The Retired CEO's Guide To Being Spoiled-Chapter 230: Always Someone Better

"I can only hope that when he loses to me in the upcoming competition, he might be able to reflect upon his own life and veer back onto the righteous path."

"That sounds incredibly humane of you, CEO Caldwell, since when did you suddenly know how to be so considerate of others? Were you moved by a sudden sense of compassion?" Julian chuckled softly, handing the smartphone back to him.

Ethan simply shook his head, offering no verbal reply, and merely picked up the glass of warm water resting on the table to hand it over to Julian. Julian took a small sip, yet the metallic taste lingering in his mouth did not seem to dissipate much. He figured he definitely needed to go brush his teeth. Right before throwing off the blankets to climb out of bed, he turned back to ask Ethan with a gaze utterly brimming with provocation: "Are you genuinely that confident I will secure the victory?"

"Your competitive nature would never allow you to accept defeat. I know you far too well." The look in Ethan’s eyes was profoundly resolute.

Julian offered a light smile, slipping his feet into his indoor slippers before making his way into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Ethan was not entirely wrong. Julian possessed his own brand of pride and an intense drive to win, especially within his specialized field of expertise. He would absolutely never allow himself to be defeated, most notably upon realizing that the opponent in question appeared to be evenly matched in terms of capability. Initially, he had been somewhat apprehensive that leveraging his accumulated experience might equate to relentlessly bullying an underdog, but as things stood now, there was utterly no need to hold himself back any longer. A formidable adversary was the only kind truly worthy of making him exert his absolute utmost effort.

He would utilize his sheer competence and highly creative mindset to utterly vanquish that young boy, and simultaneously teach him the harsh reality that in this vast world, there is always someone better, and a heaven beyond every heaven. One should never assume that possessing a mere fraction of meager talent grants the right to peer down at everyone else as if they were nothing more than filthy ants beneath one’s feet.

While he was simultaneously pondering over his competition blueprints and vigorously brushing his teeth, stark white foam clinging to the corners of his mouth, the older man also strolled over at a leisurely pace, casually leaning his tall frame against the wooden frame of the bathroom door: "Do you have any specific plans for this morning?"

"Hmm?" Julian rinsed his mouth and spat out the accumulated foam, looking at the man through the reflection of the large mirror mounted above the washing sink. "I suppose I will be staying at home to continue finalizing my character concept sketches? After all, I have not yet finished refining all of those intricate details."

Truth be told, Julian still had quite a few lingering matters that required proper arrangement. He came to the sudden realization that he had recently been somewhat dominated by the relentless wheel of time. He had to balance his schedule between the newly established company he co-founded with Lucas Hill. He was obligated to complete the series of character image sketches in order to swiftly implement them into the demonstration build for their upcoming project, not to mention dealing with the ongoing situation involving Vince Sutton, alongside the process of integrating himself into his brand new academic environment. The sheer volume of his workload just continued to pile up relentlessly.

It appeared as though he had recently made the mistake of taking on far too many responsibilities at once. And when the night come, he still passionate playtime alongside Ethan Caldwell, which consequently caused his already meager allocation of free time to become even more devastatingly constrained.

"Ah, the personnel from the system engineering department are insisting on arranging a meeting with you. They are currently awaiting your feedback."

Julian, who was in the midst of splashing cold water onto his face to properly wake himself up, abruptly paused his actions. He turned his head to gaze at Ethan, his facial expression conveying a sense of profound bewilderment: "Why on earth would they want to meet with me? It is not as if I am particularly well-versed in the intricate matters of programming engineering."

Had it been the design department, Julian would not have been the least bit surprised, but when it came to the engineering side, he was utterly helpless. It was absolutely true that Julian and Lucas Hill had collaborated with one another to build a company related to the technological sector, but their focus remained strictly on the level of data and financial engineering. On the contrary, the specific technology utilized in this current project involved constructing virtual reality imagery, comprising advanced high-level technical skills required to build the foundational framework of a video game. Julian could still comprehend a fair bit, but the moment the conversation delved into highly specialized depths, he had no choice but to surrender.

"It seems as though they simply want you to appraise their initial graphical construction models to determine whether they are up to standard or not."

Upon hearing this explanation, Julian arched an elegant eyebrow: "They already have the construction models prepared? But why are you not the one conducting the appraisal, and instead they are calling for me?"

"They are currently focusing their efforts on modifying the prototype models, and only after that will they proceed with the subsequent phases of development. I have already briefly looked over the materials, but I genuinely believe that you are the one who needs to perform the final appraisal." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Julian stepped out of the bathroom, standing directly in front of the tall man: "Why is that?"

"Because, as I have stated before, on the side of the Caldwell Empire, the individual with absolute authority and full responsibility over this project is you. Julian, during the previous phase, due to the fact that you had to transfer schools, I temporarily handled matters in your stead. However, now that everything has comfortably settled down, I suggest that you return to take over the entirety of the operations. I will leave all of the most crucial and important decisions entirely up to you. As for matters of a higher magnitude, we will simply follow the standard procedures, running them through the board of directors and the relevant stakeholders."

This time around, Julian’s eyes widened significantly further, displaying a picture of absolute, unadulterated astonishment. The man, on the other hand, continued speaking in an incredibly leisurely tone: "Darling, Grandpa Arthur said that if this year’s business reports prove to be stable, he will completely relinquish his power, leaving me to single-handedly take over the Caldwell Empire."