Brian Carter and Adam Clark started chatting enthusiastically. Ryan poured a glass of wine for Emily Thompson and said with a smile, "Let's have a toast. I just feel like after this meal, a lot of things will be different."

Emily Thompson raised her glass cheerfully. "What could possibly be different? Upstairs or downstairs, it's not awkward at all, and it has nothing to do with us."

It was just that someone she thought was a pretty good new friend, with whom things were getting closer, suddenly took a different path and drifted a bit further away from her.

In the adult world, people come together for money and drift apart for money—this plays out every day.

Chapter 12: Parting on Good Terms

At the beginning of September, it was the start of a new school year.

Eric Bennett woke up in his rented apartment, performed a set of forty-eight-style Tai Chi, and only then, feeling refreshed, headed to the bathroom.

Heaven Rewards Diligence System.

Host: Eric Bennett, 22 years old.

For every bit of effort, there is a bit of reward; hard work always pays off.

Cooking, Excellent, (922/1000).

Assembling and repairing computers, Excellent, (177/1000).

Fitness, Excellent, (289/1000).

Architectural design, Beginner, (42/100).

Driving, Excellent, (411/1000).

Fishing, Ordinary, (222/500).

Forty-eight-style Tai Chi, Excellent, (107/1000).

Handicrafts, Excellent, ……

…………

Now that his Tai Chi had reached the excellent level, not to mention finishing a set in eight minutes, he could easily perform it as if it were an instinctive routine, sometimes finishing in just five or six minutes.

But at this stage, Eric Bennett was no longer just pursuing speed, but rather naturalness and spontaneity, aiming for a mind as fluid as water, moving with the flow.

Eating with Anna and Emily Foster every day, commuting together and all that, his cooking skill had increased by several hundred points in just a month. Every lunch and dinner was at least four dishes and a soup.

Eric Bennett couldn't help but marvel—he hadn't even been transmigrated for three months, and his cooking skill was about to break into the level above excellent??

It seemed fast, and in fact, it really was fast. Each dish he cooked gave him a bit of experience, meaning every dish was an improvement. For an ordinary person cooking three meals a day, one dish per meal, it would take ten months of non-stop cooking to reach 900 experience points.

The biggest advantage of this cheat was that a normal person couldn't possibly improve steadily with every single dish they made.

After he finished washing up, he heard familiar footsteps outside the door, so he went to open it. As the door opened, Emily Foster and Anna popped in, carrying vegetables. "Hey Brother Bennett, we made it just in time, right?"

"Let's try to hit a few more office buildings today. I'm hoping to break 2,000 yuan for my monthly salary."

Anna laughed, "Hey Emily, you know a lot of college graduates don't make as much as we do when they first start out. It's just a bit tiring, and we've gotten tanned."

Emily Foster rolled her eyes. "You have the nerve to say you've gotten tanned? Last month, you only worked eleven days in total."

"Is there any boss more conscientious and kind than Brother Bennett?"

Eric Bennett chuckled, "You two chat, I'll start cooking."

As he began washing and cutting the vegetables, Emily Foster poked her head toward the bedroom. "Hey Brother Bennett, it's still early. How about Anna and I help you wash your old clothes?"

Before Eric Bennett could say anything, Anna quickly protested, "You guys just want to exploit me! It's just a little chore, you could do it yourself. Why drag me into it?"

"Oh right, Brother Bennett, after you and your classmate finished that black internet café order, did you get any new business?"

At this, Emily Foster stopped trying to show off and looked curiously toward the kitchen.

Eric Bennett smiled, "We haven't been in touch for half a month. It's fine, we've opened up our own channels. It's best to part on good terms."

Even now, Eric Bennett still had a good impression of Brian Carter—at least as an ordinary classmate and friend, things were great.

Not to mention Brian Carter, for more than 99% of normal people, if I bring in business with my own skills—big business—at first it's just for fun, for the sake of classmates, then you realize there's real money to be made, and then you see you can make a lot of money, a ton of money...

Why should I just give you half for nothing? Never start a company with relatives or close friends—this is a truth proven by countless people across generations.

Brian Carter was already being very fair by bringing him in on the 300-computer black internet café order, and after getting the payment, promptly transferring his share.

Over the past two or three months, Brian Carter had given him nearly 30,000 yuan from four big orders. That's thirty thousand!

So far, parting on good terms was more than enough.

Although they hadn't been in touch for half a month, an acquaintance at Hailong Building, Mr. Thompson—the one who supported Eric Bennett's low-margin, high-volume approach—had already called a week ago, asking why he and Brian Carter had fallen out.

Because Brian Carter and Adam Clark, with another black internet café order for 150 computers, had gone to Hailong Building to find a new business partner.

With a business ace like Brian Carter calmly taking a different path, Eric Bennett's business naturally took a big hit. But even so, with his current skills, feeding himself and supporting two employees was no problem.

As for assembling computers, the technical requirements weren't high at first, but with excellent-level computer repair skills, what he brought to the table was far beyond ordinary repair work.

He was no longer the rookie who, when faced with a problem, would just reinstall the system and hope for the best.