Melody Summers and Sophie Thorne sat in a corner, sipping champagne as they watched Lily Adler and Sylvia Lancaster weave their way through groups of men from afar.

Sophie Thorne couldn’t help but sigh. "Lily Adler is truly incredible. And she genuinely dotes on her daughter, Sylvia. The marriage candidates she’s picking for Sylvia are all new money, people who made their fortunes after the Cataclysm."

Seeing Melody’s curious gaze, Sophie Thorne added, "And she’s not just picking any upstarts who’ll have no future once the Cataclysm is over. The men they were just talking to are all founders of new energy companies with solid, patented technology."

Ever since the Cataclysm began, everything has been completely dependent on energy, from civilian electricity consumption to temperature control for indoor farming and cultivation.

The country already had a huge energy deficit. After the Cataclysm, the path for energy imports was cut off. To solve the current energy shortage, the state massively increased its investment in new energy R&D. A few new energy enterprises managed to carve out a path for themselves with this strong government support.

Sophie Thorne took a light sip of champagne and continued, "Those companies profiteering from flipping supplies during the Cataclysm are making a lot right now, but once it’s over and life goes back to normal, they’ll have no chance of survival."

"But it’s different for the companies that hold actual technology. Even after the Cataclysm, they’ll still have excellent growth prospects. The fact that Lily Adler picked these blue-chip stocks from the pool of new money shows she has a really sharp eye."

"On top of that, these newly rich men want to secure their footing in the upper class. They’re more than willing to marry into an established, powerful family to expand their own network of connections."

"After all, Sylvia Lancaster is divorced and has had a miscarriage. Rather than marrying into one of those old, prestigious families that look down on everyone and having to constantly watch her step, she’s better off choosing one of these new-money men. She’ll have an easier time with her in-laws that way."

"So, Lily Adler has really gone to great lengths to choose a husband for Sylvia. She truly cares about her."

Melody Summers, however, looked a bit puzzled. "Does finding a good marriage alliance for your daughter mean you care about her? If Lily Adler has such a keen eye and knows these companies have potential, then instead of trying every way possible to marry Sylvia off, why not just open an investment firm for her?"

Melody tilted her head and continued, "That mother-daughter pair is as smart as they come. Instead of spending time figuring out how to be a wife to one of these high-potential stocks, they should be figuring out how to make these high-potential stocks earn money for them."

In Melody Summers’ simple worldview, mountains crumble and people flee; the only one you could truly rely on was yourself. Rather than putting faith in modern marriage laws by picking one person and gambling on the future, it was better to trust in commercial law and spread one’s investments across many baskets.

Sophie Thorne chuckled at Melody’s words. "In the marital value system of the wealthy, a woman knowing how to make money isn’t exactly a plus."

Melody grew curious. "If women are sitting at the same table and competing on the same stage as these men, why should they even care about their scoring system? Who gave them the right to score us in the first place?"

Sophie thought for a moment, then countered, "But... you can lose money on investments. It’s nowhere near as secure as being a rich man’s wife."

Melody looked at her in astonishment. "And marriage can’t lose you money? Let’s not even talk about the chance that the husband they pick could go bankrupt. The bigger risk is the high probability that these men will be unfaithful. Isn’t that a double risk? Besides, if marriage is really so great, how did Sylvia Lancaster end up getting kicked out of the Sutton Family with nothing? Without even the slightest ability to fight back?"

Even ironclad contracts in business can go wrong, let alone the promises made in a marriage.

For a moment, Sophie Thorne didn’t know what to say to Melody. She could only reply, "That’s just how the rules of this circle work. Marriage is a woman’s career..."

Many wealthy families raise their daughters to be proper marriage candidates, then choose a match of equal social standing and marry them off. Their upbringing is all geared towards fully supporting their husband’s family business.

Even Sophie herself had to help manage the Rhodes Family’s affairs, big and small, after she married Ronan Rhodes.

Sophie and Melody had been classmates. Sophie had also graduated from a prestigious university and had her own interests and hobbies. She loved design, but after marrying Ronan Rhodes, she no longer had the heart for it.

