Not far away, Mrs. Sawyer and Levin Sawyer waved at her.
’So, it was Levin Sawyer.’
Meanwhile, Joel Hale, sitting beside Vincent Grant, couldn’t help but ask in a low voice, "President Grant, how did you know Miss Shaw was nervous?"
Vincent Grant’s gaze was fixed backstage. "She has a habit. Whenever she gets nervous, she shrinks her neck into her collar."
Joel Hale followed Vincent Grant’s gaze and remarked, "You’re very observant, President Grant."
After the event ended, Sophia Shaw chatted a little more with the seniors from the aerospace bureau.
Sophia Shaw was already highly skilled, and with Cameron Xavier endorsing her, everyone treated her with both warmth and respect, offering very pertinent advice.
Sophia Shaw gained a lot from it.
When the crowd dispersed, she finally made her way over to Levin Sawyer.
"Thank you so much. Getting Old Master Xavier to come was a huge help."
Levin Sawyer groaned internally, clutching his chest.
He had been so busy he hadn’t had a moment to spare; this matter hadn’t even crossed his mind.
’Someone else beat me to it again.’
’Damn it.’
Mrs. Sawyer also shot him a quiet look that said, "You poor thing."
Grinning, she said, "It’s rare for us to run into each other like this. Come have a meal with your godmother."
Sophia Shaw naturally wouldn’t refuse.
Mrs. Sawyer deliberately chose a high-end health-conscious restaurant.
"Mrs. Sawyer." The restaurant staff recognized Mrs. Sawyer and led the three of them to a table.
Before the staff could even hand them the menus, Mrs. Sawyer directly ordered a high-end wellness set meal.
The dishes arrived one by one, exquisite and light:
Blueberry and Chinese yam in a yogurt cup, old pigeon soup stewed with dendrobium and ophiopogon, a platter of steamed seasonal vegetables, steamed matsutake tofu with bamboo fungus, and peach gum with snow swallow stewed in milk...
Levin Sawyer sipped his dried tangerine peel white tea, a bitter taste in his mouth. As he looked at the series of dishes, his brow furrowed into a deep frown.
"Mom, this wellness set is high-end, alright, but don’t forget that Faye and I are still young. We can’t just eat grass."
He didn’t mind for himself, but Sophia Shaw had been under immense physical and mental strain recently.
Levin Sawyer wished he could stew dragon meat for her every day.
He personally reviewed the menu for the lunch Jacobs delivered during the day, and he had special meals prepared and delivered to Ms. Archer for Sophia Shaw to eat at home.
How could Mrs. Sawyer not know what he was thinking? She took a sip of the pigeon soup, suppressing a laugh. "This is all they have here. If you want to improve the meal, you’ll have to rely on your own abilities."
"Alright then." Levin Sawyer actually stood up. "I’ll go forage for food myself."
With that, he turned and left the restaurant.
Mrs. Sawyer paid him no mind, instead ladling soup for Sophia Shaw herself. "You must be hungry. Have some soup to start. You young people like your hearty meats and fish. We’ll have a proper meal when that boy Levin gets back with his findings."
"Thank you, Godmother." Sophia Shaw accepted the bowl and took a sip.
’It is quite light.’
In The Vorlan Wastes, conditions were limited. Most of the time, they could only gnaw on rock-hard dry rations and even had to conserve water.
Her jawline was noticeably thinner; she really didn’t need to be eating so plainly.
The two chatted as they ate.
A staff member approached and placed a braised fish dish in front of them.
"Oh, what’s this..."
The staff member smiled. "A guest prepared this for you two."
"That boy cooked it himself?" Mrs. Sawyer’s face lit up with surprise. "That was fast."
’Something personally made shows more sincerity than something bought.’
The staff member opened their mouth, wanting to say more, but hearing Mrs. Sawyer’s conclusion, they just replied, "Yes."
They nodded and left the two to themselves.
Mrs. Sawyer quickly served Sophia Shaw a large piece of fish. "You’ve never tried Levin’s cooking, have you? Here, have a good taste."
"Okay, thank you, Godmother." Sophia Shaw picked up the piece of fish and took a bite.
The fish was fragrant, sweet, and perfectly seasoned, with a very pleasant texture.
’The flavor... it’s a bit familiar.’
In the past, when Vincent Grant had free time, he would occasionally cook fish at Cedric Grant’s request. The taste was almost identical.
But Sophia Shaw didn’t think too deeply about it, simply assuming Levin Sawyer’s way of cooking fish happened to be the same as Vincent Grant’s.
As they were eating, Levin Sawyer returned, huffing and puffing, carrying a box.
