That day, Logan Bennett was coming back from a walk and sensed a strange presence before even entering the house.

　　A guest?

　　The atmosphere in the living room wasn’t good—too silent. Mrs. Carter was cooking in the kitchen, but she seemed distracted. Mr. Carter and the guest sat on the sofa smoking, neither saying a word.

　　The guest was about the same age as Mr. Carter, but looked unwell, a bit disheveled, with bloodshot eyes like someone who hadn’t slept for days. Mr. Carter called him “Daisy,” clearly indicating they had a good relationship. But why were both of them so unusually silent, even heavy-hearted? Logan Bennett didn’t quite understand.

　　There was a small table in Ryan Carter’s room. Whenever guests came and it wasn’t convenient for the two kids to be present, Mrs. Carter would bring out that little wooden table with the Chinese chess pattern, letting Ryan Carter and Violet Grant eat in the small room. Some adult topics just weren’t suitable for children.

　　So seeing this, Logan Bennett grew even more curious—what kind of topic wasn’t suitable for the two kids to be around?

　　Logan Bennett jumped onto his own special chair, lay down to rest, and listened in to get a sense of the situation.

　　As for Logan Bennett’s actions, Mr. Carter just glanced up at him and said nothing, tacitly allowing it.

　　No matter how silent things had been before, after three glasses of liquor, their tightly shut mouths finally opened.

　　Amid the two grown men’s tearful conversation, Logan Bennett got the gist of it.

　　Mr. Carter’s graduate advisor, Professor Reed—who was also this “Daisy”’s father—was in stage four lung cancer, and his current health was very poor, with maybe two months left.

　　When Mr. Carter graduated from Nanhua University, Professor Reed went abroad. Since Professor Yuan was gone, Mr. Carter didn’t stay at Nanhua University either, but returned to his hometown in Jinghan Province to teach at Chuhua.

　　Nanhua University is the top university in southern coastal China, holding the same status in the south as Chuhua University does in central China.

　　Mrs. Carter, Mr. Carter, and this “Daisy” had all been close back in Nanhua, so naturally they were also close to Professor Reed. Hearing the news about Professor Yuan today, both were deeply saddened.

　　“Daisy” didn’t follow in his father’s footsteps. He had no interest in research, or rather, he’d never really focused on his studies, just like Logan Bennett used to be—a prodigal son.

　　Logan Bennett didn’t know what “Daisy” had gone through after graduation, or how much his father’s illness had affected him, but from their conversation, it was clear that Daisy had changed a lot. Just as Mr. Carter had said earlier, “a prodigal son returns.”

　　They say a prodigal son’s return is priceless, but often, the prodigal would rather remain lost, because the price of returning is so high—he’d rather trade his never looking back for those “costs.”

　　“So, if Henry Ford hadn’t told me you were in Chuhua City, were you planning to keep carrying this alone? Planning to hide it from everyone for the rest of your life?!” Mr. Carter’s eyes were red, his voice low and trembling, clearly unable to control his emotions.

　　Mrs. Carter hadn’t said a word, just sat beside them quietly wiping away tears.

　　“The old man… doesn’t want too many people to know. He’s stopped all treatments now, just wants to quietly close his eyes at home.” Daisy sniffled as he spoke.

　　Back then, Mr. Carter was Professor Yuan’s star student. Who at Nanhua University’s School of Life Sciences wasn’t envious that Professor Reed had such a student? And with his own son not living up to expectations, Professor Yuan treated Mr. Carter almost like his own son. All of Mr. Carter’s achievements today were thanks to Professor Yuan’s guidance. But ever since Professor Yuan went abroad, they only occasionally kept in touch via chat apps or email, not very often, as Professor Yuan always seemed busy. Last week, Mr. Carter received an email from the old man, saying he wouldn’t be using the computer for a long time. Looking at it now, the old man really didn’t plan to tell anyone else.

　　After a moment of silence, Mr. Carter steadied his emotions and asked, “So why did you come to Chuhua City this time? Henry Ford said you’re here to investigate something. What is it? If you need any help, just say the word.”

　　Daisy rubbed his face with his palm and said, “I’m planning to start a biotech company. Not just a small operation.”

　　Mr. Carter nodded. “Chuhua City is indeed a good place. There are too many new companies on the southern coast, with domestic and international firms rising one after another. In the east, Mingzhu City has Southern Gene, Beijing has BGI, and all the major bases are entrenched, forming interest groups. It’s not impossible to get involved, but it’s tough. By comparison, there’s much less competition in central China, and development is faster. I can also help out more here.”

　　Logan Bennett didn’t really understand what Mr. Carter and Daisy were discussing, or what kind of company they were planning to start, so after listening for a while, he went to Ryan Carter’s room.

　　A few days later, Logan Bennett was called into the room by Mr. Carter and told that the four members of the Jiao family would be making a trip to the northeast.

　　Professor Reed’s hometown was in the northeast. Given what had happened, Mr. Carter’s decision made sense to Logan Bennett, but… that would mean he’d be home alone?!

　　Mr. Carter asked Logan Bennett for his opinion. If Logan Bennett wanted to go along, Mr. Carter would borrow a car and drive to the northeast, which would make it easier to bring Logan Bennett along.