"Why did they invite someone like her?"

"Isn’t this just misleading?"

"Levin Sawyer needs to be more careful about who he champions."

"What a joke!"

The people from the bureau had always admired Levin Sawyer. But now, seeing him irresponsibly put someone on stage who knew next to nothing about rocket technology and had a history of making mistakes, they were all extremely displeased.

Sophia Shaw overheard the murmurs, her cool gaze sweeping over to Vincent Grant.

He knew better than anyone whether she had really gotten the data wrong.

Vincent Grant offered no explanation. He simply turned and walked away.

He took Stella Grant from the caregiver’s arms and held her.

Sophia Shaw gave a faint smile.

’He wasn’t willing to explain back then, so why would he start now?’

’Good thing I wasn’t expecting anything.’

’No expectations, no disappointments.’

Sophia Shaw withdrew her gaze, once again immersing herself in her own world.

Elias Underwood scoffed contemptuously, "She’s just putting on an act!"

In his eyes, Sophia Shaw was only pretending to be focused to hide her guilty conscience.

What he didn’t know was that Sophia Shaw was, in fact, genuinely and completely focused.

After Vincent Grant sat down, his gaze couldn’t help but drift toward Sophia Shaw.

Her eyes were downcast, a tiny red mole on her skin subtly shifting as she went about her own business, as if the cold stares of those around her had nothing to do with her.

For a moment, he forgot to look away.

Jenson Forrest had also arrived.

His company was responsible for the on-site communication equipment.

Once he was more or less done with his work, he sat down next to Vincent Grant.

By this time, Sophia Shaw had already gone on stage with the other guests.

The host introduced the guests one by one.

There were two guests from the space agency, and two guests from Stellaron also went up: Joanna Sherman and Elias Underwood.

When mentioning these four, the host had a long list of accolades to share.

When it was Sophia Shaw’s turn, the host clearly faltered for a second, only stating her name before adding a few irrelevant comments about her appearance.

The dry introduction prompted Joanna Sherman, who was also on stage, to gently cover her mouth, hiding a smirk.

No one wanted to sit with Sophia Shaw, finding it embarrassing. They all clustered around Joanna Sherman, sitting on either side of her.

Sophia Shaw sat at the very end of the row.

She remained as quiet as ever, showing no signs of embarrassment or discomfort that her reputation wasn’t as illustrious as the others’.

She was calm and composed, seemingly above worldly competition.

Jenson Forrest watched her silently. Seeing her unruffled by honor or disgrace, he couldn’t help but reach into his pocket.

His long fingers stroked the three-leaf clover pendant Lillian Forrest had given him.

’Is it a coincidence?’

’Or is it...’

When the audience saw from her on-screen bio that Sophia Shaw was from Lead Aerospace, their curiosity was piqued, and they all took out their phones to look her up.

They had assumed that anyone sent by Lead Aerospace would be at least an engineer, but their search returned nothing but her name.

What they did find, however, were the apology letters from her time at the Grant Group, sparking a flurry of discussion.

"What’s the deal with that woman named Shaw? She thoroughly embarrassed herself at the Grant Group, and now she’s here to do it again?"

"She’s pretty shameless."

"Not just pretty shameless, absolutely shameless!"

"They’re both women, but Joanna Sherman is in a different league. She’s beautiful, brilliant, and quietly built a rocket in just a year that launched successfully."

"How can she even compare to Goddess Sherman? Goddess Sherman graduated from a top university and was mentored by a famous doctoral advisor. Making her share a stage with this woman who spouts nonsense is a clear insult to her."

"If you ask me, Levin Sawyer is doing this on purpose."

"I heard that back when he was abroad, Levin Sawyer was infatuated with a girl but failed to win her over. Could it have been Goddess Sherman?"

"A man of Levin Sawyer’s stature would only fall for a woman like Goddess Sherman."

"This must be a case of love turning to hate, so he found some ugly freak to provoke Goddess Sherman."

"Exactly. She can’t even manage her own figure. What a turn-off."

"..."

Ms. Archer grew anxious listening to so many people bad-mouthing Sophia Shaw.

"This... this is going too far."

Sophia Shaw was very beautiful, and her figure was just slightly plump. How could these people lie so brazenly!

She stood up, ready to retort.

Levin Sawyer pulled her back down. "Just stay seated. Leave everything to Sophia Shaw."

"But Faye..." Ms. Archer looked at Sophia Shaw on the stage.

’As a young woman, how heartbreaking it must be to be judged like this.’

"Rumors die with the wise."

Although Ms. Archer knew Sophia Shaw was hardworking, she was unaware of her true capabilities. Hearing Levin Sawyer’s words, her heart was still pounding with anxiety.

But since Levin Sawyer was in charge, she knew her own words would be useless—and might even backfire and further damage Sophia Shaw’s reputation—so she had no choice but to give up.

The Q&A session began soon after.

It started with an open-question period.

Everyone chose to ask questions of the four famous guests, like Joanna Sherman and Elias Underwood. Sophia Shaw was left to the side, completely ignored.

More than twenty minutes later, someone finally called on Sophia Shaw.

"To Miss Shaw, my question is this: Just how thick is your skin? How dare you come and challenge today’s Q&A after making such a mess of your explanation of rocket science? Sitting next to so many top experts, don’t you feel like a clown?"

"Don’t you have any shame?"

The man holding the microphone stared provocatively at Sophia Shaw.

His words were blunt and harsh.

As soon as he finished speaking, the room became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Vincent Grant looked at Sophia Shaw, his expression unreadable.

Levin Sawyer, however, gave the questioner a meaningful look, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Ms. Archer let out a small cry of dismay.

’That question was so merciless. Faye must be terribly humiliated.’

Jenson Forrest, sitting beside Vincent Grant, frowned slightly, a crease forming between his brows.

Even if Sophia Shaw had her unlikable aspects, he didn’t appreciate such a direct provocation. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

The audience was filled with their own thoughts, but all eyes were fixed on Sophia Shaw.

Sophia Shaw had long expected that Joanna Sherman wouldn’t let her off by simply ignoring her.

’After waiting so patiently, she’s finally made her move.’

She quietly picked up the microphone, her clear, crisp voice ringing in everyone’s ears. "Sir, why don’t you ask a question related to rocketry."

With one understated sentence, she brought the focus back to the topic at hand, displaying her calm composure.

The man sneered, but he did indeed ask a rocket-related question: "What are the main types of fuel used in modern rocket propellants?"

This was an incredibly basic question, something anyone with even a little exposure to the field would know. It was a deliberate attempt to humiliate her again.

This time, Sophia Shaw didn’t deflect. She calmly answered.

She not only gave the correct answer but also detailed the pros and cons of each type of fuel, as well as the future direction of fuel development.

It was no surprise that she could name the fuels, but not everyone could grasp the future trends in fuel technology.

Yet she spoke about it with eloquence and confidence.

"Well... maybe she’s not as incompetent as they say online."

The crowd was slightly puzzled.

The questioner, likely not expecting to fail at humiliating Sophia Shaw and instead give her a chance to shine, didn’t know what to say and sat down awkwardly.

"That was an excellent answer from Miss Shaw. Next up is the random-draw Q&A."

The host was none other than Jenna Judd.

Whether it was intentional or not, every subsequent question was drawn for Sophia Shaw.

Calm and composed, Sophia Shaw offered her own unique insights for every single question.

Those who had previously looked down on her were gradually captivated by her gentle, knowledgeable, and incredibly forward-thinking words, rewarding her with round after round of enthusiastic applause.

Jenna Judd’s expression grew uglier and uglier.