Chapter 61: An Unreasonable Favor

"Hm," Ethan nodded, then said, "About your second problem, what company are you planning to buy?"

Leonard immediately sat down again, remembering that he still had one more problem.

"Yes, yes. I want to buy this Tarot Tech Company. They’re a small one, but still good, nonetheless."

He voluntarily took out the file containing the company’s information and handed it to Ethan.

The young man accepted it and checked through. The stats were good. They had a huge revenue, thousands of customers, several branches, and strong brand recognition.

However, it didn’t take long before Ethan found a flaw.

He quietly shook his head and pushed it back to him. "Don’t buy this."

Leonard blinked. "Why?"

Even though he was still skeptical, he now trusted Ethan’s judgement to an extent. So he didn’t immediately dismiss the young man’s opinion.

Leaning back into the chair, Ethan answered, "Their revenue is increasing, but their accounts receivable has been exploding too."

Leonard’s eyes widened. "They have been selling on credit?"

Ethan nodded. "They’re mass-producing and selling almost everything on credit. Their accounts receivable are growing faster than their actual cash flow."

The chubby man’s brows furrowed, and he began to sweat. If that was true, then he had literally been planning to enter a sinkhole.

Locking eyes with him, Ethan calmly declared. "You aren’t buying a successful business. You’re buying someone else’s problems."

Leonard immediately shook his head and smiled nervously. "Haha, I’m no longer interested in them. If this is really what they’re doing, then I better not try it."

Ethan hummed and closed his eyes again, settling into the chair and relaxing.

Lucas watched them speak without interrupting. Once they finished talking and Ethan closed his eyes, he immediately turned to his friend and mouthed, "Payment! Did you forget?"

Leonard’s eyes widened, and he quickly nodded like a hen pecking at food.

"Uh.. Mr. Hale, about the consultation fee. How much would that be?"

Ethan raised an eyebrow without opening his eyes. Then, he spoke.

"One favor. It won’t be entirely unreasonable, so you can be rest assured."

Leonard shivered. For some reason, he feared owing a favor more than owing money.

"Wait... it won’t be ’entirely’ unreasonable?"

Ethan nodded. "It might be a little unreasonable to you, but not to the extreme. You can refuse if you don’t want that."

Leonard immediately shook his head and smiled. "No, it’s alright, Mr. Hale. I owe you a favor."

He stood up, took out a cheque from his pocket, and slid it over to Ethan.

"This is also an additional token of gratitude. I hope it satisfies you."

Ethan opened his eyes and picked up the cheque. Seeing the numbers written on it, he merely nodded and kept it.

"If you need me in the future, you can contact Lucas. He’ll schedule a proper meeting for us."

Leonard nodded and turned to his friend. "Thank you, Lucas. I have to get going now."

Lucas nodded and escorted him outside. Once they were outside, Leonard turned to him and asked, "Where did you meet that guy? Is he from one of those influential families?"

Lucas shook his head. "No, no, you’re wrong. I checked his background, and he’s actually just an ordinary guy. But his ideas and foresight are insane. You’ve directly seen it yourself."

Leonard couldn’t have agreed more. "Sigh. Random geniuses popping out from nowhere. I feel like I’ve grown ten years older."

Laughing, Lucas patted his back. "Just think of him as an old man in his fifties. That should help you contain your surprise."

Leonard nodded with a smile, then bid him farewell.

The two men separated, and Lucas went back inside the private room. He quickly sat down beside Ethan and turned to him.

"Sorry for the wait. Do you want to eat something?"

Ethan shook his head. "I’ll have Evelyn’s oranges when I get back."

Lucas’s eyes widened, and he suddenly smiled. "Hehe, Brother Ethan is still in his youth, so you can enjoy all pleasures of life. Still, I’d advise you to take it easy. Hehe."

"???" Ethan turned to him, confused. "What does eating fruits have to do with youth and pleasures of life?"

"Huh?" Lucas blinked as realization dawned on him. "Oh, you meant actual fruits. My bad, my bad."

Shaking his head, Ethan stood up and walked toward the door. "Let’s go. I’m tired of staying around men in shady suits."

Lucas’s lips twitched and he thought, ’Just say you want to go back to your wife! Why slander my friend and me?’

They quickly left the restaurant and returned to the limousine parked downstairs. The driver opened the door for them, and they entered inside.

A few seconds later, the car got onto the streets and sped off to Arcane City.

Some time later, Ethan asked Lucas to drop him at a cake shop not far away from Evelyn’s shop. He wanted to get little presents for the three people in the shop.

Stepping out of the car, he didn’t look back as the driver closed the door and went back to his own seat. Soon, the car was gone.

Cassie saw all this happen, as she had just left Evelyn’s shop. Keeping her composure, she walked past Ethan who still hadn’t entered the shop, then paused.

"Ethan?" She looked at him, sounding surprised.

Ethan turned to her, finally noticing the young woman. "Cassie."

She turned to face him, then smiled lightly. "Um... I didn’t think I’d see you here. Uh... thank you for carrying me from the bar that day I got drunk. I seriously wasn’t myself, so I apologize for any trouble I might have brought you."

Ethan nodded casually and shifted his gaze back to the shop. "It’s alright. You’re Evelyn’s friend, after all."

Cassie felt a flicker of irritation at those words. Why couldn’t he see her as herself? Why only Evelyn’s friend?

Before she could say anything else, she realized Ethan had already left her outside. Heaving a sigh, she turned around and continued walking.

A while later, Ethan returned to Evelyn’s shop and handed the cakes he had gotten to them.

"Thank you," Cassandra smiled as she accepted hers.

Ethan gave her a nod, then went inside to give Nora hers too. Unfortunately, the little girl was sleeping, so he could only leave it beside her.

Handing Evelyn her own cake, he asked casually, "I was wondering, did you tell Cassie I was the one who carried her from the bar?"