Witnessing this blatant display of possessiveness, Ian Lawrence couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed. Couldn’t Yancy Shaw let him have a private word with Lauren Shaw for once? So petty.
Yancy Shaw shot him a cool, sidelong glance—just one look, that was all. But it was enough to make Ian Lawrence apprehensive. Still unwilling to give up, he deliberately said, “Lauren Shaw, let’s have dinner sometime. You can’t turn me down, okay?”
Sensing the icy shift in the man beside her, Lauren Shaw chuckled lightly. “Alright.”
Ian Lawrence grinned triumphantly, but as he turned, he accidentally collided squarely with someone coming his way.
“What the heck? So hard!” Sophia Chandler rubbed her nose, which she’d just bumped painfully.
Seeing it was her, Ian Lawrence’s face twisted with disdain.
“You should watch where you’re going. You bump into me and expect me to apologize?”
Sophia Chandler, cheeks puffed in annoyance, glared up at him. Even wearing heels, she still couldn’t match his aura.
But her scowl turned into a mischievous smile. “Oh, it’s you, senior! Sorry about that.”
Seeing her teasing look, Ian Lawrence thought, ‘Here she goes again, about to embarrass me in public, isn’t she?’ He sighed inwardly. ‘Fine, I must owe her from a past life or something.’
“Just watch out next time.” Leaving those words behind, he strode away in a hurry.
Watching him react to her as if she'd appeared out of thin air to haunt him, Sophia Chandler couldn’t help but touch her own adorable face. “Am I really that scary?”
She turned to Lauren Shaw, her expression brightening into a warm smile. “Senior, I heard your new collection launches at the end of the month. I’d love to do an exclusive interview with you—would that be okay?”
Her gaze was tentative, as if half-expecting to be refused.
Lauren Shaw nodded. “Sure, I’d like that.”
Sophia Chandler’s face lit up in excitement.
What an interesting girl, Lauren Shaw thought. Ever since their first meeting, Sophia Chandler had always shown her a kind of affectionate fervor. Normally, Lauren Shaw was put off by people who were too familiar too soon, but Sophia Chandler never gave off that pushy sense.
Yancy Shaw regarded Sophia Chandler warily.
Sophia Chandler hesitated a moment, then looked cautiously at Lauren Shaw. “Senior, do you really not remember me?”
Lauren Shaw froze for a moment, not sure what she meant.
In truth, Sophia Chandler had known Lauren Shaw even before Ian Lawrence confessed his feelings to her.
Back in their freshman year, soon after school started, Sophia Chandler had gotten into a fight with her family and, in despair, was about to jump off a building. She’d climbed to the rooftop—only to find Lauren Shaw already there that day.
Seeing Sophia Chandler looking so desolate, Lauren Shaw had pulled her aside for a chat. Back then, Lauren Shaw had said her dream was to become a designer, to take her own brand onto the international stage.
She’d spoken with such light in her eyes and confidence radiating from her that Sophia Chandler had been transfixed.
“What’s your dream?” Lauren Shaw had asked.
Sophia Chandler had shaken her head. “I don’t have one.” She’d always been the unwelcome daughter at home; just surviving to that day seemed as much as she could hope for.
“You have a long life ahead,” Lauren Shaw had said gently, her voice strong yet soft. “Don’t give up on yourself just because things aren’t going well right now. Try your best to live—to see all the beauty this world has to offer. Because you deserve it.”
No one had ever spoken to Sophia Chandler so kindly and encouragingly before. Those words had rekindled her hope for life.
Seeing that Lauren Shaw genuinely didn’t remember, Sophia Chandler sighed lightly. “It makes sense—you’ve probably long forgotten, and it’s just as well,” she added with a cheerful little laugh.
Seeing that pure, unguarded smile, Lauren Shaw couldn’t help but feel her mood lift as well.
“Yancheng, come over here.” Not far away, Bryce Shaw waved at Yancy Shaw.
“Your second brother is calling you.”
Lauren Shaw noticed an elegant woman standing beside Bryce Shaw as he hosted guests. Curiosity got the best of her. “Who’s that standing with your second brother?”
From the start of the evening, that woman hadn’t left Bryce Shaw’s side—receiving guests, drinking with people, always just a step away.
Yet Bryce Shaw had paid her little attention, barely exchanging a few words.
“No idea.” Yancy Shaw patted Lauren Shaw on the back. “I’ll go see what’s up. Wait here for me. If you’re tired, just ask someone to take you back to your room.”
Lauren Shaw nodded. “Go ahead, the banquet’s almost over anyway.”
Once Yancy Shaw had left, Lauren Shaw returned to her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Li.
Mandy Snow was seated a short distance away. Her attitude was serene—it was as if nothing that happened earlier had affected her at all.
Nathan Shaw sat next to Shen Wenting, watching Bryce Shaw surrounded by guests while no one paid him any mind. But he’d long since grown accustomed to such situations.
“Nanfeng, you were born smart and you’re the eldest son of the Shen family. By all accounts, you should be the heir. Yet you handed the entire company over to your brother. Aren’t you even a little resentful?” asked Shen Wenting.
Withdrawing his gaze, Nathan Shaw looked at Shen Wenting. “Dad, money and property have never mattered to me. I don’t like business. My brothers are clearly more talented when it comes to running a company. I don’t feel any regret.”
Shen Wenting was visibly pleased by his answer.
His three sons were nothing like those from other wealthy families, fighting to the bitter end over inheritances. Still, this lack of ambition worried him; too mild a temperament, and people would take advantage.
“Dad.” Mandy Snow came over, interrupting the father and son.
Nathan Shaw cast her an indifferent glance but stayed silent.
Shen Wenting, though not especially satisfied with his eldest daughter-in-law, maintained a polite front regardless—after all, she was head of the Shen household.
“I want to take Nanfeng to talk with my family a bit. My big brother said he hasn’t chatted with Nanfeng in ages.”
“Oh, sure, of course. Go on.” Shen Wenting waved them away. As an elder, all he really wanted was to see harmony in the family. Watching the couple walk off, he started scanning the room for Mrs. Chen.
“What do you want?” Nathan Shaw’s tone was icy, as if the woman before him wasn’t his wife but someone he utterly loathed.
Her husband’s coldness didn’t faze Mandy Snow. She laughed coldly. “Your brother’s been fawned over all evening. And you? As the Shen family’s eldest son, not a single person wants to flatter you. How does it feel?”
Nathan Shaw knew she would say this. “I don’t need anyone’s fake flattery.”
“The trouble is, no one even bothers to fake it.”
“What are you trying to say?” He'd heard enough of this kind of talk.
“I’m saying you’re a pathetic loser. It’s bad enough that you’re useless, but you drag me down with you too!”
“If you’re so ashamed, why do you insist on staying in the Shen family? I already said I’d let you go free.”
Mandy Snow shot him a mocking look. “Ha! Nathan Shaw, I know you’re desperate to kick me out. But let me tell you—even if it kills me, I’ll die in your Shen family. Divorce? In your dreams!”