"Talk?" Seraphina Vaughn shook her dizzy head and looked coldly at Sophia Shaw. "Talk about what? Your grand principles? I’m just a nobody, a lost cause who will never amount to anything. Your principles are useless to me!"

"That’s right, they’re useless!" a few men with ill intentions chimed in. "You only live once, so you should live for the moment. Listening to all those grand principles will only make you dumber."

"Right, I’m an idiot. I can’t play the violin well, and my brain is full of crap!"

Seraphina Vaughn repeated the words Joanna Sherman had said to her, laughing and crying at the same time.

"I’m just an ant. So stupid, so incompetent. How did I end up as the daughter of the great Old Master Sloan?"

"And yet I believed your lies, thinking the ugly duckling could actually become a swan."

"It’s hilarious. Truly hilarious!"

"No, that’s not true." Sophia Shaw shook her head repeatedly, trying to calm her down. "Seraphina, you are very talented. Believe me. We can find you a great teacher, you can focus on your practice, and with your ability, you can definitely..."

"No, I can’t!" Seraphina Vaughn had lost all hope. "Sophia, I will never believe a word you say again. Not a single word!"

"You already kicked me out of Lustra, aren’t you satisfied? Why do you have to keep trying to control my life!"

"A liar like you has no right to tell me what to do! Get lost! Get the hell away from me!"

After saying her piece, Seraphina Vaughn stumbled toward the back door. "What a buzzkill. Come on, let’s go drink somewhere else!"

"Alright!"

The men weren’t sure what to make of Sophia Shaw, and fearing trouble, they didn’t dare to act rashly.

Now that Seraphina Vaughn herself was suggesting they leave, no one else could be blamed.

The men gathered around Seraphina Vaughn looked sleazy, dressed in flashy, gaudy clothes. It was obvious they were not good people.

Sophia Shaw forcibly pulled her back, but the men blocked her path.

"What do you think you’re doing? She already said it has nothing to do with you, so stop pestering her!"

"You’re asking for a beating!"

One of the men raised his fist as if to strike her.

Sophia Shaw raised her phone, snapping photos of their faces. "If anything happens to her tonight, none of you will escape responsibility!"

One of them snatched her phone away.

Sophia Shaw didn’t flinch. "It’s useless to take it. They’ve already been uploaded to the cloud."

Realizing they’d run into someone they couldn’t mess with, the men gave up, cursing under their breath as they left.

Sophia Shaw forcibly dragged Seraphina Vaughn out of the bar. Jacobs, who had been waiting in the car, jumped out and helped her pull Seraphina into the vehicle.

The alcohol hit Seraphina Vaughn hard, and before long, she was asleep in the car.

Sophia Shaw sat beside her, watching the flickering lights from outside play across her face, and sighed inwardly.

Although Seraphina Vaughn was the same age as her, she was technically a junior. It had taken all her effort just to get into the aerospace engineering program at the university Sophia attended.

But she wasn’t cut out for engineering and always ended up at the bottom of the class in every exam.

Though her professors never demanded anything of her, as the daughter of a top rocket scientist, she couldn’t face these results.

Seraphina Vaughn felt she was tarnishing her father’s name and had a breakdown.

At that time, Sophia Shaw had just begun studying under Old Master Sloan, becoming his first female student.

Because she often went to Old Master Sloan’s house for private tutoring, she got to know Seraphina Vaughn.

Seraphina Vaughn told her about her predicament.

Sophia secretly tutored Seraphina, and the two girls, who shared their little secrets, became the best of friends.

Even though Seraphina Vaughn’s grades improved, she was still far from meeting Old Master Sloan’s recruitment standards, let alone following in her father’s footsteps.

Her professor’s evaluation of her academic performance was summed up in four words: "This is her limit."

Her long-held dream was cruelly shattered, and Seraphina Vaughn fell into a long period of depression and self-doubt.

It was Sophia who discovered Seraphina Vaughn’s musical talent and encouraged her to take a different path.

The night she convinced her, Sophia Shaw made a promise: "Seraphina, go and study the music you truly love. I’ll take care of things with the professor. I’ll bring honor to his name in your stead!"

Later, she did indeed achieve a great deal, becoming the most outstanding student Old Master Sloan had ever taught.

