Chapter 76 They Are Showing Off Their Affection

Chapter 76: Chapter 76: They Are Showing Off Their Affection

Sophie Winslow’s head throbbed just listening to her. She paced around the room before finally finding her voice. "Is Seth Sutton still at the same school as Lydia?"

"You bet he is! A friend of mine has a father on the kindergarten’s management board. When Lydia’s enrollment spot was stolen earlier, I reached out to them. Today, this friend told me that Julian Sterling used his influence, and the school made a special exception to give Seth an extra spot."

Ivy Hawthorne couldn’t help but sneer, having to bite back curses several times. "Since he’s so powerful, why didn’t he just have them arrange an extra spot from the beginning? He just *had* to steal Lydia’s. And now he’s not even transferring schools. As time goes on, if he bumps into Lydia..."

This was exactly what Sophie was worried about. Originally, she had logically assumed that Julian would find another good school for Seth. She never expected things to turn out like this. Enrollment was just around the corner, and it was far too late for her to change Lydia’s school now. After all, she wasn’t Julian Sterling; she didn’t have the kind of clout where everyone would do her favors. If Lydia didn’t enroll now, her education would be delayed. Getting into a school in Kingsford already had high entry requirements, let alone a top-tier elite school like this one.

Sophie’s mind was a mess. She raised a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Unless Julian frequently drops off and picks up Seth, the chances of them running into each other shouldn’t be too high."

"That’s true. With Julian’s status, and considering Seth is a child of the Sutton family, he has no reason to be running to the school all the time."

Even so, Sophie couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

Ivy comforted her. "It’s fine. At the end of the day, our girl’s last name is Hawthorne. My brother is coming back to the country next month, and he’s Lydia’s legally recognized father. Even if Julian does run into her, he’d never make the connection that the child is his. We have backup plans."

Sophie agreed with this. For one, Lydia was registered under Adrian Hawthorne’s household. And even if Julian eventually found out the child was his, he had already signed an agreement voluntarily giving up his custody rights. He couldn’t go back on it. She had prepared plenty of contingencies to keep her child safe. Thinking of Adrian’s existence and the impending finalization of her divorce, Sophie’s tension eased slightly.

"Let’s just take it one step at a time. Ultimately, Lydia is going to live with me anyway," Sophie said. She wanted to grow stronger quickly so she would have the capital to stand against the Sterling family. That way, she could let Lydia live openly in the light instead of constantly living in fear.

She had indeed entertained the thought of asking Julian if he could have Seth transferred. But remembering that she had already blocked him on her phone, she dismissed the idea. As for blocking him... Julian probably didn’t even know yet. After all, he rarely contacted her unless he had to.

Sophie let out a soft sigh. If it weren’t for the fact that she was secretly raising Lydia and felt guilty about it, she wouldn’t have held back from completely tearing away the facade over Julian and Stella Sutton’s affair. If she didn’t have someone to protect and leverage that could be used against her, with her personality, she definitely wouldn’t have been willing to swallow such an injustice. Now, she truly had been forced into playing the role of the "understanding" good ex-wife.

***

Early the next morning.

While Sophie was eating breakfast and scrolling through Moments, she received a call from Renee Coleman.

"Sophie! Miss Sutton submitted the Western medicine raw material test data. Chief Director Winslow’s visit really worked! I heard she fell ill, and Mr. Sterling arranged for a research team from Longview to assist her so she could rest easily. Mr. Sterling’s doting and grooming of her is honestly envy-inducing."

At that very moment, Sophie’s finger paused on her screen.

Finn Lockwood: "Stella got sick, so he gifted her a 1.8-million-yuan set of couple’s watches to cheer her up. A perfect match."

She saw the photo attached to Finn’s post. It was a third-person shot taken inside a luxury boutique. On the counter sat two boxes containing couple’s watches. In the corner of the photo, a man’s long, striking hand was captured holding a card, right about to swipe it.

She was all too familiar with Julian’s hand. He had never even worn his wedding ring. Yet for Stella Sutton, he would break his own rules and wear a matching couple’s watch with her.

"Sophie?" Not hearing a response, Renee called her name a few times.

Sophie finally answered, "I got it. Let’s talk when I get to the office."

She had almost forgotten about Finn, that little straggler who slipped through the net. He was just lying there in her WhatsApp contacts, polluting her mood. She immediately went in and blocked him too.

