Chapter 817: Can’t have all the smart kids

Curious, Slater reached for the bottle of pills at the pit of the cushion and armrest. The bottle was small and sleek, easily fitting in his hand.

"Since when did Uncle Stephen start taking maintenance medication?" he wondered to himself, thinking this was just a pill that Stephen took. However, looking at the bottle, he noticed there was no label on it, which seemed strange.

As Slater pondered, he heard his father speak.

"Dad, you’ve never changed, have you?" Charles sighed, pushing himself up from his chair. "It might be easy for you to abandon people—even if they’re family. I’m not saying Sven Bennet didn’t deserve to be locked up for what he did. However, I’m sure this isn’t easy for Stephen either. As a father, I understand him."

Charles shook his head and faced his father squarely. "I’ll go follow him."

"Hah! As if anything you say will help his son."

"It won’t, but at least I can empathize with him." After saying his piece, Charles bowed slightly and walked out of the room.

Chairman Bennet snorted in ridicule, watching his son walk away to follow Stephen. "He might’ve grown old, but he’s just as stubborn and willful as he was many years ago."

But then again, he wasn’t surprised by Charles’s remarks and actions. Charles, after all, was very different from him. Until now, Chairman Bennet had never figured out where that son of his got his personality from. But it was definitely not from him.

"If not for the paternity test telling me he’s my son, I wouldn’t think he’s mine," the chairman grumbled, forgetting that Slater was still in the room.

"Grandpa, you did a paternity test on my father?" Slater gasped. "Don’t tell me he doesn’t know about this?"

Chairman Bennet’s frown deepened. "I didn’t do that, but your father did!"

"What?!"

"Your father kept looking for things to prove we’re not related, so he did a paternity test. That brat didn’t even ask for my permission! As if I wouldn’t want to know!" Chairman Bennet huffed, getting riled up by the memory. "He’s not the only one who was devastated to learn I’m his real father. I was depressed learning he was my actual son!"

"Wow..." Slater was in awe. "I’ve always known Dad is awesome, but what a daredevil! How can he not fear death?!"

Chairman Bennet glared at Slater, who wore such a harmless look. His mouth opened, ready to scold his grandchild. But then he decided it wasn’t worth it.

’Atlas is too sharp to open his mouth and reveal his next move,’he thought. ’But this one... too dim to exist.’

Chairman Bennet shook his head. "Your father isn’t cool. He’s an animal. So, don’t let him influence you."

"Hehe. Grandpa, don’t be like that. My dad is cool, but you’re amazing! The most amazing, I’d say!" Slater grinned, giving Chairman Bennet a thumbs-up. "I bet my dad didn’t expect that you’d want the results to be negative—hah!"

"I had to drink all night because of that." Chairman Bennet shook his head again. "And he got drunk too. We were both depressed for about a week."

Slater’s frown twitched as he saw his grandfather’s mood dip. "Was it really that depressing to know that the son you’re raising is yours?"

"A son like your father?! Ha! It’s more than depressing; that kid almost killed me many times with his life decisions."

"Right... when he joined the military, huh?"

"I told him being a soldier wasn’t for him, but he wouldn’t listen. If not a soldier, he would’ve become an athlete. Your father would do anything except the things I asked him to," the chairman continued, unaware that he couldn’t stop himself from expressing all the disappointments his son had caused him over the years. "He should be grateful that, despite all that, I still kept him as my son, even after he almost lost his mind after he was honorably discharged."

Slater blinked, stunned. "Dad went crazy?"

"Of course he did! Did he think the battlefield wouldn’t kill him?! He’s lucky he returned in one piece, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t affect him psychologically!" Chairman Bennet hissed. "He wouldn’t eat, he’d talk to himself, and wouldn’t even sleep. He thought everyone was out to get him—I had to lock him in the psych ward."

This time, Chairman Bennet stopped himself as he realized he had said more than he should. Clearing his throat, he looked at Slater and studied the young man.

"Grandpa, my dad became a psychiatric patient?" asked Slater, only to get a dismissive wave from the chairman. He frowned. "Grandpa, why are you chasing me out now?"

"Forget what I said. You’re too young for this." The chairman waved his hand dismissively. "Go follow your father. Tell him I want to rest. He doesn’t need to come back and say goodbye. I’d rather not have him around."

Slater pouted, reluctantly rising, still wanting to hear more about Charles’s past. But with how aggressively Chairman Bennet waved his hand, he knew the old man had said something he shouldn’t.

"Fine..." Slater reluctantly agreed, taking his time to make sure his grandfather wouldn’t change his mind. As he took a step, he looked back at the chairman. "Grandpa, are you sure you don’t want company? I can entertain you for a bit and maybe create a workout routine—"

"Get out!" Chairman Bennet scowled irritably, making his grandson flinch. "And call the butler on your way out. I want some peace, not company. People just make me angry."

Slater scrunched up his nose and nodded. "My First Brother is the same. That’s why he doesn’t have friends."

"You—"

"I’ll call the butler on the way out!" Slater jumped and dashed out of the room, escaping another scolding from his grandfather.

Chairman Bennet, on the other hand, stared at Slater, who was running out of the room in a hurry. When the door shut behind him, he shook his head mildly.

"That grandson of mine surely has the habit of testing the waters," he mumbled to himself. "I guess Charles can’t have all the smart kids because one... or maybe two, needs to be as dumb as soup. I heard that Hugo was mostly brawn."