Chapter 178 Parent-Teacher Meeting Turmoil
After hanging up the phone, Sophia's expression wasn't good.
While she was thinking about the caller's intention, a pair of small hands suddenly hugged her calf, and a childish voice spoke sweetly, instantly easing her mood.
Emily looked up with a bright smile, "Mommy, hug."
Lucas, who had brought her over, leaned against the doorway and teased, "Now that you're home, Emily doesn't like me anymore."
"Uncle Lucas, shameless."
Emily made a face at him, then turned back and snuggled into Sophia again.
Sophia had been very busy these past few days, so Emily had spent most of her time with Lucas every day. It had been a long time since she'd been affectionate with Sophia, so she started acting cute as soon as she arrived.
After playing with Emily for quite a while, she fell asleep. Sophia carried her to bed, tucked her in, left the door slightly ajar, and stepped outside with Lucas to chat on the sofa.
She said carefully, "I need to take Emily to Port City in a while."
When Lucas heard "Port City," a trace of instinctive disgust appeared in Lucas's expression.
As if it were an especially unpleasant place.
Even so, he still said, "I'll go with you."
"No need. I'm telling you because I want to discuss with you. I need you to help me keep an eye on things in Forton County."
Lucas knew she was planning to build a research facility in the country that would rival the ZN Laboratory. He nodded, but he still somewhat puzzled.
"Sophia, Port City isn't a good place for either of us. Why go back?"
Sophia remembered what the person on the phone had said, and her expression turned cold.
The caller was none other than Isolde, who had taken her from Rain Village to Port City all those years ago.
Some things were out of her hands back then. But now things were different. She would not let others trample over her again. The grievances she had endured and the dignity she had lost needed to be reclaimed.
And she also wanted to know what the "treasure" her grandmother had promised Isolde was.
Something that had kept Isolde persistent for more than ten years.
The sadness that always surrounded Lucas became even more intense at this moment.
He lowered his eyes silently: 'Take it back?'
-
In the blink of an eye, it was the day of the parent-teacher conference she'd arranged with James and Michael.
Waking up early, Emily went straight into the walk-in closet to pick out a dress to wear today.
Emily's closet was full of clothes bought by the elders around her, with most of them from her two godmothers, especially Lyra. Just a few days ago, Lyra had bought Emily many limited-edition pieces from fashion shows.
Emily held up dress after dress in front of the mirror, turning back from time to time to ask Sophia's opinion.
Lucas waited downstairs for a long time without seeing them come down, so he went upstairs to hurry them along.
"Why aren't you down for breakfast yet?"
"See for yourself."
In Emily's dedicated walk-in closet, the sofa was piled high with all kinds of dresses. Lucas crossed his arms over his chest and couldn't help shaking his head, as if envisioning Emily going out on dates in the future.
"Mommy, this one."
Finally, Emily had chosen her dress.
Turning around and seeing Lucas, her eyes lit up, "Uncle Lucas, I look pretty."
Lucas walked over and picked her up, smiling, "Yes, very pretty."
Hearing this, Emily happily kicked her little legs, still holding the dress she'd chosen.
Lucas hung the dress on a nearby rack and said gently, "Let's go have breakfast first. The parent-teacher conference isn't for a while. After we eat, I'll give you really pretty little braids."
Sophia listened to their conversation with a helpless yet affectionate smile.
Lucas often said that she and Emily had given him the warmth of a family, but hadn't he also given them the beauty of a family?
When Sophia arrived at the kindergarten with Emily, James and Michael were already waiting eagerly.
Seeing them get out of the car, they immediately rushed over, "Mommy! Emily!"
Emily wore a beautiful little dress, with a hairstyle that was a new design Lucas had designed for her. It looked cute and playful.
She held James and Michael's hands and enthusiastically greeted William, who had come over behind them.
Besides suits, William's closet actually had very few clothes in other styles.
Today, he wore a white casual shirt paired with jeans, topped with a khaki-colored long trench coat. It was casual clothing Sophia had bought for him long ago.
But clearly, Sophia had long forgotten.
Because when she glanced at him, her expression remained calm.
Luxury cars were parked one after another at the kindergarten entrance.
Just as Sophia and Emily got out of their car, from the slightly familiar Rolls-Royce that had been following their car, Benjamin stepped out from the back seat in athletic wear and walked straight toward her.
Benjamin's voice was gentle, "Sophia, we meet again."
Sophia nodded distantly.
Benjamin didn't seem bothered by her coldness and walked over to continue talking to her.
William's steady pace faltered for a moment, his fingers at his side clenched, silently watching the two of them.
Today, although Sophia wasn't wearing a very formal gown as Michael had described, she was wearing a very elegant white dress.
Compared to other children's parents wearing evening gowns, her outfit seemed particularly simple and understated, yet it was eye-catching.
When James and Michael enrolled, it was Sophia who had brought people to handle the admission procedures.
Therefore, the kindergarten's principal and teachers didn't know they were the Smith family's children.
Seeing William appear here today, everyone was attracted by the commanding and intimidating presence around him, all curious about his identity.
A couple of parents whose companies had worked with Peace Group recognized William's identity and started telling their children to get along well with James and Michael in the future.
Unsurprisingly, when Sophia held James and Michael's hands, James held Emily's hand, and William silently followed behind - the family's good looks caused quite a stir at the kindergarten.
The surrounding atmosphere froze for a moment.
James and Michael held Sophia and Emily's hands and came to their seats.
The kindergarten had prepared seats for the students' parents in advance.
They originally wanted William and Sophia to sit in the middle, but Sophia had them sit in the middle positions instead.
William glanced at Sophia imperceptibly, his thin lips pressed even tighter.
James and Michael sat in the middle, William and Sophia sat on either side, and Emily sat in Sophia's lap, her curious eyes looking around.
Seeing that sitting across a small aisle was actually Benjamin.
Her eyes brightened, "Benjamin."
Benjamin had just sat down when he heard Emily's voice. He turned to meet her bright eyes and smiled gently, "Emily, long time no see."
Seeing Emily's fondness for Benjamin again, William felt an indescribable jealousy in his heart.
The little girl sitting next to Benjamin grabbed his hand forcefully, "Benjamin, you're mine, don't talk to her."
Benjamin looked down, "Missy, you can't be so rude."
Meeting the girl's hostility, Emily blinked and immediately withdrew her enthusiasm for Benjamin.
She sat quietly in Sophia's lap, listening to the teacher speaking on the platform.
Sophia turned Emily around, gently patting her back, letting her lean closer to Michael at her side.
Although she didn't know the girl, Sophia recognized the girl's mother, Selene, the Franklin family's daughter who had married into Empire City.
She was Isolde's daughter, Benjamin's aunt. Selene wasn't that many years older than Benjamin.
The person who came to the parent-teacher conference was Benjamin, which showed that Selene's status in the Ford family was indeed as awkward as the rumors suggested.
It was called a parent-teacher conference, but it was really more of an interactive session between parents and children.
The teacher first gave out awards to students in the class, using various types of awards to ensure every student in the class received a prize, and invited parents to come on stage to receive awards for their children.
James and Michael looked at Sophia expectantly, and she smiled and took them on stage.
Emily wasn't tall, and other students' parents were sitting in front of her, blocking her view.
After only a moment's hesitation, she went to find William.