At the medical center.
Adam had originally planned to play it slick—clear his name, project a noble vibe, and subtly hint to MAX that he didn't remember a thing. He knew exactly who MAX was, after all.
With Caroline in such a pitiful state, would MAX really just shoo her away if Adam asked? Come on, no way. The kind-hearted MAX couldn't pull that off. So Adam figured he'd flip the script: dodge suspicion and get what he wanted. Genius, right? 😎
But then MAX didn't even let him finish—she just agreed outright.
Uh… awkward.
Clearly, MAX had seen right through his little game and flipped it back on him. You wanna play reverse psychology? Fine, I'll go along with it and see how you handle it.
And honestly, Adam had no one to blame but himself! Over the years, he'd pulled too many tricks with MAX. She'd gotten way too familiar with his sneaky moves. It's like those action movies—same old playbook, just different flavors.
Now, Adam had two options.
Option one: keep talking. MAX's kindness meant she wouldn't actually follow through on anything harsh, no matter how tough she sounded. She'd end up doing exactly what Adam had planned anyway. But here's the snag—MAX knew he was scheming, and she knew he knew she knew. If he pushed it now, it'd be like forcing her to bend, even if she didn't want to. Sure, their little improv skits had included that kind of dynamic before, but with new players in this big drama? That'd be straight-up disrespectful.
So, Adam went with option two.
"Heh," he chuckled nervously. "MAX, maybe I'm overthinking this. Blame my stupid capitalist brain—keeps me from seeing the human side of things…"
He threw in a classic move, channeling Wanyu from iPartment—that moment when she blurts out to Annie that Xiaobu's dumping her, only to realize Xiaobu's cheating fling doesn't even like guys, and he's not actually breaking up with Annie. Cue the sheepish grin.
"What I mean is, you've got your own mind—why listen to me? Forget it! I'm just a heartless capitalist—what do I know? Do what you want, don't mind me!" 😅
Emmm. Yup, Adam wisely chose to eat crow. When it's clear MAX knows he knows she knows he knows—fighting's a dead end. Win-win's the only way out.
And by win-win, he meant true win-win—everyone wins, sure, but Adam wins twice! Of course, that all depended on MAX's mood. Playing reverse psychology? Dumb. Acting all high and mighty? Hilarious—he didn't have a shred of that cred.
"Hmph!" MAX let out a smug, amused huff over the phone, clearly delighted by Adam's spineless groveling.
"So it's settled then—Caroline can start prepping the studio?"
"Wait, no!" Adam jumped in. "It's a good idea, but not yet! Let her flounder out there for a bit first."
"Why?" MAX asked, confused.
"Same reason as before," Adam said, turning serious. "The Channing family's pissed off too many people. If we help her now, we'll make enemies we don't need. Plus, she might be sweet, but she's still a pampered rich girl at heart. If she doesn't face some real struggles, see how tough the bottom can be, or understand where you came from—it's bad for her, bad for you, bad for everyone."
"I bet it's really about that wager," MAX snorted. "You're going all out just to make us sisters, huh?"
"What wager?" Adam almost slipped into acting mode but caught himself. "Oh, that wager? Nah, it's not about that—I mean it for real."
A Caroline who'd never scraped the bottom wouldn't have a thing in common with MAX. One clueless Versailles flex from her, and MAX would be left speechless. Or worse, MAX's savage tongue would hit Caroline with a reverse-Versailles jab so hard she might snap. Who knows if Caroline wouldn't turn dark-side in that mess?
Better to let society rough her up first. Then, under MAX's biting sarcasm, she'd naturally feel the warmth of humanity. Emmm. Adam knew that vibe all too well—he'd been there.
He'd bet anything that kind of grind would bond MAX and Caroline tight. One handling content, the other running ops—perfect partners in life and work. By then, Adam could kick back guilt-free. In the original timeline, they were the iconic 2 Broke Girls. He wasn't about to ruin that heartfelt connection. Emmm. That's it, nothing more.
"Fine, then the bet's off," MAX said with a laugh.
"Your call…" Adam forced a grin, quickly switching gears. "Anyway, MAX, you won't have to draw every line of Peppa Pig yourself anymore, but it's still your baby. You've gotta keep your heart in the creative side."
"Of course," MAX replied, baffled and a little annoyed. "Why would you even say that?"
Sure, Adam had pitched the outline for Peppa Pig, but she'd fleshed out every detail, every sketch. For creators, their work's like their kid—MAX was no different. Growing up starved for love, she cared about this stuff extra hard.
Back in the day, she'd aced high school, but on the day of her final exams, her flaky mom dragged her out to "have fun." She didn't graduate, couldn't go to college, and got stuck working—her shot at climbing out of hell, gone. And yet, she didn't hate her mom for it. Never regretted skipping the test. Said it was the happiest day of her life—her mom's first time taking her out.
How love-starved do you have to be for that? To MAX, Peppa Pig was her daughter. If Adam hadn't convinced her a studio would help it grow, she'd still be hand-drawing every frame, perfecting it solo. So him stating the obvious? Yeah, it rubbed her wrong.
"Ahem," Adam coughed. "What I mean is, in any field, to hit the top, you've gotta hold onto your original spark—your 'creative soul.' For kids' stuff, that's all about innocence and fun. As the lead, you've gotta keep that kid-like spirit to get what little ones are into. That means syncing up with their vibe—set a good example. Like, listen to grown-ups, be honest, keep your promises… all for Peppa Pig to shine, you know?" 😇
"Pfft!" MAX burst out laughing. "Hahaha!"
Any lingering irritation vanished. Adam was still the same old Adam—she'd overthought it.
"Heh heh heh," Adam chuckled along on his end.
What else could he do? As long as MAX was happy, that's what mattered. 😅
(End of Chapter)