Chapter 2 · Giving Up Made Her Panicked

Chapter 2

"I've made up my mind," I said, sliding the papers back to her. "Your grandfather's been gone for five years. His wishes have run their course."

She stared at me, her brows knitting together.

I picked up my coffee and took a sip.

She tucked the papers into her bag and stood up. Her heels clicked twice against the floor, then she paused.

"You've been..." Claire hesitated.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"Never mind," she said and walked out.

The door closed with a heavier thud than usual.

The system notification popped up.

[Affection change: 15→16.]

I stared at that number.

I got fifteen points in ten years.

One hundred million dollars' worth of shares, and it only bumped her affection up by one.

I tossed my coffee cup into the dishwasher, shut the door, crouched down on the kitchen floor, and let out a laugh.

At two in the afternoon, Derek showed up.

He wore a brand-new suit with Cartier cufflinks. Claire had picked them out for him as a birthday gift just last month. I was the one who personally signed off on the expense report.

He leaned against the lab doorframe, hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Ethan," Derek called out.

"Come in," I said.

"Claire sent me to grab the core code for the self-driving system," Derek said.

He walked in, took a seat across from me, crossed his legs, his shoes pointed straight at me.

"You know, the new partner wants to check out the core technology. Claire thinks I'm the best one to take care of it," Derek said.

"Whatever she says goes," I replied.

I fired up my laptop and plugged in the USB drive.

I dragged over folder after folder: the core algorithms for the self-driving system, the sensor fusion framework, the main decision tree model.

Forty-seven patents' worth of source code.

I'd spent six years on this. The very first version was hacked together on a secondhand laptop in a cramped apartment, back when the Symons family hadn't even moved into the manor yet.

Claire was working out of the garage, and I'd set up a folding table on the balcony as my makeshift lab.

Back then, she'd sometimes bring me a glass of water.

But after that, she stopped, even those small gestures faded away.

The progress bar hit 100%.

I pulled out the USB drive and handed it over to him.

"The core architecture docs are in the root folder, named README. The password is clairesymons0214," I said.

Derek took the USB, caught off guard for a moment.

"0214? February 14th?" He smirked. "Valentine's Day? Seriously, man..."

He didn't finish his sentence, just shook his head and laughed. I'd seen that laugh a hundred times. It carried pity, superiority, and a hint of casual cruelty.

Derek said, "Ten years, Ethan. You're still using her name for your password. Does she even know?"

"No," I said.

"That's just sad, man," Derek sneered.

"Whatever," I replied.

He waited for me to blow up.

I didn't bother.

He pocketed the USB, stood up, and gave my shoulder a light pat.

"Don't feel too bad. Some people are just born to stay in the background," Derek said.

Then he walked out.

The system's blue text flashed across the screen.

[Core tech assets transferred. Your value in this world just dropped to zero.]

[Tip: Sell off whatever you've got left, ASAP.]

I shut down my laptop.

As the screen went dark, my reflection stared back at my sunken eyes, stubble creeping across my jaw.

Six years of code. Forty-seven patents.

The entire tech backbone that pulled Symons Group back from the brink and turned it into a seven-billion-dollar empire.

All of it, gone in a single USB drive.

It felt so light, like it didn't weigh a thing.

Sometimes, memories from ten years ago would just pop up out of nowhere.

When I first arrived in this world, I woke up in a hospital bed.

The original Ethan was an orphan, fresh out of college, working as a low-level programmer at Symons Group. For some reason, Edward took a liking to him and arranged for his granddaughter to marry him.

Everyone in Kingsbury said Edward must've been out of his mind. Claire was Kingsbury's brightest star, a master's degree from abroad, running the family business at just twenty-six. And he had her marry just some guy who wrote code for a living?

Claire didn't want it either.

She walked down the aisle in a white dress and didn't smile once. When we exchanged rings, her fingers were icy cold and stiff, like she was gripping a piece of deadwood.

After the wedding, she led me straight to the guest room.

She said, "You'll sleep here. Don't go into the master bedroom unless you have my permission.

"At work, call me Ms. Symons.

"At home, just make sure the meals are handled. Don't ask about anything else."

I memorized the three rules.

Back then, the system told me: "Start with the little things; slowly win her over, bit by bit. Stick with it."

I stuck to it for ten years.

Every morning, I got up early to make breakfast. If she wasn't home, I'd clean the place. When she worked late, I'd wait in my office and set a warm cup of milk outside her door.

