"Are you sure? You almost died. Don't you hold Ken responsible at all?" Lincoln asked Alex.
Alex looked his grandfather seriously in the eye and said, "Not at all." He shook his head and continued, "Even if I'd died, it wouldn't have been Mr. Stokes's fault. His responsibility is to help the Ambrose family manage the business and take care of the East Coast district affairs, not my safety. Punishing Mr. Stokes isn't only unfair, it will also unsettle and demotivate everyone who works for us."
This surprised Lincoln, and he started to wonder if he was getting too old to run his family's business empire. His brain worked more slowly now, and he hadn't thought everything through clearly. He feared that he no longer had the vigour that had defined his youth.
Lincoln laughed and replied, "Good for you. I agree with you, and I'll do as you say. I won't punish Ken Stokes."
"Thank you, Grandpa." Ken had been fetched back to the room. It took a few seconds for him to digest the news and react. He kept bowing to Lincoln and thanking him. Then he turned to Alex and said, "Thank you, Alex. Thank you, so much for your compassion."
After resolving the issue with Ken, Lincoln let him leave.
Then he turned to Alex and said, "You're a good boy, and you've grown so tall already. You only came up to my chest when you left home." Lincoln helped Alex up with a gratified expression.
Alex's feelings were mixed. He started to speak. "Grandpa—" He looked carefully at his grandfather. He noticed that his grandfather had become old; the wrinkles on his face had increased, and his gaze was no longer as sharp as when he was young.
Hearing the words "grandfather," the elderly man felt joy in his heart.
He sat with Alex at the table and asked him about his injuries and all about the last seven years.
He said to Alex, "Now that you've passed the poverty test, you don't need to study at Preston University anymore. I will send you to an internationally renowned school to study. Tell me, Harvard, Oxford, which university do you want to attend?"
Alex shook his head with a faint smile. He replied, "I feel that Preston University is pretty good. I'd like to continue studying there."
His grandfather disagreed, "At Preston? Child, you must understand that in the future you will inherit unimaginable wealth. Your other brothers are already studying in the most outstanding universities abroad. Do you really want to stay in a place as small as Preston University?"
"Who said that a first-rate university abroad would suit me better than Preston? At least I don't think it would." Alex shrugged.
Lincoln was satisfied with Alex's answer. He responded, "Good, you have guts. You are indeed my grandson."
The grandfather and grandson talked for more than an hour at the Sea Breeze Restaurant before Alex took the initiative to leave. He knew that Lincoln came to see him, but also that his grandfather managed the affairs of the whole family and must be extremely busy.
**
Lincoln stood in front of the window, looking at the scenery in the distance with a self-satisfied smile.
"You seem to be especially pleased with Alex. Do you like him more than your other grandsons?" the man behind Lincoln asked him respectfully.
Lincoln was slightly startled. He had never thought about it before. He slowly looked at the man. "Brandon, you've been by my side for almost ten years, what do you think of Alex?"
"Alex is modest and loves his girlfriend. He doesn't pursue power or fame. This is the difference between him and your other grandsons. It's also his advantage." Brandon bowed slightly as he spoke.
"Advantage?" Lincoln asked with a faint smile.
"Forgive me, I said too much," Brandon said with humility.
"Ha ha, you don't have to be afraid, there's nothing you can't say to me." Lincoln's gaze turned to outside the window again. "I am very aware that my body is getting old. In the next few years, I will definitely have to choose my successor as the head of the Ambrose family. Alex does indeed have an advantage in terms of personality and quality, but there's still time. No one can really predict what will happen in the future."
**
Leaving the Sea Breeze Restaurant, Alex had headed straight for Debbie's room. By this time, Justin and Debbie had gotten to know each other quite well. The cheerful Justin was impressed with her.
Seeing that Debbie had finally woken up, Alex was pleased.
"Alex, where did you find such a delightful girlfriend? Tell me so I can go find one too." Justin grinned as he asked Alex, while Debbie smiled shyly.
If not for the fact that Debbie was already Alex's girlfriend, Justin would've done his best to woo Debbie for himself.
**
It took another twenty days for Alex and Debbie's injuries to heal completely. Justin had only been with them on the island for a week, but he had started feeling restless and lonely and decided he needed to leave the island and get back to his life of boozing, partying, and women.
That day, Alex and Debbie also agreed they should leave the island and return to school. In a private helicopter, they flew across the sea toward New York.
"This month has been like a dream. I didn't expect your family to be so big," Debbie said as she looked at the clouds outside the window.
"I told you before, you just didn't believe me," Alex said with a smile.
After recuperating on the island for the last month, Debbie's face had filled out. She was still wearing her beige dress and looked even more beautiful.
At six in the evening, the helicopter slowly landed on the helipad.
Alex pulled Debbie to the roadside and looked for a taxi to take them back to school. Just as he was flagging one down, his phone rang. The screen told him that it was Wayne Wing, one of Sam Woodsworth's assistants from the Berkeley Hotel.
