Chapter 74: Neither of Them Was Pretending to Be Ordinary Anymore (Updated)

At the end of the tour, an assistant came to collect them.

“Mr. Miller would like to see you before you leave.”

Frank looked surprised.

“My father’s here?”

“He arrived a little while ago.”

Jeff was waiting in an office overlooking the yard. He greeted Liam warmly, asked whether the visit had been useful, and offered him a seat. Frank stayed long enough to hear his father ask for coffee, then excused himself to take a call. Liam placed the information pack the manager had given him beside his chair. He hadn’t expected Jeff to make time for a student looking around one of his facilities, especially after they had already spoken at the hunt.

“You ask good questions, according to my manager.”

“I’d rather ask them now than after putting money into something.”

“A sensible approach. Does your family think the same way?”

Liam smiled without answering immediately. Jeff continued, mentioning Princeton, then Rebecca at Penn State, as though they were details from an earlier conversation. They weren’t. Liam had told John that his parents lived in California and were buying a house. He hadn’t discussed his sister. His hand remained relaxed around the coffee cup while Jeff asked whether Rebecca was involved in his investments too.

‘There it is.’

“She helps me with a property near her university.”

“An impressive start for someone your age.”

“She’s reliable. That matters more to me.”

Jeff nodded and returned to business. He mentioned that opportunities sometimes arose through the family’s network and suggested that Liam might find it useful to participate alongside more experienced investors. Liam asked what kind of opportunities. The answer remained broad: suppliers, associated businesses, occasional acquisitions. Nothing he could examine, and certainly nothing worth committing money to over a cup of coffee. He thanked Jeff for the offer and asked for a specific proposal if something suitable came up.

By the time Frank returned, the conversation had moved back to the tour. Liam stayed another few minutes, then left with the information pack and Jeff’s office contact. He had gained access, but the interest was clearly moving both ways now.

In the Bentley, he called Rebecca before starting the engine.

“If anyone contacts you asking about my investments, send them to me.”

“Did you get yourself into something?”

“Nothing I’ve agreed to. I’m just keeping business in one place.”

He gave his father the same instruction, then put the phone away. Neither sounded alarmed, which was how he wanted it. He could examine the Millers’ business without letting them pull his family into the conversation.

Back upstairs, Jeff waited until Frank left before making his own call.

“He’s polite,” he told John. “But he notices what you ask.”

The final AMD documents reached Liam three days later. He read them that evening, marked the parts he wanted explained, and arrived at the bank the following morning with Diane’s report tucked behind his copy. Daniel had arranged for his advisers to be available, and the regional president joined them once everyone was seated. This time, there were no introductions or broad discussions about the future. The amount was fifty million dollars. The questions were about what Liam would receive and what he was agreeing to.

“Before I sign, explain this part again.”

He turned the document toward the lawyer and pointed to a provision concerning future financing. The explanation took several minutes, followed by another question from Liam about whether participating would be his choice. He listened, wrote a short note in the margin of his reading copy, and moved to the next marked page. Remembering AMD’s future didn’t mean he understood every sentence someone could put in front of him. He had no intention of discovering an expensive misunderstanding after the money was gone.

Daniel waited until the documents were checked before bringing up the funds.

“Will you be using the credit facility for any part of this?”

“No. Use my available funds.”

Liam had wanted borrowing room when he first discussed the investment, but his situation had changed since then. He could fund the agreed amount without pledging more of what he owned to support it. Fifty million was still enough to make him pause when the transfer authorization reached him. Cars and apartments had felt expensive. This was money that could have bought several lifetimes of comfort, committed to a company he expected to hold for years.

‘If I’m going to trust those memories, this is where it starts costing something.’

He signed. The remaining approvals and confirmations took most of the afternoon, leaving him enough time to eat, answer Clara’s messages, and return a call from the lawyer. When Daniel finally contacted him again, the money had been received and the investment had closed. The completed documents followed shortly afterward. Liam opened them on his laptop, checked the ownership details against what he had agreed to, and saved everything together.

“It’s done, Mr. Carter.”

“Good. Send me the final accounting as well.”

