Chapter 259: Am I Shameless?

"Afterwards, didn't you say you were going to share some of the profits with me?"

Exhaling a puff of smoke, Julian suddenly laughed. It was a hearty laugh, mixed with a hint of nostalgia.

"Although I didn't care much about that $4,000 profit, I was moved by gaining a sincere and genuine friend. That purity perhaps comes from your youthfulness; who knows, you might change in the future to a point where I don't recognize you anymore. But at this stage of your life, as an elder, I still want to tell you, if possible, please try your best to preserve that purity of emotion."

"Wall Street is not lacking in flattery and deception, and it has never been short of deceit. It's not just Wall Street; in any corner of this world where money is involved, these things are always present."

"But just because something is ubiquitous, does that make it normal? Does it make it right?"

Julian's questioning left Carter momentarily speechless.

He understood those unseemly truths of society. However, whether it was his previous life until his senior year, at the age of 22, or his life experiences this year.

Truthfully speaking, in his 23 years of existence, he hadn't seen much of society's darker side. The Grene incident with the Hyenas Corporation was one, but he merely made decisions; the real executors, or more precisely, the ones communicating with the Hyenas, were Goodman.

He not only didn't participate in execution, but he hadn't even seen what the Hyenas looked like. And during his brief encounter with Wall Street, he rarely delved into the operational processes, so many negative things naturally went unseen.

Thinking about it, Carter suddenly felt like a child in swaddling clothes. In Georgia, there was Goodman standing in front of him; in New York, there was Julian's protection.

"In the market, the law of scarcity applies here too! Genuine people are rare, too rare, but precisely because of their rarity, they are precious. Otherwise, why do you think Jim is willing to go out and relax with you?"

As Carter fell silent, Julian continued with a smile:

"It's because he finds it easier to relax and have fun with you around! We, on the surface, appear to be all smiles, but we all wear masks. Wearing these masks for too long tires a person, especially when things are tough."

"Jim doesn't undervalue his friendship with George; it's just that everyone has their own priorities. He's just better at self-regulation, with your help, of course."

"Me?"

Carter pointed to himself in confusion. Was he really that important?!

It seemed like he hadn't done anything, just leeching off Jim's free labor, effectively turning him into a personal consultant.

"Yes, with you around, joking and relaxing, diverting attention. Gradually, the emotional wounds heal. George, on the other hand, doesn't have someone like you around who allows him to let his guard down, play without pressure, and have fun. Plus, he's older now, settled down, wanting to relax and have fun isn't as realistic anymore."

"In this regard, we're all a bit jealous of that bastard Jim! Although he's been divorced twice, which sounds unfortunate, marriage is really a man's tomb! Before marriage, regardless of your age, there's always that teenage spirit lurking inside you, ready to be released whenever needed, and you can be your true self."

Shaking his head with a smile, Julian reached out his hand to Carter.

"What?"

"Another cigarette!"

Carter:

"But once you're married, it's different. You're tagged with new labels. You're someone's husband, someone's father, you're the pillar of your wife's eyes, the great hero in your children's hearts. Regardless, you're no longer yourself; that teenage spirit gradually fades away. Fading away until it disappears."

"This society is just a giant role-playing game, and each of us has to play several roles. Is it easy to play someone else instead of being yourself?"

"I feel like you're exaggerating a bit, Julian. Maybe your child doesn't need a stern father, but a brother who can accompany him in growing up?"

As someone who grew up in a new era, Carter wasn't fond of the traditional strict father figure. Because his father was like that, and he had intense arguments due to lack of understanding when he was young.

And every time they argued, it was a blow to their relationship. Clearly caring for each other, yet unable to say anything good, occasionally when they did speak, it was either accusation or criticism.

He had had enough of those days. Even before crossing over, Carter had vowed that he would treat his children like brothers in the future! Why couldn't they just talk about things directly, why argue and feel miserable? Then the child doesn't want to or dare to communicate with him.

"And about what you said earlier about me being pure, I don't feel like I'm a pure person. Yes, maybe I'm childish sometimes now, but how does that relate to purity? You don't know, when you asked that question just now, my heart skipped a beat."

"Thinking about the silver futures thing, yes, logically speaking, given the profits from gold futures, I should have realized there was an issue with the previous silver futures income. The numbers didn't match, but at that time, hey, it was over 30 million! I was dizzy for days, walking around in a daze. Who has the time to think about previous issues?"

"Then there were new laws coming into effect, new banks, new companies, all sorts of chaotic problems to deal with. Who has time to think about past issues? Plus, you old man, you helped me earn so much money, why would I suspect you!"

"You suddenly said, the silver futures profits didn't match. I subconsciously thought, did you cheat me out of my money?"

Flicking the spent cigarette butt out of the window, Carter said angrily:

"I don't feel like I'm a stingy person. I didn't even contribute to the silver matter, didn't even put in any money. I just helped you bear some of the risks, that's all. If you think it's not profitable to share the profits with me as agreed, just tell me, I can ask for less, or even be satisfied with just a portion."

"Whatever you put in, you should get back. If back then, you really wanted to share over ten million with me, I wouldn't dare take that money. Because I would feel that's too much, far beyond my contribution, and I might even suspect if you had some ulterior motive toward me? Like a Ponzi scheme or something."

"I just really hate being deceived, even if it's not deception. It's just, I'm thinking, if even you are deceiving me, then what's the point of my 'purity'? Going out every day, naively trusting others, only to be deceived and taken advantage of? I'm at least a"

Cutting himself off, Carter almost blurted out "transmigrator," but caught himself in time, quickly changing his words:

"I'm at least a man! A man! Am I shameless?!"