Chapter 557 Can We Try It Once?
Damian's blood rushed to his head, surging forward, almost driving him mad. He was losing his grip on sanity and instinctively asked, "Do you hate me that much?"
"I don't hate you, I just don't want to cause too much trouble..."
At that moment, the coffee table buzzed with an incoming call from Thomas.
Damian picked up the phone, turned it over in his hand, and looked at Ashley, speaking each word deliberately, "I'm learning a lot of things slowly. I wasn't born knowing how to do everything. Give me some time, and give yourself some space. Let's try once, okay?"
He said, "let's try once."
His tone was sincere, his attitude serious, without the usual sarcasm.
It sounded so touching.
Ashley sniffed, feeling a sourness that almost brought her to tears. Damn it, how did she not know before that Damian could pierce through her heart so easily? Just a few words and she let her guard down.
The phone was still vibrating. Ashley said, "Mr. Hearst, answer the call. It might be urgent."
Damian continued, "Some unpleasant things happened to me, leading to bad results. I can explain." He still looked at her, his gaze firm and unwavering.
Ashley gritted her teeth, "Natalia has played long enough. I'll take her back."
Without looking back, she walked away with long strides.
Damn it, why did she feel so heartbroken and sad? She was really worried that if she listened a bit longer, she would soften.
The phone went silent, and the surroundings became deathly still.
Ashley walked away, her presence no longer detectable. Damian's throbbing head was still tense.
He opened the drawer under the coffee table, took out a pack of cigarettes, lit one, and took a deep drag.
The smoke was strong, the taste hitting his lungs and whipping his respiratory tract.
When did he start smoking such strong cigarettes? Probably five years ago.
Under the influence of nicotine, his nerves became sharper and clearer, suddenly recalling what she had said a long time ago.
"Damian, do you know what I hate most about myself? I hate that I still can't completely hate you."
So what about today?
She didn't hate him anymore because he wasn't even worthy of her hatred.
Damian finished his cigarette, extinguished the butt in the ashtray, and crushed the last bit of the filter with his long fingers, pressing hard until the thin layer of paper shattered.
He picked up the phone and dialed.
"Louis, is my report ready?"
After the car accident, Damian hadn't gone to Louis for a check-up for a long time. Maybe Martin's head therapy had worked; his emotions were not as easily out of control as before. Gradually, he considered himself normal.
To be safe, after Ashley returned to the country, Damian went for a mental health analysis again. He was afraid of losing control and hurting her again.
There was the sound of typing on a computer, and soon the data was pulled up. Sylvania's unique teasing tone came through, "Looks like we should thank God."
Damian frowned, "Keep it simple, what's the result?"
"You're recovering well. I don't know whether to admire your incredible willpower or praise your profound culture. In any case, based on the current data analysis, your mental illness is effectively under control. Last time we did a stimulus test, your cerebral cortex didn't have an overreaction, indicating that your prefrontal cortex control has returned to normal levels. The nucleus accumbens and amygdala still need strengthening. As for medication, it depends on whether you can control your emotions. If needed, I can prescribe some."
In the brain, the nucleus accumbens and amygdala manage emotional processing functions. Damian's childhood trauma caused these parts to be repressed and closed off for a long time, resulting in a lack of empathy and difficulty in feeling others' joy and sorrow.
But Ashley was his exception.
That was enough.
Damian said, "No need, no medication."
Louis didn't insist, "Is your leg feeling better? Any sensation?"
Damian's hand, still smelling of tobacco, pounded on his leg, "No."
Not at all.
It was like a long, endless darkness, floating inside without knowing the meaning of persistence. Many moments even made him think, maybe he would be lost forever in a hopeless abyss.
"How about your wife? Do you still get angry when you see her? Do you still feel the urge to kill when she interacts with other men?"
"I feel heartache, physical pain, my chest so tight I can't breathe."
Louis wanted to say that was a good thing but realized his excitement was inappropriate, "I believe you can still have happiness, William. This isn't your fault."
"Don't make excuses for me, it's unfair to her."
Louis said, "I really want to meet her."
The woman who haunted Damian's soul, what was she like?
"You will."
Hanging up the phone, Damian lit another cigarette.
A few minutes later, the phone rang again.
Damian pressed his fingers to his forehead and swiped the screen.
"Mr. Hearst, are you done? Am I disturbing you?" Thomas asked cautiously.
Damian exhaled a large cloud of smoke, pinching the bridge of his nose, "It's fine, go ahead."
"After the volcano's new product launch, investor confidence surged, and the stock price rebounded, even rising several percentage points."
Thomas was in Evercrest City, following up on the volcano's new product launch.
But it was all within Damian's expectations. "Is the product analysis done?"
"Just finished the technical analysis. I sent you the detailed data via email."
Damian opened his computer and quickly scanned the dense data, "The safety performance test control group and time period are unclear. This is a safety hazard."
"They have a new children's smart car that has gained a lot of popularity among Sylvania families. Pre-orders have exceeded 100,000, and the numbers are still rising. It could be this year's hit product."
The adult car market was hard to innovate, so the volcano targeted young consumers, creating a child-friendly vehicle. The remote control was in the parents' hands, allowing the car to drive children around the community, park, or playground, greatly facilitating the parenting group and fulfilling the driving dreams of children under ten.
Once launched, the market was in an uproar.
Damian said, "The concept is right, but lithium batteries have too many safety hazards. Their storage capacity is weak in winter and not flammable, but in hot weather, they are prone to accidents. Send some people to the Aveya Continent, operate continuously in high temperatures, and see how long their new product lasts."
Thomas immediately agreed, "Yes! It's the same principle as electric cars being prone to catching fire in summer!"
Damian hung up the phone, operated the computer with one hand, and opened the replay video of the volcano's launch event, watching the highlights at triple speed, then dialed another number.
"Christian."
Christian, suddenly summoned by Damian, quickly sat up, "Mr. Hearst, you still remember me? I thought you had forgotten about me."
After Damian became disabled, he stopped going out and attending gatherings, and contact with his friends became scarce. Christian was particularly excited at this moment.
"Is your Aveya Continent project still on hold?"
Christian wanted to cry, "No, if you want to scold me, just do it directly. Don't be so indirect. My dad is about to kill me. Isn't it because I carelessly bought a losing deal?"
Damian said, "There's a way to make it shine once. Do you want it?"
Christian got excited, "Yes! Tell me!"
"Volcano has a batch of new product parts being processed in the Aveya Continent. Rent out the factory to a third-party contractor."
"That's it?"
"And then, blow it up."
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