Daniel sounded almost disappointed that Liam didn’t want to celebrate immediately. Liam thanked him properly before ending the call, then remained at his desk for a while, looking at the confirmation. His shares gave him a stake in the company. They didn’t make him its boss, and they didn’t turn the future value he remembered into money he could spend today. For now, the fifty million was invested, and Dr. Su still had a company to run.

He sent Diane a brief message thanking her for the report. She replied with a reminder to keep reading the company’s updates, followed by a smiling face. Liam laughed, closed the conversation, and put the laptop away.

When Clara arrived home, he was already clearing the papers from the kitchen island.

“You finished?”

“Yeah. The investment went through.”

She kissed him, then looked toward the empty counter.

“And dinner?”

Liam picked up his keys.

“That still needs funding.”

Liam found Lin Tian waiting beside the Bentley when he came out of the warehouse the next evening. Clara had stayed at the apartment, and he had spent the last hour practicing alone. His shirt was damp beneath his jacket, but he had stopped before exhausting himself this time. Seeing the man beside his car, he was immediately glad he had. Lin straightened when he noticed him and put his phone away, his expression making it clear that this wasn’t an accidental meeting.

“What do you want?”

“Stay away from the Song family.”

Liam stopped several steps from the car. He had spoken to the woman once, barely exchanged anything beyond a greeting, and had no business with her family. Whatever Lin had decided was happening existed entirely in his own head. Liam glanced toward the road, then back at him. The area was quiet at this hour, with most of the neighboring buildings already closed. Lin had apparently chosen somewhere he could speak without his wife interrupting him again.

“I haven’t approached your family. Move away from my car.”

Lin’s face tightened. He stepped forward, looking Liam up and down before stopping close enough that Liam could see his jaw working. The difference in their strength was still something he had to take seriously. Liam kept his hands at his sides and resisted the urge to bring out the screwdriver. If Lin wanted to throw insults, he could waste his evening doing it. Liam wasn’t going to start a fight simply because the man had followed him here.

‘But you came all this way. You’re not leaving after a conversation, are you?’

“You think having money means nobody can touch you?”

“No. I think you should leave.”

Lin’s eyes narrowed before he reached for him. His expression twisted for a moment, and he blinked hard, looking away from Liam’s face before forcing his gaze back. Liam recognized the reaction. The intimidation aura was working, but Lin remained on his feet, breathing through his nose instead of doubling over like Jim. Whatever he was seeing, it wasn’t stopping him. Liam shifted his weight, giving up the hope that the passive would settle this before either of them moved.

Lin caught the front of his jacket. The movement was quick enough that Liam barely had time to react before he was pulled forward, his shoes scraping against the ground. For a moment, Lin held him there, apparently waiting for the fear he expected to see. Liam looked down at the hand gripping his clothes, then back at his face. The cape held him in place when Lin tried to drag him closer again. That resistance made Lin’s expression change.

[High Tier Martial Arts.]

The notification appeared as Lin’s free hand moved. Liam didn’t try to match his speed or block the attack with his arm. He activated Reversal immediately. The strike reached him, but the effect turned back on its user, amplified by the skill. Lin released his jacket and was thrown backward, hitting the ground hard enough to slide. Liam stumbled a step as the grip disappeared, then steadied himself, breathing heavily despite how quickly it had happened.

‘Fuck. That was one use.’

Lin pushed himself up on one arm. The confidence was gone from his face, replaced by shock as he looked from his own hand to Liam. He had expected an ordinary rich student, and Liam had deliberately given him very little reason to expect anything else. Now he knew better. Liam moved away from the Bentley, keeping enough space between himself and the car that he wouldn’t be trapped against it if Lin attacked again.

“I told you to leave.”

Lin stood slowly. A dark sword appeared in his hand, and Liam immediately recognized it from the status panel he had read at the bank. He called the emerald screwdriver into his palm and let the cape spread behind his shoulders.

Neither of them was pretending to be ordinary anymore.

Lin moved first. Liam pushed himself backward with the cape as the sword passed through the space in front of his chest, close enough that he heard it cut through his jacket. His feet struck the ground several steps away, and he immediately moved again instead of waiting to see what Lin would do next. The man was injured, but he was still much faster than Liam on foot. Holding his ground and hoping to activate Reversal at the right moment would leave very little room for a mistake.