“You haven’t been home for a month. Your mom misses you both a lot. Come back for a meal this weekend.” The Old Man nodded, indicating he understood.

“Mom’s not setting her up with another blind date again, is she?” James Carter probed.

Mom was very anxious about Baby Carter’s marriage, especially since all the neighbors they’d known for decades already had grandkids or married off their daughters, but Baby Carter hadn’t even brought a boyfriend home. With her daughter not living up to expectations, Mom couldn’t help but worry, searching far and wide for a golden son-in-law. She even bought a DSLR just to take photos of Baby Carter, and arranged blind dates every so often. Baby Carter was fed up with it, so she went home less and less—her last visit was just last month.

James Carter thought to himself, Mom, if you put this much effort into me, your son might already have a kid by now.

“She really should be dating by now,” The Old Man said.

“No rush, no rush, I don’t even have a girlfriend yet,” James Carter said sourly.

“She’s already twenty-five, how can we not be anxious? You and her aren’t the same, are you? A man stands on his own at thirty, it’s not too late to start a family then. But how many years of youth does a woman have? Once a woman passes thirty, it all goes downhill, and there’s no stopping it. By then, if she wants to marry into a good family, who would still want her?”

He made it sound like she was thirty-five—she’s only twenty-five, come on. James Carter curled his lips, unconvinced.

“Does she have a boyfriend?”

James Carter thought for a moment, and figured she probably did. I saw her wearing sexy lingerie yesterday… but he didn’t dare say that, afraid The Old Man would slap him to death.

Chapter 10: This Is What a Real Man Should Be

“Dad, are there any part-time jobs at our school?” James Carter suddenly asked.

The Old Man frowned: “A student’s duty is to study. You haven’t graduated yet, why are you thinking about this? Besides, are your grades that great? Don’t get distracted.”

“My sister wants to change her phone, but her salary isn’t exactly high, and she still has to support both of us. She can’t save up any money. I just want to find a part-time job that pays well, so I can upgrade her phone.” Of course, James Carter couldn’t say that his sister had changed jobs and they were in a financial crisis.

The Old Man’s frown relaxed immediately. After a moment’s thought, he said, “Professor Professor Thompson from my office recently took on a project, helping a private equity firm with fund investment modeling, and he happens to need an assistant. I’ll ask for you.”

“Would he even want me?”

The Old Man sneered, “At least you know your own limits. But you still have me, don’t you? If there’s a problem, come to me.”

James Carter replied with an “oh” and continued eating.

“System, is there any way to make quick money? Preferably get rich overnight.”

“Host, the system is not your mom.”

“……”

James Carter was a bit frustrated. He’d thought of many ways to make money today. The points mall was a treasure trove, but he couldn’t use it. Write songs for singers? Submitting and getting approved would probably be a hassle, and he didn’t have any connections—he’d never dealt with entertainment companies and didn’t even know how to submit work. Maybe he could consider it after Baby Carter made a name for herself. Becoming a director and making movies was even less realistic—he was just a poor student, with no staff, no funds, no props, nothing. As for the marketing plans in the exchange mall, starting a company? That wouldn’t work either—still no connections, no capital. Most importantly, he didn’t know how to attract investment.

“System, what do you think about stock trading? If I catch a daily limit-up every day, my net worth could multiply several times in a month.”

“Even if you exchanged for stock trading knowledge, you couldn’t catch a limit-up every day. Besides, you don’t have enough points.”

“Why would I need to exchange? Can’t you just tell me? Aren’t you an intelligent system? Can’t you predict which stock will hit the limit?”

“Ridiculous. First, the system doesn’t have the ability to foresee the future. Second, do you really think you can get rich in your country’s stock market just by having knowledge? There are plenty of shady dealings in the stock market…”

“Stop, stop, stop. Some things are better left unsaid. If you say them out loud, they’ll get censored. This society is very harmonious, so we can’t talk recklessly.”

“Thank you for the reminder, host. As an intelligent system, I instantly understand what you mean. I won’t reveal any inside information that could affect social harmony in the future.”

“Good student.”

Since the system was unreliable, James Carter could only think of a way himself. Being an assistant to a professor and building mathematical models was a good idea. If he did well, there might be more projects in the future. As for asking The Old Man for help, forget it. With the system in hand, would I be afraid of a little modeling?

After lunch, James Carter and The Old Man went downstairs together. At the entrance, they saw three guys chatting and laughing, waiting for him.

“Dad, I’ll go with my classmates,” James Carter called out.

The Old Man glanced over, and the three guys immediately straightened up, chest out and stomach in. The Old Man nodded, “Mm.”

The university town was lined with shops—milk tea shops, coffee shops, restaurants, KTVs, internet cafés, supermarkets…

James Carter and his group headed toward their usual internet café, not far from campus. At the school gate, they saw a white Porsche sports car slowly driving out. The window was down, and the driver, wearing dark sunglasses, looked stylish and handsome. It was Emily Bolton, the guy James Carter had embarrassed in the public class. In the passenger seat was a beautiful woman dressed in revealing clothes, a pink LV bag on her lap, wearing headphones and looking down at her phone.

Envious gazes followed the sports car.