"Sophia Shaw went to Lead Aerospace?"

Yvonne Sherman laughed out loud when she heard what Joanna Sherman said.

"I’ve already blocked off every path for her. Even if she applied for a clerk position, no one would hire her!"

"She probably couldn’t find a job and went to Lead Aerospace to try her luck."

"But with her skill level, isn’t she afraid of becoming a laughingstock and embarrassing Vincent Grant?"

A thick, vicious glint flashed in Yvonne Sherman’s delicate eyes.

Everyone in the city knew the Sherman Family was under Vincent Grant’s protection now. No ordinary company was willing to offend her just to hire one person.

"Didn’t I tell you not to bother with these petty tricks?" Joanna Sherman said impatiently, her eyes filled with aloof pride.

’Sophia Shaw wasn’t even worthy of her attention.’

"I know what you’re thinking. With Sophia Shaw’s meager abilities, she can’t make any waves out there. But have you considered this? She’s Cedric’s biological mother. No matter how much Cedric obeys you now, the bond of blood is hard to break."

Yvonne Sherman advised earnestly, never forgetting to scheme for her daughter’s benefit at every turn.

"But if he finds out Sophia Shaw is so pathetic she can’t even find a job, it would be a humiliation. Do you think a child as arrogant as Cedric Grant could accept having a mother who’s like a stupid pig?"

"By then, Cedric will probably be desperate to announce to the world that *you* are his mother and never want to mention Sophia Shaw again!"

"I’m doing all of this for your own good!"

Joanna Sherman said no more.

Yvonne Sherman reassured her, "Don’t worry. The only reason Levin Sawyer agreed to meet Sophia Shaw was out of respect for Vincent Grant. But how could a man as smart as him keep an idiot around? He’ll definitely find an excuse to get rid of her."

"You just focus on your work at Lead Aerospace and master the technology you want."

"Only by learning the top-tier technology will the Grants be unable to let you go. They’ll be begging and fighting for you to marry into their family..."

Before Yvonne Sherman could finish, Joanna Sherman had already hung up.

When she strode back, Levin Sawyer had already returned.

"I’m sorry, Miss Sherman. We can’t work together."

"What?" The first to explode wasn’t Joanna Sherman, but Samuel Goldman and a group of engineers. "Levin, you must have misspoken. You should be saying, ’It’s a pleasure to work with you.’"

Levin Sawyer’s expression was grim as he repeated, "Miss Sherman, I won’t see you out."

The deal had fallen through. For a moment, a crack appeared in Joanna Sherman’s usually cold and placid gaze.

Samuel Goldman quickly interjected, "Miss Sherman, please don’t worry. Perhaps there are some things Levin isn’t clear on. We’ll hold a meeting to discuss it and give you an answer then."

Joanna Sherman returned to her usual self, giving a cold, elegant nod. "Fine."

She turned and left without the slightest hesitation.

The more she acted this way, the more Samuel Goldman and the senior engineers felt she didn’t necessarily need Lead Aerospace. They quickly surrounded Levin Sawyer.

"Levin, what on earth are you playing at? Looking at all of Cathan, there’s no one more suitable for this project than Miss Sherman!"

"She came to us, how could you turn her away? You couldn’t hire talent like this even if you tried."

"Exactly! Right now, she’s the darling of Cathan, of the entire rocketry world! So many people are fighting tooth and nail for her!"

"Levin, I want her, and only her. If you don’t agree, I quit!" Levin Sawyer was showing no respect for such talent, and Samuel Goldman was furious.

Although the others didn’t speak up, their gazes toward Levin Sawyer were equally reproachful.

They were all waiting for him to reverse his decision and bring Joanna Sherman back.

The atmosphere grew extremely tense.

"I’m the one who doesn’t approve of the collaboration."

A soft voice from behind them broke the stalemate.

Everyone turned to see Sophia Shaw standing outside the crowd.

Sophia Shaw had a round face, dark brows like painted ink, and a beauty mark under her eye that seemed to quiver, giving her a very classical look.

She looked gentle and easygoing, completely harmless.

"You?"

"On what grounds?"

"Who are you? Who gave you the right?"

The moment she finished speaking, Samuel Goldman and several other engineers angrily fired back questions.

They even clenched their fists.

If Sophia Shaw hadn’t been a woman, they might have started throwing punches.

Sophia Shaw wasn’t intimidated by the aggressive men before her. Her gaze was as placid as water, the beauty mark beneath her eye seeming to ripple. "Has anyone considered why Joanna Sherman is so insistent on collaborating with Lead Aerospace?"

"Her rocket launch was a success, but it was *only* a launch. There’s still a long way to go before it’s capable of carrying a payload."

"In fact, there’s no guarantee that a second launch would even succeed."

