At noon, Sophie finished class and walked out of the LSE gate with her backpack slung over one shoulder. She spotted someone waving enthusiastically from across the street. It was her uncle, Matthew Wilson. Since he didn't know which classroom she was in, he had simply waited at the school entrance the whole time.
"Uncle Matthew!" A rare smile lit up Sophie's face; she hadn't smiled like this in days. "Why didn't you call me? What if I had classes all day? You'd just wait here forever?"
"How are you holding up?" Matthew grinned warmly. "Ever since your mom was hospitalized, I hardly see you anymore. You look like you've lost weight, and you seem exhausted!"
"I'm fine. Classes have been really intense lately, and finals are in three days. I've been cramming," Sophie said with a small laugh.
She was, in fact, utterly drained. She hadn't had a single good night's sleep in days, and working overtime on top of everything had pushed her body to its limit.
"Sarah's still in the hospital, and you're running between school, the hospital, and C&C every day. That's way too much. Are you eating properly? Sleeping enough?"
"Yes, yes, don't worry, Uncle!"
"Don't lie to me!"
"Really, I'm fine! I'm grown up now. I can take care of myself. Stop worrying!" Sophie forced herself to sound cheerful.
Matthew eyed her skeptically, only half convinced.
"Uncle, don't you have work today?" Sophie quickly changed the subject.
Matthew scratched his head. "I took the day off, but I told your aunt I had to go to work so I could sneak out to see you."
"That's not very nice!" Sophie pursed her lips playfully.
"I had no choice. Lately I've been visiting Sarah at the hospital a lot, and even though your aunt doesn't say anything, the way she looks at me makes me feel guilty. Your cousin Thomas just graduated from university and can't find a decent job. And your other cousin Jack… ugh…"
Matthew let out a long sigh. "They argue nonstop at home. I never get a moment's peace! I really don't know when I'll finally be able to relax—no more grueling work, no more dealing with family drama."
Hearing all these complaints, Sophie couldn't help but laugh.
"You haven't eaten yet, have you, Sophie? Let's go grab lunch together."
"Sure, I just got out of class. I was planning to head to the hospital and eat something quick with Mom, but since you came all this way to see me, let's eat together." Sophie smiled and took the lead. "There's a great little family-style restaurant nearby."
"No way, family-style is too simple. Let's go to a buffet—I want you to have a proper meal," Matthew said, his heart aching for her.
"No can do. Buffets are expensive and the food's not even good. No need to spend that kind of money. Just trust me today. This place won't disappoint you." Sophie flashed a bright smile.
"Why are you still being polite with me…"
"Come on!" Sophie laughed, grabbing her uncle's hand and pulling him toward the family-style restaurant just down the street.
After the meal, they each ordered an after-dinner drink.
"The decor here is actually pretty nice! I thought it would be really basic," Matthew said, looking around the restaurant with evident approval.
"Yeah. One time I missed dinner hours at school and the cafeteria was already closed, so I ended up eating here. Turns out their food is delicious. Even though it's home-style cooking, everything tastes authentic, they don't overload it with additives, and the plating is beautiful. They make the kind of everyday dishes Mom used to cook at home," Sophie explained.
At the mention of her mother, Matthew froze for a second, his smile stiffening. "Sarah told me she's willing to go to the States with you for treatment. So… are you still planning to keep working at C&C?" he asked, abruptly changing the subject.
"If C&C has a branch in the U.S., I'd like to stay with the company." Sophie lowered her eyes and spoke softly. "Of course, if there isn't one, I'll just find part-time work wherever we end up. We still have to cover living expenses somehow."
"You'll be working, studying, and taking care of your mom in the hospital. Don't push yourself too hard."
"I'll be fine, Uncle. Back then Mom raised me all by herself in Manchester—it was so tough, but she made it through." Sophie smiled. "We'll get through this too."
"So… do you see Chairman Harrington very often?"
"Not really. Uncle Jonathan visits Mom at the hospital a lot. He's the one who suggested going to America for treatment. But I don't run into him that much."
Matthew thought for a moment. "Recently… has Chairman Harrington come looking for you at all?"
"No, not at all!"
"Oh…"
"Is something wrong, Uncle?"
"Oh, nothing." Matthew kept his tone casual. "You probably don't know this, but twenty years ago I was Chairman Harrington's driver. A while back he suddenly called me out and asked me some questions about you."
"About me?" Sophie looked puzzled, but then a thought seemed to strike her.
"Yeah."
"What did he ask? Was it—"
"Nothing specific," Matthew said with an awkward laugh. "He just said Sarah raised a wonderful daughter—that you're young yet willing to settle down and work hard, that you're really dedicated. He seemed to care about you a lot. So I told him how hard it's been for your mom raising you on her own, always taking part-time jobs to make ends meet. And how once you grew up you started studying and working at the same time too. Life has never been easy for either of you, and maybe that's exactly why you're more mature and hardworking than most people your age."
"Uncle, you don't have to hide it anymore. Mom already told me that I was adopted." Sophie now understood Uncle Jonathan's intentions even more clearly. "He must have been asking you whether I'm actually his daughter, right?"
"Uh… you already know everything." Matthew looked at her awkwardly. "I'm really sorry. Do you mind that I told him the secret?"
"Uncle, I don't mind at all." Sophie smiled gently. "I wanted to know the truth myself back then, which is why I found out everything so soon after Mom's surgery. Now I feel so guilty. Mom was already in such a bad state, and I was still so immature… I even…" Her voice choked up as she spoke.
"Sophie, don't blame yourself. None of this is your fault. You've done amazingly well; we're all so proud of you!"
"Uncle, you're giving me too much credit. I'm really not that great!" Sophie managed a tearful smile.
Matthew gazed at her. "You truly don't mind that I talked to the Chairman about you?"
"I really don't. Because I know you meant well." Sophie smiled softly. "I don't get upset whenever someone mentions me. I may not like being pitied, but when it comes from a place of kindness, not only am I not unhappy, I'm actually grateful. I know you all do it because you care about me and want to protect me. You've all been so good to me; how could I possibly be upset? On the contrary, I hope one day I'll be able to repay you, Uncle, for all the love and care you've given me over the years."
Hearing this, Matthew's eyes welled up with tears…
"Uncle?" Sophie called softly.
"Huh?" Matthew snapped back to reality and discreetly wiped the corners of his eyes. "You really are a sensible girl. How's work at C&C? Is the general manager treating you well?"
Sophie paused for a moment. "Yeah… he's good to me."
"What's wrong?" Matthew caught the slight hesitation.
"Nothing…"
"The way you answered just now didn't sound very certain! Has the general manager been making things difficult for you?" He'd always known that when Sophie first joined C&C, her colleagues had been cold toward her, and the general manager used to assign her the toughest tasks on purpose to put her in awkward positions. He had no idea how she'd handled it.
"No, really, Uncle, don't overthink it."
"So what exactly are you hesitating about?"
Sophie lowered her head and didn't answer.
"What's going on? Why aren't you saying anything?"
"Uncle…" After staring at the floor in silence for a few moments, Sophie finally spoke. "Before you and Aunt got married, what kind of things would the two of you fight about or get upset over?"
Matthew stared at her, instantly sensing something was wrong, but for a second he couldn't quite put his finger on it…
"You… why are you suddenly asking me that? What's this about?" he stammered.
"I just want to know."
"Why?" Matthew's mouth hung open in shock.
"Because… lately I've run into the same kind of situation myself, and I don't know what to do," Sophie answered softly.
In that instant, a loud buzzing exploded in Matthew's head—