Joanna Sherman spoke with a beaming smile, "I wholeheartedly admit defeat from our last competition, President Sawyer."

"The National Space Administration has asked Stellaron to take the lead on a live Q&A session about rockets. I was wondering if we might have the honor of inviting President Sawyer to be a guest?"

Levin Sawyer exchanged a meaningful look with Sophia Shaw.

Joanna Sherman didn’t give him a chance to refuse. "It’s tomorrow. I’ll be eagerly awaiting your presence, President Sawyer."

After speaking, she didn’t rush to leave. Instead, she turned to Sophia Shaw with a smile. "Miss Shaw, your speech just now was brilliant. It’s clear you prepared your script very carefully."

Sophia Shaw coolly lifted her eyes. The beauty mark near her eye seemed to shift gently, making her appear all the more graceful and soft.

She could clearly see the mockery in Joanna Sherman’s eyes and smiled faintly. "Preparing a script is basic. Or does Miss Sherman not prepare for her speeches?"

Levin Sawyer chimed in, "Of course, Miss Sherman is different from us. She just spouts whatever comes to mind wherever she goes."

A small crack appeared in Joanna Sherman’s perfectly cool and aloof expression.

’She had mocked Sophia Shaw for gaining a reputation by reading from a script, and now the two of them were ganging up to mock her for spouting nonsense!’

"Joanna’s professional knowledge is exceptionally solid. She’s naturally eloquent," Vincent Grant, who rarely spoke, chimed in.

’Reframing nonsense as eloquence?’

’No matter the situation, Vincent Grant always has to unconditionally protect the darling of his heart.’

Sophia Shaw chuckled softly, her gentle eyes filled with shards of mockery.

She turned her head to look at Levin Sawyer. "Did you buy the composite adhesive?"

Levin Sawyer cheered inwardly.

’His little junior has finally shown her claws.’

’Sweet!’

He deliberately raised his voice. "Don’t worry, I bought it! And I definitely didn’t get it wrong!"

Joanna Sherman’s face instantly felt as though it had been slapped twice, burning hot.

Vincent Grant had called her eloquent, but Sophia Shaw insisted on humiliating her by bringing up her failure to understand the composite adhesive!

It was a clear implication that she was the one who only spouted nonsense!

Unexpectedly, Vincent Grant’s gaze landed on Sophia Shaw.

His brow was deeply furrowed.

From Sophia Shaw’s perspective, he was clearly displeased with her mockery of Joanna Sherman.

’Joanna Sherman started it by mocking her. Wasn’t she allowed to talk back?’

Sophia Shaw didn’t even meet his gaze, saying only to Levin Sawyer, "Let’s go."

It had always been her watching Vincent Grant’s back as he walked away. This time, she left him with a view of hers.

It wasn’t until they were in the car that Levin Sawyer finally spoke. "What do you make of Joanna Sherman inviting me to the Q&A session?"

Sophia Shaw pursed her lips. "She suspects our professor went easy on us during the competition at the exhibition hall. She wants to use the Q&A to win a round back."

Levin Sawyer sneered, "So in the end, she’s still trying to go after our professor!"

Then, he looked at Sophia Shaw meaningfully. "So, you won’t let her win, right?"

When it came to their professor, Sophia Shaw wouldn’t back down. "Don’t worry." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

That evening, Cedric Grant kept waiting for Sophia Shaw to call him.

Usually, she would share her thoughts with him even if she had just made a trip to her old school.

’She got to give a speech on stage today, so she must have a lot to talk about.’

’Conveniently, Auntie Joanna has a meeting tonight and won’t have time for a video call.’

’Chatting with Mom would be nice, too.’

In Cedric Grant’s heart, Sophia Shaw was always the second choice.

But by nine o’clock, Sophia Shaw still hadn’t called.

Cedric Grant always stuck to a strict schedule, so he could only sulkily crawl into bed.

Sophia Shaw had been busy revising blueprints all evening.

Their improved propulsor was showing significant results, having already passed tests in the desert region.

She had boldly proposed a "rocket rideshare" project. Their rockets could carry multiple satellites from different companies into orbit on a single launch, at only half the previous cost.

The project was a massive hit abroad, and several communications companies had already signed contracts with Lead Aerospace.

The project was being kept low-key. Sophia Shaw hoped to apply it abroad first, and only introduce it domestically after further reducing costs.

Sophia Shaw had worked all night precisely to further optimize the payload system.

「The next morning」

At eight o’clock, Levin Sawyer arrived punctually to pick her up.

Sophia Shaw brought Bun with her.

The little one already recognized Levin Sawyer and habitually blew bubbles at him.

Levin Sawyer was absolutely smitten. "Come here, let your godfather hold you."

Bun was on his household register, so it was reasonable for him to call himself her godfather.

The little one voluntarily rolled into his arms, her small hands rummaging on his chest.

Sophia Shaw knew what she was looking for and pressed her lips together to hide a smile.

The little one liked to sleep while hugging her chest and thought Levin Sawyer had one too.

After fumbling for a long time and not finding what she wanted, her little mouth flattened into a pout, and her big eyes looked at Levin Sawyer accusingly.

It wasn’t until Levin Sawyer tucked a small, soft stuffed animal into her arms that the little one finally snuggled comfortably into the crook of his arm, hugging the toy.

Levin Sawyer’s arms were broad and long, a very snug fit.

