Chapter 295
"I know everything about you two."
Back when Ethan was considering gifting the land, he had asked for Sebastian's opinion.
Sebastian had frowned the moment he saw the transfer contract.
He thought Ethan was being stingy, and felt Sophia deserved better.
Their jointly founded company went public, and all the co-founder got was a check and a piece of land?
Was he treating her like a beggar?
Only Sophia would put up with him.
Anyone else would have flipped the table.
Sebastian had been green with envy at the time.
How did a guy like Ethan get to meet someone like her?
He was just one step too late...
Just one step!
"Sebastian? What are you thinking about?" Sophia called his name twice.
"Ahem... just thinking about an idiot. What did you ask me?"
"What are you doing here?"
"I have a resort project. Construction started last month. I'm here to check on it."
Sophia blinked.
"You're into physical projects now?"
She remembered Sebastian mainly focused on financial investments, chasing quick money.
A slight smile touched Sebastian's lips.
"You know what I do?"
It seemed she had been paying attention to him...
Sophia found his question odd.
"Weren't you guys always talking about this stuff at your gatherings? I just picked it up from listening."
"Not only do I know you're in finance, but I also know Charlie Lowell is into entertainment."
"Julian Winston dabbles in a bit of everything, whatever's hot. Doesn't put all his eggs in one basket."
Sebastian fell silent.
The smile instantly vanished from his lips.
Ryan Sullivan sat not far away, his frown deepening the more he watched.
Hitting on Sophia right in front of him? This guy didn't look trustworthy...
He immediately stepped forward and took Sophia's hand.
"Sweetie, let's go sit over there."
Sweetie?!
And he's holding her hand?!
Sebastian's face darkened instantly, his gaze on Ryan's hand sharp as a knife.
The key point was, Sophia didn't pull away?!
She even nodded obediently.
"Okay."
Just like that, she went with him?
Sebastian was so angry his eyes reddened. Who was this guy?
Usually, she'd jump away if he so much as touched her. How come with this guy...
He had been chatting with the restaurant owner earlier, and Sebastian hadn't paid any attention!
"Mr. Evans... your phone!" The project manager reminded him timidly.
Sebastian shot him a cold glance and ended the call.
The project manager broke out in a cold sweat.
...
The siblings had already started eating.
Ryan asked, "How is it?"
Sophia nodded.
"It's good!"
"The owner specializes in serving construction sites. The food is tasty and the portions are generous."
"Eat more meat—" Ryan picked out the shredded pork and put it on her plate before starting to eat himself.
"Ryan, that's too much."
"Not at all! Look how thin you are. You need to eat more to gain some weight."
Sophia sighed silently. A brother's love, expressed entirely through meat.
"That guy just now didn't look like a good person. You need to be more careful when you're out. Don't think your big brother is nagging. Bad people don't have 'villain' written on their faces..."
Ryan's sense of big brother responsibility was off the charts.
With their uncle and aunt not around, he had to take on the responsibility of educating his younger sister.
Beware of fire, theft, and troublemakers—
Sebastian had completely lost his appetite.
Watching that guy serve Sophia food, and her accepting it!
It made him so angry his eyes reddened, his jaw clenched tight.
The starving project manager beside him was on the verge of tears.
The boss's expression was getting darker and darker, the aroma of the food was tempting, but he couldn't touch it...
Suddenly—
Sebastian picked up his plate and walked over.
"Sophia, mind if I join you?"
He thought he was being suave.
In reality—
He wore dusty work clothes and a ridiculously outdated hard hat, looking no better than Ryan.
Sophia paused for a second.
"Not at all. Have a seat!"
She even smiled at him.
As Sebastian walked over, an idea flashed in Sophia's mind.
He had a resort project here. He must have a lot of workers, right?
Maybe she could...
Her mental abacus started clicking away.
Sebastian only saw her smiling at him.
His heart instantly soared.
He shot a挑衅 look at Ryan: Who do you think you are?
Ryan was baffled.
"?"
This ginger is pretty bold
"Sophia, you know him?" Ryan Sullivan asked coolly.
Sophia nodded.
"We do."
"Of course we do!" Sebastian Evans said at the same time.
Ryan raised an eyebrow, looking him over from head to toe and back again.
His expression grew more disdainful with each passing second.
Sebastian wasn't bothered by the scrutiny.
He calmly pulled out a chair and sat down beside Sophia.
Look all you want.
See how strong your competition is.
Be smart and bow out gracefully.
Ryan let out a derisive, "Hah!"
This blond punk was certainly arrogant.
"Sophia, aren't you going to introduce us?" Ryan lifted his chin slightly.
"This one... doesn't seem like someone you'd know."
What did he mean, "doesn't seem like someone you'd know"?!
What was that supposed to imply?
Sebastian immediately recognized the veiled insult.
Annoyingly, Sophia seemed unusually indulgent toward this man.
She actually started to make introductions.
"Yes, Sophia," Sebastian echoed, his tone equally insinuating.
"This gentleman doesn't seem like someone you'd know either.
Do introduce us."
Ryan's face darkened.
Their eyes locked.
In the silent standoff, a thousand unspoken challenges passed between them.
Sophia frowned, clearly sensing the tension.
But she didn't understand it.
What deep-seated grudge could two men meeting for the first time possibly have?
Why were they squaring off like fighting cocks?
