Sophia Shaw didn’t answer. Instead, she picked up a nearby pen and sat down.

’There’s nothing a good, hard math problem can’t solve.’

The middle-aged man turned the problem toward her. Sophia Shaw gently bit the end of her pen, reading the question to herself.

More than ten minutes passed. She remained motionless, but she didn’t give up.

Impressed by her patience alone, the middle-aged man couldn’t help but give her a thumbs-up. "Not every kid is willing to tackle a difficult problem when they see one. You’ve already..."

The word was barely out of his mouth when he saw Sophia Shaw start to write.

The man froze for a moment. ’This girl isn’t just patient,’ he thought, ’she’s got guts.’

Even if she was just scribbling nonsense, the courage to write something without fear of embarrassment was praiseworthy.

Sophia Shaw wrote faster and faster.

The tip of the pen made a SCRITCH-SCRATCH sound on the paper.

Her eyes were lowered, completely immersed in solving the problem. The bustling world around her seemed to have nothing to do with her at all.

"Done."

Twenty minutes later, Sophia Shaw wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead. Her eyes were moist and bright.

The man took the paper, skeptical.

The more he looked, the more shocked he became.

"She actually solved it!"

"I can’t believe such a difficult problem was solved by a young lady. All my years of study feel wasted. How embarrassing, how embarrassing."

The fifty-year-old man’s hands trembled as he held the paper, so excited he was sputtering nonsense.

"Young lady, may I ask..."

He looked up to find she was gone.

Sophia Shaw hadn’t had time to say goodbye to the man. She had bolted out, chasing after a figure she’d spotted.

"Seraphina!"

After turning a few corners, she finally caught up to Seraphina Vaughn.

Sophia Shaw’s eyes shone with excitement. She ran over and grabbed her hand tightly. "I know our teacher is here. Can you take me to see him?"

"Miss Vaughn?"

Before Seraphina Vaughn could speak, another group of people approached.

Vincent Grant was at the head of the group, as usual. His gaze was cold and detached as it fell on Sophia Shaw’s hand gripping Seraphina Vaughn’s arm.

Joanna Sherman was right by Vincent Grant’s side, the two of them standing so close they were almost touching, an undeniable intimacy between them.

Sophia Shaw’s heart could no longer be pierced by their closeness. Her mind was filled with only one thought: seeing her teacher.

Facing Seraphina Vaughn, her eyes welled with tears. "I really, really want to see him!"

Joanna Sherman ignored Sophia Shaw. "Miss Vaughn, my name is Joanna Sherman. I was hoping to have a moment with Old Master Sloan."

"Who’s Joanna Sherman?" Seraphina Vaughn kept her back to Joanna and Vincent Grant, not even turning around at the introduction.

An awkward expression flashed across Joanna Sherman’s usually aloof face.

In front of a high-flyer from NASA, her little accomplishment of launching a rocket was truly nothing special.

"We’re from Grant Interstellar. This is Miss Joanna Sherman, the chief engineer of our rocket division." Vincent Grant retracted his gaze and spoke up to introduce Joanna.

His neither servile nor overbearing tone finally caught Seraphina Vaughn’s attention.

The moment she saw Vincent Grant, she let out a soft scoff, her mocking gaze stabbing toward Sophia Shaw.

Sophia Shaw knew what she was thinking.

Seraphina Vaughn recognized Vincent Grant and, more importantly, knew about her relationship with him.

She was mocking her. The man she’d given up so much to pursue didn’t even have her in his sights.

He was seeking an opportunity for another woman right in front of her!

The negative emotions that had just been dispelled by solving the problem came crashing down again. Sophia Shaw stood before her, utterly humiliated.

But she was unwilling to let go and give up the chance to see her teacher.

The moment Seraphina Vaughn turned her face, the color drained from Joanna Sherman’s!

A flash of panic crossed her features.

Seraphina Vaughn was the young woman who had overheard her on the phone earlier!

She was Old Master Sloan’s daughter, and she understood Cathanese!

Not wanting to completely lose face in front of Sophia Shaw, Joanna Sherman said to Vincent Grant, "Let’s go."

"Didn’t you come to see my father?" Seraphina Vaughn spoke up. "His speech isn’t for a little while. He has time to see a few guests. You can go in."

Joanna Sherman: "..."

She looked at Seraphina Vaughn suspiciously, only approaching with Vincent Grant after she was sure it wasn’t a joke.

