Chapter 1098: Father and Son (Twenty-Seven)_1

"Clearly, Mr. Howard, you've identified the root of the problem - the shift in the relationship between you and Tony during his growth didn't occur during your phase of alcohol addiction, but much earlier."

Shiller summarized. When Howard once again looked at him, his expression seemed somewhat dissolved, no longer as concentrated as before, as if he was listening to him and at the same time, immersed in his memories.

Shiller didn't pull him out of his memories but went with the flow and inquired, "So, then, think back carefully, when did the focused time between you and Tony experience its first cliff-like decline?"

A "cliff-like decline?" Howard seemed somewhat confused by this phrase, so Shiller carefully explained it:

"As you said, for a long period, Tony was your emotional sustenance. You wished that the joyous times spent with him would never end, and from when did you first voluntarily end such times?"

Howard was startled for a moment, then his eyes gradually lit up as he seemed to recall a specific scene. He slowly said, ".... during our first game of marbles."

Howard sighed faintly, saying, "That day, all of his toys had been cleaned up by his mother. We had nothing to play with, so we found a few marbles in the corner under the bed."

"Those were actually toys from my childhood. I didn't think that Tony would like them, so I casually taught him how to play marbles, and he did remarkably well, hitting the mark every time."

"But to my surprise, he wasn't satisfied with the simple straight-line shooting method. He used more than a dozen ordinary marbles and arranged them in complex patterns, letting them hit each other, until the last marble rolled to the target location."

"I was absolutely astounded; you have no idea how complex the patterns he designed were. Moreover, he managed it on his first attempt, without any practice, and was successful!"

There was still a sense of awe in Howard's tone,"That is to say, he calculated all the mutual forces generated by each marble collision and the energy decay in his head, and made each marble achieve its task at the most extreme distance."

"What did you do then?" Shiller abruptly leaned forward a bit, staring into Howard's eyes, revealing an overwhelming posture.

Clearly, this pressure weighed on Howard, who instinctively remarked, "I felt that there was no fun left, so I picked up the marbles, promising him that we would play again another day."

"Why did you feel there was no fun left?"

"Having come this far, could we do even better? Or rather, this is not the original way to play marbles; it's his own innovation."

"We only had a dozen or so marbles, and he had already created the most complex way to play." Howard gestured and said, "We had reached the end."

"The end of the marble game?" Shiller leaned in more, looking directly at Howard, forcing him to answer.

"Of course," Howard answered instinctively.

"On what grounds did you make that judgement?" Shiller asked rapidly.

"Because I've played it before, of course."

"Because of your experience?" Shiller interjected.

"Yes." Howard began to get flustered. He brought up his cup to cover his mouth, but Shiller continued, watching Howard as he spoke:

"Don't you believe that Tony was capable of innovating the game? Don't you believe that he can go beyond your experience? Or was it that you believed he could break through, but you didn't want him to?"

"How could I possibly not want him to...."

Before Howard could finish, Shiller suddenly stood up, walked behind the couch where Howard was sitting, placed his hands on the back of the couch, leaned in close, putting his head above Howard's. He rapidly spoke:

"I guess you must have panicked and hurried to pick up the marbles; your posture quite awkward and your words ungentlemanly. Rather than a father voluntarily ending a game, it was more like a policeman confiscating a criminal's tools."

"What drove you to do so was not boredom or impatience, but panic… you were feeling fear."

Shiller emphasized the last word. From his perspective, it was clear that when the word landed, Howard instantly froze.

"You were afraid; your son, with his natural wisdom, had acquired knowledge beyond what you taught him. You were afraid of him exploring the world beyond your reach; you were also afraid of him surpassing you."

"Bullshit! Why would I be afraid of my own son surpassing me?" Howard raised his voice, his arm began to tremble, he said, "I should be proud of it!"

"Many parents, their pride in their children, is not really about appreciating their character and integrity, but rather, believing that their children have inherited their life experiences and achieved success. They are proud of their own experience and teachings, not their children's success."

Just as Howard was about to object, Shiller slapped the backrest of the chair with force, causing a loud noise. He raised his voice and said: "In your memory, what impresses you the most is not Tony's learning process, but his first innovation."