Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

”Listen, little girl. I never hit girls, so take your two bodyguards and get out of here.”

Dylan Grant stood up and walked over to him. ”We’ll leave after we rest for a bit.”

The boy shoved Dylan Grant hard. ”I gave you an easy out and you spit in my face, huh? Believe it or not, I’ll beat you to death.”

”I don’t believe you,” Dylan Grant said, looking up at him coolly.

”What? You don’t?” He raised his hand to swing at Dylan Grant.

His arm was suddenly seized.

The Man in Black had returned.

He gripped the boy’s arm with one hand and passed a drink to Dorothy Ellsworth with the other.

”Hey kid, you shouldn’t use your age to bully younger kids. That’s not right.”

”You... Who are you?! Are you their daddy?”

”No.”

”Let me go!” He struggled to break free and shouted over his shoulder, ”Dad, someone’s trying to hit me!”

The captain let him go, and the boy ran toward a tall, imposing man.

After a few words were exchanged, the man strode over.

He came over and glared at the captain. ”What’s going on? A grown man like you hitting my son? What’s your problem?”

The captain replied coolly, ”I only stopped him from hitting my young master. I did not strike him.”

The man sneered. ”My kid knows whether you hit him or not. You think he’d lie? My son never lies! Pay up!”

The captain turned to the three children. ”We’re done playing. Let’s go home.”

Dylan Grant nodded, and the four of them started to leave.

Seeing this, the man immediately barked, ”What, you think you can just stir up trouble and walk away? In your dreams.”

He whipped out his phone and quickly dialed a number. ”Hey, someone’s causing trouble at the amusement park. Send some guys over.”

The Man in Black opened the car door and urged the three children, ”Get in, quick! We’re a bit far from the high-end residential area. Reinforcements won’t get here in time. Let’s go!”

Dylan Grant sat in the passenger seat. ’That big guy is definitely a thug,’ he thought.

”Trying to leave? No way!”

The man lunged forward and started fighting the captain. The captain was surprised; the man was quite skilled. No wonder he acted so self-righteously.

They fought for a few minutes, but ultimately, the man was no match for the captain and was knocked to the ground.

The captain immediately jumped into the driver’s seat and sped off.

The man’s buddies arrived and gave chase.

”Should we call for backup?”

The captain shook his head. ”No. Do you want your daddy to know about this?”

Dylan Grant shook his head. ”Then don’t call. Let’s just try to lose them.”

The car seemed to fly, but Dorothy, sitting in the back, wasn’t scared at all.

She looked behind them, keeping a close eye on the pursuing car.

”They’re catching up!”

The captain slammed the pedal to the floor. The engine roared as the car shot forward in a heart-pounding thrill ride.

The car entered a mountain road, with their pursuers relentlessly on their tail.

Finally, they stopped on a deserted stretch of road halfway up the mountain.

The captain stopped the car and opened the convertible top.

A moment later, the pursuing car caught up, and the tall, imposing man got out.

Following him, four men with bleached-blond hair walked toward the captain.

”Got some guts, stopping the car like this. Why aren’t you running anymore?”

The captain replied coolly, ”There’s no need. Dealing with the five of you is a piece of cake.”

”Oh, quite the big talker.” He held out his hand, and one of the men behind him passed him a pair of nunchucks. He twirled them in his hand, his eyes narrowing. ”I’ll give you one more chance. Either pay up, or get on your knees, kowtow to me ten times, and I’ll let you go. Otherwise, I won’t go easy on any of you—adults or kids.”

Dylan Grant hopped out of the car and looked up. ”You really do look like a Tibetan Mastiff. So majestic.”

”You little brat, you dare compare me to a dog?”

Dylan Grant’s eyes narrowed. ”Don’t insult dogs. You’re not even as good as a dog...”

”You...” He raised the nunchucks to strike at Dylan Grant, but just then, Monty leaped out of the car.

The five men’s eyes went wide, and they stumbled back a few steps in fear.

”Is that... a python?”

”Damn it, such a huge snake... These guys just carry it around in their car...”

”Is it a pet python?”

”Probably. Pet pythons don’t eat people...”

”Then there’s nothing to be afraid of...”

The men tried to bolster their courage with their back-and-forth chatter.

Monty slithered forward on the ground, its triangular eyes cautiously watching their every move, poised and ready to strike.

”Think you’re hot stuff just because you brought a snake?” The man laughed twice. ”I’ve got a gun! Watch me blow you all away—AHH!”

The words had barely left his mouth when Monty let out a hiss and lunged at the five men. The ones in the back turned and fled.

But Monty was too fast. It swept several of them to the side of the road and, pressing its advantage, knocked them all into a deep ravine.

It was the first time the captain had been stunned by Monty’s attack power. He walked to the guardrail and glanced down into the ravine, estimating it was thirty to forty meters deep.

’Those five probably won’t survive this.’

He turned back. ”Let’s get out of here.”

Monty returned to the back seat, the convertible top was closed, everyone got in, and the captain drove away.

They returned to the Grant Family estate.

The captain personally handled the aftermath, not daring to let Quentin Grant know.

