Chapter 261: Chapter 196: Shackles (Thanks to Bugfield for the reward!) _2
Translator: 549690339
Now Harrison Clark was completely confused.
But he didn’t care too much and quickly put it out of his mind, deciding not to deal with such annoying matters in the future.
Around eight o’clock, he reluctantly finished the terrible meal.
Just as he was about to leave on his own, Avril Green, who had been preoccupied with talking to the others and had hardly eaten anything, stood up, “Sorry everyone, we have some matters at home, we need to leave.”
As the two of them left, Avril asked, “Do you want to come to my Homey Rose?”
Harrison thought it would be a good opportunity to chat privately, “Sure.”
When they returned to Homey Rose, the servants had already prepared drinks for both of them.
Harrison’s was Ceylon Tea, and Avril’s was Cappuccino.
They sat facing each other under the pavilion in the center of the courtyard.
Harrison didn’t rush to speak; he organized his thoughts first.
He wanted to be straightforward, but they still had a friendship, so he didn’t want to turn hostile; he would just be more cautious in the future.
“Harrison, I’m sure you have doubts.”
Unexpectedly, Avril sitting across spoke first, interrupting Harrison’s train of thought.
“Ah, yes. You were really unusual today, completely unlike yourself. I was bewildered by you. I don’t know those people, but I know they’re no small potatoes. Did you notice the way that couple looked at me? They hid it well, but I felt they wanted to skin me alive. So uncomfortable. Don’t involve me in this sort of thing ever again, or we won’t be friends!”
Harrison said a lot all at once.
His tone was half-joking, half-serious, but his attitude was firm, even a bit extreme.
However, Harrison also knew that, given Avril’s previous personality, she wouldn’t hold it against him.
And he preferred to be straightforward, not wanting to beat around the bush, which bothered him.
He hated hypocrisy and flattery, so he simply spoke his mind.
Avril chuckled with her eyes squinted and covered her mouth, “I knew you would think like that, but you misunderstood me. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, it was because I didn’t want you to start a fight at the table. With your temperament, that would definitely happen.”
Harrison was taken aback, “Huh?”
Then Avril explained the whole story to him.
Summit Ventures had grown from nothing to a multibillion-dollar market value in just a few months.
Harrison thought of himself as a porter, who had worked tirelessly to earn his money, and naturally.
But in the eyes of others, this was a clear stroke of luck, an accidental wealth that should be shared by those who had seen it.
They called it jealousy.
That couple represented a group of people who felt Harrison owed them something due to their considerable influence in the industry.
It was common for certain people to use the influence of certain groups to obtain partial equity in rapidly growing companies and convert it into personal gain.
Companies like Harrison’s, which maintained high growth and had no background, were perfect “partners” for them, so they came with “sincerity” and “butchery.”
They didn’t think they were being excessive, even believing that it was an opportunity they were giving Harrison, and the final outcome would be win-win.
Harrison might be slightly dissatisfied and resist, but he would eventually understand their good intentions.
They had a well-calculated plan to dine with Avril tonight, make some small talk, and then visit Summit Ventures tomorrow.
But to their surprise, they bumped into Harrison and Avril together at this small gathering as soon as they arrived.
And the two of them were acting very intimate, clearly putting on a show for them.
They didn’t think Avril would actually help Harrison willingly, but instead suspected that Harrison had caught wind of their arrival and preemptively sought out Avril’s support.
This was a blatant display of sovereignty and deterrence to those who would take advantage.
And they indeed felt threatened.
England was Avril’s turf, and it was possible that her territory would continue to expand in the future.
Avril had never supported anyone before, so this was a first for her.
They had to give her face, and this meal was something they couldn’t compete for even if they tried.
After hearing Avril’s explanation, Harrison was left feeling mixed emotions, even somewhat restless and resentful.
He vaguely remembered that in the previous timeline, Summit Ventures had encountered a similar situation a year or two later, but it had managed to weather the storm.
The specifics were glossed over with brevity in the historical records, with no mention of what had happened, just that everything turned out fine in the end.
Future generations could only guess about the details, leaving this minor historical mystery unsolved.
Now, having returned to the 21st century and experiencing it firsthand a year or two ahead of schedule, Harrison understood the reason for it.
The one who had quietly protected him from disaster was none other than the woman sitting in front of him, who was usually gentle and intelligent but willing to tarnish her reputation to help him.
As for why the incident that was supposed to happen in a year or two happened ahead of schedule?
Harrison believed the reason was simple.
In the previous timeline, he had “run out of steam” after selling his previous collection of songs. Summit Ventures had transitioned from an explosively growing super creative enterprise to a stable, operation-based company under his and Julia Lambert’s leadership. It had survived a decade of hibernation before eventually booming again with a string of successful sci-fi movies..