Chapter 75 Not Only Not Bankrupt, But Quite Wealthy
Joshua took a sip of red wine, his smile cryptic as he joked, "My aunt always says to keep a low profile here in Emerald City, otherwise a guy from Silverlight City like me might get bullied by all you Emerald City big shots."
Sophia's lips twitched slightly.
He really was extremely guarded.
"Though..." Joshua turned to meet Sophia's eyes, his lips curving in a playful smirk, "If there's an opportunity, I could always introduce you all."
Sophia actually detected a hint of seduction in his gaze.
During their first two encounters, those deep eyes of his had seemed poisoned with malice, as if he harbored some deep grudge and wanted nothing more than to destroy her.
Now he was acting completely differently, trying to lure her closer.
What exactly did he want from her?
Sophia raised an eyebrow. "I'd be honored."
Beside her, Amelia was practically crushing her wine glass.
Damn it! She'd accepted Michael stealing away her best friend, but now this cursed Joshua wanted to steal away her Sophia, too?
Wayne lounged lazily in his chair with the air of someone watching a show, rolling his eyes before noticing Amelia glaring daggers at Joshua as if she wanted to tear him to pieces.
"Hey, calm down."
He wrapped his large hand around Amelia's grip on the wine glass, afraid she might actually shatter it and hurt herself.
Amelia huffed angrily and turned to Wayne. "Bite him!"
Wayne was shocked, 'What?'
On the other side, Emily was also about to crush her wine glass.
She was consumed with jealousy.
Why did everyone revolve around Sophia? She was the true Smith family heiress!
They were all classmates, yet the birthday gifts she received were things money could easily buy, while the ones given to that bitch Sophia clearly showed real thoughtfulness!
It was one thing for Michael, who'd grown up with Sophia, to have genuine feelings for her, but even Joshua from Silverlight City was attracted to Sophia?
She was just a bankrupt fucking pauper—what was there to love about her?
Emily thought to herself, 'I'm going to steal them away. Whether it's Michael or Joshua, everything that belongs to Sophia, I'm going to take it all!'
Joshua chewed his food slowly, his gaze inadvertently catching Emily's jealous glare, the corner of his mouth lifting imperceptibly.
Stupid people always took the bait so easily.
He glanced again at Sophia beside him.
The girl had a fair, smooth complexion with a delicate, upturned nose. Those eyes added a touch of allure to her already striking features.
Yet her gaze radiated intelligent light.
Her naturally cherry-pink lips curved in a slight smile as she listened to the others' conversation.
Composed and elegant, refined and sophisticated—clearly a well-educated young lady raised with careful cultivation.
Joshua slowly withdrew his gaze. He preferred dealing with intelligent people.
After they'd eaten and drunk their fill, it was time for the gathering to end.
"Let's head home. See you all Monday." Sophia smiled as she bid farewell to everyone.
Emily sat motionless, her voice dripping with sarcasm when she spoke, "Sophia, you haven't paid the bill yet. You're not planning to make us all dine and dash, are you? If you really can't afford it, I could pay for you."
This comment actually made Sophia laugh. She replied coolly, "I had no idea you had a hobby of paying other people's bills. Seems like the Smith family's been making quite a profit lately—doing charity work all the way down to me."
Emily smiled sweetly. "I know your financial situation isn't good. That money my father gave you probably doesn't have much left, but you can't just skip out on the bill. If word gets out, it would shame us all."
Tonight's dinner was no mere $500,000. Even if Sophia hadn't spent a penny of the money the Smith family gave her, she couldn't afford tonight's tab!
Playing the generous host came with a price! Let the classmates see what a hypocritical and vain person Sophia really was!
The classmates who should have left now stopped to watch the drama unfold. They were also curious to see how Sophia would handle paying for tonight's meal.
Sophia wasn't short on money, but no one knew exactly how much she had in assets or whether she could produce $500,000 on the spot for this dinner.
If Sophia truly couldn't financially support this, they could secretly help out—they couldn't let Emily have the satisfaction of humiliating Sophia.
Sophia tilted her head, looking genuinely puzzled. "I've never heard of having to pay to eat at my own place."
"Sophia, even now you're still being arrogant and fake." Emily stepped closer to Sophia, her smile gentle and serene but somehow unsettling. "Sophia, you're already bankrupt. Poor people don't get to save face. Just admit you don't have the money, and I'll pay for this meal."
Sophia snorted with laughter, truly speechless at Emily's antics.
"Emily, I think you've got it wrong. Who's been spreading these rumors? The ones who went bankrupt were the Johnsons, never me."
Emily's brow furrowed, Sophia's composure shaking her confidence. "What do you mean?"
Sophia glanced at Amelia. "Amelia, go get the manager."
"On it." Amelia hurried out.
Sophia's gaze returned to Emily. "I mean that not only am I not bankrupt, but I'm quite wealthy."
"When you left the Smith family, you took nothing with you except the three million dollars from Dad. Where would you get money?" Emily's brow creased tightly, her hatred no longer concealed. "Don't tell me you stole it?"
Sophia nearly rolled her eyes in exasperation. She glanced toward Tom. "I'm guessing you don't really know everyone here. That's Tom from Class 3, founder of RT. I'm RT's largest shareholder. Clio owns a fashion brand—I hold 20% of the shares. Wayne owns five different factories—I have 15% stakes in each."
Emily's pupils trembled, unable to believe this was real.
Just then, Amelia returned with the manager.
The manager hurried to Sophia's side and bowed respectfully at a 45-degree angle. "Boss, you wanted to see me?"
Sophia raised an eyebrow, her lips curving in an amused smile as she addressed Emily, "Celestial Peak Hotel belongs to me. It was just registered under Michael's name before because I was underage."
She glanced at the manager. "Do I need to pay to eat at my own restaurant?"
The manager quickly grasped the situation and responded respectfully, "Celestial Peak Hotel has only one owner—you. There are no other shareholders. All revenue belongs to you, so naturally you don't need to pay for dining here."
Those simple words gave Sophia immense satisfaction. She reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind Emily's ear, smiling with innocent harmlessness. "Any other questions, Emily?"