Chapter 117: Hello, The Innocent Heiress

Chapter 117: Chapter 117: Hello, The Innocent Heiress

"Rian, your trip to Sakuran was absolutely badass! Even though the country can’t publicly support you, Veridia has your back," Jason Rivers said, giving Rian Sinclair a thumbs-up. The shrine bombing incident had caused a massive uproar not only in Veridia but across the entire international community.

Ulysses Shepherd nodded in agreement from the side. "When I brought it up at home, even my oldest brother praised you."

Hearing this, Jason leaned in close. "Your oldest brother? Wyatt Shepherd? *He* praised someone? Seriously?"

Wyatt Winslow, sporting a flashy head of red hair, came over. "Rian, come here, let me introduce you to some friends." He brought forward a sweet, obedient-looking girl, along with two men standing together who possessed completely different styles. "Rian, this is Ruby Forrest. You’ve met her before."

Ruby waved her hand, looking especially petite among a crowd of men all over six feet tall.

Rian nodded and leaned her face close to Ruby’s. She reached out and squished her cheek—it was indeed very soft—and said in a low voice, "Hello, Ruby."

She simply had no resistance against such soft, delicate girls.

Ruby’s face turned beet red in an instant, and she nodded furiously like a chick pecking at grain. "Hello, Rian. It’s so nice to see you again."

With her flushed cheeks and sweet, soft voice, she was exactly the kind of cute person Rian adored. Rian gave Ruby’s chubby cheeks another fond squeeze before finally pulling her hand back.

Wyatt Winslow frowned as he looked at the red marks on Ruby’s cheeks. He glanced at Rian and complained, "Rian, Ruby’s skin is really delicate. It bruises easily."

Ruby shyly turned her head away. Rian looked between Wyatt and Ruby, realization dawning on her face. She teased Wyatt, "My, aren’t we feeling protective?"

Beside them, Jason and Ulysses exchanged indiscernible looks, frowning at Wyatt. There was definitely something unusual about the way those two were interacting.

The gentle, elegant-looking man standing nearby let out a soft chuckle. "It seems we can’t count on Winslow the Second for introductions." He stepped forward. "Hello, Miss Sinclair. I’m Zane Shepherd, Ulysses’s older brother. And this is Evan Rivers, my buddy."

Before Rian could reply, Evan chimed in. "Hello, The Innocent Heiress."

Hearing her online handle spoken aloud made her want to curl her toes in embarrassment; it sounded incredibly awkward. She had shown her face on stream, and while she had mentally prepared herself for her friends to find out, having it thrown right in her face was a bit too much to handle.

Rian let out a light cough, a trace of unnaturalness flashing across her face. "Evan, the sharp-tongued superstar actor."

If Evan wanted to play the sharp-tongue game, she could play it too.

Zane was in the entertainment circle and knew about these things, but Jason was completely bewildered. "Wait, Evan, you and Rian know each other?"

Evan’s lips curved up slightly. "When I was streaming earlier, I had the honor of receiving donations from The Innocent Heiress."

Wyatt Winslow was stunned. He knew Rian liked throwing money at men online, but he never expected Evan to be one of them.

Ulysses leaned in, his tone a little sour. "Ria tipped Evan over a hundred million. And it’s not just Evan; it’s plenty of other somewhat good-looking guys, too."

Wyatt Winslow’s eyes widened into saucers, disbelief written all over his face. "H-how much?"

Jason threw an arm around Wyatt’s shoulders. "Bro, close your mouth. This is just Rian’s standard operation."

Ulysses shot Wyatt a look of disgust. "All you do all day is play around with your little childhood sweetheart. Of course you don’t pay attention to this stuff." He rolled his eyes dramatically.

After all, it was because of this jerk that he had lost a bet. Although Ulysses didn’t care about the board game café he lost, the fact that Wyatt the dog was about to get a girlfriend felt way worse than giving the café away.

Jason had picked up on it the last time he hung out with Wyatt, and today’s interaction practically confirmed the situation between the two. Even if they hadn’t confessed to each other yet, the ambiguous atmosphere and the unconscious displays of care were obvious to anyone watching. They were just one final push away from tearing down the paper-thin barrier between them.

Oblivious, Wyatt corralled everyone toward the railing. As the host, he naturally began to explain the event. "There’s a street race happening down there today. Anyone interested can go down and take a lap. You can pick a car from my garage."

Rian rested her hands on the railing, looking down at the diverse array of sports cars and the incredibly hot women walking around. Outside, it was a scorching summer day, but they were sitting inside with the air conditioning blasting, enjoying the best view of the race.

"Winslow the Second, who all showed up today?" Jason had a cigarette dangling from his lips. As he exhaled smoke, the typical aura of a rich second-generation heir hit them right in the face.

Wyatt had originally planned to smoke as well, but he noticed Ruby sitting nearby, her eyes slightly red from the secondhand smoke in the air. Though she frowned, she didn’t say anything. Wyatt placed the unlit cigarette in his mouth and left it there.

As everyone waited for Wyatt to speak, they noticed his gesture. Ulysses and Jason rolled their eyes dramatically, but Jason still crushed his cigarette butt in the ashtray. Seeing this, Rian simply smiled and put her cigarette case back into her pocket.

"Some people came to challenge The Sanctum. So, I’m providing the venue for them to hash it out," Wyatt finally answered.

Jason looked astonished. "Wait? Challenge The Sanctum? Are they crazy?"

Rian looked confused until a male voice spoke next to her ear. "The Sanctum is a highly renowned racing club both domestically and internationally. Their racers have top-tier skills, but they seem to have been on a bit of a decline in recent years."

The one explaining was Evan. Rian raised her teacup in acknowledgment, and Evan returned the gesture. She wasn’t drinking alcohol because she also wanted to go down for a spin later. She had entrusted her previous sports car to Ethan Sinclair for maintenance, and later on, she had modified a different sports car into a racing car, outfitted with top-of-the-line specs.

Rian sent a quick text message on her phone and then turned her attention back to the track. She didn’t care about The Sanctum’s internal affairs; she just wanted to watch a highly entertaining race.

The event was about to start. Five racing cars lined up at the starting point. The roar of their engines crescendoed as they waited for the flag to drop so they could launch off the line.

Rian narrowed her eyes. "No navigators?"

Wyatt rested his clasped hands behind his head. "They requested not to have any. They even brought hot girls to sit in the passenger seats."

Ulysses couldn’t help but shake his head. "Playing it that risky? Who’s taking responsibility if something goes wrong?"

Wyatt casually tossed a stack of papers onto the table. "Already covered. They signed liability waivers."

Rian leaned back against the sofa. Without navigators, they’d have to pay extreme attention to the upcoming road conditions. It was dangerous, but quite thrilling. Having a navigator was equivalent to having pace notes; the navigator would inform the driver of the upcoming track layout, allowing the driver to confidently floor the gas pedal.

Without one, the driver had to anticipate what lay ahead—what kind of corners to expect, or what obstacles might suddenly appear. If they kept the pedal to the metal into a blind corner, they might crash straight through a guardrail and plunge off a cliff. This was an absolute test of a racer’s nerves and their familiarity with the road.

The group watched the race with keen interest. Their innate arrogance and slightly wicked natures slowly seeped out as they observed the high-speed pursuit on the track below.