CLANG—

Chloe’s hand trembled, and the glass of water spilled onto the coffee table.

"This... this is all our family’s property?"

’In my last life, I thought I was part of high society,’ Chloe mused, ’but now I realize how naive I was.’

There were indeed many villas around the school.

They were in a good school district, with convenient transportation and a prime location.

The cheapest one cost tens of millions.

And the Sinclair family was the developer!

Chloe swallowed hard, her understanding of what it meant to be rich completely reset.

Seeing Chloe’s timid look, a smile touched Mr. Sinclair’s face.

He was usually extremely busy and didn’t have much direct contact with his family.

When he heard his youngest daughter had gotten into trouble this time, he was frantic with worry, but he couldn’t rush over immediately.

Even now, he could only make a quick trip to Emberfall. After seeing with his own eyes that Chloe was all right, he had to immediately catch a flight back to Kennet.

As he was leaving, Mr. Sinclair said sincerely, "Chloe, be careful during your next experiment." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Chloe stood by the door and nodded solemnly at her father’s words. "I will."

There wasn’t a parent in the world who didn’t worry about their children.

Mr. Sinclair stood by the door, reluctant to leave.

He kept looking back to give last-minute instructions, only turning to get into the elevator when he was truly about to be late.

Everyone left, except for Gabriel Sinclair.

Seeing the living room, which had been full of people just moments ago, suddenly become empty, Chloe felt a sense of emptiness in her heart as well.

Gabriel followed behind Chloe, silently cleaning up after her.

After a moment, he sat down on the sofa and asked, "Chloe, are you coming home for the National Day holiday?"

Come to think of it, Chloe had been away from home for over two months.

Gabriel’s question made Chloe pause.

After thinking for a moment, Chloe shook her head and said with a wry smile, "The school gave me a little over two weeks off, but I have two experiments that are only halfway done. I won’t be going back this year."

"Then will you be back for winter break?" Gabriel asked, instantly growing tense.

His second older brother was a notorious research fiend who almost never showed up on time for holidays.

He was either in the middle of an experiment or preparing for one.

If Chloe didn’t call him, his second older brother could spend twenty-four hours a day experimenting.

"The experiments should be done in about two months. I’ll definitely be back for the New Year."

Hearing Chloe’s promise, Gabriel breathed a sigh of relief.

He suddenly remembered how the director, Paul Lancaster, had been shamelessly pestering him for his little sister’s contact information a few days ago.

After some thought, he said, "Chloe, Director Paul Lancaster still hopes you’ll reconsider playing the female lead in *Rivers and Mountains*. His standards are too high, and I suspect if you refuse, he’d rather scrap the project than cast someone else."

"I’ve read the script. The part is very small, and you could probably squeeze in the filming in just a few days. You just took a couple of weeks off from school anyway, so why not give it a try?"

Finally, Gabriel added, "You’re really perfect for this role."

In the past, Gabriel would have refused without a second thought.

But ever since seeing the character of Vivian, Gabriel, just like Paul, had become convinced of this.

But more than anything, he was a brother first. No matter what his sister decided, he would support her unconditionally.

"Chloe, I don’t mean to push. If you don’t want to do it, I’ll turn the director down for you."

"Besides, I hear doing experiments is really tedious. It might be nice to take on a small role once in a while to relax."

Hearing this, Chloe gave another wry smile. "Gabriel, even if I did agree to act, I’d still need to have the talent for it."