Thinking of this, the old patriarch no longer wore the expression of someone sizing up a business partner. Instead, he had the scrutinizing gaze of someone looking at a prospective grandson-in-law, which made Geno feel a bit creeped out.
Why did the old patriarch suddenly change his expression, looking as if he wanted to eat me alive?
"So, the Timefield family's stance on this is..."
"Hehehe, little Geno, Uncle is going to teach you something. That is, never be the first to lose your composure, otherwise you will only fall to a disadvantage at the negotiating table."
"L-Little Geno?"
The old patriarch's sudden intimacy made Geno feel a bit unaccustomed. At this moment, the old patriarch had already entertained the thought of finding a grandson-in-law for his granddaughter, so his tone had become quite a bit more amiable, even taking on a slight air of a senior.
As for Geno, he was completely bewildered. Why was this old patriarch acting like he was performing Sichuan opera face-changing, flipping his attitude from one moment to the next?
Geno only felt his cerebral cortex smoothing out significantly, feeling somewhat helpless for a moment. He silently thought to himself that the next time something like this happened, he absolutely had to let Twiggy come herself!
"Little Geno, I can provide the Radiant Porcelain for your research, and I will also inject funds for you, perhaps even establish a professional research institute. What do you think of that?"
Happiness came too suddenly; the old patriarch's sudden show of goodwill stunned Geno for a moment, but his face soon filled with excitement. With this, the funds and materials for the research were completely resolved.
"Thank you for your support, Old Patriarch. This junior will absolutely not let you down."
Geno thought that when the anti-Ether bracelet officially hit the market, he definitely had to properly repay this old patron who had recognized his worth.
However, the old patriarch wasn't finished speaking yet.
"Ah~ I haven't finished speaking yet. I can agree to your terms, but in exchange, I need you to do me a favor."
Hearing this, Geno calmed down from his excitement and cupped his fists toward the old patriarch, saying, "Uncle Tai, please speak. This junior will absolutely not decline."
This brought their relationship closer once again. The old patriarch's smile grew even wider, and he uttered a remark that left Geno utterly astonished.
"I hope that you can become the fiancé of my granddaughter—Alice Timefield."
"What?"
Geno was dumbfounded. He absolutely never expected the old man to say such a thing. He subconsciously recalled the words Damian had said to him earlier, and for a moment, he felt like he was dreaming.
But he quickly snapped back to his senses.
"I am sorry, Uncle Tai. Forgive this junior for being unable to comply. My heart already belongs to someone else."
Seeing Geno's refusal, the old patriarch was not angered. He continued to look at him with that same appreciative expression.
"Hahaha, don't be so quick to refuse. I haven't finished my piece yet. I am hoping you will pretend to be my granddaughter's fiancé, when in reality, it's to protect her."
"Protect her?"
Geno didn't understand. As the heir of the Timefield family, did she really need an outsider like him to protect her? Wasn't this pure nonsense?
"If it were just ordinary security protection, naturally it wouldn't be needed. But this matter is different."
Saying so, the old patriarch proceeded to explain the causes and consequences of this matter in detail.
This matter involved bringing up a person, or rather a family—Ravenlock.
The Ravenlock family was a member of the TOPS consortium, a prestigious and prominent family within the ranks of TOPS, and had once been one of the top behemoths within it.
However, in recent years, Ravenlock had inevitably gone down the path of decline, just like the Timefield family today. But unlike Timefield, the current head of the Ravenlock family, Hartman Ravenlock, was an ambitious fellow.
Yet, his capabilities could not match his ambitions. Under his leadership, the already declining Ravenlock family gradually became worse than even some third-rate families. Now, they were even on the verge of being expelled from the TOPS consortium.
Especially recently, Ravenlock's capital chain and public reputation had fallen to rock bottom, making them desperate to find a breakthrough to stage a comeback.
"Are you curious about what this has to do with Timefield?"
Geno nodded.
"It's very simple. Because they sought out the similarly declining Timefield family, wanting to cooperate with us."
After all, the current Timefield family wasn't doing so great either. The previous patriarch died unexpectedly, leaving only the severely ill old patriarch and his young granddaughter.
If the two families joined forces, they might truly be able to stage a comeback and allow both families to rise once again.
Geno became even more confused. Shouldn't this be a good thing?
However, in the next second, Geno realized that he was still too young.
"That shameless bastard actually wants to be a cradle-robber! He wants my granddaughter to marry him. He is simply delusional!"
Just bringing this up made the old patriarch furious.
"How could I possibly agree to such a thing? I directly kicked those bastards out."
And Geno also recalled that before he met the old patriarch, he had indeed seen a man with a gloomy face. It seemed he had indeed been escorted out by two attendants at the time.
"Even if I die, even if I die out there on the streets, I will never let that fucking son of a bitch marry my granddaughter!"
Watching the old patriarch enter his 'super good grandpa' mode, Geno couldn't help but sweatdrop.
"Ahem. Anyway, because of Ravenlock's public reputation issues, I am worried that they might do something to Alice in private. Therefore, I hope you can help me protect her."
"But why do I have to pretend to be Miss Alice's fiancé?"
"That, of course, is to let you two naturally develop feeli—ahem, to give you a more justifiable excuse to stay by her side. After all, my granddaughter is still an unwed maiden. If an unknown male appeared beside her, it would be hard not to arouse suspicion."
The old patriarch, who had almost exposed his true motives, hurriedly coughed twice to stop himself in time. But Geno had already heard it, and he heard it loud and clear.
Although he wanted to persuade the old patriarch that this wasn't necessary, under the old patriarch's strong insistence, he could only accept this reasoning.
"In short, starting today, I entrust my granddaughter's protection to you. I will have her stay with you temporarily until I completely clean up the matter with Ravenlock."
Regardless, Ravenlock was still currently a member of TOPS. Based on the old patriarch's understanding of that guy Hartman, he would absolutely not let things go so easily. He needed the other party to show their true colors first.
And so, just like that, Geno bewilderingly acquired a brand new identity—the live-in son-in-law of the Timefield family.
And the first thing he had to do was follow the butler to meet his fiancée, Miss Alice Timefield.
"The young miss's room is right here. She should currently be resting."
The old butler, Arnold, brought Geno to the door and knocked gently.
"Young Miss, a guest has come to visit."
"Please come in."
After receiving permission, Arnold pushed the door open and led Geno inside.
Then, Geno saw a scene that he would never forget for the rest of his life.
____
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