Sophia Shaw paid it no mind. After she finished her work, she went to the hospital to see Old Master Sloan.

Old Master Sloan was recovering quickly. Thanks to Ms. Warren’s attentive care, he wasn’t left with any lasting complications.

When Sophia Shaw arrived, Old Master Sloan was clamoring to be discharged from the hospital.

"I’ve already recovered. What am I still doing in this hospital?"

"The sooner I get out, the sooner I can get some real work done."

Ms. Warren, having failed to persuade him after trying for ages, saw Sophia Shaw as her savior. "Faye, quickly, help me talk some sense into your mentor! His injury has barely started to heal, and he’s already demanding to be discharged."

"As soon as he’s discharged, I bet he’ll run right back to work. You know how intense your jobs are. How could his body possibly handle it?"

Though Old Master Sloan was usually a man of great prestige and respect, he was like a child when he threw a fit.

Hearing Ms. Warren trying to use Sophia Shaw to persuade him, he scowled and said, "My wanting to leave the hospital is my own business. It’s no use no matter who tries to talk me out of it!"

Ms. Warren was exasperated. "You’re just a stubborn old man!"

Sophia Shaw chuckled softly.

Though their official relationship was that of employer and personal assistant, after living together for so many years, they were closer than actual family.

Ms. Warren cared for Old Master Sloan from the bottom of her heart.

Sophia Shaw smiled at Ms. Warren, signaling that she had a plan.

Only then did she walk over.

She took a stack of papers out of her bag. "I’m not here to talk you out of it, but are you sure you want to be discharged? Once you’re out, you’ll have to go back home right away. Who’s going to review my new design concept for me then?"

The moment he heard Sophia Shaw had a new design concept, Old Master Sloan’s temper vanished completely.

He waved her over insistently. "Hurry, let me see!"

Sophia Shaw and Old Master Sloan spent the entire afternoon discussing and studying the new concept, not finishing until the sun was setting in the west.

Old Master Sloan was fascinated by Sophia Shaw’s new concept. Eager to see its progress, he immediately declared that he needed to stay in the hospital a while longer.

Overjoyed, Ms. Warren took Sophia Shaw’s hands and showered her with a torrent of praise.

Sophia Shaw said goodbye to Old Master Sloan. It wasn’t until she left the hospital room that she noticed she had a lot of new missed calls.

There were calls from Chad Jennings, Jacobs, and Levin Sawyer. There was also one from Representative Jacobs of a government department.

Dealing with external parties was usually Levin Sawyer’s job, so Sophia Shaw was rather surprised that Representative Jacobs had called her cell phone directly.

She called Levin Sawyer first to ask about Representative Jacobs.

Levin Sawyer said, "I was calling you about him. He’s called a few times, asking us to come over for a chat. It sounds like he wants to discuss the launch of the three remaining Zenith satellites."

Levin Sawyer wasn’t interested in the Zenith project, but since Representative Jacobs was a government official, it was a courtesy they had to extend.

Sophia Shaw understood, of course. "In that case, let’s go and see what’s going on."

It was nearly seven in the evening when the two arrived at the government building.

It was long past office hours, and the building was deserted.

Representative Jacobs had specifically stayed late to wait for them.

They had just parked the car when, to their surprise, several people came down from the building.

One was helping to pull the car door open, another was busy holding it for her—their enthusiasm was off the charts.

"Ms. Shaw, please be careful. We wouldn’t want you to get a single scratch."

"Ms. Shaw, please, this way."

The men were bustling about, practically rolling out the red carpet as if welcoming a queen from her carriage.

"Well now, if it isn’t Mr. Owen, President Morgan, and President Reed?" Levin Sawyer got out from the other side, deliberately positioning himself between Sophia Shaw and the three men, the corner of his mouth curving into a smirk.

"You gentlemen are normally swamped with countless matters of business. Since when did you change professions to become valets?"

Levin Sawyer’s words were clearly sarcastic. The three men wrung their hands in embarrassment, fidgeting awkwardly.

"We were just trying to give Chief Engineer Shaw the highest honor, weren’t we?" Mr. Owen was a smooth talker who knew what to say to whom. "Chief Engineer Shaw, your Five-star consecutive flight shook the nation. I am in complete and utter admiration."

"That’s not what you were saying before, is it, Mr. Owen?" Jacobs said, getting out of the driver’s seat. Hearing Mr. Owen’s shameless flattery, he deliberately decided to call him out.

"You said before that if our Ms. Shaw didn’t have President Sawyer doting on her, she’d be a nobody!"