"She’s come here for a collaboration for one simple reason: Lead Aerospace has the most powerful diagnostic system, and she wants to get her hands on it!"

’Levin Sawyer had rejected Joanna Sherman because of her.’

’She couldn’t let him be branded as unjust.’

’Her refusal to collaborate wasn’t just about their personal grudges; it was also for the future of Lead Aerospace.’

The area fell silent for a moment.

Everyone there had witnessed the power of that system. It was because of their diagnostic system that all their subsequent rocket launches had been flawless.

"So what if she gets it? She’s a woman with ideals and ambition! With this system, she can build even better rockets!"

Samuel Goldman was still unconvinced, his mind full of a tech elite’s ideals.

"If you always hoard technology, how can science ever advance? A good company should have the courage to share its technology and move forward together!"

"If we fall behind just because we shared one piece of tech, it only proves our own incompetence. We can’t blame anyone else!"

"Yeah."

The others were also reluctant to let Joanna Sherman go.

"Who the hell do you think you are, interfering in Lead Aerospace’s internal affairs!" Samuel Goldman’s temper flared, his tone hard and aggressive.

Levin Sawyer gripped his shoulder firmly. "Do not be rude to her!"

He then looked at the crowd. "Her name is Sophia Shaw. Starting today, she is Lead Aerospace’s Chief Technical Engineer."

"Chief Technical Engineer?"

Everyone was dumbfounded, staring fixedly at Sophia Shaw.

Sophia Shaw looked so ordinary. She had none of Joanna Sherman’s intimidating presence.

Besides, she was a complete unknown.

"What’s her educational background?" Samuel Goldman asked, swallowing hard and suppressing his anger.

"Two years of college."

"Two... years of college?"

The entire crowd erupted.

"Heh, you hired a college dropout to lead a group like us?"

Every single person there had a doctorate.

Many had even been mentored by world-class doctoral advisors.

Having someone who only attended two years of college lead them was an absolute joke!

Samuel Goldman looked at Levin Sawyer with a cold sneer. "Levin, you’ve got to be kidding me."

Levin Sawyer’s expression was serious. "I’m not kidding."

"She may have only attended two years of college, but..."

’It wasn’t that she dropped out. She was hand-picked by her professor to join NASA.’

’The original plan was for her to enroll directly into a Ph.D. program after the project, but before that could happen, she grew dissatisfied with how much money NASA was burning through on projects, so she returned to Cathan with me to start our own company, founding Lead Aerospace.’

’Even so, her skills surpassed everyone present.’

"But she worked at the Grant Group!"

Before Levin Sawyer could finish, senior engineer Zachary Hale held up his phone. "She worked there for five years and was still a Level 1 employee. Reason for resignation: pretending to know things she didn’t. She made a complete mess explaining rocket science in a video and was reported by a massive number of fans!"

’So... Levin Sawyer hired a complete and utter hack?’

"Levin, do you have a fever, or did this woman drug you?"

Samuel Goldman was losing his mind. "She doesn’t even know the basics of rocketry, and you’re making her Chief Technical Engineer? Do you want Lead Aerospace to go bankrupt?"

The others were also indignant.

"Miss Sherman went to a top university, earned a legitimate Ph.D., and launched a rocket within a year of graduating! What does this woman have to compare with that!"

"With her qualifications, she’s not even good enough to be a janitor at Lead Aerospace!"

Even the janitors at Lead Aerospace had to have a bachelor’s degree, and the kind that held a few minor patents at that.

In their eyes, someone of Sophia Shaw’s caliber wasn’t just subpar; she was practically no different from a pig!

"You’ve lost your mind, Levin Sherman! Get your head out of your ass!"

Samuel Goldman waved his hand dismissively, shooing her away. "Hurry up and get out of here! Go back to whatever hole you crawled out of!"

Aside from Levin Sherman, not a single person there was willing to give her the time of day.

Sophia Shaw closed her eyes.

’Her history at the Grant Group was the one thing she never wanted to bring up.’

’But she knew, more clearly than ever, that this was a hurdle she couldn’t avoid.’

’If she couldn’t win them over completely, they would never accept her.’

Levin Sawyer looked down at Sophia Shaw. The girl’s trembling eyelashes were tinged with sadness and grievance.

’A pang of pain shot through his heart.’

’If only he had been more resolute back then, if he had tied her up to stop her from marrying Vincent Grant, she wouldn’t have had to suffer so much humiliation!’

’Sophia Shaw was meant to be a star shining in the heavens, but that bastard Vincent Grant had beaten her down until she was nothing but dirt!’

Levin Sawyer took a step forward, shielding Sophia Shaw. "It’s true, she’s only an undergraduate, but do you have any idea what her accomplishments..."

"Senior." Sophia Shaw cut Levin Sawyer off. When she opened her eyes again, they were perfectly clear.

"This is something I’ll handle myself!"