Only then did she ponder Julian having the people from Longview help out. She certainly knew the prestige of Longview. They had many top-tier experts leading their teams, yet they had been reassigned just to clean up Stella’s mess... When the time came, the results and credits would still belong to Stella.

Perhaps because of her remark at Longview about Kingsford University changing their team leader, Julian was not only helping Stella smooth over the crisis but also sending a warning to Sophie, making it impossible for her to make things difficult for Stella anymore?

Sophie couldn’t be bothered to care. After all, what was submitted today was only the test data. Stella still hadn’t completed the crucial Western medicine formulation ratio. If she missed the deadline, Sophie would still kick her off the project.

***

In the afternoon.

Sophie received the confirmed filming schedule for the documentary. It would be conducted under the premise of not interfering with their scientific research. She felt this documentary would be highly meaningful and serve as great public science education.

***

Stella Sutton was at the hospital, receiving an IV drip. Finn had taken some time out of his schedule to visit her.

"Sophie really said that to you? I didn’t expect her to put on such airs. She gets lucky and lands a job at Helios, and now she actually thinks she has a say there?" Finn couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the thought of her threatening to replace Stella. Who did Sophie think she was? Did she think she could call the shots for Peter Preston? If she were some god-tier figure like Faye, she might have the right to boss people around. But in reality, she was just a lowly scrub who had worked in the ER for a few years.

Stella smiled faintly. "It doesn’t matter. I’m solely focused on scientific research to benefit thousands of patients. If she insists on immersing herself in some petty ’two women fighting over one man’ drama, I don’t have the time to entertain her."

"Only you would be this open-minded. Besides, it’s all because Julian favors you. That loser doesn’t dare throw a tantrum at Julian, so she can only jump up and down in front of you," Finn said casually as he grabbed an apple and took a bite.

Stella’s cheeks instantly flushed a faint red. Naturally, she felt a burst of joy and triumph at Finn’s words. She also disdained comparing herself to grassroots personnel like Sophie, who came from some backwater town.

"Just look at how attentive Julian is to you. You skipped meals and pulled all-nighters, and he’s been taking such good care of you. I’ve never seen anyone else receive such an honor," Finn teased.

Stella offered a gentle smile. Of course, she knew she was an exception. Some people were just destined to step aside.

"Right, aren’t you going to appear in that documentary?" Finn suddenly recalled the project. The country was placing a lot of importance on cultural revival, and as a project partner of Helios, Stella would be on camera.

"I will. After all, I’m one of the rare public figures in the industry. I can even help their production crew boost ratings." Stella’s lips curled up, brimming with confidence on this point. She was, after all, a celebrity doctor with over three million followers on social media. With the most outstanding resume and halo of achievements, she would undoubtedly become a key focus of the documentary.

Finn immediately clapped his hands together. "I heard that if this documentary does well, it’ll receive future government backing and might even win awards. Wouldn’t that be practically the same as going down in history?"

Right at that moment, Julian pushed the door open and walked in. Hearing this last sentence, he glanced over at a leisurely pace.

Stella raised an eyebrow, her mood lifting significantly. When the time came, this documentary would serve as a testament and record of her personal achievements. It would also resolve the Sterling family’s prejudice against her. They would accept her again and agree to let her become Julian’s wife.

As for Charles Sterling... she had no obligation to wait for him. He wouldn’t be getting out anytime soon anyway, and even when he did, he wouldn’t dare make things difficult for her because of Julian.

"It’s not that exaggerated," she said, showing appropriate modesty.

But Finn suddenly had a stroke of inspiration. His gaze landed on Julian, who had just taken a seat. "If Julian makes a cameo in this documentary too, wouldn’t it become a token of love for you two?"

Stella was taken aback, and then her heart began to race wildly. What Finn was suggesting was no different from recording a romance documentary of her and Julian!

"Julian, if you have time, would you make a cameo?" Finn asked outright.

Stella couldn’t help but look at the man sitting on the nearby sofa with immense joy. However, she also knew that Sophie, as part of the team, would be present. If Julian felt that Sophie was a hidden risk and a hassle, he might refuse...

This thought made Stella silently purse her lips. Sophie was like a lingering ghost!

Julian lifted his eyes, meeting Stella’s expectant gaze. After two seconds of silence, he spoke in a relaxed tone. "I don’t see why not."