Leah Evans was extremely satisfied with Sophia Shaw’s reaction. She said to Cedric Grant, "Since your weak stomach is your Auntie Joanna’s fault, go back and have her take care of you."

"Don’t have your mother waiting on you here while you save all your appreciation for someone else. I’m your mother, not a charity, and I’m not here to provide free labor for another family."

With that, she turned and left.

After being swamped for over half a month, Sophia Shaw finally had time to go live.

Her audience had been waiting for what felt like an eternity.

The moment she went live, before she even had a chance to speak, several Dream Castles appeared on screen.

’Something to entertain the child.’

Sophia Shaw was speechless.

Bun babbled on Sophia Shaw’s lap, bouncing with excitement.

The little one didn’t know the things on the screen weren’t real and earnestly tried to grab them.

"My little car!"

"My little rocket!"

"My little flower!"

The more the little one tried to grab at the screen, the more furiously the viewers sent gifts.

The entire stream turned into a "spoil the baby by throwing money" festival.

By the time Sophia Shaw began to speak, a long string of digits was already sitting in her donation account.

After the stream ended, Sophia Shaw noticed her top donor had been incredibly generous, sending over thirty Dream Castles in one sitting.

Thirty Dream Castles was no small matter—that was equivalent to thirty thousand yuan!

Sophia was worried it might be an irresponsible kid using their parents’ phone, but she was even more concerned it was an adult with a family to feed who had gotten carried away with an impulse buy just for the glory of being the top donor.

Either way, she couldn’t let such a pointless loss occur.

After some thought, Sophia Shaw contacted the platform and asked them to look into the donor’s identity.

The platform replied quickly. "The user lives in the Brierdale Villas area. They’re likely very well-off and just sent the gifts for entertainment."

Sophia Shaw still wasn’t convinced.

She insisted the platform help her contact the donor personally.

A short while later, the platform sent over some contact information.

Sophia Shaw looked at it and froze.

She knew this number. It was Jenson Forrest’s.

’Why would he act as my top donor and send so many gifts?’

Jenson Forrest’s relationship with Vincent Grant was anything but ordinary, and he also shared a deep, personal friendship with Joanna Sherman. Sophia had no desire to get close to him, which made her even more unwilling to accept his money from these bizarre donations.

She decided to call him and give the money back.

"Sophie."

A clear, bright female voice answered on the other end.

"Lil?" Sophia asked, surprised. "Where’s your brother?"

"My brother’s busy in his study. Do you need him for something, Sophie?"

"He’s been busy this whole time?" Sophia glanced at the donation record on her phone.

Lillian replied, "Yeah. You’re calling about the donations, right, Sophie? I’m the one who was watching the stream. I made the donations."

Sophia was taken aback.

Lillian’s eyesight was poor, and Sophia had never mentioned her livestreams during their tutoring sessions.

Besides, she didn’t even use her or Bun’s real names on the stream.

’How did she find out about my stream?’

As if guessing her thoughts, Lillian explained, "Ma Lane was scrolling through videos and happened upon you and Bun. I thought it sounded interesting, so I started listening in."

"Sophie, you’re a great storyteller, and Bun is so adorable. I got a little carried away and sent a few Dream Castles."

"It’s my first time being the top donor. It actually feels pretty good."

"Sophie, the platform staff told me you wanted to refund the money. But I only donated because I thought you deserved it. Please don’t make a big deal out of it."

"And you know my brother gives me an allowance of over a hundred thousand a month. Even spending twenty or thirty thousand, I’d still have plenty left over."

Hearing that it was Lillian who sent the gifts, Sophia’s reservations eased a little.

And hearing Lillian sound so pleading, she decided to drop it.

"Lil, just this once. Don’t send so many gifts next time."

No matter how much money Lillian had, she hadn’t earned it herself, and Sophia didn’t want people close to her to spend so thoughtlessly on her streams.

"I know," Lillian readily agreed.

"Sophie, my exams are coming up soon. Does that mean you won’t be my tutor anymore after they’re over?"

"That’s right."

Lillian’s spirits fell. "But what if I want to see you and Bun again? Sophie... do you not like me?"

"Of course not!" Sophia genuinely adored her. "Lil, just focus on your studies and get into a good school."

"Once you’re in college, I can visit you on campus. And you can come visit me during your holidays."

"Okay! I’ll work as hard as I can!"

Lillian hung up the phone, overjoyed.

She handed the phone back. "Here."

Across from her, Jenson Forrest took it.

"Thank you, Lil."

Lillian pouted slightly. "Brother, why didn’t you let Sophie know you were the one who sent the gifts?"

Jenson’s gaze darkened.

’Someone with Sophia’s personality would never accept his donations.’

"Brother, you really like Sophie, don’t you?"

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Jenson’s expression became unnatural. "Don’t jump to conclusions."

"I’m not jumping to conclusions," Lillian said, full of confidence. "Every time Sophie comes for a lesson, you’re outside the door, eavesdropping."

"And when she leaves, you always trail behind her car to see her off in secret!"

"How do you know that?" Jenson never imagined his secret actions would be discovered by Lillian.

"I heard it," Lillian said, pointing to her ears.

"I can’t see, but my hearing is excellent. I can recognize the sound of your car’s engine instantly. And I could hear you breathing outside the door!"

"Brother," Lillian said, gently taking Jenson’s hand. "I’m not against you liking Sophie. To be honest, I really, really like her too."

"But brother... please don’t be a homewrecker, okay?"

Her brother had never liked a girl before, and Lillian was afraid that once he opened the floodgates of affection, he would become reckless and ignore the consequences.

She didn’t want her brother to be condemned, nor did she want Sophia to be slandered.

Jenson gently patted his sister’s head. "Don’t worry, I won’t."

He said the words, but his heart felt unusually heavy.

He had always prided himself on his immense self-control. If he decided not to do something, he absolutely wouldn’t.

But when it came to Sophia, it seemed everything was spinning out of control.

He used to never watch livestreams. He even looked down on the so-called "top donors," who spent all day in chat rooms like fools, throwing money at streamers.

But when he saw Sophia and Bun’s stream, he had become one of those fools.

Part of him didn’t want her to know he was secretly watching her.

And another part of him desperately wished she would spare him a glance, that she would notice him just a little more.

After her stream, Sophia Shaw put Bun to sleep.

She was about to go to her study to get some more work done when her phone rang.

When she saw the number, Sophia’s lips tightened. She let it ring for a while before finally answering.

Her voice was as cold as ice. "What is it?"

"Something important," the person on the other end said, as arrogant and aloof as ever. "Hourglass Cafe. We need to meet."

The Hourglass Cafe wasn’t far from her home. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Sophia didn’t know why Joanna Sherman wanted to see her.

But the two of them couldn’t stand the sight of each other. Joanna wouldn’t have called unless it was truly important.

Sophia changed her clothes, left Bun with Ms. Archer, and went downstairs.

The Hourglass Cafe was nearly empty.

Joanna Sherman sat at a table by the window, arms crossed, her long, wavy hair cascading down to her waist.

Her form-fitting dress accentuated her perfect curves, and her gaze was heavy-lidded and cold, forever projecting an air of superiority.

Sophia walked over in silence.

When Joanna Sherman saw her, her lips twisted into a sneer. She pulled a small booklet from her purse and SLAMMED it on the table. "Take it!"