Patrick stepped out of the elevator with Theodore in his arms and spotted Randall spinning around in his chair. "Randall,e to my office."


    "Sure thing," Randall replied, getting up to follow Patrick.


    Theodore turned his head curiously to look at Randall. Randall walked over, scooped up the adorable Theodore, and held him, enjoying the baby''s sweet scent.


    Theodore kept making baby babbling sounds. Randallined, "Patrick, your son wants to argue with me."


    Patrick cut to the chase. "What''s up with the car?"


    Randall blinked. "I didn''t use the money you gave me. I bought it myself."


    Patrick''s eyes narrowed. "How did you earn it?"


    Randall swallowed nervously, still holding Theodore. "I bought futures."


    "Show me which futures you bought," Patrick demanded.


    Randall didn''t respond or take out his phone. Patrick had already figured it out. He sat in his chair, ring at Randall. "Do you n to make money like this from now on just because you have a bit of skill?" Randall looked up, surprised that Patrick had caught on. Patrick wasn''t impressed with Randall''s capability; he was angry.


    Randall''s confidence faltered. "Only once."


    Patrick''s stern gaze made Randall avoid eye contact. Patrick''s intimidating presence could even unsettle seasoned business people, let alone a young guy like Randall who hadn''t truly entered the workforce. "Put the kid down. I''ll give you half a day off. Go and clean up the mess," Patrick instructed.


    Randall ced Theodore in the self-rocking crib nearby but then remembered Theodore had been practicing rolling over and might fall. So, he handed him back to Patrick.


    Theodore seemed unsatisfied. He looked at the departing Randall with confused eyes and then looked up at Patrick.


    Patrick ced him on theputer desk, switched on hisputer, and skillfully entered the Dark Web address to search for information rted to Randall.


    Randall left the office and sat at his desk, deep in thought. Thest time he ventured into the Dark Web, he had been discovered and tracked. Although he managed to shake them off, the Dark Web wouldn''t let him off easily. Randall should have stayed low for a while, but he suddenly helped apany solve a problem that no one else could manage, which exposed him immediately.


    No wonder Patrick was angry. Randall had made a rash decision without thinking carefully, and now he indeed needed to clean up the mess. Randall got up and left just as work hours began.


    In the afternoon, after resolving the issue, Randall returned to thepany and went to Patrick''s office. "Patrick, it''s all taken care of," Randall said.


    Theodore waszily lying in the self-rocking crib, vigorously sucking on his hand and making noises.


    Patrick tested the temperature of the form on his wrist, then walked over and squatted down to pick up Theodore. He removed his hand and fed him, saying, "Get back to work."


    Randall nodded and left. Later that afternoon, he parked the car at the university entrance and then hacked into the system to attack the vulnerabilities he had fixed.


    Susan excitedly ran to the car. "Randall, this car is even morefortable than your sports car."


    Randall closed hisptop and ced it on Susan''sp in the passenger seat. "Totally different." Susan was all smiles and didn''t argue with Randall.


    Vera had ate ss because she had scheduled an extra session in the evening. To save time for vacations, she had also arranged a long ss at night.


    At seven o''clock, Vera was in ss, frequently checking her phone. By now, Patrick and Theodore had alreadye to pick her up.


    The sky outside was gradually darkening. The old professor on the podium was holding a microphone, exining sleep-inducing forms. There were only a few students listening in the back, and Vera was one of them. She texted Patrick: [Honey, I have ate ss. You don''t need to pick me up today.]


    The Rolls-Royce was parked in its usual spot, surrounded by students leisurely enjoying their college life. Theodore was sleeping soundly in Patrick''s arms, his little mouth making soft noises.


    With the heater on full st, Patrick texted back: [Okay, I''ll workte at the office.]


    Vera believed him, but three minutester, she sent a photo. [Honey, is this your car?]


    Vera added: [Check the forum.]


    Sure enough, the Evergreen University forum had a thread titled: [Did Mr. Olteran pick up his wife today?]


    Thetest reply was a photo of his car. The historical replies were all pictures of his car or Vera running towards him.


    Patrick leisurely looked through all the photos. While Vera was in ss, he also checked other forums rted to him, including those about his son.


    On the day of student registration, the whole family had shown up, and someone had posted a heartwarming photo of them on the forum: [Vera and Mr. Olteran''s baby came to school today.] Someonemented: [Wow, the baby is here to see his mom off to school. So envious.]


    The forum''s activity had died down, but the number ofments showed how popr it had been. Fortunately, none of the photos showed Theodore''s face, which pleased both Patrick and Vera. During the break, Vera was the first to rush out of the ssroom. The old professor, wearing reading sses, looked at the fleeting figure at the door. "Who just ran out?"


    "Maybe it''s Vera?" someone guessed.


    Rushing to the car, Vera mmed the door shut. "Honey, are you lying to me now?"


    "Vera, ''Did Mr. Olteran drop his wife off today?'' isn''t as popr as ''Did Mr. Olteran pick up his wife today?"" Patrick said.


    Patrick added, "And Theodore''s chubby back is more popr than you at school."


    Vera was indignant. "No way, I was the former campus queen. My post has over eight thousandments."


    Patrick retorted, "Theodore''s post has over ten thousandments."


    Vera, who was about to settle the score, seemed to forget her anger, distracted by Patrick''s words. "No way, let me see."


    Patrick handed her the phone. "See for yourself."


    Vera frowned as she looked. "This doesn''t make sense. He''s just a baby. How can he be more popr than me?"


    She looked at Theodore, who was dreaming in Patrick''s arms, and found it increasingly unbelievable. "Honey, did you buy a lot ofments for your son?"


    "If I were to buyments, I''d buy them for you," Patrick replied.


    Vera reached out to hold Theodore, checking if his little hands and feet were cold. Suddenly, Vera suddenly realized something. "Honey! I was going to settle the score with you, and now you''re talking about poprity." Patrick slyly reminded her, "Vera, you need to get back to ss."