Chapter 199: Addressing Symptoms and Root Causes

You've grown a lot since last year!"

"It's thanks to her. Right at the moment I was going upstairs."

"That's good!"

"It's not really good. If I had a choice, I'd prefer to go back to the days when I could speak freely. Knowing that my words could have serious consequences for others makes me feel like there's a lot of weight on my shoulders."

After finishing the last bite of his Big Mac, Carter wiped his hands with a napkin as he spoke. After drinking a few sips of Coke, he picked up another French fry and dipped it in ketchup:

"This feeling is not good, as if there are many invisible strings tying me down. No one tells you what you can't do or say, but you just can't."

"Everything has a process. It's a stage you must go through in your life, child."

Picking up a French fry from the box in front of Carter, Julian played with it, leaving some oil-stained starch on his fingers, and sighed:

"But I agree with what you said. The days when you could speak freely, looking back, those were the happiest times of our lives. It's regrettable that you missed that stage at such an early age, but perhaps it's also your fortune, who knows?"

"At least, in my forty-eight years of life experience, I have never seen a young person as capable as you in building such a career."

"Hopefully it's fortunate!"

Carter and Julian seemed to be having a serious conversation, but Lilacilis was completely confused. After all, until now, she still didn't quite understand what had happened to Carter.

Julian had at least had dinner with Carter at a Sichuan restaurant last year, and had seen his friendly interaction with the fat boss. Lilacilis, on the other hand, could only vaguely discern that something seemed to have happened to the owner of that restaurant, and Carter seemed to be concerned about it.

Utterly bewildered, Lilacilis followed Carter back to the hotel. Familiar with the room, she didn't feel embarrassed.

One gets used to it after a while, and she even understood what Carter had in mind. But since Carter never clearly expressed himself, she only lightly flirted with him, testing the waters before giving up.

When Lilacilis was about to employ her old tactics again, she found that Carter, after taking off his clothes, hadn't even taken a bath. He simply threw himself into bed and fell asleep.

"Aren't you going to take a shower?"

Wasn't Carter the guy who showered every day?

"You go ahead, I have something to do. Remember to turn off the lights after you're done!"

"Oh..."

Seeing Carter apparently losing interest in her again, Lilacilis walked into the bathroom. Meanwhile, Carter, after Lilacilis left, lifted the blanket covering his head.

He stared blankly out the window.

In New York, his options were limited. And when he left, Chen Shuzhen might...

Carter believed that with the skills of these shady lawyers in New York, scaring a few ordinary families wouldn't be a problem. Scare them into apologizing quickly, and there shouldn't be any difficulties.

But after this, Carter had to think deeper.

Adults, after all, understand reason and know what's best. But what about children?

Would they blame Chen Shuzhen after he left?

If they did, then what he did for Chen Shuzhen would not only be redeeming himself but also a second harm to the little girl!

But New York wasn't his territory, and he couldn't stay here for long. After carefully sorting out his contacts in New York, Carter sadly discovered that, except for Julian, who would unconditionally support and help him, he didn't have much else.

Thinking about it, the only real solution from the root might be to persuade the fat boss's family to move to Douglas.

From the mayor to the street vendors, nobody would dare to offend him in Douglas. Trying to convince the fat boss's family to move back with him seemed to be the most effective solution.

But in his current state, persuading the fat boss's family...

With a headache from all these worries, Carter unintentionally fell asleep. When Lilacilis came out of the bathroom, all she saw was a man who was sound asleep, with his head crooked to one side.

Walking quietly to Carter's side, Lilacilis watched him for a while, sighed deeply, drew the curtains, and turned off the lights.

The next morning, as soon as Carter woke up, he realized miserably that he had a stiff neck!!

Even trying to straighten his head a little to the left felt like a stabbing pain straight to the top of his head. Carter, who was already afraid of pain, had to wash, dress, and go downstairs with his neck still twisted.

"What? What kind of new trick are you playing now?"

In the breakfast room downstairs, Julian, who had been waiting for a long time, put down the newspaper and looked at Carter, whose neck was twisted. He wanted to laugh, but he also felt incredibly incredulous.

What kind of position could achieve this effect?!

Too outrageous!

"Don't mention it, I was lying on my side in bed yesterday, thinking about Chen Shuzhen's situation. I fell asleep while I was thinking. Then I woke up this morning, and here I am."

Carter knew he looked a bit ridiculous with his twisted neck. The dark brown pinstripe suit was dignified without being too old-fashioned. Paired with a red and white striped tie, it was supposed to be quite dignified, but now it looked like Mr. Bean. But what could he do? It hurt too much!

"Have you eaten? If not, why don't we have something together before we head to the SEC?"

"I already ate at home before coming here. You guys go ahead; it's still early before the SEC opens!"

The more Julian looked at Carter's twisted appearance, the more amusing he found it, unable to help but comment:

"You know what, this image of yours is quite funny! I bet the employees who meet their new boss this afternoon will be very happy to have such an approachable boss."

"What approachable? You might as well call me a dork!"

While Carter helplessly joked, he reached out and put his arm around Lilacilis's shoulder, whispering in her ear:

"Please, can you cooperate with me and lean your head closer?"

"Ha ha."

As Carter tried to straighten his dignity, Julian, who couldn't help laughing, added:

"What does 'doubi' mean?!"