Chapter 259: Chapter 259: Ma Lane’s Greed
"Thank you for the heads-up."
Jenson Forrest knew he wasn’t worthy of being with Sophia Shaw, but he couldn’t control his desire to see her, be with her, and talk to her.
Sophia Shaw just smiled.
"You’re quite bold, asking for my opinion when you know full well that Joanna Sherman and I don’t get along. Aren’t you afraid I’d deliberately trip her up and make you miss out on a good business deal?"
"You wouldn’t."
Jenson Forrest had unwavering faith in her.
"You’re not that kind of person."
Now it was Sophia Shaw’s turn to feel a little embarrassed.
Jenson Forrest was usually a very cautious man, yet just now, he had trusted her without even asking for a reason.
Sophia Shaw felt it was necessary to explain why.
So she said, "The reason I advised against Joanna Sherman’s project is that Lead Aerospace has been working on it for a long time. In fact, we’ve already achieved a sixty percent success rate for rocket recovery."
"We just haven’t announced it publicly."
Lead Aerospace had too many world-leading projects; announcing them would inevitably attract too much attention.
Being in the spotlight too much wasn’t a good thing.
The only reason she’d suggested Vincent Grant should go for it if he had the budget was that she knew he was used to burning money for Joanna Sherman.
If he had the money, it wouldn’t matter if he burned a little more.
Jenson Forrest was different.
"You’ve already reached sixty percent?!"
Although Jenson Forrest knew she must have had a reason and had even guessed at it, he’d thought her justification would be something along the lines of the project being too risky or having poor prospects.
He had never imagined this was the reason.
The way Jenson Forrest looked at Sophia Shaw changed several times over.
"Did you... lead it, too?"
"Yes."
The idea had been turning over in her mind for five years.
When she had applied to join Zenith, she’d thought about finding an opportunity to implement it there.
Vincent Grant’s rejection had delayed the project, but thankfully, the theoretical foundation was solid enough. Not long after she returned to Lead Aerospace, she established the project, and it had proceeded smoothly.
Hearing Sophia Shaw say that she had originally planned to do it at Zenith, Jenson Forrest gave a faint smile.
"So, if Vincent Grant had accepted you into Zenith back then, this project would have succeeded long ago?"
"It seems Vincent Grant really lost out."
"You can say that again. He lost out big time," Sophia Shaw said with a careless laugh.
Jenson Forrest’s gaze deepened.
When he said Vincent Grant had lost out, he wasn’t just talking about money.
He had lost Sophia Shaw herself.
Even after being treated so coldly, she still constantly thought about Vincent Grant’s career and interests.
’What an amazing woman. How lucky would a man have to be to meet someone like her!’
What Jenson Forrest was thinking at that moment wasn’t that he wanted a woman who would pour her heart and soul out for him like that.
He was thinking: ’If I treated her the way she treated Vincent Grant, would I then be worthy of having her?’
That heart he had been forcefully suppressing began to race wildly once more at the thought.
The little Bun in his arms started cooing and gurgling.
’This uncle’s chest is thumping so loudly. It’s too noisy.’
’His chest is bumping against my little face, and it’s uncomfortable.’
’No, no!’
Sophia Shaw seized the opportunity to take the little one out of his arms.
She hurried over to find Lillian Forrest and the others.
In the distance, Joanna Sherman stood under a tree, her gaze locked on Sophia Shaw’s retreating back, a coldness seeping through her entire body.
The tender, covetous look in Jenson Forrest’s eyes was sharper than a knife’s blade to her.
’So, the tutor Ma Lane was talking about is Sophia Shaw!’
’So Jenson Forrest is in love with Sophia Shaw!’
’Sophia Shaw, Sophia Shaw, it’s always Sophia Shaw!’
’Why does everyone like Sophia Shaw so much?!’
Joanna Sherman dug her fingers into the ribbon of the gift box, her heart a storm of anger and devastation, but above all, despair.
It felt as if her entire world had been filled to the brim with Sophia Shaw.
If she had a knife in her hand right then, she would definitely chop Sophia Shaw into mincemeat!
"Miss Sherman."
Ma Lane walked over, a fawning expression on her face.
