1" the mansion on Long Island in New York was where Tony Stark most frequently resided.
Firstly, this was because Stark Industries headquarters was in New York, and as the chairman, he often had to visit the company due to work requirements.
If he lived permanently in Los Angeles, a trip to New York would take five to six hours by flight.
Honestly, even with a private jet, it was still quite exhausting.
Secondly, it was because Stark greatly enjoyed flirting with beautiful women, especially models from various industries.
When it came to actresses, Los Angeles, with Hollywood in its backyard, had plenty of resources.
But for tall, long-legged models who won purely with their beauty, New York clearly had the upper hand.
Moving to Malibu permanently happened after "establishing a relationship with Pepper Potts, completely settling down, abandoning his pursuit of women, and due to anxiety triggered by battles with aliens, fully dedicating himself to developing battle armor".
In plain terms, it was because he first developed anxiety disorder, then was repeatedly comforted by Pepper, experiencing the warmth and protection of family-like acceptance and love from her.
Only then did Stark truly face his inner feelings, recognize Pepper importance, and finally determine that she was his life partner, which led to his transformation into a good man who had settled down.
As for now...
Although their relationship had made breakthrough progress, and he subconsciously viewed Pepper as family, allowing her to replace Obadiah position in his heart, to say that he had completely settled down for Pepper.
If Stark life trajectory were compared to driving on a road, the events in "Iron Man 1" were at most like "changing lanes onto a fork in the road" still far from making a U-turn.
In short, the party Stark was hosting today was in New York, sparing Shi Xiaolei the trouble of rushing to Los Angeles.
"Continue straight ahead, then turn left at the next intersection."
"Keep going forward, destination is 300 meters away."
"We've arrived. Welcome to Stark Manor with your family, Mr. Rock."
"Thank you."
Shi Xiaolei responded, noticing the wrought iron gates slowly opening in front of the car. He casually asked.
"JARVIS, did you open the gate? By the way, don't you have any security guards here?"
"Mr. Stark has installed comprehensive automated defense facilities throughout the manor, which I control. Theoretically, this estate doesn't require security guards."
JARVIS answered Shi Xiaolei question through the Bluetooth earpiece.
"That's what you'd expect from a rich person."
Shi Xiaolei muttered, driving through the open gates and continuing to gently press the accelerator.
"Should I keep driving along this road?"
"Yes. Mr. Stark wants you to go directly to the main building."
Under JARVIS guidance, Shi Xiaolei family quickly arrived at their destination.
Perhaps having received JARVIS report, Stark had already come outside to welcome the three of them.
"Hey, Tony~"
"Why are you so late?"
After embracing Shi Xiaolei with open arms, Stark complained with slight dissatisfaction.
"Do you know how long I've been waiting? Buddy, don't tell me you were stuck in traffic."
"I went to look at a house."
Shi Xiaolei smiled, also greeting Pepper who was accompanying Stark.
"Pepper, good afternoon."
"Hello, Rock."
Although their relationship wasn't officially confirmed, since she appeared at Stark side, Pepper clearly understood that she needed to fulfill the role of hostess.
After greeting Shi Xiaolei, she turned her attention to 2B and Kanna, warmly welcoming them.
Not paying attention to the three women who went inside first, Shi Xiaolei and Tony went to the back of the car.
"I told you to come directly, huh, what's all this?"
"I had made an appointment with someone, and it didn't seem right to suddenly cancel. Besides, I had seen the photos he sent over, and that building seemed quite to my liking. If I didn't go see it in person, I would have felt unsatisfied."
Shi Xiaolei said while taking foam boxes filled with lamb meat out of the trunk.
"Didn't you ask me to bring more? Look, there's a total of three hundred kilograms here... I originally wanted to bring two more boxes, but my car has limited load capacity."
"That's enough, that's enough. Thanks buddy."
Stark happily patted Shi Xiaolei arm, then raised his hand to his ear.
"JARVIS, time to work. Send a small trailer over to take these to the kitchen."
"It's already on its way."
As soon as the words fell, an electric vehicle drove over from the side of the villa.
Looking at the mechanical arms equipped on the vehicle, it was clear that this was definitely designed and made by Stark himself.
"OK, I see it. I'll leave the rest to you."
Stark instructed once more, then lowered his arm and gestured.
"Let's go, we don't need to worry about this."
"...I want to watch for a bit."
Shi Xiaolei shook his head, pointing at the small trailer that had driven up.
"In all my life, I've never seen a robot before. Honestly, I'm quite curious."
"You personally dismantled Iron Monger, don't you remember?"
"That's different. Armor is armor, robots are robots—two separate things."
"So..."
Hearing Shi Xiaolei say this, Stark unconsciously raised his eyebrows.
"You're also in the 'pure intelligent machinery' camp?"
"Uh?"
Completely unfamiliar with the abbreviation, Shi Xiaolei was bewildered.
"What does that mean? I don't understand."
(T/N: Like the story fellow daoist?you can read 20 chapters ahead on my P@treon [[email protected]/DaoistRongyi] Thanks for your support! 😊)