"Mr. Ambrose, I heard that you've left Harmony Island. Have you arrived in New York yet?"
"Yes, we just landed," Alex replied.
Wayne continued, "Good. The East Coast divisional manager of foreign trade, Graham Stirling, wants to treat you to dinner at the Golden Mansion Hotel tonight. Last time, when Mr. Stokes invited you to dinner, he was away visiting the United Kingdom and was unable to join you. He only returned yesterday."
"Um—" Alex thought for a few seconds. "All right then, I'll go this time, but I don't really want to have to attend these social events right now."
In the future, if he wanted to join his family's management team, this kind of social interaction would be necessary, but he wasn't at that level yet. He didn't want to waste too much time on this kind of thing.
"Excellent. I'll inform him now and I'll send you his phone number."
After ending the call, Alex pulled Debbie into a taxi and they headed straight for the Golden Mansion Hotel.
The taxi pulled up in front of the hotel and Alex and Debbie climbed out.
They noticed quite a few luxury cars pulling up at the entrance. A doorman, wearing formal attire, was opening the door for the owners of the vehicles. Alex listened to a few of the customers as they passed and learned that they had all been invited by Graham too.
Alex frowned slightly. He had assumed that the meal would just be him, Debbie, and Graham. He hadn't expected so many people to be invited.
He stepped to the side and called Graham, asking him to come out and speak with him immediately.
A few seconds later, a middle-aged man in a smart suit came out of the hotel. When he saw Alex, he walked over with a smile. He had seen Alex's photo before and recognized him without any difficulty.
"Alex, you've come. Come in, please. I've arranged everything. And I've invited some of New York's elite business owners to welcome you here," Graham said with a shy smile. He even smiled at Debbie, who was beside Alex. That made Debbie nervous.
Graham had never come into direct contact with anyone from the Ambrose family, so he felt very honoured that Alex had accepted his invitation. He thought that Alex would surely appreciate the opportunity to meet so many important people.
His only concern was that Alex would think that he had not invited enough people to be worth his time, so he was still a bit anxious.
As they were speaking, a gentleman who had just climbed out of a luxury car saw Graham and walked over. "It's a great honor as always that you've invited me to your party. Who's this?"
The man had seen Graham bow toward Alex and greet him with a respectful smile. He could not figure out who this young man was.
"This is—" Graham cleared his throat. But just as he was about to introduce them, Alex beat him to it.
"Pleased to meet you, I'm Adam Childs." Alex extended his hand toward the man.
If he had been well known in New York, hiding his identity would've been impossible.
"Adam Childs?" The man looked puzzled. He had never heard of such a person. "What do you do?"
"Never mind that. The guests are all here. You should hurry up and join everyone." Graham had been carefully observing the situation. When it was clear that Alex didn't want to reveal his real name, he had immediately stepped in to help him.
The man left with an apologetic smile.
"Alex, did I invite too many people this time?" Graham asked.
"What do you think?" Alex asked with a smile.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't realize that you wanted to keep a low profile. I'll get rid of them all at once." As he spoke, Graham started to head back into the restaurant to ask all the guests to leave.
"Come back." Alex called for Graham to stop. He said kindly, "Since everyone's already arrived, let them stay. Just please don't invite everyone next time."
"Yes, of course. Thank you, Alex," Graham said as he led Alex and Debbie into the hotel.
Graham had booked a 3000-square-foot banquet hall, and it was full of guests. Alex let Graham entertain the others as he and Debbie walked to the bar.
Alex and Debbie were casually eating at the bar when they overheard one of the guests saying, "I heard that Mr. Stirling called so many of us here as a welcome feast for an important young gentleman. Who do you think is worthy of the boss's attention?"
"It can't be Walter Flint, right?" His companion replied.
"Impossible. The news said that Flint is currently on holiday in Hawaii," the first man answered.
"Whoever it is, it'll be someone like Flint. I'm sure we'll get a chance to take a good look at him later. We should take the opportunity to meet important people like him."
Debbie secretly smiled at Alex. "Do you still want to hide your identity? It sounds like this Graham has already told everyone about you."
Alex could only grimace.
While everyone was chatting, Graham walked to the front of the stage and said into the microphone, "All right, please take a seat, everyone."
The guests began to look for places at the tables to sit. Unfortunately, there were no fixed seating arrangements because the banquet had been organized in such haste.
Alex pulled Debbie with him, and they sat at the table farthest from the stage.
A couple sat down beside them.
The young lady who sat beside Alex said sweetly, "Hi, my name is Cathy Fairweather. Nice to meet you—" When she saw Alex's face, Cathy stopped speaking abruptly. "It's you. And that peasant is with you."
Cathy had attended the banquet with Billy Wilde. She knew that most of the people there were wealthy, and she was very keen to meet them.
She wondered to herself, how on earth did this pair of paupers get themselves invited to the banquet?