Her little body curled into a crescent shape. She hugged the teddy bear and felt Levin Sawyer’s arm rocking her back and forth like a swing, finding the sensation utterly new and exciting.

Sophia Shaw took the initiative to drive.

Seeing Bun’s small, satisfied, and happy expression in the back seat, her heart couldn’t help but ache a little.

’Thank goodness for Levin Sawyer. Otherwise, her child really would never get to experience what a father’s love is like.’

’A godfather’s love is still love. It’s better than nothing.’

By the time they got out of the car, Bun had already had a nap.

With a small pacifier in her mouth, she looked around for her mommy.

The moment Sophia Shaw reached out her arms, Bun tumbled into her embrace.

She took big whiffs of Sophia Shaw’s scent, pressing her little face against her chest again and again.

Once inside the venue, the little one wasn’t fussy at all, her round, wide eyes looking this way and that.

There were quite a few photographers at the event. Seeing how small and cute Bun was, they started taking pictures of her.

The little one wasn’t shy with strangers at all, striking all sorts of cute poses for the camera.

Everyone was overwhelmed by her cuteness, wishing they could just snatch her up and take her home.

When it was about time, Sophia Shaw handed Bun over to Ms. Archer and headed backstage with Levin Sawyer.

Several leaders from the National Space Administration and other well-known figures were already backstage, along with heavyweight engineers from other rocket-related organizations.

Joanna Sherman had also arrived, bringing her company’s most capable engineer. Elias Underwood was, conspicuously, among them.

Seeing Levin Sawyer arrive with Sophia Shaw, Elias Underwood let out a soft snort.

Vincent Grant stood beside Joanna Sherman as always, perfectly playing the role of her gallant protector.

But when Sophia Shaw entered, his gaze turned toward her.

Joanna Sherman noticed this and spoke, her tone intentionally joking, "It seems Miss Shaw is very popular at Lead Aerospace."

The response she got was a cold laugh from Elias Underwood. "I think only Levin has a special fondness for her."

Joanna Sherman was very satisfied with Elias Underwood’s retort and glanced at Vincent Grant to see his reaction.

Vincent Grant didn’t retract his gaze.

Usually, his gaze would never linger on Sophia Shaw for more than a second.

Joanna Sherman’s expression remained cool and aloof, but beneath her sleeves, her fingers were digging into each other.

Sophia Shaw had been busy with work all night and was only now finding time to prepare.

Even though it was just a Q&A, she didn’t want to be too casual. She was flipping through some old notes she’d made, adding in new data.

As for Vincent Grant’s gaze, she hadn’t noticed it at all.

Levin Sawyer, however, did notice. He intentionally took a step forward, blocking the line of sight between them. "President Grant, Ms. Sherman, Vice President Underwood."

After Elias Underwood joined the company, Joanna Sherman had given him the position of Vice Chief Engineer for rockets, showing she had extremely high expectations for him.

"Thank you for coming, President Sawyer." Joanna Sherman shook Levin Sawyer’s hand, completely ignoring Sophia Shaw.

Elias Underwood also felt there was no need to shake Sophia Shaw’s hand and only shook Levin’s.

Aside from Levin Sawyer’s choice to make Sophia Shaw his chief engineer, Elias Underwood actually respected him quite a bit.

After shaking Levin Sawyer’s hand, however, Vincent Grant didn’t step back. Instead, he reached past him toward Sophia Shaw, who was standing behind him.

Sophia Shaw was completely focused on her own work, not even lifting her head.

Levin Sawyer saw this and intentionally chose not to alert her, leaving Vincent Grant’s hand hanging awkwardly in mid-air. The scene was rather delicate and embarrassing.

Joanna Sherman smiled sweetly and hooked her arm through his outstretched one. "Vincent, I’ll need to trouble you to look after Becky later."

Becky was Stella Grant’s nickname.

Sophia Shaw finally looked up at the sudden movement, and upon hearing Joanna call out the name "Becky," the corners of her mouth pulled into a silent, joyless smile.

’Joanna Sherman’s child is her little "treasure" and her "star." Truly precious, indeed.’

’Unlike her Bun, who wasn’t even allowed on her biological father’s household register.’

’As for a name, she wasn’t worthy of having Vincent Grant choose one for her.’

’But she wouldn’t let these things upset her anymore.’

After just a moment, she coolly turned her face away again.

"Then I’ll go hold my daughter too," Levin Sawyer said deliberately, even omitting the "god-" from godfather.

’A contest of fathers? Who’s afraid of whom?’

’Joanna Sherman’s daughter has Vincent Grant, but his Bun has him, her godfather!’

Hearing Levin Sawyer say he was going to hold his daughter, Joanna Sherman was taken aback. "President Sawyer, what about our Q&A session?"

Levin Sawyer gestured lightly toward Sophia Shaw. "Faye will be fully in charge."

"This..."

Joanna Sherman looked troubled, but she didn’t say much more.

Because she knew someone else was even more impatient than she was.

Sure enough, Elias Underwood complained in displeasure, "Is this a joke? If you look down on the Q&A, you could have just refused. Why waste time with some irrelevant person?"

The others had never met Sophia Shaw. Hearing Elias Underwood’s complaint, they all started whispering to each other, inquiring about her identity.

Someone quick with their phone found the apology letter she had written when she was at the Grant Group, and their expression turned complicated.