Seraphina Vaughn unceremoniously pulled her arm from Sophia Shaw’s grasp.

A pang of pain shot through Sophia Shaw’s heart. "Seraphina!"

"Miss, we’re not close. Call me Miss Vaughn."

Seraphina Vaughn turned and led Vincent Grant and Joanna Sherman through the door.

Sophia Shaw took two steps to follow.

Then she covered her face, defeated.

"Faye."

Levin Sawyer finally found a free moment and came looking for her. Seeing her crouching on the ground with her face in her hands, he hurried to help her up.

"What’s wrong?"

Sophia Shaw lifted her face, her eyes vacant and sorrowful. "Senior Brother, what do I do? Seraphina still won’t forgive me..."

Levin Sawyer fell silent.

He knew better than anyone how desperate Sophia Shaw was to see their teacher.

"Don’t blame Seraphina. She just can’t get over it right now. She’ll come around in time."

"It’s my fault."

She didn’t blame Seraphina.

Seraphina had invested so, so much affection in her back then. She was the one who had let her down.

Sophia Shaw returned to the main hall. While getting food at the buffet area, she saw Vincent Grant.

He was also holding a plate.

On it were two small, delicate-looking pastries.

The kind a girl would eat, at a glance.

Sophia Shaw wanted to ask him about her teacher’s condition, but she decided against it.

Vincent Grant couldn’t stand her. There was no need to invite humiliation.

"Sophia Shaw." But Vincent Grant walked over to her. "Levin Sawyer is not someone you can afford to provoke."

Sophia Shaw suddenly laughed.

’What’s Vincent Grant getting at?’

’We’re getting a divorce, and now he’s kindly vetting my next partner for me?’

Their disastrous marriage was messy enough. She didn’t want to make things even uglier right as they were about to divorce. Sophia Shaw just said coolly, "Give me a heads-up before we file the papers. Also, about Bun..." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

She had barely finished speaking when Vincent Grant’s phone rang.

He answered it without even letting her finish.

"Cedric..."

It was Cedric Grant on the line.

Cedric Grant was excitedly asking him questions. Although she couldn’t hear clearly, Joanna Sherman’s name came up in every other sentence.

Sophia Shaw lowered her head and smiled again.

She saw Joanna Sherman approaching from behind.

She had wanted to talk to him about Bun’s 100-day celebration, but she decided to forget it.

Sophia Shaw left the food area and ate in silence.

Glancing up inadvertently, she saw Vincent Grant and Joanna Sherman with their heads together, looking at the phone on a video call with Cedric Grant.

It was a heartwarming scene.

Sophia Shaw didn’t want to see such things and upset herself, so she simply changed seats, turning her back to them.

Vincent Grant was about to ask Cedric if Bun wanted to talk to his mother, but when he looked up, he only saw a distant back. His gaze faltered slightly.

Sophia Shaw was eating when a shadow suddenly fell over her.

Thinking it was Levin Sawyer, she looked up.

But she was met with an unfamiliar face.

It was a young man in a white suit, sizing her up with a critical eye.

Sophia Shaw sensed immediately that he did not like her.

"You’re from Lead Aerospace?"

Sophia Shaw nodded. "And you are...?"

"Girls shouldn’t be thinking about taking shortcuts all day. It’s disgusting."

Sophia Shaw: "..."

’What shortcut did I take?’

"Just because Lead Aerospace has people like you, I will absolutely not give my project to them!"

The man walked away as soon as he finished speaking.

Leaving Sophia Shaw utterly bewildered.

’I just inexplicably lost business for Lead Aerospace?’

’What was all that about?’

Sophia Shaw wanted to go up and ask what he meant, but she saw him walk over to Joanna Sherman and Vincent Grant.

He didn’t exchange more than a few words before handing over a business card.

The three of them were soon chatting happily.

Sophia Shaw turned back and continued to eat.

She couldn’t avoid hearing the discussions around her. Everyone was calling the man Young Master Croft.

"His family is connected to the J Family. They handle all the orders from that side."

"Looks like Joanna Sherman is in luck. She just launched a rocket and is already about to land an order from the J Family."

"The J Family has always been strict with their requirements. This is the first time they’ve come back to Cathan to find a partner."

"..."

Sophia Shaw thought about it carefully. She had never met any ’Young Master Croft’ and had no idea where his hostility came from.