Free Web NovelChapter 11: The Big Deal
Liam sat among the group, feeling all eyes suddenly turn toward him. The attention made his chest tighten with discomfort.
He had always been the ordinary one, easily overlooked by everyone around him. His failed confession to Olivia had turned him into a longtime laughingstock among his classmates.
For years, he had resigned himself to being a nobody. But then the Ultimate Rebate System entered his life. Though it was a lazy system, it had given him the power to completely transform his future.
It had also opened the door to something he had never dared dream of, genuine connections with these incredible, mature women.
A spark of nervous excitement mixed with deep anticipation stirred inside him.
Victoria was momentarily stunned. She realized she might have completely misunderstood Liam.
Rachel was a serious and earnest person who would never joke about something like this.
That meant Liam truly had solved real projects for her.
But Victoria still felt a sting of doubt. She suspected he had used underhanded means to track her down and was now pretending this was all fate.
Her mind flashed back to the dejected look on his face earlier. He must have been so hurt and disappointed by her cold attitude. Yet here she was, still questioning his sincerity.
’What have I done?’ Victoria thought, her heart aching with sudden guilt.
This young man came from a single-parent family and had already faced so much hardship. She had suspected him of having ulterior motives. The regret washed over her in waves. She felt truly sorry for him.
Rachel looked at Liam with clear admiration in her eyes.
"Although it might be a little hard to believe," she said approvingly, "that’s really how it is. My company’s internal system stores a lot of critical data.
Employees rely on it daily for their work, but recently it’s been crashing constantly and becoming completely unusable.
We contacted the original programmer, but he told us the code was lost and couldn’t be recovered.
We’ve brought in many professionals, yet none of them could fix it. If this continues, my company will be in serious trouble."
Rachel paused, her voice warming with genuine respect. "But then I ran into this kid. In less than three days, Liam solved a bunch of complex computer problems that no one else could touch.
Isn’t that amazing? This fifty thousand dollars is the reward I gave him. I wish I had such an outstanding son. With talent like that, he can secure a high-paying job anywhere in the future."
All eyes locked onto Liam once more. Charles’s expression changed instantly.
At just eighteen years old, this young man had earned fifty thousand dollars and accomplished what teams of professionals could not. In some ways, he was a genius. Charles felt a flicker of unease.
He probably wouldn’t be able to impress Victoria so easily after all. Though Victoria had high standards, Liam’s youth and exceptional talent might change everything.
Claire had been playfully teasing Liam earlier, but now she looked at him with fresh eyes. "Liam, I really didn’t expect you to be a computer genius!" she exclaimed warmly. She truly began to scrutinize the young man in front of her. He was incredible.
’At eighteen, earning fifty thousand dollars like that? Damien is a bad egg compared to him’
Because their family was well-off, Damien only thought about spending pocket money at nightclubs and The Velvet Lounge. As for computers?
He could barely do more than play Counter-Strike. The difference was staggering. Claire felt a pang of wistful envy. She wished she had a son as outstanding as Liam.
Liam sat next to Victoria and could clearly sense that her gaze toward him had softened considerably. The shift filled him with quiet hope and relief.
Meanwhile, Olivia clenched her hands tightly, a deep sting of hatred creeping into her heart. Though Liam had average looks and height, he was genuinely talented.
At eighteen, mastering such advanced computer programming skills meant he had a very promising future ahead.
But their relationship was now completely broken. She just regretted that Liam wasn’t still pining over her.
Claire moved closer and sat directly in front of Liam. She reached out and took his hand proactively.
The smooth, warm touch sent a strange thrill through him. This was Damien’s biological mother, and the moment carried a sharp edge of vengeful satisfaction.
"Liam, why don’t you talk to me?" Claire asked gently. "How did you learn computer skills? Did you pay for any classes?"
Seeing his own mother being so affectionate with Liam made Damien extremely uncomfortable.
This person was also his love rival, someone he had clashed with before. But out of fear of his mother, Damien didn’t dare say a word. He could only turn his head away, unable to watch.
Claire continued holding Liam’s hand warmly. Victoria, already feeling guilty, grew uneasy at the sight.
’Why is this woman being so forward?’ she thought. ’Doesn’t she realize there’s a difference between men and women?’
Ever since their earlier conversation about certain complex emotions, Victoria couldn’t help but recall those vivid images whenever she looked at Liam. She needed to get to know this young man better.
He had already been through enough pain growing up in a single-parent home, then being misunderstood and pushed away by her.
He must have felt so hurt and alone.No, my family is poor and couldn’t afford classes, Liam replied honestly.
"I learned computer programming on my own in my spare time because I was interested in it. It just so happened that I saw online that Rachel’s company was having problems, so I gave it a try. To my surprise, it actually worked. I was just lucky."
His words stunned everyone once again. Computer programming was difficult even for college students who took specialized courses.
Yet Liam had taught himself and solved issues that professionals couldn’t fix. He was a true genius.
"Liam, you are so amazing," Claire breathed, her voice thick with admiration.
As Liam looked at Claire’s full figure right in front of him, a bold thought crossed his mind. She had been widowed many years ago, yet the sight still stirred something deep and forbidden within him.
