Chapter 137

Howard's POV

I sat in the car with Annie, watching Lucy and Penny walking hand in hand toward their classroom, chatting excitedly. Their friendship had blossomed remarkably quickly, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction seeing Lucy so animated and engaged.

As I observed the school entrance. I noticed Philip Baker standing not far from the main doors, his gaze constantly scanning the area. He was clearly searching for someone, his posture tense and expectant.

Annie's expression suddenly darkened, the change so immediate I could almost feel the temperature drop between us. Her jaw tightened and her eyes narrowed slightly-subtle changes that most would miss,but I had grown attuned to her every expression.

"Did you see him?" I asked quietly, knowing exactly what had triggered her reaction.

"Yes," Annie replied with unnatural calm, though I could detect the underlying anger in her voice. "Didn't he already abandon Brian? Why is he still coming to the preschool?"

I looked in Philip's direction, assessing the situation before offering Annie reassurance. "You don't need to be so pessimistic about this."

Annie turned to me with a confused look. "What do you mean?"

Rather than answering directly, I gestured for Annie to observe more carefully what was unfolding before us.

Annie redirected her attention to the scene playing out in front of the

school. A black sedan pulled up to the curb, and Brian stepped out. When he spotted Philip standing nearby, the boy didn't breakstride-he simply looked straight ahead, deliberately avoiding any eye contact with his father.

Philip noticed his son immediately. He moved forward half a step, his mouth opening as if to speak, but ultimately remained rooted to the spot,his arm awkwardly rising then falling back to his side.

Fatherand son passed each other without exchanging a single word.Brian walked directly toward the school entrance without looking back once.

I smiled with satisfaction. "It seems Philip's recent behavior has truly wounded his son's heart."

"And his son appears to have quite a stubborn temperament-it looks like he has no intention of reconciling with Philip," I added with a hint of approval in my voice.

I reached over to take Annie's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Philip has placed all his hopes on Sarah's child..."

Annie completed my thought with evident satisfaction: "And the child in Sarah's belly isn't even his."

Our eyes met in silent understanding, a shared knowledge that gave us both a certain advantage in this complex situation.

Annie's lips curved upward into an involuntary smile.

The driver,sensing our readiness to depart, started the engine and pualled away from the curb.

Through the rearview mirror, I could see Philip standing alone at the preschool entrance, watching other parents arrive with their children. He

looked awkward and isolated, a man clearly out of his element.

Upon reaching Howard Technologies headquarters, Annie and I walked together into our shared office space. I settled into my chair,contemplating the morning's events while Annie organized her files on the other side of the office.

Soon after, my secretary Susan Moore knocked and entered,barely containing her excitement.

"Mr. Thompson, I have good news to report," Susan announced,her face alight with anticipation.

I looked up at Susan. "What is it?"

Susan replied, "Remember several days ago when we completely terminated our partnership with Mr. White's company?"

I nodded. "Yes."

Susan handed me a folder. "I contacted potential new partners, and they immediately invited me to tour their factory and view their latest products.

I took the folder and opened it. "Have you tested their new products? How do they compare to what Mr. White's company was providing?"

Susan was effusive about the new products: "They're far superior to Mr.White's company's offerings, Mr. Thompson. These products are at least 30% more energy-efficient, and the material quality is much more stable."

After reviewing the materials, I closed the folder. "I'm just thinking...perhaps in our future partnerships with other companies, we should

include innovation requirements in the contracts? That way, if our partners fail to upgrade their products while other companies make significant advances, we would have the right to terminate the contract and partner with more innovative companies."

Susan nodded in agreement. "Mr. White's company serves as a perfect cautionary tale. They initially sacrificed their most important projects to defeat competitors, transferring control to external investors. As a result.they now cannot generate substantial revenule and have damaged their partnership with our company."

"This way, if our partners fail to upgrade their products while other companies make significant advances..." I continued thoughtfully,"we would have the right to terminate the contract and partner with more innovative companies."

I realized that many companies grew complacent after establishing partnerships with Howard Technologies, believing they no longer needed to improve their products. Meanwhile, other companies fighting for survival continuously enhanced their offerings.

This disparity might be manageable once or twice, but over time, I worried it could eventually drag down Howard Technologies, making us obsolete as well.

For the company's long-term prospects, I felt stricter standards needed to be implemented.

Susan nodded in agreement. "I think that's a brilliant idea."

"Mr. White's company is a perfect cautionary tale," Susan added. "They initially sacrificed their most important projects to defeat competitors,transferring control to external investors."

"As a result, they now cannot generate substantial revenue," Susan continued. "They've also damaged their partnership with our company through their actions."

"Yet they confidently claimed they could easily find better partners without us..."Susan shook her head, "I imagine they must be quite disappointed now."

Susan demonstrated her comprehensive understanding of Mr. White's company's situation: "Their technology is far behind, and they've lost Howard Technologies' support."

"From their perspective, this will be an extremely difficult period," she concluded.

I didn't disagree, merely observing: "This illustrates why in fierce competition, one must constantly enhance their competitive advantage. It's also a lesson our company should learn from."

"Yes, sir," Susan replied. "I will remember that."

Susan then shifted topics: "Since learning how much revenue overseas merchandise generates annually, I've been studying their business model. I've discovered their product range is much more diversified than ours,including many everyday household items."

"My plan is to send company personnel abroad to study these methods.and when they return, we can expand our merchandise range to include more practical everyday items. This will increase our sales volume and profitability. What do you think?"

I glanced at Annie working at her desk: "That's a brilliant idea, but I'm not the primary decision-maker in this case," I turned to Annie and asked,

"What do you think?"