Stable Town. Black Estate.
The moon hung high in the sky.
"Should I go get Caroline?" Max asked lazily.
"No need," Adam paused, shaking his head.
"You sure?" Max tilted her head, glancing at him.
"I'm sure," Adam smiled. "Right here, right now, just the two of us enjoying the moon is perfect."
"Fine, you said it. Don't say I didn't give you a chance," Max said, a faint smile curling on her lips.
Adam, always keeping an eye on Max, noticed that subtle grin and sighed inwardly.
As expected!
Sure, Max was the queen of sharp-tongued, dirty jokes, always ready with some wild move.
But in reality, she wasn't as open as her words suggested.
In his previous life, Adam had watched 2 Broke Girls.
He hadn't rewatched it dozens of times like The Big Bang Theory, nor had he seen it a few times like How I Met Your Mother.
He hadn't even finished Friends, though he got close to the end.
For 2 Broke Girls, Adam only watched the first two seasons and stopped.
The plot felt less cohesive and grounded compared to those classic sitcoms, like it was just chasing punchlines for the sake of punchlines.
But even so, Adam remembered the opening of 2 Broke Girls, where Max and Caroline clashed over Max's boyfriend.
When kind-hearted Max brought homeless Caroline—who could only sleep in the subway with a stun gun—back to her apartment, she let her stay while Max went to work as a nanny for socialite Peachy. They'd go to work together after.
While Caroline was washing dirty waitress uniforms at Max's place, Max's boyfriend woke up in the inner room on Max's bed. Seeing the elegantly dressed, long-legged blonde, he got bad ideas and started flirting with Caroline.
Caroline, of course, wasn't that low. She scolded Max's boyfriend and left early for her restaurant job.
When Max finished her nanny gig and got to the restaurant, she complained that Caroline didn't wait for her and mentioned hearing about Caroline's "tragic situation."
Max meant she'd heard about the Channing family's downfall from her socialite employer, Peachy.
But Caroline mistakenly thought Max's boyfriend had tattled first, letting something slip.
Max was furious, refusing to believe Caroline's explanation, and nearly ended their friendship.
If she hadn't gone back and found her boyfriend bringing another woman home to mess around while she was away, realizing Caroline wasn't lying, their legendary broke-girl partnership might have ended right there.
Adam did have some bold ideas.
But he cared more about Max's feelings.
He didn't want Max to feel uncomfortable.
Hmmm.
Of course, if the time came and Max insisted on making Adam honor a bet, that'd be a different story.
In short, Adam, being quite traditional, valued old-school etiquette.
Declining three times and yielding three times was basic protocol. 😅
"Alright, put me down," Max said, smiling.
"Nah, better not," Adam shook his head with a laugh. "I was just about to tell you—living in the estate, there are some things you need to watch out for…"
He went on to explain precautions like poison ivy rashes.
Hearing the symptoms and causes of poison ivy, Max shivered, looking at the surrounding grass uneasily. "That bad?"
"Even a famous doctor like Montgomery got caught off guard," Adam chuckled. "Just be careful. If you get it, you're the one who'll suffer."
"Damn it!" Max cursed. "Sure enough, everything has its pros and cons!"
"That's just the natural law of development," Adam reassured her. "Just pay attention, and you'll be fine."
"So that's why you've been holding me this whole time?" Max tilted her head, eyeing him skeptically.
"What else?" Adam, standing alone under the moon, shrugged.
"I thought you were just showing off your strength," Max teased.
"You're overthinking it," Adam said seriously. "I'm just protecting you from pain, making sure you're happy."
"Alright," Max laughed, accepting the explanation, then added, "Is Caroline going to keep working as a waitress?"
"What does she say?" Adam smiled.
"Of course she doesn't want to," Max shrugged. "If it weren't for necessity, who'd want to be a waitress? Especially someone with Caroline's background."
"Mm," Adam nodded, pondering. "She's done it for a while now, experienced what she needed to. After today, going back to being a waitress isn't really necessary."
"You mean she can quit?" Max perked up, genuinely happy for Caroline.
"If it were up to me, I'd say she should keep at it for another six months, maybe three to five years, ideally," Adam laughed. "Let everyone see her struggles, vent their resentment, then forget her. But it's up to you! If you really don't want her to, she can work with you. You focus on content, she handles operations and admin, and together you make Peppa Pig the best it can be."
"I'll talk it over with her," Max said, hesitating. "See what she thinks."
"Actually, doing something like waitressing is still necessary," Adam reminded her. "But now you can compromise—half a day waitressing, the rest helping you set up the studio. I'm sure she has the drive to balance her time.
It's just less sleep, right?
I remember you used to juggle two or three part-time jobs a day, sleeping only three hours.
You did it, she can too!"
In the original timeline, they worked as waitresses together, saving up to start a big cupcake business.
Their schedule was:
6 PM to 2 AM waitressing at the restaurant.
2 AM to 4 AM selling cupcakes.
7 AM to 11 AM making cupcakes.
12 PM to 4 PM taking pastry classes to improve cupcake quality.
Only three hours of sleep a day.
Almost like Adam with his system.
In his previous life, Adam was stunned watching it.
In this life, with the system's boosts and constant stat improvements, he finally surpassed Max.
For Max's innate endurance talent, Adam could only say: Respect.
Caroline didn't have that same endurance talent, but she stuck it out later.
Why?
Caroline's talent for making money was enough to offset Max's endurance, fueling her to work overtime like she was on steroids.
They were a true 007 duo! 😅
"True," Max nodded with a smile.
She had full confidence in Caroline's abilities.
In the original timeline, when she kicked out her cheating, messy boyfriend, someone had told her she deserved better.
Her boyfriend, pulling up his pants, tried to argue, saying Max shouldn't listen to others, that they didn't know anything, and she should only listen to him.
Max fired back instantly: "She's a Wharton grad! She knows exactly what kind of crap you are! I wish I'd met her sooner!"
Later, when they started their business, Max relied on Caroline's strategies the whole time. Max just quietly made cupcakes, and when Caroline apologized for not helping, Max reassured her, telling her to rest.
They each had their roles, working perfectly together.
One handled production and technique.
One handled marketing and operations.
A classic startup duo, naturally paired, perfectly in sync!
(End of Chapter)