Chapter 163 Stay Away from Julian!

Chapter 163: Chapter 163: Stay Away from Julian!

Lucas Langley had clearly hit a wall with Sophie Winslow, but he wasn’t angry. It seemed his temper had been entirely ground away. He didn’t even mind that she had given him no face.

He simply shoved his hands into his pockets and stayed right beside her. "Sure, whatever you want."

Ivy Hawthorne eyed Lucas warily. After all, her brother had once proposed to Sophie. Ivy didn’t think much of any of these men, nor did she trust them; she believed her brother was the only reliable one.

As for Julian Sterling... Ivy couldn’t help but turn to look at him.

Only then did she realize that Julian was bending slightly to listen to Stella Sutton whisper something to him. He wasn’t paying any attention to Sophie’s side at all, acting completely unbothered by the possibility of his legal wife being snatched away by other men.

A surge of anger choked Ivy. Even as an outsider, she was infuriated by it.

Sophie, on the other hand, remained completely unfazed. In this arena of fame and fortune, she and Julian were like perfect strangers.

Evan York strolled over. His indolent gaze swept casually past Sophie before he suggested, "Since everyone’s here, why don’t we play a few rounds?"

Piqued, Stella asked, "How are we playing?"

Lucas chimed in with a smile, "Everyone’s skill level is all over the place. Let’s make sure no one says the pros are picking on the amateurs."

He knew Evan wanted to have an archery competition.

Evan raised an eyebrow, picking up a bow to test the draw. "That’s why we’ll form pairs through a random draw. That way, no one can cry foul, right? Today, we have Mr. Linton, Mr. Thorne, and even officials from the provincial department present. If you want to come out on top and secure partnerships and resources, you’ll have to rely on your own abilities. Losers have to down three glasses of liquor. How about it?"

Sophie looked around. Likely out of respect for Winnie Hayes, there were quite a few big shots in attendance today. Among them was a leader from the provincial department surnamed Jin. He was a connection many were eager to make.

In this circle, it wasn’t uncommon to allocate resources through games like this. She silently agreed to the arrangement.

Finn Lockwood perked up at the idea. "Forming pairs? It’d be a shame to split up Stella and Julian. How about we just let them team up directly, and the rest of us draw lots? Let’s all read the room and not break up the couple."

As he spoke, Finn blatantly glanced at Sophie, his eyes glinting with undisguised malicious amusement.

Sophie couldn’t even be bothered to lift her eyelids, let alone give him a reaction.

Ivy, however, cursed under her breath, "Despicable creep."

Stella was quite pleased with Finn’s words, but she still looked up at Julian’s sharply defined profile with a faint smile. "While that sounds nice, it wouldn’t be fair to just give us a backdoor pass. Besides, Julian and I are both pretty good at archery. Wouldn’t that be bullying the others?"

Julian lazily curled his lips, offering no opinion.

Evan directly instructed someone to bring over a raffle box. "Don’t worry. The two of you are destined for each other. Even with a random draw, you’ll probably end up together."

Stella’s smile deepened. She caught his drift. Evan was going to rig the draw.

With that in mind, she cast a sidelong glance at Sophie and let out a soft sneer.

Before it officially began, Evan shot a look at the staff member holding the box. Receiving the cue, the staff member immediately carried the box over to Lucas, who drew his lot.

The staff member then turned and headed toward Sophie, carefully guarding the box along the way. But just as he was about to reach her, he accidentally bumped into someone.

The staff member stumbled, nearly dropping the box. When he looked up, it was Julian, holding his phone to his ear and trying to step outside for a call. Listening to the work report on the line, Julian casually reached into the box and pulled out a ball.

The carefully arranged order was instantly thrown into chaos. The staff member looked troubled.

Sophie was right next to them. Unaware of the staff member’s distressed expression, she simply reached in and drew a ball as well, since she was supposed to be next anyway.

Watching this unfold, Evan furrowed his brows slightly.

Soon, the draw was complete.

