Chapter 64
Time ticked by, and the human trafficker urged impatiently, "Stop wasting time. Hand over the money and make your choice."
James closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, there was only cold determination left, without a trace of hesitation.
He looked at me, his voice exceptionally firm, "Sophia, once we rescue Isabella, I'll definitely get you out."
Hearing this, I didn't feel the sadness I expected. Instead, I felt quite calm.
Even though I also thought saving the child first was right, I still couldn't help feeling a bit hurt.
Being abandoned didn't feel good.
I tugged at the corner of my mouth, forcing a cold smile.
Relying on him? I might as well rely on myself.
James had someone bring a check, but the kidnappers wanted cash, so the police rushed to exchange it for cash.
Isabella was traded away. The kidnappers took the money, loosened the ropes, and pressed a knife against me as they retreated.
I found my chance and kicked one of them hard in the stomach, then grabbed a discarded wooden stick nearby and smashed it down hard on the head of the guy running toward me.
The police reacted quickly, rushed over, and soon had the traffickers subdued.
James ran over holding Isabella, and showed concern for me. "Your neck..."
I touched my neck—blood stained my hand.
I said indifferently, "I'm fine. I'm heading back now."
With that, I didn't even look at him and turned to walk out of the warehouse step by step.
After returning from the suburbs, I went straight back to my own apartment and didn't return to the Smith Mansion.
First, I was afraid Indigo would worry if she saw the wound on my neck. Second, I didn't know how to face James.
I felt his choice was right, but I still couldn't accept being abandoned again and again.
I sat on the bed, hugging myself tightly. A wound on my arm that I'd gotten scraped somehow wasn't very deep, but it was throbbing with pain.
For the next few days, I didn't contact James or anyone else, sealing myself off to heal alone.
But James suddenly showed up at my door, wearing a sharp suit.
"Why are you here?" I frowned, my tone distant.
James walked in and placed some documents and keys on the table, his voice low and steady. "This is a downtown apartment. The property deed has your name on it, and this card has five million dollars in it. Consider it compensation for what you went through."
I glanced at the things on the table, full of mockery inside—he really thought money could solve everything.
I pushed the documents and keys back toward him. "I don't need these things."
"Sophia, you won't accept them—are you still blaming me for choosing Isabella over you that day?" James's tone was cold and hard. "Isabella is a child. If she'd stayed in those kidnappers' hands, something would have happened to her."
I sighed. "James, I know your choice was right, and I don't blame you. I've always been the one who gets abandoned. I'm used to it."
James's expression darkened, a flash of guilt in his eyes. After a long silence, he finally spoke, "If you don't want these, then what do you want?"
"I don't want anything."
"Don't you like computer science? I can arrange for you to study with Dr. Warren from Celestial University's computer science department."
Hearing Leonard Warren's name, I raised an eyebrow.
He did have some skills, just nowhere near mine.
"If you don't say anything, I'll take that as a yes. Tomorrow I'll pick you up to go to Celestial University to meet Dr. Warren."
Before I could respond, James rattled off everything, and without giving me a chance to react, he left.
The next afternoon, James drove over to take me to Celestial University.
I figured since I'd be bored at home anyway, I might as well go out and look around.
And maybe check if the computer science department at Celestial University had any talent I could recruit to our studio.
James took me to Leonard's office and knocked on the door. "Dr. Warren."
Leonard smiled and shook his hand.
"This is my wife, Sophia."
Leonard looked me up and down. "Hello, Mrs. Smith! I heard you want to learn computer science. Computer science is very difficult, especially for girls."
"If you're not really into it, or just want to pass the time, I suggest you stay home and do things you're capable of."
"Like flower arranging, having coffee with friends—all very nice. What do you think?"
Hearing his polite yet deeply sexist words, I frowned tightly and couldn't hold back. "I think you're not really suited for living in modern society. You'd probably be better off in ancient times."
"After all, it's the 21st century and you're still treating men and women differently. You shouldn't be teaching computer science either—going back to study history would be better for you."
"What do you think, Dr. Warren?"
Leonard's face turned dark with anger. "You..."
"Am I wrong? Dr. Warren, before you jump to conclusions, did you ever think you might be mistaken? Because if I remember correctly, there are plenty of legendary computer scientists who are women, and their achievements are in no way inferior to men's."
Perhaps because James was there, Leonard didn't dare speak rudely to me and could only say through gritted teeth, "So you're saying you know computers?"
"A little bit. Dr. Warren, want to have a competition?"
Leonard didn't expect me to challenge him directly. He froze for a moment, then laughed dismissively. "Sure, I'd like to see what you've got."
We found two computers, one each, and had to write a security defense system within a set time.
Leonard skillfully opened the programming software, glanced at me with contempt, then lowered his head to write the program, his fingers flying across the keyboard with complete confidence.
I wasn't backing down either. I opened the software, and my fingers rapidly tapped away at the keyboard.
Time was up, and we'd both finished writing.
Leonard was full of confidence in himself, but his defense system couldn't hold up against advanced viruses.
But my defense system showed no reaction to advanced viruses and smoothly resolved the crisis.
Leonard stared at the screen in disbelief, muttering, "Impossible, absolutely impossible. How could a newbie like you write such a good program?"
I closed my laptop and looked at Leonard calmly. "Dr. Warren, in computer science, it doesn't matter if you're male or female—only ability matters. With your level of skill, you can't even beat a newbie like me, yet you're teaching people? I think you should quit while you're ahead and stop misleading others."
Leonard's face turned red and white, unable to save face. "Mr. Smith, I'm afraid I can't teach Mrs. Smith. I'll be going now!"
As he left, he didn't forget to glare at me viciously, his eyes full of resentment and unwillingness.
Such a weak ability to handle pressure.
"He has some standing in the industry and has always been proud. You should have been more patient with him." James frowned slightly, a complex emotion flickering in his eyes. When he turned to look at me, there was a hint of barely noticeable softness in his tone.
I used to be too patient, which was why everyone felt they could step on me.
I was not going to put up with it anymore. I'd rather make them uncomfortable than wrong myself even a little bit.
I gathered my things and glanced at him. "He was rude first and used gender as an excuse to put people down. For real, I showed him a lot of respect just by not ripping him a new one."