Upon returning to the shoe factory, Marius immediately administered the antidote to Emma, and the effect was excellent; the little girl quickly recovered her human body.
However, the subsequent bright eyes of the three little girls made Marius feel troubled.
This Vampire Count wouldn't know how to take care of children, and Emma, who had already recovered her human identity, was not suitable to stay with a Vampire for long.
"Why don't I take care of them? This can give me a head start on experiencing what it's like to be a mother." Stacy, who was meticulous and had been a Vampire for over a decade, saw Marius's dilemma.
Moreover, she genuinely liked these three little ones.
"I have no objections." Joe, who was by his girlfriend's side, also agreed to her suggestion.
Currently, although Joe and Stacy were not yet married, given that Stacy's physical age was already over thirty, the two of them were also busy preparing for pregnancy during this time.
Therefore, neither of them was averse to taking care of three adorable little girls.
"That's truly wonderful!" Marius, who was still worrying about where the children would stay at night, showed a relieved smile on his face after hearing Stacy and Joe's words.
Then, he knelt down and gently helped the three eager little girls tidy their hair and clothes, saying, "Stacy and Joe will take care of you from now on. You must also learn to listen to them and be good children, understood?"
Previously at the farm, the three little girls had met the kind Marius at their most desperate moment, after their adoptive parents were murdered.
Although Marius only managed to save two of the little girls at the time, all three little girls actually had a very good impression of him.
They even developed a reliance—
Watching the three little girls leave, constantly looking back at Marius who was seeing them off, Van finally couldn't help but turn around and suggest, "Marius, why don't you come and stay with us for a while? You don't have anywhere else to go anyway."
Yes, as a lone wolf, Marius did not have a fixed residence.
If nothing unexpected happened, he probably planned to make do in the shoe factory for the night.
"Is that really okay? No... never mind." Marius's face first showed an expression of surprise, then he shook his head.
He realized that it was not appropriate for a Vampire to live in a human's home.
"What's the big deal? We're colleagues, it's fine for you to stay for a few days. And you can also look after these three little ones up close." Through their interactions along the way, Van had clearly come to regard Marius as one of his own, then he half-jokingly said, "Of course, you must also abide by the rule of not harming humans, otherwise I won't be polite to you."
At the same time, the three clever little ones also ran to Marius, tugging at his clothes and showing pleading eyes.
Evidently, after their previous tragic experiences, these three insecure little ones were very reluctant to part with their "benefactor."
As for Marius, who had wandered alone for an unknown number of years, his heart was also afraid of loneliness and solitude.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have wanted so much to cultivate Lestat as his "companion" before.
In this situation, looking at the bright, watery eyes of the three little ones in front of him, a long-lost warmth appeared deep in his heart.
"Let's go, let's go see your new home—" Immediately, Marius smiled and led the three little ones towards Van and his two companions.
...
The next morning, Mike, who woke up to the girls' kisses, learned from Tina about what had happened behind the shoe factory last night.
"That's pretty good," Mike commented.
The adoption of the three little girls by Stacy and Joe was a good thing for both parties.
On one side was a woman in her thirties who didn't know when she would be able to have children. On the other side were three little girls who, if not cared for, might be sent back to the orphanage.
Now, combining these factors, it was a win-win situation.
As for Van inviting Marius to live in his home, Mike reserved judgment for now.
However, to be on the safe side, he still instructed Tina, "Later, go tell Van that no matter what problems he encounters, he can call me for support at any time."
Just as Marius had sensed before, Mike indeed had no fondness for "darkness" like Vampires or werewolves.
Even Needy, Mike was wary of her for a long time at the beginning.
It wasn't until he gained the ability of [Hearing Women's Thoughts] later that the situation slightly improved.
In a flash, more than a month passed, and with the arrival of summer, the weather in New York gradually became hot.
On the Columbia University campus, beautiful figures in short skirts could be seen everywhere.
"Why have you been coming to school less and less lately?" In the quiet equipment room on campus, Caroline, her face flushed, caught her breath by the windowsill and turned to ask the handsome man behind her.