When the results were announced, Sophie looked at the number "1" in her hand, and then... at the identical "1" resting in Julian’s palm.

She fell silent.

The atmosphere instantly froze. Stella’s smile vanished, replaced by sheer disbelief. Even Finn and Lucas had changes in their expressions.

Finn, in particular, spoke directly to Sophie. "Tell you what, why don’t you swap with Stella? Let Stella team up with Julian, and you can partner with Mr. Langley."

That commanding tone made Sophie, who had initially been slightly repulsed by the pairing, let out a scoff.

Why should she?

Ivy was even more infuriated. "Then why bother drawing lots? Just assign them directly and pair up the illicit lovers!"

How dare they openly pressure Sophie? Who exactly was the legal wife here?

Ivy was clearly a powder keg ready to explode, posturing as though she would defend Sophie to the bitter end.

Although Stella felt frustrated, she couldn’t afford to be so blatantly domineering in public. Lifting her chin, she said, "Julian, let’s compete against each other then. Don’t go easy on me."

Instead of responding to Finn or Ivy, she spoke directly to Julian, acting as if she didn’t care about the groupings while publicly flirting with him.

Julian lazily lifted his eyelashes. "Alright."

For a moment, people lamented that the universally acknowledged couple had been separated, but in the blink of an eye, it seemed to turn into another display of affection between them.

Sophie’s eyes were cold and stunning. She turned on her heel and walked straight toward the stand where the bows and arrows were displayed.

Lucas frowned deeply. He hadn’t expected things to turn out this way. He already knew Sophie harbored feelings for Julian, and now that the two were thrown together, he was genuinely worried her heart might flutter for him again.

He couldn’t help but shoot Evan a glance.

Evan was equally annoyed. He never expected that slight mishap to ruin the rigged arrangement in the box. Otherwise, things would have played out very differently.

The pairs took their respective positions. The targets, set a hundred meters away, were moving ones.

Sophie wasn’t very familiar with archery. She had only gone to an archery club with Ivy a few times and could barely be considered a second-rate amateur.

If she lost, she would have to drink, and she had a very low tolerance for alcohol. But if she won, she would secure valuable resources for Helios.

Gripping the bow and pulling the string, she stared into the distance.

A man’s weary, indifferent voice drifted to her ear. "Keep your feet shoulder-width apart, shift your center of gravity slightly forward."

Sophie immediately shot a glance at Julian.

He was leisurely testing his bow. He clearly hadn’t been looking at her, but sensing her gaze, he turned around. Her reflection appeared in his dark, narrow eyes. "Loosen your grip. Don’t hold it so tight, or the bowstring will slap your arm."

Sophie remained speechless. She ignored him. She didn’t want to listen.

Withdrawing her gaze, she tried again on her own.

This particular bow was noticeably heavier. Sophie tried several times but couldn’t get it adjusted.

Just as she was about to put it down, Julian stepped up behind her. Reaching around her back, his hands covered hers on the bowstring. His hands were large, almost completely enveloping the backs of hers. His warm body heat seeped into her skin, and his broad chest lightly pressed against her back.

There was virtually no space between them.

Sophie instantly froze.

Julian was tall; his breath brushed just above her ear. A faint scent of fir mingled with subtle traces of medicine and disinfectant.

That medicinal scent was a clear sign that he hadn’t fully recovered yet.

Sophie frowned.

Julian cast his eyes down at her. "Focus."

Before she could react, he guided her hands, raised his arms, and shot the arrow with clean, crisp precision.

Bullseye.

It was fierce and flawlessly accurate. The entire process took mere seconds.

Yet, the sight of him helping her adjust her stance caught the attention of quite a few people.

Having been married to him for years, Sophie didn’t think much of such physical contact, but she absolutely refused to share any intimacy with him at a time like this. She had just moved to push him away when Stella’s reprimanding voice rang out from behind.

"The arrow already hit the target. Can you stop clinging to Julian and stay away from him?"