"Fine, I'll introduce you both," she said.
"This is Sebastian Evans, a friend of mine.
He runs an investment firm.
This is Ryan Sullivan, my cousin.
He currently operates a smart home installation company."
"Any further questions?"
Sebastian blurted, "Your cousin?!"
Ryan exclaimed, "He's a boss?!"
They looked at each other, both slightly embarrassed.
"Ahem!" Sebastian recovered first, raising his teacup.
"My apologies.
I didn't realize you were Sophia's cousin.
My mistake.
Let me offer you this tea as a peace offering."
Seeing his sincere and straightforward manner, Ryan's irritation faded.
He raised his own cup in response.
"You're too kind, Mr. Evans."
"Sophia mentioned you're in smart home installation?" Sebastian asked.
"Yes.
Are you familiar with the industry?"
"I've invested in two companies in that sector." Sebastian named them.
Ryan looked surprised.
"Those are both pioneers in domestic smart home installation.
They've gone public in recent years and expanded significantly.
It seems you have a keen eye for investments."
"You flatter me.
Just casual investments.
Haven't lost money on them, at least."
Ryan smiled politely, not buying it for a second.
There was no such thing as a "casual" investment.
Real money was on the line.
You listened to such modesty, but believing it would be foolish.
"A boss in investments needs to personally visit construction sites?" Ryan asked.
"How else would I know if a project is worth investing in?" Sebastian countered.
"Check its progress?
See if the return meets expectations?"
Ryan followed up casually, "Which project are you referring to?"
"The Sky Dominion Resort."
"What a coincidence!
That's right next to ours!"
"Really?" Sebastian's eyebrows rose, a thoughtful glint in his eyes.
He seized the opportunity.
"And your project is?"
Ryan first glanced at Sophia, his meaning clear: Can I tell him?
She gave a slight nod.
Initially, they hadn't planned to disclose it.
But now, needing help, there was no point in being secretive.
"I'm helping Sophia build a smart lab," Ryan said.
"Build a lab?!" Sebastian was genuinely shocked.
Since it had come to this, Sophia naturally explained the whole story.
"...That's roughly the situation."
"Tsk," Sebastian's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"This Blake Cunningham really has a short memory..."
Sophia asked, "What?"
"Nothing.
How is the lab construction going?"
She pressed her lips together slightly.
Sebastian understood.
"Running into difficulties?
Tell me.
Maybe there's something I can do to help?"
Sophia had been waiting for exactly this.
"Yes!"
Absolutely!
There most certainly was!
Two minutes later—
"...So, your difficulty is a manpower shortage?
You want to borrow some workers from me?" And they were just basic construction laborers?
Sophia asked seriously, "Is that a problem?"
Sebastian shook his head.
"No."
"Then your expression just now..."
Sebastian said, "How do you think the knife feels when a blade meant for slaughtering cattle is used to kill a chicken?"
Sophia fell silent.
"You need people, right?
Will thirty be enough?
Or... forty?"
Sophia and Ryan exchanged a look.
Was this how the world of the ultra-wealthy worked?
Ryan, in particular, was wide-eyed, swallowing hard.
He retracted his earlier "blond punk" comment.
Some "blond punks" were not just "bosses" but could also casually produce dozens of workers on demand.
This was truly impressive.
Sebastian thought for a moment before deciding.
"I'll just assign you two full construction crews."
Ryan's eyes widened.
"!" This man was a godsend!
Sebastian asked, "Will that work?"
The siblings simultaneously shook their heads like rattles.
"No, no problem at all!"
...
That afternoon, Sebastian offered to drive Sophia home.
Ryan smiled.
"Won't that be too much trouble?
It's quite easy to get a taxi here..."
Sebastian had already changed out of his work clothes and removed his hard hat.
He now looked every bit the elite CEO.
Standing next to his red Ferrari, he said, "No trouble at all.
It's on my way."
An aura of wealth radiated from him.
Ryan stood watching the car's taillights disappear into the distance, murmuring to himself, "That's no blond punk.
That's a golden catch."
Still, as her elder cousin, he took out his phone and sent Sophia a text.
[Be careful.
Message me when you get home.]
Sophia put her phone away and couldn't help glancing at the man in the driver's seat.
Sebastian noticed.
"You look at me right after putting your phone away.
Something about me?"
Sophia shook her head.
"It's nothing..."
Even Ryan, meeting him for the first time, had sensed his intentions and warned her to be careful.
This was...
Sebastian, unaware of her wandering thoughts, continued.
"Both construction crews can start tomorrow.
However, they're under contract with my company for this year's projects.
Following proper procedure, my people have to assign them their work."
"Subcontracting or transferring their contracts would be a breach.
So, to avoid that, I'll need to be the one assigning tasks to these crews."
"It's really just a formality.
I've added Ryan on WeChat.
He'll send me the weekly work schedule in advance, and I'll forward it to the crews."
"Similarly, the progress reports from the crews will come to me first, and I'll relay them to Ryan.
Understand?
This means I'll be involved in your lab's construction from now on."
"Pleasure working with you, Ms. Sophia Sullivan."
After his lengthy explanation, Sophia couldn't help but smile.
"Couldn't these minor tasks be handled by the crew foreman?
Does a big boss like you really need to get involved personally?"
"Nothing concerning you is a minor task."