So deep was Seraphina Vaughn’s gratitude that she had even changed her name in Sophia’s honor.

She’d promised they would be sisters for life.

A lifetime hadn’t even passed, and now Seraphina Vaughn hated her.

The reason was Sophia’s decision to marry Vincent Grant, which meant adamantly leaving her career in rocket science.

Seraphina Vaughn insisted that the honor Sophia was meant to bring went beyond that; she believed Sophia had to go down in history, just like her own father.

The two of them argued, and Seraphina Vaughn stormed out, slamming the door behind her!

From then on, she unilaterally cut ties with Sophia.

Looking back on it now, Sophia Shaw let out a soft sigh. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

’If I hadn’t left my rocketry career back then, would things have turned out differently for us?’

’Would today’s Seraphina Vaughn not have been so desperate for quick fame that she nearly ruined herself?’

Sophia Shaw took Seraphina Vaughn back to her place and let her sleep in her room.

She went to share a room with Ms. Archer and Bun.

Intending to talk things over with Seraphina Vaughn, Sophia Shaw didn’t rush to the office the next day. Instead, she went to the market to buy Seraphina’s favorite foods.

When she returned home, only Ms. Archer and Bun were there.

Seraphina Vaughn was long gone from the room.

Sophia Shaw searched for a while, then checked her location tracker.

The tracker showed that Seraphina Vaughn had already uninstalled the app.

Clearly, she didn’t want to be found.

All Sophia Shaw could do was send her a few messages, hoping that she would come back and find her after she’d had time to think things through.

After eating, Sophia Shaw spent some time cuddling with Bun before finally driving to the company.

As she walked into the first-floor common area, Jacobs strode over. "Ms. Shaw, look."

Sophia Shaw followed Jacobs’s finger and saw Samuel Goldman and several other executives sitting in a cubicle, notebooks in hand, clearly discussing a project.

Chad Jennings stood in their midst, gesticulating wildly.

"What’s wrong with you all? Don’t you see how she’s being trashed online? How can you still have Sophia Shaw as the chief project manager?"

"I’m her biological father, and today, I’m putting righteousness above family! I demand that you replace her as chief project manager!"

Samuel Goldman looked furious, but probably out of respect for Sophia Shaw, he hadn’t forcibly thrown the man out.

Chad Jennings was acting arrogantly, flaunting his status as Sophia Shaw’s biological father.

"You don’t need to worry about Levin Sawyer. Levin will be my son-in-law in the future! He listens to everything I say. My word is law!"

Sophia Shaw strode over.

"Where’s security? Throw him out!"

The security guards had noticed Chad Jennings long ago, but since Samuel Goldman hadn’t said anything, they hadn’t acted.

Hearing Sophia Shaw’s order, they immediately jogged over, grabbing Chad Jennings by each arm and dragging him out.

Chad Jennings panicked, kicking his legs. "Sophia, what’s wrong with you? I’m here to save you, don’t you know?"

"Look at your Lead Aerospace! The stock price has tanked! If you keep this up, you’re going to drag the whole company down with you!"

Sophia Shaw acted as if she hadn’t heard him and ordered, "From now on, this man is not allowed within 500 meters of the company!"

"What are you saying? I’m your father! How can you treat me like this!"

Chad Jennings’s shouts grew more distant until they faded away outside the door.

Sophia Shaw looked at the others apologetically. "Sorry to have disturbed your work."

They all nodded in understanding.

As Sophia Shaw walked further in, Samuel Goldman hurried after her. "Boss, are you sure we don’t need to do something about the stuff online?"

"Why? Is it affecting morale?"

"Not really."

Everyone knew what Sophia Shaw was capable of, and they knew what they were doing, so they naturally paid no mind to the outside rumors and gossip.

"It’s just... it’s not good for you."

People online were viciously attacking her.

Samuel Goldman scratched his head.

"A few of the guys on the team got so pissed off they started arguing back with them..."

A bunch of straight-laced STEM types only recognize hard logic.

Anyone who bullied their "goddess" had crossed a major line.

"Then tell them to download a few more apps and hit back harder!"

Samuel Goldman: "..."

This was what he liked about his boss. She was no pushover.