I became even more confused after listening to Atticus. I had no idea how confident he was.


    Clutching the phone with a sense of helplessness, I pondered over Atticus'' intentions. His call suggested that our design proposal was the key to giving Melvern a winning chance. Why would Atticus still want us to submit a proposal if that was the case?


    At this point, even Lauren was baffled. She looked at me and couldn''t help prodding. "What the heck is going on?" she asked.


    Shaking my head, I said in resignation, "Looks like Melvern is truly going head-to-head with Atticus." I then exined the situation to Lauren, who fell silent for a long time.


    She then said, "In my opinion, all we can do now is wait and see what happens. Steady yourself and let them duke it out."


    "But I can''t figure out what kind of scheme Melvern is ying," I said in genuine concern, "I can''t just stand by and watch Atticus rise or fall."


    "Don''t overthink it. Atticus is no pushover. Have you ever seen him lose at anything? He just needs a little push at crucial times. That''s all."


    I grinned at Lauren. "Look at you. Such an enigma."


    She leaned back and said, "I''m not an enigma. I just think that we shouldn''t exert ourselves in vain for now. Ultimately, it might backfire and not be worth the effort.


    "The immediate priority is to handle


    these things subtly and stably. Let them fight it out while we sit back hands-free. You know what they say, ''Keep your eye on the prize,"" Lauren said, spreading her hands and exining her viewpoint.


    "You''re right. I don''t think Atticus is weak, either. It''s more like Melvern has some sinister ns. I believe there are tricks behind hisN?velDrama.Org holds ? this.


    knowledge of Liora''s ipatibility with me. He came to discuss cooperation, knowing that I was well aware of the tensions with Liora. I just don''t believe there isn''t


    something fishy about that."


    As I spoke, I lowered the car window. It was a bit stuffy inside, and I badly needed some fresh air.


    "So, we would do well to maintain neutrality, stay low-key, and cool-headed. We''ll take advantage of this situation to get what we want.


    "Once we stabilize our position, we''ll grow into a towering tree regardless of how thendscape changes. Let everyone else swear allegiances. That''s the perfect strategy."


    Hearing Lauren''s words, I felt


    enlightened. This was the oue I desired, but my train of thought had been blocked. I had initially wanted to discuss this issue with As, but he was too busy, and I didn''t want to trouble him with mypany


    was


    matters. He had already done enough for me.


    With her insightful analysis, I formted a n. Smirking, I looked at her with a sly smile.