The Grandfather's Wrath
Since arriving in this world, the person Luke cared about most was The Old Man—the elderly gentleman who sat in a wheelchair all day, preferring a stern, deep facade. The old man was genuinely good to him.
From childhood to the present, he had never refused any of Luke's requests, whether reasonable or excessive—never once.
Thinking back to their life together, Luke couldn't help but sigh.
"How is the Old Man doing?"
"Nothing majorly wrong, just still likes to throw things around."
Luke sighed deeply. "He's really angry."
"His most beloved grandson ran away from home for a few months without so much as a phone call. How could he not be angry?"
Billy pouted, his expression showing poorly concealed jealousy. They were both grandsons, so why such a huge difference? Logically, he should be the biological one.
Luke asked again, "Besides telling me to come home, what else did he say?"
"Oh, a lot."
Billy chuckled, habitually resting his leg on the sofa—a habit learned from years of gaming at internet cafes.
"Listen to me. When you go back this time, you need to be careful. The Old Man wants to arrange your marriage!"
Pfft!
Charlie, who was drinking water, immediately spat it out. He was completely shocked.
Luke was also dumbfounded. He quickly asked, "What's going on? Did he forget to take his medication again? I'm only seventeen, and he wants me to get married?"
"It's all thanks to your girlfriends!"
Mentioning the "seductive hussies," Billy's eyes lit up. "You have no idea how deep their feelings are for you. Every time they get drunk, they run outside your house and wail, calling you a heartless bastard, scumbag, and degenerate. They carry on like that for half the night, and it's driven the Old Man crazy! He nearly pulled a gun and started shooting them."
"The Old Man said that if you keep messing around like this, something bad will happen sooner or later. Someone suggested: First, get him engaged. Once a man has a family, his personality will settle down. The Old Man thought it made sense, so he agreed."
Billy took a drink of water, thoroughly enjoying the story. His short, thick eyebrows were raised high.
"The candidate has already been selected. She's a Chinese girl who grew up in Midway City. She comes from a very good family. Her mother works at the embassy, and her father is apparently the vice-chancellor of a famous Chinese university. She's from an academic background. The Old Man is very satisfied with her. He's calling you back this time because he wants you two to meet and finalize the engagement."
Charlie interjected, "What does she look like? Does she have a figure?"
"Her looks don't match my taste, but according to people there, she's 'fairy-level.' As for her figure..."
Billy flattened his lips. "She's only eighteen. It's still early."
Charlie was immediately disappointed. He wasn't stupid; he could tell what the comment implied. If you couldn't tell if a girl had a figure by age eighteen, it meant she didn't have one.
The Prodigal Son Returns to Work
"I've delivered the Old Man's message. Now, let's talk about my business."
Billy sat up straight, an uncharacteristic sign of awkwardness—very unlike his usual boisterous personality.
"Luke, we grew up together. Officially, I'm your older cousin, but everyone knows the real deal: you're the boss. So, I want to follow you and work under you."
Luke pushed aside his other concerns and remained silent for a few seconds.
"If I recall correctly, you're in your final year of university this year."
Billy nodded repeatedly. "It is my senior year. I've learned everything I need to. All that's left is practical experience."
"I've seen your transcript. A top student in Electrical Engineering at the University of Southern California. Even if you hadn't asked, I would have recruited you. However, you know the situation with your family. Your uncle won't agree."
At the mention of this, Billy's expression immediately soured, and he looked ready to grit his teeth.
"That's my business! He doesn't need to control it. What era is this? He's still running a gang! I worked hard to get into university, not to join the underworld."
"Anyway, I'm staying here with you and not going anywhere else. If you don't take me in, I'll go beg on the streets."
Luke felt helpless. This guy was the same as ever—reckless when he set his mind to something.
"You can stay, but a few things must be clear: First, you start as an intern. You have to prove yourself with your abilities. Don't expect special treatment from me. Second, you are not to reveal our relationship to anyone, no exceptions."
"Don't worry, I know the rules."
Billy thumped his chest, sounding very candid. "I'm a top graduate from USC. I'm as good as anyone in terms of skill. Of course, you're the exception. You're a monster; you don't count."
"Alright, stop the flattery. Charlie, take him to sign the contract."
Luke waved them away, then went back to sit on the sofa. Thinking about the news he'd just received, he pressed a hand to his forehead.
Can't I have one quiet day?
The Old Man, too. If he misses me, he should just say so. Why go through all this trouble? Am I the marrying kind?
It looks like I have to go back.
The Race for ShowMe
Over the next few days, Luke went into full work mode.
Fueled by massive amounts of cash, the preparations for Blue Bird and Tesla proceeded very smoothly. The factory site was chosen at a derelict auto plant in Metropolis's Eastern District, and renovations had already begun—all that was needed was time to finalize.
Then there was ShowMe. Luke delegated all operational management to Charlie, but he personally supervised the Research and Development (R&D) and Application aspects. These two were the core of ShowMe and had to be perfect.
In half a day, Luke completely upgraded ShowMe's source program, even integrating an AI sub-program into it.
The AI program entirely optimized the user experience. It could automatically organize and categorize content based on user preferences, delivering exactly what they wanted to see.
This feature was met with massive enthusiasm, and ShowMe experienced another surge in users. In just a few days, the total user count surpassed 28 million, instantly establishing its status as the industry leader and leaving competitors like Friendste and Mybook far behind.
Investors and bankers realized that against the omnipotent ShowMe, copycats like Friendste and Mybook were paper tigers. Hoping for them to catch up was unrealistic.
As the undisputed leader of the social networking platform, ShowMe became the fattest pig at the trough. Not only local investment firms but also several large corporations from Europe and China called, expressing their intent to invest.
Doing business is like this: when there's money to be made, even if you don't want to be The Man, people will wave cash and beg to be your servant. When there's no money to be made, even if you grovel and beg to be a servant, you'll be kicked away.
Luke had not only seen this happen but had personally experienced it, more than once.
Therefore, when investors approached him with contracts that would make an ordinary person drool, Luke remained perfectly calm the entire time. No matter how bright and beautiful the future they described, he showed no sign of excitement.
He was like a seasoned, calm fisherman, aiming for the fattest prize catch, not the small fry near the shore.
After multiple attempts to gauge him, the investors finally realized that this young-looking boss was far sharper than they imagined. Seeing that their opportunism wouldn't work, the schemers had no choice but to gather their things and leave in shame.
With the dross gone, only the major, reputable financial groups remained—twenty-one of them, from all over the world: China, Japan, the UK, France, and more. Naturally, the most famous were the Wayne Group and the Luthor Group, especially the former, which expressed an extremely strong interest in a partnership.
"Looks like Mr. Batman can't sit still anymore," Luke smirked, deciding to make him wait for another two weeks.
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