"What the heck is that?"
"It's fine, Mr. Morris is hiding now. Let him hide for a while. After I've cleaned up The Parker Family from the inside, it'll be time for him to face justice."
"I think you've lost it. Five million, are you so hard up for that five million?"
"By the way, Mr. Jones, can you help me check on someone? I'll send you the address. Help me investigate this person named Polly Sutton."
"What's wrong with this person? Did something happen that you need me to check?"
"Yes, something happened." Victor Parker got up and walked to the window, looking at the distant room where the light was still on. He could see the shadow of her leaning over the desk, writing and sketching. "Maybe before I clean up The Parker Family, I'll catch Mr. Morris."
Polly Sutton stayed awake all night, completely oblivious to the fact that several senior hotel executives were dismissed and fired overnight. All departments within Parker Corporation received an email indicating the dismissals were due to chaos in the hotel lobby that compromised guest safety.
Before this, news had just broken that Michael Knight was injured during a confrontation at the hotel. This move by Victor Parker not only resolved the issues with a few executives but also provided a satisfactory answer to the media.
It was also a way to warn those who say one thing and do another that Victor Parker had really started to take action.
Polly Sutton was not particularly concerned about these matters. On the way to the airport, she listened to her senior's gossip through her earphones while modifying her design plans. She already knew how cunning Victor Parker could be.
Polly Sutton glanced at the man next to her, who was resting with his eyes closed. The old timers at the company took advantage when the boss was away, but Victor Parker was attacking from the ground up.
Capitalists, always so crafty.
At the airport, Polly Sutton met MR·yang, who surprisingly came to see her off.
After a sleepless night, Polly Sutton had put on framed glasses and adjusted them to make sure she wasn't mistaking the person.
MR·yang handed Polly Sutton a book, "I don't know who spread the rumor that made you travel all this way. This book was given to me by Old Rook when I first met him. It's long out of print, but now I'm giving it to you."
Polly Sutton looked down at the yellowing "Hundred Crafts Records," knowing that anyone in the field of architecture would be aware of its existence, and more so, its rarity—less than ten copies remain globally.
"MR·yang, isn't this too much?"
Being deceived was her own fault, yet MR·yang was being incredibly nice to her, which paradoxically made Polly Sutton uneasy.
"Mr. Parker handles things with an iron hand, playing his cards well. I believe that with Mr. Parker around, Mrs. Parker only needs to focus on doing what she loves; there's no need to worry about anything else, right, Mr. Parker?" MR·yang said jokingly while looking at Victor Parker.
Polly Sutton was momentarily stunned, still not fully processing the situation even after MR·yang left.
"Miss Sutton truly is the darling of the architectural world. No matter who it is, once they've seen Miss Sutton a few times, they all end up pampering her, giving books, giving money, giving food, giving awards."
Isabella Lowe entered from outside, followed by her assistant pushing her luggage.
"Victor, what a coincidence."
Polly Sutton tucked the book away and looked at Isabella Lowe, "Miss Lowe, if you're jealous, then you should go reincarnate quickly. Maybe next life you'll have this good fortune."
"Some people are naturally lucky; there's nothing that can be done about it." Victor Parker drew Polly back into his arms, "But one must learn to be careful with their words. Speaking carelessly about granting awards offends the judges."
Isabella Lowe was slightly taken aback as she watched Victor Parker depart with Polly Sutton, secretly clenching her fist.
Could he really not see that woman suffer even the slightest distress?
"Why accept such slander when you earned the award through your own ability?" Victor Parker released Polly Sutton, watching her embrace the book like a treasure.
Polly Sutton was indifferent, "It sounds like she would believe it's not about her if I said otherwise. In that case, I might as well admit what she said and frustrate her."
Victor Parker: "..."
"But President Parker, how old is your childhood friend? Do you still need to teach her how to behave?" Polly Sutton stopped and looked at Victor Parker, "Are you so worried she'll be targeted by people in the architecture world? With such a clear reminder, would she understand?"
"Dumb as an ox." Victor Parker said disdainfully and directly boarded the plane.
Polly Sutton turned angrily towards Andrew Lindsey, complaining, "He insulted me."
Andrew Lindsey held back laughter and indicated to Polly Sutton that she should hurry and board the plane.
Polly Sutton boarded and immediately swapped places with Andrew Lindsey, choosing to sit in the economy class instead. She had her temper, after all.
Victor Parker glanced at Andrew Lindsey as he came in, grunted, and continued reading the newspaper, knowing that Andrew dared only stand firm in front of him.
Perhaps those crab claws grew on him.
Seeing Victor Parker unresponsive, Andrew Lindsey momentarily wondered if he'd have to stand for the journey.
Polly Sutton found Andrew Lindsey's seat, near the window. The man sitting outside noticed she wanted to go in and promptly stood to let her through.
"Thank you."
Upon sitting down, Polly Sutton was still puffing with anger from being called an ox. He was the ox; his whole family were oxen.
No, since they were still on the same household registration, he alone was an ox.
In her fuming, Polly Sutton accidentally spoke it aloud, causing the man next to her to laugh.
She frowned at the laughter and turned to look, only to see the man stifle his amusement and nod slightly at her, leaving its meaning uncertain.
How peculiar.
Once the plane had taken off, just after reaching its cruising altitude, Polly Sutton lowered her mini table, retrieved a sketchbook from her bag, and began working on some fine details.
If not, she really wouldn't have enough time.
"Dovetail joints are useful, but using them on eaves is not aesthetically pleasing. Transitions in the middle work better."
While Polly Sutton was deliberating over the eaves structure, the man beside her suddenly spoke.
As if his words sparked her imagination, Polly Sutton made several quick alterations, then turned to the man, "Are you an architect too?"
"No, I don't have that talent. Just a worker striving to make ends meet," the man replied, laughing. "I occasionally read some books about our ancestors, not sure if I'm right."
His words were cryptic, yet he pinpointed the issue, instantly improving Polly Sutton's impression of him.
"But truthfully, it's rare for architecture to employ these methods nowadays. It requires a lot of time and effort, on top of the scarcity of high-quality timber—never mind finding skilled carpenters. While beautiful, it can't withstand time's impact; limestone, steel, and concrete are more favored."
"That's not true. It's just that those who can afford wooden architecture are the wealthy."
The man paused, evidently not anticipating Polly Sutton to take this perspective, then chuckled softly, "That's true, good wood, skilled artisans—if you have money, they're indeed not hard to find."
"Mrs. Parker, Mr. Parker ordered the juice for you. Have a drink to soothe your throat." The flight attendant placed the juice on Polly Sutton's table, repeating Victor Parker's words.
Soothe the throat; prevent it from hurting due to too much talking.