Melody still shook her head. ’How can it be a career if you’re not participating in the formal economy? Isn’t that something people have agreed on since the Republican Era...’

’It wasn’t just now that she didn’t understand the rules of these high-society marriages. She hadn’t understood them in her past life, either!’

Back then, when Robert Lancaster and Mr. Sutton had insisted on the marriage alliance between her and Ethan Sutton, Melody just couldn’t understand it. Why did they have to bring marriage into business decisions? Why would Mr. Sutton only agree to inject capital into the Lancaster Group after she and Ethan were married?

’What was the point of a marriage alliance like that? Were there any inherent benefits? Could marriage really boost a company’s productivity or technological advancement?’

Melody couldn’t figure it out. ’I’m just not cut out to be a high-society woman,’ she thought. ’Thank goodness I chose to stay far away from all this nonsense in this life.’

Just then, a male voice suddenly cut in. "Well, well, what are two great beauties like you chatting about?"

Melody Summers and Sophie Thorne looked up at the same time. Across from them, Zane Simmons was pulling out a chair and seating himself without an invitation.

After he sat, the two women with him also took seats on either side of him.

Melody recognized the woman on Zane Simmons’s left as Joanne White, but she didn’t know the one on his right.

Lucy White sat down to Zane Simmons’s right. As soon as she looked up, her gaze met Melody’s.

Lucy White was slightly taken aback upon seeing Melody, a flash of shock in her eyes, but she quickly masked it and offered Melody a polite smile.

Melody returned the polite smile.

Seeing Zane Simmons sitting across from them, Sophie Thorne teased him playfully, "The guest of honor today is Miss Walsh. Shouldn’t you be at the main table up front instead of sitting back here?"

Today was a celebration banquet for Paige Walsh. The one responsible for receiving guests was her distant nephew, Yuri Walsh, yet her own son, Zane Simmons, was sitting in a corner like this. It was rather peculiar.

Zane Simmons just smiled. ’It’s precisely because this celebration is for my dear mother that I don’t want to upset her,’ he thought. ’It’s better to just find a corner and stay put.’

But on the surface, he grinned and replied, "It’s been a while since I’ve seen you two lovely ladies. When I saw you sitting here, I had to hurry over and say hello. What were you talking about just now?"

Sophie Thorne smiled as well, then changed the subject. "Oh, nothing much... By the way, I heard you’ve been on blind dates with the eldest daughter of the Walsh family, Zara Walsh. Is something official on the horizon? Will we have a chance to attend your wedding this year?"

Hearing this, the smile on Zane Simmons’s face slowly vanished.

He put on a pleading smile, brought his hands together in a prayer-like gesture, and said with a wry laugh, "Miss Thorne, please, don’t joke around with me!"

Then he pointed at Joanne White and said, "I’m here with my girlfriend and my sister-in-law today. My girlfriend is pregnant with our second child. What kind of ’good news’ could there possibly be between me and Miss Walsh?"

Sophie’s expression shifted to one of understanding. She raised her glass to Zane Simmons and said, "Well then, congratulations."

Sophie Thorne knew this banquet was organized by Yuri Walsh’s side of the family for Paige Walsh. On one hand, they wanted to send a public signal that the two branches of the family were close, allowing the main Walsh family to bask in some of Paige Walsh’s glory. On the other hand, they were probably trying to take the opportunity to foster connections and add fuel to the fire for a marriage between Zane Simmons and Zara Walsh.

By showing up with two female companions, Zane Simmons was blatantly slapping Zara Walsh’s family in the face. No wonder he only dared to sit in this corner.

Beside him, upon hearing the word "girlfriend," Joanne White unconsciously straightened her back. She shed her usual gentle and timid demeanor, and her whole person seemed to radiate confidence.

Joanne White looked at Melody Summers, who was sitting across from her, a hint of provocation flickering in her eyes—she felt that when it came to both Austin Hale and Zane Simmons, she had won against Melody!

But Melody, sitting opposite Joanne White, didn’t even notice the provocative glance. At that moment, her brow was slightly furrowed as she stared intently in Sylvia Lancaster’s direction...