Joanna Sherman shot her a vicious glare. "Why didn’t you tell me the tutor was Sophia Shaw!"
Ma Lane’s scalp prickled under her glare. After a long moment, she muttered awkwardly, "You... you never asked."
"Useless thing!" Joanna Sherman shot her one last glance, as if looking at a dog.
’A useless dog!’
Joanna Sherman didn’t leave, nor did she go to disturb Jenson Forrest. Instead, she went around to the back of the house.
There, Sophia Shaw and Lillian Forrest were surrounded by a group of people, talking and laughing.
Lillian Forrest must have heard something funny, as she laughed so hard she fell into Sophia Shaw’s arms.
Sophia Shaw gently steadied her.
Their relationship was as intimate as if they were family.
In her memory, Lillian Forrest was an eccentric girl who wasn’t close to anyone.
She herself had once put in a lot of effort but had never managed to get close to her.
"Man, don’t look down on Lillian Forrest just ’cause she’s blind. She’s like the moon in the sky now, harder and harder to reach!"
"Yeah, I heard she scored over 650 this time. She can get into a really good university. Damn, that tutor is something else, lifting an average student like Lillian Forrest so high! Now even I feel like I’m not good enough for the Forrest family’s young miss."
Two men watched Lillian Forrest from a short distance away.
The man with the gold chain licked his lips as he stared at Lillian Forrest.
Across from him, a man in a black suit with slicked-back hair had his hands in his pockets, his expression irritated as he kicked at a stone on the ground.
The man with the gold chain smirked at him. "Scheming for so many years, and now it’s all for nothing. What a loss."
The more he smirked, the more irritated the man in the black suit became.
"That blind girl used to be so timid and withdrawn. Even though I looked down on her, she’s backed by a big tree like Jenson Forrest. Marrying her wouldn’t have been a bad deal."
"My mom’s been taking care of her without complaint for all these years. Wasn’t it all for this very day?"
Joanna Sherman had also tried to get close to Lillian Forrest before, so she was familiar with the people around her. The man in the black suit was Ma Lane’s son, Liam Reed.
He was usually polite and well-mannered, and he always treated Lillian Forrest with gentle care—the very picture of a refined young gentleman.
She never expected him to act like this when no one was looking.
Joanna Sherman usually detested this type of man, but now she stood frozen, not moving a muscle.
She stood behind a tree, and Liam Reed, not seeing her, continued talking to the man with the gold chain.
"My mom has been raising Lillian Forrest like a daughter-in-law, teaching her to be gentle, virtuous, and faithful, and not letting her get close to any other men. All those years of hard work, and now it looks like it was all a free service for someone else. What rotten luck!"
Joanna Sherman couldn’t help but scoff.
’This Ma Lane, what incredible ambition!’
’Jenson Forrest paid her to take care of Lillian Forrest, and what does she do? She starts scheming to get her hands on his sister.’
’And she even deluded herself into thinking she could get to Jenson Forrest by controlling Lillian Forrest!’
Joanna Sherman secretly recorded their conversation and raised her finger, about to send the recording to Jenson Forrest.
But she stopped at the last second.
She looked toward Lillian Forrest and strode over.
"Lillian."
Hearing Joanna Sherman’s voice, the smile on Lillian Forrest’s face faded by half, but she still greeted her in her direction, "Hello, Joanna."
When Sophia Shaw saw Joanna Sherman, her good mood was also spoiled.
However, today was Lillian Forrest’s special day, and she didn’t want her personal grudge with Joanna Sherman to ruin Lillian’s mood. Holding Bun, she stepped aside.
A few of Lillian Forrest’s classmates immediately gathered around her, some cooing over Bun, others asking Sophia Shaw for advice about choosing a major.
Only one boy didn’t move, standing near Lillian Forrest, not too close and not too far.
The boy’s head was slightly bowed, his lips pressed together.
A faint blush colored his handsome face as he stared at the tips of his own shoes.
Joanna Sherman took this in without a change in expression. She simply took Lillian Forrest’s hand and placed a box in it. "Congratulations on getting such great scores. This is a gift from your big sister Joanna. I hope you like it."