"I've pretty much learned all the courses I'm interested in, so there's not much to do when I come here," Mike said truthfully, "Moreover, I've decided to graduate from Columbia University."
For super geniuses like him and Paige, completing several graduate courses in half a year was no challenge at all.
For example, Mike had already learned all subjects like Information Management, Economics, and Psychology to Level 4, and he just needed to pick up a few more doctoral titles when the opportunity arose.
Paige was similar to Mike; she had already mastered Network Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence disciplines and was now tackling Mechanical Engineering, intending to build her first-generation AI robot.
"Is that so?" Caroline's eyes darted, and she said, "Why don't I also apply for a leave of absence and come work at your company?"
The increasingly less time spent together made this young miss of Channing Family feel a sense of urgency.
Sure enough, taking advantage of school dismissal in the afternoon, this young miss pulled Mike to a secluded spot, intending to further deepen their relationship.
And it must be said, the girl's long legs were indeed quite nice.
"Are you sure?" Mike said, not forgetting to explain, "I don't go to the company very often normally."
"Then... then never mind."
...
"How will I get home later..." After a big battle, Caroline, slumped beneath the windowsill, looked resentfully at the man in front of her.
"Can you blame me? You're the one who couldn't handle it." Mike was a bit speechless too.
It was clear that this young miss of Channing Family was doing this for the first time, yet she was both bad at it and loved to play, refusing to admit defeat.
"You're still talking..." Caroline's face flushed again, then she whined, "I don't care, I want you to take me home."
She also hadn't expected Mike to be so strong; didn't they say men weren't as strong as women?
"Alright, alright, I'll take you home later," Mike instructed, "But you should tidy yourself up first."
More than half an hour later, in the school's underground parking lot, Caroline, with a happy smile on her face, put her arm around Mike's and got into his sports car.
Of course, Caroline, who was limping slightly, did not ask Mike to take her back to the Channing Family Building on Fifth Avenue.
Instead, she took the car to her private villa, which her father had bought for her.
After enjoying a blood-replenishing feast under the care of the nanny, Caroline felt ready again.
Then, she pulled Mike, whom she had forced to stay for dinner, into her boudoir.
It turns out that some pleasurable things can indeed be addictive.
Not to mention, it was Caroline's first time, and she had tasted such "high-quality" forbidden fruit.
The next day, Caroline, unable to get out of bed, also enjoyed the pleasure of skipping class.
"Oh, Mike. My dad is preparing another pre-sale project recently, and I heard it's very profitable. If you're interested, I can take you to meet him and get you internal preferential treatment..." After resting for a morning, Caroline had recovered some of her energy.
As the only daughter of a top wealthy family, Caroline was no stranger to news from Wall Street, and she naturally knew about Mike starting a company.
Becoming increasingly infatuated with Mike, she wanted to use economic means to tie them together.
One must know that this handsome man in front of her had many romantic interests, and he himself was not exactly honest.
Without using some tactics, Caroline was genuinely afraid that she would be used and then discarded by him.
"Pre-sale project?" Mike fell silent for a moment, realizing that Channing Family had already started a "Ponzi scheme," or rather, a "pyramid scheme" business.
This was not something good to get involved with.
"My company's business is mainly in investing in real industries. I'll pass on the pre-sale project—" Mike refused the girl's kind offer, then reminded her, "I think if you have the chance, you can also try starting a business for fun. If you can achieve financial freedom, not only can you put your knowledge to good use, but you can also make your dad look at you with new eyes."
When a large enterprise heads towards destruction, there must be many internal problems.
It's not something an outsider can easily revive with a few words of persuasion.
What Mike could do was to ensure she had the ability to be self-reliant when her family went bankrupt.
"Starting a business? Sounds very boring." Caroline, who had never lacked money, was not interested in making money.
"Whatever you want, it's not a big problem." Seeing this situation, Mike didn't try to persuade her further.
At most, when the girl's family went bankrupt, he would just lend her a hand.
As for the spiraling Channing Group, Mike truly couldn't save it.
One reason was that the operational difficulty was simply too great, and another was that his relationship with the Channing Family family head hadn't reached that level yet.