Chapter 19

The Velociraptor opened its fierce eyes, glancing at the other prey, yet made no move—not because it was full, but because the behavioral detection device had taken effect; it was already imprisoned by the park, which explained why Grant could glare angrily at Ye Nan.

“A man, no matter what dreams he pursues, should naturally offer a little comfort to the woman who loves him.”

Ye Nan’s low voice echoed through the Dinosaur Park, accompanied by his provocative gaze.

“Are you provoking me?” Grant lunged forward, but Ellie grabbed him. He glared at her, roaring, “Why? Why are you helping him?”

Grant was like a wounded wolf, helplessly rejecting everyone’s aid, unaware that he was quietly hurting the one who truly loved him.

Ellie looked at Grant, tears in her eyes. “Grant, are you really this kind of man?”

“What are you talking about?” Grant asked, confused. Seeing Ellie’s tears, he grew flustered. “I don’t know what you mean. Don’t listen to him—he’s just a child, he understands nothing.”

“I understand,” Ye Nan smiled. “I know what Ellie means. The one who doesn’t understand is you.”

Any woman, when facing her lover, tends to overlook his flaws and magnify his strengths—even ignore them. What Ye Nan did was expose Grant’s flaws.

Women are emotional creatures who crave beauty; they never like someone prone to jealousy.

Ye Nan’s words were slowly luring Grant to reveal his true nature. He disliked children because they wasted money; Ye Nan’s appearance shattered his long-held beliefs—a boy of just eleven was already the CEO of a major corporation.

Faced with such a shock to his worldview, Grant either had to accept it or viciously denounce it. This impoverished scholar, provoked by Ye Nan, developed a strong aversion to him and instinctively chose furious denunciation. Step by step, under Ye Nan’s provocation, Grant lost all his composure.

For Ellie, who had viewed Grant as flawless, seeing him so different from her idealized image left her bewildered.

“You’re a tall, upright man. I love how focused you are when you work. I cherished the days when we rejoiced together over new fossil discoveries, or fretted over missing data.”

“In my mind, you hated children because they were messy and wasted money. You said you didn’t like them and never wanted any.”

“But I need them. I’m a woman—children are my support, besides my husband. Yet when I asked you, you always dodged and changed the subject.”

Ellie stared at Grant, tears streaming down her face, releasing all the accumulated Weiqu of recent days. Each Shitan , each disappointment—so much resentment had built up.

“Ah, Ye, it seems your plan failed. Look, their bond is still deep. All Grant needs to do is apologize, and they’ll make up.” Hammond smiled at Ye Nan.

He had figured it out: Ye Nan admired Ellie greatly—perhaps even loved her—which was why he was stirring up trouble.

“Sigh, love—it drives people to life and death. Even a business genius like him can’t escape it. He’s still too young.”

Hammond chuckled inwardly. He had no real friendship with Grant—only once supported his research, with a mere fifty thousand dollars. But Ye Nan was the one he needed to rely on; Ye Nan’s ICQ company was the internet’s dominant force.

With ICQ’s backing, his Jurassic Park would become even more perfect, even expand—buying up all nearby islands. He could then continue refining his technology, pushing dinosaur creation to new heights.

Weighing both sides, Hammond unhesitatingly abandoned Grant and chose to aid Ye Nan.

Ye Nan ignored Hammond and pointed at Grant. “You’re not a man. You can’t even protect your own woman. You don’t deserve to be called a man.”

“What did you say?” Grant’s face flushed crimson as he glared at Ye Nan. The romantic atmosphere Ellie had built vanished in an instant, leaving only her disappointed expression.

“I say you’re not a man—you have no responsibility,” Ye Nan pointed at Ellie, speaking slowly and clearly. “Ellie is a woman. For a woman, children are her support. Yet you, because of your personal preferences, refuse to have any—cruelly crushing Ellie’s hope. Tell me, are you even a man?”

Normally, Ye Nan’s words would have been medicine. But at this moment, they became a fuse.

“You little brat, what do you know? Kids are dirty, wasteful, and make already tight budgets even tighter. Our research needs funding—we can’t sacrifice it for a child!” Grant shouted, as if Ye Nan were truly clueless.

But was Ye Nan really clueless? He was a bright young man from the twenty-first century—how could he be ignorant?

True, Grant’s words held merit. In America and Europe, many families feared that having children would worsen their already strained finances, so they chose not to have any.

In their eyes, as long as they themselves were fine, there was no need for children. Kids were burdens; after all, the federal government would support them in old age, so they needn’t worry about being abandoned. This stood in stark contrast to Chinese values.

But how could such words be spoken in front of a woman—especially one who loved him and hoped to bear his child?

As Ye Nan had predicted, the moment Grant spoke, Ellie’s disappointment deepened visibly.

Though she understood, though she could empathize, when faced with it directly, she still felt a crushing weight in her chest.

Seeing her expression, Ye Nan knew he only needed to press a little harder to make Ellie completely lose faith in Grant. But fate was unkind—just as Ye Nan and Grant were locked in conflict, a sudden hurricane swept in.