Chapter 249: Why Not Marry Faye?

Chapter 249: Chapter 249: Why Not Marry Faye?

The air in the car seemed to vanish in an instant.

Julian Sterling, who had always remained aloof from everything, lifted his eyelids, a flicker of thought passing through his dark, cold eyes.

Faye...

Adrian Hawthorne’s ex-girlfriend? Lydia Hawthorne’s biological mother?

Stella Sutton suppressed a surge of astonishment and blurted out, "Could it just be a coincidence? Someone with the same name?"

This was the Faye who had never made a public appearance. Her appearance, age, and nationality were all unknown. How could it be...

"Besides, if the other party is actually Faye, there’s no reason why Mr. Hawthorne wouldn’t marry her. And there would be no possibility of the Hawthorne family looking down on her or forbidding her from marrying into the family."

Evan York had also been stunned by this revelation for quite some time. Even now, holding the information, he found it completely unbelievable.

Julian turned off the iPad’s screen. "Given Adrian’s status, it’s not strange that he would know Faye," he said mildly. "One of the reasons Lydia’s biological mother could remain hidden so deeply and be so difficult to investigate is undoubtedly her background."

Given Adrian’s family background, the probability of this Faye being the real deal was almost ninety percent. The likelihood of a mere coincidence was actually quite low.

If that were the case...

Faye wasn’t a foreigner. Julian lowered his gaze, his mind once again recalling Lydia’s exquisite little face. She didn’t have mixed-race features. Furthermore, little Lydia’s intelligence, which far surpassed that of her peers, was highly likely inherited from her parents’ genes.

Evan pinched the bridge of his nose. "So, the reason they aren’t married now probably doesn’t lie with the Hawthornes. Is it because Faye herself can’t or won’t marry him?"

Thinking of something, Stella suddenly let out a soft, silent chuckle. "Actually, I don’t think you need to worry, Mr. York. If this Faye is indeed the real Faye, then the existence of the Hawthorne family’s little heiress’s mother will be enough to make Sophie Winslow feel completely inadequate. With such an outstanding predecessor, it’s hard not to feel a sense of inferiority.

"Furthermore," she raised an eyebrow, "Sophie might seem to be riding high lately, having become a professor at Kingsford University. But compared to a practical genius like Faye, who has countless real-world achievements and awards in everything she does, Sophie’s professorship is clearly just an empty shell. It’s nothing at all."

Evan gave her an imperceptible glance. "Is that so?"

He didn’t bother to argue with Stella, even if their views on the matter were entirely different. A professorship at Kingsford University, no matter the time or place, could absolutely never be described as an "empty shell."

Taking Evan’s silence as agreement, Stella comforted him, "Actually, I think if the other party really is Faye, would she ever agree to let just any random woman become her precious daughter’s stepmother? To put it bluntly, even if Mr. Hawthorne were willing to lower his standards and pursue a relationship with Sophie, Faye would definitely stand in the way. In the end, it would all be an exercise in futility."

Julian lowered his eyelashes thoughtfully. He seemed completely disinterested in Sophie’s future romantic prospects.

Evan, however, turned cold. "What Sophie chooses to do is her own business. I don’t plan to interfere anymore."

The smile on Stella’s lips froze. "What?"

"Sophie is now a benefactor to the York family," Evan replied. "I’m not about to bite the hand that feeds us."

Stella’s heart sank, and displeasure raged within her. She wondered if Evan’s attitude toward Sophie had really reached such a special level. It made her look like a busybody. If she wasn’t mistaken, Evan was consciously speaking up for Sophie. This brought a flash of irritation to her eyes.

The tense atmosphere was broken by the ringing of Julian’s phone. He picked it up and glanced at the screen. It was Finn Lockwood calling.

He answered, and Finn asked, "Julian, can you do me a favor?"

"Speak."

Finn sounded quite frustrated. "My grandfather hasn’t stopped praising Sophie for becoming a professor at Kingsford University. It’s obvious he wants to meet her. But Sophie has a problem with me, so she won’t agree to it. If you go and talk to her, Julian, she’ll definitely agree."

Given Sophie’s desperate infatuation with love, there was no way she would pass up an opportunity to bargain with Julian.

Stella’s expression shifted slightly as she unconsciously clenched the hem of her shirt. She naturally didn’t want Sophie to meet Master Lockwood. If that happened, wouldn’t Finn find out that she was the one who had falsely claimed credit for saving him?

Julian’s eyes were emotionless. He neither agreed nor outright refused.

Stella pursed her lips and spoke up, "Based on what I’ve seen at Kingsford University since transferring there, Sophie might not have any real talent. She might even be completely subpar. If you recommend her to Master Lockwood and he discovers her skills are terrible, won’t that just annoy him even more?"

Finn couldn’t help but hesitate, but at the very least, he was considering her words.

Only then did Julian finally say, "Do as you see fit," and ended the call.

Stella pursed her lips again, silently breathing a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, Sophie was caught up in an endless stream of meetings. She had no idea that Evan had already discovered that Faye was Lydia’s biological mother.

A massive project was being established at Kingsford University. They had organized research teams from the medical schools of several top universities across the country to conduct research for a new neurological drug aimed at tackling a global medical challenge. Kingsford University was providing the research base, and researchers from all over were coming to Rydan for a two-month period. Ultimately, the top five doctoral students would be selected to join the National Academy of Somatic Medicine, and the mentor teams would also be offered positions at the National Academy of Somatic Medicine based on their contributions—which was tantamount to another promotion.

Under this competitive system, each research team had to first submit a project report, which would then be cross-reviewed and scored by the mentors.

Amidst her busy schedule, Sophie found time to write her report. Having been ruthlessly drilled by Caldwell for over a decade, her theoretical foundation was rock-solid. Writing reports was effortless for her.

When the meeting ended, the door was pushed open and Stella walked in. With a perfectly polite smile, she greeted the other students and mentors before turning to Sophie. "I’ve finished my report, Professor Winslow. Could you perhaps offer me some guidance on it now?"

Sophie looked over at her.

The corners of Stella’s mouth were still curled into a smile. She actually knew very well that Sophie might not even be able to understand it. Asking Sophie to review and critique it in front of everyone was tantamount to publicly humiliating her.

"Sure." Sophie cast her a fleeting glance and took the printed document Stella offered, flipping through the pages.

Stella took a seat. Watching Sophie flip through the report so intently, occasionally furrowing her brows as if she only half-understood the contents, Stella let out a silent sneer.

The others were also curious to see Sophie’s teaching style, so they sat and waited for her verdict. After all, the report had to pass through every professor.

It took only a little over ten minutes before Sophie closed the document and looked at Stella.

Stella smiled. "I’m sure there are shortcomings. Please, I’d appreciate any pointers you can give me."

"I wouldn’t call them ’pointers’." Sophie’s tone remained flat. It was perfectly clear what Stella’s objective was today, but she was the type of person who always spoke her mind.

"This entire report is nothing but a polished turd. A report isn’t an excuse for you to pile on technical jargon to dress up massive blocks of nonsense. If the only thing you expended your energy on was looking up obscure English terminology, then I suppose you really did work hard."

The conference room fell dead silent.

Stella’s face instantly turned ashen, anger creeping up her cheeks. "What do you mean by that?"

"It’s a complete fail. Rewrite it. You have two more chances. If you fail to pass after two more attempts, please leave this research team," Sophie stated, laying down the ironclad rules.