Mrs. Sawyer was taken aback. "Didn’t you already cook? Why did you go out and buy more food?"
Sophia Shaw looked at the box in his hands, also a bit speechless. "Levin, are you planning on feeding yourself like a pig, or me? One fish is enough."
Levin Sawyer had just noticed the fish on the table, and his face instantly turned green.
’Well, I’ll be damned!’
Setting down the dishes from the box one by one, Levin Sawyer forced a smile that was practically twisted into place. "You two go ahead and eat. I just remembered I haven’t cleaned up the kitchen I used. I’ll be right back."
---
In the kitchen, Vincent Grant finished stir-frying the last dish, beef, and placed it in a bowl.
Joel Hale stood respectfully to the side and said, "Rest assured, the fish was caught by a professional angler. Someone at the company knows him well, so I had her race over to pick it up."
"Very good."
After wiping his hands, Vincent Grant looked up and saw Levin Sawyer leaning against the kitchen doorway, craning his neck to look in his direction.
Their eyes met, clashing in mid-air.
Levin Sawyer slowly walked over. "Well, President Grant, when did you learn how to drill holes? How are you so good at getting in everywhere?"
Joel Hale’s brows knitted together as he listened. "President Sawyer, must you be so crude? Isn’t everything President Grant does a case of providing timely help? If you were truly capable of taking care of Ms. Shaw, how could there be any gap for President Grant to slip through?"
"Joel Hale!" Vincent Grant snapped.
Joel Hale shut his mouth, but the defiance on his face didn’t fade.
Levin Sawyer chuckled and looked at Joel Hale. "Yes, it’s true I failed to take good care of Sophia Shaw. But please trouble yourself to remind your President Grant that chasing after a relationship that’s already gone to the crematorium isn’t called love, it’s called making trouble for someone."
"Faye is stubborn. When someone does something nice for her, she feels obligated to remember it. She’s so busy, don’t you think having to worry about these things will exhaust her?"
Vincent Grant pressed his lips together, his expression somber.
After a moment, he said, "Rest assured, President Sawyer. I simply feel I owe her. Doing things for her is just to ease my own conscience. I don’t want to make things difficult for her, and I won’t let her know."
Levin Sawyer: "..."
The anger that had flared up in him was doused, as if by a bucket of water, and fizzled out with a SSSSSS.
’Vincent Grant is truly a terrifying man. Is Faye going to fall for him all over again?’
In the end, he only left with a cold parting shot: "You’d better be a man of your word, President Grant!"
After Levin Sawyer left, Vincent Grant had a staff member take the dishes upstairs. He turned to Joel Hale and said, "Send the person who delivered the fish a little extra as thanks."
"Yes, sir."
After Vincent Grant left, Joel Hale opened a side door.
Outside the door stood Joanna Sherman, clutching a helmet, her eyes filled with jealousy and pain.
"Wipe that look off your face," Joel Hale warned in a cold voice.
Joanna Sherman’s face twisted as she glared at him. "What, if Vincent Grant and Sophia Shaw get into bed, am I supposed to sit by the bedside and hand them a condom?"
Joel Hale coolly slipped his fingertips into his pocket. "Ms. Sherman, right now you’re accumulating points for yourself. The more you accumulate, the greater the impact when you finally erupt, and the more deeply President Grant will feel it!"
Having said that, he took out his phone and sent a "red envelope" of thanks.
Joanna Sherman lowered her head, staring intently at the bright red envelope on the phone screen. The four shining zeros on it looked like four mocking eyes.
She was the flamboyant and unrestrained Joanna Sherman! How had she fallen to this point?
Joel Hale’s words didn’t sound motivational to her at all. Instead, she felt like a neglected concubine in the deep palace of ancient times, doing everything she could just to win a single chance to have her nameplate chosen by the emperor.
’How pathetic!’
「After dinner.」
Sophia Shaw said goodbye to Mrs. Sawyer and got into the same car as Levin Sawyer.
They discussed the proposal the entire way.
Just as they were about to reach her home, a call came from Old Master Sloan.
"Get your proposal ready and come over immediately!"
"So soon?" Sophia Shaw was startled.
"You have to arrive before tomorrow morning. This is your only chance!"
Old Master Sloan sounded so serious that Sophia Shaw grew tense as well.
She had the proposal with her, and she always carried her passport for international travel.
"Levin, get to the airport, fast!"
Sophia Shaw didn’t even have time to go home. She booked the earliest available flight from the car. Barring any mishaps, she could arrive on time!
"It’s a tight schedule. Let’s hope everything goes smoothly." Levin Sawyer drove both smoothly and quickly.
「At the same time.」
Joanna Sherman also received a call from Elder Hawthorne.