She never even took a sip.

The next morning, the milk was still there, a skin forming on top.

I'd pour it out and make a fresh cup the next day.

First year, her affection went from 0 to 8.

Second year, it crept up to 10.

Chapter 2

"I've made up my mind," I said, sliding the papers back to her. "Your grandfather's been gone for five years. His wishes have run their course."

She stared at me, her brows knitting together.

I picked up my coffee and took a sip.

She tucked the papers into her bag and stood up. Her heels clicked twice against the floor, then she paused.

"You've been..." Claire hesitated.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"Never mind," she said and walked out.

The door closed with a heavier thud than usual.

The system notification popped up.

[Affection change: 15→16.]

I stared at that number.

I got fifteen points in ten years.

One hundred million dollars' worth of shares, and it only bumped her affection up by one.

I tossed my coffee cup into the dishwasher, shut the door, crouched down on the kitchen floor, and let out a laugh.

At two in the afternoon, Derek showed up.

He wore a brand-new suit with Cartier cufflinks. Claire had picked them out for him as a birthday gift just last month. I was the one who personally signed off on the expense report.

He leaned against the lab doorframe, hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Ethan," Derek called out.

"Come in," I said.

"Claire sent me to grab the core code for the self-driving system," Derek said.

He walked in, took a seat across from me, crossed his legs, his shoes pointed straight at me.

"You know, the new partner wants to check out the core technology. Claire thinks I'm the best one to take care of it," Derek said.

"Whatever she says goes," I replied.

I fired up my laptop and plugged in the USB drive.

I dragged over folder after folder: the core algorithms for the self-driving system, the sensor fusion framework, the main decision tree model.

Forty-seven patents' worth of source code.

I'd spent six years on this. The very first version was hacked together on a secondhand laptop in a cramped apartment, back when the Symons family hadn't even moved into the manor yet.

Claire was working out of the garage, and I'd set up a folding table on the balcony as my makeshift lab.

Back then, she'd sometimes bring me a glass of water.

But after that, she stopped, even those small gestures faded away.

The progress bar hit 100%.

I pulled out the USB drive and handed it over to him.

"The core architecture docs are in the root folder, named README. The password is clairesymons0214," I said.

Derek took the USB, caught off guard for a moment.

"0214? February 14th?" He smirked. "Valentine's Day? Seriously, man..."

He didn't finish his sentence, just shook his head and laughed. I'd seen that laugh a hundred times. It carried pity, superiority, and a hint of casual cruelty.

Derek said, "Ten years, Ethan. You're still using her name for your password. Does she even know?"

"No," I said.

"That's just sad, man," Derek sneered.

"Whatever," I replied.

He waited for me to blow up.

I didn't bother.

He pocketed the USB, stood up, and gave my shoulder a light pat.

"Don't feel too bad. Some people are just born to stay in the background," Derek said.

Then he walked out.

The system's blue text flashed across the screen.

[Core tech assets transferred. Your value in this world just dropped to zero.]

[Tip: Sell off whatever you've got left, ASAP.]

I shut down my laptop.

As the screen went dark, my reflection stared back at my sunken eyes, stubble creeping across my jaw.

Six years of code. Forty-seven patents.

The entire tech backbone that pulled Symons Group back from the brink and turned it into a seven-billion-dollar empire.

All of it, gone in a single USB drive.

It felt so light, like it didn't weigh a thing.

Sometimes, memories from ten years ago would just pop up out of nowhere.

When I first arrived in this world, I woke up in a hospital bed.

Claire didn't want it either.

She walked down the aisle in a white dress and didn't smile once. When we exchanged rings, her fingers were icy cold and stiff, like she was gripping a piece of deadwood.

After the wedding, she led me straight to the guest room.

She said, "You'll sleep here. Don't go into the master bedroom unless you have my permission.

"At work, call me Ms. Symons.

"At home, just make sure the meals are handled. Don't ask about anything else."

I memorized the three rules.

Back then, the system told me: "Start with the little things; slowly win her over, bit by bit. Stick with it."

I stuck to it for ten years.

Every morning, I got up early to make breakfast. If she wasn't home, I'd clean the place. When she worked late, I'd wait in my office and set a warm cup of milk outside her door.

She never even took a sip.

The next morning, the milk was still there, a skin forming on top.

I'd pour it out and make a fresh cup the next day.

First year, her affection went from 0 to 8.

Second year, it crept up to 10.