Chapter 51 My Daddy Definitely Isn't Ordinary
Alexander asked, "What kind of malfunction?"
The housekeeper replied, "I don't understand computers. All I know is there's a bunch of gibberish all over the screen!"
Alexander said, "You go take care of Liam first."
He got up and walked into his study. When he reached the computer, he saw the entire screen had gone black with lines of code scrolling endlessly. In the center of the screen was a GIF animation showing a man kneeling on a washboard, banging his head on the ground repeatedly.
"I was wrong, I was wrong," the animated figure wailed tearfully while kneeling on the washboard in repentance.
Alexander was speechless.
It didn't take a genius to figure out who had created this virus.
Max. Was this his idea of revenge?
Revenge for making Grace upset, so he sent a virus to his computer to force him to apologize?
The entire computer system was completely non-functional.
He had an important video conference coming up, and this little troublemaker was sabotaging him like this?
Alexander sat down at the computer and attempted to crack the virus program.
He had considerable authority in the computer field—he had helped establish Crest Corporation's security network originally.
For years, no hacker had ever been able to breach that network, yet it had been played with like a toy by a seven-year-old child.
Alexander worked frantically to break through the code.
Outside the door, the housekeeper knocked gently. "Mr. Hayes, Ms. Foster has returned."
Alexander temporarily abandoned the virus-infected computer and walked outside.
The moment Liam saw Grace had come home, his face lit up with joy as he rushed toward her.
Grace, unable to stop worrying about Liam, had come home early. As soon as she entered, she saw Liam sitting sullenly at the dining table, looking miserable in front of a lavish dinner spread. He wasn't eating or drinking, his expression turning silent and withdrawn. However, the moment he saw Grace, his eyes sparkled with starlight-bright brilliance.
"Liam, I didn't run away from home, and I would never abandon you!" Grace handed him the grilled meat kebab. "Max brought you something delicious."
The housekeeper said from the side, "Liam can't eat that street food—it'll make him sick!"
She moved to throw the kebab in the trash.
But Liam protectively pushed her hand away, clutching the large meat skewer like a treasure as he took a delighted bite.
Hearing that Max had brought it for him made Liam especially happy. His little mouth was shiny with grease, his cheeks puffed out like a little hamster's as he chewed contentedly, savoring every bite.
Seeing Liam break into smiles and finally eat something, Alexander's expression softened considerably.
He suddenly looked at Max, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Was that your doing?"
Max tilted his little head, playing innocent. "Alexander, I don't know what you're talking about."
Max's innocent act was absolutely first-rate, exactly like Grace.
Grace said, "Why are you being mean to my son?"
Alexander frowned.
Mean? Which eye had seen him show a fierce expression?
Alexander said, "The computer was attacked by an unknown virus."
As he spoke, he gave Max a meaningful glare.
Grace said, "So why are you glaring at Max? You can't fix your own computer, so you're taking it out on Max?"
Did this naive woman really think her son was just an innocent seven-year-old?
Max was a typical child wearing a mask—playing cute and well-behaved in front of Grace, but he was actually a little hacker who mastered cutting-edge technology!
The viruses he developed had left countless programmers pulling their hair out.
Alexander had secretly investigated Max's background before, wanting to find out just how many unknown sides this child had. But the investigation results showed he appeared to be just a simple, ordinary seven-year-old boy.
Yet deep down, he knew the child was anything but ordinary.
Max covered his mouth to hide his laughter. "Alexander can't even fix his broken computer. How pathetic."
Max walked into the study and glanced at the computer. Seeing Alexander's attempts to crack the virus program, he shook his head and sighed.
The virus program he'd developed couldn't be cracked by anyone yet.
Alexander stood in the doorway, saying coldly, "You caused this mess. When are you going to remove the virus?"
Max asked, "Did you make my mommy angry?"
Alexander replied, "So you are getting revenge on me?"
Max said, "Anyone who makes my mommy angry is completely evil! But if my mommy forgives you, I can be magnanimous and withdraw the trojan. Otherwise..."
He crossed his arms and snorted. "I won't let you off easy!"
Alexander asked, "You want me to apologize to her?"
Max said, "A gentleman should never make a lady angry!" He narrowed his eyes, saying coolly, "I heard you planted a listening device on my mommy?"
Max said, "I'm warning you—my mommy isn't a bad person. She's very good to Liam. She said she would share half the love she has for me with Liam! She's such a gentle, wonderful mommy. I won't allow you to think badly of her! She's the best mommy in the whole world, and I won't let you hurt her. Otherwise, I won't forgive you!"
This was his prejudice against Mommy!
Naturally, Max was quite angry about it.
Alexander suddenly fell silent.
He also felt that perhaps this was indeed his prejudice against Grace.
This woman probably wasn't the malicious person he'd imagined. Besides, it was also due to his overprotectiveness of Liam.
Alexander said, "I indeed shouldn't have installed the listening device."
Max said, "So are you going to apologize to my mommy?"
Alexander said, "I will."
Max's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't expected Alexander to actually agree to apologize to Grace.
His opinion of him improved somewhat.
Alexander said, "I'll try to trust her." It was very difficult for him to trust anyone, especially a woman.
Except for Emily, he rarely allowed women to get close to him.
Max suddenly walked to the computer, his hands flying across the keyboard as he input a string of command codes. Soon, the interface jumped to a blue screen showing lines of continuously scrolling program code.
He operated with expert skill, and five minutes later, the computer rebooted, returning to a clean system interface.
Alexander asked with some curiosity, "Who taught you this?"
Max said, "I learned it myself."
Alexander didn't believe it. "Your skill level is very high—better than many international hackers. You couldn't have taught yourself!"
Max said, "I can only say I have good genes, exceptional talent, and natural intelligence. My daddy must be a very excellent and capable person to pass such high intelligence to me."
Alexander said, "So do you know who your father is?"
Max said mysteriously, "I know, but that's a secret. Anyway, my daddy is taller than you, more handsome than you, and richer than you."
Alexander gave a cold laugh. "That kind of man doesn't exist."
He was the wealthiest man in Novaria, so he took Max's words as mere boasting.
But Max acted completely nonchalant. "Believe it or not, I don't care. Anyway, my daddy definitely isn't ordinary—otherwise, he couldn't have produced such a smart son like me."
With that, he made a triumphant face at Alexander and sauntered out of the study.