Chapter 61 Don't Think So Highly of Yourself
Electra kept her head lowered, unable to hide the sadness in her eyes. "Leandro has been pursuing me for a long time. He deliberately targeted you because you had intimate scenes with me in the show. I'm sorry. I got you involved in this."
Electra had an oval face, skin so smooth you could see the fine down on it, and large, round eyes that sparkled beautifully. When she cried, she looked especially pitiful.
In an early-era domineering CEO romance, she would definitely be the innocent, fragile female lead.
Unfortunately, this wasn't a novel; Sophia wasn't a domineering CEO, and she didn't buy into this act.
She even found this type of character annoying, always crying and so delicate that a breeze might knock her over, constantly apologizing as if the whole world should pity her.
"Don't think so highly of yourself. James didn't take that beating for you."
Sophia's logic was crystal clear. Regardless of why Leandro targeted James, James had chosen not to fight back for his own interests. This incident only had two main players.
Electra had absolutely nothing to do with it.
"But..." Electra desperately wanted to explain something, afraid Sophia would misunderstand her and hold prejudices against her.
Unfortunately, Sophia cut her off completely.
"No buts. James barely knows you—this incident has nothing to do with you at all. I don't understand why you're voluntarily apologizing, but you and James won't have any more interactions in the future. If you absolutely must hear forgiveness, fine, we forgive you. Now you can leave."
Electra was stunned, her heart clenching into a knot. She lowered her head, wringing her hands together, unable to get a single word out.
Everything she wanted to say had been blocked by Sophia, who hadn't left her any room to maneuver.
She really wasn't after anything—she just felt guilty. After all, if it weren't for her presence, Leandro wouldn't have targeted James, and James wouldn't have gotten hurt.
Unlike Sophia's harsh approach, James was much gentler. Seeing Electra's hesitant expression, he smiled faintly and offered some comfort, "Sophia's right—this has nothing to do with you, so you don't need to apologize. My injuries aren't serious, so don't worry about it."
Though she knew Electra meant no harm, Amelia didn't like this type of personality either. She walked over and handed James his coffee, saying, "James, let's go sit at my vineyard for a while. I've ordered food—let's have lunch together."
"Sounds good."
The three of them left, no one bothering with Electra's complicated emotions.
When the director saw James emerge, he hurried over. "James, are your injuries serious? The production will cover all medical expenses—make sure you rest and recover properly."
"I'm fine." James wore a faint smile, understanding in his heart that these flattering words were actually meant for Sophia's ears.
Sophia linked arms with James and asked quietly, "James, do you want to continue filming?"
"I'll finish it. Since this is my first time acting in a web series, I might as well see it through."
Getting his answer, Sophia nodded knowingly. When she turned to look at the director, her gaze seemed to freeze over. "After what happened today, the crew bears responsibility. Replace everyone in the props department. If something like this happens again, you won't be staying with the company either."
"It absolutely won't happen again!" The director raised three fingers, making a firm promise.
The three left the set, strolling toward Amelia's vineyard.
The vineyard was simply called 'Amelia.' It wasn't particularly large, containing six wine cabinets displaying a dazzling array of bottles.
At the far end was a long table for entertaining guests, now set with a sumptuous spread of dishes.
"Food from Celestial Peak Hotel?" Sophia recognized it immediately.
"Right—James got hurt, so he deserves some fine dining as compensation." Amelia cheerfully invited James to sit down, propping her chin in her hands with a beaming smile. "James, what would you like to drink? I have grape juice, watermelon juice, mango juice, peach juice, orange juice, sugarcane juice, and carrot juice."
James looked confused, the corner of his mouth twitching. "Isn't this supposed to be a vineyard?"
It sounded more like a fruit stand.
Amelia smiled sweetly, stars twinkling in her eyes. "Whatever you want to drink, I can get it—freshly squeezed, delivered quickly."
If James hadn't been injured, if this hadn't been his first visit to the vineyard, she would have definitely opened a bottle of 1982 Lafite to celebrate!
During the meal, knowing James wouldn't understand business talk, Sophia and Amelia avoided economic topics and chatted about the vineyard instead, creating a harmonious atmosphere.
"How's business at your vineyard?" James asked, having noticed that many upscale vineyards seemed to have few customers.
"Mostly acquaintances buying wine from me. The main thing is I have connections—some people looking for vintage wines ask me to help them source bottles."
The vineyard's business relied on networking. When people in their circle hosted events, they'd order wine from her or use her connections to find vintage bottles for gifts.
People in their circle always needed wine, so her vineyard business was actually doing quite well—at least it wasn't like the hot pot restaurant she'd opened before, which had closed within a few months.
"So what's the most expensive wine you have here?" James was suddenly curious about exactly what kind of circle Sophia moved in.
Amelia thought for a moment. "The most expensive one on display here is eighty thousand dollars. For higher-end wines, people usually need to pre-order, and I source them specially. In those cases, there's no upper limit—some bottles can cost millions."
James was shocked. Even during the Johnson family's wealthiest period, he'd never seen an eighty-thousand-dollar bottle of wine, let alone million-dollar ones.
Wouldn't that mean drinking thousands of dollars with each sip?
"Don't be too surprised—we've never drunk million-dollar wine either."
Sophia laughed. Million-dollar bottles were collector-grade wines. Even the wealthiest elite had money, not mental problems—who opens a million-dollar bottle just to enhance dinner?
James was stunned for a moment, then laughed. He supposed he really had been overthinking it.
After the meal, Sophia took James home.
"James, tonight Lucas and I are having dinner at Mr. White's place with some other friends. It wouldn't be convenient to bring you, so I'll drop you off at home first."
"Okay."
James was reasonable about these things. Benjamin was Sophia's friend and Lucas's mentor—they should indeed visit him.
But Benjamin held an unusual position. Even if they wanted to visit, they should first ask through Sophia for Benjamin's opinion and get permission before calling on him. Otherwise, it would be impolite.
The car stopped in front of the apartment building. Sophia got out too, linking arms with James to help him upstairs.
"Sophia, don't tell Mom and Dad about my injuries—I don't want them to worry."
Sophia nodded understandingly. "Then don't shower tonight—just wipe yourself down. The wounds can't get wet. I'll apply medicine for you when I get back."
"Mm." James affectionately ruffled her hair, his whole being radiating gentle warmth.
Sophia was momentarily dazed, then sighed inwardly.
Sigh, no wonder Amelia was always so infatuated with James.
Wayne was in danger!