The three children sat in the living room, quiet and well-behaved.

Dorothy Ellsworth went home shortly after. When a maid saw her return through the front door, she asked in surprise, ”Miss, when did you go out?”

”Just now.”

Dorothy Ellsworth used her spare key to open the door, untied the rope from her window and put it back, then sat on her bed and thought for a moment before muttering, ”A homicide case caused by such a trivial matter.”

*

That evening, when Quentin Grant came home, he found his two darlings sitting quietly in the living room.

He was a little puzzled. ”What’s wrong? You look like your father just died.”

Dylan Grant spoke up slowly, ”Daddy, there’s something Elmer and I thought about. We originally weren’t going to tell you, but we feel you have to know.”

”What is it?”

Dylan Grant turned on the TV and flipped to a news channel. Just as he expected, they were reporting on the incident.

”This morning, at the foot of Southmount, a fatal incident occurred. There were five deceased, all identified as local thugs. Their car was found halfway up Southmount. Police currently suspect it was a revenge killing, but they haven’t ruled out the possibility of an accident...”

Quentin Grant was confused. ”Why are you showing me this? Don’t tell me you two killed them.”

”We didn’t do it with our own hands, but we gave the order. It was Monty who swept them off the road.”

”What?” Quentin Grant found it hard to believe. ”Weren’t you supposed to go with Grandma to the hospital for your vaccinations? How could this happen?”

Dylan Grant nodded. ”After Grandma dropped us off, we went to the amusement park...”

He explained the whole sequence of events to Quentin Grant in detail.

As Quentin Grant listened, his expression darkened. ”Get the captain in here!”

The captain of the Men in Black entered immediately. ”Young Master, if you’re going to blame someone, blame me. The young masters are just kids. It was my fault.”

Quentin Grant stood up and paced in front of him without a word.

”Young Master.” The captain slowly raised his head, and only then did he realize his Young Master was looking at him and smiling.

”Young Master... please don’t scare me...”

”Captain, we’ll consider this matter closed. You didn’t do anything wrong. Your only mistake was not calling for backup. If you had, those five thugs wouldn’t have died so easily. They would be wishing for death.”

”...”

”Alright, stop looking so down. You can go.”

”Yes, Young Master. I will take my leave.”

Quentin Grant turned back and sat next to his two boys. ”You two are something else. It’s only been a few days, and you’ve already cost six people their lives.”

”If others don’t bother me, I won’t bother them. If they attack me, I’ll retaliate. If they keep coming after me, I’ll make sure they’re dealt with.”

”That’s... not wrong. But, my darlings, Daddy needs you to keep a low profile until your mommy comes back! Now get to the backyard and hold a horse stance for three hours!” He shot to his feet.

The two boys stood up and pouted. ”We knew you wouldn’t be this easy on us. Horse stance it is.”

”Daddy’s not finished. After the horse stance, you’ll run ten laps for me.”

Elmer Grant’s little face fell. ”Daddy... how can you be so cruel to us...”

”Fifteen laps! One more word of nonsense and I’ll add another ten!”

Elmer’s face scrunched up like a steamed bun.

”Daddy! Don’t be so scary...”

”Twenty laps!”

”...”

”You’re a wicked stepfather!”

”Twenty-five laps!”

”...”

Elmer Grant clenched his little fists and went to the backyard with his brother.

Monty was locked up.

The two boys held their horse stance in the backyard. It was effortless at first, but as time wore on, they began to struggle.

Quentin Grant appeared at just the right moment. ”If you can’t hold it, you’ll start the three hours all over again. Daddy won’t go easy on you!”

”Then you might as well just kill us.”

”I wouldn’t be able to explain it to your mommy.”

”Hmph! When Mommy gets back, we’re definitely telling her what happened at the Seagull Hotel.”

Quentin Grant broke into a sweat. ”Didn’t you two promise Daddy you wouldn’t tell Mommy?”

”We changed our minds, so what? Kids say the darndest things! You actually believe what kids say? You’re so gullible.”

”Straighten up!” Quentin Grant sat down in a chair, leaning back to watch them. ”Daddy has been training you since you were little to let your fists do the talking, not to jump straight to killing. Even if they’ve committed a heinous crime, let the police handle it. You remember this: as long as someone isn’t threatening your life, you don’t use lethal force. You can beat them half to death, and crippling them is better than killing them. After all, a life worse than death is the ultimate punishment.”

”...”

”Daddy’s talking to you. Did you hear me?”

”Didn’t hear you.”

”...”

”Didn’t hear me? Add five more laps.”

”We heard you!!!” they answered in unison, their voices so loud and clear they seemed revitalized.

When the two boys started running their laps, the group of Men in Black felt their hearts ache for them.

They all came forward to plead on the boys’ behalf.

”Young Master, those are your own sons! How can you be so harsh? It’s one thing to treat us like this, but you don’t even spare your own children! Young Master, you’re really...”

Quentin Grant shot them a cold glare. ”Did I say they weren’t my sons? If they’re not mine, are they yours? You want to run some laps too, is that it?”

”No!”

”Then get out of my sight!”