Alexander drove to the airport the day before, and his car was still parked at the outdoor parking lot of the airport.
However, the parking lots in Jadeborough were generally huge. The two of them were only able to find the car after circling the area.
It was already half past five in the evening by then. During July, the night sky in Jadeborough took a long time to turn dark. Sophia stared out the window at the sky which slowly took on a yellowish-orange hue. As a taxi drove past their car, she suddenly recalled the photos that Katherine had sent her the night before.
Sophia shifted her gaze to look at the man behind the wheel. “I wasn’t in Jadeborough. Who did you rent those taxis and giant electronic screens for?”
The car sped away from the airport and slowly stopped at a traffic light. Alexander turned to look at her and said in a deep voice, “They weren’t for you.”
Those were not for Sophia to see. Instead, he had rented those to silence the people who claimed that Sophia was not worthy of marrying him.
If it weren’t for the fact that he was afraid of angering Perrin, he would have also rented the LED electronic screens at Doveston.
Sophia raised a brow at his response. “Then who did you rent them for?”
Alexander fixed his gaze on her for a few seconds before saying, “I rented them for my love rivals to see.”
Sophia chuckled in amusement. “I have a lot of love rivals too. Should I rent a massive electronic screen to stake my claim on you too?”
“You don’t need to do that.”
Sophia snorted. “Why not?”
“You don’t need to stake your claim. None of them stand a chance against you.”
Sophia had no idea where Alexander learned it from, but his flirting skills were getting better every day.
Initially, she had gotten used to his pickup lines. However, she found out that day that she was struggling to keep up with his ever-evolving skill in flirting.
The traffic light turned green. Sophia smiled and said, “The light has turned green.”
Alexander hummed in response and started driving again. Half an hour later, they arrived at Mirage.
By then, it was almost seven in the evening.
The sky had turned completely dark by the time they finished dinner.
It was already past eight when they reached the mansion.
Sophia immediately went to shower when they returned. After she came out of the shower, she checked her phone and noticed that Katherine had sent her many messages asking if she had returned and saying that she had something to discuss with her.
Sophia arched an eyebrow and sent her a question mark.
Katherine was quick to reply: Will I disturb your quality time with Mr. Xenos if I call you?
Sophia chuckled and replied: Yes, you will.
In the next second, an incoming call from Katherine popped up on the screen.
Sophia switched on the balcony light and walked out. She leaned on the railing and enjoyed the night breeze. “What’s up?”
It was summer, and the wind carried hints of fragrance from the flowers that bloomed downstairs.
Katherine cleared her throat and said awkwardly, “We’ll be shooting the season finale for ‘Going Forward’ this Saturday. The director wanted me to ask if you’d like to be a guest on the show.”
Sophia raised her eyebrows and rejected without any hesitation, “No.”
Katherine’s acting spirit was immediately triggered when she heard that. She whined pitifully and said, “How heartless of you!”
Sophia massaged her temples. “It’s already the season finale. Why do they still want me to be a guest on the show?”
On the other end of the phone, Katherine had no choice but to confess, “A few days ago, Sharon shared a post on Twitter, hinting that you funded the show. The show hasn’t even broadcasted yet, but her fans are already scolding people. We’re afraid that you might get the short end of the stick when it broadcasts.”
Katherine also did not expect Sharon to be such a sore loser. After Sharon was eliminated last week, she went home and posted an interesting post on Twitter. Although she did not mention the person she was referring to in the post by name, it was apparent that she was talking about the episodes that she starred in with Sophia and made it clear that Sophia had gotten the correct answer.
She even wrote another post on Twitter that read: Some people want to be famous but are reluctant to let go of their pride, so much so that they’re acting pretentiously on a show. It is, of course, a piece of cake for them to become the winner since they already read the script and knew the answers beforehand. As expected of those who “fund the show.”
Sharon’s popularity had been on the rise for the past few years. The moment her post was published on Twitter, her fans quickly realized she was talking about “Going Forward,” which she recently participated in. However, they could not pinpoint who she was referring to. After all, there were four amateurs on the show. She could be talking about anyone.
The first episode of the show would be aired in September. When that happened, it would be pretty obvious that Sharon’s Twitter post was directed at Sophia.
Katherine had been in the entertainment industry for a long time. She would fight back immediately if she was attacked by others. However, things were different when it concerned Sophia, who was not part of the entertainment industry. Although Sophia might not mind, Katherine was troubled by the issue. As Sophia’s number one fan and best friend, Katherine had already asked Jonice to contact Sharon’s manager. However, the other party behaved arrogantly and remained unreachable.
The production team had no choice but to think of a solution overnight—to invite Sophia as a guest for the season finale. They would then broadcast a recap of how she made deductions and found clues.
That was not the best solution, but since Sharon made things into a big deal, that was the best method the production team could come up with to save Sophia and the show.
As Katherine spoke, the anger she tried hard to suppress surged in her chest once again. “Soph, listen to me. That Sharon Xerxes must be crazy! This isn’t the first time she’s mocked you indirectly on Twitter!”
Sophia clicked her tongue. “Sharon Xerxes… If I’m not mistaken, she’s one of the artists from Starlight Entertainment, a company operating under Midway Media, right?”
Katherine, who was about to scold and curse Sharon, stopped short and answered, “I-I think so.”
Sophia grinned. “Why should I be afraid then? Just air the show as planned. When I get dragged into the mess in the future, I’m sure Mr. Schild won’t mind doing me a favor.”
Katherine, who had been racking her brain for solutions, was suddenly enlightened. “You have my respect, Soph!”
Oh my goodness! Why is my best friend so amazing?
Sophia clicked her tongue. “Then I won’t be joining the season finale.”
Katherine, who wanted to show off Sophia’s beauty, tried persuading her friend. “But it’s a good idea if you appear as a guest.”
She couldn’t be bothered to explain anymore and said, “I’m hanging up.”
After she ended the call, Katherine sent her a message.
Sophia tapped into the chatbox and saw screenshots of Sharon’s recent posts on Twitter.
The content of the posts was indeed strange, as though allusively ridiculing someone. Sharon’s fans flooded the comment section below the posts, comforting her and criticizing the person she was referring to.
Sophia scrolled through the comments but did not take them to heart.
She did not sleep well the night before. Although she took a one-hour nap on the plane, she was still tired since it was close to ten at night. Yawning, she retired to her bedroom.
The splashing sound of water could be heard coming from the bathroom. Sophia wondered when Alexander had gone in.
Glancing at the bathroom door, she thought of what happened a few days ago, and her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment.
She quickly averted her gaze and lifted the blanket before crawling into bed.
Initially, she wanted to wait for Alexander to come out of the bathroom, but she was too exhausted. It did not take long for her to fall asleep after she lay down.
Shortly after coming out of the shower, Alexander saw Sophia lying on the bed, fast asleep.
He turned off the lights, leaving only a night lamp on.
Then, he made his way to the bed and carefully sat down. With one hand propping himself on the mattress, he lowered his head and looked at Sophia’s calm, sleeping face.
His gaze averted to her hand on the blanket, and he blinked ever so slightly.
He could not help reaching over and touching the woman’s finger. Staring at her bare ring finger, he couldn’t resist caressing it.
A while later, he realized he should control himself. He withdrew his hand and gently placed her hand under the blanket.
“Goodnight, Precious.”
Alexander leaned over to plant a kiss on her forehead before turning off the night lamp.
