Chapter 30 You're Not Just Rich, You're Insane
John had always had a terrible reputation in Emerald City—spoiled, reckless, promiscuous, irresponsible. Every negative adjective seemed to stick to him. His most notorious scandal was bankrupting the wealthy Johnson family over a pretty little girlfriend.
But would someone with such a reputation for womanizing really cause such a massive uproar over one unremarkable girl among countless others?
Two years ago, when Evelyn had offended John's girlfriend, John was there, too. Seeing Evelyn's stunning face that bore some resemblance to Sophia's, he became suspicious and had her investigated.
That was when John discovered that Sophia wasn't actually his biological sister, but the Johnson family's daughter.
Sophia was probably the only person in that cold household whom John found genuinely interesting.
He didn't want Sophia to leave, so he orchestrated the Johnson family's bankruptcy. Even if the truth about the switched daughters came out, seeing her birth family in ruins would likely make Sophia reluctant to return to them.
But he was also afraid that once the truth was revealed and the choice was no longer Sophia's to make, what if his cold, heartless parents decided to kick Sophia out? He couldn't let Sophia actually go back to the Johnson family to suffer, could he?
So after bankrupting the Johnson family, he shamelessly went to Sophia to gloat.
"The Johnson family is broke now, so just stay put in the Smith family and continue being my good little sister. Behave yourself, and I'll keep spoiling you like always."
His real intention was to tell Sophia the truth ahead of time, before it became public knowledge, so she'd have time to prepare. Whether by using the Smith family's resources for investments or setting aside some living expenses, at least she wouldn't have to live too hard later.
He never expected things to be exposed so quickly.
Just two short years, and Emily had come knocking.
It wasn't entirely accurate to say no one was forcing Sophia to leave. He understood Sophia—she'd been stubborn since childhood. Rather than staying in the Smith family as an adoptive daughter, she'd prefer to leave and make it on her own.
The only thing he hadn't anticipated was Sophia choosing to return to the Johnson family.
John propped his chin on his hand, sighing in frustration. Even now, he didn't know if his decision back then had been right or wrong.
All he knew was that Sophia's leaving seemed inevitable.
Wait! John suddenly realized something.
Emily had come to them first?
How did she know about being switched at birth in the first place?
...
Originally, Sophia had plans to have dinner with Michael on Sunday, and they'd even planned to invite Bruce along before he returned to Silverlight City.
But Sophia never expected that Bruce, who'd said he'd pick her up, would actually show up at her doorstep.
At this moment, James, who'd gone to answer the door, was staring wide-eyed at Bruce through the security gate.
"You..." James was stunned for a long while, feeling like the person looked familiar but not daring to confirm. He asked tentatively, "Are you the designer Bruce?"
Bruce slowly opened his mouth, "Ah... yes, you're Sophia's brother James?"
"Yeah." James's mind went blank, and in his daze, he opened the gate and invited the man inside.
Something wasn't right. This wasn't right at all.
Why would Bruce, the internationally renowned genius interior designer, appear here?
"Have a seat." James went to the kitchen to get a clean glass, planning to pour water, but then thought better of it and grabbed orange juice from the fridge instead.
Bruce ran his fingers through his golden hair that had been flattened by his motorcycle helmet. Once inside, his long legs carried him to the living room in just two steps.
He looked around and couldn't help but frown in disgust.
This place was way too small, the walls were damp with peeling paint, the layout was completely unreasonable, and the furniture looked like it had been used for years. How could Sophia possibly stand living here?
Despite his disgust, when James brought him the orange juice, he still thanked him and accepted it without showing any dissatisfaction.
His impeccable manners were on full display.
The moment he sat down on the sofa, he heard a creak, and his eyebrows tightened.
How old was this sofa? The springs were completely deformed, more fragile than his grandfather's creaky back. Wasn't he afraid it would collapse and stab him in the ass?
Hearing the voices outside, Sophia changed clothes and came out with her little lambskin bag.
"Oh, you're here early?"
She patted Bruce's shoulder and plopped down beside him.
Bruce sighed inwardly with resentment. "I'm picking you up. I can't very well make you wait for me, can I?"
"Sophia," James called Sophia's name softly. When she looked over, he used his eyes to ask what exactly was going on.
Only then did Sophia remember to make introductions. "Oh, this is my friend Bruce. He's an interior designer. We're having lunch together." She elbowed Bruce. "My brother, James."
The two young men looked at each other and nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
The atmosphere was a bit awkward. Sophia glanced at the orange juice in Bruce's hand, and he immediately understood, finishing it in a few gulps and setting down the glass.
"James, we're heading out." Sophia stood up, smiling as she said goodbye to James.
"Okay." Watching the two leave, James was confused from start to finish. After the front door closed, he took out his phone and, after a moment's thought, quickly sent Evelyn a Facebook message.
James: [Evelyn, your idol came to our house.]
The response was almost instant—just three question marks.
James: [Bruce. He's Sophia's friend, and they seem pretty close.]
This time it was three exclamation marks.
...
After leaving the Johnson family and reaching the street below, Bruce finally couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Sophia, you're not just rich, you're insane! Why aren't you living in your mansion? Why are you staying in such awful conditions?"
As far as he knew, not far from here in the wealthy district, there was a two-story villa that belonged to Sophia, and he'd personally designed and decorated it.
Inside were two walk-in closets packed full of expensive clothes and jewelry. The master bedroom alone was more spacious than this dump.
"Do you really not need to get your brain checked at the hospital? Even living in my bathroom would be better than living here!"
Bruce really didn't understand. Sophia couldn't handle hardship and was very particular about her living conditions. Even if her upbringing prevented her from showing her complaints in front of the Johnson family, she'd already been there for over half a month. Shouldn't she be ready to leave by now?
Listening to Bruce's complaints, Sophia couldn't help but laugh. "Don't worry, I won't be staying much longer."
She'd never planned to stay with the Johnson family long-term. After graduating high school, she'd move out under the pretext of work.
She was temporarily staying with the Johnson family because she didn't have time to deal with those two lunatics from the Smith family right now. As long as she was living with the Johnson family, she had legal guardians.
If Andrew and John wanted to forcibly take her away, they'd have to completely disregard the law.
Hearing this, Bruce slowly exhaled in relief. "Thank God you still have some sense."
Sophia gave him a resentful look. "Get lost!"