Mr. Owen’s old face flushed crimson, and he stammered incoherently, "Th-that... I... "

"You also said our Ms. Shaw had no experience, and that any credentials she claimed to have were fake."

Jacobs had been stewing on his anger until today and wasn’t about to hold back now.

Mr. Owen was so thoroughly called out that his face turned beet red, yet he didn’t dare utter a single harsh word in return. He was as meek as a scolded child, apologizing profusely.

Although President Reed and President Morgan hadn’t been quite so nasty, they had followed Mr. Owen in pulling out of the project, which showed they had no respect for Sophia Shaw either.

Fearing that Jacobs would call them out next, they quickly tried to shrink back.

Jacobs shot them a glance, full of contempt for these fair-weather sycophants.

’They just take someone else’s word for it when they say Sophia isn’t capable, without even doing a basic background check!’

Fortunately, Representative Jacobs appeared just in time to defuse the awkward situation.

Representative Jacobs warmly ushered the group into a conference room.

Joanna Sherman was already seated inside the conference room.

Her wavy hair covered half of her face, but one could still sense the chill emanating from her.

The three executives acted as if they hadn’t even seen her, scrambling over each other to pour tea for Sophia Shaw and Levin Sawyer, even making sure to serve Jacobs.

"Ms. Shaw, it was my filthy mouth that spouted all that nonsense. You’re a bigger person, so please don’t hold a grudge against a petty man like me. Just treat me like a fart and let me go," Mr. Owen said, lightly slapping his own mouth and bowing and scraping like an old court eunuch.

President Reed and President Morgan, afraid of being upstaged by Mr. Owen, scrambled to speak as well.

"We were only afraid there would be a problem with the satellite launch! We weren’t targeting you on purpose. If you don’t forgive us, we might as well just die to atone for our mistake!"

"That’s right, the fate of our entire companies rests in our hands! We can’t afford to be the slightest bit careless."

"And who knew we’d still mess up and follow the wrong person!"

President Reed didn’t bother to hide his meaning from Joanna Sherman, even pointedly glancing her way as he spoke.

"Sigh. To think we wasted so much time!"

At the same table, Sophia Shaw was the center of attention, while Joanna Sherman was completely ignored.

To the three executives, seeing Joanna Sherman now was like seeing a pile of dog crap; they wished they could fling her to the ends of the earth.

Levin Sawyer had already guessed why Representative Jacobs had summoned them, but he feigned ignorance and asked, "Miss Sherman, why isn’t Vincent Grant with you? Isn’t he the one who usually treats you as the apple of his eye? How could he bear to leave you here all by yourself today?"

Joanna Sherman’s hand, resting on the table, clenched into a fist. Her face went pale with fury.

"You seem awfully concerned about me, President Sawyer. Is there a reason for that?"

Vincent Grant walked in from outside, phone in hand.

He strode in on long legs, his expression unhurried.

Sophia Shaw looked toward him.

She pressed her lips together lightly.

’Of course he’d be here for anything involving Joanna Sherman.’

Their gazes met in mid-air.

Sophia Shaw coolly withdrew her gaze.

But Vincent Grant’s gaze lingered, silently casting over her like a net.

Even after the success of the Five-star consecutive flight had crushed Joanna Sherman, she hadn’t become arrogant or high-profile like Joanna had been.

She remained quiet and unassuming.

Mr. Owen, President Reed, and President Morgan took it all in and sighed to themselves once more.

’Empty vessels make the most noise, as they say.’

’Truly capable people don’t need to brag about themselves all day. It’s the incompetent ones who have to act all high and mighty, terrified that people won’t know they’re supposedly talented.’

Levin Sawyer subtly shifted his body, blocking Vincent Grant’s view of Sophia Shaw. He said pointedly, "That explains it. After all, Ms. Sherman is the unforgettable passion of President Grant’s heart, his unattainable white moonlight. How could he ever bear to neglect her?"

"Our Faye, on the other hand, might as well be an orphan for all the support she gets from her father and family. She’s had to claw her way up all on her own. She’s so fiercely independent that it makes me feel redundant."

Levin Sawyer clutched his chest, putting on a dejected look.

On the surface, his words were a lament for Sophia Shaw’s hardships, but they were actually a jab at Vincent Grant for ignoring his own wife to meddle in the affairs of an unrelated woman.

At the same time, he managed to land a solid blow against Joanna Sherman.

He was, in not-so-subtle terms, mocking her for being incompetent and completely dependent on Vincent Grant to get by.

Of course, Joanna Sherman understood the subtext, and her already foul mood soured even further.

She bit her lip and looked at Vincent Grant, her eyes brimming with a sense of being wronged.