Return Of The Prodigy
Return of the Prodigy Chapter 186

Adam had no choice but to sleep. He tossed and turned until past midnight, though.

In the morning, Katie woke up invigorated and quickly went to the office. Ever since she took over as the president of the new Chamber of Commerce, she went to work thirty minutes in advance to handle its matters. Adam sent Annie to school by himself.

Inside the car, Annie pouted unhappily.

Adam glanced into the rearview mirror and noticed it. He smiled and asked, "Annie, why are you upset?"

Annie turned her head away huffily. From the looks of it, she did not feel like talking about it.

Adam laughed and asked, "Did I make you angry?"

Annie nodded furiously.

"What do I have to do to make you forgive me?"

Annie contemplated and said, "I told my classmates you were very powerful, but no one believed me."

Adam was caught by surprise. He asked, "And?"

Annie rolled her eyes and looked at her father as though he was an idiot. She said huffily, "You have to tell them I wasn't lying. I want them to believe me. I'm not a liar, okay?"

Adam nodded powerlessly. "Okay then. What do you want me to tell them? I'll do everything you ask."

Annie beamed brightly the moment she heard what her father said. She giggled and said, "Dad, you have to tell them you're a general."

Adam was startled to hear this. Then again, perhaps Katie had told Annie he was a general.

He smiled helplessly as he said, "Annie, I can't tell people that I'm a general. I have to protect the world in secret. I can't let the baddies find out where I am."

Annie pouted and said sullenly, "It's too late. I already told them about it. They keep bragging about their parents, but they laughed at me when I told them about you."

Adam shook his head powerlessly. These days, kids could get very competitive, and it was not good.

This clearly was not Annie's fault. It was human nature for children to brag about their parents. They were doing it because they were proud of their folks!

How should I explain this to Annie? Adam was clueless as to how to explain the situation to a child.

When the car reached the school, Adam carried Annie to the school gate. A boy suddenly came running over. He made a monkey face and mocked, "Liar liar pants on fire." Annie said huffily, "No, I'm not a liar. I was telling the truth."

The boy scoffed in contempt, "You're a liar through and through. Didn't you say your father's a general? I dare you to get him to come over."

Annie looked at Adam sadly, "Dad, tell him I wasn't lying."

The boy raised his head and looked at Adam. "Are you the liar's father? Are you really a general?"

Since he was just a child, Adam did not mind saying he was a general. He nodded and said in a serious tone, "Yes, I am."

Annie instantly smiled happily. "See? I wasn't lying."

The little boy opened his eyes wide in surprise. He quickly turned to run toward a fat man. He shouted, "Dad, come over. He says he's a general."

The fat man walked out with a cigarette in his mouth. He scoffed and said, "A general? Where? Are we talking about you? Are you a general? Just look at the way you are dressed. You look like an average office worker to me. Are you claiming you are a general? I doubt you have ever seen one!"

Adam sighed and said, "The kids are just playing. Do you have to take it so seriously?"

The man exhaled cigarette fumes on Adam and mocked, "You are not a general, but you keep pretending to be one. This is a bad influence on your children. If you're not a general, did you have to lie?" He then turned to say to his son, "You shouldn't play with liars." The boy made a monkey face. "You're a liar just like your father."

The man chuckled as he patted the boy on the head. "Be a good boy and run along." He turned to spit at Adam's feet. "Bullshit!"

"Dad!" Annie cried out, her eyes teary.

Adam also felt annoyed. He shouted, "Stop right there!"

The man turned around annoyingly. "What? Are you going to bite me for this?"

Adam frowned and said, "Come over. Weren't you asking if I were a general? Let me show you some ID."

The man paused briefly before sneering uncontrollably a split second later. "Now that I have caught you lying, you must feel embarrassed, right? Is this a desperate attempt to make yourself look good? Do you have to keep lying? Enough already. Get out of my way. I have to handle business, and I don't want to waste time on you." Then, he walked off.

Adam said coldly, "If you walk off now, you'll live to regret it."

The man answered in disdain, "I will worry the day you become a general."

Meanwhile, the ex-president of the chamber was there sending his child to school. When Ryan Chandler saw Adam, he promptly came over.

"Mr. Drake, are you here to drop off your kid too?"

Adam nodded mildly.

The man was caught by surprise when Ryan greeted Adam very courteously. He automatically frowned.

Ryan was a very smart man, so he promptly caught on to the situation. He smiled and explained, "Mr. Drake, he is Lionel Cruz and owns Cruz Corp. He used to be a member of the Chamber of Commerce. Ever since the chamber split into separate factions, he started working with Leroy Ortiz. He keeps thinking he was smart to work for the Camdens, so he despises the new chamber."

Ryan said with a smile, "Lionel, could you do me a favor and apologize to Mr. Drake? I'm sure he doesn't mind letting this slide."

Lionel pursed his lips and sneered coolly, "Ryan, you are no longer the president of the Chamber of Commerce. Why should I do you any favors? It's not like we are friends, right?"

Ryan's smile froze.

Adam smiled coldly and said, "Do you think you're untouchable? That might be true until you ran into me. Get over here and apologize to my daughter. I'll prove my worth!" Lionel said in fury, "Do you ever stop? I wanted to drop it, but if you insist on bragging, this will only end badly for you."

Adam retrieved his ID from his pocket and waved him over. "Come over. I will prove I'm not bragging."

Lionel frowned. Just as he was about to walk over, his phone rang in his pocket. He answered it and said that he was coming over before hanging up. "I don't have time for your bullshit. Just make yourself scarce." Saying so, he got into the car and left quickly. "Mr. Drake, don't let a man like him ruin your day," Ryan said awkwardly.

Adam shook his head without saying a word. He squatted down to comfort Annie. "Annie, stop crying. I will prove my identity some other time. From now on, you are not to tell people about my identity. Otherwise, bad men might come after me, okay?" Annie was startled and instantly stopped crying. She looked at Adam with teary eyes as she asked in concern, "Dad, are you in a lot of danger? I'm so sorry. I won't do it again."

Adam wiped the tears from her face and coaxed her. "Enough. Your face is a mess. Stop competing with the other kids over status. If you really want to get competitive, you should prove yourself using your grades."

Annie nodded obediently. She said, "I am very good at studying. I came first in my last exam."

"Oh really? That's great. I will give you a reward. Time for school."

"Bye-bye, Daddy."

"Goodbye."

After watching Annie enter the school, Adam turned to look at Ryan. "Aren't you afraid of the Camdens?"

Ryan flushed awkwardly and said, "That goes without saying, but I'm more worried about you."

Adam was taken aback by that response.

"That was honest of you. If you trust me and help Katie, I'll keep your family safe. I'm off." Adam waved as he walked towards the car.

Ryan stood where he was in a daze for a few seconds.